The Pursuers Arrived: A Race Against Death

Inside the Duke's Mansion!

"What did you say? They're gone?" The duchess listened to the maid's report, utterly stunned.

"Yes. The man sent to assassinate that little bitch and her little bastard reported that by the time he arrived, neither of them was in the room.

"I also asked the servants nearby. They said they hadn't seen either of them since the afternoon." The maid knelt on the floor, her forehead pressed firmly against it, terrified that the slightest mistake would anger the duchess as she was now.

"Damn it! A cheap slut and a little bastard! Where could they go instead of staying put in that woodshed?" An unexpected hitch in what should have been a sure thing made the duchess grow anxious.

She couldn't understand where Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er could have gone. How could they disappear without any reason?

She hated this feeling of losing control.

As the duchess grew agitated, blue-gold light flashed once again through her originally black eyes. A spark of inspiration seemed to flash through her mind, and her tangled thoughts suddenly became crystal clear. "Could they have realized I was sending someone to kill them? So they left ahead of time? If that's the case, they'll definitely go looking for the duke. That would mean trouble for me."

"Send men out the back gate to pursue them. The back gate is the only way they could leave the Duke's Mansion without anyone knowing. If they're dead, I want to see them; if they're alive, I want to see their corpses. Bring me their heads. If you can't, don't bother coming back."

"Yes." Although the maid wondered why the duchess thought Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er would have left through the back gate, she was only a servant. She dared not question the duchess's orders and immediately went to arrange for men.

Soon, several dark figures rushed out of the Duke's Mansion's back gate, then scattered, pursuing the direction Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er had taken that afternoon.

Meanwhile, after running all afternoon, Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er were already ravenous, exhausted and hungry. They sat beside a large rock fifty kilometers away and ate some dry rations. With neither a village ahead nor an inn behind, they could only make do there for the night.

Huo Yun'er fell asleep leaning against the large rock, while Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged at Huo Yun'er's request.

"Yuhao, I'll pass a Meditation Method on to you. I created this cultivation method according to your constitution. It's the method best suited to you."

Although Huo Yun'er knew nothing about cultivation, she was now the World Will. She had records of everything that happened in this world, including all kinds of top-tier cultivation methods.

With those records and experiences, Huo Yun'er could absolutely select a cultivation method suited to Huo Yuhao for him to practice.

Huo Yuhao currently had innate full Soul Power and needed a Soul Ring. However, any cultivation before that could still be stored up. Once he obtained a Soul Ring, his earlier cultivation would manifest, so none of it would be wasted.

"All right." Huo Yuhao nodded. He learned quickly and soon grasped the knack of the cultivation method Huo Yun had taught him.

He felt that special energy within him-Soul Power-flowing through his meridians, dispelling the weariness from an afternoon of running. Like a warm stream, the Soul Power soothed the aches and weakness throughout his body wherever it passed.

The cultivation method Huo Yun gave Huo Yuhao was the one best suited to him. It was the gentlest method; its cultivation speed wasn't particularly fast, but it was the best for laying a foundation, preparing a better foundation for his future.

Although Huo Yun didn't know how to cultivate, she knew that the most important part of cultivation was the foundation. Just like constructing a tall building, an excellent foundation was needed at the outset.

Yet before Huo Yuhao joined the Tang Sect in the original story, his foundation had been practically no different from having none at all.

To Huo Yun, that was simply a waste. Now was the perfect time to lay a foundation, so she gave Huo Yuhao not the fastest cultivation method, but the one best at building a foundation.

"Now I need to think about how to proceed from here." Seeing Huo Yuhao properly enter his cultivation state, Huo Yun finally had time to quiet her mind and think carefully about the road ahead.

Come to think of it, only a day had passed since she transmigrated and became the Douluo World's consciousness. She had first thought about how to protect herself, then sought out Huo Yuhao after making up her mind. Upon seeing his awakening, she immediately intervened to preserve his talent, then guided him to leave the Duke's Mansion in a hurry.

Throughout all that time, she hadn't even properly considered how she would nurture Huo Yuhao from here on.

She had given Huo Yuhao better talent than he originally possessed, helped him lay a solid foundation, and drawn on her memories of Douluo's original plot to mobilize resources and upgrade his potential.

But that was essentially the same as what Huo Yuhao was doing now: laying a foundation.

Yet no matter how good that foundation was, Huo Yun knew that her reach only extended to the period before Huo Yuhao became a god. After he became one, it would be beyond her control as the Douluo Consciousness.

According to the Divine Realm's rules, anyone who became a god had to leave and could not remain in the mortal world.

However, there was a condition: that applied to divine positions belonging to the Divine Realm.

The original Douluo Consciousness had wanted Huo Yuhao to independently form a divine position that didn't exist in the Divine Realm. That way, Huo Yuhao would be free.

The Divine Realm would extend an olive branch to Huo Yuhao, but if he refused, he could still remain on the Douluo Continent.

The original Douluo Will's idea had been good, but unfortunately, Tang San had disrupted it in the end.

What Huo Yun needed to consider now was how to keep Huo Yuhao safe while also having him form a divine position capable of contending with a God King.

The further Huo Yun projected ahead, the harder the road seemed. Forming an entirely new God King position wasn't something that could simply be brought about by pouring resources into it.

Resources were one thing; a person's comprehension was another.

Huo Yun not only had to guarantee Huo Yuhao's future resources, but also his safety. This road truly wouldn't be easy.

"High mountains and a long road ahead." Thinking about how difficult the road ahead would be, Huo Yun couldn't help sighing. Just then, she suddenly noticed something and looked toward the Duke's Mansion. "Hmm? Killing intent!"

In an instant, Huo Yun's vision spanned dozens of kilometers, revealing a figure rapidly approaching in their direction.

"What the hell! Are you kidding me? I avoided people the whole way! How did he find us?" Huo Yun was utterly dumbfounded at the sight of that figure. She couldn't understand where things had gone wrong.

So she reviewed what had happened that evening and finally noticed the imperceptible blue-gold light in the duchess's eyes.

How could Huo Yun fail to understand after seeing that? If this wasn't Tang San's handiwork, she would immediately find a block of tofu and smash herself to death against it.

"So that's it. You were laying your plans from the very beginning. You drove Yuhao into a woodshed while he was young, into that sort of environment, and cut off his financial support. Your original intention was to wear down his body so that his Martial Soul Awakening would smash his foundation to pieces.

"With such terrible talent, Yuhao's cultivation would slow dramatically. By the time he went looking for a Soul Ring at ten rings and encountered the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, his foundation naturally wouldn't have been properly established.

"At the same time, you could raise him to lack confidence. Add his mother's death, and he'd be desperately starved for love, repaying anyone who treated him well with twice as much.

"Good, good, good. As expected of you, Tang San. I underestimated you, and I thought everything was far too simple. You've certainly taught me a vivid lesson in life.

"Just hiding behind the scenes and casually manipulating other people's emotions was enough to achieve what you wanted.

"Now that you've noticed something wrong with Yuhao, you're planning to kill him to silence him, or find a way to cripple him, right?" Having understood everything, Huo Yun genuinely couldn't help wanting to applaud Tang San. This maneuver was truly spectacular.

No wonder he had won in the end. Looking at Tang San's maneuvers, then at the Douluo Consciousness's previous maneuvers, the two weren't even in the same league.

This also showed Huo Yun just how childish her own maneuvers were by comparison. She had spent so much energy and left herself half-crippled, while he had merely manipulated someone's emotions without anyone being the wiser. If she hadn't had records here, she wouldn't even have known about his little tricks.

"Yuhao, stop cultivating. The person hunting you is here. Wake your mother and run!" Admiration aside, once Huo Yun understood the whole picture, she immediately roused Huo Yuhao from cultivation.

"What? They've chased us all this way?" Huo Yuhao was stunned as he left his cultivation state.

"I underestimated the other side. Run! He's a rank thirty-six Soul Elder. You're no match for him," Huo Yun urged.

Huo Yuhao didn't question her and hurriedly woke Huo Yun'er.

"What is it, Yuhao?" Huo Yun'er asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Mom, the duchess's pursuers have caught up. We need to run." As he explained, Huo Yuhao swiftly packed their few belongings.

"So soon? I don't see anyone." Huo Yun'er's face was filled with disbelief. Were they really so determined to kill them?

"They aren't far away." Huo Yuhao shouldered the pack, then took Huo Yun'er's hand and broke into a sprint.

Huo Yuhao was only six this year and wasn't even half Huo Yun'er's height. With him holding his mother's hand, she had to bend at the waist.

Although Huo Yun'er didn't quite understand how the enemy could still catch up after they had run so far, seeing Huo Yuhao like this, she quickly pulled her hand free and ran alongside him.

Less than twenty minutes after the two fled, a figure crouched beside the large rock where they had been resting, picked up a broken scrap of flatbread from the ground, and held it to his nose to sniff. Although it was late at night, he was a Soul Elder and could see the surroundings clearly by moonlight.

"Looks like they were sitting around here resting earlier, but they've already left. Still a little warmth. Did they sense danger ahead of time and run? Seems they've got some ability. But it doesn't matter. However well you run, you can't escape this dog nose of mine."

The man raised his head and sniffed the air, then headed straight in Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er's direction.

"No way, his Martial Soul is actually a dog! No wonder his nose is so good! Is there anything nearby that can hide their scent?" Huo Yun's attention was divided between the pursuer behind them, Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yun'er. Seeing that he had already discovered Huo Yuhao's trail, she immediately began searching for a way to deal with it nearby.

She truly had little strength left to intervene in worldly affairs. Helping Huo Yuhao stabilize his physical condition and improve his potential earlier had already exhausted the energy she brought with her upon transmigrating. What remained was nowhere near enough to handle this situation.

"Wait, what's this?" After searching around, Huo Yun seemed to discover something and immediately sent Huo Yuhao a message. "Yuhao, stop running straight ahead. Head toward the front right. There are people five kilometers away with enough strength to keep you safe. The man chasing you has a dog Martial Soul. He's already picked up your scent and is catching up. Run faster."

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao immediately led his mother, Huo Yun'er, in a new direction, veering slightly right and picking up his pace a little.

A race against death thus began.

In twenty minutes, with their ordinary constitutions, Huo Yuhao and his mother had run less than five kilometers. Yet a Soul Elder only needed to activate his Martial Soul to cover that distance and catch up in a few minutes.

Soon, an indescribable feeling coiled around Huo Yuhao's heart. He instinctively activated his Martial Soul, his eyes turning pale gold as he looked back.

On the dim road, a middle-aged man who looked around forty, dressed in close-fitting black clothes, ran rapidly toward them on all fours. Dog fur lined both sides of his face, his nose was enormous, and his tongue hung out. Three Soul Rings-one white and two yellow-circled his body.

The man seemed to notice Huo Yuhao looking back as well. He gave Huo Yuhao a cruel smile and channeled his Soul Power to roar toward them, "You're pretty good at running, little bastard. You've made me chase you all this way in one go. You'd better not let me catch you now, or I'll show you and your mother what cruelty means."

Hearing this, Huo Yun'er couldn't help looking back. At the sight of the pursuer, her lovely, pitiful face grew even paler.

Someone really was hunting them down!

"Don't be afraid, Mom. I'm here. Just keep running forward." Huo Yuhao's breathing grew rapid. Although he was frightened now too, he still forced himself to appear calm as he comforted his mother.

Mother and son kept running forward, but how could ordinary people outrun a Soul Elder? The distance between them kept shrinking, from at least several hundred meters at first to an ever-narrower gap.

Gradually, a lingering fire appeared in the distance, entering the mother and son's sight like a light of hope.

"Thank goodness..." The instant he saw the fire, Huo Yuhao's eyes filled with hope. He hurriedly circulated his Soul Power and shouted toward it, "Help! Someone's trying to kill us! Help!!"

Huo Yuhao's voice carried far. He kept shouting as he ran, and soon, the people by the fire seemed to hear the commotion. Several figures leaped into the air, some even clearing over ten meters in a single bound. Seemingly noticing what was happening around Huo Yuhao and his mother, they rushed toward them.

They were so fast that even Huo Yuhao, whose Martial Soul was his eyes, couldn't make out their figures.

"No one can save you. Give up struggling!" The Soul Elder with the dog Martial Soul also noticed the distant fire, especially those figures leaping into the air. Their movements alone showed him that he was absolutely no match for them.

But he couldn't abandon his mission. His third Soul Ring lit up, and his speed abruptly surged. In the blink of an eye, he reached Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er from behind. Raising his two hands, which had already transformed into dog paws, he viciously struck down at Huo Yuhao's head and Huo Yun'er's back.

Crack.

There was only the sound of bones breaking. Bright red blood flew past Huo Yuhao's eyes, and his eyes widened as he turned back in disbelief.