New Moves by the Major Powers

In a brightly lit room in Mingdu, in the Sun Moon Empire, a man in a wheelchair listened to his subordinate's report and looked at the portrait presented to him. He could not help murmuring, "A truly exquisite beauty. I wonder whether she can be of use to me. Send someone to make contact, but be careful. I don't want to go and anger a future god for no reason."

"Yes." The subordinate who had just delivered the report immediately nodded in assent.

Similar things were happening everywhere. In the imperial palace in Star Luo City, in the Star Luo Empire...

The Star Luo Empire's emperor, Xu Jiawei, had received the news as well. He sighed helplessly. "To think everyone fought over it for so long, only for the Star Dou Great Forest to scoop up the prize."

"Imperial Brother, why sigh? It isn't as though we have no chance at all. The intelligence says the person Di Tian brought didn't seem to be a Soul Beast. She had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill-she was human. As long as she's human, we might have a chance to win her over if we try making contact," Xu Jiawei's younger sister, Xu Jiujiu, said from beside him as she watched her brother sigh.

"Sister, that's easy for you to say, but do you know where she is? If she isn't in that Divine Temple in the Far North mentioned in the reports, there's only one other place: the Star Dou Great Forest. Both places are forbidden ground to us. Sending people to look for her would simply be sending them to their deaths." Xu Jiawei understood what his sister meant.

Of course he wanted to win Huo Yuhao over. This was a god-someone who had already gained a Divine Seat's recognition, which effectively meant someone certain to become a god in the future. Investing in such a person was bound to pay off.

But after obtaining the Divine Seat, Huo Yuhao had vanished without a trace. This referred to the female version of Huo Yuhao; they had not even seen the male Huo Yuhao's true appearance.

They guessed there were only two possible locations. One was the Divine Temple above the Far North. The reports had been quite clear: no one except the Soul Beasts of the Far North could enter. A Titled Douluo had tried approaching, only to turn into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye. It was even more terrifying than the cold wave the Divine Seat had released before.

The second was the largest gathering place of Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent: the Star Dou Great Forest.

Unlike the Far North, the Star Dou Great Forest did not have a terrifying environment in itself, but it contained an enormous number of powerful Soul Beasts.

Of those on the Top Ten Ferocious Beast Rankings, six were currently known to live there. Rumor even had it that a seventh had been hiding in the Star Dou Great Forest all along.

The caliber of its Soul Beasts was even higher than that of the Far North, or even another Soul Beast gathering place.

Precisely because so many Soul Beasts gathered there, it had effectively become a forbidden zone for humans. Anyone who dared venture inside to find someone-especially someone who, given her relationship with Di Tian, had very likely caught his eye and been settled in the core region-would be lighting a lamp in a latrine, looking for death.

For the weak, even getting near the core region would be a problem. As for the strong, how many people in their Star Luo Empire met that standard?

This was not like their earlier struggle for the Divine Seat. They were competing for someone who could become a god. They were going to invest, not offend that person beyond repair.

Unless they had a way to seize that recognition back from her, everyone else had only one idea: make contact, win her over, and invest, so that after she became a god in the future, she could become an asset to their side.

"We wouldn't be going to our deaths. We'd be making contact." Xu Jiujiu shook her head gently.

"Contact? How? Would that Beast God let us approach her?" Xu Jiawei frowned. For a moment, the emperor did not quite understand what his sister meant.

"Why wouldn't he? The Star Dou Great Forest is a gathering place for Soul Beasts, and the Beast God and the others are like its emperors. Just like us humans, I believe they have needs of their own. We can issue an invitation in the name of our Star Luo Empire. If the Beast God accepts, that proves there's room for further discussion. But if he refuses, we won't have lost anything either." Xu Jiujiu took a sip of plain tea and openly explained her true thoughts.

As she saw it, they stood to lose nothing either way by cooperating with the Star Dou Great Forest in the name of the Star Luo Imperial Family. Although no one had ever tried cooperating with Soul Beasts before, especially on a national level, that did not mean it could not be done.

Besides, even if Di Tian refused, what would they lose? For one thing, they would not be provoking the Beast God. And as far as they knew, Di Tian was no unreasonable being.

Even if he refused to cooperate, the people they sent could withdraw safely. There would be little loss either way.

"That works." Only after hearing her out did Xu Jiawei catch on. He truly had not considered such an approach.

"You're all too trapped by the limitations of the past. Besides, if you want to make contact with someone, you can approach the people around them, not just the person themselves. Such a simple principle applies to Soul Beasts too," Xu Jiujiu said.

"Yes, yes, you're right. You're the clever one. In that case, we'll do as you say. I'll send someone to invite the Beast God in our Xu family's name." Xu Jiawei nodded with a smile. Although this would hand the initiative to Di Tian's side, it was indeed very safe.

They would not have to worry about falling behind others in making contact with the person who had obtained the Divine Seat, either.

Almost every major power with the strength and ability to contend for the Divine Seat was considering how to find Huo Yuhao and win him over.

Some directly sent people into the Star Dou Great Forest to search, while others, like Xu Jiawei, sent messages to Beast God Di Tian in an empire's name.

In short, each had its own methods and ideas.

As the person they wished to find and win over, Huo Yuhao had no idea he had already become a target in the eyes of the major powers.

At that moment, he had landed to rest and was demonstrating his Spiritual Simulation to Strawberry and the others.

They watched Huo Yuhao summon a blue strawberry exactly like hers.

This was Strawberry's third Soul Skill, Restorative Blue Strawberry.

Its effect was simple: restoring Soul Power.

"You really summoned one. Say, is this fake, or can it restore Soul Power like mine?" Strawberry looked curiously at the blue strawberry in Huo Yuhao's hand.

"Try it, Sister." Huo Yuhao handed the blue strawberry to Strawberry as he spoke.

The Soul Skills produced by his Spiritual Simulation had exactly the same effects, though because the skill itself had a Mental Attribute, there might be a slight difference in how their auras were perceived.

"Then I will." Strawberry popped the blue strawberry into her mouth, taking it all in one bite. She chewed a few times and closed her eyes as though savoring it. Two seconds later, she exclaimed in surprise, "It really does restore Soul Power."

"So this Soul Skill really will be able to simulate other people's Soul Skills from now on. What's the consumption like?" Zhang Lexuan asked Huo Yuhao. This was important.

"Using Sister Strawberry's blue strawberry just now as the standard, my current Soul Power can make another twenty," Huo Yuhao said after considering how much Soul Power he had just consumed.

"Then you can't compare with me. I can make a hundred strawberries like that without any trouble. Still, the Soul Power restoration yours provides is only around the Soul Elder level. It's already useless at the Soul Emperor level. It isn't as potent as mine." Strawberry puffed out her chest and raised her head proudly.

"What do you have to be proud of? Yuhao's Martial Soul wasn't a strawberry to begin with. Besides, he's only a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster right now." Xian Lin'er was somewhat speechless.

For a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster whose Martial Soul was not even food-type to produce food usable by Soul Elders, Huo Yuhao's Soul Skill was already heaven-defying.

"Indeed. This Soul Skill defies the heavens." Yan Shaozhe nodded, his eyes practically shining as he looked at Huo Yuhao. This was a treasure beyond anything he had imagined. He could not wait any longer; he had to recruit him immediately. Hastily patting his chest, he declared, "Yuhao, there's no need for you to wait until you grow up. You're already fully qualified to apply to Shrek Academy. How about this? Become my disciple, and I'll take you straight into Shrek Academy's Inner Court. What do you think? You'll receive a better education in the Shrek Inner Court."

Before Huo Yuhao or the others could react, Xian Lin'er exploded. "What do you think you're doing, Yan Shaozhe?!"

"Taking a disciple. A genius of Yuhao's caliber is something you can only encounter by chance, not seek out. He possesses both a rare Mental Body Martial Soul and an Ultimate Ice Martial Soul. Forget once in a thousand years-a genius like this might not appear even once in ten thousand years. Once we pass this village, there won't be another shop." Yan Shaozhe spoke as though it were only natural.

If he came across a promising seedling and did not immediately take him as a disciple, what was he waiting for?

"Who asked you about that? We agreed we'd compete fairly once Yuhao entered the academy. You bastard, you've already started trying to take him as your disciple beforehand! You're breaking our agreement right in front of me. Do you think I'm dead?" Xian Lin'er roared. At that moment, she did not care in the slightest about her status as dean of Shrek's outer court Soul Tool Department. She had set her sights on Huo Yuhao.

"That was then, this is now. Besides, Lin'er, with Yuhao's talent, having him study Soul Tools would simply be a waste." Yan Shaozhe spoke earnestly, preparing to reason with Xian Lin'er.

But the moment he finished, Huo Yuhao raised his hand. "Um, sorry to interrupt, but I do want to study Soul Tools."

"What?" Yan Shaozhe was dumbfounded.

"Huh?" Strawberry, Zhang Lexuan, and the others were astonished.

"Excellent, Yuhao! A very wise choice." Xian Lin'er, on the other hand, was overjoyed.

The three groups could be said to have three different attitudes. Yan Shaozhe had been completely stupefied by that single remark from Huo Yuhao.

In his view, why would a genius of Huo Yuhao's caliber study Soul Tools? It would be a complete waste of his talent. All he had to do was steadily bring out his full potential, and in the future he would at least become a peak Rank 99 Limit Douluo, an existence at the pinnacle of the mortal world.

Strawberry and Zhang Lexuan were surprised because neither had ever heard Huo Yuhao say he wanted to study Soul Tools.

Some of the Shrek Academy students were astonished because, like Yan Shaozhe, they could not understand it. The Soul Tool Department's standing in Shrek Academy was actually very low. Proper students like them came from the Martial Soul Department, and practically all of them looked down on Soul Tools intensely.

Only Xian Lin'er was delighted by Huo Yuhao's choice. In his view, Huo Yuhao's words were a direct declaration that he leaned more toward the Soul Tool Department.

"No, you need to think this through. With your aptitude, studying Soul Tools would be a complete waste of your talent." Recovering from his stupor, Yan Shaozhe strode forward, placed both hands on Huo Yuhao's shoulders, and shook him hard, as though trying to shake the desire to study Soul Tools out of his head.

"Is it that surprising? Why do you think studying Soul Tools would waste my talent?" Huo Yuhao was being shaken quite badly, but his words remained perfectly clear.

"Listen carefully. If a Soul Engineer and a Soul Master of the same rank fight, then below seven rings, the Soul Engineer does indeed have the advantage. But above seven rings, it's absolutely the Soul Master's home ground. And as things stand, the higher the rank, the greater a Soul Master's advantage over a Soul Engineer in battle.

"With your talent, you have no need at all to become a Soul Engineer. You can become an extremely powerful Soul Master, even become unrivaled under heaven. As far as I'm concerned, this is simply squandering a heaven-sent treasure. I dare say..." Yan Shaozhe was still passionately trying to persuade Huo Yuhao.

But by this point, Huo Yuhao was already having trouble listening any longer.

"Stop, stop, stop. Dean Yan, can you let me finish? As far as I'm concerned, becoming a Soul Engineer and studying Soul Tools are two completely different things.

"Studying Soul Tools just means learning how to use them and mastering those weapons. It's no different from continuing my cultivation.

"Besides, Dean Yan, I've heard a saying: true strength comes from cultivating both within and without. Your so-called Martial Soul Department is actually cultivating what's within, while Soul Tools are what's without.

"As for powerful people of the same rank, you were just talking about the difference between Soul Engineers and Soul Masters. But if two people are nearly equal in strength, and one has Soul Tools that greatly enhance their strength while the other doesn't, then without a doubt, the one with Soul Tools will have the advantage.

"So in my view, there's nothing wrong with becoming a Soul Engineer. You can tailor Soul Tools to your own needs and circumstances to enhance your strength.

"It's just that during cultivation, you certainly can't neglect cultivating what's within. In my view, cultivating both together is the right approach.

"Everything you just said... is completely wrong, as far as I'm concerned." At the end, Huo Yuhao even paused to think before deciding to say it plainly after all. He feared the other party might not understand if he put it tactfully.

Still, he now somewhat understood why his mother would not let him come into contact with people from Shrek Academy. They seemed a little unable to see the road ahead clearly.

His mother, Huo Yun, had already said that Soul Tools were also a major trend of the future. She wanted him to learn how to make Soul Tools precisely so he could strengthen himself through crafting them.

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