" Yuhao?" Tang Wutong noticed his abnormality immediately, and the smile on her face froze instantly, turning into worry and tension.
Huo Yuhao did not respond. His consciousness seemed to be forcibly ripped out, instantly traversing endless dimensions of time and space, and placing him in a strange space composed of pure emotional laws.
There is no physical entity here, only a flowing river of seven-colored light, and in the center of the river, a majestic figure formed from countless emotional runes, radiating vast divine power— the God of Emotion.
" Huo Yuhao." A gentle yet supremely authoritative voice resounded directly in Huo Yuhao's soul. It was the God of Emotion. "Your cultivation, temperament, and understanding of the laws of emotions have all reached the pinnacle of the mortal realm. The time is near for you to ascend to the Divine Realm and inherit my Godhood."
Huo Yuhao's illusory soul trembled slightly before this divine might, showing a mixture of excitement, awe, and a sense of natural composure.
"Thank you for your guidance, Divine Lord. Yuhao will certainly..."
"However..." The voice of the God of Emotion interrupted Huo Yuhao, its gentle tone carrying an undeniable decisiveness, "To inherit the Godhood, one must first prove oneself. You must prove that you are the undisputed strongest being in this world!"
"The strongest?" Huo Yuhao was slightly taken aback.
With his current strength, he can single-handedly withstand the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Engineer Corps. On the continent, openly, he is indeed hard to find an opponent for.
He was confident he could defeat even a powerful Limit Douluo like Du Busi, or the unfathomable Level 10 Soul Engineer Kong Deming of the Sun Moon Empire.
But just as this thought crossed his mind, a figure, as clear as a brand and with an indescribable sense of oppression, suddenly entered his consciousness.
That was within the Star Luo Empire, inside the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, where he effortlessly crushed all the powerful figures with a few words.
That was the domineering figure who crushed all the strongmen of the Shrek Academy in Shrek City.
Therefore, he was also called Heavenly Tyrant, Toji.
Huo Yuhao's breath seemed to freeze for a moment, even on a spiritual level.
A complex and indescribable emotion welled up inside me.
There's a sense of awe and longing for the power of former idols, a disapproval of their behavior, and even more...
A primal fear of an abyss from which nothing can be fathomed.
"It seems... you already have the answer in your heart." The voice of the God of Emotion carried a hint of all-knowing understanding, and a meaningful smile seemed to appear on the face formed by emotion runes.
"Go, find him, defeat him, and with your strongest power prove that you have surpassed all living beings in this world, and bring him to an end."
"When you return carrying Toji's head, that will be the time for you to inherit the Godhood of Emotion and ascend to the Divine Realm."
The words of the God of Emotion resounded like thunder in Huo Yuhao's soul.
Defeat... Toji?
Kill the one he once looked up to?
An immense pressure instantly gripped Huo Yuhao's soul.
Even though he is now the strongest person on the continent in name, possessing three Soul Core and having reached the God Realm in Spiritual Power, he is still no match for that being who has achieved godhood through physical means and crushes the rules with pure violence...
Can he really do it?
"I will obey the divine decree." Huo Yuhao's illusory soul bowed deeply, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible heaviness.
The rainbow-colored river of light began to rotate and dissipate.
Huo Yuhao's consciousness was pulled back to reality like the receding tide.
" Yuhao, Yuhao, what's wrong?" Tang Wutong's anxious voice rang in her ears, and her soft hands tightly grasped his cold palms.
Huo Yuhao suddenly opened his eyes, the lingering light of the emotional runes deep in his pupils flashing and disappearing as his focus returned.
He looked at his beloved's beautiful face, which was full of worry, and felt the warmth and strength from his palm. His chaotic thoughts calmed down a little.
He gripped Tang Wutong's hand tightly in return, with such force that it seemed as if they wanted to connect their Life together.
His gaze shifted from initial shock and heaviness to an unprecedented solemnity and determination.
" Wutong..." Huo Yuhao's voice was low and firm, carrying a heavy sense of facing fate, "We... have a new opponent."
Looking at the complex and indescribable light in his eyes, Tang Wutong, being as intelligent as she was, immediately made a connection.
An opponent who could make Huo Yuhao, now the number one player on the mainland, show such a solemn expression...
The answer is obvious.
Her heart sank.
"That person... is not easy to defeat."
Tang Wutong also knew who it was.
Huo Yuhao's gaze seemed to pierce through the Shrek, which was undergoing reconstruction, and looked towards a distant, unknown direction.
More than a decade ago, that figure, like God of War, was his deepest admiration and longing during his youth. He had yearned countless times to possess such power.
He never dreamed that more than a decade later, standing at the pinnacle of the continent, he would have to be enemies with his former idol, and even... use him as a stepping stone to the Divine Realm.
The irony and heaviness of this fate stirred up Huo Yuhao's emotions.
Even though he was holding off the entire army of the Sun Moon Empire with one hand, he still felt an overwhelming tension and a hint of fear that he himself was unwilling to admit as he faced the impending showdown.
Tang Wutong keenly sensed his complex emotional fluctuations.
She didn't press for details, but instead gripped his hand even tighter, snuggling closer to him, her clear and resolute gaze meeting Huo Yuhao's eyes, her voice soft yet containing a rock-solid strength:
Don't worry, Yuhao.
"As long as we're together..."
"We are invincible!"
Feeling the unwavering strength in his palm and seeing the unconditional trust and support in his lover's eyes, Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, as if to expel all his hesitation and burden.
The last trace of confusion in his eyes vanished, replaced by a sharp, icy glint.
He nodded vigorously and gripped Tang Wutong's hand even tighter.
"Um."
A simple syllable, yet it carries Qian Jun.
This was not only a response to his lover, but also a declaration of his own destiny.
Whether the road ahead leads to a divine altar or an abyss, whether the opponent is a mortal or a demon god.
He had no way to avoid this battle.
To protect, to keep the promise, and also for... that divine throne high in the heavens.
Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu Imperial Palace.
The shadow of war did not seem to significantly erode the grandeur and solemnity of the empire's heart; on the contrary, it appeared even more grim and efficient due to the iron-fisted control of its master.
The air was filled with the subtle hum of Soul Tool in operation and an invisible, suffocating tension. Deep within the imperial palace, in a heavily guarded, isolated palace equipped with sophisticated soul-guided monitoring and defense arrays.
This is not the emperor's bedroom, but a private medical retreat.
The room was spacious and bright, yet filled with the cold glow unique to high-level soul-guided medical equipment and the low, muffled sounds of the Life support system.
Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows lies a meticulously maintained but unappreciated royal garden. Sunlight filters through specially made soul-guided glass, casting pale patches of light on the floor.
In the center of the room, on a life support bed maintained by a top-tier Life- system Soul Tool, lay a person quietly.
It was none other than Kong Deming, the towering pillar of the Sun Moon Empire and Level 10 Soul Engineer.