"Nana."
"Mm, go on, I'm listening~" Vina lay in Huo Yuhao's arms, her lips parting slightly.
"How accepting is our Heavenly Soul Empire of Soul Tools?" Huo Yuhao asked, gently stroking Vina's silky hair.
The moment he mentioned Soul Tools, Huo Yuhao could distinctly feel the girl's delicate body tremble in his arms.
For the first time, a serious expression appeared on Vina's pretty face, and even her tone changed distinctly. "You want to research Soul Tools?"
Huo Yuhao nodded.
Looking at the boy's serious face, Vina explained, "Let me put it this way. Of the three great empires and Shrek, the number-one academy on the continent, our Heaven Dou is the one that rejects Soul Tools."
Huo Yuhao said, "Sister Vina, you know that as the continent continues to develop, Soul Tools will inevitably become the key to dominating the battlefield."
"You could already see that a thousand years ago, with the Sun Moon Empire's advanced Soul Tool technology."
Vina frowned. How could she not understand what Huo Yuhao was thinking?
But right now, she was only a princess.
Huo Yuhao spoke again with a mischievous grin. "Sister Vina, you wouldn't want your Heavenly Soul Empire to be overtaken by the Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire once they've finished developing their Soul Tools, would you?"
Vina was slightly taken aback and stared fixedly at Huo Yuhao.
"You scoundrel!" Her words were full of anger, but her expression held no reproach for Huo Yuhao.
Vina lowered her beautiful eyes, her voice softening slightly. "Since you want to try, this princess will be merciful and bestow upon you the metal ores and carving knife you need to make Soul Tools."
Huo Yuhao said, "I won't trouble Your Highness for a carving knife. I have one that'll do. What I lack most is the other materials."
"Mm, that's good. Then what are you going to tell the sect master?" Vina felt that since Huo Yuhao had brought up Soul Tools, he would surely promote them throughout the entire sect.
Soul Tools were the trend of the continent's development. The difference in combat strength between Soul Masters with Soul Tools and those without was easy to imagine.
The Tang Sect in their Heaven Dou City had a history of ten thousand years and had built a glorious legacy, but because the times changed and Tang Sect Hidden Weapons were replaced by Soul Tools, it had been...
Though the Body Sect and the Tang Sect were not on the same level in terms of strength.
Grandpa Du alone could take on five hundred Tang Sects in their entirety.
But the Body Sect's disciples were unlike those of other sects. Children born with Body Martial Souls were far, far too rare.
If that day really did come...
"I'll persuade Grandpa Du."
Huo Yuhao gave Vina a reassuring look.
For others, studying Soul Tools might be a waste of time. Most Soul Masters in the three great empires would still choose to focus on cultivation.
But for a cultivation maniac like him, who spent all day cultivating, researching Soul Tools would have no effect at all.
Perhaps he already had an idea for his first Soul Tool.
All the knowledge from the God King version that the system had given him could be said to be immensely useful.
He wondered whether he could cross versions and create Battle Armor.
That way, the sect's strength would improve rapidly.
Shrek.
The divine eagle Song Yunzhi had transformed into soared over Shrek.
The sharp-eyed Shrek students spotted her.
"Whoa, look! Isn't that Elder Song's Martial Soul, the Azure Shadow Divine Eagle?"
"Whoa, it's my first time seeing an elder's Martial Soul Avatar. It looks so cool!"
On the training ground.
Gu Ruiqiu, Wang Qiu'er, and Xiao Xiao stared wide-eyed at the Azure Shadow Divine Eagle soaring over their heads.
Xiao Xiao exclaimed, "Whoa, so cool!"
Gu Ruiqiu and Wang Dong'er exchanged a glance.
"Those on Elder Song's back are Xuan Zi and Dean Yan. The redhead should be Senior Sister Ma Xiaotao," Wang Qiu'er said, giving her assessment. "And from the looks of them, they've all been seriously injured."
Xiao Xiao's jaw dropped at the words "seriously injured." "How is that possible?"
"I heard from the intelligence network that our Dean Yan is a Level 95 Super Douluo."
"And the famous Taotie Douluo, Xuan Zi, is a Level 98 Super Douluo."
"Who could possibly have injured them so badly?"
Gu Ruiqiu and Wang Dong'er said in unison, "Du Busi of the Body Sect and his Titled Douluos."
"Uh..." Hearing Gu Ruiqiu and Wang Qiu'er say that, Xiao Xiao thought it made some sense.
But that raised a question: why had Xuan Zi and Dean Yan taken Senior Sister to the Body Sect?
Xiao Xiao's eyes were full of confusion.
"Maybe they took a fancy to a freshly minted genius Soul Master from the Body Sect and went to snatch him away."
That was the only reason Gu Ruiqiu could think of for Xuan Zi, Yan Shaozhe, and Ma Xiaotao to have gone to the Body Sect.
A freshly minted genius Soul Master.
She suddenly thought of Huo Yuhao.
Wang Dong'er was thinking exactly the same thing as Gu Ruiqiu.
"Hmph!" Gu Ruiqiu and Wang Dong'er both snorted at the same time.
Other than Huo Yuhao, they couldn't think of anyone else.
And Ultimate Ice...
Just happened to be the key to suppressing Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire.
The answer was obvious, then. Yan Shaozhe had taken Ma Xiaotao to the Body Sect so she could use her feminine charms to attract Huo Yuhao and make him abandon the Body Sect to join Shrek.
The result was clear too. If Yuhao had agreed, they could never have ended up like this.
That was their man for you!
They loved Yuhao the most!
(Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe: They're cheating. They're definitely cheating. If they aren't, we'll eat it!)
(Gu Ruiqiu and Wang Dong'er: Just because we didn't turn it off means we turned it on?)
Shrek's Sea God Pavilion.
Mu En looked at Xuan Zi, Yan Shaozhe, and Ma Xiaotao, whom Song Yunzhi had dropped off, as though he had expected this.
There was no saving them. Shrek really was beyond saving.
They had only gone to deliver the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife. How had they ended up like this?!
Judging by the performance of Yan Shaozhe and the others, Mu En could no longer see any hope of Shrek surviving.
Without Huo Yuhao, he always felt that their Shrek would become the next Tang Sect.
Mu En rubbed the spot between his brows. Yan Shaozhe and the others gave him a headache, and he said wearily, "Go, take them to Xiao Li."
The Xiao Li he referred to was Shrek's most promising Plant-type Soul Saint.
Her Martial Soul was the Tree of Life, one of the very best Plant-type Martial Souls.
Her healing ability was excellent too.
Even if she couldn't completely heal Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi, it would be enough. Leaving them with a few lingering problems would teach them a lesson.
As for the girl Ma Xiaotao...
In the end, Mu En couldn't bear to do the same to her.
The memory of Ma Xiaotao becoming an Evil Soul Master was still painfully vivid to him.
"Bring out the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Bed for Ma Xiaotao to use," he said with a sigh.
The most important thing now should be to ease the relationship between Shrek and the Body Sect.
And he was the only one who could do that.