After resting and recovering his soul power for a while, Kong Deming brought Huo Yuhao back to Mingdu.
"Yuhao, I'll be going into seclusion very soon..."
As they were about to part, Kong Deming gently patted Huo Yuhao's head, his face full of reluctance.
Huo Yuhao simply smiled and said, "Grandpa, don't worry. If I truly want to grow, I can't always hide under your protection."
Kong Deming was moved by his beloved grandson's independence and maturity—but that didn't stop him from feeling deeply uneasy.
After hesitating for a moment, Kong Deming resolutely pulled out a golden-silver token engraved with the holy emblem of the Sun Moon Empire from his storage soul tool and handed it to Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao... this is the Grand Worship Token of the Sun Moon Empire's Worship Hall. With it, you may command any elder of the Worship Hall, and be immune to all Sun Moon imperial punishments. Even members of the Holy Spirit Sect would think twice before laying a hand on you when they see this."
Huo Yuhao solemnly nodded, hands trembling slightly as he accepted the token—a symbol of immense power and status in the Sun Moon Empire.
"Do not misuse it. Only use it in situations of absolute necessity. Do you understand, Yuhao?"
"I understand, Grandpa."
"As for the exchange student matter, I've already entrusted your master with handling it."
After giving Huo Yuhao several more instructions, Kong Deming didn't linger. In an instant, he vanished from sight.
Clutching the token in his hand, Huo Yuhao felt a warmth surge through his chest.
Though they shared no blood relation, Kong Deming's care and affection were something Huo Yuhao could clearly feel.
At the same time, he felt conflicted.
'If I'd been born with a trash martial soul... if I'd been an ordinary person who couldn't cultivate at all... would I still have been able to receive any of this?'
The answer was, of course, no.
The saying "There are no trash martial souls, only trash soul masters" was complete nonsense.
The Douluo Continent was an utterly bloodline-centric world.
Why, in a fantasy world like this, did the hierarchy and class stratification still resemble Earth?
Because all the best martial souls were monopolized by nobles, sects, clans—the elite classes. Many people were born with completely useless martial souls, and couldn't even store soul power.
The only thing that could change this reality—was soul tools.
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao clenched his fist... then released it, determination flashing in his eyes as he turned to return to his dormitory, ready to resume his unfinished research from the past month.
—
A few days later, in the afternoon, Huo Yuhao—as usual—was studying soul tools in Jing Hongchen's lab.
Jing Hongchen had been in an uncharacteristically good mood these days. Huo Yuhao often heard his master humming little tunes out of nowhere. He had to fight hard not to laugh at his master's awful whistling while he focused on crafting soul tools.
And why wouldn't Jing Hongchen be delighted?
The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had just won the championship, the Snow Empress embryo was in their hands, and his precious disciple had gained a huge power boost from soul ring and soul bone absorption.
Sometimes he even wondered, "Am I the true Child of Destiny? Blessings just keep falling into my lap."
Well, wasn't that natural? After all, the real Child of Destiny willingly became his disciple—and even his potential grandson-in-law.
If someone could see fate itself, they'd witness a golden thread of luck bursting brilliantly over Mingdu.
Naturally, this wasn't the outcome the so-called Tang Buddha had foreseen. Furious but helpless—his Divine Realm plans in disarray thanks to constant interference from the God of Destruction—Tang Buddha could only watch in powerless rage.
And so, with Tang Buddha simmering in frustration, poor Xing Angry Xiao Wu was left to decide whether she should scream louder in the dorm... or the wilderness.
—
Huo Yuhao finished working on a soul tool—unsuccessfully. He sighed and handed it to Jing Hongchen.
Jing Hongchen's off-key whistling halted. He accepted the device, only to be stunned.
"I'm sorry, Master. I wasn't able to complete this Grade-5 soul tool. I tried my best."
Jing Hongchen put on his monocle, carefully inspected the device, then gingerly put it down.
Staring directly at Huo Yuhao, he asked.
"Yuhao... be honest with Master. What level is your current spiritual power?"
"Uh... probably around the level of an average Soul Emperor?"
"..."
Thanks to the life energy baptism, the gradual unsealing of Skydream Iceworm's mental power, and the addition of the ten-thousand-year Spirit Eye Tyrant ring, Huo Yuhao's spiritual power had now outpaced his soul power by at least three levels.
Jing Hongchen was speechless. With just a few more levels of soul power, Huo Yuhao would have been able to complete this challenging Grade-5 soul tool—a feat that would stump even Grade-5 soul engineers!
His disciple's talent was simply too outrageous.
Jing Hongchen made a mental note: It was time to let Huo Yuhao start studying high-level soul tool concepts. Honestly, letting him into Mingde Hall now wouldn't be a stretch.
"Master, I've always wondered..." Huo Yuhao suddenly asked, "If soul tools can boost a soul master's power with just a single device, are there full-body armor-type soul tools? Something that covers the entire body?"
Jing Hongchen nearly choked on his own saliva.
Humanoid soul tools were top-secret national research—his personal project, in fact.
If anyone else had asked him that, he'd have had the person detained and interrogated on the spot.
But this was his beloved disciple.
After thinking about it... well, this kid was practically Kong Deming's grandson. What national secret couldn't he know? With his status and talent, he had full clearance.
"…Yuhao, come with me."
Jing Hongchen stood up without hesitation. Huo Yuhao followed, a grin on his face.
"Heh… got a bite."
Back on Earth, Huo Yuhao had always dreamed of things like power armor, mechas, and Gundams—technological marvels only found in sci-fi.
In this life, the soul tool he most wanted to develop was exactly that. He knew that in the Douluo Continent ten thousand years in the future, such things as battle armor and mechas would become reality.
This time, he wanted to use his knowledge from his past life… to bring those dreams to life ahead of schedule.
—
Following Jing Hongchen, they stepped into a soul tool elevator.
"My disciple, I'm going to show you Mingde Hall's proudest achievement—our empire's most critical and massive underground research facility."
The elevator descended for what felt like an eternity.
When the doors finally opened, what greeted Huo Yuhao's eyes was the immense, sprawling space of Mingde Hall's interior.
He stood there in awe, staring at the endless rows of soul tool workstations, and the countless researchers bustling about in all directions.
(End of Chapter)
T/N: I Humbly Apologies for the missing chapter, I was in a Too much Hurry today to check Properly.
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