'Exchange program? With the Sun Moon Empire?!' Huo Yuhao's eyes widened. He didn't expect this sort of development to happen.
Elder Xuan chuckled, understanding his surprise. "Shocker, ain't it? But if you really think about it, it was bound to happen. The world is changing, and soul tools are the future of humanity. If Shrek Academy doesn't get on with the times and ride on the trend fast enough, we would likely be left behind by the world."
Just like Tang Sect, was the unsaid words but the intent was clear in Elder Xuan's eyes through Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection.
'....This exchange program, who else is going?'
Elder Xuan told him the names of the people going and Huo Yuhao's expression changed.
'That's it?! Elder Xuan, they won't be able to help me!'
Elder Xuan deeply sighed, "I don't know what to tell you, boy. I said this was a chance, I didn't say it was going to be easy. How about this? During the raid, I will ask someone to try and get the embryo. Everything else, my hands on this are tied...."
Huo Yuhao clenched his hands tight, subconsciously his Mangekyou Sharingan was triggered and he almost used his ability on Elder Xuan—before he quickly calmed down.
'....I understand, Elder Xuan.'
Elder Xuan frowned and asked, "Yuhao, will your martial soul really break soon? How about I go get the auction head and ask them to let you touch the embryo before they give it to the bidder."
Huo Yuhao went silent for a moment and replied, 'Yes, I would like that. Thank you, Elder Xuan.'
At this moment, a knock came from the door.
Immediately, Elder Xuan disappeared from Huo Yuhao's view and the genjutsu that the latter placed around him, to keep the others from noticing him acting strange, was quickly lifted.
Although he tried to hide his turbulent emotions, a few very observant people still noticed that something was wrong with him.
Qing Ya opened the door, and the first to enter was Princess Jiu Jiu, who was still clad in her golden, regal robes.
The person behind her was none other than the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire.
When she saw who they were, Qing Ya was shocked. She, as well as the two maids behind her, quickly went to one knee.
The people from Shrek had all seen the emperor in Star Luo Plaza. Now, when they looked at him up-close, all of them were dumbfounded, except for Huo Yuhao, he had already foresaw their arrival minutes beforehand.
The impression that Huo Yuhao had of the Emperor was that he was like what he had shown in the plaza—regal and kind-looking.
Although he wasn't that much experienced in life to know if someone was two-faced or not, but come on every politician or monarch was at least a liar, but something inside of Huo Yuhao told him that the Emperor's kindness was no lie.
Still, as a Star Luo citizen, he ought to pay his respects. "Your Majesty," Huo Yuhao said whilst bowing.
Princess Jiu Jiu's eye slightly twitched, having known his identity from her brother. She crossed her arms.
Huo Yuhao ignored her. He didn't receive much from this country except his mother anyway, why would he go so far as to kneel? There were only a few things in life that would make him kneel: his mom, his masters/teachers, and training.
The rest of the team from Shrek snapped out of their initial shock. They all got up and paid their respects to him.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" Wang Yan exclaimed, not expecting to see the Emperor.
The Emperor smiled and said, "I wanted to take a closer look at you all; to see the young geniuses of Shrek."
He turned towards Huo Yuhao, his eyes slightly brighter. "Especially you, why, I never expected someone as young as you to already be a powerhouse. If it weren't for your Ultimate martial soul slowing down your soul power, you might've reached Soul Emperor."
"Your Majesty, you're too kind with your words." Huo Yuhao humbly replied.
The Emperor laughed, "Being humble now? You weren't like that during the tournament."
Huo Yuhao shrugged and casually said, "I respect the strong, and I'm not saying this because you have a higher cultivation realm I have, but because you are also the Emperor."
"Most people think that you have simply inherited the title, but how could the common folk understand the weight of responsibility of someone ruling over millions of people?"
Huo Yuhao smiled, "And seeing as the empire's citizens towards you is considerably positive, my pride and ego couldn't be compared to what you have managed to achieve."
Huo Yuhao wasn't simply sucking up, but was honestly speaking from his heart. Although this country and the Emperor hadn't done much for him, since he was a nobody beforehand, the Emperor was still a great man.
From the small time he was here, he managed to gather intel of the important activities in Star Luo City through his Shadow Clones. And some of those intel that he had gathered were constant praises the people had towards the Emperor and the Royal Family.
He might have some skeletons in his closet, but he did many good deeds for most of his country's people.
His mother and him were some of the unfortunate ones.
Thinking about it now made Huo Yuhao slightly regretful, that if he had just convinced his mother to leave the mansion right then and head towards Star Luo City...
The Emperor and Princess Jiu Jiu stared at him, surprised. The former especially was deeply moved.
They didn't think that Huo Yuhao would have such deep insight into the responsibilities and burdens of leadership, especially at his age. His words resonated with the Emperor, who had spent years trying to balance power with the well-being of his people.
The Emperor's expression softened as he looked at Huo Yuhao. "You speak with wisdom beyond your years, Yuhao. It's rare to find someone who understands the weight of leadership, especially one so young."
Princess Jiu Jiu, who had been standing quietly, observed the interaction closely. Her earlier annoyance had dissipated, replaced by a new sense of curiosity about this young man. She could see why her brother was so interested in him.
"Your insights are indeed remarkable," the Emperor continued. "Moreover, I still haven't thanked you for your warning during the auction of the Ice Jade Scorpion's left arm bone. This has helped to preserve everyone's trust in the auction."
Princess Jiu Jiu then added, "Just now, under my mediation, we bought the Ice Jade Scorpion's left arm bone back ourselves. However, to prevent anymore trust issues from arising, this item can no longer be sold." She smiled at Huo Yuhao. "To thank you for your timely reminder, we have decided to give the Ice Jade Scorpion's left arm bone away as a gift."
"This…" Wang Yan and everyone from the Shrek Academy were shocked. The soul bone was 30 million golden soul coins! And the royal family is merely giving it away as a gift?!
Huo Yuhao pretended to look surprise, as if he didn't already know about the Emperor's intentions through his Spiritual Detection.
The Emperor then said, "I am sure you could guess, but I had someone investigate your background. Twin martial souls, both respectively rare spiritual-type and an ice-type with the Ultimate Attribute. So this soul bone is suitable for you, just like how a hero deserves an exotic sword. As a citizen of Star Luo who had shown great talent in the tournament, I bestow this upon you as a token of good will."
He chuckled, "Besides, I don't think you can find a second person in the entire world with Ultimate Ice. Since that's the case, I shall gift it to someone instead of letting it collect dust somewhere in a corner."
Huo Yuhao bowed slightly, maintaining his composed demeanor. "Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for this generous gift. I will cherish it and make sure to live up to the trust you have placed in me."
The Emperor nodded, clearly satisfied with Huo Yuhao's response. "I have no doubt that you will, Yuhao. Your journey is just beginning, and I am eager to see how far you will go. Remember, the Star Luo Empire will always welcome you as one of our own."
"By the way," A cheeky expression formed on the Emperor's face. "are you single by chance? Because I have a girl or two that I can set you up with—"
"Okay! Brother, it's time to go back and start the auction!" Princess Jiu Jiu shot him a pointed look, clearly wanting to steer the conversation back to more formal matters.
The Emperor laughed heartily at his sister's reaction, clearly amused by her flustered demeanor. "Alright, alright, I was just teasing." He turned back to Huo Yuhao with a playful smile. "But the offer still stands."
Huo Yuhao, caught slightly off guard by the Emperor's sudden shift in tone, managed to keep his composure. "I appreciate the sentiment, Your Majesty," he replied diplomatically, though he couldn't help but wonder if there was a deeper meaning behind the Emperor's jest.
After some more light chatter, the Emperor and Princess Jiu Jiu left the room.
"Huh? Dong'er? Ning Tian? Why are you both pinching my sides?!" Huo Yuhao cried out, confused.
Both Wang Dong'er and Ning Tian shared a look before looking away, "Idiot."
The bid for the hundred thousand year old soul beast embryo continued without any problems, on the surface that is.
The winner for the item was expectedly bought by someone from the Sun Moon Empire, specifically Xiao Hongchen, who had bid for an astronomical number of 150 million golden soul coins!
This much money was enough for a medium sized city with a population of around a million people.
And just as Elder Xuan had promised, when Huo Yuhao was guided to a secret room to receive the left arm soul bone of the Ice Jade Scorpion, he was also given the opportunity to closely observe the embryo.
"Snow Empress....I-I can feel her aura!" Ice Empress cried out, tears streaming down her face.
Huo Yuhao lightly gasped, he also felt the overwhelming power sealed within the Godsealing Alter and it felt like he was holding a star in his hands.
'Can you communicate with her?' Huo Yuhao asked.
Ice Empress furrowed her brows and raised her arms, giving it her all to communicate with Snow Empress.
After a brief moment, she helplessly dropped her arms with a frustrated expression. "N-No, I can't! Dammit, dammit! Snow! I'm here! Snow!"
Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, 'Looks like there's only one way for us to get the Snow Empress.'
"Yuhao, are you really going to let the Sun Moon Empire have her?! Even if we went through the exchange program and with the raid, there's no telling if we really manage to get Snow Empress."
Huo Yuhao coldly laughed, 'Heck no, I'm not letting the Sun Moon Empire have her. As you say, the chances of me getting her back by infiltrating them is almost nonexistent. Skydream, do you have the Spiritual Mark ready?'
Skydream snorted and held up a bright ball of light in his hand, "What do you think?"
"Skydream..." Ice Empress looked at him with a complicated expression.
Skydream shook his dream with a twitching smile, "You know my feelings for you, Ice Empress. Just like you cannot force to change them, it seems I cannot do the same to yours as well. That's fine, I'm satisfied already by being by your side and watching over you. For you, I will do anything."
Ice Empress remained silent briefly. With tears streaming down her face, she walked towards Skydream and hugged him. "Thank you."
Skydream blushed and smiled softly, gently returning the embrace. "Anything for you, Ice Empress."
Huo Yuhao observed their interaction, his heart warming slightly at the sight of the two ancient beings expressing such raw emotions. He then refocused his thoughts, determined to carry out his plan.
'Skydream, it's time. Place the Spiritual Mark on the embryo,' Huo Yuhao instructed mentally, his gaze fixed on the sealed item before him.
Skydream nodded and extended his hand, the bright ball of light surged out of the spiritual sea and shot out of Huo Yuhao's and straight at the embryo, unseen by anyone that wasn't proficient in spiritual power.
The Spiritual Mark was a technique that would allow Huo Yuhao to track down the Snow Empress, even if she was hundreds of kilometers away from his location.
Tonight, he was going to steal the embryo from their hands!
Huo Yuhao clenched his fists and kept his cool as he left the room, while waiting for the others to get their respective auction items before they all returned to the hotel.
When he got to his room, Huo Yuhao used transformation jutsu to change his looks—making him appear older, with messy spiky black hair and with the original red Sharingan eyes. He then changed his clothes; wearing all black warrior clothes, black combat boots, and a white mask that covered his whole face with two eye holes and a swirl design.
He then raised his hands and performed a series of handseals.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu"
Several puffs of smoke appeared and shadow clones of Huo Yuhao filled the room, each one identical to the original.
'Time to put the plan into action,' Huo Yuhao thought and he turned to each of his shadow clones, "You guys know what to do."
"Yes!"
"Disperse!" Huo Yuhao and his shadow clones body flickered out of the room, all of them heading towards one goal.
To get the Snow Empress!
Huo Yuhao looked up at the sky and his Sharingan gleamed with killing intent.
'A full moon....Perfect for a night of bloodshed.'
...
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