soul land: Huo Yuhao Inheriting Centipede Immortal

Next came the matter of Huo Yuhao and Zhang Lexuan.

Zhang Lexuan had successfully broken through to the rank of Titled Douluo and obtained her ninth soul ring—a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring. As a result, she was met with praise and congratulations from the Elders.

Yan Shaozhe announced on the spot that although Zhang Lexuan had withdrawn from candidacy for the Sea God's Pavilion, she would take over as the new head of the Shrek Enforcement Department, replacing Xuan Zi to lead the organization.

This was also Xuan Zi's own intention.

And it received unanimous approval from the Elders.

Feeling the trust placed in her by the Elders, Zhang Lexuan solemnly accepted the role with a serious nod.

Although Zhang Lexuan had only recently ascended to Titled Douluo status, she possessed two hundred-thousand-year soul rings and two spirit bones of equal strength. Her combat power could rival that of an ordinary Rank 95 Super Douluo.

She was more than qualified to lead the Shrek Enforcement Department.

It was foreseeable that Zhang Lexuan would be busy from now on, likely spending most of her time outside the academy.

Not every head of the Enforcement Department could be as unorthodox as Xuan Zi.

With that, Zhang Lexuan officially became a true power-holder within the Sea God's Pavilion.

Huo Yuhao also gave a report on his cultivation progress.

Though the Elders had already heard some things through Ma Xiaotao and the others, when Huo Yuhao personally displayed his seventh soul ring—a hundred-thousand-year one—they were visibly moved and excited.

Because this meant that Huo Yuhao would eventually possess four hundred-thousand-year soul rings!

This included his first, innate soul ring, which could be upgraded.

The future Huo Yuhao was set to become a powerhouse surpassing Mu En, bringing Shrek even more glory and ushering in a new era of greatness!

As for Huo Yuhao, no rewards were deemed necessary. As the future inheritor of the Sea God's Pavilion, what he needed now was not prizes—but responsibility.

"From today onward, Yuhao, you'll begin working with me in managing the academy, so you can start getting familiar with your future duties," Elder Song said kindly.

"Yes, Elder! I will not let you down!" Huo Yuhao stood up and answered solemnly.

Everyone nodded and smiled in approval.

Power comes hand in hand with benefits. Now that both Huo Yuhao and Zhang Lexuan had begun to wield real authority, the benefits they could draw from Shrek Academy would greatly increase.

Huo Yuhao could already feel the flow of Shrek Academy's destiny gathering toward him even faster.

As for the four maidservants, their arrangement became much clearer—they were directly made Inner Court disciples, now qualified to receive guidance from the Elders. Each of them was even granted a 50,000-year spirit bone as a show of goodwill.

After all, regardless of their Spirit Master rankings, the four young women were already Soul Saints at such a young age—on paper, their talents rivaled those of Ma Xiaotao.

They were well worth recruiting!

Finally, Huo Yuhao recounted the events regarding Tang Ya and Bei Bei—of course, it was a version of the story that had been "edited" by Huo Yuhao and known only to Xian Lin'er and Zhang Lexuan.

The Sea God's Pavilion once again erupted in unrest.

The Elders collectively cursed Tang Ya, wishing they could personally execute her, while expressing great sympathy for Bei Bei and swearing to rescue him.

During this Sea God's Pavilion meeting, the Elders were all smiles upon hearing about the collapse of the Sun-Moon Empire's Mingde Hall and its Royal Soul Engineer Academy. Upon hearing of Bei Bei's plight, their smiles vanished. But upon learning of the progress made by Huo Yuhao and Zhang Lexuan, they once again saw a bright future for Shrek.

The meeting ended.

Dispersed~

After the Sea God's Pavilion meeting concluded, Huo Yuhao had just returned to his quarters when a few familiar figures came knocking.

It was Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen, and Wei Na.

Having not seen him in quite some time, the three had missed Huo Yuhao dearly. They wasted no time in embracing him tightly and pulling him into the bedroom to express the longing that had built up like a tidal wave.

These three—who were his most frequently used furnaces—were now due for a power-up. In the future, Huo Yuhao would need reliable people to handle mundane matters for him.

And his loyal furnaces were the best choice, as they would never betray love.

Therefore, Huo Yuhao specially granted them more of his essence.

Which, of course, caused them to be overwhelmed and defeated ahead of schedule.

One day and one night later.

At dawn, Huo Yuhao was training in his personal practice yard, refining his battle skills—more to adjust his state than anything else.

Next, he planned to fuse all the spirit bones he had accumulated to strengthen both his bones and his overall physique. The key part would be the fusion of the thirteen feathers, which might allow his spirit bones to begin evolving into a proto-divine set.

The Sun-Moon trip had been immensely fruitful. And the current state of the continent no longer required Huo Yuhao's direct involvement—his three clones were enough to stir up chaos.

All that remained for Huo Yuhao was to continue cultivating step by step and wait for the moment of ultimate harvest.

"If I can forge my full-body spirit bones into divine gear, with my current strength, I might even be able to challenge the Silver Dragon King."

"The core area of the Star Dou Forest and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well… it's about time I made a move."

These were the thoughts running through Huo Yuhao's mind, when suddenly, his eyes narrowed slightly.

A sinister gust of wind struck from behind.

Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao spun around and launched a battle skill strike.

"Ring-Devouring Secret Art: Soul-Crushing Fist!"

The incoming yellow palm imprint crumbled upon impact with Huo Yuhao's fist. The soul power contained within was directly absorbed by his hand. Then, he countered with a return strike.

Boom!

A dull thud rang out. His returning blow was shattered and failed to injure the attacker.

The attacker, however, did not strike again. Instead, he looked at Huo Yuhao in astonishment.

Huo Yuhao grinned and greeted the person, "Elder Xuan, what did you think of that move just now?"

Indeed, the attacker was none other than Xuan Zi. Though he had lost one arm, he now appeared well-groomed, with his long white hair neatly brushed and wearing clean Elder's robes.

As for his ever-present chicken drumstick—nowhere to be seen.

This was the first time Xuan Zi looked like a proper senior.

For many people, growth comes in a single moment. For Xuan Zi, that moment just arrived—albeit a little late.

Snapped out of his surprise by Huo Yuhao's teasing, Xuan Zi coldly snorted and asked, "That move just now, was it really my Ring-Devouring Secret Art? You actually mastered it?"

"Yep! I've already got it down!" Huo Yuhao replied cheerfully, then explained, "While out training, I obtained a spirit bone with devouring properties. Using it, I mastered your Ring-Devouring technique and even improved upon it to better suit myself."

"I call it the Soul-Crushing Fist—it absorbs the enemy's soul power from attacks, neutralizing their offense and reflecting the absorbed power back at them. Its only flaw is that the energy conversion efficiency is a bit too low and wastes a lot of soul power."

"You little brat, getting all smug already!" Xuan Zi cursed with a laugh and instantly flashed to Huo Yuhao's side, giving him a light smack on the head.

Though Xuan Zi had cleaned up, his temper hadn't changed.

Huo Yuhao laughed it off and stepped forward to support Xuan Zi by the arm, asking with concern, "Elder Xuan, it's been a while—how have you been?"

"Don't worry. This old man won't die just yet. Thanks to the dragon pill you gave me, I've already absorbed it and successfully made a breakthrough. My lifespan has been extended! At the very least, I'll live long enough to see all of you grow up."

Xuan Zi revealed a confident smile.

And Huo Yuhao, having examined his condition through spiritual sense, also smiled with satisfaction.

"This bull's turned out quite well."

Xuan Zi had indeed successfully broken through to Level 99. He had also recovered a portion of his lifespan—his body was now robust, and most of the internal damage and injuries were healed.

While the effect of the Dragon Pill was undeniable, the healing power of the Golden Ancient Tree also played a crucial role. The foundation accumulated by Shrek Academy was truly formidable.

Xuan Zi was no longer a flickering candle in the wind. At most, he now had around ten more years to live.

But that was enough.

At the very least, enough to protect Shrek Academy.

In ten years, the younger generation—Zhang Lexuan, Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luocheng, and others—would have matured. Most importantly, there was still Huo Yuhao, the young lord of the Tang Sect.

Shrek would surely have a bright future ahead.

However, for Xuan Zi to go further and reach the ranks of quasi-god or half-god was now impossible. He had truly exhausted all of his potential this time.

Huo Yuhao didn't mind. Xuan Zi's current level of power was already more than enough to be used, and more importantly, everything was proceeding according to plan.

The fake Dragon Pill that Huo Yuhao had manufactured with science and dark arts had now been completely absorbed by Xuan Zi. The hidden mechanisms planted within it had also been seamlessly integrated into Xuan Zi's body.

In other words, Xuan Zi's life and death were now entirely within Huo Yuhao's control.

Taking Xuan Zi down would be effortless—but controlling him would allow Huo Yuhao to manipulate the fortunes of Shrek Academy itself, winning far more in return.

"When I'm ready to seize full control of the academy, that's when Xuan Zi will be served up on the table," Huo Yuhao thought coldly.

Xuan Zi had come to visit simply to check up on Huo Yuhao. Seeing that he was still just as exceptional—or rather, even more so—still pure of heart, Xuan Zi had no further concerns.

After a brief chat, Xuan Zi left again, as though he had other matters to attend to.

He truly was quite busy these days, having taken up responsibilities he had previously neglected. Not only did he have to train outstanding disciples from the inner court, but he also frequently had to venture outside to assert Shrek's strength and deter rival powers, thus creating a stable environment for Huo Yuhao and the others to grow.

In the Douluo Continent, there was no unspoken rule preventing powerful individuals from traveling or interfering. It was simply that, for the sake of reputation and status, strong cultivators usually refrained from showing up casually.

But Xuan Zi didn't care for reputation or status—Shrek mattered more.

So, word had already spread among the major factions: Xuan Zi had become an Ultimate Douluo. He had even stormed into the Body Sect and fought a fierce battle with the Poison Undying. Then he had walked away completely unharmed.

The major powers now showed Shrek Academy renewed fear and respect.

However, during a casual conversation, Xuan Zi admitted that although he had come away unscathed from the fight with Poison Undying, he hadn't actually won.

Poison Undying was just slightly weaker than him—if it had been a fight to the death, the outcome would have been uncertain.

This led Xuan Zi to suspect that Poison Undying had also found a way to reach the threshold of Ultimate Douluo. A potential future threat.

But how could Huo Yuhao not know why Poison Undying had grown so powerful? After all, the cultivation techniques he used had been left behind by Huo Yuhao himself. Thanks to his own talent, Poison Undying had reached the cusp of Ultimate Douluo in less than a year.

What Xuan Zi had overlooked was that many of the other elders and disciples in the Body Sect were also growing stronger.

Among them, Long Aotian had already broken through to Level 79 and was on the verge of becoming a Soul Douluo.

The Body Sect's strength and growth were, in fact, fueling Huo Yuhao's own destiny and fortune.

So, even though Huo Yuhao kept a serious face when listening to Xuan Zi's warning, he was secretly laughing inside.

Later, as Huo Yuhao watched Xuan Zi leave, he smiled faintly.

"Work hard, Xuan Zi. Give everything you've got… for my Shrek."

Nightfall.

Huo Yuhao did not leave the house all day. He trained in his private training ground and used the time to adjust his internal state.

At night, he used Ma Xiaotao and the other two women to achieve yin-yang balance.

Though their power levels weren't quite enough to help him fully unleash his energy, they still allowed Huo Yuhao to maintain inner peace.

Once the storm had passed and the moon emerged from behind the clouds, Huo Yuhao suddenly sensed something. After making sure the unconscious Ma Xiaotao and the others were settled, he vanished from the room.

He reappeared on the roof of his villa, where a figure was already waiting for him.

It was Zhang Lexuan.

"Senior Sister, why are you here?" Huo Yuhao asked, puzzled.

When in private, Huo Yuhao still called her Senior Sister.

Bathed in moonlight, Zhang Lexuan looked serene and elegant, like an ethereal fairy untouched by the mortal world.

But her words didn't match her celestial appearance.

"Yuhao, I'm leaving the Academy tomorrow to travel the continent as the head of the Inspection Corps. So tonight… I want you."

Before leaving, Zhang Lexuan wanted one last indulgence.

After returning to Shrek Academy, Zhang Lexuan had initially intended to sever her improper relationship with Huo Yuhao—especially now that she had successfully reached Title Douluo level.

Thanks to the Golden Ancient Tree's blessings, her cultivation would continue to progress rapidly at the academy.

But… her body had its own truth.

Since Zhang Lexuan had taken the initiative, as a good junior brother, Huo Yuhao stepped forward and pulled her into his embrace.

Compared to her youthful past, Zhang Lexuan was now more voluptuous—her figure clearly developed and perfected.

Just as Huo Yuhao was about to take things further, Zhang Lexuan stopped him and told him to take her back to her own residence.

Once there, Huo Yuhao discovered that four handmaidens were already present.

Zhang Lexuan explained, "They'll be accompanying me tomorrow. Besides, I know that just me—and even Xiaotao and the others—aren't enough for you. Yuhao, enjoy yourself."

Such temptation left no room for hesitation. Delaying even a second would be disrespectful to himself.

An entire night of wild revelry filled the air with intoxicating fragrance.

The next morning, Zhang Lexuan, weary but deeply satisfied, departed with her four attendants.

If not for the responsibilities she bore, she wouldn't have wanted to wake up at all.

Huo Yuhao returned to his villa to find that Ma Xiaotao and the other two were still unconscious.

He didn't rush them. Humming a tune, he cooked a delicious meal for the three of them.

Everything proceeded as naturally as any normal day.

When the three girls woke up, they rewarded Huo Yuhao's meal with sweet kisses and deepened affections.

After a rather indecent breakfast shared together, it wasn't until noon that Huo Yuhao, with the girls now freshened up, stepped out for a stroll in Shrek City.

As if to make up for the girls' longing, the four went on a simultaneous date.

No one said anything about it. Even the old elders of the academy just chuckled and sighed at Huo Yuhao's romantic flair.

While wandering through Shrek City, they eventually entered a hotel.

And then…

Huo Yuhao knocked all three girls out, took out the giant snake statue, and entered the Realm of Wisdom.

Why would he do something secretive on Sea God Island? Using the three women as cover was the perfect distraction.

Seated cross-legged in the secret realm, Huo Yuhao took out all of his stored soul bones, along with thirteen feathers from the Holy Spirit Feathered Serpent.

"Now… it's time to start forging my divine equipment!"

First, collect all six primary soul bones. Then prepare the fusion materials. Finally, add something related to divinity to reshape the bones anew.

And thus, the Divine Armor is forged!

In the Douluo God Realm, the gods' Divine Armors are often made entirely from full-body soul bones—for instance, the Sea God's armor was created in this way. External soul bones, on the other hand, can be crafted into divine weapons.

During the process of undergoing a God Trial, one will face the challenge of assembling full-body soul bones. This trial serves as the prototype for forging one's future Divine Armor.

Some gods directly bestow Divine Armor, and these armor sets, in the form of soul bones, are absorbed by their successors.

Unquestionably, the higher the quality of the soul bones, the more powerful the final Divine Armor will be.

Inside the secret realm, Huo Yuhao ignited his own fate, transforming it into the Flames of Fortune, and began crafting his full-body Divine Armor using thirteen feathers from the Sacred Spirit Feathered Serpent as the core materials, based on his collection of soul bones.

But first, he had to fuse the soul bones he had stored, enhancing the quality of his full-body set.

Back during his slaughter in the Extreme North, Huo Yuhao had acquired many high-quality soul bones. He also accumulated more over the years. However, due to fear of heavenly tribulation triggered by enhancing bone spirits, he hadn't fused them yet.

Now, with the secret realm shielding him from the God Realm's awareness, he could proceed without worry.

Technically, Huo Yuhao could still gather even more powerful soul bones to further upgrade the quality of his Divine Armor.

But that was just a matter of sequence. After all, who said Divine Armor couldn't be upgraded later?

Huo Yuhao first fused and refined his soul bones, merging the six primary and external soul bones into one unified whole.

He also made breakthroughs in the Bone Fusion Secret Art. With inherited techniques from the God of Wisdom, the newest version of the fusion art now eliminated the pain for the bone spirits during integration—making the process simpler and no longer dependent on the tolerance of bone spirits.

Then came the upgrades:

Left Arm Soul Bone: Fused and unified. Bone Spirit: Ice Radiance Dragon Ah Hui, upgraded to 500,000 years.

Right Arm Soul Bone: Fused and unified. Bone Spirit: Titan Snow Demon King Ah Tai, upgraded to 700,000 years.

Right Leg Soul Bone: Fused and unified. Bone Spirit: Tyrannosaurus Rex, upgraded to 400,000 years.

Left Leg Soul Bone: Fused and unified. Bone Spirit: Venom-Spiked Centipede King, upgraded to 300,000 years.

Torso Soul Bone: Fused and unified. Bone Spirit: Devouring Dragon, upgraded to 700,000 years.

Head Soul Bone: Fused and unified. Bone Spirit: Ghost-Faced Centipede King, upgraded to 300,000 years.

Six main locations. Six soul bones. Six bone spirits.

The Venom-Spiked Centipede King and Ghost-Faced Centipede King were soul beasts Huo Yuhao himself cultivated—his "monstrous descendants"—loyal beyond doubt.

The other four bone spirits were equally devoted to Huo Yuhao. Even the once-defiant Tyrannosaurus Rex was now completely tamed and obeyed him willingly.

As for the Devouring Dragon, due to its ideal attributes, it was used as the torso bone spirit. Loyalty was never a concern—it wasn't very bright to begin with. After some training, it now obeyed like a pet.

The torso soul bone, thanks to the fusion of the Ice Empress's Spine (an external bone) and the Golden Heartguard Mirror, was elevated directly to 700,000 years, while retaining its scorpion tail feature.

Besides the six primary bones, Huo Yuhao kept six external soul bones:

Emperor Sword: Ice Ultimate Twin Swords

Eye Crown: Tyrant Evil Eye, second head

Right Shoulder Blade: Titan Snow Demon King's right arm

Left Shoulder Blade: Windfighting Ape's left arm

Fire Dragon King Skull

Water Dragon King Skull

External soul bones don't require bone spirits since they can grow using Huo Yuhao's own power. This is their unique advantage.

With twelve soul bones and thirteen feathers, the fusion had plenty of material. Next, he began merging the thirteen feathers to finalize and empower the armor.

After fusing the first feather, Huo Yuhao noticed the feathers' terrifying effects: no matter the original attribute of a soul bone, the feather forced a new attribute onto it, demoting the original to a secondary attribute. The feather's god-skill would become a built-in divine skill for that piece of armor. Moreover, bone spirits received an unconditional 100,000-year boost in cultivation.

This bonus to the bone spirits seemed like a reward.

Even for external bones with no bone spirits, the fusion enhanced their quality by 100,000 years.

All thirteen feathers were fused one by one:

Four Limb Bones: Fused with feathers of Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind, forming the elemental basis of the world.

Head Bone: Fused with the Time feather.

Torso Bone: Fused with the Space feather.

The two shoulder blade external bones received Light and Dark feathers, achieving a balance of duality.

Good attribute went into the Emperor Sword, its god-skill being a divine sword technique.

Evil attribute went into the Eye Crown, requiring supreme control to wield its god-skill.

The feathers of Destruction and Life were fused into the Fire Dragon King Skull and Water Dragon King Skull, symbolizing fire's destruction and water's nurturing.

Finally, the Stability feather was merged directly into Huo Yuhao's soul.

This served multiple purposes:

As Huo Yuhao's spiritual power, physique, and strength had rapidly increased, his soul's strength and evolution lagged behind, needing reinforcement.

With all thirteen feathers acting as a link, the Divine Armor could now bind to his soul, rather than merely fusing with his body. This meant that even if his body perished or was replaced, his Divine Armor would remain—as long as his soul endured, no one could steal it.

The Stability feather's god-skill was "Stability: Dominion," a divine defense technique. Bodily wounds heal fast, but soul injuries are hard to recover from. At Huo Yuhao's level, soul defense was essential—capable even of shielding against enemy attacks.

A true powerhouse isn't just strong in one area, but flawless in every aspect, with one domain standing far above the rest.

From the golden flame of destiny, a figure clad in divine armor emerged slowly.

The armor hugged his form, wrapping Huo Yuhao's entire body, highlighting his perfect physique.

Perhaps due to the forging by fate, the armor shimmered gold, etched with intricate divine runes symbolizing various powers, radiating a nine-colored glow.

Every part of him—feet, legs, torso, arms, hands, shoulders, head, face—was covered in Divine Armor. From his neck extended two dragon heads, one red and one blue, gleaming with metallic sheen. From his shoulder blades grew two arms, one black, one white.

The ice-blue Emperor Sword had become even more noble and divine.

The Eye Crown had turned into a mask, covering Huo Yuhao's face. It contained a giant eye, gazing down like a celestial being, exuding an aura of annihilation.

This—was Huo Yuhao's Divine Armor!

He named it: Haotian Divine Armor!

There were no wings—because true powerhouses don't need wings to fly.

"Now then…"

Huo Yuhao murmured, then gave a low shout:

"Frost Centipede, Possess Me!"

His mutated Frost Centipede Martial Soul flew from his soul seal, transforming into a frost armor and merging into his Divine Armor.

The golden armor turned blue-gold, sprouting countless icy spikes—making it look even more ferocious and terrifying.

Haowu Divine Armor!

And Huo Yuhao could clearly feel it—an even stronger power was flowing through his body with the armor's blessing.

He couldn't help but burst into laughter:

"So powerful! So terrifying! Such divine might!"

"Tang San, one day I will cut you down with my own blade—break free from this fate of being enslaved by you!"

At this moment, Huo Yuhao's aura had already reached the level of a Tier-3 Deity, equivalent to a divine being with three divine rings.

And don't forget—his strongest Martial Soul only had ten soul rings, and he hadn't even been granted a godhood yet!

"The power of a Tier 3 Deity is still too weak... but if I can fully refine the destiny of the four nations on Douluo Continent, I might just reach the level of a Tier 1 Deity. If I could then upgrade all my divine gear and weapons to true divine artifacts, maybe—just maybe—I'd stand a chance in a battle against Tang San!"

The strength he now wielded gave Huo Yuhao confidence—enough that he could say that name out loud, unflinchingly. In fact, he believed that one day, he'd call Tang San that scrawny bastard to his face.

In the past, the Sea God and Angel God had ascended to Tier 1 Deity status by harvesting faith from the land and sea of the Douluo World. If Huo Yuhao could refine the destiny of all four nations on the continent, he would walk a similar path.

Moreover, there was no reason he couldn't take in the destinies of both humans and soul beasts, of both the land and sea.

If that came to pass—even if he couldn't yet challenge the Divine Kings—he would still become one of the elite among Tier 1 Deities. From there, he could set his sights on the universe itself, plundering the destiny of every life-bearing planet he encountered. One day, he would ascend to Divine King... maybe even beyond.

And what of the destiny within the Divine Realm? What of those deities already residing there? Who's to say they couldn't become Huo Yuhao's nourishment as well?

Until he achieved Divine King status, facing opponents with higher cultivation would mean relying heavily on his gear.

Currently, his arsenal included:

The weakest item: Alluring Bone Beauty, created by fusing the magical artifact Beauty Bone with a ninth-grade sound-type soul tool core. It could charm or kill enemies through sound, targeting mind and soul. Ultimately, it was just a strong ninth-grade soul tool with quirky capabilities.

A step above that: Bloodlust Pearl, refined from a part of the Holy Spirit Sect's Sacred Banner. It housed the artifact spirit "Old Eunuch" and granted the Bloodlust Domain. It could fuse with Hao Emperor Banner for amplified power.

Stronger still: Lunar Intent. On its own, this artifact had half-divine power. When combined with its counterpart Solar Passion, they would reach full divine artifact status. Lunar Intent was also one of two keys needed to unlock the legacy of the Love God.

Also half-divine: Imperial Sword: Frostbite Peerless Blade, formerly a spirit bone, had now evolved into a half-divine weapon. If it were still a bone, its quality would be above 800,000 years. With time, nurturing, or rare materials, it might even surpass one million years in power and become a divine artifact.

These four were all just under divine tier. Then there were the weapons that had reached divine status:

Frost Wyrm Lance: Born from Xin Lin'er's bloodline, its strength scaled with the power of the Frost Wyrm martial spirit. Currently a low-tier divine weapon, but it had room to grow.

Evil God Spear: Refined from the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, now fully divine. It possessed multiple abilities and housed the Evil God Tiger as its spirit. Slightly stronger than the Frost Wyrm Lance, but still low-tier.

Hao Emperor Banner: Huo Yuhao's personal artifact. Its power clearly reached divine tier as well, though not at the highest levels. Even so, it was his core weapon and had limitless potential to evolve into a top-tier or even super divine artifact.

Tablet of Wisdom: Inherited from the God of Wisdom. Its quality was excellent and Huo Yuhao intended to refine it further. However, it was a support-type weapon at its core, useful for defense or bludgeoning. It too might one day become a super artifact, though whether it would gain new abilities remained to be seen.

Then there were his puppet-type allies:

Frost Wyrm Variant: Now at deity-level, but with only priest-rank strength. To grow stronger, it would need godly power from a divine realm.

Healing Angel: A pseudo-deity. Once she filled her ninth soul ring, she could go on to add a tenth and become a full deity.

...

After stashing away his divine gear and returning to his normal form, Huo Yuhao let out a sigh.

"Still not enough... still lacking."

Not soul power—but the higher-tier divine power, and the endless destiny that could never be truly satisfied.

If he had enough divine power, he could let his Frost Wyrm train for a few years and reach full Tier 1 Deity status. Then, Huo Yuhao could act more freely on the continent.

And if he had a steady stream of destiny, he'd march straight into the Divine Realm and point his sword at that scrawny bastard!

As long as that bastard lived, Huo Yuhao would know no peace.

"I must find a way to obtain more divine power! And if I can't ascend to the Divine Realm... then the only way is either finding a legacy site—or... targeting beings that already have divine power."

His eyes flickered—cold and calculating—as he fell into thought.

Everyone knew Huo Yuhao wasn't good at scheming. So his version of "strategizing" really boiled down to just three questions:

Who should I kill?

How should I kill them?

When should I do it?

When Huo Yuhao emerged from the secret realm, it was already the next morning.

Ma Xiaotao and the other two women were still sound asleep in the hotel, trapped in the dreams he had spun for them—completely unaware and unwilling to wake.

To them, an overnight absence was nothing. The Sea God Pavilion wouldn't come looking.

Even the detection measures Huo Yuhao had laid out weren't triggered.

Clearly, no one had noticed their disappearance.

He cleaned up the scene, woke the three girls, and none of them suspected a thing. They cheerfully resumed their date with him.

As they walked, Huo Yuhao stared at their backs with a pensive gaze.

Each of them was a genius in her own right, girls who should have been protagonists in their own stories. Yet now, they were puppets—unwitting tools for Huo Yuhao's rise.

"Just like the me that was fated to be," he mused. "But I've shattered that fate."

To serve the Great Hao was to earn eternal life. Better that than the tragic endings they were destined for.

But just as the four returned to Shrek Academy, they were stopped in their tracks—by a sudden scream.

"It's Senior Huo Yuhao! It's really Senior Huo Yuhao!!"

He turned around in confusion. He didn't remember having any crazed, shouty cauldrons in his fanbase.

But when he turned—he saw several unfamiliar girls beaming at him with excitement. Then more and more girls showed up, drawn by the commotion. Even curious boys began to gather.

In just the blink of an eye, Huo Yuhao was completely surrounded by a mob of girls—each one vying to get close to him, to speak to him, to touch the hem of his robes, if only for a moment.

"Senior Huo Yuhao, I finally get to see you in person!"

"Senior Huo Yuhao, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Senior Huo Yuhao, can we get to know each other? My name is..."

"Senior Huo Yuhao, please sign this for me!"

"Senior Huo Yuhao—!"

Flowers and gifts rained down upon him—along with, shockingly, a few pieces of women's intimate clothing.

For once, Huo Yuhao was truly stunned.

Ma Xiaotao and the other two had been pushed out of the crowd. Though a bit disgruntled, they didn't intervene—because they had expected this.

They already knew what was going on.

Wei Na sighed, "These fangirls really are insane."

"Hmph! Not everyone deserves to stand next to Yuhao!" Ma Xiaotao pouted. Her brain was long gone—whether due to Huo Yuhao's influence or her martial spirit, no one could say.

Ling Luochen simply smiled, saying nothing.

Yes, this horde of girls was none other than Huo Yuhao's very own fan club—members of his devoted following!

Yesterday, someone had recognized him while he was out with the three girls. Word quickly spread to the fan club, and from then on, these fangirls had been camping outside the academy gate, eager for a glimpse of their idol's "majestic form."

They had never seen Huo Yuhao in person—but the fan club's indoctrination had been... extremely effective.

The Huo Yuhao Fan Support Group was originally formed during his first year in the Outer Court. It began with a group of girls who were infatuated with both his talent and physique, essentially becoming a personal harem and resource pool.

Naturally, the group only recruited girls, including many outstanding female students from Huo Yuhao's year—such as the Lan sisters, Lan Luoluo and Lan Susu, as well as Cui Yajie, who had once been Dai Yueheng's teammate.

Unfortunately, Wang Dong disapproved of Huo Yuhao's behavior and refused to join, and Xiao Xiao followed suit.

Huo Yuhao didn't neglect the girls in the support group. He provided them with the cultivation technique "Jade Nourishing Technique", along with martial arts methods and skills for future cultivation.

In a sense, these girls were the very first group to receive teachings of techniques that did not originate from this world.

Naturally, these techniques had built-in safeguards. All girls who practiced them would gradually become utterly loyal to Huo Yuhao, willing to devote everything to him.

Even if something unexpected happened, Huo Yuhao had ways to control anyone who practiced the technique.

Because of the powerful techniques, martial arts, and skills, the girls in the support group developed rapidly—their cultivation speed increased, and they became much stronger in combat.

Originally, many of them had come to Shrek Academy to snag a golden husband for their family's benefit. But now, they themselves had become so outstanding that they could return home as rightful heirs of their clans.

Through these girls, Huo Yuhao would one day be able to control many noble families and factions across the three former kingdoms of the Douluo Continent. His influence would be formidable.

The girls would eventually become an elite force under Huo Yuhao's command.

At that point, he would also gain even greater control over the fate of the entire continent.

Shrek Academy, however, didn't suspect anything. They even saw Huo Yuhao's fan club as a positive influence—thinking of him as a role model. Inspired by his example, the Outer Court began promoting a "club system," hoping that students with shared interests and dreams would grow together and improve faster. And overall, it did seem to be working.

Still, no club could compare to the Huo Yuhao Fan Support Group. As the group expanded, it no longer consisted of just girls from his year. It also included many other talented, well-fated, and noble-blooded female students from across the Outer Court—older and younger alike.

Although there weren't yet any members from the Inner Court, some of the earliest recruits had since earned admission there.

Now, the group's name had changed to "Huo Alliance" (Huo Meng). Even though Huo Yuhao wasn't technically active in the club, he was still the one and only Alliance Leader.

Surrounded by the excited cheers of his fans, Huo Yuhao was escorted to the Huo Alliance's base under the envious, jealous, and resentful eyes of countless male students.

Truthfully, both senior and junior male students had long harbored envy and resentment. After all, Huo Yuhao's fan group was made up of nothing but beautiful girls, each more talented than the last.

What's more, many of the girls idolized Huo Yuhao without ever having met him.

Rumor had it that the alliance didn't actually select members based on talent—but on looks. Because any girl who was pretty enough and joined the Huo Alliance would mysteriously progress faster in cultivation, as if her aptitude had been upgraded.

But most people dismissed this rumor as nonsense. On the Douluo Continent, anything that could genuinely enhance aptitude was a rare treasure worth a fortune—how could such a thing be distributed so freely?

Even Shrek Academy took notice—not because they believed in the aptitude rumor, but because they were worried the girls might be using evil methods to improve, which could harm both Huo Yuhao and the Academy's reputation.

Vice Dean Du Weilun personally investigated the matter and concluded that no such dangers existed. It only appeared that the girls had become more talented—the real reason was that they were simply working harder than anyone else.

Thinking back to how Huo Yuhao had once been a cultivation maniac who trained as if there were no tomorrow, the upper ranks of the Academy understood—the girls were simply imitating him, so the Academy chose not to dig deeper.

Of course, Du Weilun didn't understand the concept of foreign cultivation techniques at all. He just assumed the girls were engaging in normal meditation, which is why he concluded that the improvement came purely from effort.

After this result was announced, the rest of the Outer Court students became more motivated as well, leading to an overall improvement across the board.

To reward the Huo Alliance for its leading role—and by extension, Huo Yuhao—Shrek Academy gifted them a luxurious new headquarters in the Outer Court.

That was where Huo Yuhao was now being led: the headquarters of the Huo Alliance.

The base spanned an area equivalent to two football fields. Surrounded by a fence like a private estate, the grounds featured meticulously trimmed trees, flower beds, and even a fountain.

At the center stood a five-story building—taller than the teaching buildings and beautifully designed, clearly the work of a renowned architect.

Above the main gate of the fence hung a sign with two golden characters:

Huo Alliance! (霍盟)

"Isn't this building a bit too luxurious for a club base? Even our senior sister's residence isn't this extravagant," Ling Luochan couldn't help but comment—it was her first time visiting.

Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochan, and Wei Na were all aware of the fan support group, but only Wei Na had interacted with it. In fact, she was one of the original founding members.

"After all, it's Yuhao's fan club," Ma Xiaotao scoffed. "The elders adore him. Because of that, they treat the Huo Alliance well too. Nothing surprising about that."

"Heehee, that's not all~" Wei Na giggled. "Over the years, the Huo Alliance has produced many genius girls—some are on par with Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi back then. Of course the Academy takes them seriously."

"Still, all those geniuses are Yuhao's fans. They push themselves so hard just to follow in his footsteps."

"Follow in his footsteps? More like chase after him romantically!" Ma Xiaotao sneered. "A bunch of little flirts trying to climb into Yuhao's bed. Let's see if they even have the qualifications!"

"Xiaotao, keep your voice down—we're still outside," Ling Luochan quickly warned.

"Hmph! Let anyone dare gossip—I'll burn them to ashes!" Despite her more elegant appearance, Ma Xiaotao's temper hadn't cooled in the slightest.

Wei Na just smiled quietly.

Based on raw talent, there were at least a dozen girls in the Huo Alliance who could be deemed worthy of being Huo Yuhao's woman.

As the three girls chatted in the back, Huo Yuhao had already been escorted into the heart of the Huo Alliance.

All the members had already gathered the moment the news broke, assembling immediately to welcome their leader.

Dressed in form-fitting school uniforms, the girls lined up on both sides and bowed in unison to greet him:

"Welcome back, Alliance Leader!"

Huo Yuhao: (*￣︶￣)

This feeling—was just right.