15: C15 Duchess:
“Who will support you?
Naturally, I will!” Hearing the girl’s crisp voice, Huo Yuhao joked.
In this life, his means of earning money outside the academy were not selling grilled fish, but repairing and assembling portable soul tools.
“Hmph…” Ye Guyi shot Huo Yuhao a glare, stamped her foot, and turned to leave.
“Hey…
hey, Miss Ye, you haven’t cleaned Room 411 yet today!…”
Huo Yuhao watched Ye Guyi depart, then set about tidying the messy room himself.
As Ye Guyi hurried away, her little heart pounded like a rabbit’s.
“He said he would support me…” All the way, Ye Guyi’s mind replayed Huo Yuhao’s words from just moments ago.
She didn’t know why Huo Yuhao always gave her a sense of safety, but she wondered—if she, a remnant of the Spirit Hall, were to walk with someone of his talent, would it offend the divine realm and hinder his future?
With this thought, a hint of sadness flickered across Ye Guyi’s face.
Back in the room, after tidying up, Huo Yuhao lay on his bed, carefully sensing the energy fluctuations of Mingdu.
After a while, Snow Lady entered with a lunch box.
“Here, this is for you.”
Hearing her voice and taking the lunch box Snow Lady handed him, Huo Yuhao said to her: “During the matches, if you encounter anyone from those families descended from the gods who won the Battle of Jialing Pass ten thousand years ago, just concede directly.”
Snow Lady was quite exasperated by Huo Yuhao’s repeated reminders.
Though Snow Lady had her own reasons for insisting on participating in the tournament—namely, to teach the Dai family a lesson and vent some anger on Yuhao’s behalf from his previous life—after Huo Yuhao had roughly explained many things to her that day, she understood the stakes and was unwilling to stir up unnecessary trouble.
“Alright, alright, I’m not a willful person.”
After arranging all the matters, it was already late at night before Huo Yuhao finally went to sleep.
The next day, since he had no matches scheduled, Huo Yuhao slept until well past noon and did not attend the tournament’s opening ceremony.
Snow Lady, being fond of excitement, had risen early and gone to the opening ceremony site.
The architecture of Mingdu was very simple, far from the extravagant opulence of the capitals of the Douluo nations.
But the tournament itself was grandly celebrated.
On the opening day of the continent-wide advanced soul master academy tournament, the streets and alleys of Mingdu were packed with people.
Early that morning, the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianran, heard an urgent voice.
A guard rushed into the hall, knelt on one knee, and reported: “Your Highness, the Haotian Sect’s Heavenly Horse procession is about to arrive.
A divine emissary has come to inform you—please prepare to receive them.”
The Heavenly Horse procession was the highest规格 of the Haotian Sect’s patrol!
Even as the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianran dared not be remiss.
Xu Tianran said gravely: “Convey my orders—all within the palace, follow me to welcome the Heavenly Horse procession.”
Red carpets were laid out, and Xu Tianran changed into ceremonial robes.
Accompanied by the princes, princesses, and ministers, he waited before the welcome avenue.
Before long, Xu Tianran’s gaze locked onto the east, where a fleet of flying chariots had appeared in everyone’s sight.
The most conspicuous was a massive gilt divine carriage in the center—not only broad and tall, but itself a divine artifact.
It was the very chariot in which the Sea God had ridden during the final mortal battle against the “evil Angel God” ten thousand years ago.
The six robust heavenly horses pulling the divine carriage exuded powerful auras.
Six divine maidens driving in tandem!
These winged heavenly horses trod through the air and finally descended, coming to a smooth stop before Xu Tianran and the assembled crowd.
The chariots before and behind the divine carriage opened their doors first, and twenty-four powerful beings emerged.
Their soul rings lit up—all displaying the standard two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red ring configuration of Titled Douluo.
“The divine maiden has arrived!
All, receive her!”
Then, the carriage doors of the divine chariot slowly opened.
A blue-haired woman emerged.
She appeared to be only in her teens, bearing a hint of heroism.
The soul power fluctuations she emitted were the weakest among those who had descended, but all the powerhouses who had alighted earlier bowed to her and cleared the way.
“May the Divine Maiden enjoy eternal blessings and boundless longevity!” Xu Tianran led the civil and military officials forward to offer their flattery.
Meanwhile, Xuan Zi, who had brought the current generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters to compete, also stepped forward.
Like a loyal hound, he prostrated himself.
“The Divine Maiden is born of holy virtue.
This old servant presents the new generation of warriors of my master, Tang San, to the Divine Maiden.”
Behind him, Dai Huabin and the other current Shrek Seven Monsters also prostrated themselves.
After receiving the assembly’s bows—whether inclinations or full prostrations—the Divine Maiden smiled and said: “Then let us begin!” Her expression quickly returned to cold indifference.
She merely swept a glance at Xuan Zi and said no more.
Everything was conveyed in silence.
This Divine Maiden was none other than the daughter of that dual-god fused Sea God and Asura God, the righteous “Divine Realm Enforcer,” the “Leader of the Divine Realm’s Gods,” the legendary “Thousand-Handed Asura”—the little seventh daughter of the Tang family, Tang Wutong!
Daughter of Tang San—four simple words already overshadowed all of Tang Wutong’s achievements!
And they also summed up the entirety of Tang Wutong!
When Tang Wutong displayed such extravagant might in Mingdu, Huo Yuhao, who had woken at noon, naturally sensed it.
But that day, he did not leave his lodgings to catch a glimpse of the Divine Maiden’s beauty.
He stayed busy in Room 411 of the Mingyue Hotel, crafting milk bottles to restore soul power for Snow Lady.
That day, the first match was between the Shrek Academy team and the Heavenly Soul Empire team.
Dai Huabin merely struck out seven claws with his Evil Eye White Tiger martial soul, and the seven members of the Heavenly Soul Empire’s team, led by Huyan Yu of the Elephant Armor Academy, were each torn in half.
After dispersing the blood splattered on him with a burst of soul power, Dai Huabin stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes filled with arrogance.
Slowly turning around, Dai Huabin looked toward the Heavenly Soul Empire’s spectator section and declared: “Losers, remember—I come from Shrek Academy, from the Star Luo Empire!”
“You—you’re using the match to massacre our Heavenly Soul Academy’s students…” A teacher from Heavenly Soul Academy spoke weakly, her voice laden with sorrow.
“Referee, this is unfair…” Her voice grew fainter with each word.
“So what if I am?” Dai Huabin said haughtily.
“Their worthless lives being ended by my hand—as a current Shrek Academy student—is their honor.”
Though Dai Huabin was arrogant, he stepped behind Xuan Zi as he spoke.
“Or does anyone want to stand up for that girl from the Elephant Armor Academy?
It seems you’ve forgotten that her martial soul is inherited from the Elephant Armor Sect, which was a lackey of the Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago.
Does someone intend to restore the evil Spirit Hall?”
“Shrek Academy team wins!” Jing Hongchen’s voice came from the referee’s stand.
And Dai Huabin’s display of overbearing dominance that day had been carefully orchestrated.
That day, accompanying Dai Huabin to Mingdu for the tournament was the current Empress of the Western Star Luo Empire—the former Duchess.
After the establishment of the Western Star Luo Empire, Dai Hao and the Duchess had received a divine oracle in dreams from their divine ancestors, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing: “The daughter of the Supreme God will descend to the mortal realm to select a fated son.
You must not be remiss.”
Before coming, this former Duchess, now the Empress of the Western Star Luo Empire, had repeatedly exhorted her two sons: “The divine ancestors have said that the Divine King will send his princess to the mortal realm to choose one person to guide to ascension.
My sons, perform well on this trip and strive for that chance to ascend to the heavens…”
After the day’s matches ended, Dai Huabin returned to the lounge, his face full of confidence, and asked his mother: “Mother, how do you think I performed today?”
The former Duchess curled her lips in satisfaction.
“Mm, swiftly eliminating the remnants of the Spirit Hall and dominating the entire arena with kingly authority—my son has the bearing of a hero.
Did you see that Divine Maiden?
Build a good relationship with her—better yet, win her over!”
Dai Huabin was puzzled.
“Mother, what do you mean?”
The former Duchess stroked her son’s head, her gaze full of tenderness.
“My son has the makings of a god.
If you can win that Divine Maiden’s favor, why worry about not being able to ascend to the divine realm and gain immortality in the future?”