Everyone else had stepped onto the Sea God's Island by now. They watched as Tang Wutong flew back to the lakeshore, and Xu Sanshi quickly hid behind Jiang Nannan's back. "That was accidental. I made a mistake because I panicked. It was accidental!" Tang Wutong stared at Xu Sanshi with unfriendly eyes as she landed on the lakeshore.
"I will kill you if there's a next time!" Tang Wutong said angrily, before turning and heading deeper into Sea God's Island.
Huo Yuhao landed on the lakeshore immediately afterwards. He shook his feet, which had been soaked in the lake, and released his Ultimate Ice, turning the water into ice particles that drifted to the ground.
"Little junior brother...so, how was it? Did you discover anything from interacting at such a close distance?"
Huo Yuhao nodded lightly, and his eyes were filled with warmth and gratitude. "She's Dong'er."
Huo Yuhao uttered a few simple words, and everyone felt their hearts quiver. However, everyone felt differently. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and the others were sincerely happy for Huo Yuhao, but Nan Qiuqiu and Ye Guyi weren't that excited about it.
"But she doesn't remember us at all. How can you be sure that she's Dong'er?" Xu Sanshi asked in surprise.
Huo Yuhao answered, "Even though Dong'er has lost her memory, her smell cannot change. Also, the tenderness of the muscles on her arms is exactly the same as before, and those are things that can't be imitated. Back then, even though Qiu'er looked identical to Dong'er, they were different in these respects. Therefore, I can be sure that she's Dong'er, and no matter how she has forgotten us, I will definitely help her regain her memory."
Huo Yuhao's eyes were filled with fighting spirit and excitement. For him, Wang Dong'er losing her memory wasn't frightening at all. Instead, he was afraid that Tang Wutong wasn't Wang Dong'er in the first place. If that was the case, no matter how similar the two of them looked, his heartstrings couldn't be plucked at all.
Bei Bei hugged Huo Yuhao across his shoulders and said, "Let's go. We'll see Elder Xuan first, and everything will be easy to deal with since we've identified her. Just tell us if you need us to help, and everyone will help you as much as we can."
"Thank you, eldest senior brother."
Everyone arrived at the Sea God's Pavilion. The others waited outside, while Huo Yuhao paid his respects to the Golden Tree before he walked into the pavilion with Bei Bei.
Elder Xuan was already waiting inside the Sea God's Pavilion. Tang Wutong was standing indignantly behind Elder Xuan, and immediately turned away when she saw Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao had given her quite a bad impression during their only two encounters. The first time, Huo Yuhao suddenly hugged her, and the second time, they almost dropped into the water. He had touched her body both times, which was extremely humiliating to her. She would have hit back against him heavily if she hadn't been at Shrek Academy.
"Elder Xuan." Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei greeted Elder Xuan respectfully.
Elder Xuan smiled faintly as he tilted his head in response. "Are you ready, Yuhao? Why are you here too, Bei Bei?"
Bei Bei answered, "Elder Xuan, some of our martial souls have reached Rank 70, and we want little junior brother to bring us into the Great Star Dou Forest to search for appropriate soul beasts so that they can become our Spirits, and then we'll let them leave. We have decided that Sanshi, Nannan, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Nan Qiuqiu, and Ye Guyi will follow Yuhao to the borders."
Elder Xuan was delighted. "Both you and Sanshi are at Rank 70? That's great, that's great news! Is Nannan close to Rank 70, too?"
Bei Bei nodded and smiled. "Xiao Xiao is still a short distance away, but everyone else is at Rank 70."
Elder Xuan said, "You guys can go to the forest first, then. Look for the Emerald Swan at the Spirit Pagoda, and let her make the necessary arrangements. I can rest assured knowing that Yuhao is personally contracting Spirits for you guys."
Elder Xuan passed an envelope to Huo Yuhao as he spoke, who stepped forwards to receive it.
Elder Xuan said, "These are the documents that the Academy has provided for you as proof, and they will be effective once you fill in your name. You can't lose these documents, because they contains the Academy's soul imprint, and you'll have to give them to the White Tiger Duke personally. Dai Yueheng is serving with the White Tiger Duke, and he can help the two of you coordinate mutually.
"Yuhao, you have to remember that the battlefield is very dynamic, and can change at any moment. But no matter what, you should have no problem protecting your own life with your abilities. Remember, don't be impulsive and hasty when doing things, and personal safety is most important, whatever you do. Do you understand? At the same time, you can display the power of Spirits on the battlefield, so that the Star Luo Empire can understand the Spirit Pagoda a little better."
"Yes." Huo Yuhao put the envelope away as if it were a valuable treasure. His identity would be different when he went back to the frontlines, and his original wish of rising through the ranks as a foot soldier couldn't be completely realized, in the end. After all, how could he be like a normal person with the difference in his identity, status, and abilities?
"Wutong, let me introduce them all to you. This is Bei Bei, the leader of the Tang Sect, and a member of the Sea God's Pavilion. He's the leader of the current generation's Shrek's Seven monsters. This is Huo Yuhao, and he possesses an Ultimate martial soul, and also has twin martial souls. He's also a member of the Sea God's Pavilion."
Tang Wutong's expression immediately became ice-cold, especially when she was looking at Huo Yuhao.
"Wutong is a teacher that the Academy has just hired, and she's also a reserve member of the Shrek Guardians at the same time. She will follow you for this operation, and this will also be a test for her. Yuhao will be responsible for scoring her in this assessment. Wutong, perhaps there have been some misunderstandings between the two of you, but I'm very sure of Yuhao's character. He has made many important contributions to the Academy, and he's also the youngest member of the Sea God's Pavilion. The two of you should talk more after this. You're both youngsters, and I trust that any misunderstandings between you two can be easily resolved." Elder Xuan's voice and speech was as mild as a drizzle and as gentle as a breeze, but the amusement in his eyes couldn't be concealed when he looked at Huo Yuhao.
Tang Wutong grunted and glared at Huo Yuhao before turning away.
Huo Yuhao wasn't too concerned about that. He turned towards Elder Xuan and said, "Don't worry, Elder Xuan, I'll protect teacher Wutong."
"Who needs your protection?" Tang Wutong interjected.
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, but said nothing. He didn't want to argue with her.
Elder Xuan said, "Then you guys can set off. Wutong, don't you want to see how miraculous and mystical Spirits are? You can follow Yuhao and the others to take a look. It's a pity you already have your seventh soul ring. Otherwise, you could get yourself a Spirit along with everyone else."
"Yes." Tang Wutong was still very respectful towards Elder Xuan.
Bei Bei smiled and said, "We'll be setting off immediately, Elder Xuan. Can Yuhao and the others go directly to the Star Luo Empire after we get our Spirits?"
Elder Xuan said, "Yes, they can do that. Yuhao, please pass back any news or intel as soon as possible."
Bei Bei said, "Don't worry, Elder Xuan. I will have the Tang Sect's members maintain contact with Huo Yuhao from the beginning to the end. The Tang Sect has produced sound-transmitting soul tools that can reach a distance of roughly one hundred kilometers. As long as we send people as transit stations in between, we won't need Huo Yuhao to run back and forth."
Elder Xuan nodded and said, "You have to hurry on your side, the Tang Sect Soul Engineer Legion has to be established as quickly as possible. Lin'er and Duoduo will gather people over the next few days.
"I will give you two pointers! First, you have to help them adjust and adapt to using soul tools as quickly as possible. Just as you've said in the conference at the Sea God's Pavilion, they will unleash custom-made soul tools according to their varying martial souls. Second, you have to use our advantages as soul masters as much as possible, and we can't weaken our own forces because we're using soul tools."
"Yes!" Bei Bei answered reverently.
Elder Xuan waved his hand and said, "Go, then. Wutong is new here, so you guys should take care of her."
------
Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei walked in front as they left the Sea God's Pavilion, and Tang Wutong followed behind.
Bei Bei turned towards Tang Wutong and said, "Teacher Wutong, let me introduce our companions to you."
Tang Wutong's expression was cold, and she said nothing. However, Bei Bei acted as if he didn't see her expression and introduced everyone one by one, anyway. Tang Wutong couldn't help but grunt out loud when Bei Bei introduced Xu Sanshi, and it was clear that she didn't have a good impression of him. Tang Wutong's expression only became a little more gentle when Bei Bei was introducing the girls.
"Let's set off right now, then. Yuhao, are we going to the Spirit Pagoda directly? Or are we going to the Great Star Dou Forest?"
Huo Yuhao said, "Let's go to the Spirit Pagoda first. Even though the Spirit Pagoda has yet to be completed, the people from all incumbent parties have already moved in. The Emerald Swan has always been there to represent the Great Star Dou Forest, and it's more convenient to ask her to find suitable soul beasts for us."
The Emerald Swan could be said to be one of the most sensible and reasonable soul beasts, and she was very supportive of the Spirit Pagoda. Ever since the organization had been established, she had done quite a lot of work over on the soul beasts' side.
------
They left the Academy and entered Shrek's new city. They were no longer in the outskirts that used to be here.
After all the construction work that had been carried out over this period of time, and in addition to the immeasurable investments from various large trade associations and Shrek City itself, Shrek's new city was starting to take shape. Construction sites were in full swing and buzzing with activity everywhere.
Bei Bei lamented, "After this new city is completely constructed, Shrek's scale will be enough to compare with the capital cities of other empires. Even though we are still smaller in surface area than Radiant City, our position as the center of the Continent will be gradually consolidated in the future. In my opinion, the new city will be complete in only two or three years, at most."
Huo Yuhao heaved a faint sigh and said, "There's a precondition... that the new city isn't laid to ruin by the fires of war."
Bei Bei glanced at him and said, "Little junior brother, you seem to be very pessimistic towards the Heavenly Soul Empire! They have the Body Sect's support. Are they really that weak?"
Huo Yuhao forced a laugh and said, "It's not that the Heavenly Soul Empire is weak, but that the Sun Moon Empire's soul tools are too powerful. Once Class 9 stationary soul cannon shells appear on the battlefield, at least for now, not a single force or entity can block or defend against them. Even Transcendent Douluo cannot possibly collide directly with those things. It's hard to say how many Class 9 stationary soul cannon shells the Sun Moon Empire has in their arsenal, but I feel that they can't have less than ten of them.
"When they were assaulting the Star Luo Empire, three Class 9 stationary soul cannon shells blew open a large gap in the Ming Dou Mountain Range. In terms of geographical and topographical advantages, the Heavenly Soul Empire is weaker than the Star Luo Empire, and if the Sun Moon Empire's soul engineer legions appear on the battlefield right now, they might break through the Heavenly Soul Empire's defenses like a hot knife through butter!"