Chapter 25: The Return of Jing Hongchen
How could this even make sense?!
Could that consciousness in his mind be related to Tang San? But according to the records, Tang San became a god over ten thousand years ago, while he himself was only in his teens. How could he possibly have any connection to this ancestor?!
"When the academy goes on break, I'll go back and ask Big Father and Second Father. I have to figure this out! But for some reason, when I look at that empty bed in my dormitory, that consciousness in my mind seems to be urgently searching for something... Strange, what exactly is it looking for?"
Wang Dong's thoughts were in turmoil.
Truth be told, Wang Dong's aversion to certain soul tools was definitely Tang God King's fault. After all, Tang God King had left a divine sense in Wang Dong's body to protect him, which naturally influenced him as well.
As for Xiao Qi rejecting soul tools? That was nonsense Xiao Qi was just a child. Children were naturally curious about new things, not repulsed by them.
Everything was Tang God King's fault!
This was the man who had fused Qiu'er and Dong'er into Tang Wutong if he could pull off something that absurd, then there was no telling what else he might have done.
At the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy
Jing Hongchen hovered in mid air, having just returned from the imperial palace, his thoughts racing. His Majesty's condition is worsening. He can't even get out of bed anymore and is relying solely on heavenly treasures to stay alive.
Ninth tier soul engineers within the empire are starting to pick sides. Right now, the Crown Prince has the upper hand. But the other princes also have a shot at the throne, and one of them even wants to meet with me privately… Clearly, they're trying to force me to take a stance.
But choosing a side is too troublesome. It's better to just stay out of it and focus on my role as the Hall Master of Mingde Hall, nurturing Xiao and Meng into pillars of the Hongchen family.
With that thought, Jing Hongchen flew toward his residence. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Xuan Ziwen and Huo Yuhao.
"Hm? Teacher Xuan, why did you bring Yuhao here?"
"Hall Master, I believe Yuhao's martial soul has mutated, so I brought him here for you to examine," Xuan Ziwen explained immediately.
"Martial soul mutation?" Jing Hongchen was momentarily stunned before turning his gaze to Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, show me."
"Yes, Headmaster." Huo Yuhao nodded and immediately activated his martial soul, using his soul skill.
Jing Hongchen remained calm, not resisting. He knew Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing was interesting, but with a range of just thirty meters, it wasn't particularly impressive.
Suddenly, he sensed the surge of Huo Yuhao's spiritual power and was instantly shocked. This isn't right. How can a one ring soul master have such powerful spiritual energy?! Even the Spirit Attribute soul masters from the Body Sect wouldn't have such exaggerated spiritual strength at just one ring!
"Yuhao, what's your detection range now?"
"1,200 meters in one direction," Huo Yuhao answered.
"1,200 meters?!" Jing Hongchen was stunned.
The reason was simple Sun Moon Empire had been developing soul tool detectors in preparation for the upcoming Holy War. While Huo Yuhao's detection range still couldn't compare to the top tier soul tool detectors, many standard detectors already paled in comparison to his soul skill.
Moreover, he knew that Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing would grow stronger with cultivation. In the future, Huo Yuhao would undoubtedly become one of the most terrifying soul engineers on the battlefield!
"Yuhao, what exactly did you do to cause this martial soul mutation?"
"I don't know. Two days ago, I bought some whale gel and consumed it. When I woke up, my soul skill had changed." Huo Yuhao repeated the same explanation, letting Jing Hongchen fill in the blanks with his own imagination.
After all, martial soul mutations had always been a mysterious topic in the Douluo Continent. Even Duke White Tiger, Dai Hao, couldn't recognize or fix the incomplete martial soul mutation of Huo Yuhao's younger brother, Dai Luoli.
Jing Hongchen fell into deep thought. "You might have something in common with the renowned Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang."
"Grandpa, why are you insulting him?! Comparing Yuhao to that fraud Yu Xiaogang is way too harsh!" Meng Hongchen immediately stood up for Huo Yuhao.
Jing Hongchen chuckled bitterly. "Xiao Meng, I was referring to martial soul mutations, not his character.
"I'm well aware that Tang San's teacher, Yu Xiaogang, had terrible morals. Our research has shown that much of his so called 'theory' was plagiarized from internal records of Spirit Hall, essentially claiming others' work as his own.
"Not to mention, he introduced numerous flawed theories that negatively influenced soul masters across the Douluo Continent."
"However, Yuhao's martial soul mutation reminds me of Yu Xiaogang. After all, the famous Dragon God Douluo, Mu En, was one of Yu Xiaogang's descendants. Even though Yu Xiaogang's Luo San Pao was a defective mutation, it still contained latent Holy Dragon blood.
"When Mu En fully awakened and stabilized that bloodline, his martial soul became the Bright Holy Dragon!"
"My theory is that Yuhao's ancestors must have been extraordinary. This martial soul mutation may have been triggered by an inherited dormant bloodline, causing a sudden activation!"
Jing Hongchen's eyes gleamed with wisdom. He hadn't considered a secondary awakening of a Body Martial Soul, since he had interacted with members of the Body Sect before and knew that a secondary awakening exhibited distinct characteristics none of which he had observed in Huo Yuhao.
He sounds so convincing, even I almost believe him... Huo Yuhao thought, his face showing exaggerated shock. "Headmaster, so that's what happened! No wonder my soul skill's range increased so drastically!"
Jing Hongchen chuckled. "Yuhao, now that your soul skill has developed to this level, its utility is immense. You'll definitely become a pillar of the empire in the future. For the next All Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, you'll participate as a reserve team member."
Meng Hongchen, standing beside him, was visibly excited. Before Jing Hongchen had returned, she had already experienced Huo Yuhao's soul skill firsthand and knew how much he could enhance the team. Having him on the squad was undoubtedly a great advantage.
"As the Headmaster, I also have an obligation to reward outstanding students. From now on, you'll receive the following benefits:
10,000 gold soul coins worth of rare metals per month
One artificial soul bone per year
An annual stipend of 400,000 gold soul coins
Improved daily food provisions
Jing Hongchen wasn't the least bit reluctant to offer these rewards. After all, it wasn't his money it was the royal family's. As long as he had a good justification, he could easily get the expenses reimbursed by the empire.
The Sun Moon Imperial Family's greatest strength was their wealth. In a way, he was merely managing the academy on their behalf.
Artificial soul bones!
Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up. Artificial soul bones did exist in Douluo Dalu 2, but the methods of creating them were often far too cruel.
"I'll give you part of your reward right now," Jing Hongchen said, rubbing his storage ring.
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