"No, I can't miss out on a divine position. Why should I?" Shi Hao wasn't willing to accept it.
Among the four divine positions, Shi Hao wanted to obtain the Asura position, a God-King-level position.
So maybe… Yu Yuanzhen was an option.
"No, that's also not suitable… Not to mention, the Blue Lightning Dragon martial soul requires dragon-type soul rings, which would ruin my dream of having nine red soul rings. Plus, beast martial souls are weaker than tool martial souls at the Title Douluo level. I personally don't want to choose him unless I'm out of options." Shi Hao dismissed the idea once again.
As for inheriting Shi Nian's soul power, he rejected that idea too. Brutal Dream was good, but Shi Nian's innate soul power talent wasn't enough to reach Title Douluo. Maybe by adding seven 10,000-year soul rings to the martial soul, he could barely reach level 90. But... what then? His cultivation progress after that would be slower than a turtle.
When considering his targets, Shi Hao focused on four factors: innate soul power, martial soul, cultivation level, and availability. Among them, availability came first, but innate soul power was the next priority.
"If I lower my standards, I could settle for a Soul Saint or Soul Douluo-level target... but I don't remember any talented Soul Saints or Soul Douluos who died early in the novel."
Since there weren't many notable side characters, Shi Hao couldn't recall anyone suitable, even after racking his brain.
Maybe he missed someone… or maybe they just weren't worth remembering.
As for choosing a Soul Douluo who didn't die in the novel and carefully orchestrating their death step by step?
"That's not very realistic either. After all, I'm weak. I don't have the means to pull that off. Even if I try to sow discord between two people, it's easier said than done. Even if I become a world-famous musician, no powerful soul master will let me meddle in their affairs."
And there was another problem—finding a martial soul with potential. It wasn't easy. Everything had to align perfectly for his plan to work.
"Alas, I'm not suited for schemes… If it were Zhuge Liang or Sima Yi, they would force the situation to align for them. But I don't have that talent. Hehe." Shi Hao laughed self-deprecatingly.
"In any case, I'll just mess up the plot. Even if I end up choosing Yu Yuanzhen as my target, there's no reason to not disturb the original storyline. He's destined to die anyway, whether or not I interfere with Tang Hao." Shi Hao made up his mind.
"And based on everything I remember, messing up the plot benefits me more. If Tang Hao is forced into hiding, Xiao Wu will be mine to take. The immortal herbs will also be mine to take…"
"If that happens… I can even get my favorite martial soul… Hehe." Shi Hao laughed cunningly.
Even though he couldn't predict exactly how things would unfold after spreading the news about Tang Hao to Spirit Hall, he could at least anticipate which direction the butterfly would flap its wings.
Suddenly, Shi Hao closed his eyes. His unreliable mind, which usually operated at half capacity, finally started working.
Five minutes later, he opened his eyes, which now shone with newfound confidence.
"This plan… is actually quite plausible. How did I not think of this before?"
"Mess it up. I'll mess up everything…" Shi Hao's thin lips curled into a smirk as he muttered under his breath. For once, he actually came up with a decent plan. He could finally call himself at least somewhat intelligent—with pride.
Feeling good about himself, he focused on eating.
After finishing his lunch, Shi Hao went to look for a piece of paper.
It was time to write a letter.
A month had been long enough to repay Tang Hao's kindness for forging those steel cards. Now, it was time for Tang Hao to stop living in peace. It was time for him to start running again.
---
By mid-evening, before his parents returned home, Shi Hao secretly slipped out. His destination? The Spirit Hall branch in Balak Kingdom.
It wasn't far from his home—just a ten-minute carriage ride.
Before reaching his destination, Shi Hao stopped the carriage and bought some candy claws and snacks.
Leisurely eating his sweets with a small letter in his left hand, he strolled toward Spirit Hall.
Standing before the building, he realized something—there was no such thing as a postbox here.
Shrugging, he approached the guards.
"Um, I want to see the Cardinal. Can you please show me the way?" Shi Hao asked innocently, as if unaware of how ridiculous his request was.
The two guards exchanged looks before one of them spoke.
"State your purpose."
"Ah, it's like this: A man with a hoarse voice, wearing a hood, asked me to deliver this letter to the Cardinal," Shi Hao explained as if it was no big deal.
"You can give it to me. I'll pass it to the Cardinal," the other guard offered after exchanging another glance with his companion.
"That's fine too, but that man said the letter was very important and that I must hand it over personally. He also told me to say a certain name to the Cardinal in private—'Haotian Douluo.'"
Shi Hao suddenly stopped talking, as if he had just realized he let a secret slip. His expression was as gullible as a newborn chick.
But the guards were not as calm as him.
The moment they heard the words Haotian Douluo, their bodies tensed.
One guard immediately placed a hand on Shi Hao's shoulder, while the other rushed inside, visibly flustered.
Soon, a gray-haired, majestic-looking old man emerged. Despite his composed demeanor, he carefully observed Shi Hao, who was casually munching on candy while holding a letter.
Without a word, the old man took the letter from Shi Hao's hand and opened it.
His previously calm expression paled visibly. At the same time, excitement coursed through his body.
This was it. A chance to make a major contribution… and get promoted!
Shi Hao looked at him curiously, his tone respectful yet foolishly naive.
"Are you Mr. Cardinal? Um… That man told me to say 'Haotian Douluo' to you privately. Can we talk alone?"
The Cardinal froze mid-read and looked up at this so-called genius.
Privately?
Was there any need for that anymore?!
But in the end, he smiled. "You've already told me. Do you remember what the man looked like? Can you describe him?"
"Ah… he was this tall, very big. He wore a black hood… um… he had a beard? I didn't see clearly," Shi Hao said, feigning innocence.
"I see… That's all, kid. You can leave now. Here, take this."
The Cardinal patted Shi Hao's head and handed him a card with 1,000 gold coins.
As Shi Hao's figure disappeared into the distance, the old man gestured for someone to follow him secretly.
Then, he hurried back inside. He had a lot of work to do.
He had considered keeping Shi Hao in case something leaked… but in the end, the words Haotian Douluo alone didn't mean much. Even if Shi Hao told his parents, nothing would happen.
The real deal was inside the letter.