"Grandpa said, don't be arrogant in the Douluo Three Kingdoms."
"It's too far from the Sun Moon Empire. If anything happens, we can only rely on your enthusiasm to protect you."
Hearing Meng Hongchen's advice, Xiao Hongchen scoffed and walked to Meng Hongchen's side, saying,
"It's just a Soul Fighting Competition."
"Isn't the Soul Fighting Competition very popular in the Douluo Three Kingdoms?"
"Surely no one would take someone's life in a Soul Fighting Competition?"
"Are the referees blind?"
Meng Hongchen thought of some rumors from the Douluo Three Kingdoms and shook her head, saying,
"Hard to say."
...
"This tastes so authentic!"
Huo Yuhao, holding a glass of iced cola, walked out of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Kentucky Fried Chicken's billboard was quite interesting; it featured a white-haired old man with glasses wearing a "W"-shaped hat.
If his fellow countrymen from his previous life saw this, they would probably say that one night, both KFC and Wallace were drunk.
Even in the far north, Ken's was doing brisk business, the store packed with customers.
Fortunately, the food was served incredibly quickly, and he got his set meal in five minutes, ready to enjoy it immediately.
As for why he ordered iced cola in the far north, well, that's only authentic that way.
Of course, Huo Yuhao also bought an extra hamburger set meal for the Remnant Dream Blade.
The little guy would occasionally extend a colorful light strip from the back of his right hand, rolling up fries and sneaking into the dream space.
After eating and drinking his fill, Huo Yuhao continued walking on the streets of Dragon City, searching for the aura of a level nine soul master.
Unlike Shrek City, the aura of such high-level soul masters was easy to identify here; all he had to do was wait patiently for them to lose their composure.
When they were still a few streets away from the Earth Dragon Gate, a peculiar building appeared before Huo Yuhao.
It was a magnificent golden tower, its surface painted with countless heroic deeds, with five floors, each floor featuring a statue of a super soul beast.
The top floor even had a statue of Di Tian's Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King—quite audacious indeed.
Huo Yuhao was drawn to the building. He walked to the entrance, glanced at the name, and couldn't help but smile.
"Adventurers' Guild."
Although the original novel didn't elaborate much on this organization, Huo Yuhao, having lived on the Douluo Continent for so long, knew quite a bit about this continental organization.
It was more like a mercenary guild combined with half a black market than an adventurers' guild.
Employers could post missions at the Adventurers' Guild, specifying their requirements and rewards below the mission. After approval by the guild, the mission would enter the mission hall.
The Adventurers' Guild acted as an intermediary; the so-called adventurers were just a fancy name, not the passionate young people exploring the unknown.
They were merely a group of killing machines licking blood from the edge of a knife.
Huo Yuhao walked straight into the Adventurers' Guild. Although he had heard of it, he was still quite curious about what it was like.
Because of his flamboyant attire, a pretty maid in a white dress quickly approached him and respectfully said:
"Sir, are you an adventurer?"
Huo Yuhao surveyed the tower's interior, noting the expensive jewelry and paintings everywhere.
It seemed the Adventurers' Guild was making a considerable profit through intermediaries.
Hearing the white-clad maid's question, Huo Yuhao shook his head, indicating he wasn't an adventurer.
A barely perceptible glint flashed in the white-clad maid's eyes; she was clearly trained in emotional control. However, Huo Yuhao's mental strength was superior, easily detecting her joy.
He thought to himself,
"It seems the Adventurers' Guild is eager for adventurers to join."
"These maids probably frequently recruit Soul Masters to become adventurers; they must get a substantial commission."
Sure enough, the white-clad maid immediately led Huo Yuhao on a tour of the guild, her etiquette impeccable, her words clear and concise as she explained the various benefits of being an adventurer.
Huo Yuhao followed her for a while on the first floor, sensing several Soul Masters of considerable strength with his mental power.
There were five-ring and six-ring Soul Masters, but each one wore the seal of their respective sect on their chest. The Heavenly Dragon Sect and Earthly Dragon Sect each had their own designated areas, likely staffed by personnel stationed here.
According to the original timeline, Xu Jiawei would have issued a mission here to seize a 100,000-year-old Soul Beast embryo from Mingde Hall, which was ultimately accepted by the Body Sect.
It seems the Adventurers' Association has partnerships with major sects across the Douluo Three Kingdoms and likely also has close ties with the royal families of those countries.
After touring the first floor, Huo Yuhao said to the white-clad maid beside him,
"Okay, I'd like to register as an adventurer."
The maid smiled, a beautiful smile.
However, Huo Yuhao felt disgusted. Her every move seemed like that of a commodity, to be admired and played with; her smile was utterly fake, making him feel nauseous.
However, Huo Yuhao didn't show it. He had experienced much of the filth of the Douluo Continent, and as an adult, he wouldn't vent his anger on innocent people.
Following the white-skirted maid to the front desk, Huo Yuhao found a young man in a black phoenix-tailed suit.
Upon learning that Huo Yuhao was there to register as an adventurer, the young man immediately invited him to sit on the sofa and presented him with a form to fill out.
Huo Yuhao glanced at it; it didn't involve any private information, just standard details, so he could fill it out carelessly.
After completing the form, the young man said somewhat apologetically to Huo Yuhao,
"Sir, we need to know your soul power level so we can give you the corresponding adventurer's seal. Could you please show me your soul rings?"
The young man's expression was also insincere; in Huo Yuhao's mental perception, he seemed like a robot, devoid of any extra emotion.
Huo Yuhao didn't press the issue and used his mental power to create six soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and two black—to demonstrate his soul master level.
Only then did the white-skirted maid reveal a genuine smile; it seemed the stronger the soul power of the person recruited, the higher the commission.
Upon seeing that Huo Yuhao was a Soul Emperor, the young man feigned surprise, his actions becoming even more respectful and enthusiastic. He produced a black seal and a black card from behind his back and handed them to Huo Yuhao, saying,
"Respected Soul Emperor, this is the seal representing your identity. This black card contains a spending limit of five thousand gold soul coins.
You can use it freely at the Adventurers' Guild, and you can also use this seal to participate in the Adventurers' Auction held in Tiandou City every June.
At that time, treasures from all over the continent will gather here."
"There's bound to be something that satisfies you!"
Without wasting any more time with the two dummies, Huo Yuhao headed straight for the second floor of the Adventurers' Guild.
The second floor was the mission hall, where a lot of intelligence was gathered. Floors three through five were the exchange, selling intelligence and various rare treasures.
Using the black seal, Huo Yuhao successfully entered the mission hall, but unfortunately, he didn't hear the phrase "Towards the stars..."
Probably a Teyvat-specific line, the mission hall was no longer as quiet as the first floor.
It was bustling with noise, like a bar, and quite a few people were drinking and boasting.
Huo Yuhao began to expand his mental energy, investigating the soul power levels of the people here.
"Mostly around Soul Master level, with a few Soul Kings."
"Hmm, a bunch of trash with a combat power of only five. Three seconds is enough to send them to meet Buddha Tang."
Huo Yuhao suddenly slapped his forehead; he inexplicably started calculating how to efficiently and quickly kill an entire family.
Perhaps having spent too much time here, his way of thinking had become somewhat assimilated. Huo Yuhao shook his head vigorously, banishing those strange thoughts from his mind.
Then, using his Ghostly Shadow Steps to dodge the crowded masses, he went to the mission wall to see what missions were available.
"Let me see what's going on."
"Investigate the disappearance of Dragon City residents. Mission information: Five Dragon City residents disappeared without a trace, leaving no remains or other evidence. Someone heard an explosion that night, but there were no traces of an explosion at the scene. It wasn't the work of a soul beast, and the method is suspected to be that of an evil soul master."
"Accept this mission if you are a Soul King or above."
"Mission reward: Ten Ice Spirit Fruits."
"Request traces of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Mirror Beast in the Far North."
"Mission reward: Three thousand gold soul coins."
"Steal the Kenlais Cola formula..."
"Yuhao, these missions are really diverse!"
"How come there's a mission to steal the cola formula!"
"The bigger the tree, the more the wind blows. There's nothing we can do about it."
"Even if we successfully steal the formula, these people don't know the cola ratio, so it's useless."
Huo Yuhao began to walk along the edge of the mission wall, looking at the mission information on each one.
Suddenly he stopped.
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was still mocking those who wanted to steal the cola formula when he saw Huo Yuhao stop and asked,
"What's wrong?"
Huo Yuhao looked at a red and bold mission message with a picture on it.
"Find Giant Mountain Super Power!"
"A month ago, a white giant in the Cataclysmic Mountain Range fought with an existence with overwhelming power!" "
The battle almost rewrote the entire Cataclysmic Mountain Range, leaving behind a large area of fire element holy land!"
"Due to its unknown identity, we have named it Giant Mountain Super Power!"
"Anyone with information, please contact the Star Luo City Royal Guard immediately!"
"We will reward you with 10,000 gold soul coins and a villa in the core street of Star Luo City!"
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm couldn't help but laugh when he saw the white giant and its name.
"What, what is this?!"
"Giant, Giant Mountain Super Power!"
"Hahaha, cough!"
"Sorry, Yuhao, I couldn't help it."
"This is too funny."
Huo Yuhao's face turned dark, making it impossible to read his expression.
"These Douluo commoners!"
"They really gave me that name!"
"I think Xu Jiujiu needs some discipline. I'll definitely beat her up when I get to Xingluo City!"
Despite saying this, Huo Yuhao still tore off the mission information, accepting it successfully.
Wasn't he just Giant Mountain Super Powerhouse? He'd go collect his 10,000 gold soul coins and that villa later; this old Earthling was terrified of poverty. After
walking for a while, Huo Yuhao finally returned to the starting point and saw the mission information again: "Investigate the disappearance of Dragon City residents."
His Evil Soul Master radar told him that this was almost certainly the work of an Evil Soul Master! Ninety percent of the time, it was that Level 9 Soul Master!
No matter which one, Huo Yuhao wasn't going to let it go. So, Huo Yuhao reached for the mission information, only to unexpectedly bump into a flawless white hand.
Turning his head, he saw a stunningly beautiful girl with ice-blue eyes, long black hair, and a blue and white dress staring at him.
"Hello, I accept this task."
A cool voice reached Huo Yuhao's ears, intriguing him. He silently probed the girl before him with his mental energy.
His recording ability was still active! A brand new super soul beast appeared in the catalog.
"Ice and Snow Maiden: Born from the heavens and earth of the far north, the ultimate ice and snow, the absolute ice and snow overlord. Her beautiful appearance and powerful strength make her the king of the far north..."
"Not recommended for consumption."
Huo Yuhao smiled as he saw her, his eyes, like the starry sky, sizing her up.
He had already recognized the girl's identity through her martial soul.
"Ice and Snow Maiden, looks to be nineteen years old."
"A level fifty-five soul king, seems to be the ultimate ice one that appeared in the original Shrek story."
(End of Chapter)
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