Girls are indeed soft to hold; in particular, Gu Yuena carries a scent of pure elements that Huo Yuhao finds inexplicably soothing.
The sound of breathing and heartbeats composed a lullaby, causing Huo Yuhao to unconsciously lower his guard and enjoy a deep, unrestrained sleep.
The existence of the destiny barrier temporarily shielded them from the gaze beyond the world. This allowed Huo Yuhao to relax slightly, no longer needing to use the power of destiny to mask himself every time he acted for fear of being discovered by Tang San.
Now, he finally didn't have to be so paranoid. This was a long-overdue relaxation.
...
Early morning.
Since it was the weekend, there were no classes at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Engineer Academy. Furthermore, when he had said goodbye to Meng Hongchen and the others yesterday, Huo Yuhao had the foresight to mention he would be in seclusion today to research soul tools, so Meng Hongchen didn't come to look for him.
In the kitchen, the early-rising Huo Yuhao was preparing breakfast for a certain sleepy Dragon King.
It must be said that the single dormitory Jing Hongchen prepared for him was indeed well-equipped, even featuring a soul tool refrigerator. Every few days, staff would come to restock it, which was quite thoughtful.
After selecting a few ingredients unique to the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao prepared to make some local delicacies he had picked up over the last few days.
In no time, the meal was ready. Huo Yuhao used his soul power to seal the freshness of the food and was about to check if the gluttonous Dragon King was awake. However, in the next moment, a familiar aura embraced him from behind.
The girl seemed to have just woken up; although her purple eyes were calm, they still held a trace of post-sleep haziness.
She rested her head on his shoulder, drawing close to Huo Yuhao with slightly heavy breaths:
"Yuhao..."
"What is it, Sister Nana?"
"When will you finally grow up?"
The girl's tone was faint, carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.
Huo Yuhao's body stiffened slightly, his thoughts momentarily in disarray. Hesitating, he spoke softly: "Sister Nana, although I don't know much about the laws of the three Great Empires and the Sun Moon Empire, I'm only eight years old..."
"I am a soul beast," Gu Yuena stated calmly, her arms around Huo Yuhao's waist tightening.
The subtext was simple: I am not human, I don't need to follow human laws.
Talk about a "Version T0" meta-pick plus "Animal Protection" status! She's basically un-targetable, isn't she!
Once again, Huo Yuhao didn't know how to respond. Compared to the Qiu'er in his memories, Gu Yuena, as the Co-lord of Soul Beasts, seemed to be much more direct.
Regaining his composure, Huo Yuhao shook his head and whispered: "I'm just a kid, Sister Nana, please spare me... Hiss—"
A sharp pain radiated from his shoulder.
His body, modified by the dual powers of Emotional Power and the Ultimate Ice martial soul, was easily breached by Gu Yuena's teeth.
The wound appeared, a bit of blood seeped out, and then it quickly healed under his powerful self-regeneration. However, on the newly healed skin, a silver bite mark remained.
"Humph."
Gu Yuena lowered her eyes, a flash of displeasure crossing her purple gaze. However, she let go of Huo Yuhao and turned to sit at the nearby dining table. Then, her gaze fell upon him again.
「Bring the food! If it's not good, I'll eat you!」
Inexplicably, looking at Gu Yuena's eyes, this was the sentence Huo Yuhao's mind filled in.
With a light laugh, Huo Yuhao brought the dishes to the table and spoke softly like a waiter: "Please enjoy your meal, Miss Gu Yuena."
...
"...So, that's the general situation."
Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn't waste time. While the gluttonous Dragon King was in a great mood due to the delicious food, he laid out the current state of affairs.
Gu Yuena was silent for a moment, seemingly processing the information. After a pause, she spoke softly:
"I think I understand. So, do we need to wipe out that Tang San's Divine Consciousness?"
"No... he's an excellent material. High quality. He'll serve perfectly as a test subject for things like 'artificial soul rings' or 'artificial soul bones' in my future plans.
"I want you to go to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well for me."
"Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well?" Gu Yuena heard the unfamiliar name.
"Yes, the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. It's a treasure land capable of increasing the growth speed of any plant within it by tenfold. It's quite miraculous.
"And inside are various immortal herbs kept by Tang San. If Tang San wants to rise, he will certainly choose to go there to consume the herbs and improve his aptitude.
"To avoid unnecessary variables, I want you to go there and set up a seal or a barrier so that no one else can enter."
Huo Yuhao actually had another thought: to simply pack up the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and throw it into the Spectral Demiplane.
The unique properties of the well allow it to continuously gather heaven-and-earth primordial energy, converting it into pure Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Ice energy.
Due to a strange balance, if the Ultimate Ice energy decreases, the Ultimate Fire energy from the other side will compensate to maintain the equilibrium.
And Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice martial soul still needed quite a bit of energy to condense soul rings.
Furthermore, the well's ability to naturally gather energy could, with a bit of modification, perhaps be turned into a soul power generator?
Additionally, Huo Yuhao's path forward was still a bit blurred. He wasn't sure if he needed those immortal herbs to improve his body, or if the well would function as he predicted.
Too many uncertainties made Huo Yuhao hesitate.
Besides those uncertainties, he had too many plans to lay out and various soul tools already on the schedule that required research...
He didn't have much time to spare for a trip to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well himself.
Finally, the most important reason was that the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was right there; it wasn't going anywhere. He could go whenever he wanted, so there was no rush—until now.
But now, Tang San had suddenly descended.
Since Tang San was here, Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn't let him benefit. Locking down the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was a must. With Gu Yuena, who possessed the strength of a First-rank God, handling the seal, Huo Yuhao could rest easy.
Under the cover of the destiny barrier created by the World Will, Gu Yuena—who could now use her full power without restraint—was the strongest existence in the Douluo World, without exception.
Huo Yuhao took out a piece of paper and, relying on his memories, drew the map to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well from his previous life, placing it before Gu Yuena.
Looking at the map and then at Huo Yuhao, Gu Yuena suddenly felt something was off.
How did she end up being the one taking orders?
She was the Silver Dragon King! A mere human dared to command her? Watch her...
"Oh, right. Come back quickly. I'll prepare something delicious for you tonight."
Mm.
Gu Yuena turned her head away and silently took the map.