MTLNOVEL Chapter 7: Position
In the core area of East Sea City stands a modest five-story building, covering an area of 100 square meters.
Its appearance is unremarkable, yet its presence in such a prime location, where every inch of land is valuable, hints at the owner's significant status.
On the third floor of this building, Huo Yuhao sat in a spacious room, surveying the surroundings and sighing quietly to himself.
Two days had passed since the conclusion of Awakening Day.
He had garnered the highest level of attention from the East Sea Spirit Pagoda.
Hua Yichen, true to his word, had allocated this building to him.
Various books on soul beasts and souls were delivered, and a dedicated laboratory was set up on the second floor, seemingly to accommodate his every need.
Hua Yichen had even offered to send tutors and housekeepers to assist him, but Huo Yuhao found a reason to decline.
Having outsiders around would only lead to unnecessary complications.
"This is better than I expected," Huo Yuhao murmured, picking up a book on souls and flipping through its pages thoughtfully.
Beside him stood a massive bookshelf filled with volumes on soul masters, soul beasts, and soul power, along with manuscripts and notes documenting the history of the Spirit Pagoda and some insider secrets.
Through these books, Huo Yuhao gained a more comprehensive understanding of the current state of the Spirit Pagoda, and he felt a sense of relief.
Compared to the worst-case scenario he had envisioned, the present situation was far better.
The Spirit Pagoda had failed to crack Yi Lao's "security procedures" and still respected the wishes of soul beasts.
A soul could only be formed if the soul beast willingly chose to become one.
However, the emergence of heirloom souls surprised Huo Yuhao, though upon reflection, it seemed inevitable.
Who wouldn't want to pass down a powerful soul through dissolution?
While a thousand-year soul might resist the temptation, what about ten-thousand-year, hundred-thousand-year, or even beast-level souls?
Although the Spirit Pagoda had introduced a spiritual ascension platform to increase soul years, it remained inaccessible to ordinary people.
In contrast, heirloom souls could be passed down through generations, growing stronger over time.
For instance, the book Huo Yuhao was reading contained an example: a father with a mediocre martial soul and a ten-year first soul.
Through cultivation, his soul grew to a hundred years and was then passed down to his descendants, who started with a higher foundation and eventually achieved a soul power fifteen levels higher than their ancestor.
While this might seem insignificant, for soul masters from humble backgrounds, it represented a glimmer of hope for upward mobility.
As for heirloom souls in established soul master families...
"They can be inherited, they can fight, and they have a long lifespan. They resemble the guardian beasts of sects in fantasy novels," Huo Yuhao mused with a smile, shaking his head as he turned the page to learn more about the Spirit Pagoda's headquarters.
The current rulers of the Spirit Pagoda were still the Qiangu Family, but the era of their absolute dominance had passed.
After all, Huo Yuhao knew that if there was a loophole, it had to be addressed.
As he looked at the photos in the book, Huo Yuhao smiled.
"This Di Tian is thriving," he remarked.
Tianmeng, gazing at the photo of the man in the book alongside Huo Yuhao, couldn't help but feel a tinge of resentment.
The photo depicted Di Tian clad in a black robe, captured during an interview.
His expression was one of familiarity, as if he had grown accustomed to such occasions.
Indeed, Di Tian was one of the three deputy tower masters of the Spirit Pagoda and a lifelong member of its council.
It was no wonder he had become so accustomed to such matters over the years.
The more Tianmeng thought about it, the more he felt that Di Tian had gotten off too easily.
Perhaps he should have let Yuhao deal with Di Tian back then.
"Brother Tianmeng, are you reminiscing about past grievances again?" Huo Yuhao noticed Tianmeng's subtle movements and asked.
Tianmeng snorted, "Hmph, that little... If I hadn't been careless back then, how could he have had the chance to control me? If we were to do it all over again, I'd crush him!"
Huo Yuhao: "..."
What are you even saying? The Spirit Sea now belongs to me, Yi Lao, and you. Who are you trying to impress?
Oh, and there's also the Little Ice Silkworm.
Since Tianmeng had occupied the contract position, the Little Ice Silkworm had been temporarily stranded in Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea.
Thinking about the new occupants of the Spirit Sea, Huo Yuhao began to understand Tianmeng's thoughts.
He closed the book he was holding, placed it back on the shelf, and then picked up another book about soul guides.
Activating his spirit detection, he began to quickly scan through its contents.
Reading with spirit detection was the fastest way to commit information to memory.
For books that didn't require deep understanding, this method saved a significant amount of time.
Speaking of spirit detection, it was worth mentioning Huo Yuhao's current soul skills.
After signing an improved soul contract with Tianmeng, he had gained the ability to choose his own soul skills.
The first soul ring of the Spirit Eye, provided by Tianmeng, granted him four soul skills: Spiritual Interference Domain, Spiritual Detection, Spirit Sharing, and... Simulation!
Among these, Huo Yuhao knew that the essence of the Spiritual Interference Domain was derived from combining the two soul techniques of simulation and spiritual interference.
This technique had been studied ten thousand years ago and remained unaffected by his re-cultivation.
However, the four soul skills did not include the spiritual impact.
Instead, simulation had replaced it.
This was also the reason why his soul ring had appeared yellow during his time at the Spirit Pagoda.
If, ten thousand years ago, the spiritual shock had been his primary method of attack in the early stages, useful for defeating enemies, things were different now.
A Limit Douluo with a dignified spiritual attribute who couldn't even use his spiritual power to attack others without the assistance of a soul ring... What was the point of his existence?
Wasn't this even worse than the God King Tang during his re-cultivation?
It had been 10,000 years. Although Huo Yuhao didn't consider himself a genius, he certainly wasn't as outrageous as a certain god king who relied on the same techniques throughout his life, whether as a human, a god, or even after reincarnation.
While Huo Yuhao was outside gathering information about this era, Tianmeng was busy fooling the Little Ice Silkworm in the Sea of Spirits.
Since Tianmeng had taken over the soul spirit position, the Little Ice Silkworm was understandably upset.
However, upon seeing the majestic figure of Tianmeng, it was utterly shocked.
With such an imposing presence, could this be... the ancestor of their Ice Silkworm clan?
"Who are you?" the Little Ice Silkworm asked cautiously.
Tianmeng, surrounded by ten golden rings, looked down at the little Ice Silkworm with an air of grandeur.
"I am the strongest in the Far North, the head of the Four Heavenly Kings, the only million-year-old soul beast in the world, the supreme ruler of the Ice Silkworm Clan—the Heavenly Dream Emperor!"
Feeling the overwhelming spiritual pressure radiating from Tianmeng, the little Ice Silkworm instinctively bowed its head.
"Greetings, Emperor!"
Yet, a flicker of doubt remained in its mind.
Aren't there only three Heavenly Kings in the Far North? And hasn't one of them been missing for a long time?
As if sensing its confusion, Tianmeng snorted coldly.
"Hmph, there are four of the three Heavenly Kings. This is common sense. If it weren't for the sake of our shared lineage, you wouldn't even be worthy of my presence."
"Please forgive me, Emperor!"
Tianmeng nodded in satisfaction.
"Although I am a million-year-old soul beast, I can no longer advance due to the Heavenly Tribulation. Thus, I have chosen to cooperate with humans to pave a path to godhood.
Your strength is too weak to participate in such matters. One day, we will send you out of the Spirit Sea. Until then, do not resist..."
The spiritual intelligence of a hundred-year-old soul beast wasn't particularly high, and with a few well-crafted words, Tianmeng successfully convinced the little Ice Silkworm of its fabricated tale.
And just like that, Tianmeng managed to elevate his status within the Spirit Sea, from second-to-last to third-to-last.
Well, progress was progress.
There was no helping it. Despite having the highest cultivation level, Tianmeng was not skilled in combat.
Among Huo Yuhao's four major soul spirits, aside from the Mermaid Princess, none were weaker than Tianmeng. And Electrolux?
He was something Tianmeng couldn't even begin to compare to.
Still, being ranked fourth out of six tenants wasn't too bad... even if it was only temporary.
Tianmeng was in a good mood and couldn't help but feel a little smug. "Do you know how Snow Empress has been lately? Back when I first taught her..."
In the eyes of the little Ice Silkworm, a double ponytail girl suddenly appeared behind Tianmeng.
She gazed at it with a cold, indifferent expression, instantly terrifying the little Ice Silkworm to the point where its soul almost left its body.
It had no time to listen to Tianmeng's words.
That aura, the little Ice Silkworm would never mistake it. It was the natural enemy of their Ice Silkworm clan: the Ice Jade Scorpion!
"...I think that as my disciple, the Snow Empress is still guarding the Far North, right? It must have been hard on her."
Tianmeng sighed, then looked up at the frozen little Ice Silkworm and suddenly felt that something was off.
Wasn't the air a little too cold? Wasn't the atmosphere a little too quiet?
"Oh, it's been a while. So, Xue'er is your disciple now? What does that make me, then?"
A faint, icy female voice echoed in Tianmeng's ears, causing it to freeze in place. Its fur stood on end.
Yuhao, you've betrayed me!!
The Ice Empress had awakened, and no one had even warned me!
Tianmeng stiffly turned its head and looked at the "Future Hatsune" version of the Ice Empress. It forced a nervous laugh:
"Bingbing, let's talk this out... please! Don't slap me in front of my junior! At least save me some face!"
On this day, the Spirit Sea once again echoed with the familiar screams of Tianmeng.