Chapter 71.1: White Tiger Duke's Mansion
Western border of the Star Luo Empire.
It
was already so deep into the night that you couldn’t see the stars or
the moon anymore. In fact, it was so dark that, in the wilderness, you
couldn’t even see your hand if you were to hold it up in front of your
face. This time of night was the darkest part of the night, as it was
right before the sun would rise in the faraway east, and a new day would
begin.
But at that instant, a white light cut through the sky,
leaving behind a magnificent glowing tail; it seemed as if the sky had
suddenly been cleaved in two.
This white light looked like a meteor that was descending towards the earth. However, it seemed to be slowing down as it fell.
Suddenly,
it grew larger, and the white light transformed into a huge platform
that was dozens of meters in diameter. Afterwards, several black forms
slowly descended to the earth from the platform.
“Ou…”
“Ou—”
The
sound of people retching continuously echoed in the night air. Once the
white light had disappeared, the dozen-or-so figures that had appeared
were either staggering, squatting on the ground, or leaning against tree
trunks. Furthermore, over half of them were in the process of vomiting.
“You
all have some skills after all.” A hoarse voice echoed. An old man with
greasy clothes came forwards, a large calabash in hand. Afterwards, he
took a large swig of alcohol. This man was one of the elders of the
sacred Sea God’s Pavilion of Shrek Academy, and was also the commander
of the Shrek Guardians, Elder Xuan.
All of the pale-faced figures who were currently puking were obviously the students he’d brought along.
Even
the likes of Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were in a sorry state; they
were having a hard time suppressing their gastric fluids.
He
Caitou and Xu Sanshi were in the worst state of those with a higher
level of cultivation; they were almost unable to suppress their bile.
Who told them to have the largest bodies amongst the disciples of the
outer courtyard?
Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong all threw up
several times. Luckily, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had the protection of
the latter’s Golden Light Left Arm Bone, which had sustained itself with
their Haodong Power that they had continuously circulated during their
turbulent journey. As such, they were slightly better off than the
others.
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and the others on the preparatory
team had thought that their schoolmates were extremely strong. Yet,
compared to Elder Xuan, everyone from the official team were nothing.
Elder
Xuan had carried the fifteen of them here by himself; he’d maintained
that incredible speed for over four hours, crossing what appeared to be
over 1500 miles. Furthermore, if you were to compare his current
appearance to that of before he’d begun, you wouldn’t find any
differences. This might have something to do with his flying-type soul
tool, but the main reason was due to Elder Xuan’s boundless soul power!
Of course, his soul tool had been an important factor too; even if it
was Elder Xuan, he wouldn’t have been able to fly whilst carrying more
than ten people for so long with just his power alone. From this, it
should be seen just how important soul tools were for the Douluo
Continent.
“Little Dai!” Elder Xuan lazily called out.
Dai Yueheng’s face twitched, but he still stepped forward and respectfully said, “Elder Xuan.”
Elder
Xuan said, “When I descended to the ground just now, it created a large
ruckus. The army should’ve discovered us by now. We’re currently only
about 25 kilometers away from the western army of the Star Luo Empire.
They’ll probably send someone over here in soon. Go and take care of it
while I take a nap. Your body will become weak when your old like me!
Luckily, today’s food was quite good.” Once he’d finished speaking, his
muttering figure disappeared without a trace.
As expected, several figures descended from the sky not long afterwards. They were headed towards them.
Dai
Yueheng raised his hand towards the sky, then punched the air.
Immediately afterwards, a ball of white light appeared around three
meters above his head, then slowly spread upwards and morphed into a
white halo.
The figures that were descending from the sky
immediately locked onto their position, and a total of thirty men clad
in tight-fitting black leather armor landed on the ground.
The
flying-type soul tools they wearing were also black, although they were
slightly different from the ones that Shrek’s group had previously
received from the army. Their quality seemed comparable to the one
manufactured by He Caitou.
When they’d reached the ground, they
quickly encircled Shrek’s group. Their leader, an old man with a cold
expression, then stepped forward.
“Who are you and why did you use
a flying-type soul tool to approach our army?” After he’d said this,
the old man and the soldiers all released their martial souls.
The
surrounding area was instantly lit up from the dazzling radiance of
their soul rings. What was surprising was that the old man in front was a
Soul Sage. He had three yellow soul rings, two purple, and two black.
Even though it wasn’t the best combination, it was still quite
incredible.
All of the soul masters he’d brought along all had at
least four soul rings as well. Furthermore, there were also several Soul
Kings among them. However, the youngest of them appeared to be in their
thirties.
The white tiger’s head engraved on their leather armor
gave off a pale white glow beneath the radiance of their soul rings.
It’s head was very large, and covered the majority of the leather armor.
It looked lifelike and was quite awe-inspiring.
Thirty men, all
of which were at least Soul Ancestors… this was quite the display of
power. It wasn’t surprising that they’d been able to arrive so quickly
using flying-type soul tools.
“Old Du, you don’t recognize me?” Dai Yueheng smiled as he stepped forward.
The
old man was immediately taken aback. He shone his soul ring’s light on
Dai Yueheng’s face and carefully scrutinized it. When he confirmed who
it was, he was slightly surprised. “Ah! It’s the young master! What are
you doing here? And who are these people…?”
“They’re also students
of Shrek Academy,” Dai Yueheng replied with a faint smile, “I sent a
letter to father earlier. Is he here right now?”
The old man in
front of Dai Yueheng’s was a member of the White Tiger Duke’s Mansion
known as Du Leisi. He’d accompanied the White Tiger Duke through several
different fronts, and had obtained outstanding achievements. Besides
his great power, he also possessed the title of Viscount in the Star Luo
Empire. The reason he’d called Dai Yueheng ‘young master’ rather than
‘young duke’ was due to the Dai Family’s strict rules. For one to
inherit the duke’s title, they needed to be the most outstanding out of
all of the the Duke’s consanguineous sons. Therefore, even though he’d
already grown up, Dai Yueheng still needed to rely on his own ability to
inherit the title. This was also why the other two sons of the Dai
Family were trying so hard to become stronger, as they were the only two
sons of the Duke’s main wife. As for the sons of concubines, only Huo
Yuhao existed. However, at this point, even the White Tiger Duke himself
must’ve forgotten about him.
Du Leisi raised his hand, after
which all of the soldiers withdrew their martial souls. “I see. The
commander should be in the military camp. He should already be up for
his morning exercise. I’ll lead you and your friends to him.”
Dai
Yueheng smiled bitterly. “Just look at us, do you really think that we
can travel as we are? Let us rest a bit; we’ll see father once we’ve
recovered.”
Du Leisi said, “Fine. I’ll send someone to make a
report to the Duke,” then called over a Soul King-ranked subordinate and
told him a few things to relay. The Soul King jumped up after Du Leisi
had finished and used his flying-type soul tool to return to the
military camp.
Even though his insides were currently a mess, when
Huo Yuhao heard the discussion between Dai Yueheng and Du Leisi, Huo
Yuhao’s mood changed drastically. His pale face had become red due to
the excitement he felt.
He hadn’t imagined that he’d be able to
meet that person whilst participating in the Elite Continental Soul
Master Academy Tournament. Would he really be able to see him?
Half of his life had come from this man. Yet, ever since the day he’d been born, he’d never once seen this ‘father’ of his.
Huo
Yuhao’s memory regarding him consisted of a single picture: It was the
picture of him that his mother used to draw on the ground with a tree
branch. When she had, his mother’s eyes would become full of gentleness
and devotion
Huo Yuhao remembered his mother say that the fact
that she’d been able to stay together with him and bear his son were the
best things that had happened in her life. She wouldn’t regret her
actions, even if she wasn’t ever able to see him again.
Was he really such a great person? Huo Yuhao clenched his fist so tightly that his nails left deep marks in his palms.
“Will
he recognize you?” Wang Dong gently whispered into Huo Yuhao’s ear.
Only he was privy to Huo Yuhao’s background. As such, he was a little
anxious right now; he was worried for Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao shook
his head lightly. How could he possibly recognize him if he hadn’t ever
seen him? Inside of the Duke’s Mansion, he was nothing more than a small
handyman inferior to even the domestic servants. Moreover, his
appearance had gone through an earth-shaking transformation over the
last year.
Wang Dong could see that Huo Yuhao’s body was as taut
as a wire. Thus, he reminded him in a low voice, “Waiting ten years to
take revenge isn’t too long for a wise man. Yuhao, try to calm down a
bit.”
“I know.” Huo Yuhao nodded. He knew that he had to stay calm. However, doing so was easier said than done!
After
two hours of rest, they’d more or less recovered from the aftereffects
of their flight. Their complexions were still ugly, but they’d recovered
most of their soul power and physical strength. Currently, even if a
true delicacy were placed front of them, they wouldn’t even be able to
touch it.
Dai Yueheng informed everyone of Du Leisi and the other
soul masters’ background. They were all soldiers who’d been personally
chosen by the White Tiger Duke, the White Tiger Bodyguards. They only
followed the Duke’s orders, and also resided in the Duke’s Mansion.
Of
those in the White Tiger bodyguards, everyone was at least a Soul
Elder. Moreover, one’s families needed to have held a position inside
the Duke’s Mansion for at least three generation before one was eligible
to become one of the White Tiger Bodyguards. Therefore, besides them
being very strong, they were also extremely loyal.
The White Tiger
Bodyguards had a total of five hundred members and were the White Tiger
Duke’s biggest trump card. They had several different types of soul
tools, and they were always present at the Duke’s side. Wherever he
went, they went. Of course, the treatment they received was also the
best. Every single one of them had their own residences inside of the
Duke’s Mansion. As such, it was obvious how important they were to the
Duke.
When he’d lived inside of the Duke’s Mansion, Huo Yuhao had
also seen the White Tiger bodyguards a few times. But because of his
status at the time, it had been impossible for him to even approach
them.