Chapter 71.2: Flying-type Soul Tool
Now that they’d recovered, everyone once again ascended into the air. After being tormented by Elder Xuan, they all began to enjoy the feeling of flying slowly. At the very least, their complexions improved somewhat from doing so. If one were to use Elder Xuan’s previous speed along with both his strength and his flying-type soul tool as references, they’dd be able to calculate that Elder Xuan would be able to travel to any corner of the entire Douluo continent within a week. Huo Yuhao was growing more and more curious about Elder Xuan’s true strength. The latter shouldn’t be just any Titled Douluo; it was likely that even Dean Yan Shaozhe wouldn’t be able to compete with Elder Xuan in cultivation alone.
At that moment, the sky had already begun to brighten; the sun had risen from the east and bathed their bodies in a faint golden glow.
A large military camp slowly appeared in front of them. This camp was set up right next to the mountains, while a few more camps were visible in the Ming Dou Mountain Range itself.
The word ‘military camp’ was somewhat inaccurate; the undulating cotton walls to the west of the camp were over thirty meters tall and nearly fifty meters wide. Just how large of a project was this!?
Even though it wasn’t quite daytime yet, an endless number of military carriages that were carrying blocks of stone away from the mountains could still be seen.
At that moment, Dai Yueheng was flying relatively close to Huo Yuhao. Their relationship had deepened slightly after their previous talk. He smiled and asked, “Yuhao, is this your first time visiting an army camp?”
Huo Yuhao nodded.
Seemingly familiar with the matter, Dai Yueheng explained, “The southern, eastern, and southeastern regions of our Star Luo Empire borders the ocean. We’re second only to the Sun Moon Empire in size. Our army consists of two sub-armies: the Eastern Army and the Northern Army. Of these, the Eastern Army is the most important, as it has to guard against the Sun Moon Empire. Its total military strength numbers around five hundred thousand.”
“The Ming Dou Mountain Range has treacherous and ever-changing terrain, making it extremely hard for troops to march through. Furthermore, every country now has specialised soul masters who scout the mountain range every day. Both the Sun Moon Empire and our empire station our troops at a relatively low-lying part of the mountain range that’s advantageous for them, of which there are only three in the entire mountain range. The mountain range itself spreads towards the south, and takes up almost two-thirds of the border; the other third is a soul beast-containing forest that’s around half the size of the Great Star Dou Forest. This forest is known as the Great Ming Dou Forest, and is an area populated by a variety of soul beasts. It isn’t as dangerous to us soul masters as the Great Star Dou Forest, but it’s even more dangerous than the former to an army. This is due to the fact that the soul beasts there are even more aggressive than the ones in the Great Star Dou Forest. It’s because of this, that we’ve stationed our troops at relatively low-lying parts of the Ming Dou Mountain Range.
“Oh, right. Yuhao, I haven’t asked you this yet, but where are you from?”
Huo Yuhao had originally calmed down somewhat when he heard Dai Yueheng’s explanation, but his expression changed yet again when he heard this question. He lowered his head and said, “I’m also a citizen of the Star Luo Empire.”
“Oh? Which part of the Star Luo Empire? I didn’t think that we’d be fellow citizens!” The smile on Dai Yueheng’s face grew much larger.
“A small village near Star Luo City,” Huo Yuhao replied, “I’m sure that you wouldn’t have heard of it.”
Dai Yueheng chuckled. “Even better! Not only are we fellow citizens, we’re even from the same area. I also grew up near Star Luo City!”
As the two conversed with each other, they arrived at the army camp. However, the White Tiger Bodyguards who were leading the way didn’t descend. Du Leisi, who’d led the pack, raised his right hand and released something similar to a flare that released a multicoloured array of light. Afterwards they continued forwards unobstructed.
However, Huo Yuhao was able to tell with his visual acuity that a large number of defensive fortifications had immediately reacted the moment they’d approached the barracks. A somber atmosphere seemed to have pervaded the entire camp. Even though it was still early in the morning, a large number of soldiers had already begun their training drills. Not only were they orderly, but they also released an awe-inspiringly murderous air; they seemed like a pack of iron-blooded lions.
“The Eastern Army has the most elite troops within the Star Luo Empire,” Dai Yueheng proudly said. “The hundred thousand men from the Central Legion you see in front of us are elites amongst elites.”
Even though Huo Yuhao hadn’t ever seen his biological father before, he was still somewhat aware of the inner workings of the White Tiger Dukedom. As the marshal of the empire, the White Tiger Duke commanded the Eastern Army. At the same time, he was also the Legion Commander of the Eastern Army’s Central Legion. The amount of trust that the Star Luo Empire’s imperial family had in him could be seen from this. Supposedly, the hundred thousand men in the Central Legion were enough to rival the combined fighting strength of all of the other soldiers in the Star Luo Empire. Although this was somewhat of an exaggeration, the strength of the Central Legion could be clearly seen with a single glance.
They flew past one barrack after another. Once they’d flown for nearly fifteen minutes more, a large, leather tent appeared in their field of vision.
This leather tent was much larger than the other army tents. Furthermore, it was hexagonal in shape, and was made entirely of dark-brown leather. There weren’t too many guards around it. Only two squads of the White Tiger Bodyguards, each of which numbering about thirty, patrolled the perimeter.
Huo Yuhao’s gaze quickly landed on a single person who was standing in front of the large tent. Although their figure was somewhat unclear, he was still able to sense a startling pressure from them; it was the sort of tyrannical pressure that came from the combination of a powerful cultivation and an aura of slaughter. That person seemed to be training his fists, though he hadn’t released his martial soul. His movements were simple and succinct, yet a muffled explosion of air would appear whenever he punched outwards.
Du Leisi, who’d been flying in front, slowed down, then descended along with everyone behind him. They began to sense the violent fluctuations in the air when they were a hundred or meters in the air.
Huo Yuhao focused his gaze and was able to clearly see the man in front of them. He was currently facing towards them, his golden hair fluttering freely about in the wind. His upper body was naked, which revealed his rugged, copper-colored muscles. His tall figure was almost two meters in height, and one could see just how stalwart his chiseled face was from the side.
His seemingly slow movements had a very natural and flowing tempo to them. Every step he took and every punch he released were followed by a muffled explosion of air. The valiant undulations of qi and blood he was releasing had reached the very pinnacle, which in turn caused Huo Yuhao to feel his blood roil about somewhat as he continued to stare.
That man slowly pulled back his fist, then stood up straight as if he’d sensed their arrival. He exhaled, inhaled deeply, then released a lion-like roar. A gale instantly erupted in the several hundred meters surrounding the leather tent; it truly resembled the descent of an actual lion. The stern aura coming from him caused every single disciple of Shrek Academy to feel their hair stand on end.
The pressure that Ma Xiaotao emanated during battle was already relatively astonishing, but she was still quite a ways away from the tall man in front of them.
Is that him? Huo Yuhao was stunned, and all sorts of mixed feelings suddenly arose in his heart. He’d never expected to meet his father in such a situation. Was this the man that his mother could never forget? The man who she held no regret for, even when she lay on her deathbed?
As everyone slowly landed, the foremost Du Leisi had already stepped forward. He bowed slightly and said, “Marshal, the young master and people from Shrek Academy have arrived.”
Everyone was able to see his full appearance at this point: He didn’t look a day over thirty, and his facial features were proper. His deep azure eyes each contained flickering pupils. He looked somewhat thin, yet his entire body gave off a metallic feeling. This was especially true of his gaze, which flickered like an enormous blade as it swept across everyone, which caused them to involuntarily stop moving. However, his gaze quickly turned warm.
Handsome, stalwart, tall, and an iron-blooded temperament. When they saw him, even the Heaven’s Chosen of Shrek Academy felt like serving him. An extraordinary splendor repeatedly flickered through Ma Xiaotao’s eyes; a steel-like man like this was just her type.
Dai Yueheng stepped out of line, then took a few quick steps forward. He kneeled down in front of that tall man, then said respectfully, “Father.”
There was no doubt about it—the tall man in front of them was definitely the current Iron-Blooded War God who stood above everybody in the Star Luo Empire, Dai Hao. He was also Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin’s father, as well as Huo Yuhao’s…
The moment Dai Yueheng said the word ‘father’, Huo Yuhao felt all the blood in his body surge towards his head. His eyes instantly turned red, and he was nearly unable to control the flood of emotions he felt.
It’s him, it’s him! This is the person my mother was harmed by, yet couldn’t forget. He’s the father I’ve never seen before! It’s truly him…
His mother’s smiling face instantly filled every corner of Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea, and he nearly began to cry.
Wang Dong silently stepped to the side, blocking Huo Yuhao from view. At the same time, he stretched his right hand out, planning to sober him up by grabbing his sleeve. However, he didn’t think that his hand would just so happen to grab Huo Yuhao’s special area.
Wang Dong’s body stiffened, and he immediately let go as if he’d been electrocuted. His pretty face instantly turned bright red, but luckily everyone else had been captivated by the White Tiger Duke.
Oddly enough however, his grab was incredibly effective. Huo Yuhao only felt his lower body tighten up, and his originally teary eyes vanished. The mixed feelings in his eyes subsequently transformed into those of astonishment. Even though Wang Dong hadn’t used much force, the feeling of being assaulted caused him to wake with a shudder.
“What’re you doing?” Huo Yuhao whispered astonished.
Wang Dong acted as if nothing had happened. “Waking you up a bit.”
“Then do you want me to grab that part of your body when I wake you up next time?”
“Screw off…”
Despite what had happened, Huo Yuhao’s heart had stabilised quite a bit after this interruption. Furthermore, he and Wang Dong were standing in the back, which had made their actions difficult to notice.
At that moment, Dai Yueheng stood up and whispered a few words to the White Tiger Duke Dai Hao, who then took a few large strides and smiled. “Greetings to Teacher Wang Yan and the various talented students from Shrek Academy.”