"Nope." Huo Yuhao immediately refused.
A mysterious voice coming from out of nowhere and wants his help without providing any information? Only a naive idiot would instantly go and help.
But he was curious. That voice had sounded straight into his mind.
That was something not even a Limit Douluo could do. Add in a familiar and comfortable sensation from the voice, it was as if he had heard it before...
What kind of sorcery was this?
'Hm? The voice is...coming from the Ancient Golden Tree?' It was a brief moment but Huo Yuhao had quickly managed to retrace the spiritual power used to transmit those words.
A mysterious voice coming from the place that now treats him as a criminal?
Normally that would've dissuaded anyone further from following that voice in his situation.
But no. Huo Yuhao made quick and logical deductions of the origin of the voice: it sounded feminine yet he didn't recognize it as anyone he knew, carried an ancient and gentle aura, and originated from the Ancient Golden Tree.
According to the Dragon Kings' memories, this type of tree was rarely seen throughout the entire universe. Its ability to absorb the origin energy of heaven and earth from its surroundings and consolidate it into its center makes any cultivators who cultivates within its area would accelerate by several folds.
Moreover, it also makes its defensive capabilities absolute against powerful attacks even against Gods!
If Huo Yuhao had the power of the Ancient Golden Tree at the time of his martial soul evolution, Tang San wouldn't be able to harm him or his comrades.
'It could be a potential ally. Hm. Worth checking out. But the primary objective is to ascertain the entire situation of the academy and the forest.'
Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao shifted fully into shinobi mode.
It wasn't difficult to do.
As a student in Shrek Academy for around four years, he memorized the entire layout of the school as if it were the back of his hand.
His presence receded until he was little more than a faint shadow in the crowd. Using the Body Substitution Jutsu combined with his spiritual power, he slipped past the academy's outer gates like a ghost.
A simple genjutsu layered over his already ordinary disguise ensured that any sweeping spiritual probes from the patrolling teachers with spiritual type martial souls or soul skills barely registered him as an ordinary student.
He moved like the wind through the outer courtyard, blending into the crowd and the background with ease.
As he advanced deeper, fragments of gossip from students and teachers drifted into his ears.
"...did you hear? The Ten Heavenly Demons really betrayed the academy. Their leader was actually colluding with evil soul masters this whole time!"
"Shh! Lower your voice. The elders said they're all wanted now since none of them were in the academy at the time of the investigation of allegations they have being Evil Soul Masters. Especially that Huo Yuhao... they say he's been hiding his true evil nature."
"I'm not surprised that they had connections with Evil Soul Masters. I mean, had any of you seen that particular senior with the mutated Blue Silver Grass? The said to be the inheritor of the fallen Tang Sect?"
"Oh, Tang Ya? Yeah, I've seen that girl before. She looked really beautiful. She's like that typical cold beauty, but exuded a dangerous vibe. Like, when you see her, you'd feel as though she could kill you with her gaze! Which was weird since she didn't look like that before..."
"I've heard her martial soul had mutated into an Evil martial soul."
"Aiya. What a disappointment to the legacy of the great Ancestor Tang San. To think the last remnant of Tang Sect had fallen to such lows."
"What about the other members? Isn't one of the members a descendant of the former Pavilion Master? Aren't two of them part of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, one being the young miss? Another is a young master of the Xuanwu Sect, and another is the young master of the mysterious Clear Sky Sect!"
"What are the reactions of the respective clans? Did they say anything? Would they give up their heirs or cut ties with Shrek Academy?"
"Nah, screw that. Let's talk about their leader! Their leader is the most mysterious and powerful. Like, I hear Huo Yuhao has the ability to raise the dead!"
"Raise the dead? How is that possible? I heard that he has twin martial souls, and both of them aren't related to raising the dead."
"A mutation to his martial soul, perhaps? Or a soul skill?"
"I always knew something was off about him. Too talented, too perfect. Turns out he was pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger!"
"Oh! What about that sect he was a part of A...Akatsuki? Is that what it's called? I heard that all of the members who were part of that sect had all mysteriously vanished in the academy."
"Those elite students and teachers who had a connection with Huo Yuhao, right?"
"Yeah! It was so weird. One moment I was being berated by teacher Zhou Yi and just as I had blinked, she was gone!"
"Yo, didja hear about the transformed soul beasts who studied here? Y'know, the one the Pavilion Master had tried capturing? I've heard that some teachers had spotted her at the edge of the Great Star Dou Forest briefly."
"Shit. Are they preparing for another invasion?"
Huo Yuhao's eyes flashed coldly, but he didn't stop. He crossed the outer courtyard in minutes, arriving at the shore of Sea God Lake.
The vast body of water surrounding the inner courtyard shimmered under the afternoon sun, its surface rippling with faint life energy.
He glanced back at the outer courtyard.
'Looks like Di Tian kept his end of the bargain.'
Right before Huo Yuhao had gone on the exchange program to the Sun Moon Empire, he made a deal with Di Tian.
In case of a catastrophic attack on the Akatsuki and its members, Di Tian will make a move to teleport them away to a safe location.
Besides Huo Yuhao and the mysterious True Lord of Soul Beasts, space control was something that the Beast God was unrivaled at within the Douluo Planet. Relying on him to save his comrades was the right move.
'If I wasn't wary about a countermeasure that Tang San might have against my Spiritual Detection, I would've gotten the information that I needed in a moment.' After the breakthrough of his Spiritual Power and the Awakening of his Six Eyes, his Spiritual Detection could cover almost the entire planet!
Under that All-Knowing gaze, he would be able to know everything that the planet holds secret to and everyone else's as well.
He turned his gaze back towards Sea God Island and focused his Spiritual Detection on the Sea God Pavilion where some of his old friends were.
'A strange barrier has enveloped the entire island. My Spiritual Detection can't pierce through it. Heh. This is certainly a trap,' Huo Yuhao smirked.
Without any hesitation, he stepped onto the water's surface and ran across it casually, his feet barely disturbing the lake as light ripples. A powerful genjutsu wrapped around him, rendering him completely invisible to both eyes and spiritual skills.
To any onlooker, the lake surface remained perfectly calm and empty.
In mere moments, he crossed the vast body of water and arrived on Sea God Island.
"Teacher..." Huo Yuhao looked up at the statue of Mu En and momentarily paid his respects.
'Looks like I can't use my spiritual power here,' After paying his respects, he then moved to a secluded area before anyone could catch him. He quickly realized that the genjutsu around him had vanished.
'Unfortunately, I can't use my Spiritual Detection to see if any of my friends are here that Di Tian hadn't manage to take away. I'll eavesdrop on some students and elders on the way to the Ancient Golden Tree.'
Huo Yuhao made his way cautiously through the lush greenery of Sea God Island, sticking to the shadows and using pure physical stealth and footwork to remain undetected.
Without his spiritual power, he relied entirely on his honed shinobi skills. He moved silently between trees, rooftops, and statues while keeping his breathing controlled and his presence suppressed to the absolute minimum.
He made sure to avoid the Sea God Pavilion for now.
Everything looked so... peaceful. Calm.
But there was underlying tensions, it felt serious.
'Something is definitely off here.'
As he drew closer to a secret pathway into the roots of Ancient the Golden Tree, he began picking up scattered conversations from students and a few elders walking along the pathways.
"Hey, did you hear? Big Senior Sister's isolation punishment has been extended to another week!"
"Seriously? Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan hasn't learned her lesson. Damn. Well, that's what she gets for speaking up for the Heavenly Demons."
"C'mon man. Y'know this is going a bit too—"
"Shh! Don't. Be. An. Idiot!"
"..."
"C'mon. Let's head on over to the cafeteria."
"Teacher Wang Yan, Senior Han Ruoruo, Senior Wu Ming, and other seniors are still under investigation? Shit. Some of them don't even have a close connection to any of the Heavenly Demons! Are we also...?"
"I heard that...."
Huo Yuhao frowned. 'Hmm. As expected. Senior Sister Zhang and Teacher Wang Yan weren't able to escape.... Or did they but the ones under 'that' guy's control is suppressing the truth.'
'What about Xiaotao and Yaya? Although they're members of the Akatsuki, they were undergoing special training.'
'Especially Tang Ya, she's supposed to be going through a Divine Trial set by the God of Blood. Is she safe? It's been too long. I have to check on her as well.'
At that moment, an elder's voice drifted over from a nearby table. He was a having a chess match with another elder. "The Pavilion Master has already sealed off most of the restricted areas. The Sea God Pavilion elders are in constant meetings these days."
"Something big is happening.... the reinstatement of the Shrek Seven Monsters isn't just meant to counter the Heavenly Demons' betrayal."
The other elder nodded in agreement. "Yes. I think that this, ahem, mind you it's entirely guesswork for now. I think that they're planning on annihilating the entire Heavenly Demons!"
"Why would you think so?!"
"Well, "He" has appeared here. With the current situation over at the Sun Moon Empire, do you really think that he'd have the time to spare to be here?"
'He?' Huo Yuhao furrowed as he continued forward, committing every word to memory.
Finally, after navigating past several patrolling soul masters, he arrived at a secluded area deep within the inner courtyard, surrounded only by dense branches and thick foliage that shielded him from view.
This was close to the very roots of the Ancient Golden Tree.
Without any hesitation, he walked straight toward the huge trunk of the tree. As he approached, a gentle golden light bloomed before him, and a shimmering golden portal silently materialized on the bark, its surface rippling like liquid light.
Huo Yuhao paused for only a brief moment, his Sharingan and Byakugan both spinning once as he scanned the portal.
"...Welp, no fortune without risks."
Then, with steady steps, he walked straight into it.
The golden light enveloped him completely, and the portal vanished without a trace, leaving the secluded area silent once more.
"Aah... My child... Finally...!"
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
AN: I have returned!? Everyone, I'm sorry for such a late update and silence. To keep it briefly... I got lost on the path of life.
I'm back in school for the new term and the schedule I got was not good. Not good at all.
Because of that, the updates is going to be more sporadic and slow than before. Truly, I'm sorry. However, I am very thankful that you all stuck with me and this story for so long! Thank you!!