Since the Duskwater Alliance was willing to offer something that the Dark Lightning Douluo called "a substitute for rare metals" as a reward, it naturally meant that the alliance had no shortage of sources for this material.
In Huo Yuhao and He Caitou's previous performance, their fondness for rare metals had been completely undisguised. The Dark Lightning Douluo believed that such conditions would definitely move the two of them.
Sure enough, after hearing the Dark Lightning Douluo's words, Huo Yuhao fell silent for a long time and unconsciously exchanged a glance with He Caitou.
He didn't know where the Duskwater Alliance obtained this material from, but if it truly existed, it might solve the Sun Moon Empire's blockade on rare metals.
And with the material, combined with the blueprints he had learned over these years, perhaps Shrek Academy would have a chance to catch up to the Sun Moon Empire's pace.
Although he didn't say it explicitly, He Caitou had already roughly guessed what Huo Yuhao was thinking and slightly shook his head, not minding that others were present.
"We'll consider it further," Huo Yuhao said, quietly letting out a breath to calm his emotions.
Perhaps this was bait deliberately released by the Duskwater Alliance to recruit them. He couldn't make a rash decision over something that had not yet been confirmed.
"Of course," the Dark Lightning Douluo nodded with a smile.
From their reactions, he could tell the two were already interested in what he had mentioned.
"Then please rest well, both of you. You may ask us for specific information about the Soul Engineer Tournament finals at any time."
With that, the Dark Lightning Douluo turned his head. "Chen An, receive our two representatives properly."
"Yes, Elder."
Elder…
Huo Yuhao silently noted Chen An's form of address and followed them out.
"Third Brother…"
As he watched their figures disappear, Lin Xiao had just opened his mouth when the Dark Lightning Douluo raised a hand to interrupt him. "I know you're also interested in what I mentioned earlier. Come, I'll take you to see it."
Lin Xiao paused for a moment but still nodded.
It was clear that although the Holy Spirit Cult had already obtained the alloy, they did not know who had first discovered this thing.
"The Sun Moon Empire would heavily guard Third Brother, something so secretive. How could it have fallen into our hands?" Lin Xiao asked in confusion as he followed the Dark Lightning Douluo upstairs.
"These things didn't come through our own channels." At this point, a change appeared in the Dark Lightning Douluo's eyes.
"At first, they were released into the underground market by the Alto Chamber of Commerce. I didn't know what they were either."
"Later, our spies who infiltrated the Alto Chamber of Commerce learned about this material. According to the Alto Chamber of Commerce, it's a new type of material called 'alloy' that can replace rare metals."
"At the beginning, I didn't believe it, but after some experiments…" As the Dark Lightning Douluo spoke, his expression gradually became somewhat subtle.
"There's something wrong with these materials?" Lin Xiao asked in a low voice.
The Alto Chamber of Commerce was backed by the military. Although Illustrious Virtue Hall had not leaked news of the alloy, those materials would first be used in the army, so it was only a matter of time before the Alto Chamber of Commerce learned of them.
It was just unclear whether the Alto Chamber of Commerce was truly selling alloy or merely using the news to deceive others.
"No, the Alto Chamber of Commerce wouldn't be foolish enough to ruin their own reputation." The Dark Lightning Douluo shook his head. "But precisely because it has the effects described by the Alto Chamber of Commerce, it's extremely hot to handle."
"These have only been used in the military. Once these materials or soul tools containing them appear on the market, they will be traced by the imperial family and the Illustrious Virtue Hall."
"Now, in the Sun Moon Empire's internal channels, no one dares to buy this batch of alloy, and the channels leading to the three great empires are controlled by the Common Alliance."
The Dark Lightning Douluo let out an indignant cold snort. "Shangguan Weier has already colluded with the Alto Chamber of Commerce. I only hope that after this Soul Engineer Tournament, we can insert ourselves into it."
Lin Xiao paused slightly upon hearing this. He still had to keep an eye on the Elite Tournament side and hadn't expected such a thing to happen in just a few short days.
Recalling the joy on the Dark Lightning Douluo's face when he mentioned the "novel" thing a few days ago, it was probably then that he had just tested the properties of the alloy.
"So Third Brother plans to use these to attract those two competitors?"
"For others, the effect might not be so good, but…" The Dark Lightning Douluo's tone carried a hint of mystery. "What do you think, where would two people so interested in rare metals come from?"
"Probably from one of the three great empires."
"Correct." The Dark Lightning Douluo nodded. "If they were from the Sun Moon Empire, even if they also lacked rare metals, they wouldn't be so eager; almost every bet they made was related to rare metals."
"Only academies or sects from the three great empires would be so interested in rare metals."
"Of course, I don't care where they come from. As long as they join the Holy Cult, we will all be one family."
Meanwhile, on the other side, Huo Yuhao and He Caitou, who had almost been treated as "family" by the Dark Lightning Douluo, had already concealed their figures using Huo Yuhao's simulation soul skill.
Only after shaking off the Holy Spirit Cult disciples tailing them did they gradually reappear.
"Yuhao, you're not really going to accept the Duskwater Alliance's recruitment, are you?"
As He Caitou spoke, he looked seriously into Huo Yuhao's eyes. When the Dark Lightning Douluo had first spoken, he had already sensed something off about Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao didn't answer, nor did he deny it.
"This is too dangerous. That's the territory of evil soul masters, full of crises. Not to mention you're a disciple of Shrek Academy. If your identity is exposed, the consequences will be unthinkable."
"Brother He, I'm thinking about something else." Huo Yuhao frowned tightly. "If what that 'Elder' said is true, then the Sun Moon Empire must also possess this material."
"The Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology is probably far beyond everyone's expectations. The situation on the continent is more dangerous than we imagined."
He Caitou's expression froze as he also realised. "You mean the Sun Moon Empire has already developed and applied this material?"
"Mm." Huo Yuhao nodded. "I even suspect this material originally came from Illustrious Virtue Hall. And if so, their development of this material has probably reached a terrifying level."
"Brother He, if the Sun Moon Empire's soul tools develop without material restrictions and reach a level far surpassing the three great empires, what will they do next?"
He Caitou's face was already clouded. "War."
Huo Yuhao's expression suddenly shifted. He glanced at He Caitou. "Let's go back to the Mingyue Hotel, quickly."
"Should we tell the others at the academy about this?"
"No, not just the academy. We also need to contact the people from the other major royal academies."
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