Upon hearing Shirou's words and seeing his resolute gaze, Kiritsugu Emiya smiled, then placed his hand on Shirou's short, reddish-brown hair, saying,
"As expected of my child."
"To become a hero of justice, to let Illya and Miyu laugh in the sunlight."
Kiritsugu was gratified; Shirou's desire to become a hero of justice was inherited from him.
He too had dreamed of becoming a hero of justice as a child, but due to his path, he had made many mistakes.
Only later did he realize that he could no longer be a hero of justice.
Because someone had placed Irisviel, Illya, and his own sense of justice on a scale, forcing him to choose one.
Kiritsugu ran away; this man ultimately chose family over his inner justice, becoming a family hero.
Since both were Soul Masters, their speed far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Sunset Forest was now not much different from the Dead Zone, so there were no wild Soul Beasts blocking their way.
During their conversation, the two quickly arrived in the southwest direction of Sunset Forest.
Kiritsugu Emiya suddenly raised his right arm to block Shirou Emiya's advance.
Shirou, seeing this, took a few steps back, giving Kiritsugu ample space.
"This is it."
With that, Kiritsugu took a cigarette from his pocket and tossed it forward.
The cigarette reacted as if it had come into contact with concentrated sulfuric acid, making a sickeningly corrosive sound before finally settling on the ground and turning into an unidentified green liquid.
"Shirou, get the Soul Guidance Searchlight."
"Understood."
Shirou took a small Soul Guidance Searchlight from his storage Soul Guidance device and handed it to Kiritsugu.
Kiritsugu turned the searchlight up to its maximum, and the surrounding area almost instantly became daytime.
If this were in the Star Dou Great Forest, Kiritsugu wouldn't dare do such a thing, even if he had ten lives.
It would be equivalent to sending his coordinates to every being in the forest.
In the Sunset Forest, however, there were fewer such concerns.
Shirou Emiya watched as the searchlight beam pierced straight through the forest ahead, weakening with each passing few hundred meters until a cloud of emerald-green poisonous mist completely blocked the high-energy light.
Kiritsugu Emiya said to Shirou beside him,
"Shirou, your mental strength is quite strong, could you calculate some approximate data?" Shirou
frowned slightly and replied to Kiritsugu,
"No, I can't calculate it based solely on the data provided by the light."
"I'll try using my Soul Skill."
"Isn't it said that these poisonous miasmas are afraid of fire and low temperatures?"
With that, Shirou activated his Martial Soul, and five Soul Rings appeared on his body—two yellow, two purple, and one black.
If this had happened before the creation of the Magic Network, Huo Yuhao might not have been able to allow his imagined characters to appear and gain high Soul Power.
Bai E and the others suffered from the disadvantage of attacking first, since he himself didn't have that much Soul Power.
With the Magic Network and an astronomical amount of Dream Coins, imbuing imaginary characters with Soul Power in cooperation with the Little Planet Spirits was as simple as eating and drinking.
Shirou Emiya's Martial Soul was "Unlimited Blade Works," a unique fantasy-type Martial Soul possessing a trace of [Imagination] and [Understanding] authority.
His five Soul Skills were mechanism-based: the first was Enhancement, the second Detection, the third Recording, the fourth Projection, and the fifth Fantasy Collapse.
Soon, the third and fourth Soul Rings lit up together, and a large silver bow appeared in his left hand.
Then, a strange spiral-shaped longsword appeared in his right hand.
Shirou Emiya placed the spiral sword on the large bow, then concentrated his Soul Power and drew the bowstring.
The spiral sword began to attract the energy of heaven and earth, causing the surrounding leaves to rustle and fall in all directions.
As the spiral sword was drawn, it gradually thinned until it was roughly the size of a normal bow and arrow.
Shirou Emiya released his grip, and the spiral sword instantly transformed into a blue streak of light, rushing forward at incredible speed.
A faint blue light stood out starkly against the dark night.
A rapidly swirling current of air surrounded the spiral sword, slicing through everything in its path, including vegetation and rocks.
The surrounding poisonous miasma was frantically cut apart by the current, then reformed.
Then, Shirou Emiya's eyes narrowed, and his fifth spirit ring instantly lit up, its deep black light casting a shadow over the surroundings.
"Illusion Collapse!"
The moment the spiral sword reached the emerald green poisonous miasma, Shirou Emiya detonated it!
The violent explosion, carrying raging light and heat, mercilessly devoured and tore apart the thick layer of miasma.
Intense high and low temperatures are the natural enemies of poisonous miasma; the emerald green miasma immediately lightened considerably, but was quickly replaced by new miasma.
Although the time was short, it was enough for Shirou Emiya to roughly estimate the situation in his mind.
He exclaimed with delight,
"Kiritsugu!"
"Judging from the extent of the explosion and the time needed for repairs, there are fewer Azure Phosphorous Seven-Colored Flowers in the southwest of Sunset Forest compared to other places."
Emiya Kiritsugu, through the window left by the explosion, saw the Azure Phosphorous Seven-Colored Flowers inside. He calmly said,
"No, not fewer than other places."
"It's that the distribution of the Azure Phosphorous Seven-Colored Flowers here is incorrect, resulting in a weaker poisonous miasma compared to other places."
"Without a doubt, Shirou, this is the best passage into the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well!"
"Let's go back first, organize the map, and wait for that person's arrival."
...
Shrek City.
Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena stood at the gate of Shrek Academy, watching Xia Die walk in.
Shrek Academy's curfew was almost over; if they didn't go back soon, they would have to ask Tibo to open the Hundred Worlds Gate.
Once Xia Die's figure disappeared from sight, Huo Yuhao looked at Gu Yuena and said,
"Thank you so much for your help with things in Shrek City."
"The team negotiating with the Star Dou Great Forest will arrive in Shrek City in a few days."
"Take them to the core area. Contact me if you encounter any problems."
Gu Yuena nodded without saying anything; in her opinion, there wouldn't be any problems.
The Star Dou Great Forest was her territory, and Di Tian and the others had already messaged her saying they would fully support Soul Spirit technology.
The subsequent negotiations would at most refine the details of promoting Soul Spirit technology, such as the formation and name of the forces, and various cooperation matters.
Seeing Gu Yuena nod, Huo Yuhao patted her shoulder and said,
"Alright, it's good that you're confident."
"I need to go back to find Su Tong. I'll take her to Sunset Forest first, and then I'll head to the Far North to negotiate with the Lord of the Far North."
"Without further ado, I'll be going."
As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao's figure disappeared into the spatial vortex.
After so much time using his divine power and researching the spatial crown,
Huo Yuhao could now use his divine power directly without activating his Kaleidoscope.
A gust of evening wind blew by, leaving white traces in the air with his white skirt, and his silver hair swayed gently, leaving a faint fragrance.
A cold glint flashed in Gu Yuena's eyes as she silently thought,
"I hope the Far North will be sensible and willingly join the Soul Spirit technology."
"Otherwise, I'll have to go there myself."
Now that the central hub of the God Realm is in the hands of the Goddess of Life, as long as Gu Yuena doesn't go too far, the Goddess of Life will turn a blind eye, and might even proactively help shield the Silver Dragon King's aura fluctuations.
Occasionally, the Goddess of Life would chat with Gu Yuena through the Divine Realm Central Hub, secretly giving her some life-giving divine power to aid in healing.
However, what bothered Gu Yuena was that both the Goddess of Life and Huo Yuhao seemed to enjoy patting her head.
After looking at the gates of Shrek Academy for a while, Gu Yuena took out her yellow engineering hat, intending to go to the South District to check on the progress of the street expansion plan, when she discovered a new message on her magic network.
'Incompetent Dragon': "Master, I and the auspicious beast are outside Shrek City."
"This girl wants to go to the human world. Could you take her with you for a while?"
"I promise she'll behave."
Gu Yuena sighed and replied to Di Tian.
'Gu Yue': "Sigh, bring her in through the South Gate of Shrek."
Di Tian replied almost instantly.
'Incompetent Dragon': "Received!"
Gu Yuena put the engineering hat back into her storage soul tool, and her figure instantly disappeared from the spot.
The whole process was smooth and fluid, almost starting with zero frames.
Outside Shrek City, a middle-aged man in black looked at the blonde girl beside him and said,
"The master has agreed."
"Let's go, I'll take you in through the south gate."
Then, Di Tian, carrying the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, quickly arrived at the south gate of Shrek City and walked straight in.
The enthusiastic members on duty had already received the news through the magic network and did not stop him.
Seeing this, Di Tian clicked
his tongue in amazement, and couldn't help but sigh at how powerful his master was; in just a few months, the Soul Master holy land of Shrek City had been infiltrated. Suddenly, a silver figure appeared in Di Tian's vision.
Di Tian, with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, came before Gu Yuena and knelt on one knee. Seeing Di Tian do this, the blonde girl immediately followed suit.
Finding herself unable to move, Gu Yuena shook her head and said,
"Get up. There are only a few of us; why bother with master-servant etiquette?"
"From now on, just use dragon etiquette."
Di Tian stood up and said respectfully,
"Yes, Master."
Gu Yuena didn't look at Di Tian anymore, focusing her gaze on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
"Little guy, why did you want to come to the human world?"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion gave Gu Yuena a cute smile and launched a coquettish offensive.
"I missed my master sister, didn't I?"
"My master sister has been away from the forest for so long, I brought you a lot of local specialties!"
"And the brain of the Twin Cyclopes, I'll roast it for you later!"
"And I also want to come to the human world to taste some delicious food!"
"It's so boring in the forest!"
Then, the auspicious beast showed a pitiful expression, making Di Tian's eyelids twitch and goosebumps rise.
Gu Yuena still suffered from her lack of experience and never had experience with children, and her attitude immediately softened.
"Alright."
"You can stay by my side from now on."
"Have you two eaten yet?"
"I'll take you to get something to eat."
The auspicious beast's expression changed instantly, and it happily said,
"Okay!"
"Finally, I can eat something delicious!"
Gu Yuena stroked the three-eyed golden lion's hair, and was surprised by how wonderful it felt.
Looking at the three-eyed golden lion beside her, she thought,
"It really feels good."
"No wonder they like patting heads so much."
"Speaking of which, how do you take care of a child?"
"I have no experience..."
"I heard that children should all go to school?"
"Can the little auspicious beast go to school too?"
"Hmm! I'll ask Roman later if we can arrange for the auspicious beast to study soul tool knowledge in the Passion Research Department's academy."
"Children must have knowledge!
Otherwise, like me and Di Tian, we can't understand soul spirit technology even when it's right in front of us."
The three-eyed golden lion was still in high spirits when it suddenly felt a chill down its spine, as if fate was reminding it.
However, it didn't think much of it. Its master was right beside it.
Who would dare to harm it?
Who could harm it!
I had a lot to do today, and I'm going on a business trip again. I'm typing this on the high-speed train.
(End of Chapter)
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