Gu Ruiqiu put down the data pad in her hand and looked out the window. "Speaking of which, Huo Yuhao should be back soon, right?"
"Yes. He will be here soon."
"Then, Your Majesty, would you like to..."
She turned her head, but her voice stopped abruptly.
The sofa was empty. Only a cushion still bore a faint indentation. The trail of silver hair had already dissipated into the air. The sheer curtains by the window gently swayed, as if a breeze had just passed through.
"..."
At least wait until I finish speaking.
Gu Ruiqiu looked at the empty sofa and sighed helplessly.
Snow Empress, Ice Bear King Little White, Electrolux, and the others were at the Spirit Transmission Tower today. They probably also knew Huo Yuhao was returning.
After thinking for a moment, Gu Ruiqiu also got up and headed to the airport. They were all Old Acquaintances. Having not seen each other for half a year, not going to the airport to welcome him back would seem inappropriate.
In the evening, Huo Yuhao returned to Mingdu. The greetings and catching up with acquaintances need not be detailed.
When they arrived at a quiet room in the Spirit Transmission Tower, with only those who knew each other inside and out remaining, Gu Yuena looked at Huo Yuhao. Feeling the aura on him, she could not help asking, "Yuhao, you have the auras of Creation and Destruction on you. Is that really okay? Do you want me to help you balance them?"
In the end, the Dragon God had also gone mad from the conflict between Creation and Destruction. She did not want Huo Yuhao to face the same predicament.
Do you want to help me cultivate?
Huo Yuhao's expression was strange. But seeing Gu Yuena's worried eyes, he quickly pushed these strange thoughts aside and said gently, "It is fine. I am confident I can balance their power. Otherwise, I would not have absorbed them. Of course, if something really goes wrong, I will not force it."
Hearing this, Gu Yuena temporarily set aside her concerns.
It was not that she doubted the Dragon God. It was simply that Creation and Destruction power did tend to conflict and cause problems.
Snow Empress, because of her divine consciousness, had personally seen Huo Yuhao temporarily suppress the conflict between the two. She was not as worried as Gu Yuena. But she was concerned about another matter.
"Will your battle with the Titan Giant Ape this time provoke that Life Core to act against you?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "The Titan Giant Ape came down from the divine level. Even if, due to planar suppression, he dares not use his divine power and divine consciousness lightly, his physique is still extraordinary. Not to mention that he eventually unsealed his divine consciousness. At worst, he suffered some injuries."
"And as long as the Titan Giant Ape does not die, in their eyes, it shows that I currently have no intention of killing them. They will not actively act against me. After all, in their eyes, I certainly have the ability to kill the Titan Giant Ape."
His last words were full of teasing.
The people in the room also laughed. Gu Ruiqiu even giggled, "If that Big Oaf knew your true identity, he would be so ashamed and angry he would bang his head against the wall."
If Er Ming had not thought Huo Yuhao was the Fire God, Huo Yuhao would definitely not have "bullied" him and insisted on a spar.
In a sense, Er Ming had brought it upon himself.
Er Ming, worthy of your World-shaking Wisdom.
Afterwards, Huo Yuhao also asked Gu Yuena about Jia Lin. After learning the reason, he expressed agreement with Gu Yuena's decision while simultaneously expressing condolences for the Junior Genius Rankings members' unfortunate situation.
My fault, my fault. I did not bring Jia Lin out to deliberately bully you. Please forgive me and get used to being suppressed by a Fire Dragon King.
As they chatted and laughed, Huo Yuhao learned about everyone's recent situation. Finally, he looked at Little White, who was standing quietly beside Snow Empress with a simple, honest smile, and asked the question he had been curious about earlier.
"Little White, what brings you to Mingdu?"
He and Little White had a good relationship. Even setting aside Snow Empress's connection, ten thousand years ago, the other had watched him grow up. But this was clearly not the reason for leaving the Extreme North.
Little White, in human form, scratched his head honestly. His thick palm rubbed the back of his head, making a rustling sound.
"Well..."
He spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. "Yuhao, you previously asked me to communicate with that Ye Hui about her martial soul issue. She was very excited when she learned you were willing to help her. But she wants to talk with you first before making a decision about whether to see her daughter."
"Oh?" Huo Yuhao looked thoughtful. "Did you bring her here?"
"Yes."
Little White's voice became solemn. "You know her situation is rather special. I was worried that letting her come to Mingdu alone might cause problems, so I followed. Of course, I also made arrangements in the Extreme North."
Hearing this, Skydream Iceworm and the other spirit souls could not help feeling amazed at Little White's growth over the years.
Yes, he was definitely no longer a Mama's Boy.
"I see."
Huo Yuhao nodded. "I will go meet her later. There are some plans I need her cooperation for. It is a bit late today. Let us set it for tomorrow."
At this point, Huo Yuhao looked toward Electrolux. "Elder Electrolux, please come with me."
"All right." Elder Electrolux did not ask why. He simply smiled and agreed.
Little White had no objection either.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, has anything major happened in Mingdu during the six months I was away?"
He had only asked casually, but he did not expect to hear some surprising news.
Snow Empress said, "Because of Chen Xinjie's defection, the War Temple's Temple Master position is vacant. Vice Temple Master Guan Yue has too deep a connection with Chen Xinjie. The Federation dares not appoint him. Moreover, the fall of Shrek and Chen Xinjie's defection have caused internal turmoil in the Federation, leaving some positions vacant. So the Federation plans to hold a public selection within the Douluo Continent to recruit talent."
Snow Empress paused, then added, "Of course, that is the Federation's public statement."
Huo Yuhao frowned and pondered. "Indeed. There is no need to make such a big deal about this. The Federation's upper echelon could just directly find people to fill the positions. After half a year, aside from the successor to the War Temple master position, which might be hard to find, the other positions should have long been filled."
In dealing with the Shrek and Chen Xinjie affairs, the Federation had always shown restraint. Even if there really were internal vacancies, given the Federation's scale, filling them would not be difficult. At worst, the new occupants would have lower cultivation levels. There was no reason to do this only now.
So.
"Is this preparation for the coming war against Xingluo, Douluo, and the Abyss?"
The Possession Demons from the Abyss entering the Douluo Continent undoubtedly showed that the Holy Spirit Cult and the Abyss had deep ties. The Federation had to be prepared for the Abyss to react when they attacked the two countries.
The sacrifices from six thousand years ago were right there. The Federation naturally had to mobilize more forces to respond to potential crises. They could not rely entirely on them.
"Yes. This public selection is precisely to prepare for the coming war. Those unfilled positions are part of the rewards."
Gu Ruiqiu took over the conversation. "Although the Federation has not directly spread news of the Abyss online, they have already contacted powerful families, sects, and reclusive forces, revealing the Abyss matter. Presumably, after learning of the threat from the Abyss and the Holy Spirit Cult, combined with attractions like Heaven Forged metal rewards, many experts will participate in the selection. After the vacancies are filled, the Federation has other arrangements for the remaining participants."
Now, participating in the selection was different from accepting a mandatory Federation conscription in a crisis and then being uniformly directed by the Federation. The latter was a mandatory obligation to protect the Douluo Continent, with little freedom. One might even end up as cannon fodder.
But the former was different. Not only could one obtain relevant intelligence immediately, but the selection rewards were also generous. One could even obtain a complete set of Heaven Forged metal for Four Word Battle Armor.
Such rewards were very attractive. Who did not want Four Word Battle Armor? Even a reclusive Limit Douluo might not have Four Word Battle Armor.
Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua was going to suffer.
As for why Gu Ruiqiu knew these details so clearly?
When she had joined the Federation, her identity had been as a member of a reclusive family. The Federation had naturally communicated with her as well.
Huo Yuhao noticed a certain phrase in Gu Ruiqiu's words and frowned. "Is the War Temple position also being put up by the Federation?"
When Snow Empress had spoken earlier, he had thought the War Temple position was merely a Pretext for the selection. Now it seemed the Federation was quite bold.
"Yes."
Snow Empress nodded. "Because of Chen Xinjie's betrayal, the Federation no longer places as much importance on whether the War Temple Master is a core Federation expert. As long as they are a Federation citizen and do not betray the Federation, it is fine."
Huo Yuhao understood.
They were numb.
The Federation's high ranking members were probably all thinking: If even someone who served in the Federation for two hundred years could betray them over an old flame, was there anyone left in this world to trust?
Huo Yuhao felt he would be numb too.
Snow Empress continued, "Of course, you also know the most important reason. The War Temple originally evolved from the Sun Moon Empire's Hall of Offerings. Its most important duty was to guard the God Slaying Grade soul tool shells. Now that it no longer has that duty, it is essentially the Federation's Hall of Experts. Appointing an expert to the position is actually fine, as long as their strength is sufficient to command respect. Naturally, the Federation's high ranking members' thoughts became active."
"It is best for the War Temple Hall Master position to be held by a Limit Douluo. But the Federation cannot find a suitable candidate internally. If they can use the War Temple Hall Master position to attract reclusive Limit Douluo to participate in the selection, to reserve high end combat power for the coming war, and even find a suitable Limit Douluo to serve as Hall Master, that would be killing two birds with one stone."
Huo Yuhao nodded in understanding.
The War Temple was a gathering place for the Federation's experts. And with Guan Yue, a peak Near Divine, still there, the new leader did not need to be exceptionally strong, but they at least had to be a Limit Douluo. Otherwise, sitting there facing Guan Yue would be uncomfortable.
It was not that Guan Yue would do anything. It was that he did not need to do anything. Just standing there, his peak Near Divine aura was like an invisible mountain.
At that point, who was the real leader and who was the deputy would be obvious to anyone. In the long run, that would not be good. Unless Guan Yue was transferred away.
But the War Temple, as a major power and the Federation's Facade, not even having a Limit Douluo would be too Shabby. Moreover, Guan Yue had made no principled errors at Shrek City. The Federation probably did not want to do that.
So, they needed to find a Limit Douluo to serve as Palace Master.
However, although there were more Limit Douluo in this era than in the past, the publicly known ones all had their own duties. The Federation could not find a suitable candidate. Aside from the publicly known ones, the only ones left were the reclusive experts.
Huo Yuhao had to admit that the Federation's Scheme was well played.
Using the War Temple Palace Master position, combined with news of the Abyss and rewards like Heaven Forged metal, the probability of attracting a Limit Douluo or an expert with Limit level strength was not small.
After this selection, the Federation would surely Recover considerably. And with an external enemy, there was no fear that the recruited experts would not give their all.
However.
"Why does this feel so familiar?"
Huo Yuhao frowned.
A general defects, leaving a vacancy. There is no suitable expert internally. A continent-wide selection to appoint an expert to the position.
If you replace "general" with "Grand General."
"It is World Recruitment."
Having figured it out, Huo Yuhao shook his head with a mix of amusement and exasperation. He then asked, "When does the selection start? What is the selection format?"
"It has already been prepared. It will start in a few days. As for the format, the Federation, together with us and Mingde Hall, has launched the Star Dou Combat Network system. The combat portion of the selection will take place in a virtual space. Other aspects will be completed in physical sub-competition zones. This can minimize participation threshold and avoid unnecessary casualties in the preliminary elimination rounds."
Gu Yuena finished explaining in detail, then asked curiously, "Yuhao, are you interested? As long as you are not employed by a Federation institution, you can participate. And if someone with Limit level strength participates, they will have certain privileges, such as being able to wait until the elimination rounds to appear."
This selection was to prepare for war. There were no cultivation or age restrictions. For the combat portion, strength was the main metric. Initially, those with similar cultivation levels would be grouped together for a Point System Qualifying Round with rewards. Those with high point rankings in their groups would also receive generous rewards, such as heavenly treasures or rare metals useful at that level.
Afterwards, there would be a Free-for-All Elimination Round. Those ranked high in each group could test their limits. In the free-for-all, Super Douluo, Titled Douluo, and even Soul Douluo might be grouped together. Because of Three Word Battle Armor, there was a possibility of crossing levels between these ranks. To stand out and attract the Federation's attention, Defeating a Superior Opponent was one option.
However, the gap between a Limit Douluo and those below was simply too large. If a Limit Douluo participated, they would have some privileges, such as being able to directly join the free-for-all after the group battles ended. But they could not be unconditionally declared the winner just because they were a Limit Douluo.
What if that Limit Douluo was a Fraudulent Limit Douluo? What if a Super Douluo had Limit level strength? These things were still unknown.
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao thought about his current strength and shook his head.
In the past, he might have been interested. But now, aside from facing Limit level opponents without using the Ice Empress True Body to test his moves, other battles seemed meaningless.
But for that purpose, there was no need to specially participate in the selection. By making good use of his "reincarnated deity" identity, he could easily ask Limit experts to be his sparing partners under the guise of guidance.
After all, he did have the ability to guide others. He would not Blow His Cover.
As for rewards, whether heavenly treasures or Heaven Forged metal for Four Word Battle Armor, he did not need to compete for them.
As for the War Temple position, if he actually took it, the Federation might Swallow Its Pride and Accept it due to his identity. But what the Federation most wanted was certainly a soldier who would obey orders to a certain extent, not a big shot they dared not command. He was well aware of the Federation's current attitude toward him. There was no need to Cause Trouble for them.
Huo Yuhao said, "I might watch the excitement when I have time. But I do not need to participate directly."
He was genuinely curious about what kind of "Grand General" the Federation would lure out.
Would it be someone he knew, or someone who had not appeared in the original work?
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!
patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!
(End of Chapter)