At Huo Yuhao's command, the small soul powered ship started silently, smoothly leaving the port and heading into the depths of the North Sea. The ship was fast yet exceptionally stable, demonstrating its excellent performance.
Huo Yuhao stood on the forward deck, watching the sea and sky gradually darken. Shen Yue accompanied him, calculating the route information and estimated arrival time.
Shen Xing, on the other hand, tried to make herself useful by checking the ship's detection equipment.
Yes, it was definitely not that she wanted to stay away from Huo Yuhao. Definitely not.
Shen Yue watched this scene helplessly. She had brought Shen Xing along precisely to use the few connections she had with Huo Yuhao to ease the atmosphere and draw closer. She had not expected her little sister to be so useless at the critical moment, actually hiding out of nervousness.
"Your Majesty." Shen Yue apologized. "Shen Xing has not yet adjusted to your change in identity. She has been somewhat rude. Please forgive her."
"There is no need to open the conversation so stiffly." Huo Yuhao saw through her intentions and smiled lightly. "There is still time before we reach Devil Island. Feel free to say whatever you want to talk about. Since I chose to take the ship you prepared, I have a few moments to chat."
Shen Yue smiled wryly to herself.
Her little thoughts were probably seen through at a glance by this being who had lived who knew how many years. And those who could become gods were all extraordinary talents, with experience far surpassing ordinary people. Playing tricks before them was like Showing Off in Front of an Expert.
The gods of the divine realm said, "Debatable."
Having developed a strange filter for deities, Shen Yue thought for a moment and then put aside her unnecessary concerns. Her demeanor became much more natural.
Before such an existence, since she had been called out, being more forthright would be more likable. And this was a rare opportunity, a window to obtain some high level information.
Shen Yue thought for a moment. Instead of deliberately looking for a "safe" topic, she asked directly, "Since Your Majesty does not mind, I will be bold. My younger sister once expressed some immature views to you. What is your opinion of the Dove Faction?"
Shen Xing, who had been secretly listening, tensed up, wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
She should not be on this ship.
Remembering her naive remarks back then, Shen Xing felt her cheeks burn. She wished she could jump into the sea and swim back to shore.
Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao looked interested. His gaze casually swept over Shen Xing, who was pretending to be busy but actually eavesdropping nearby, and then looked at Shen Yue. His tone was calm. "Whether Dove Faction or Hawk Faction, both are essentially based on different choices for the continent's future security path. There is no absolute superiority or inferiority. The key lies in whether one recognizes the true enemy and whether one can unite at critical moments."
"In my personal view, in the past, you trusted Shrek too much. Moreover, even if you are conservative, you need to come up with practical solutions to deal with Xingluo and Douling, rather than placing your hopes for peace on the enemy."
To be fair, Huo Yuhao felt that whether in the original work or now, the Federation's Dove Faction seemed only to oppose the Douluo Federation actively starting a war. But they had never envisioned a scenario where Xingluo and Douluo grew strong, fought to the death without surrendering, and how the Douluo Federation should quickly counter them.
It seemed that if they just waited, the other side would surrender.
Well, compared to the original, there was progress. At least in this world, the Dove Faction had the idea of using the advantage of spirit souls to gradually squeeze Xingluo and Douling's living space.
But strictly speaking, that was his doing.
Although in the original work, Xingluo and Douling did essentially surrender, placing hopes on the enemy was undoubtedly foolish. What if the Douluo Federation's battle with the Abyss plane ended in a pyrrhic victory, and Xingluo and Douluo stabbed them in the back?
Would they return to the era of the three kingdoms' contention?
"The prerequisite for opposing war is that you have the ability to resolve the threat of Xingluo and Douluo in other ways."
"Specifically regarding Xingluo and Douling, what is needed is not to fantasize that they will not go to war with the Federation, but to formulate a complete strategy to ensure that they must surrender, or that they cannot pose a substantial threat."
Huo Yuhao paused, his voice turning cold. "To subdue the enemy without fighting has existed since ancient times. But with the gap in strength between the Federation and Xingluo and Douling, the fact that the Dove Faction has not achieved this in all these years is itself a failure."
With such a gap in strength between the Federation and Xingluo and Douling, and thousands of years since the discovery of the Xingluo and Douling Continents, the Dove Faction had still not produced any results. It could be imagined how detached from reality, or rather naive, their claim was.
If the earlier words had only made Shen Yue ponder, the last sentence truly Enlightened her.
Yes, after so many years, the Holy Spirit Cult had been able to gradually control Xingluo and Douling step by step. Could they, the Dove Faction, not do it?
No, it was not that they could not. It was that they had never truly made up their minds and gone all out to do it.
This was the Dove Faction's most fatal weakness. A lack of the iron will and meticulous means to put their ideals into practice. Hoping to use peaceful means to reform Jackals, blindly preventing war, yet unwilling to forge the whip and cage to tame the Jackals.
A wave of scorching shame surged in Shen Yue's heart.
Although Shrek was the leader of the Dove Faction, the fact that they, the Dove Faction, had produced no results in all these years was undeniable. Opposing one solution without offering an alternative and without results had already proven their failure.
No wonder even forces like the Spirit Transmission Tower, which focused more on people's livelihoods, had never supported the Dove Faction.
"The best warfare is to attack strategy; next is to attack alliances; next is to attack soldiers; the worst is to attack cities. War has never been the only choice. Since you chose a conservative approach, you must propose a feasible plan and produce results."
Huo Yuhao's tone returned to calm. "Otherwise, you are not a Dove Faction, but a faction of empty talk. In the end, you will only harm yourself and others."
Shen Yue took a deep breath, suppressing the surging shame and realization. She was about to thank the other party for his guidance. But a voice had already spoken first.
"Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty."
It was Shen Xing, who had come over at some point. She bowed. Clearly, she had heard their conversation.
Seeing this, Shen Yue smiled slightly and also bowed. "Your Majesty's teachings will be engraved in Shen Yue's heart. From now on, the North Sea Legion and the Shen Family will prioritize strategy, base themselves on strength, and prove themselves with results. We will no longer let empty talk ruin the country."
Huo Yuhao nodded slightly, looking at Shen Xing, who was no longer as nervous, and smiled. "What, not planning to keep hiding anymore?"
Shen Xing blushed, feeling a little embarrassed, and lowered her head, but she no longer avoided Huo Yuhao.
In the past, their conversations had not been this deep. She felt she could learn a lot here.
Time passed as they talked. The sea and sky ahead had become completely different.
The sky was covered by thick gray black clouds. The water had turned a deep, almost black color. The waves surged with unnatural turbulence.
At the edge of the horizon, black islands could be seen, with black forests of lifeless, Carbonized plants.
It was the Devil Islands.
Gazing at the scene before her, Shen Yue's eyelids twitched.
As a perilous land within the North Sea Legion's jurisdiction, Devil Island had always been regarded as a life forbidden zone.
There was no heavenly and earthly origin energy there. Soul masters who entered could not recover their spirit power, and their vitality would continuously drain. Over time, they would die from exhaustion.
To be honest, she did not quite understand Huo Yuhao's purpose in going there. Although Shrek people would occasionally come, it seemed more like training. After all, it had been explored before, and anything good had already been taken.
But Shen Yue had self-awareness. A deity's knowledge and considerations were far beyond her ability to fathom. She would focus on executing orders.
However, she thought for a moment and still asked, "Your Majesty, is there anything else you need from us?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "The environment inside is not suitable for you. You can stay here."
As his voice fell, the group blinked, and Huo Yuhao had already vanished from their sight.
Only a figure had appeared on the island ahead.
Shen Yue was stunned for a moment, then her expression returned to its cold, capable demeanor. "All personnel, listen up. Drop anchor immediately. Activate the highest level concealment and protective soul tool arrays. Point all detection equipment toward Devil Island. Monitor all energy and spatial fluctuations. Communications, maintain contact with the Spirit Transmission Tower and legion headquarters. Be ready to report any abnormalities at any time."
Since Huo Yuhao had come to the North Sea Legion's territory, they were responsible for his safety. Although she felt he probably did not need it, doing it or not was a matter of attitude.
Huo Yuhao arrived at the island among the archipelago with the strongest Destruction aura.
There were no roads or living creatures in sight. Only black,Carbonized trees.
Huo Yuhao glanced around, feeling the environment Devoid of heavenly and earthly origin energy, and ignored it, heading straight in.
He had seen this kind of environment similar to an Era of Absolute Spirit several times before. He did not find it strange.
After walking for dozens of minutes, he finally stopped when he saw a black purple light.
The black purple light flickered faintly, giving a sense of terrifying extinction.
Facing that energy, Huo Yuhao felt as if his whole body was being cut by knives. But a faint smile appeared on his face.
Found it. This was the place.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, used his spirit power to protect himself, and walked into the area enveloped by the black purple light.
Although he was not going all out, breaking through the radiation effect caused by the edge of this Destruction power was still very easy.
After all, compared to when the original Shrek Seven Devils had come, his cultivation was more than a level higher. Do not be fooled by his current Soul Sage level. After condensing the Yin Yang Complementary Twin Soul Cores, even an ordinary Titled Douluo could not necessarily claim to have stronger cultivation than him.
Strictly speaking, his path was somewhat similar to the Little Dragon God's. His spirit power level and cultivation were no longer equal. He just was not as extreme as the Little Dragon God.
After all, when the other had broken through level fifty, he had almost drained a planet's life essence to create an artificial Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and three hundred thousand year immortal herbs. That, he truly could not do.
When Huo Yuhao walked through this energy barrier, besides feeling the pressure from the Destruction aura, an illusion also appeared before him, trying to interfere with his direction.
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes. He simply released his spiritual power and easily broke the illusion, continuing forward.
Dozens of seconds later, the pressure around him vanished. The scenery changed. He was already in a valley.
Completely different from the previous scene, the surroundings were not that suffocating darkness. Soft light spilled from the sky, shrouding the entire valley in a hazy radiance. Beneath his feet were thick moss and decaying leaves. He could sense dense heavenly and earthly origin energy in the air.
In the distance, a black purple pillar of light shot into the sky.
"That is where the Destruction fragment is located."
Huo Yuhao confirmed the location but did not go there immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze to the elderly man before him.
This man was about 1.8 meters tall, but his back was hunched, as if bearing the weight of years. His graying hair hung messily, covering most of his forehead.
Seeing that the person before him had noticed him so quickly, the old man let out a hoarse laugh. "Not bad, you managed to get in on your own. But compared to that, your cultivation and age are even more surprising. In you, I see the shadow of that kid Yun Ming. No, with that Spiritual Domain realm spiritual power, you are more terrifying than him."
Although the old man wore a smile, his inner shock was no less. Trapped on Devil Island, he did not know the outside world's information. Meeting Huo Yuhao for the first time, he was naturally shocked by the talent and strength he displayed.
"Are you mistaking me for a junior of Shrek?" Huo Yuhao's tone was calm. "Then I should clarify that I am not from Shrek."
Destruction Old Demon suppressed his shock and raised an eyebrow. "Although I am confident in the academy, I am not Narcissistic enough to think all geniuses belong to it. Moreover, I did not hear that the academy was sending anyone for training. And you came alone, transported by the North Sea Legion. Naturally, I would not regard you as one of ours."
"So, you regard me as an Unwelcome Guest who needs to be sent away. The illusion just now was meant to make me leave Devil Island on my own, I suppose. I wonder which of the seven present cast it?"
Huo Yuhao's gaze lingered for a moment on the old man before him and six empty spaces.
Destruction Old Demon's pupils contracted. His gaze condensed at Huo Yuhao.
The six directions Huo Yuhao had just scanned rippled slightly. Six aged figures appeared almost simultaneously.
Adding Destruction Old Demon, a total of seven figures, seven pairs of eyes, all now fixed on Huo Yuhao. Surprise, scrutiny, confusion, all these emotions intertwined in their eyes.
The Seven Old Demons of Devil Island.
They were the Shrek Seven Devils from a thousand years ago. When exploring Devil Island, their bodies had been completely destroyed by contact with the Destruction fragment. But their souls, nourished by life energy, had not dissipated and had thus survived.
Unable to leave Devil Island, they stayed here, using various harsh methods to train the geniuses Shrek sent. They called it torturing the body and tempering the will.
However, according to documents and records, Huo Yuhao found that part of their experience differed from the original plot. These seven had actually come to investigate Devil Island for a divine weapon.
When Devil Island was born, due to the influence of the Destruction fragment, the environment was harsh. The Federation had not rashly explored it.
But not long after, besides this place, various strange phenomena appeared elsewhere on Douluo, accompanied by opportunities from the divine realm. As some divine weapons that had fallen from the divine realm were discovered, various forces on the continent could no longer sit still. They each began to explore the places that interested them.
On the Devil Island side, the young and ambitious Seven Old Demons had also entered here for a divine weapon.
Then, as mentioned above, they had ended up in their current state. They were among the few unlucky ones in that era of both opportunity and danger.
After a long while, Destruction Old Demon was the first to speak.
"Kid, we do not know who you are. But a thousand years ago, we died exploring Devil Island, our bodies destroyed, leaving only our souls. This place should belong to Shrek Academy. You should leave."
Huo Yuhao looked at him with an unreadable expression. That calm gaze made Destruction Old Demon feel a long lost discomfort, as if his soul was being seen through.
"Perishing here was your own choice and its price. Dying for an opportunity does not mean you can claim that opportunity as your own. That is not how it works. However, since you have lived here for a thousand years, and the Federation has indeed tacitly allowed Shrek to have this place, I will not say more."
Huo Yuhao paused, his tone cold. "However, since this place belonged to Shrek, now that Shrek Academy has been destroyed, the ownership of this perilous land should also be re-decided."
"What did you say?"
Hearing the words "Shrek destroyed," the souls of the seven old demons shook violently. Their faces, for the first time, showed undisguised shock and confusion.
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