Marionette
After winning the match, Yuhao returned directly to the hotel. Just as he was about to enter his room and begin cultivation, a calm yet unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
"Who are you?"
Yuhao paused, turned around, and saw a young man standing there. The youth had pink-blue hair, delicate features, and an appearance that was strikingly handsome.
It was Wang Dong'er.
Yuhao did not expect her to appear in front of him so abruptly, nor did he understand why she would ask such a meaningless question.
"Who I am has nothing to do with you," Yuhao replied indifferently. "I can stay wherever I want."
As for the daughter of the God King, Yuhao had no intention of entangling himself with her at this stage. Who knew whether getting close to her would invite unseen schemes from the Divine Realm?
Wang Dong'er clearly did not expect such a cold response. She felt a surge of frustration rise in her heart. Ever since she was young, she had always been the center of attention, someone everyone treated with care.
"You must have done something to me," she said suddenly, frowning. "Otherwise, it's impossible for me to feel an inexplicable urge to get close to you the moment I see you."
Yuhao, who had originally been indifferent, felt a chill creep up his spine upon hearing these words. He subconsciously raised his head and glanced at the sky, sneering inwardly.
"So it's starting already… as expected of you."
In order to seize the Son of Destiny of the Douluo Continent, Tang San, the so-called righteous God King, had not hesitated to push even his own daughter onto the board as a chess piece.
What Yuhao had not expected was that even after he deliberately avoided Shrek Academy—thus changing a key trajectory of fate—Tang San still refused to give up.
This made Yuhao clench his teeth secretly. Looking again at Wang Dong'er standing before him, he could not help but feel a trace of pity.
From the moment she descended into the lower realm—no, from the moment she was born—her fate had already been sealed.
Like a marionette bound by invisible strings, she was merely a tool, used by her "righteous" yet extremely ambitious father to unify the Divine Realm.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Wang Dong'er noticed the subtle change in Yuhao's gaze and felt an inexplicable discomfort.
Yuhao sneered faintly.
"The one manipulating you isn't me," he said coldly, "but your so-called supreme father."
"What? My father?"
Wang Dong'er's pupils shrank abruptly, disbelief written all over her face.
In her memories, there was no clear recollection of her parents at all.
"Don't you remember them?" Yuhao continued calmly. "That's because your memories were sealed by him. As for the reason—he did it for the so-called fortune of the Douluo Continent, to fulfill his own ambitions."
"What fortune? What ambition?!"
Wang Dong'er clutched her head in pain. It was as if some hidden restriction had been triggered; sharp pain stabbed into her consciousness like needles. Yet she still forced herself to stare at Yuhao.
"Who are you… and who exactly is my father?"
"I am myself," Yuhao replied indifferently. "As for your father, you'd better go back and ask your own family."
With that, he turned around and entered his room without another glance.
Yuhao felt nothing but disgust toward Tang San. Even though he lacked the strength to confront him directly for now, creating a bit of trouble was still within his means.
He was certain that after this incident, Wang Dong'er would return to the Haotian Sect and question the Ming and Second Ming.
When that time came, it would be interesting to see whether those two spirit beasts would continue acting as Tang San's loyal hounds—or whether they would finally tell Wang Dong'er the truth.
If she truly learned that she was nothing more than a tool… that would indeed be fascinating.
...
Over the next three days, aside from cultivating, Yuhao also took part in the round-robin matches.
However, he did not personally fight. The opponents were even weaker than those from Thousand Spirit Academy, merely groups of ordinary Soul Sects.
Thus, Yuhao handed the opportunity to Wei Na, which made her extremely excited.
On the night of the third day, Jin Peng arrived at Yuhao's room, holding an exquisitely crafted card.
"Yuhao, this is the invitation to tonight's Starlight Auction."
Seeing the invitation, Yuhao's eyes lit up with joy.
"Mr. Jin, you really came through."
Jin Peng straightened his back, his expression filled with barely concealed pride, though he still pretended to be modest.
"It's just an auction invitation. Nothing special."
Yuhao accepted the card, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes.
He knew very well what kind of treasures would appear at this top-tier auction—eighth-level soul tools, customized soul tools, rare soul bones—all of these were valuable, but not his true objective.
What truly mattered was the final item: the embryo of the Snow Emperor, one of the Three Kings of the Far North.
For this treasure, Yuhao was determined to obtain it at any cost.
That was why he had mobilized all of his major backing forces.
Jin Peng, unaware of Yuhao's deeper plans, was also full of anticipation for the auction. Ever since their previous discussions, his mindset had changed significantly. He now firmly believed that the fusion of soul masters and soul engineers was the inevitable trend of the future.
"Yuhao," Jin Peng asked, "will there be a ninth-level soul tool at tonight's auction?"
Although the soul tool he had purchased earlier was useful, it meant little to a Super Douluo like him. What he truly wanted was to witness the power of a ninth-level soul tool.
Yuhao shook his head slightly.
"Mr. Jin, not to mention the auction of the Star Luo Empire—even at a Sun Moon Empire auction, the chances of seeing a ninth-level soul tool are extremely low."
"This isn't just about price. Every ninth-level soul tool carries strategic significance."
Yuhao wasn't exaggerating. Certain specially crafted eighth-level soul tools already possessed the power to threaten Titled Douluo, let alone ninth-level ones.
"I see…"
Jin Peng's disappointment was obvious.
"Then according to you, won't our Noumenon Sect never obtain a ninth-level soul tool? After all, we don't have a ninth-level soul engineer."
Top-tier combat power could determine the outcome of wars. Without ninth-level soul tools, the sect's limits seemed clearly defined.
Yuhao smiled faintly.
"How could that be? Even if we can't make them ourselves, the Sun Moon Empire can."
Jin Peng froze, then his expression turned strange.
"You mean…"
"In the future, the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Sun Moon Empire will inevitably go to war," Yuhao said calmly. "When that happens, all we need to do is defeat them."
"Seize their ninth-level soul tools, and take in the talents of Mingdetang. Then won't our Noumenon Sect naturally possess both ninth-level soul tools and ninth-level soul engineers?"
Yuhao's tone was steady, as if he were speaking of an ordinary matter.
Jin Peng couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.
"Yuhao, the Sun Moon Empire isn't that easy to deal with."
"It doesn't matter," Yuhao replied calmly. "Just wait until I grow up."
This time, Jin Peng fell completely silent.