The last sentence Huo Yuhao spoke was directed at Elder Mu.
He believed that even Elder Mu could not resist the temptation of the words Huo Yuhao had just uttered.
Elder Mu, who did not have many years of life remaining, had already become quite indifferent to many things. However, that didn't mean he was entirely without desires; Elder Mu still had things he cared about deeply.
The first was Shrek Academy, and the second was his descendant, Bei Bei.
As his Eldest Senior Brother from his previous life, Huo Yuhao knew that Bei Bei's Radiant Holy Dragon bloodline was in an unstable state. Had Elder Mu not used his own origin to completely help Bei Bei awaken his bloodline before his death, it was a mystery whether Bei Bei could have even promoted to Soul Emperor before that second Soul Master Competition.
And now, an artificial soul ring capable of guiding martial soul evolution—one with a perfect fit—Huo Yuhao believed that even Elder Mu would be moved.
Sure enough, as Huo Yuhao's words fell, Elder Mu, who had been slightly lowering his head as if resting with eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A flicker of light flashed through his somewhat cloudy eyes as he met Huo Yuhao's gaze directly.
Seeing Elder Mu's reaction, Huo Yuhao revealed a faint smile. He then looked toward the crowd from the Martial Soul Department in the distance and the group of Elders nearby; his expression grew even more satisfied.
"Apologies... Vice Dean Skydream, I would like to ask, can you be certain that such an 'artificial soul ring' can guide martial soul evolution? Will there be no malignant mutations?"
The one posing the question was Yan Shaozhe. Truthfully, just listening to what Huo Yuhao said had made him so excited he could hardly contain himself.
Martial soul evolution! What did that represent? It represented more geniuses! A stronger foundation! Shrek would become even more powerful! Just thinking about it was incredibly exhilarating!
Especially after Yan Shaozhe considered it carefully, he realized that this kind of "artificial soul ring" capable of evolving one's martial soul was most suitable for their Shrek! The high-level members of their Shrek Academy—especially the various Elders and Titled Douluo present—each possessed martial soul and soul power quality that was top-tier!
This was their foundation! A foundation coming from the continent's number one academy! It was something no other power could compare to!
At this moment, the look Yan Shaozhe gave Huo Yuhao inexplicably became burning with fervor, completely forgetting that when he first arrived, he was still thinking about how to restrict Huo Yuhao.
Amidst the expressions of Yan Shaozhe and the others present, Huo Yuhao smiled indifferently and spoke softly:
"I cannot."
Instantly, the entire hall fell into a dead silence.
Yan Shaozhe instinctively frowned and said, "Then why did Vice Dean Skydream say so much?"
However, facing Yan Shaozhe's words, Huo Yuhao simply continued on his own: "Who can ensure one hundred percent success in martial soul evolution?
"Even if a couple are both innate soul power level 10 and both have the cultivation of a Titled Douluo, can you be one hundred percent certain their child will have extraordinary talent? What if that child has half a level of innate soul power? Or if the martial soul undergoes a malignant mutation? Although such possibilities are small, have they appeared rarely in history?
"To use an example from the past, one of the founders of Shrek and the teacher of the first generation Shrek Seven Devils, Yu Xiaogang—wasn't he someone with half a level of innate soul power? Heh... if not for a stroke of luck, he likely would have been trapped at level 29 forever, unable to advance an inch."
As these clearly rebellious words were spoken, the expressions of those present changed visibly. But thinking back to the events in the Star Constellation Great Forest a few days ago, everyone suddenly felt it was quite reasonable.
This "Master Skydream" had not been with Shrek for very long, so his sense of belonging hadn't been fostered before this incident occurred. Clearly, this "Master Skydream" now harbored some distrust toward Shrek, which was why he spoke this way on purpose...
One after another, the people present made up excuses and exits for Huo Yuhao in their minds.
Seeing this scene, the already small amount of goodwill Huo Yuhao had left decreased once again.
Heh... rotten to the core indeed.
Huo Yuhao was very disappointed. Honestly, if even one person had stood up to call Huo Yuhao out for "disrespecting the ancestors" or something similar, Huo Yuhao would have thought a bit more highly of Shrek.
Give me a break—someone is insulting your ancestor, and you're still there weighing pros and cons, calculating gains and losses?
Clearly, in their eyes, the so-called face of the ancestors was not important; what was more important was the "Shrek Glory" in their hearts!
Huo Yuhao truly felt disgusted by such a deformed and stagnant leadership.
Suppressing the emotions in his heart, Huo Yuhao became even more determined in his plan to dismantle Shrek and turn it into nourishment for his Spirit Transmission Pagoda. He wasn't sure if he would do better, but at least it wouldn't be worse than this.
After giving the crowd a final moment of shock and thought, Huo Yuhao continued:
"Of course, the research into this technology has still hit a bottleneck. Currently, a soul ring with a limit of 99,999 years is the maximum.
"At the same time, the loss of soul power during this process is immense. According to calculations, to condense an 'attributed soul ring' at the ten-thousand-year level, one must at least have the cultivation of a Soul Douluo. For those exceeding 30,000 years, one must be at the Titled Douluo level. As for the limit of 99,999 years... that would likely require a level 98 or higher to even be possible."
Huo Yuhao softly detailed the false limitations he had set. But clearly, despite the restrictions, the people before him remained as enthusiastic and excited as ever.
"However, the good news is..."
Huo Yuhao shifted his tone and spoke airily:
"Regarding the original, ordinary 'artificial soul rings,' I am already barely able to produce them at the hundred-thousand-year level."
In an instant, the air went completely still.
At this moment, even the members of the Soul Tool Department—who had already been tricked by a certain someone into signing contracts to become tools for his Spirit Transmission Pagoda—looked at Huo Yuhao with faces full of shock!
Wait, Boss! This wasn't in the script!!!
Xian Lin'er and the others originally thought this meeting was because Huo Yuhao couldn't stand Elder Xuan's dereliction of duty and wanted to give him a little lesson. But how did a "hundred-thousand-year artificial soul ring" suddenly pop out!!! Isn't this too ridiculous!!!
"Um, Vice Dean Skydream, is what you said... is it true?"
The first to speak was still Yan Shaozhe. He had completely forgotten his original purpose; his mind was now entirely filled with hundred-thousand-year artificial soul rings.
"If you don't believe me, stay behind in a while and I'll show you," Huo Yuhao spoke calmly. He then paused and looked toward Zhang Lexuan, who was sitting at the end of the table.
"If that's still not enough, I can give her a hundred-thousand-year artificial soul ring to absorb... A hundred-thousand-year eighth ring with perfectly adapted soul skills should be considered quite good."
The crowd fell silent once again. From the start of the meeting until now, in these short ten-plus minutes, they had been repeatedly shocked into silence several times!
Was this even possible!
Facing the shock the crowd was desperately trying to hide, Huo Yuhao once again revealed a satisfied smile.
As expected, a technological monopoly is the best way to keep others in your grip!