"You've taken a liking to that Princess Tian Zhen?"
Ju Zi asked casually.
"Not exactly. It's only been a few days, not enough for that. I just find her quite interesting; her personality is so unconstrained, she doesn't act like a princess at all."
Huo Yuhao tightened his hold on Ju Zi.
The current Ju Zi already possessed the demeanor she had when they first met in his previous life. If one had to describe it, she was a mature, lazy, and intellectual "big sister" type—and a very clingy one at that.
"She's technically following me to study for now. Despite her eccentricities, her talent is indeed excellent, both as a Soul Master and a soul tool engineer."
Huo Yuhao gave an objective evaluation, then lightly patted Ju Zi as she lay in his arms, turning to topics she cared about:
"The Empire is currently in a phase of accumulating strength. The existence of the 'Ring-Shaping Soul Tool Method' will elevate the strength of the Empire's soul tool legions by another level.
"If His Majesty's health holds up, barring any accidents, the war will begin within six years at most.
"However, if His Majesty passes away suddenly and a prince ascends the throne, the new Emperor will inevitably need time to consolidate power. In that case, the war might actually be delayed."
Huo Yuhao spoke these clearly treasonous words with total calm. Ju Zi merely nodded placidly, showing no surprise.
Just as she hadn't hidden her identity as a spy, Huo Yuhao didn't hide much from her either—at least, he made no secret of his intention to control the Sun Moon Empire.
As for who actually sat on the throne, Ju Zi didn't care. Her current goals were simple: first, complete her revenge.
Second, after that revenge, atone for the fact that she had used Huo Yuhao to achieve it. At that point, she wouldn't care if she was a mistress or a common chambermaid.
Anything else was irrelevant to her.
"Are you hesitating over whom to support?" Ju Zi asked.
"Not entirely." Huo Yuhao paused slightly. "I'm too young right now; my voice isn't influential enough yet. At the very least... I can't control when the war starts."
In his previous life, the war began after his second participation in the Soul Master Competition.
The Sun Moon Empire wanted to gather the Soul Master forces of the three Douluo nations in Mingdu to wipe them out in one fell swoop, preparing the ground for the invasion.
But in this life, his appearance had vastly bolstered the Empire's power. Specifically, the existence of Battle Armor had largely solved the issue of the Empire's high-end combat strength.
Once the Empire's Titled Douluo were fully equipped with Battle Armor, even if the Holy Spirit Cult remained secluded, the Sun Moon Empire would possess the qualifications to go toe-to-toe with the elite powerhouses of the three Douluo nations.
Thus, a war that might have started five years from now might break out early this time.
After all, who knew if the Emperor's failing health was due to illness or poison? Half the court already supported Xu Tianran, after all.
Shaking his head, Huo Yuhao stopped overthinking. It was still early; the future was hard to predict with certainty.
However, provided Tang San didn't descend to cause trouble, the Sun Moon Empire crushing the three Douluo nations was the trend of history. Even if he didn't push it, it was merely a matter of time.
"Alright, Sister Ju Zi, time for serious business. Since you chose not to pick a mentor because of me, I should fulfill my duties as your instructor."
Huo Yuhao looked at Ju Zi with a smile.
Ju Zi's martial soul talent was average, and her talent as a soul tool engineer was acceptable, but her perseverance was absolutely top-tier. With Huo Yuhao's help, her future achievements would not be low.
"Mm, I'll listen to Yuhao..."
Ju Zi nuzzled into Huo Yuhao's chest before reluctantly propping herself up.
She craved that feeling and instinctively wanted more, but...
Yuhao's word was a command. And since it was a command, she naturally had to obey.
...
Compared to the days at the Spirit Transmission Pagoda—which were day-after-day, night-after-night, exhausting yet blissful—life at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Tool Engineer Academy was clearly more relaxed.
Every morning, he cultivated with Miss Meng, while also guiding Xu Tianzhen's cultivation and soul power control. In the afternoons, he spent his time in the library with Ju Zi.
During this period, Xiao Hongchen hadn't come to find him much. Ever since that guy got the concept of the "Mecha," his head was filled with nothing else. He would frequently mutter phrases like "a man's romance" or "a real man should pilot a mecha."
Xiao Hongchen's goal had shifted from becoming the "Number One Genius" to "getting stronger to pilot a mecha."
He spent all his time cultivating hard, striving to reach the Titled Douluo rank as soon as possible so he could attempt to build his dream machine.
One could say he was bursting with motivation.
Seeing Xiao Hongchen so driven, Huo Yuhao decided to wait a while longer before telling him that he had already tinkered a mecha into existence.
Let "Old Xiao" cultivate a bit more; at least this way he wasn't bothering Huo Yuhao every day. It was quite nice.
Additionally, Ji Juechen had been talked into studying "Tool Refinement" by Huo Yuhao. To avoid the academy noticing the changes in Ji Juechen, Huo Yuhao directly moved him from the Spectral Demiplane to the Spirit Transmission Pagoda.
It's worth mentioning that after successfully "tricking" Ji Juechen, it turned into a "buy one get one free" deal—Jing Ziyan got talked into it as well. Naturally, both were sent to the Spirit Transmission Pagoda to be trained under Zhang Lexuan.
In the evening, after seeing off Meng Hongchen and Xu Tianzhen—who had come to his dorm to scrounge a meal—Huo Yuhao used his mental power to manifest threads and clean up the mess.
Recalling the interaction between the two girls, Huo Yuhao chuckled involuntarily.
Miss Meng was very protective of her "food." Although she maintained respect for the Princess, she was mostly vigilant and hostile, marking her territory every chance she got.
Meanwhile, as the "target of hostility," Xu Tianzhen simply buried her head in her food, completely ignoring all of Meng Hongchen's behavior, just eating and eating.
Of all the people Huo Yuhao had met, Xu Tianzhen was one of the most pure and unpretentious; she was so casual that it was impossible to dislike her.
After finishing the chores, Huo Yuhao went to his study to record the progress of his various research projects before resting. He hadn't been writing for long when the mark left by the Auspicious Beast lady on his shoulder was triggered.
His pen stopped. Huo Yuhao raised his hand and summoned a spatial portal.
As soon as it opened, a blue-pink figure stepped out and pounced directly into his arms.
"Yuhao... wait, why is there the scent of another woman on you again?"
The Auspicious Beast lady, with her incredibly sensitive nose, caught the scent of a strange woman. In the next moment, however, Huo Yuhao reached out and pinched her nose. "Alright, let's talk business. Why are you looking for me?"
"Hmph." She gave a light snort but didn't press further. After mentally cursing him as a "scumbag," she got to the point:
"It's Elder Yi. The 'Transformation Secret Technique' he developed for us soul beasts is a success. He wants you to come back and see."
Qiu'er straightened up and said, "Let's go, don't be late." With that, she took Huo Yuhao's hand, and their figures vanished from the room.