"...In short, that's the situation. I'll help you completely resolve your martial soul issue in two days. Be prepared. Also, regarding the previous question, you can look into it within your family and inform me afterward."
"I understand. Thank you, Lord."
At a residence on the outskirts of Mingdu, Ye Hui received Huo Yuhao's communication. Her expression was complex—part surprise, part worry.
Just then, Yuanen Tiandang walked out from the inner room, carrying a glass of milk, which he handed to her. He happened to notice her expression.
"What's wrong? Why do you look so complicated?"
"It's Lord Huo Yuhao." Ye Hui took the cup but didn't drink, just holding it in her hands. "Do you remember what I told you before? The Lord just sent word that he plans to completely resolve my martial soul issue and told me to prepare."
After reuniting with Yuanen Tiandang and the others, she had selectively told them about her experiences over the years, including the Spirit Transmission Tower's help and Huo Yuhao's promise to resolve her martial soul.
After all, she needed a credible explanation for her years of disappearance and how she could now control the Fallen Angel martial soul. Otherwise, Yuanen Zhentian might think her problem wasn't solved and confine her—ruining the plan.
So, to settle things once and for all, she had invoked Huo Yuhao. Having a deity's backing would clearly dispel Yuanen Zhentian's doubts and deter them from leaking information.
Huo Yuhao had agreed, but for safety, they'd set up restrictions to keep the information confidential.
However, she could only share so much under permissible conditions. The specifics of scheming against the Holy Spirit Cult—involving Huo Yuhao's inside agent and Elder Electrolux's hidden divine existence—clearly couldn't be shared with Yuanen Zhentian and the others, since they weren't Huo Yuhao's own people.
So Yuanen Zhentian and the others only knew she was in contact with Huo Yuhao and working for him, but not the specifics.
Still, Yuanen Tiandang knew everything except the parts about scheming against the Holy Spirit Cult.
So when he heard Huo Yuhao planned to completely resolve Ye Hui's martial soul issue, Yuanen Tiandang's face lit up with surprise and joy. "Really? That's wonderful! With a deity helping you, the Fallen Angel martial soul's problem will definitely be solved!"
"...Yes. Soon everything will be settled, and I can take revenge on those who caused it all." Ye Hui forced a smile.
Sensitive to Ye Hui's emotional shifts, Yuanen Tiandang sensed something wrong. His gaze sharpened. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy that the Fallen Angel martial soul problem can be resolved? Or is there some risk?"
"With a deity involved, what risk could there be? I'm worried about something else."
After a moment of silence, Ye Hui shook her head and looked seriously at Yuanen Tiandang.
"Tiandang, tell me honestly—has your clan had any contact with Shrek's remnants?"
Huo Yuhao's earlier communication had two purposes. First, to tell her that the Holy Spirit Cult would soon act against her and her daughter, so part of the plan was moving up. He would resolve her martial soul issue afterward and have her prepare to open the Demon Gate.
Though she felt some unease, knowing she was in Mingdu with several deities backing her, that unease quickly faded.
What worried her was something else.
Besides resolving her martial soul, Huo Yuhao had also told her about the Holy Spirit Cult's plan to expose the Yuanen clan's connection to Shrek and the Titan Giant Ape, stir up conflict, muddy the waters, and use the Federation to draw away her protection before capturing her.
The problem was, what evidence or dirt did the Holy Spirit Cult have that would definitely stir up trouble and make the Federation take notice?
Clearly, it could only mean that after Shrek's destruction, the Yuanen clan still had contact with Shrek's remnants.
That was the main source of her worry, and also the question Huo Yuhao had asked her to investigate within the Yuanen clan.
The extent of the Yuanen clan's connection to Shrek's remnants might affect Huo Yuhao's attitude toward the clan and his judgment of the situation.
Now, it depended on what her husband would say.
Yuanen Tiandang's hand stopped midair. His expression froze for an instant.
"Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Ye Hui: "I can't explain the specifics right now. Just know that it's the Lord who wants to know. Don't think about hiding anything—he knows quite a bit about the Yuanen clan, including your connection to that Titan Giant Ape ancestor."
Hearing this, Yuanen Tiandang's mind was in turmoil.
From the Shrek affair, it seemed Huo Yuhao and their ancestors were on opposing sides. Since he knew about their connection to the ancestor, why hadn't he acted against them? Was he fishing? Or did he think they were too weak to bother with?
No—from his willingness to help Ye Hui resolve her Fallen Angel martial soul, perhaps he didn't consider them enemies at all.
Various thoughts raced through his mind. Seeing Ye Hui's serious gaze, Yuanen Tiandang was silent for a moment before speaking. "I don't know the specifics. At the time, you hadn't returned and I was still in a slump. I only know that the Ancestor brought Shrek's remnants to the clan's secluded grounds for refuge, but they didn't stay long before leaving. Father also cut ties with them."
Ye Hui's fingers tightened slightly. Half the weight in her heart lifted.
There was contact, but it wasn't deep. This answer was better than her worst-case scenario.
"Tiandang, how many people in the clan know about this?"
"Quite a few. Actually, basically everyone in the Yuanen clan knows. After all, although the Ancestor didn't bring many people, our clan grounds are only so big, and there are only so many of us. It was inevitable that some would notice unfamiliar faces."
Yuanen Tiandang paused, then continued, "Maybe at first no one knew who they were, but Shrek Academy has a wanted notice in the Federation, and the Federation even published reports on it. Some who saw those reports would recognize them."
They couldn't expect every member of the Yuanen clan to be illiterate and out of touch with current events.
Ye Hui: "..."
The leak was that big? Didn't that mean that if just one Yuanen clan member leaked it, the fact that they'd sheltered Shrek's remnants would be exposed?
Seeing Ye Hui's worried expression, Yuanen Tiandang frowned. "Is there a problem?"
Ye Hui sighed. She didn't tell him the whole truth, instead phrasing it differently. "Nothing. I was just thinking—Father was surprisingly carefree back then. With so many people knowing about this, wasn't he worried someone would expose it and implicate the family?"
"Well..."
Yuanen Tiandang fell silent, also feeling the clan's handling had been a bit lax.
But then again, the Ancestor, who hadn't appeared in ages, suddenly showed up with Shrek's teachers and students, asking to stay temporarily. That in itself had caught the Yuanen clan off guard.
Yuanen Tiandang vaguely remembered that when the Ancestor descended, many clan members had gone to welcome him. Everyone who needed to know already knew. After that, it was just making the best of a bad situation.
Besides, they were a reclusive clan. If Shrek Academy people had come to hide with them, could they really be expected to live on their turf while skulking around like thieves? That wouldn't be hospitality—that would be slapping the Ancestor in the face.
With that thought, Yuanen Tiandang said, "You can't blame Father entirely. The circumstances were just too unusual. And it's been a year since then. No one's leaked it in all that time. I'm sure nothing will happen in the future. Everyone in the clan who knows about this understands the stakes. You can relax."
A year had passed. Things were long over. Yuanen Tiandang couldn't imagine any clan member who would betray the family now.
The Shrek Academy people had already left. Reporting them would bring no reward. What would be the point? To get the Yuanen clan punished?
Even if this came to light, at most the Federation would dismiss him and his father from their positions, since they'd already cut ties with Shrek—nothing too severe.
Meanwhile, the whistleblower would be unable to stay in the Yuanen clan afterward—thankless work. Unless someone was determined to see them ruined or had a screw loose, there was no reason to do it.
Of course, if someone outside the Yuanen clan found out and got involved, the situation would become complicated with endless possibilities.
But the only outsider who might know about this now was Huo Yuhao. With his strength and status, he wouldn't need to use such methods against the Yuanen clan.
And anyone trying to comfort Ye Hui clearly wouldn't use such vague possibilities as their argument.
Ye Hui looked at him without speaking.
She knew Yuanen Tiandang was telling the truth. The Yuanen clan weren't fools. They all knew that sheltering Shrek's remnants would cause trouble if exposed. No one would act recklessly, and Yuanen Zhentian had surely prepared contingencies.
But people's hearts were unpredictable. They'd been away from the clan for some time. How could they be sure nothing had changed recently?
The Holy Spirit Cult clearly knew something, which proved something had gone wrong somewhere.
"I hope everything's fine."
Looking at Yuanen Tiandang's worried gaze, Ye Hui sighed inwardly and finally said that. Then she picked up her communicator, logged into the Spirit Transmission Tower's internal network, briefly edited Yuanen Tiandang's words, and sent them out.
On the other side, Huo Yuhao quickly received Ye Hui's message and looked thoughtful.
Gu Yuena, who had also read Ye Hui's message, asked, "Yuhao, from Ye Hui's message, the Yuanen clan only sheltered Shrek's teachers and students for a while. What do you plan to do?"
"Wait and see. The Holy Spirit Cult has clearly already found evidence that the Yuanen clan once sheltered Shrek's remnants. Let them carry out their plan."
Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered. "If even now the Yuanen clan is still entangled with Shrek, they'd be in big trouble. But since it was only sheltering them initially, and they cut ties afterward, at worst this will cause them some temporary difficulty—and even bring some benefits."
If, in the future, when the Federation confronts Er Ming and the others again, the Yuanen clan's connection to them is exposed, that would be real trouble.
But now, exposing this in advance actually lets the Yuanen clan make a clean break from Shrek in front of the Federation. In the short term it's troublesome, but in the long run it's beneficial.
In a sense, the Holy Spirit Cult was eliminating a hidden danger for the Federation.
"Still, we can give Ye Hui some reassurance."
Soon, Ye Hui received a message: "Wait and see. The Spirit Transmission Tower will guarantee this matter." She relaxed, no longer worrying, and began looking forward to the operation against the Demon Gate in two days.
Meanwhile, Yuanen Zhentian, who had just been appointed Deputy Commander of the Sea God Corps, was somewhat worried.
Of course, his worry wasn't about the position—it was already a significant show of goodwill from the Federation.
Though he was a Limit Douluo, he hadn't made it to the end of the selection, knew nothing about military or political affairs, and had no connections. Clearly, he couldn't be given the Commander position right away.
After all, the Sea God Corps was different from the War Temple. The War Temple Temple Master only needed to be strong enough to keep everyone in line.
But the Sea God Corps was a Federation regular army—tens of thousands of personnel, from fleet command to logistics, tactical deployment to intelligence analysis. Everything relied on accumulated experience. Without ability, a Corps Commander wouldn't even be able to manage such a large group, let alone fight.
So the Deputy Commander position was already quite good.
If not for Chen Xinjie—the former Sea God Corps Commander—defecting and causing a shake-up, Yuanen Zhentian didn't think he'd have landed such a good position.
Though the navy wasn't compatible with his martial soul abilities, at least in the Sea God Corps he had prospects. The current Corps Commander was, in a sense, also a newcomer, so he had a chance to replace him in the future.
With other corps, unless there was also a Commander defection, even as a Limit Douluo, he'd have virtually no chance of being promoted to Commander.
Those Commanders had already proven their abilities through experience. What could he compete with?
Still, Yuanen Zhentian had heard the North Sea Legion was considering replacing its Commander, and the next Commander seemed to have been sidelined—going there might be possible.
But compared to the Sea God Corps, clearly this was better.
Overall, a position with prospects for promotion to Commander, plus the rank of Lieutenant General, was the Federation's goodwill, and Yuanen Zhentian was quite satisfied.
But the better the Federation treated him, the more worried he became.
Because he'd received news from the clan—a clan member who'd been traveling had fallen in love and brought their partner back to the clan.
This wouldn't have been a big deal, but somehow, that clan member had inexplicitly shared the Yuanen clan's secrets with their partner, including the connection to Shrek, Er Ming, and the Yuanen clan.
Then, afterwards, that clan member's partner had disappeared, and some things were missing from the clan.
Clearly, if these things were exposed, the higher Yuanen Zhentian stood now, the bigger the trouble he'd face later.
The clan naturally didn't dare take this lightly and immediately informed him.
As for that "heartbroken" clan member, they still believed their partner wouldn't betray the clan—absolutely incredible.
When Yuanen Zhentian heard this, he felt his temples throbbing.
Love brains were truly unreasonable. The Spirit-Ice Douluo was right.
***
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