As the formal meeting concluded and the tension eased, everyone's gazes naturally turned to Huo Yuhao, their hearts full of emotion.
Without this legendary figure's return from ten thousand years ago, providing so much assistance and intelligence, they would never have been able to formulate a strategy so quickly, let alone have the confidence to face the Abyss Saint Lord.
The Federation Council Chairman said solemnly, "Lord Spirit-Ice, we are deeply grateful for your contributions."
"There's no need for that."
Huo Yuhao shook his head slightly. "The continent's safety is everyone's responsibility."
Seeing the two conversing, some minds began to stir.
During the meeting, their attention had been focused on major issues. Now that everything was settled, they had time to think about other things.
Before them stood a legend from ten thousand years ago—the Spirit-Ice Douluo, a reincarnated deity. They had countless questions to ask and seek guidance on. Now seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Ultimately, Wang Hongchen—whose relationship with Huo Yuhao was second only to Nanaly's—cleared his throat and spoke first: "Lord Spirit-Ice, I have some questions, if you'd be willing to answer them? Of course, if you have matters to attend to, please don't feel obligated."
"Go ahead." Huo Yuhao nodded with a smile.
Wang Hongchen was pleased. He'd originally wanted to ask about soul tool technology—after all, the person before him was a master craftsman from ten thousand years ago, capable of modifying even God-Slaying Grade shells.
But as the words reached his lips, he felt that discussing technical details in this setting might be inappropriate and too time-consuming. He hesitated, glanced at his colleagues' expectant looks, and chose a direction that might interest everyone: "Lord Spirit-Ice, why did you reincarnate? What happened to the Divine Realm, and why did it disappear? Do we still have hope of becoming deities through the Divine Realm?"
"The Divine Realm encountered space-time turbulence and war, and left this star region..."
Huo Yuhao gave a general explanation. "In short, the previous Divine Realm won't be returning anytime soon."
This news made Harossa, Rong Tianling, and others frown, sighing inwardly.
It seemed their hopes of becoming deities through the Divine Realm were impossible.
But they were all sharp-minded and quickly noticed a detail in Huo Yuhao's words.
What did he mean by "the previous Divine Realm"?
If there was only one Divine Realm, there was no need to add "previous," was there?
Wang Hongchen also noticed and seized on it, probing: "Do you mean... a Divine Realm will be born here in the future? Lord Spirit-Ice, do you plan to create a Divine Realm after becoming a deity?"
Become a deity and create a Divine Realm—you certainly think highly of me.
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao was reminded of the Abyss Saint Lord and the Demon Empress from the original story.
One thought was that devouring the Douluo Star would create a Divine Realm; the other was that becoming a deity would allow her to use the Blood River God-Slaying Grand Array to forge the embryonic form of a Divine Realm.
Looking at Soul Land III alone, it didn't seem so strange. But having read Soul Land IV and understood the difficulty of establishing a Divine Realm, looking back, their confidence was astounding.
It had a certain... inexplicable self-assurance.
Of course, if what they meant by "Divine Realm" was a semi-divine realm, then their ideas weren't entirely wrong.
With that thought, Huo Yuhao gave Wang Hongchen a smile, but didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "What you seek is godhood. Do your duty, and an opportunity will come."
Establishing a Divine Realm wasn't easy. Some of the Limit Douluo here might not live to see that day—but a semi-divine realm was another matter.
Regarding the Abyss Plane, he definitely planned to let the Douluo Plane absorb the lion's share. He'd only devour part of the Abyss energy himself.
Of course, he'd need to deal with Tang Hao and Ah Yin first.
Perhaps letting the Undead Plane swallow the entire Abyss Plane—or even devouring all the Abyss energy himself—would bring greater personal benefits.
But if he chose the former, with the Undead Plane's current foundation, it might not be able to transform into a semi-divine realm. If he chose the latter, he couldn't ascend to God King in one leap, let alone establish a Divine Realm.
The result would be that the experts of this era would be stuck at their current bottlenecks, unable to advance further. Would he have to seal them all in their prime until he became a God King and unseal them?
That was unrealistic, and it would waste those promising talents' gifts and time.
Moreover, the Douluo Plane had given him so much—he should give back. The Federation had been resisting the Abyss for so many years. After the plane's ascension, a better living environment, more resources, and higher cultivation ceilings were what the people of the Douluo Continent deserved.
One step at a time. First, let the Douluo Plane have a good meal, transform into a semi-divine realm, and raise everyone's ceiling. Then he could focus on becoming a God King and establishing a true Divine Realm.
Huo Yuhao's words carried deep meaning, setting some minds spinning.
This meant they really might have a chance to become deities in the future? But "do your duty"—what exactly did that mean?
Damn it, why did Lord Spirit-Ice have to speak in riddles too?!
Wang Hongchen sighed helplessly, but wisely didn't press further.
Since Lord Spirit-Ice had said so, there must be a reason. They just needed to follow through.
He cupped his hands. "Thank you for your guidance, Lord."
The others followed suit, though their minds were still turning. "Do your duty" could mean a lot of things.
But their primary task right now was defeating the Holy Spirit Cult and the Abyss Plane. Was that related?
Some wondered silently. Others raised questions about cultivation or other matters, and Huo Yuhao answered them all, leaving everyone with much to ponder.
Seeing Huo Yuhao still so approachable, Nanaly gathered her courage. After one person stepped aside, she asked, "Hu—Lord Spirit-Ice, why is your divine office Fire God? Isn't your martial soul ultimate ice?"
She couldn't use his name directly—had to use the honorific. A lamentable thick barrier now stood between her and Huo Yuhao.
"Why do you care about that?" Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow, surprised by the question.
Nanaly scratched her head and said, "I'm just curious. I mean, the Ice-Jade Emperor Scorpion martial soul is fundamentally ultimate ice, yet your divine office is Fire God—that's such a huge contrast, isn't it?"
All the serious questions had basically been asked. Now she wanted to ask the unserious ones.
What she really wanted to ask was about all those unofficial histories—whether they were true and how Huo Yuhao felt about them.
But she didn't dare!
Still, this rare opportunity was too good to waste, so she settled on a relatively normal question she was actually curious about.
Just casual talk—it was up to Huo Yuhao whether to answer.
Huo Yuhao didn't hide it. He said frankly, "Because I'm not the Fire God. That Titan Giant Ape was mistaken."
Now that the Spirit-Ice identity was out, denying being the Fire God was nothing.
After all, they'd be under restrictions soon and couldn't divulge the information. Even if something slipped, it wouldn't matter.
Since Ah Yin and the others knew the Spirit-Ice Douluo hadn't become a deity and wasn't the Fire God, knowing he was the Spirit-Ice Douluo meant they'd know he wasn't the Fire God.
As for the Killing God—if he realized his bluff had been called and underestimated him, that would actually be advantageous.
Huo Yuhao's words hit everyone like a thunderbolt.
"A true deity... was mistaken?" Nanaly's mouth twitched.
While the Spirit-Ice Douluo not being the Fire God was more in line with their understanding, the Fire God was a powerful Divine Realm deity.
To mistake him for someone else—what kind of astonishing wisdom did that Titan Giant Ape true deity possess!
Huo Yuhao smiled and shook his head. "It's understandable. I do carry some things related to the Fire God, and he may not have returned to the Divine Realm since ten thousand years ago. It's natural he'd be mistaken."
"I see. I understand now."
Hearing this, Nanaly's surprise somewhat subsided. She glanced at Gu Yuena, who maintained her cool demeanor, and decided not to ask about her. Instead, she turned back to Huo Yuhao.
"Lord Spirit-Ice, Lady Gu Yuena must have reached the Title Douluo level as well, right?"
"Na'er has reached the Title level. Is there a problem?"
"I was just wondering—is Lady Gu Yuena also a senior from the Douluo Continent's past? If so, what was her former title? If not, does she plan to adopt one, in keeping with local custom?" Nanaly's eyes clearly sparkled with curiosity.
After Huo Yuhao's identity was revealed, she was certain everyone had speculated about Gu Yuena's identity, just without an answer.
"That depends on whether Na'er wants to answer." Huo Yuhao smiled and looked at Gu Yuena.
Gu Yuena blinked and said flatly, "I was on the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago."
The room fell noticeably silent.
"I was on the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago"—the implications were enormous. Everyone exchanged glances, countless conjectures flashing through their minds:
Who was she? Which legend from back then? Who else from ten thousand years ago could have become a deity?
The Butterfly God? Shrek had portraits, and she looked nothing like Lady Gu Yuena.
Watching everyone rack their brains over Gu Yuena's one sentence, Huo Yuhao glanced at her—her eyes sparkling with amusement—and smiled helplessly.
Gu Yuena had indeed been on the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago—that was true. But she'd been healing in the Star Dou Great Forest. How could anyone recognize her?
History books wouldn't even mention her.
Unable to figure it out after much deliberation, Nanaly finally asked directly, "Then what was your former title?"
Gu Yuena paused, then shook her head. "I never used a title."
Though true, it was also because she hadn't decided on one.
She found that titles were indeed difficult to choose. She couldn't think of a good one on the spot, and unexpectedly understood Gu Ruiqiu's dilemma.
A good title should sound nice and reflect one's characteristics. Her first thoughts were Silver Dragon Douluo and Silver Moon Douluo.
The former was too plain. As for the latter—if no one had used it before, it might have been acceptable.
But first, that old woman from Shrek had used it for a time, diminishing its appeal.
Second, since she'd just said she was on the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago, if she claimed Silver Moon as her title, people would inevitably associate her with that Kong Deming.
Gu Yuena didn't want anyone's imagination to run wild with something absurd!
Setting aside those two, she couldn't think of anything suitable at the moment, so she decided to give it more thought.
Maybe she could incorporate Yuhao's martial soul or characteristics.
As Gu Yuena quietly pondered, the Federation officials who'd received her answer were utterly baffled.
A powerful expert with no title—and they'd become a deity? Could it be an unknown reclusive expert, like the original Spirit-Ice Douluo? (Gu Yuena: In a sense, you're right.)
No wonder she could be the Spirit-Ice Douluo's partner—they were the same kind of being.
Eventually, after Nanaly had satisfied her curiosity, Huo Yuhao used his Divine Origin realm spiritual power to place restrictions on everyone.
Only then did they disperse, carrying the guidance and joy they'd received from their predecessor, leaving the meeting room content.
Once only the Council Chairman and Yu Guanzhi remained, the Chairman stared at the doorway and suddenly asked Yu Guanzhi, "What do you think of that person?"
Yu Guanzhi was silent for a moment, as if organizing his words. Finally, he spoke slowly: "Unfathomable."
The Chairman waited for him to continue.
"Not just in strength."
Yu Guanzhi added, "His strategies, his foresight, his judgment of situations—all far beyond ours. He says he's not omniscient, but what he knows still exceeds our imagination. We're supposed to be the ones of this era, yet our understanding of the continent doesn't compare to his."
"On Eternal Heaven, while we were still scrambling over the theft, he'd already swapped it. While we were still worrying about the Abyss threat, he seemed to have already prepared countermeasures for everything—as if he knew the future."
The Chairman nodded. "Anything else?"
"And..." Yu Guanzhi considered his words, "he could have remained aloof, yet he patiently answered all those questions. Wang Hongchen asked about the Divine Realm, Harossa sought guidance on his path, Nanaly asked about gossip—he answered them all. Other deities might not have been so accommodating."
"Do you think that's good or bad?"
"It's good."
Yu Guanzhi said with conviction, "It shows he's not the arrogant type. He has strength, methods, and... warmth! That last point is important!"
The Council Chairman thought of the time the Sun Moon Empire had encountered the Sea God's descent and sighed.
"A man of warmth, not an unapproachable deity—that's indeed important."
The two exchanged a knowing glance.
They weren't fools. This era was about to face unprecedented change.
The Spirit-Ice Douluo's return at this time might make him the one to lead them through it.
Thankfully, he was someone they could communicate with, not an unreachable god.
Collecting himself, the Chairman suddenly smiled. "You left out one thing—he hasn't forgotten his original intention."
Yu Guanzhi was puzzled. "What?"
"When he revealed his martial soul earlier, his aura was even stronger than yours—clearly, he's already reached the Limit level. Just like ten thousand years ago."
The Chairman's eyes held a hint of emotion. "Ten thousand years ago, he only emerged after reaching Limit and founded the Spirit Transmission Tower. Ten thousand years later, he only revealed his identity after reaching Limit again. That caution..."
He didn't finish, but Yu Guanzhi understood. His expression turned somewhat peculiar.
Though it might be disrespectful to say, reaching the Douluo Continent's peak before emerging and revealing his identity—that was... really cautious.
It fit the Spirit Transmission Tower's traditions, and it fit everyone's impression of Lord Spirit-Ice.
***
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