radicalducati Chapter 225: After the Sea God's Fate, Dai Youheng's Operations Resume
Chapter 225: After the Sea God's Fate, Dai Youheng's Operations Resume
Chapter 225: After the Sea God's Fate, Dai Youheng's Operations Resume
Nana's figure was like an invisible shadow, shuttling between the official road and the mountains and forests. With the power of a titled Douluo, she arrived at the famous city of Shrek City in just one day.
This city is located on the edge of the vast and dangerous Starry Sky Forest, yet it lacks the tense and solemn atmosphere of a border fortress. Instead, it presents a peculiar openness and prosperity.
Due to its unique geographical location, although it is within the territory of the Heavenly Soul Empire, it borders the Star Luo and Dou Ling Empires at the same time. Coupled with the Shrek Academy's neutral status, this place has become one of the most important transit hubs for trade between the three empires.
The wide streets were bustling with traffic, and caravans from all over the country came and went in an endless stream. A dazzling array of goods were piled up like mountains, and the place was filled with the noise of people. Its prosperity was in no way inferior to the capital of any empire.
Nana concealed her aura, perfectly hiding the soul power fluctuations of a Title Douluo.
At this moment, she looked like an ordinary traveler with delicate features and a slightly aloof temperament, blending into the endless crowd and inconspicuous.
As long as she doesn't cause trouble, no one will notice this ordinary girl.
She strolled along, seemingly wandering aimlessly, but in reality, she had a clear goal in mind, slowly approaching the sacred place in the hearts of all soul masters: Shrek Academy.
Outside the tall, ancient walls of the academy, she stopped and, feigning curiosity, inquired of a few students dressed in Shrek Academy uniforms, "Excuse me, students. I've been traveling here and have long admired your academy's Sea God's Fate Festival. I wonder when it will be held this year? Is it possible for outsiders to witness this grand event?"
The students, seeing that it was a pretty young woman asking their questions, were quite enthusiastic. One of them smiled and replied, "Sister, you've come at just the right time! The Sea God's Fate Ceremony is tonight, held on Sea God Lake. To be honest, only our inner courtyard's senior sisters are qualified to participate. But if you just want to watch and soak up the atmosphere, that's perfectly fine too. You can watch from the lakeside; every year, many outsiders come specifically to see it!"
Nana's heart skipped a beat, and she thought to herself, "The young master's prediction was indeed correct; the timing is perfect. It's truly better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early."
.
She thanked the students and then waited quietly for night to fall.
As dusk settled, the area around Poseidon Lake was already packed with people. Countless students and teachers from Shrek Academy, as well as visiting Soul Masters and ordinary citizens like Nana, who had come from afar, surrounded the lakeside, and the air was filled with excitement and anticipation.
Nana blended into the crowd, choosing a spot with a decent view, her calm gaze fixed on the lake, which was adorned with lights that created a dreamlike scene. She felt nothing for the romantic atmosphere of the place; her task was simply to observe and record.
The process of the grand event was actually quite similar to that in the original story. Couples destined to be together still achieved their happy endings, such as Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er; the hardships they were meant to endure still existed, such as the lingering worry in Bei Bei's eyes because of Tang Ya.
Of course, there are differences as well. Having not experienced fighting side by side in the first major competition, Jiang Nannan once again decisively rejected Xu Sanshi today.
The biggest difference is that, since Xue Di had already become Dai Youheng's symbiotic spirit, Huo Yuhao was unable to create the Soul Spirit system that shook the continent as in the original work. Naturally, he was unable to amaze the audience and win applause at the Sea God's Fate event.
The next day, accompanied by Wang Dong'er and Gongyang Mo, a support-type Soul Master who had been fitted with a Soul Guidance Prosthetic and regained his mobility, Huo Yuhao set off for the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for his fifth Soul Ring.
The stunningly beautiful young woman with a special identity, Wang Qiu'er, was not among the group.
This situation is not surprising. The fate of the three-eyed golden-faced imperial beast had already been quietly rewritten by Dai Youheng, and it had not developed a fatal entanglement with Huo Yuhao. So why would it inexplicably transform into human form and come looking for him?
She remains in the forest, happily living as her auspicious beast.
A few days later, Huo Yuhao successfully advanced to the Soul King level and returned to the academy. However, the day after his return, Nana keenly noticed that Huo Yuhao was alone again, and with a look of urgency and worry in her eyes, she hurriedly left the academy.
"The time has come." Nana understood that the young master's focus had likely shifted. Without hesitation, she vanished silently, and in the next instant, she had already sped out of Shrek City like a ghost, unleashing the full speed of a Title Douluo, transforming into a blur that was almost invisible to the naked eye, and rushing back to Star Luo City to report.
Inside the princess's residence, Dai Youheng received a brief message from Nana, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes. He had calculated that Xu Jiujiu was currently handling state affairs in the palace and would not return for some time, so he calmly spread out some paper and wrote a message.
In the letter, his tone was relaxed, even somewhat teasing.
He explained that he had been feeling a bit down lately and wanted to go out alone for a few days to clear his head and get some fresh air, and that he would be back soon. He repeatedly emphasized that Jiu Jiu should not overthink it, and that he was not feeling depressed or sad because of the recent "Star Crown Pact" and "being forced to take the blame" incidents. He repeatedly mentioned that he did not care and asked Jiu Jiu not to worry about it.
At the end of the letter, the tone shifted, carrying a hint of ambiguous complaint: "It is truly that Her Highness the Princess has been making excessive demands these past few days, leaving me feeling quite powerless. If I do not go out to recuperate and rest for a while, I fear I will find it difficult to continue fulfilling my duties in the future."
This letter is a prime example of the art of feigning indifference to lure the prey into a trap.
On the one hand, he used the illusion of "absolute control" brought about by the Star Crown Pact to make the Xu family lower their guard against him, and he also became more free to travel.
On the other hand, repeatedly mentioning those two frustrating incidents, using a blatant attempt to conceal the truth to show that he genuinely didn't care, is actually a way to deepen his sense of guilt. It's somewhat similar to a famous line from Nirvana in Fire: "This matter was done by your humble servant alone; please, Your Majesty, do not blame my master." The two convey the same message.
The last seemingly unserious joke perfectly diluted the grievances in the letter, making it seem as if he really was just going out to recover his energy, which reassured Xu Jiujiu and even made her find him adorable.
Sure enough, when Xu Jiujiu returned to the princess's residence after finishing his official duties and saw the letter, he initially felt a strong sense of guilt and heartache. He felt that it was because he and his brother had wronged Youheng that he needed to go out to relieve his distress.
But upon seeing the last sentence, her beautiful face instantly flushed crimson, and she couldn't help but spit out a light curse. "Pah! This lewd guy! Who—who's being insatiable—"
Though she was shy and annoyed, her tense nerves relaxed involuntarily, and a helpless yet sweet smile even appeared on her lips. She gently pressed the letter to her chest and murmured to herself, "Never mind, it's good for him to go out and clear his head. So many things have happened since he returned to Xingluo; it has indeed been too depressing for him."
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She had no idea that what she thought was a trip to clear her head was actually the beginning of a new storm brewing for her poor, helpless horse.