Douluo Dalu II—Chapter 124: I Beat Qiu'er?
The auspicious beast in the original novel could sacrifice its life for Huo Yuhao, but ultimately, her existence was denied by Tang San. According to Tang San, if it weren't for him, Qiu'er wouldn't have gained much intelligence and wouldn't have appeared. To be honest, Tang San's words are a bit shameless.
If it's just that, without his behind-the-scenes control, the three-eyed golden lion wouldn't transform into Wang Dong'er's appearance—which makes sense, since Wang Qiu'er was indeed modeled after Wang Dong'er's face.
However, when it comes to intelligence, what does that have to do with Wang Dong'er's consciousness? The three-eyed golden lion is an imperial auspicious beast after all—how could it lack intelligence? Once the three-eyed golden lion chooses to transform into a human, it is still Qiu'er, but Qiu'er who is unaffected by Wang Dong'er's consciousness.
As expected of Lord Sea God, he knows how to flatter himself. With just a few words, he can deny Qiu'er's intelligence. No wonder he can do such an outrageous job of merging Dong'er and Qiu'er.
"Students preparing for the special recruitment exam? It's boring. I think soul guidance devices are more interesting. Yuhao, let's go to the laboratory and continue researching soul guidance devices," Xuan Ziwen said, expressing his own opinion.
Now, he couldn't wait to get into the lab and continue developing new soul guidance devices. To him, everything else was secondary compared to this research.
Huo Yuhao shook his head: "Teacher, I want to meet the soul master who is applying for the special recruitment exam."
Xuan Ziwen was a little anxious: "What's so interesting about the special recruitment exam? If she has the Golden Dragon Martial Soul, then passing it is a sure thing."
"The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy isn't like Shrek. You still need a recommendation letter from the city lord to enroll. As long as her talent is good enough, it's easy to grant her a place," he explained.
"Come on, follow me to the laboratory. I have a brilliant idea for a new soul guidance device, and I need to realize it there. You can observe if there are any improvements," he added.
He knew that Huo Yuhao's level as a soul engineer was not as high as his own, but Huo Yuhao's talent in creating soul guidance devices was unparalleled in his experience. Communicating with such a genius could help him develop even better soul-guidance devices.
While speaking, he grabbed Huo Yuhao's arm.
Huo Yuhao's face changed slightly, feeling a force coming from Xuan Ziwen's grip. He thought Xuan Ziwen was overly fond of soul guidance devices—no wonder this guy defected from Illustrious Virtue Hall to the Tang Sect for Huo Yuhao's hidden weapons in the original story.
But he still wanted to see the auspicious beast. What kind of soul guidance device is being developed now? And he could use the martial soul fusion technique with the auspicious beast!
He immediately said, "Teacher, wait. I've been feeling pretty tired lately. I think constantly studying soul guidance devices isn't good for my body and mind. People need a balance of work and rest, so I want to see more of the outside world and adjust my state."
Hearing this, Xuan Ziwen immediately stopped what he was doing. He looked at Huo Yuhao and thought that the boy was indeed a little tense lately, so he said, "Okay, you seem a bit stressed. I'll go with you to see Di Qiuer."
Huo Yuhao was a little puzzled: "Teacher, don't you think the special recruitment exam is boring? Why are you suddenly changing your mind?"
Xuan Ziwen sighed: "Thinking about it carefully, what you said makes sense. I've been focusing on soul guidance devices recently. Although I love this, I seem to be too tense—like a bow stretched to its limit."
"So, I also need to relax a bit. Watching the energetic new students will remind me of my days as a student," he said.
"Alright. Teacher Xuan, Di Qiuer is still at the academy gate. Why don't you go find her first? I also need to see the dean. Since it's rare for someone to voluntarily apply for the special enrollment exam, this matter should be decided by the principal," the thin guard suggested cautiously.
Xuan Ziwen, the chief researcher of Illustrious Virtue Hall, was a talented and innovative soul engineer. Among all of the Sun Moon Empire, only a few possessed such talent. There were even rumors that Xuan Ziwen had reached the level of a ninth-level soul engineer, but limited by his cultivation, he was currently only an eighth-level.
Xuan Ziwen waved his hand: "Then Yuhao and I will go and bring Di Qiuer in."
"Okay." The guard nodded and smiled at Xuan Ziwen and Huo Yuhao before using a flying soul guidance device to quickly fly toward the dean's office.
After a while...
In the soul-fighting field.
Di Qiuer stood in the center of the arena, preparing to take the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy's special recruitment exam.
To be honest, these exams usually emphasize the participants' qualities in creating soul guidance devices. After all, the main focus of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy is soul guidance devices.
But Huo Yuhao knew that Di Qiuer, a girl from the Star Dou Great Forest, had never learned to craft soul guidance devices and had no idea how to make them.
So he suggested to Jing Hongchen that they test Di Qiuer's other qualities first. Di Qiuer was very skilled in fighting due to her unique bloodline.
At this moment, besides Di Qiuer, there were Jing Hongchen, Xuan Ziwen, and Huo Yuhao in the arena.
Di Qiuer had removed her veil. Judging from her appearance and demeanor, she was undoubtedly a very beautiful girl. Huo Yuhao looked at her golden hair, which was like silk, and thought that when Qiu'er was unaffected by Wang Dong'er's consciousness, her hair was truly golden, not powder blue.
At this moment, Di Qiuer also noticed Huo Yuhao's gaze. She felt that his eyes seemed a little strange, so she became suspicious—had she been seen through?
After pondering, she thought it unlikely. She decided she was overthinking.
Jing Hongchen said: "Alright, Di Qiuer, this is the fighting arena. The first part of the special recruitment exam begins now. Your task is to fight Yuhao here."
Huo Yuhao was a little confused: "Wait? I'm supposed to fight Qiu'er?"
"Dean, isn't this a bit outrageous? In your view, I should still be just a soul elder," Huo Yuhao asked.
He planned to get to know Qiu'er better, get a new spirit soul, and eventually become a soul ancestor. The soul power he accumulated during this period would explode once he obtained the new spirit soul.
Jing Hongchen waved his hand: "It's fine. Fighting helps you gain experience. Although you're talented, you haven't experienced many battles. That's a critical flaw for both soul masters and soul engineers."
Indeed, some researchers in Illustrious Virtue Hall had been obsessed with their experiments for decades. Some of them had never fought, only hunting soul beasts for their soul rings, which led to their weak fighting skills.
Although these researchers were skilled in creating soul guidance devices, their fighting consciousness weakened over time because they lacked practical combat experience.
(End of this chapter)