After a full day of classes, Huo Yuhao hummed a cheerful tune to himself as he made his way alone toward the library.
Earlier, after class, he and that student Ye Wen had struck up quite the lively conversation. The two of them hit it off immediately, finding common ground through their mutual love for soul tool theory. Just like that, they'd become friends—perhaps not close yet, but the first steps were made.
As two academic overachievers, they'd agreed to spend their evening in the library doing self-study together.
Though Huo Yuhao had lucked out and earned the personal attention of Jing Hongchen right upon entering the academy, he wasn't about to get complacent. If he slacked off now and failed to build a solid foundation in soul engineer theory, he might very well lose the favor he'd gained. Jing Hongchen might not go so far as to expel him, but the consequences definitely wouldn't be light.
As he let his thoughts wander, Huo Yuhao arrived in front of what was likely the largest library in all of the Sun Moon Empire—if not the entire continent. Towering stone walls, arched glass windows, and an aura of deep scholarship made the place feel almost like a holy temple of knowledge.
He stepped inside.
The moment he crossed the threshold, he was greeted by the faint scent of ink and parchment, and row upon row of towering shelves arranged across multiple floors. Each shelf was neatly categorized, and the wooden panels had golden inscriptions indicating the types of tomes stored within.
Huo Yuhao wandered through the first-floor index, his fingers gliding across the spine of each volume. Without wasting a second, he began swiftly pulling out books that seemed useful to his current studies.
"Core Array Theory: From Beginner to Master,"
"Engraving Techniques for First-Class Soul Engineers,"
"An Introduction to Rare Metals and Their Resonance Properties,"
"Stabilization Arrays: Controlling Instability in High-Power Constructs."
"Perfect. All of these will help."
Before long, he'd stacked an intimidating pile of tomes in his arms—almost to the point of toppling. Struggling to balance the teetering mountain of books, he made his way to the study area and let them drop beside Ye Wen with a loud thud.
Startled, Ye Wen's glasses nearly flew off his face. The frames clattered onto the desk as he turned to stare at the literal wall of books that had materialized next to him.
"H-Huo Yuhao… you're seriously going to read all of these?" Ye Wen asked, his voice a little shaky from disbelief.
"Of course I am." Huo Yuhao grinned confidently.
After all, he had cheats.
Thanks to the powerful spiritual strength gifted to him by the Skydream Iceworm, he could absorb, process, and retain information at a speed no ordinary soul master could dream of. With his past life's disciplined research training and note-taking habits, digesting all this material was barely a challenge.
In his eyes, learning was just another battlefield to dominate.
Once he began reading, he slipped into a rhythm: flip pages, take notes, memorize, repeat. His pen danced across the page like a windstorm, while his eyes darted between lines with sharp clarity.
Ye Wen, though initially curious, eventually grew used to the relentless swishing of Huo Yuhao's pen and the rustle of turned pages beside him.
"Hey, Yuhao, take a look at this."
Ye Wen's voice interrupted Huo Yuhao's intense concentration.
"What's up?" Yuhao glanced over to see what Ye Wen was pointing at.
"Right here—this section comparing two core array configurations. The book says they're functionally different, but the only change between them is the order of the rune nodes. Why would that matter so much?"
Yuhao furrowed his brow. "Hmm… good question."
He paused to think. Though he'd skimmed through a mountain of material already, none of the books had explained this discrepancy.
And that—he realized—was precisely the issue.
Unlike Earth's science, which developed from theory into practice, soul tool technology on the Douluo Continent had grown from practice into theory. It was a trial-and-error system, passed down through generations of craftspeople, with little underlying scientific rationale explained.
Many engineers knew what worked—but not why it worked.
".Maybe they don't need to know why it works," Huo Yuhao finally said. "As long as the final configuration produces the desired result, that's enough."
Ye Wen scratched his head and nodded thoughtfully. "That's… true."
But even as the words left his mouth, a trace of dissatisfaction lingered in Huo Yuhao's mind.
He couldn't help but feel that understanding the underlying structure could lead to breakthroughs others hadn't yet imagined. Just relying on legacy techniques wasn't enough—not for someone like him.
The two of them studied into the night, flipping through tomes and jotting down insights. Time slipped by like water in a stream.
Eventually, the strain caught up with Ye Wen. His eyes reddened from staring at text for hours, and he removed his glasses to rub them wearily.
"Huo Yuhao… I think I'm done for the night," he said with a yawn. "You're not tired?"
Yuhao glanced at the clock and raised an eyebrow. It was already midnight.
"You go ahead," he replied casually. "I'll stay a bit longer."
Ye Wen packed up and left. Yuhao, meanwhile, studied for another two full hours.
With the support of his spiritual strength, this sort of deep focus didn't even faze him. In fact, he was just getting warmed up.
"Eight or nine hours straight… Okay, even I need a break," he muttered eventually, stretching as he closed the last book.
With a satisfied smile, he left the library and walked back toward the dorms.
The campus was silent now, the darkness pierced only by soft golden lanterns hanging along the pathways. The cool night breeze carried the faint scent of grass and rain.
"I need coffee. Seriously. Gotta figure out how to make some here," he muttered to himself.
If he was a study maniac now, adding caffeine would make him unstoppable.
Back at the dorm, Huo Yuhao slipped into his luxurious private room. The royal dorms came with fully furnished living spaces, kitchens, and even their own bathing areas.
Lying back in the tub, steam rising around him, he exhaled deeply.
"Damn, this is the life," he said to himself.
After a lifetime of humiliation in the White Tiger Duke's mansion, being treated worse than a servant, this was nothing short of heaven.
"To think the Sun Moon Empire would treat me better than my own country… Disgraceful."
From deep within his spiritual sea, the voice of the Skydream Iceworm piped up.
"Times really have changed, huh? Back when I was young, humans still ate raw meat and lived in caves. Now you've got hot water baths and plush beds… I kinda envy you."
Yuhao chuckled.
"Hey, Skydream—remember what I mentioned earlier? The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?"
"You mean that treasure pit that Tang brat discovered? The one full of immortal herbs?"
"Yup. That one."
Skydream's voice grew excited. "Don't tell me… You want to loot it?"
Yuhao smirked.
"Oh, we're not just going to loot it. We're going to clean it out like a buffet."
Laughter echoed from both of them—one in the real world, the other in the depths of his soul.
A partnership born in ambition, forged in revenge, and united by their shared goal: to rise beyond fate and reshape the continent.
Tomorrow, the journey would continue. But for tonight?
Tonight was for victory baths and wild dreams.
(End of Chapter)
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