Chapter 64.1: The Ultimate Soldier Plan
He Caitouâs choice to enter the Tang Sect was an absolutely overjoyous event to the previously five-man Tang Sect. Bei Bei had agreed to it, but Tang Ya was still the master of the Tang Sect. He immediately gathered everyone and went to inform her of the good news.
Tang Ya was overjoyed and naturally agreed. The Tang Sect had originally declined due to the large-scale appearances of soul tools. As such, they needed to start from the same field if they wanted to make a comeback. Outstandingly talented disciples could give the Tang Sect a certain amount of fighting power, but if they truly wanted to regain their past glory, they needed a source of income. Coincidentally, soul tools could not only give the Tang Sect a source of income, they could also cause their status on the continent rise once again.
The integration of soul tools and the Tang Sectâs hidden weapons was naturally of the utmost importance. Even though Huo Yuhao had begun to display his talent with soul tools, he was still only a single person. He Caitou, on the other hand, was already a Class 4 soul engineer. At the same time, he was also one of Fan Yuâs inheriting disciple. As such, the Tang Sectâs strength could be considered to have grown greatly with his addition.
Ever since the Tang Sect had declined, everything in it had been conducted in a rather simple manner; the induction ceremony that Tang Ya held for He Caitou wasnât complicated, and everyone was able to enjoy a celebratory feast once the ceremony had ended. Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi joined the festivities as well.
Once everyone had finished their meal, He Caitou called out to Huo Yuhao, whoâd been about to head to his dorm room, âJunior brother, Iâd like to talk to you alone.â
âAh? Alright!â Huo Yuhao stopped walking and looked towards the seemingly worried He Caitou with a somewhat astonished look in his eyes.
Wang Dong said, âIâll head back first. You two can chat.â With that, he left.
Huo Yuhao walked towards the seemingly hesitant He Caitou, then asked âSenior brother He, whatâs happened to you?â
The sky had already become dark, and bright stars currently dotted the cloudless sky.
He Caitou looked towards the sky. Afterwards, the normally straightforward look on his face gradually changed into a grave one. The blankness that was usually present in his eyes subsequently disappeared, and a clarity that Huo Yuhao had never seen before in He Caitouâs eyes slowly appeared.
At that moment, he seemed like heâd become a completely different person. His temperament had completely changed, to the point that Huo Yuhao almost couldnât recognise him.
He subconsciously took a step back, his face filled with astonishment. âSenior brother, youâ¦â
He Caitou looked back towards Huo Yuhao. When his gaze met Huo Yuhaoâs, there seemed to be something else besides the clarity that had just filled them.
âYuhao, you know, Iâm truly envious of your talent. If I had the same amount of talent as you do, Iâd work hard and do everything that I could to get everything that I deserve returned to me. However, I canât. Even if I do everything that I can, Iâm still limited by my talent. My future accomplishments will, at most, tie with our teacherâs. However, youâre different: You have twin martial souls, with one of them being an Ultimate one. Your future is immeasurable. Even in a place like Shrek Academy, your radiance will still outshine everything.â
Huo Yuhao was at a loss when he heard He Caitouâs words. âSenior brother, what are you saying!?â
A pained look appeared on He Caitouâs face. âYou know, weâve always had a plan in our Soul Tool Department. It was known as the âUltimate Soldier Planâ.â
âThe âUltimate Soldier Planâ?â Huo Yuhao asked, astonished.
He Caitou nodded. âItâs also the most important plan that we have. It was created in order to allow us to compete with the soul engineers of the Sun Moon Empire on equal terms.â
âThe so-called Ultimate Soldier Plan refers to the Soul Tool Department creating a single person capable of changing the outcome of an entire battle by himself. Someone that possess this level of strength would thus be known as an Ultimate Soldier.â
Huo Yuhao asked, curious, âShouldnât a Titled Douluo be able to do that? What does this have to do with our Soul Tool Department?â
He Caitou shook his head. âNo. Indeed, a Titled Douluo might be able to change the situation of a battle, but they canât reverse the outcome of a large-scale battle. Wonât our enemies have experts on their level as well? However, the Ultimate Soldier is different. The Ultimate Soldier is an existence that would live for the sake of war. It wouldnât just be limited to strength alone either; it would be specialised in both using and creating many different types of soul tools, and it would be good at concealing itself, subterfuge, and destruction. It would be sharp enough to find any node on the battlefield, and then capable enough to destroy targets or to provide assistance. The Ultimate Soldier isnât a commander, but an artist who can change the outcome of a battle. A Titled Douluo is strong individually, but their use in a battle is far from planned power of the Ultimate Soldier. Originally, I was working hard as the focal point of this goal, and our teacher always relied on me to realize this plan. However, everything changed when you appeared. Not only are you more talented than me, youâre also stronger than me in both soul tool creation and individual strength. Yesterday, our teacher told me that I wouldnât be nurtured as the focal point of the Ultimate Soldier anymore. Instead, Iâm to become an Auxiliary Soldier to help you. If weâre to say that youâre the future Ultimate Soldier, then Iâll be your portable armory.â
Huo Yuhao was astonished when he heard this. He couldnât help but cry out, âSenior brother He, Iââ
However, He Caitou put his hand up to stop him from continuing. âYuhao, donât panic. Let me finish first.â
Huo Yuhao truly didnât wish for a situation like this to occur. Ever since heâd begun to follow in Fan Yuâs footsteps, He Caitou had given him advice in many different aspects, and had selflessly passed on his experiences to him. The respect that Huo Yuhao had for He Caitou was no less than the respect he had for Bei Bei. However, heâd never thought that heâd be the one whoâd rob his senior brother of his dreams. As such, he felt greatly pained.
It was precisely because of the fact that heâd lived in a hypocritical place like the Dukeâs Mansion that Huo Yuhao valued relationships as much as he did. Heâd finally managed to obtain both warmth and friendship inside of Shrek Academy, and he treasured these feelings greatly. At the moment, his first thought was to give up his studies in the Soul Tool Department.
He Caitou patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder, and the look on his face became a little bit gentler. âYuhao, donât panic. I donât have any intentions of blaming you. If it were someone else, Iâd definitely be unwilling to accept it. In fact, Iâd probably even rebel against teacherâs arrangements. However, I donât feel unresigned at all, since I know that the person whoâll carry out the Ultimate Soldier Plan is you. On the contrary, I feel quite happy.â
âI know where my flaws lie. No matter how hard I work, I wonât be a suitable Ultimate Soldier. This is due to the innate flaws in my martial soul. Category wise, Iâm a food-type soul master. Even though my martial soulsâs auxiliary capabilities arenât bad, my personal combat strength is limited; Iâm far from comparable to battle-type soul masters like you. Iâve done all I can, but all I can rely on are soul tools. However, oftentimes the effectiveness of soul tools falls short of martial souls. Iâve worked hard, but talent isnât something that you can get away with by relying solely on hard work.â
âDo you still remember the first time we met? Iâve always been an extremely simple person in the academy. Furthermore, because of how special my name is, everyoneâs always called me a turnip (Caitou), or some other nicknam like âblackieâ or âmusclemanâ. Youâre the only exception to this. The first time you met me, you called me âsenior brotherâ. The look in your eyes back then was extremely clear, and was also very sincere. I recognised you as my junior brother from then on.â
âOnce you began your studies, the talent that you revealed astonished even our fierce teacher. I can understand how he feels; after all, who wouldnât wish for oneâs disciple to exceed oneself? Furthermore, there wouldnât be the current âmeâ without our teacher. Thus, junior brother, you donât need to feel burdened. Iâve already talked it over with teacher, and Iâll do all I can to support you as the Ultimate Soldier. Iâll be your Portable Armory.â
Tears began to well up in Huo Yuhaoâs eyes. âSenior brother, I really didnât wish for this to happen. This isnât fair. Why donât Iâ¦?â
He Caitou stopped him once more. âJunior brother, donât speak nonsense. There are some things that simply canât happen. Furthermore, I have my own selfish motives for helping you out at all costs: I hope that youâll help me out with one single thing in the future. Once youâve become successful with your cultivation in the future, I want you to help me out. Of course, only if itâs within your means.â
âSenior brother, tell me.â Huo Yuhao hurriedly inquired.
A trace of deep pain appeared in He Caitouâs eyes. âYuhao, you know, in reality, even teacher Fan Yu doesnât know where Iâm from, or my identity. This is because I donât want to bring him trouble, nor do I wish for him to feel disturbed. Since Iâve already told you this much today, Iâll go ahead and tell you all of it; Iâve held back too much pain in my heart over the past several years.â
âWhen teacher Fan Yu saved me that year, I was nine. When he first saw me, I was covered with blood, and I was completely powerless. Once heâd saved me, he inquired about my origins. I told him that my family were businessmen, and that all of them had been killed in an unfortunate encounter. I told him that I was the only one whoâd escaped, and that I had already become an orphan. When I said this, I was afraid that Iâd implicate him. However, Iâd never expected that this would become my origin story.â
âWhen teacher brought me back to the academy and taught me how to practice soul engineer, I cultivated diligently, which gradually revealed that I had a certain amount of talent towards soul tool creation. However, I hid an unforgettable piece of hatred in the depths of my heart.â
âHuo Yuhao, Iâm a person from the Sun Moon Empire. The only place where you can find a person as dark as me is in that place. Furthermore, Iâm a member of the Sun Moon Empireâs imperial family. Iâm the nephew of the current Emperor.â
âAh?â Huo Yuhao was greatly astonished by what heâd just heard. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected that his normally straightforward and simple senior brother He would have such an impressive origin. For a brief moment, he was completely flabbergasted.