Chapter 64.1: The Ultimate Soldier Plan
He Caitou’s 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 Sect’s 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 Yu’s inheriting disciple. As such, the Tang Sect’s 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 wasn’t 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, who’d been about to head to his dorm room, “Junior brother, I’d like to talk to you alone.”
“Ah? Alright!” Huo Yuhao stopped walking and looked towards the seemingly worried He Caitou with a somewhat astonished look in his eyes.
Wang Dong said, “I’ll head back first. You two can chat.” With that, he left.
Huo Yuhao walked towards the seemingly hesitant He Caitou, then asked “Senior brother He, what’s happened to you?”
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 Caitou’s eyes slowly appeared.
At that moment, he seemed like he’d become a completely different person. His temperament had completely changed, to the point that Huo Yuhao almost couldn’t recognise him.
He subconsciously took a step back, his face filled with astonishment. “Senior brother, you…”
He Caitou looked back towards Huo Yuhao. When his gaze met Huo Yuhao’s, there seemed to be something else besides the clarity that had just filled them.
“Yuhao, you know, I’m truly envious of your talent. If I had the same amount of talent as you do, I’d work hard and do everything that I could to get everything that I deserve returned to me. However, I can’t. Even if I do everything that I can, I’m still limited by my talent. My future accomplishments will, at most, tie with our teacher’s. However, you’re 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.”
Huo Yuhao was at a loss when he heard He Caitou’s words. “Senior brother, what are you saying!?”
A pained look appeared on He Caitou’s face. “You know, we’ve always had a plan in our Soul Tool Department. It was known as the ‘Ultimate Soldier Plan’.”
“The ‘Ultimate Soldier Plan’?” Huo Yuhao asked, astonished.
He Caitou nodded. “It’s 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.”
“The 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.”
Huo Yuhao asked, curious, “Shouldn’t a Titled Douluo be able to do that? What does this have to do with our Soul Tool Department?”
He Caitou shook his head. “No. Indeed, a Titled Douluo might be able to change the situation of a battle, but they can’t reverse the outcome of a large-scale battle. Won’t 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 wouldn’t 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 isn’t 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, you’re also stronger than me in both soul tool creation and individual strength. Yesterday, our teacher told me that I wouldn’t be nurtured as the focal point of the Ultimate Soldier anymore. Instead, I’m to become an Auxiliary Soldier to help you. If we’re to say that you’re the future Ultimate Soldier, then I’ll be your portable armory.”
Huo Yuhao was astonished when he heard this. He couldn’t help but cry out, “Senior brother He, I—”
However, He Caitou put his hand up to stop him from continuing. “Yuhao, don’t panic. Let me finish first.”
Huo Yuhao truly didn’t wish for a situation like this to occur. Ever since he’d begun to follow in Fan Yu’s 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, he’d never thought that he’d be the one who’d rob his senior brother of his dreams. As such, he felt greatly pained.
It was precisely because of the fact that he’d lived in a hypocritical place like the Duke’s Mansion that Huo Yuhao valued relationships as much as he did. He’d 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. “Yuhao, don’t panic. I don’t have any intentions of blaming you. If it were someone else, I’d definitely be unwilling to accept it. In fact, I’d probably even rebel against teacher’s arrangements. However, I don’t feel unresigned at all, since I know that the person who’ll carry out the Ultimate Soldier Plan is you. On the contrary, I feel quite happy.”
“I know where my flaws lie. No matter how hard I work, I won’t be a suitable Ultimate Soldier. This is due to the innate flaws in my martial soul. Category wise, I’m a food-type soul master. Even though my martial souls’s auxiliary capabilities aren’t bad, my personal combat strength is limited; I’m far from comparable to battle-type soul masters like you. I’ve 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. I’ve worked hard, but talent isn’t something that you can get away with by relying solely on hard work.”
“Do you still remember the first time we met? I’ve always been an extremely simple person in the academy. Furthermore, because of how special my name is, everyone’s always called me a turnip (Caitou), or some other nicknam like ‘blackie’ or ‘muscleman’. You’re the only exception to this. The first time you met me, you called me ‘senior brother’. 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.”
“Once you began your studies, the talent that you revealed astonished even our fierce teacher. I can understand how he feels; after all, who wouldn’t wish for one’s disciple to exceed oneself? Furthermore, there wouldn’t be the current ‘me’ without our teacher. Thus, junior brother, you don’t need to feel burdened. I’ve already talked it over with teacher, and I’ll do all I can to support you as the Ultimate Soldier. I’ll be your Portable Armory.”
Tears began to well up in Huo Yuhao’s eyes. “Senior brother, I really didn’t wish for this to happen. This isn’t fair. Why don’t I…?”
He Caitou stopped him once more. “Junior brother, don’t speak nonsense. There are some things that simply can’t happen. Furthermore, I have my own selfish motives for helping you out at all costs: I hope that you’ll help me out with one single thing in the future. Once you’ve become successful with your cultivation in the future, I want you to help me out. Of course, only if it’s within your means.”
“Senior brother, tell me.” Huo Yuhao hurriedly inquired.
A trace of deep pain appeared in He Caitou’s eyes. “Yuhao, you know, in reality, even teacher Fan Yu doesn’t know where I’m from, or my identity. This is because I don’t want to bring him trouble, nor do I wish for him to feel disturbed. Since I’ve already told you this much today, I’ll go ahead and tell you all of it; I’ve held back too much pain in my heart over the past several years.”
“When 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 he’d 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 who’d escaped, and that I had already become an orphan. When I said this, I was afraid that I’d implicate him. However, I’d never expected that this would become my origin story.”
“When 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.”
“Huo Yuhao, I’m 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, I’m a member of the Sun Moon Empire’s imperial family. I’m the nephew of the current Emperor.”
“Ah?” Huo Yuhao was greatly astonished by what he’d 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.
