Huo Yuhao personally asked Xuan Ziwen to make this flying-type soul tool for him. It carried all his longing for Dong’er.
Quickly, everyone rose a thousand meters into the air. At that height, they could barely see what was underneath them. To an ordinary person, they would resemble birds.
Huo Yuhao flew at the front, He Caitou and Xu Sanshi flanked him. Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Ye Guyi, and Nan Qiuqiu followed them.
Of those here, Ji Juechen was the most unfamiliar with flying-type soul tools. Other than his own sword, he normally did not come into contact with any other types of equipment. If not for the fact that he had a chance to fight, he might not even have come this time. As he controlled his flying-type soul tool, it was obvious that he was a rookie at it. His handsome face was ice-cold.
A Grade 7 flying-type soul tool would release a protective soul barrier for its user. This protective soul barrier underwent special treatment. Not only did it have the power of a Grade 6 protective soul barrier, but it was aerodynamic, too, helping to reduce air resistance.
Naturally, when a soul tool of this level was being used, it would deplete one’s soul power greatly. Other than Ji Juechen, the rest of them were all Soul Emperors. While they could use one, they could not sustain it for long if they did not have Sealed Milk Bottles.
The technology behind Sealed Milk Bottles had already been implemented in all the soul tools manufactured by the Tang Sect. Every flying-type soul tool they were using now had four Class 6 Sealed Milk Bottles. It was not because they did not want to use superior Grade 7 ones, but it was prohibitively expensive to manufacture Grade 7 Sealed Milk Bottles. Due to the cost, Xuan Ziwen chose to use four Grade 6 Sealed Milked Bottles for them instead.
As she watched the scenery whizz past underneath her, Nan Qiuqiu could not help but exclaim excitedly. Protected by the protective soul barrier, she did not need to deal with the wind resistance.
Huo Yuhao led everyone in the direction of the Sun Moon Empire. First, they had to fly south for a bit. To the south of Shrek Academy was the Great Star Dou Forest, and after they passed it, they would enter the Star Luo Empire. He could not fly directly above the Great Star Dou Forest, as that would be suicidal. As they approached the forest, Huo Yuhao started to change directions and flew southwest. He entered the Star Luo Empire, staying dozens of kilometers away from the Great Star Dou Forest.
After that, he veered south, planning to cut through the Star Luo Empire.
The Grade 7 flying-type soul tools were fast, indeed. After two hours, they were around 250 kilometers inside the Star Luo Empire, which was also its core regions.
As they flew south, the temperature gradually rose.
Xu Sanshi could not help but ask Huo Yuhao, “Little junior brother, where are we going? Why do I feel that something is wrong?”
Huo Yuhao said, “Nothing’s wrong. We have to make a big detour this time before we can enter the Sun Moon Empire. It’ll take longer, but it’ll ensure success.”
“Okay,” Xu Sanshi said after he heard that reply. He Caitou trusted Huo Yuhao, so naturally, he would not inquire further. As for the remaining four of them, their sense of direction was bad, and they could only follow…
—
They left in the morning. Huo Yuhao brought everyone down to rest at noon.
Everyone ate, drank, and replenished the Sealed Milk Bottles on their flying-type soul tools. The Sealed Milk Bottles were indeed useful. They had been flying for hours, but their soul power had not been drained by much.
Huo Yuhao took out a map and examined it. Occasionally, he would nod his head.
Xu Sanshi leaned against a huge tree. He took in the southern warmth as he closed his eyes to rest.
He Caitou was nearby. He just watched Huo Yuhao. Like Huo Yuhao, he had undergone the Ultimate Soldier Plan and knew about Huo Yuhao’s experience in ambushing his enemies from behind. With Yuhao’s sharp spiritual power and accurate judgment, coupled with his knowledge and experience, he definitely would not go in the wrong direction.
They rested for two hours before resuming their journey. This time, Huo Yuhao made even more adjustments to their route. Quickly enough, even those who were unfamiliar with the way realized that everything they flew past seemed to be farms and wilderness. They did not pass any cities.
Nan Qiuqiu asked curiously, “Isn’t the Star Luo Empire rich? Why have we not passed by any cities at all?”
Ye Guyi answer her silly question straightaway, “He’s doing it deliberately!”
She was correct. Huo Yuhao purposefully avoided any cities on their route.
With the continual development of soul tools, the original three countries of the Douluo Continent had placed greater emphasis on them, especially in the area of aerial surveillance. When Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu’er had gone to the Setting Sun Forest, they were detected by the aerial surveillance soul tools placed in Heaven Dou City, the capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire. That experience made him realize that he always had to avoid cities. After all, the range of aerial surveillance soul tools was limited, and could not cover the entire country. As long as they did not pass by cities, they should be fine.
——
Just like that, they flew for another twelve 12 hours. As the sky darkened, they slowed down and prepared to descend.
Just as they were doing that, Nan Qiuqiu suddenly exclaimed, “Look over there! What’s that?”
Everyone looked into the distance. The scene there touched them deeply.
It was a golden world. One could see countless rays of golden light on the horizon. The sun was slowly setting amid this golden scene.
Huo Yuhao smiled. He had achieved his initial objective.
“That’s the sea. What’s there to be shocked about? When the sun sets over the mountains, sunlight will shine over the sea and create this image.”
Ye Guyi looked into the distance. She appeared to be in a trance. “The sun sets over the sea, what a beautiful sight…”
That was right, they were at the sea. To be accurate, they were near the southern shoreline of the Star Luo Empire. With twelve hours of flight at full speed, they had left Shrek City, cut across the entire length of the Star Luo Empire, and finally arrived at the southern shoreline of the Star Luo Empire.
Under Huo Yuhao’s leadership, they had to take numerous detours away from cities, but they were able to reach the sea before sunset.
“Why is the sea there? Yuhao, tell me where we are.” Jing Ziyan asked in shock.
Huo Yuhao said, “This is the southern shoreline of the Star Luo Empire. After an entire day’s flight, we’ve made our way across the Star Luo Empire. Tomorrow, we’ll head out to sea. We’ll fly westward along the coast, and enter the Sun Moon Empire via the sea.”
Jing Ziyan’s map-reading skills might be bad, but she knew her geography. She asked in shock, “That’s such a long way around! Why are you doing this?”
Huo Yuhao said, “So we can enter the Sun Moon Empire safely. We have no choice. I’m afraid the border of the Sun Moon Empire is completely covered by surveillance soul tools. It would be impossible to enter without being discovered.
“Elder Xuan decided that the rescue mission would have two teams, with one being the decoy. The powerful soul masters from the Academy are the decoy, and they’ll go by the more obvious route. We’ll go by the lesser-known route. Elder Xuan’s team will attract the attention of the Sun Moon Empire. Our goal is to rescue our targets.”
Jing Ziyan inhaled and said, “How many people were caught? 400? 500? With just a few of us, can we really save all of them?”
Huo Yuhao chuckled and said, “You may think it’s impossible, and the enemy thinks so, too. As long as they can see Elder Xuan and the higher echelons of Shrek Academy, they’ll naturally let their guard down. Furthermore, you’ve forgotten something. The people we’re out to save are no ordinary people. Each and every one of them is immensely powerful!”
Jing Ziyan finally understood the target and plan of this rescue operation.
Huo Yuhao said loudly, “Everyone, perk up! We’ll rest by the seaside. At night, I’ll catch and grill fish for everyone!”
After they worked hard for the entire day, eating was more important to them than anything else. When they heard these words, their speed increased visibly. They all flew toward the sea, the waters dazzling in the setting sun, like swallows toward a tree.
While it looked near, it was actually still pretty far. They had to fly for another hour before they reached the coast. When they landed, the sky was completely dark.
“Guyi, come and catch fish with me,” Huo Yuhao said as he gestured toward her.
“Why me?” Ye Guyi asked curiously.
“You can make some light for me! Fishes love bright spots.”
“You’re… you’re using my Holy Angel as a source of light?” Ye Guyi was visibly irritated.
Huo Yuhao looked at her and said, “Well, if you don’t want to eat later, then I won’t do so.”
Ye Guyi glared at him angrily, then remembered that Xu Sanshi had once said that Huo Yuhao’s grilled fish was extremely tasty. Eventually, she relented. She pursed her lips and unwillingly released her angelic wings, flying out above the sea.
Huo Yuhao smiled. Moving on the tips of his feet, he jumped straight out into the middle of the sea.
Ye Guyi looked down from the sky to look at Huo Yuhao. To her surprise, Huo Yuhao was not using his flying-type soul tool. Instead, he walked on the water as he headed out into the sea.
