Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao who returned from Sekiro

Chapter 461 Soul Palace Master - Huo Yuhao!

"I'm certain that Mingde Hall is colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult. Just a few days ago, I personally witnessed a masked elder of the Holy Spirit Cult enter Mingde Hall late at night."

Nana suddenly raised her head and looked at Huo Yuhao, her eyes filled with determination. "I hate the Holy Spirit Cult, I hate this academy, and I even hate this corrupt country. As long as you can help me release my parents' souls and destroy this branch, I will be willing to be a slave or a servant in the future."

Looking at Nana's resolute expression, Huo Yuhao was reminded of a fragment of memory in his mind when the land of Ashina was still engulfed in war.

Right there in that field of reeds strewn with corpses, there was a small figure carrying several weapons taken from the bodies on his back. These were the little guy's source of income and his only means of self-defense in this turbulent era.

"A lost and dejected stray dog?"

A massive katana playfully sliced ​​open the little guy's left cheek near his eye socket. Blood streamed down his face, but the little guy's eyes showed no emotion whatsoever. He simply reached out and gripped the blade of the katana, seemingly oblivious to the blood streaming down his hand.

"Hmm, are you coming with me, hungry wolf?"

Huo Yuhao drew the Wind Mantis Giant Shadow Slash from behind him. The cold and sharp blade seemed ready to devour someone at any moment. Huo Yuhao held the great sword steadily and pressed the blade against Nana's face, cutting a wound.

Nana's gaze remained firm, even as blood slid down her beautiful face to her fair neck; her expression did not waver in the slightest.

"To what extent can you do it?"

Huo Yuhao's voice was cold and clear as he stared at Nana, as if trying to see through her.

"Everything is about rescuing my parents and my hatred for the Holy Spirit Cult."

Huo Yuhao nodded, feeling powerless to cope with everything at the moment.

He needs manpower to help him accomplish many things, but doing so means that the other party will share his glory and his loss. Huo Yuhao cannot put others in danger with him for his own sake.

"In that case, I promise to purify your parents' souls and send them back to the Sea of ​​Souls. If you wish, I can reverse their state from vengeful spirits back to their original souls and even help them reincarnate as spirits with some consciousness, provided that you both agree to do so."

Nana's eyes widened, bloodshot, and she exclaimed incredulously, "You...you're telling the truth?!"

Huo Yuhao slowly withdrew his greatsword: "This is part of your reward, not all of it, but if you accept my promise, you must bear the corresponding price."

"Make a pact with me, and accept my control for the rest of your life. From then on, your life and death will be entirely in my hands. If I am killed by an unimaginably powerful enemy, you will die with me. Even so, are you willing?"

Huo Yuhao looked at Nana, seemingly hoping to see a hint of retreat in her eyes, but Nana's gaze remained as firm as ever.

"I do."

Huo Yuhao flicked his wrist, shaking off the blood on the blade, and sheathed the sword: "Aren't you going to think about it anymore? You might have jumped from one fire pit into another."

Nana just shook her head.

Huo Yuhao nodded, his finger tracing a gray stream of air, countless mysterious runes lighting up on it before quickly disappearing.

"Offer your soul and enter into a soul pact with me."

"What should I do?"

"Drive your soul power or spiritual power, attach it to this end of the golden chain."

A few seconds later, Nana felt as if she had developed a strange connection with the boy in front of her.

"The ceremony is complete; you will not regret your choice today."

The voice that rang directly in her soul startled Nana.

"Is that you speaking, Master?"

"Don't call me master."

Huo Yuhao's voice came slowly, and after a pause, it continued.

"From today onwards, you are the Vice Hall Master of the Soul Hall. If you want to address someone, call me Hall Master."

Nana now realized that what Huo Yuhao had shown before seemed to be only the tip of the iceberg shrouded in mystery.

Palace Master? Soul Palace?

"Alright, now tell me about that branch. Where exactly is it located, how many people are there, and what are their strengths?"

"Yes, Master."

Nana blushed and said, "From what I understand, the Holy Spirit Cult is a very mysterious organization. I've only ever had contact with this one branch, which is located in Mingdu."

"There are probably more than twenty of them, but only three are true core members. The rest are mostly peripheral members. But even these peripheral members have at least the cultivation level of Soul Master."

"What's strange is that although the Holy Spirit Cult is located within the Sun Moon Empire, they have very few Soul Masters; almost all of them are Soul Masters. The most powerful core member I've ever seen is probably at the level of a Seven-Ring Soul Saint."

"Even though he only has seven rings, he still gives me a feeling of unfathomable depth, as if he could wipe me out with a flick of his wrist."

"In this branch, this seven-ring Soul Saint is called an elder. Every time I see him, he wears a black hood over his head, with only his eyes showing."

"Besides him, the other core members are called disciples of the Holy Spirit, and the peripheral members are called servants of the Holy Spirit. I am now a servant of the Holy Spirit."

"Every time we go to a branch, we need to cover our faces first, so we servants don't know each other. Only the elders know each of us."

"That elder told me that as long as my cultivation level reaches the sixth ring, he would like to apply to the main altar to make me a disciple of the Holy Spirit and to raise my spirit."

Huo Yuhao interjected, "Spirit Ascension?"

Nana shook her head and said, "I don't understand what Ascension means either. I asked the elder once. He said it's a sacred ritual that makes us holy servants incredibly powerful."

Huo Yuhao asked, "Since it's called a religion, what are the doctrines of this Holy Spirit Religion?"

Nana said, "The doctrine is very vague. It's just two sentences: 'Let the holy light shine on the earth, let the Holy Spirit descend upon the world.' The elder said that as long as I go through the ascension ceremony, I can release my father's and mother's souls."

"But I can sense that if I really pass that ritual, I probably won't be myself anymore. I might end up like I was when I faced you, with my soul imprisoned. I'm not strong enough for them right now, which is why they haven't attacked me yet."

Huo Yuhao simply smiled upon hearing this.

May holy light shine upon the earth, and may the Holy Spirit descend upon humanity?

When did a bunch of rats in the gutter dare to use these two words so casually?

Huo Yuhao had once heard the Divine Child tell a story called "Lord Ye Loves Dragons," and now it was the Holy Spirit Cult's turn to experience this story.

(End of this chapter)