Chapter 74: Untitled Chapter

This second courtyard is much more spacious, covering about three hundred square meters; both sides still have side rooms, and the front features a tall building with a plaque bearing the three large characters "Council Hall".

Before Huo Yuhao arrived, he heard laughter coming from the Council Hall, and his excitement could no longer be restrained; he darted forward in a single stride and rushed a few steps into the hall.

There were three people in the Council Hall at that moment; one of them was He Caitou, who had returned a step before Huo Yuhao, and the laughter just now had come from him. Opposite He Caitou stood two youths.

The person on the left was over 1.9 meters tall, broad‑shouldered and broad‑backed, with a dignified appearance; his imposing figure gave a sense of stability like a mountain.

The person on the right wore a long robe, his handsome face bearing a faint smile, eyes deep, a head of long hair loosely draped over his shoulders; compared to the left man he lacked some youthful vigor but possessed a more scholarly, refined aura.

"Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother," Huo Yuhao shouted, lunging forward.

The man on the left was Xu Sanshi, and the one on the right was indeed Beibei, wasn't he? When the two saw Huo Yuhao burst through the door, they were overjoyed and hurried to greet him. The four brothers instantly embraced.

The four's excitement lingered for a long time; it took great effort to finally suppress it.

Beibei smiled at Huo Yuhao and said, "Junior Brother, you finally returned. Two and a half years! A full two and a half years!"

Huo Yuhao nodded vigorously and said, "Isn't that right? Two and a half years. My heart has long been eager to return, but the exchange studies hadn't ended. Eldest Senior Brother, I've truly missed you all! Are you all well?"

Beibei smiled, "We're all doing great. How about it? Our Tang Sect has already begun to take shape. How does it feel?"

Huo Yuhao sincerely said, "Eldest Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, thank you for your hard work. I never expected that in just two years we'd already have our own territory. Though we can't yet see the whole picture, we can glimpse a part of it."

Beibei said, "We've been waiting for you to take charge of the overall situation. From now on you must fully shoulder the responsibilities of our Tang Sect."

"I take charge of the overall situation?" Huo Yuhao was startled, then immediately shook his head vigorously, "No, no, how could I? It must be the senior brothers who lead the overall affairs!"

Xu Sanshi laughed heartily, "What did I say? I knew this kid would try to dodge. For such arduous work, who would compete with you!"

Beibei said with a grim face, "Junior Brother, the future development of our Tang Sect will be centered on soul guide devices. And you and He Caitou are the Soul Guide Masters."

Huo Yuhao said, "Eldest Senior Brother, contributing to our Tang Sect is no problem; I will give my all. But the one who can run the sect must be you. We can handle the manufacturing technology of soul guide devices, but I know nothing about sect coordination and management!"

Beibei laughed, "I'm not proficient either; with more practice it will come naturally. Anyway, you've traveled far back; let's set aside that for now and sit down to rest."

"Alright," Huo Yuhao replied cheerfully, sitting down with excitement.

Only then did he have time to observe the layout of the Council Hall. The hall was simply and antiquely arranged, with blue bricks flooring and reddish‑brown furniture exuding a rustic feel. A long table had twenty chairs on each side. The main seat was on the inner side, facing south from the north.

He Caitou said, "Eldest Senior Brother, to what extent has our Tang Sect developed now? Tell me and the junior brother!"

Beibei nodded, "Our Tang Sect's development speed is rapid, even exceeding my expectations. This is mainly thanks to the schematics the junior brother sent back."

The schematics Huo Yuhao recorded at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guide Academy were first sent to Beibei, who then duplicated them and handed them to the academy. All replica drawings of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guide Academy's soul guide devices are held by Shrek Academy. However, the few soul guide devices designed by Huo Yuhao himself are unique to the Tang Sect. This decision was made after Beibei discussed with Huo Yuhao via letters and explained the reason to the Sea God Pavilion.

After all, for the Tang Sect to develop, funding is indispensable; with capital, it can recruit more talent and grow stronger.

Over at Shrek Academy, it has become the Tang Sect's biggest backing, not only providing initial funding but also recommending some graduates from the outer and inner colleges who lack a sect. As long as those students are willing, they can join the Tang Sect.

At present, only a few students are willing to join the Tang Sect. However, with the rapid development of the Shrek Academy Soul Guide Department, the Tang Sect will soon become one of their best options. This is an opportunity Beibei keenly grasped.

An academy can only train talent, not retain much of it. Especially outer‑college graduates: after six years of study, if they fail to enter the inner college they must leave. A sect is different; once it accepts disciples, they can stay for life. As long as the sect is strong enough to provide a good cultivation environment and economic foundation, it can naturally retain people.

Because of this, Shrek Academy had already set a plan to develop its own sect before Mu Lao passed away.

However, Shrek Academy is too famous. Creating a 'Shrek Sect' on its own would be unrealistic and would invite criticism and trouble. The Tang Sect is different; with its long history and countless ties to Shrek Academy, using the academy as a backing to rebuild the Tang Sect is clearly a good choice.

Beibei's biggest regret is that, because this had not been fully confirmed at the time, she never told Tang Ya the good news, hoping to surprise her once everything was settled. Unexpectedly, after Tang Ya left, she vanished without a trace.

"Currently our Tang Sect is divided into two parts: the Inner Hall and the Outer Hall. Our Inner and Outer Halls differ from the academy's inner and outer colleges. The Inner Hall handles sect administration, soul guide device manufacturing, and so on. The Outer Hall deals with external affairs, such as future negotiations and battles. The Inner Hall now has over thirty members, plus skilled craftsmen, totaling nearly a hundred people. The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon you designed can now be produced at ten units per month. That's already the fastest possible pace. The orders come from our Shileke Cheng and the academy."

"The Outer Hall is overseen by Xu Sanshi. It's still in the creation stage; we've recruited some outer‑academy students, but no inner‑academy students have yet chosen to join our Tang Sect. I believe that as our Tang Sect continues to grow, everything will improve." At that moment, Beibei explained the current structure of the Tang Sect and the status of its Inner and Outer Halls to Huo Yuhao and He Caitou.

The Tang Sect's soul guide device workshop is modeled partly after Mingde Hall, but it is not entirely underground; it is semi‑underground. Some critical components are fabricated in a basement, while ordinary parts are made in the surface casting hall.

Currently the Tang Sect produces only the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon as its soul guide device, along with some cannonballs. Even so, fulfilling the orders from Shrek Academy and Shileke Cheng would take a full two years.

"Yuhao, I've been waiting for you to return so we could discuss this. Do you think our Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon can be exported? If so, we could directly scale up. Manpower isn't a big issue. The academy's Soul Guide Department has already made our workshop a pilot internship site for students, paying them a stipend to help us craft core arrays and some components."

Huo Yuhao shook his head, "Eldest Senior Brother, I think the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon should not be exported for now. However, if funding permits, we can expand production and stockpile more. After we return from this continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul‑Combat Tournament, we can reconsider exportation."

Beibei said, "Given the characteristics of our Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon, if we showcase it to the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Soul Empire, they'll surely be interested. Although the cannon is complex to make, it doesn't require much rare metal. The cannonballs alone will become a huge source of future revenue. I've already negotiated with the academy. The Soul Guide Department will open a dedicated zone for us, recruiting more skilled workers to mass‑produce soul guide cannonballs. The finished fixed soul guide cannonballs will all be hauled back to Shileke Cheng for storage. Externally, we will only sell those below level 4 that can be mass‑produced."

Huo Yuhao said, "Eldest Senior Brother, you can make the decision yourself."

Beibei laughed, "When we first test‑fired your Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon, it truly scared both me and Xu Sanshi; we thought that if we were the target, it would be hard to walk away unscathed! However, our Tang Sect's products must not be so singular, and better development demands more funding. So the war finances must be raised."

Speaking of that, a hint of worry flashed in his eyes: "The Sun Moon Empire has become increasingly assertive over the past two years. Though they are internally fighting over the throne, the leading Crown Prince appears to be a hardliner. If he ascends, war will likely be unavoidable."

He Caitou asked with some surprise, "Is that the legless guy?"

Beibei nodded, "Don't underestimate him. Xu Tianran is quite formidable—brave, cunning, and a war‑minded hardliner. If it weren't for the schematics you sent back, Yuhao, we wouldn't have known that the Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms were already lagging behind us in soul guide devices."

Xu Sanshi said, "When that time comes, our Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon will have its battlefield role."

He Caitou laughed, "That's certain. The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon designed by the junior brother combines our Tang Sect's Zhuge Divine Crossbow mechanism technology with soul power propulsion. In terms of raw power it's comparable to a level‑5 fixed soul guide cannon, but it can fire multiple shots, consumes almost no soul power, and can even be operated by ordinary people after pre‑charging. No existing soul guide device has that. With enough units, its power is formidable."

The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon designed by Huo Yuhao isn't especially powerful on its own. However, it can employ various fixed soul guide cannonballs, and its most terrifying aspect, as shown to Jing Hongchen, is its linkage with the Tang Sect's mechanical crossbow‑type hidden weapon trigger system. The cannon itself is extremely easy to operate; only a Grand Soul Master‑level soul master is needed to control it.

If Huo Yuhao had Xuan Ziwen's sealed milk‑bottle design, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon could even be operated by ordinary soldiers, needing a bottle change only after a period of firing.

Of course, since the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon is a fixed soul guide device, the demand for fixed soul guide cannonballs is naturally huge. To accommodate more cannonballs, its size is also considerable. Hence it excels at defense, but is somewhat weaker offensively.

Huo Yuhao said, "Eldest Senior Brother, I've made some recent improvements to the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon; we can incorporate them into the next production batch. I've drawn detailed schematics. I also have a few other designs that we could try to make."

Beibei laughed, "Alright. There's no rush. Look, you've just returned and we're already rambling on. How about it— the competition is in a few months; are we confident? I've even given Xuan Lao a guarantee. He's the one who allowed us to skip training and focus all our energy on the Tang Sect."

Huo Yuhao smiled, "Eldest Senior Brother, you're the captain; you should be the one to speak of confidence!"

Beibei said, "Yuhao, are you trying to be sly? Later Eldest Senior Brother will check whether, in these two‑plus years, you've let your cultivation slip besides the soul guide devices."

Huo Yuhao smiled without replying. He Caitou, standing nearby, said, "Eldest Senior Brother, you didn't see… When we were at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guide Academy, Yuhao single‑handedly took on the academy's elite and beat them so badly they were in disarray. This tournament's champion is definitely ours. Five years ago we won the championship, let alone this time."

Beibei said, "We mustn't be too careless; we have many opponents. This competition is held in the Sun Moon Empire, and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guide Academy is surely determined to win. We may not be able to secure the championship smoothly."

Xu Sanshi said, "Stop being a worrywart. When the time comes, just watch me; as long as it's an individual contest, I alone should be enough."

Beibei glared at him irritably, "Don't bring up the competition. First sort out Nan Nan, then we'll talk."

Upon hearing the name Nan Nan, Xu Sanshi deflated like a punctured balloon, plopped down, his face full of melancholy.

Huo Yuhao said, "By the way, Eldest Senior Brother, I have good news—should I tell you?"

"What?"

"Chen Qiye is back?"

"What!!!!"

(End of Chapter)