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Su Yu had absolute confidence in his talent.
As he planned his upcoming cultivation process, the atmosphere in the Sea God Pavilion grew tense.
Su Yu, Huo Yuhao, Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Bai Feng, an elite from the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, had entered the Sea God Pavilion together.
These five geniuses, representing the greatest talents of Sun-Moon Hall from the Sun-Moon Empire, had just stepped into the Sea God Pavilion.
Xuanzi and the other pavilion elders could not help but admit, deep down, that they were indeed tempted to keep all five of them.
Although Su Yu's strength was only at Level 98, in Shrek's territory, he could still be handled—especially with the remnants of Elder Mu's methods still lingering in the Golden Ancient Tree.
Then there was Huo Yuhao, whose strength was at the ordinary Titled Douluo level. But the Sea God Pavilion was home to many Super Douluo experts who could easily handle him.
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, even when using their martial soul fusion technique, would not be able to withstand the power of a Super Douluo occupying a geographical advantage.
As for Bai Feng, a child under ten years old, there was no need for concern.
With such tempting conditions before them, the elders were truly moved.
Though it would tarnish Shrek's image, from another perspective, capturing the five Sun-Moon Empire talents would not only deal a blow to the empire, but it would also help alleviate the negative public perception of Shrek.
Shrek had already been criticized by the three Douluo Kingdoms for a long time due to their efforts to bring back the talents of the inner academy.
If they managed to secure these five individuals today, any rumors that Shrek might be trying to ease tensions with the Sun-Moon Empire would instantly be dispelled.
But was Shrek really not considering these ideas?
Given the current situation, the elders knew very well that the Star Luo Empire's strength couldn't block the Sun-Moon Empire. Continuing to resist would only be futile.
Shrek's unwavering support for the Star Luo Empire, dispatching powerful warriors to assist the Star Luo army in fending off the Sun-Moon forces, was because they were all in the same boat—unable to safeguard their own interests.
But if there were an escape route, would Shrek still continue to hold firm?
The answer was undoubtedly no.
After all, Shrek Academy was just an academy. As long as the academy could continue, the elders would not have failed in their duties.
Thus, the opportunity to completely oppose Sun-Moon Hall left the elders of Shrek in deep conflict.
The elders' inner turmoil was significant, but they were unaware that their indecision was ultimately meaningless.
Could they truly capture Su Yu and his group?
No, it was impossible.
On the Douluo Continent, even a difference in intelligence could lead to major misjudgments.
Su Yu had already reached Level 89. Although he had briefly clashed with Er Ming of the Haotian Sect, revealing part of his strength, Er Ming knew that the Shrek elders weren't aware of this.
Wang Dong and Tang Zhen, two of the younger generation still undergoing secret training within the Haotian Sect, had not conveyed any information to the Shrek elders.
Then there was Huo Yuhao, who had broken through to Soul Sage. The Soul Sage's martial soul avatar greatly enhanced a soul master's abilities. Under the martial soul avatar, all of Huo Yuhao's soul skills were at least doubled in power. Additionally, Huo Yuhao's breakthrough to the seventieth rank had a major factor—the soul core.
With the soul core and his Soul Sage rank, Huo Yuhao's strength had reached the level of a Super Douluo!
Of course, he was slightly weaker.
After all, his soul armor was only at the intermediate level. Although it would increase with his strength, the improvement wouldn't be proportional.
You could think of Huo Yuhao's base strength as fifty, which, with the armor's enhancement, would rise to one hundred. Now, with his strength at eighty, it would rise to about one hundred and one?
However, the intermediate soul armor still enhanced base strength, so Huo Yuhao's power didn't fully exceed the range of the armor's increase.
Even with his increased power, he was still classified as a Soul Sage, which made him an ideal fit for the intermediate soul armor.
Still, Huo Yuhao had made considerable progress over the past year. His research into soul tools had not slowed down.
In the original story, Huo Yuhao later neglected his soul tool studies, leaving the creation of the required tools to Xuan Ziwen. But the current Huo Yuhao was different. Influenced by Su Yu, the role of soul tools had been significantly expanded.
Especially the importance of soul engineers who made the tools had been magnified exponentially.
The core formation arrays were especially significant.
It could be said that Su Yu's development of the rune system from soul tool arrays served as a foundational exposition of all the rules governing the Douluo Continent—a system representing the most essential and intrinsic form of power native to this world.
No matter how future cultivation systems evolve or how reforms take place, this rune system is destined never to become obsolete. Instead, it will continue to be refined, with new systems emerging based on runes as their core.
Consequently, the soul tool array, which serves as an introductory component of the rune system, has effectively become a compulsory subject under the right circumstances.
Moreover, the creation of soul armor places extremely high demands on both its maker and its user.
If not crafted by the soul master themselves, the armor's power would be reduced by at least thirty percent.
After all, only the soul master truly understands their own strength, knows which areas they excel in, and is most familiar with their own abilities—understanding which structures need to be added to the armor to help them maximize their potential.
This is exactly why Huo Yuhao has never abandoned his studies in soul tool crafting.
Even during a year of military training and tempering, he continued his research into soul tools without pause.
Though he has yet to officially break through to become a Rank Eight soul engineer, he is right at the threshold. Perhaps with the insights gained during cultivation inside the Sea God Pavilion, he could achieve a breakthrough and become an eighth-rank soul engineer. He might even construct the core array for his high-level soul armor during this time.
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had also made significant progress. Their intermediate-level soul armor had improved substantially, and under Su Yu's suggestion, they incorporated enhancements that amplified the effects of their martial soul fusion technique.
Their armor would now integrate with the fusion technique, further boosting their power when used together.
However, the power of Hongchen's Devotion still could not reach the level of a true Super Douluo.
After all, crossing such a vast gap in power was simply unrealistic.
As for Bai Feng—well, he truly posed no threat to the elders.
Still, the elders' misjudgment of Su Yu and Huo Yuhao's strength alone had already led them into needless inner conflict.
"Dean Qian, we meet again," Su Yu spoke, breaking the silence.
Qian Duoduo had ended his seclusion and been called out in anticipation of potential incidents.
However, no such incidents occurred.
Because Su Yu's next words caused every elder in the Sea God Pavilion to feel a chill in their hearts. In an instant, they realized that their earlier intentions were completely meaningless.
"I've heard your academy somehow acquired the inheritance of soul tool technology," Su Yu said, his tone calm. "But I doubt that, even with the inheritance, you could have fully digested it within just one year. For instance, the ninth-tier fixed-mounted soul tool cannon—you likely wouldn't be able to counter that, would you? Or dismantle it?"
Su Yu recalled a scene from the original story, in which Jing Hongchen had brought a number of soul cannons to Shrek City, pre-deploying them outside the city before entering.
Su Yu would not make such a blunder.
Even if he believed Shrek didn't have the ability to dismantle the already-deployed ninth-tier soul cannons, he still set up additional trigger mechanisms around them as safeguards.
Moreover, with his level of spiritual power—unmatched by anyone present—there was absolutely no way anyone could tamper with those cannons without him noticing.
The elders' scalps instantly went numb.
Ninth-tier fixed-mounted soul cannons!
Damn it! Su Yu actually deployed such things outside Shrek City?
In the history of the Douluo Continent, the highest tier of fixed-mounted soul cannon ever used in real combat was only eighth-tier. That was over six years ago, when the War God Douluo ambushed the Sun-Moon Empire's royal team during their return, prompting the Sun-Moon Empire to retaliate by launching several such cannons against the Heavenly Soul Empire.
Even so, just by extrapolating the numerical power of a ninth-tier soul cannon, its destructive capability was undoubtedly terrifying.
Its power likely rivaled that of a single strike from an Ultimate Douluo.
Perhaps a single ninth-tier fixed-mounted soul cannon shell couldn't completely annihilate a Super Douluo at Rank 98 or even 97. However, its destructive power—purely in terms of raw output—was beyond dispute.
Especially for a power rooted in immovable infrastructure.
Being targeted by a ninth-tier fixed-mounted soul cannon meant one thing—compromise was inevitable.
While the elders present might just manage to escape the blast zone with all their might at the very instant of the cannon's firing, Shrek Academy's millennia-old foundation would be reduced to ashes.
And if they chose instead to endure the cannon's destructive power in order to shield the academy from harm, then the cannon's destructive value became truly significant.
It would be the equivalent of a full-powered strike from an Ultimate Douluo.
Moreover—
In the next moment, as the elders' hearts sank, multiple waves of killing intent—strong enough to threaten their lives—swept through the air, weighing heavily upon them.
Ninth-tier fixed-mounted soul cannons.
And not just one.
Each cannon might hold more than one shell.
Hiss—
Qian Duoduo sucked in a sharp breath.
The technology behind fixed-mounted soul cannons wasn't particularly complex. It was more a matter of resource allocation. The most intricate aspect was the use of vast quantities of explosive rare metals and core formations, resolving their natural conflicts while maximizing their destructive potential at the precise moment of detonation.
Precisely because of this, while fixed-mounted soul cannons surpassed soul tools of the same rank in raw power, their production cost was several times—or even dozens of times—that of equivalent soul tools.
A single ninth-tier cannon shell could consume enough rare metals to forge five to ten ninth-tier soul tools!
And that estimate already factored in the average wastage rate during crafting.
Yet Su Yu had directly deployed three ninth-tier fixed-mounted cannons outside Shrek City. That meant at least three shells were fully armed and ready.
Had he brought the entire stockpile of the Sun-Moon Empire?
Then again, it made sense.
Given the importance of Su Yu and Huo Yuhao, such measures were justified.
To ensure their safety, deploying these cannon shells was entirely reasonable.
However, as these thoughts raced through their minds, the elders suddenly considered another possibility.
Were these ninth-tier cannons really only meant to guarantee Su Yu and the others' safety?
Their presence meant the elders couldn't act against the five youths, but it also meant the outside world couldn't intervene either.
The Sun-Moon Empire was about to launch another offensive.
The elders were sharp. They realized it instantly.
After only four months of regrouping, the Sun-Moon Empire was ready to attack again?
Four months—far too short.
Too short for the Star Luo Empire to recover from the losses of the previous war.
Sun-Moon Mountain Range.
The core of the Sun-Moon Empire's army.
Inside a massive tent, numerous ninth-tier soul engineers and military commanders had gathered.
"Your Highness, these are His Majesty's orders," a ninth-tier soul engineer spoke.
Ju Zi kept her eyes closed, calming her mind.
The ninth-tier soul engineer had just delivered Xu Tianran's command in full detail.
To seize the opportunity presented by the five prodigies' entry into Shrek for cultivation—and launch a surprise attack.
Using Su Yu and his group to pin down Shrek's upper echelon, thereby depriving the Star Luo Empire of crucial support.
It was the Sun-Moon Empire's best chance to take Star Luo at minimal cost.
However, this plan hinged entirely on Su Yu and the others facing the threat of a desperate counterattack from Shrek's leadership.
If Shrek's elders truly possessed the resolve to withstand the blast of a ninth-tier cannon and still capture Su Yu's group, then the five of them would be in grave danger.
But Xu Tianran's command had been issued.
At least for now, Ju Zi couldn't defy it.
"Relay my orders—have all forces advance simultaneously. Within three days, the Sun-Moon front will breach into Star Luo territory. The eastern front is to push forward in unison!"
Ju Zi opened her eyes and issued the command.
The ninth-tier soul engineers responded in unison.
"By your command!"
The soul engineer who had delivered the order sensed something was off. As he watched the gathered generals and engineers respond, a strange unease settled in his heart.
Still, absolute obedience was law in the military. Orders were orders, and generals were to execute them. Nothing seemed amiss.
Shrek City.
"Dean Qian, your wife is currently a guest at our Sun-Moon Hall, and she's doing quite well. Perhaps sometime soon, you might pay a visit—see, we're not without a sense of courtesy," Su Yu said.
Yan Shaozhe's face darkened. "Su Yu, stop trying to sow discord!"
"Oh? So Dean Yan still has considerable influence within Shrek, it seems," Su Yu glanced at him and continued, "By the way, did you ever verify the news I shared with you a year ago?"
"Hmph, utter nonsense!" Xuan Zi stepped forward, shielding Yan Shaozhe, his voice thunderous.
Of course they had investigated.
But the result was no result.
Which already spoke volumes.
Information on Yan Shaozhe's parents—and even his grandparents—was accessible.
But anything beyond that? Not a single trace.
And Yan Shaozhe's grandparents were mere commoners. Yet for ordinary people's ancestors to leave no trace whatsoever, and for Shrek Academy to uncover nothing at all?
That, in itself, was the greatest mystery.
(End of chapter.)