Chapter 185: The Soul Master Tournament - 2

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Cough cough, indeed, the Evil Emperor is terrifying. I suspect that, like Emperor Tian, he has condensed a dual soul core with complementary Yin and Yang energies.

Soul beasts only have two positions to condense their soul cores, and no human soul master can sense the ability for co-resonance. Their soul cores can only be formed through the complementary Yin-Yang method, where the two soul cores work in harmony.

As the third-ranked beast among the Ten Fierce Beasts, the Snow Emperor tried to condense a second soul core but failed, suffering a great loss to her origin. It wasn't until her 700,000 years of tribulation that she became a real threat.

Otherwise, in the extreme northern region where her home advantage allowed her to unleash power comparable to Emperor Tian's, how could she not survive the 700,000-year tribulation?

According to Shrek's records, only Emperor Tian was known to have successfully condensed a dual soul core with complementary Yin and Yang energies, whether human or soul beast.

But when it comes to the Evil Emperor, Shrek lacked sufficient intelligence.

Therefore, any records regarding the Yin-Yang dual soul core were marked as "known."

After encountering the Evil Emperor and personally feeling his deadly attack, the Light of Time and Space, Xuanzi was almost certain that the Evil Emperor had also condensed a dual Yin-Yang soul core.

"With nearly 800,000 years of cultivation, he has used his soul power to condense his first soul core. His mental strength is also formidable, allowing him to condense a second mental soul core."

No, perhaps the Evil Emperor's first soul core is his mental soul core.

Though the Evil Eye clan's physical strength might not be impressive, their mental strength is definitely top-tier. For a being whose first soul core is a mental soul core, their conversion of the physical strength required for the Yin-Yang dual soul core into a greater demand for mental power is no issue.

"The Light of Time and Space?"

"Exactly, it's an almost unavoidable attack. It's as if it crosses through time and pierces space with terrifying power."

Luckily, at that moment, Xuanzi had fully activated his martial soul and awakened his innate bloodline abilities. He used his devouring powers to help Yan Shaozhe bear the brunt of the damage.

Otherwise, Yan Shaozhe would have surely died.

Xuanzi, being on the verge of breaking through to the Extreme Douluo level, was almost crippled by that attack. Even his origin was damaged by the Light of Time and Space.

That's why the Medical Soul Master, Douluo Wang Xian'er, was unable to heal his wounds.

"This Light of Time and Space causes both physical and mental harm. Wang Lao, if you can help me recover from the physical wounds, I can temporarily suppress the mental injuries."

Upon hearing Xuanzi's assessment of the Evil Emperor and his description of the Light of Time and Space, Wang Xian'er inhaled sharply.

"Are soul beasts really that powerful?"

Emperor Tian and the Evil Emperor were almost certainly the two most powerful beings in the current Douluo world.

Yet, in the conflict between soul beasts and human soul masters, humans had seemingly always held the upper hand.

Wang Xian'er didn't continue pondering this thought, instead beginning to treat Xuanzi's injuries.

She summoned her martial soul, the Healing Angel.

A powerful life aura radiated from it.

"Indeed, Su Yu's martial soul has evolved to the extreme level of life energy. Even Wang Lao's Healing Angel, despite its life attribute aura, falls short in comparison." Xuanzi thought inwardly.

Though he had suspected and verified this conclusion through hints from Qian Duoduo and some information he gathered from Su Yu, it still seemed a bit exaggerated.

The Blue Silver Grass had mutated into an extreme form of life energy never before seen in Douluo history.

Absolutely ridiculous.

What kind of incredible mutation gene would it take to reach such an improbable outcome?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A knock sounded at the door.

Xu Jiujiu went to open it.

"Your Excellency Wulong."

Standing outside was none other than Wulong Douluo—Shrek Academy's current head of the Soul Tool Department—Qian Duoduo.

Qian Duoduo nodded in greeting, glancing inside the room until his gaze landed on Xuanzi.

"Your Excellency Wulong, if you have something to say, please come in first."

After closing the door, Qian Duoduo looked at Xu Jiujiu, the recovering Xuanzi, and Wang Xian'er, who was still tending to his wounds. Then, he spoke.

"I've received information that the reason rare metals are particularly scarce in Sun-Moon this time is because the city's three major underground organizations are planning to hold a large-scale Soul Tool Tournament during the Soul Master Tournament. The rewards include a vast amount of rare metals and even a possible ninth-tier soul tool."

"Oh?"

Xuanzi's eyes lit up instantly.

A ninth-tier soul tool!

Just hearing those words made their hearts race.

Soul tool technology must not fall behind any further. They needed to close the gap with the Sun Moon Empire and Sun-Moon Hall as soon as possible.

But shutting themselves away to develop on their own was not an option.

Acquiring a fully-formed ninth-tier soul tool would be extremely valuable.

That was precisely why this Soul Master Tournament was so crucial.

Given the current situation on the Douluo Continent, Sun-Moon was practically a den of dragons and tigers, yet high-ranking figures from all three Douluo nations had still come. Every generation's top geniuses had gathered, all drawn by the championship prize—a ninth-tier soul tool.

And now, Qian Duoduo was saying that Sun-Moon's underground organizations were hosting a separate Soul Tool Tournament, also offering a ninth-tier soul tool as a reward?

"What are the specifics?" Xuanzi asked.

Qian Duoduo took a moment to organize his thoughts before replying.

"The total amount of rare metals available in Sun-Moon is low because most of it has been funneled into gambling for this Soul Tool Tournament. The current Sun Moon Emperor, Xu Tiannan, despises gambling and has forbidden any open betting on the Soul Master Tournament. As a result, the three major underground black markets have decided to take advantage of the tournament's popularity and organize a Soul Tool Tournament instead."

"..."

"The entry requirement is that participants must be under thirty years old. Any level of soul engineer is eligible. Each round follows a knockout format, but the specific rules for each stage vary and haven't all been revealed yet."

"What we do know for now is that the current stage is a qualification round. Contestants must independently craft a four-tier soul tool to advance to the next round and earn a place in the actual competition."

As Qian Duoduo finished explaining the rules of the Soul Tool Tournament, Xuanzi fell into deep thought.

"Under thirty, huh..."

Fan Yu was a bit too old.

Qian Duoduo was out of the question.

Among Shrek's current team, the only real contenders were Fan Yu's disciple and He Caitou.

But even then, there were no guarantees.

Without the time spent studying at Sun-Moon Hall like in the original timeline, without gaining access to as many borrowed blueprints for soul tool designs, He Caitou—despite reaching the level of a seventh-tier soul engineer—was still worlds apart in terms of skill.

Even a twenty-year-old seventh-tier soul engineer, while impressive for Shrek, wouldn't necessarily outmatch the elite sixth-tier soul engineers of Sun-Moon.

"A ninth-tier soul tool..."

"Alright, let's have He Caitou register first. Maybe his age itself will be an advantage."

A twenty-year-old seventh-tier soul engineer, even for Shrek, was monstrously talented—comparable to a twenty-year-old Soul Saint from the Sun Moon Empire.

Perhaps he could win the championship.

"Aside from Caitou competing, we also need to prepare all the rare metals we've acquired these past few days. Lao Qian, you're the expert in this field—how we place our bets in the upcoming Soul Tool Tournament is up to you. Try to win as much rare metal as possible."

Rare metals. A ninth-tier soul tool. A double harvest.

If He Caitou couldn't claim victory, then perhaps... they'd have to find another way to get their hands on that soul tool.

A ninth-tier soul tool was far too important—it was worth taking the risk.

—

"Yu-ge, so this is the underground black market?"

Huo Yuhao, using spiritual detection, had already mapped out the area thoroughly. Aside from a few spots shielded by special soul tools, he had scouted nearly the entire underground market.

"This is just a temporary location chosen by the three major black markets for the tournament. It's not the real underground market," Su Yu replied.

"But who knows? Maybe in the future, it will be."

Su Yu had been gathering intelligence on the forces behind the Soul Tool Tournament.

At the very least, for matters not involving evil soul masters, he had a solid grasp of the situation.

The Sunset Alliance—they might take this opportunity to unify Sun-Moon's underground world, merging the three black markets into one.

"Hello, we'd like to register for the Soul Tool Tournament."

(End of Chapter)