Chapter 211: Su Yu – The Thing in Your Hands Is Too Dangerous!

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Nan Gongwan felt as if he had uncovered a shocking conspiracy.

Su Yu and Huo Yuhao had both arrived at the Soul Engineer Tournament hosted by the three major black markets, and the venue they had chosen just so happened to be the two black markets opposing the Xishui Alliance.

Under normal circumstances, very few soul engineers from the Sun-Moon Hall would participate in this tournament. Yet, here stood two direct disciples—one of Kong Deming and the other of Jing Hongchen—competing together.

Could they possibly be lacking rare metals?

Or short on Rank 9 soul tools?

Highly unlikely.

That made their true purpose all the more obvious.

A chill ran through Nan Gongwan's heart as he sensed an impending crisis.

These two weren't here for the tournament. Their real target was the Xishui Alliance.

No—more than that.

The Holy Spirit Cult.

"No, I can't afford to react too rashly."

Nan Gongwan, despite his fierce appearance, was a coward at heart—one who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Su Yu had displayed his overwhelming strength the day before, proving himself far beyond Nan Gongwan's ability to handle. If he overreacted now and provoked Su Yu into acting prematurely, the consequences would be disastrous.

"What should I do?"

This was his territory. The other party had come here to stir up trouble. And yet, at this moment, it was Nan Gongwan who found himself panicking.

Su Yu, attuned to the flow of fate, glanced toward the main platform while crafting a soul tool. His gaze locked onto Nan Gongwan.

Hiss~~~

A shiver ran down Nan Gongwan's spine as if a ferocious beast had just set its sights on him.

"Don't move—or I'll kill you."

A voice echoed directly in his mind.

Nan Gongwan instinctively looked around.

The Rank 8 soul engineers beside him remained oblivious. Even he had failed to sense any fluctuations in spiritual power.

A chill gripped him.

Su Yu's methods were terrifying.

To transmit his voice without a trace, without even using spiritual power—completely undetectable.

And worst of all, Su Yu absolutely had the strength to kill him.

Nan Gongwan knew he couldn't afford to act recklessly.

Forcing himself to stay calm, he began calculating his options.

"I have a fixed-mounted soul cannon shell on me. That should be enough to threaten him. He wouldn't want to risk mutual destruction. Besides, the Vice Cult Master is in the VIP room. Even if Su Yu makes a move, as long as I don't stand out, I should be safe."

For the first time, Nan Gongwan actually felt grateful to Su Yu.

Yesterday's battle had caused such a stir that the Vice Cult Master, who had just left Sun-Moon, had returned today.

After delivering his warning through the power of fate, Su Yu withdrew his gaze and continued working on the Rank 8 soul tool in his hands.

Nan Gongwan was the type to prey on the weak and cower before the strong. Su Yu wasn't worried about him making a move just yet.

As for calling for help?

Su Yu wasn't concerned.

From the moment tonight's competition began, he had already enveloped the area with the power of fate. If Nan Gongwan tried to signal for help or make a dangerous move, Su Yu would know instantly and could stop his soul tool crafting at a moment's notice.

Spiritual power had its flaws—it could be detected.

But the power of fate?

It couldn't.

At least, Su Yu had yet to find anyone—aside from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion—who could perceive or manipulate it.

"Nan Gongwan must have a powerful soul tool in his possession. The power of fate warns me it's something that can actually threaten me. Since he's not a soul engineer himself, but still has access to such a weapon, the most likely explanation is..."

A fixed-mounted soul cannon shell.

Su Yu's hands never stopped moving as he meticulously engraved the core formation onto the alloy sphere.

Compared to Nan Gongwan, his attention was more focused on the individuals seated in the VIP room closest to the main platform.

"A Hyper Douluo... I sense the aura of phoenix bloodline—most likely Feng Ling. And another individual with Titled Douluo-level soul power."

It had to be said—when used correctly, the power of fate was as convenient in lower-level battles as spiritual power was in higher-level ones.

Since others were unaware of the power of fate, Su Yu's investigations remained undetected. Moreover, its perceptive abilities far surpassed those of spiritual power, making it an exceptionally effective tool for reconnaissance.

Of course, even though Su Yu could probe with the power of fate, he couldn't be too reckless.

Soul Masters who had reached the Titled Douluo realm, even if they hadn't deliberately fused their martial souls with their bodies, still experienced passive integration as their soul power advanced. This effect was even more pronounced in Hyper Douluos, whose martial souls had merged with their very essence to an extreme degree.

This greatly heightened their natural instincts as living beings.

If they were being probed, they might sense it on an instinctual level.

However, the power of fate was elusive and intangible. As long as Su Yu didn't recklessly unleash it or probe with an intense, focused will, he wouldn't be detected.

Whether it was Feng Ling in the VIP room or the fixed-mounted soul cannon shell Nan Gongwan carried, Su Yu had already taken note of them.

Neither posed a significant obstacle to his plans for tonight.

He continued crafting his soul tool.

 Time Passed Swiftly.

Huo Yuhao, possessing immense spiritual power, was actively replenishing his reserves as he worked. Knowing that a major battle loomed ahead, he absorbed the Skydream Iceworm's origin energy while simultaneously expending his spiritual power, ensuring rapid recovery.

Su Yu, on the other hand, possessed extraordinary vitality. With his spiritual power already reaching a tangible, almost physical state, crafting a Rank 8 soul tool didn't exhaust him significantly.

The same couldn't be said for the No. 98 soul engineer from the Xishui Alliance.

Even with the Ranked Carving Knife – Dark Azure Dragon in hand, the process of crafting a Rank 8 soul tool was proving to be an arduous task.

 Inside the VIP Room.

"Third Elder, your disciple seems to be struggling."

The speaker was Ming Lei Douluo, the Third Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult. His strength was on par with Nan Gongwan's, but more importantly, he was a Rank 9 soul engineer.

The contestant labeled No. 98—the one currently competing against Su Yu and Huo Yuhao for the championship—was his disciple.

"Sigh… In the end, his strength was forcefully elevated. Even with the Dark Azure Dragon in hand, crafting a Rank 8 soul tool is still too much for him."

The tournament rules had never required participants to craft soul tools above Rank 6.

According to the original setup, the final two rounds were supposed to be about making soul tools suited to one's specialty—quantity was allowed to compensate for quality, and victory would be determined in the subsequent combat phase.

But then, they ran into two utterly unreasonable opponents.

Round after round, these two had crushed the competition simply by crafting soul tools far beyond the expected level.

In fact, aside from their very first creations, which were Rank 4, every other soul tool they had produced throughout the tournament had been at least Rank 7.

The absurdity of this forced the three major black markets to urgently modify the final competition rules.

And when Su Yu successfully crafted a Rank 8 soul tool last night, it placed enormous pressure on the Xishui Alliance.

Under Nan Gongwan's insistence, the Third Elder had no choice but to forcibly elevate his disciple's soul engineer rank.

By making No. 98 consume vast amounts of vengeful spirit flesh and blood, his soul power output was artificially boosted. The lingering resentment within the consumed spirits also served to stimulate his spiritual power, increasing his precision.

Even with all these drastic measures, No. 98 was still struggling immensely to craft a Rank 8 soul tool.

"But with the Vice Cult Master here, along with me and Nan Gongwan, even if the championship doesn't go to the Xishui Alliance, it won't interfere with our plans."

Feng Ling nodded in agreement, no longer discussing Contestant No. 98. Instead, her gaze shifted toward Su Yu and Huo Yuhao.

A woman's intuition was a terrifying thing.

She hadn't necessarily sensed anything unusual about Su Yu and Huo Yuhao themselves—rather, it was Nan Gongwan's odd behavior tonight that had caught her attention. His wary, almost fearful glances had led her straight to them.

"Interesting."

Meanwhile, Su Yu also noticed her gaze.

"Tsk. As expected, keeping my identity hidden is too difficult."

His performance during the Soul Engineer Tournament had been too conspicuous. It was only a matter of time before his true identity was uncovered.

Nan Gongwan, during the final rounds, had already begun piecing things together. Once that suspicion took root, controlling the spread of his identity would be impossible.

Even though Su Yu had warned Nan Gongwan early on, it was unlikely to hold forever.