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Looking at the intricate internal patterns forming the spiritual runes, Xiao Huo felt a surge of absurdity.
So these runes were actually constructed by human hands!
Moreover, the constantly shifting patterns made it impossible for Xiao Huo to comprehend just how terrifying a level of insight was required to refine a template to such a dynamic and ever-changing degree.
It was practically the evolutionary process of countless impossibly complex patterns.
Unbelievable!
At the same time, Xiao Huo's speculation about Su Yu's identity deepened even further.
He wasn't some lucky soul who had stumbled upon spiritual rune scripts, nor was he a fallen god who had left them behind. Rather, he was most likely the very person who had constructed these spiritual runes!
Terrifying!
"That's right. Spiritual rune scripts are essentially a type of template—at their core, they are incredibly intricate magical models."
Perhaps these were insights personally comprehended by someone, but once condensed and etched, they became capable of directly amplifying power during battle.
There was no need to expend extra energy translating these insights in real time.
At the same time, they could serve as a supplementary boost when casting spells or soul techniques, unleashing even greater strength.
After all, these runes were created through a process of time- and energy-intensive construction and naturally held enhancement effects.
"If you want to train in magic, I recommend doing it this way. Of course, the reason the fireball I just used seemed so complex is because it reached the level of a seventh-tier spell. For you, that's still far out of reach."
"Seventh-tier!?"
Xiao Huo was clearly confused.
That fireball just now—sure, it was hot and looked powerful, but it couldn't have reached the level of a seventh-tier spell, right?
Seventh-tier spells are for Archmages.
How could something like that be so weak?
"I was merely suppressing the spell's effects, not fully unleashing its true power," Su Yu rolled his eyes.
"Whether it's through magical energy or the rune method I use to cast spells, the foundation is still spiritual power. As you progress through each tier of magic, your spiritual power will also be tempered and strengthened in the process."
Xiao Huo began to genuinely look forward to the rune method Su Yu had spoken of.
But Su Yu had no intention of teaching it to him—not yet, at least.
"Your task is to understand the fundamental operation of magic, not to learn the rune method. Do you think it's a coincidence that, after all these years, the cultivation world still retains the magical energy system?"
Douluo Dalu is understandable—soul masters there heavily rely on simplistic, foolproof activation of soul rings and soul skills, which limits innovation.
But the Radiant Sun Continent is different. Here, mages truly need to comprehend, study, and understand magic.
Of course, the most important factor is that the Radiant Sun Continent has always had the presence of divine-level beings. The inheritance of Divine Masters or Divine Descenders has never been broken.
Anyone who reaches the level of a Divine Descender basically has a chance to gain insight into the true nature of magic—yet magical energy is still widely used.
Either magical energy is better suited to the laws of this world, or it's simply more beneficial for humans in this realm to cultivate their spiritual power.
"With your current physical capacity, it's still feasible to cultivate a small amount of magical energy. However, magical energy will constantly erode your body, and you'll have to endure the pressure that comes with it."
Still, there's a benefit: as long as you maintain a good balance, it's akin to constantly being tempered by fire-element magical energy.
No one on the Radiant Sun Continent has ever attempted to temper their body with magical energy.
After all, when it comes to strengthening the body, tempering with battle qi is the superior route.
But who knows? Maybe it could lead to some unexpected results.
Magical energy is the fusion of elemental power and spiritual strength. So, when it comes to body refinement, you're getting tempered both by the elemental forces of the world and guided by your own spiritual power. That might make it easier to find that perfect point of harmony.
In the blink of an eye, another month passed.
"Senior, what's our next step in training?" Xiao Huo had already adapted to the pressure of magical energy and could now fight without being hindered by it.
"Naturally, we'll go out and train. There are countless geniuses in this world. You can't improve by staying behind closed doors. You have to absorb others' experiences to find your own flaws, broaden your perspective, and discover your true path."
You won't get anywhere by just listening to stories.
Douluo Dalu.
Three months flew by in the blink of an eye.
"Three months already. The growth is incredible," Su Yu remarked after receiving a memory update from the Radiant Sun Continent.
The upper limits of that realm are higher, and the suppression on low-level cultivation is also much lighter.
Of course, a large part of Xiao Huo's rapid progress was due to Su Yu giving him a cheat code.
For Bai Feng, Su Yu provided systematic training, building a solid foundation. But for Xiao Huo, Su Yu's approach was more like opening cheat gates.
One was a steady climb, the other was turbo-charged.
Naturally, this was to align with the laws of the two different worlds.
Cultivating battle qi and magical energy ultimately tests one's mastery over martial and magical techniques. While both require a certain degree of physical and mental strength, there is no absolute boundary between them.
After fully digesting the memories from the Radiant Sun Continent, Su Yu made his way to the back mountain of Sun-Moon Hall.
"After three months of work, we've finally completed our first satellite."
Gazing at the massive metallic sphere before him, Su Yu—and the numerous soul engineers behind him—felt a deep sense of awe.
The soul engineers in particular were filled with anticipation as they watched the satellite prepared for launch.
As its developers, they were well aware of the satellite's functions and significance. Knowing what it could do only heightened their excitement to see it deployed and contributing to the advancement of Douluo Dalu.
And being the ones to develop such a monumental creation, they couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and honor.
"Alright, begin preparations for launch."
The colossal metallic sphere was lifted into place by Su Yu using Blue Silver Grass and mounted onto the launch device. This rocket had been completed using propulsion technology Su Yu had previously acquired from Xuan Ziwen—originally part of a spaceship system, now adapted for satellite launch.
As soul power was injected into the core, the intricate array inside the rocket came alive. Soul power flowed through the central formation's engravings, generating a massive gravitational force that began to draw in the surrounding elemental energy of the world.
Fueled by the energy of heaven and earth, the rocket activated.
Boom!
The explosive propulsion force caused the ground of the back mountain to cave slightly, and the rocket accelerated upward at an astonishing speed, quickly disappearing from sight.
"A world of the extraordinary truly makes everything easier," Su Yu said, watching the rocket rise, a note of wonder in his voice.
The entire research and development process had gone surprisingly smoothly.
Or rather, for Su Yu, it had presented no real difficulty at all. Every bottleneck they encountered had been swiftly resolved.
Though he had yet to standardize parameters like gravity and had not personally conducted precise measurements, Su Yu managed to accomplish a multitude of complex tasks using soul tool formations alone.
Whether it was satellite operation, signal reception in space, or the execution of instructions, everything was achieved through these formations.
"Your Grace Lanling, everything is proceeding smoothly. The launch trajectory remains stable!"
"Your Grace Lanling, the satellite has successfully separated from the rocket and is attempting to enter its designated orbit."
"Your Grace Lanling, the adjustment mechanism has been activated. The satellite's motion is stabilizing."
"Your Grace Lanling, we've calibrated its speed to sustain orbital motion without falling."
". . ."
With each report relayed, Su Yu finally let out a breath of relief.
Good.
This is a world of supernatural power—not technology.
Su Yu had wanted to develop science and technology in this world, but the time was too short for any real advancement. As for himself, he hadn't been a universal genius in his past life. Establishing disciplines like mathematics, physics, and chemistry couldn't be accomplished in just a few years.
There simply hadn't been enough time to research and derive something like a universal law of gravity.
So, he had no choice but to replicate the intended effects through unique soul tool formations.
"Once the satellite becomes fully operational, its first task is to map the terrain of Douluo Planet. After that, we'll begin searching for two small continents at these two sets of coordinates."
After assigning the tasks, Su Yu quietly departed from Sun-Moon Hall.
Far to the north.
"Senior brother truly lives up to his reputation as a genius in soul tool research."
Xuan Ziwen tugged at the corner of his mouth, clearly unimpressed by the compliment directed at Su Yu.
Go ahead, praise him. Who could possibly outshine that guy?
"Do you even know your own level? You're clearly more skilled than me—how can you say that with a straight face?"
But that wasn't the truth. Everyone had their own areas of expertise. Su Yu wasn't particularly adept at soul tool development. His greatest strength lay in his comprehension—his ability to resolve issues during the creation of complex soul tool formations. However, when it came to the overall coordination of intricate formation systems or the structural integration of large-scale soul tools, he simply wasn't capable.
The satellite technology had only been completed with the support of numerous soul engineers from Sun-Moon Hall. The coordination work had been delegated entirely to them.
After storing away the materials detailing the spacecraft technology, Su Yu entered seclusion.
"It's already been refined to this degree."
He spent half a day reviewing every single soul tool formation and managed to gain an initial mastery of the technology.
"Has Senior Brother's research aptitude improved as well?"
Su Yu had noticed that the deeper Xuan Ziwen delved into research, the more exceptional his talents seemed to become.
What he didn't realize was that it wasn't Xuan Ziwen's talent that had changed—it was his perspective and the knowledge he now possessed. With greater understanding, he could handle increasingly complex projects.
To say nothing of the newly introduced rune system, which had already led to breakthroughs in core soul tool technologies throughout history. Using runes, it was now possible to replicate a multitude of previously unattainable effects.
In addition, Su Yu's own enhancements and refinements to basic formations played a crucial role.
By directly perceiving universal laws, Su Yu improved his runes while also compensating for shortcomings in the basic formation patterns found in many soul tool arrays.
"It's mostly complete. The next step is to construct the spacecraft and begin calibration."
Conveniently, the successful satellite launch and operation would also provide some initial data.
"Time to find Kuang Tie."
Heaven Dou City.
Ironblood Sect.
Kuang Tie was drenched in sweat as he swung his Soul-Suppressing Hammer down again and again, striking the Coldsilver laid on the forge. A faint glow shimmered from the metal's surface, each strike of the hammer refining that glow with invisible waves of spiritual pressure.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With each hammer strike, the Coldsilver's spiritual essence gradually transformed.
Improving quality was always the hardest part. As the density of the material changed, the total amount of spiritual essence it could contain steadily increased.
Throughout the process, Kuang Tie infused his soul power into the Coldsilver, subtly altering its internal structure to cultivate even more spiritual essence within.
Boom!
With the final blow, a deafening roar echoed across the sky.
Crack!
The long-prepared tribulation clouds finally erupted, and a multicolored lightning bolt tore downward.
Kuang Tie looked up, eyes unwavering, and raised his hammer once again to meet the descending bolt, guiding its scattered energy into the Coldsilver that was undergoing transformation.
He struck again and again. Thunderbolts continued to fall, rapidly depleting his soul power. The force of the lightning carved deep wounds across his body, and since his spirit was linked to the Coldsilver, the spiritual tempering of the metal transmitted its searing pain back to him.
Even so, Kuang Tie showed no hint of retreat.
Twenty meters away from the forge, Starry Sky Douluo Ye Yulin stood ready, prepared to intervene should a lightning strike become too much for Kuang Tie to bear.
And yet, in his heart, he knew—
Kuang Tie could endure this.
As he was repeatedly struck by lightning, Kuang Tie had developed a significant resistance to tribulation lightning.
There was no helping it—after each strike, he was immediately healed by a potent surge of life force. With such constant restoration, anyone would eventually build up resistance to it.
Since Su Yu had last come to retrieve some of his techniques, Kuang Tie had been continuously performing Heavenly Forging. In just two months, he had adapted to tribulation lightning enough to withstand the full force of a Heavenly Forge trial on his own.
And yet, his current state still looked dangerously strained.
The reason was simple: he was now pushing for even higher-tier Heavenly Forging. Based on his own findings, the number of colors in a lightning tribulation was the most obvious indicator of a Heavenly Forged metal's grade.
At this moment, Kuang Tie was facing a four-colored lightning tribulation.
Boom—CRACK!
The final bolt of lightning came crashing down. Kuang Tie had entered his Martial Soul True Body state, gathering his strength for a final blow. Three of his soul rings glowed with a dark luster.
BOOM!
"Another piece of Heavenly Forged metal," Kuang Tie muttered, stowing away the refined Heavenly Forged Coldsilver.
Over the course of six months, he had forged an uncountable number of Heavenly Forged metal pieces.
With Su Yu's full support, a reinforced Seed of Life constantly supplying him with vitality, and the inherited Condense and Cohere runes, his motivation to forge never wavered.
Even his soul power level had risen by two full ranks in just half a year.
And this was a Soul Sage!
To advance two ranks in six months at the Soul Sage level meant four ranks in a year. If this pace continued, in under three years, he would break through to Soul Douluo!
Such speed was nothing short of terrifying.
Of course, as he became increasingly resistant to the lightning, its benefits to his cultivation would naturally diminish. Fortunately, Kuang Tie continuously challenged higher-tier tribulations, maintaining enough pressure to ensure his growth didn't significantly slow down.
In a way, he was following the same path as Xiao Huo.
With Su Yu's life-force "cheat" at his disposal, he could recklessly cultivate using the most extreme methods possible.
Suddenly, space above him tore open, and a figure emerged.
Su Yu had been observing for a while, yet showed no surprise at Kuang Tie's behavior.
Kuang Tie might be a "working man," but using the advantages Su Yu provided to strengthen himself while working was entirely reasonable.
"Hm?"
Su Yu's gaze shifted eastward from the Ironblood Sect.
"The Clear Sky Sect is interested in Heavenly Forging too?"
(End of Chapter)