The increase in the number of soul masters within the legion also allowed for more strategic arrangements in combat.
For example, squad-based formations.
A squad composed of four types of soul masters—power attackers, defenders, support, and agility attackers—would be more coordinated when hunting Abyssal creatures. With no weak links, they could hunt Abyssal creatures more safely and efficiently.
While the Abyssal creatures occupied most of the Celestial Phenomenon, not every area was a stronghold of the Abyssal army. In many regions, Abyssal creatures were scattered. The current mission of the Blood God Legion was to clear these scattered areas of Abyssal creatures, resist the Abyssal army's attempts to reclaim them, and establish these areas as the legion's territory. This process would continue, gradually expanding the legion's domain.
In just two months, the interior of the Celestial Phenomenon had already expanded to surpass the range of the Endless Mountains. Soon, it would continue to grow, potentially reaching the scale of the Western Great Desert, with an area no smaller than that of the Star Luo Continent.
Such a vast battlefield was destined to be filled with blood and fire.
Within a month, after witnessing Xu Yuan's Heavenly Forging abilities, the Mecha God Douluo used his authority to summon over 90% of the mech pilots from the Mecha Alliance to join the Blood God Legion.
Within a month, ten Limit Douluos were already stationed in the Celestial Phenomenon under normal circumstances, with five guarding the Blood God Legion's sole territory.
A month was brief.
Time continued to pass, and the evolution of the Celestial Phenomenon never ceased.
In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
After six months, the Blood God Legion's system had matured.
News of the Abyssal invasion quietly spread among the populace, carefully revealed to the public without causing societal panic.
At the same time, all soul masters were conscripted, with the most talented being selected to join the Blood God Legion. Those unwilling to risk their lives on the front lines could remain in the rear, defending against attacks by evil soul masters.
The Federation now faced both internal and external threats, unable to address everything at once.
This was the legacy of toxic governance left by previous generations of Federation rulers. Now, the time had come to pay the price.
It was easy to imagine that no matter how well the current crisis was handled, the current Federation leadership would receive little praise. They would likely become the most despised group of rulers in the eyes of all soul masters.
Under the universal conscription, six new Limit Douluos joined the Blood God Legion. Among them were three from the upper three sects of twenty thousand years ago, along with three others: one was Xu Yuan's old acquaintance, Yue Ruoxue of the Moonlight Sect; another was Qiangu Dieting, the War God Douluo and father of Qiangu Dongfeng; and the last was Hu Jie.
Yes, Hu Jie of the Body Sect.
When he returned to the Douluo Continent, he left the Tang Sect and rejoined the Body Sect.
It wasn't that he had broken through to level 99—his soul power was still at level 98, and his spiritual power remained stuck at the threshold before the Spirit Domain level, though there were signs of progress.
The reason he was considered a Limit Douluo was that Xu Yuan had crafted him a set of four-word battle armor. Moreover, Hu Jie had completed the Body Sect's secret cultivation techniques, fusing his martial soul with a mech and successfully following the path pioneered by Mu Ye.
His blood essence had reached its peak.
With his blood essence at its limit and equipped with four-word battle armor, he was naturally counted as a Limit Douluo.
The Douluo Continent of today was no longer the primitive era of twenty thousand years ago. The world of soul masters had produced countless talents, and the number of top-tier martial souls accumulated over twenty thousand years had far exceeded triple digits. Under the crisis of the plane, countless genius soul masters had emerged in the past hundred or even three hundred years.
Yun Ming and others had stirred up storms in the soul master world, but there were also many powerful individuals who remained hidden, cultivating alone.
At this moment, the Blood God Legion welcomed yet another Limit-level powerhouse.
Xu Yuan was awakened from his cultivation.
Six months had passed, and he had long since broken through to level 95. He had been at this level for four months, and his next breakthrough was not far off.
He was awakened by Yuanen Yehui.
"Yuanen, what happened?"
Xu Yuan was somewhat puzzled.
After joining the Blood God Legion, the Shrek Seven Monsters felt like they had returned home.
Back in the outer court of Shrek Academy, they had experienced a merit-based system, busily earning merit points each day to exchange for resources for cultivation. Now, in the Blood God Legion, the system was the same—but the way to earn merit points had evolved into life-and-death trials.
The seven were all bold individuals. Apart from Tang Wulin occasionally teaming up with others, most of the time he explored alone. The other six often teamed up to hunt Abyssal creatures.
Yuanen Yehui hadn't come to hunt Abyssal creatures in the Celestial Phenomenon but instead sought him out at the forging department. This made Xu Yuan curious.
Yuanen Yehui hesitated for a moment but soon revealed the truth to Xu Yuan.
"Your grandfather has arrived?"
Xu Yuan was startled.
To be honest, if Yuanen Yehui hadn't come to inform him and explain the situation, he would have completely forgotten about the Yuanen family.
This was a clan that inherited the Titan Ape bloodline. Due to the strength of the Titan Ape bloodline, almost every generation possessed the super-standard martial soul of the Titan Ape.
This made their family extraordinarily powerful.
Among them, Yuanen Yehui's grandfather, Yuanen Zhentian, was a demi-god. Xu Yuan remembered that in the original timeline, simply having Er Ming help refine his bloodline allowed him to break through to quasi-god status.
Xu Yuan may not have been able to surpass the bloodline's ancestral origins, but he at least understood bloodlines. More importantly, he could craft a set of four-word battle armor with pure bloodline effects for Yuanen Zhentian. Helping him break through to quasi-god status wouldn't be difficult.
However, the question now was whether to help him.
Xu Yuan needed to ascertain Yuanen Zhentian's stance.
Besides Yuanen Zhentian, the Yuanen family also had Yuanen Tiandang, Yuanen Yehui's father. If his ruined cultivation could be restored, he too might have the potential to break through to the Limit Douluo level.
From Yuanen Yehui, Xu Yuan learned that only Yuanen Zhentian had come this time.
Summoned by the Federation, Yuanen Zhentian arrived at the Blood God Legion and unexpectedly learned of Yuanen Yehui's presence. He then revealed his identity and was now with Zhuo Shi and Long Yeyue of Shrek.
Yuanen Yehui, upon receiving news from Zhuo Shi, learned that her grandfather had come looking for her. Not daring to face him alone, she first went to the Heavenly Forging Summit to find Xu Yuan.
"The issue with your martial soul has already been resolved. There's nothing to worry about," Xu Yuan reassured Yuanen Yehui.
The Yuanen family should still be reasonable. After all, this was the Blood God Legion, with so many Limit Douluos watching.
Without the threat of the Demon Plane, Yuanen Zhentian had no reason to persist.
---
Three Dragons Peak
This was the unified base for the disciples of Shrek Academy.
Although everyone had integrated into the Blood God Legion, various factions still lived separately. They only gathered at the Blood God Mountain where the legion was stationed when entering the Celestial Phenomenon.
Xu Yuan and Yuanen Yehui arrived at the summit of Three Dragon Mountain and entered Zhuo Shi's residence.
Pushing open the door, they saw three figures sitting together in the courtyard, deep in conversation.
They turned their heads to look.
One of the burly men, merely by turning his head, exuded an overwhelming sense of pressure.
This oppressive feeling was very similar to when Yuanen Yehui used her Titan Ape martial soul.
Yuanen Zhentian looked at Yuanen Yehui, his eyes complex. After a deep sigh, he slowly spoke.
"Yehui."
"Grandpa." Yuanen Yehui took a step forward and softly called out.
Zhuo Shi, watching this scene, spoke up with a laugh, "Haha, Brother Zhentian, after Yehui left your family, she studied at our academy. You don't need to worry about her martial soul issues—we at Shrek have already helped resolve them."
"Thank you all," Yuanen Zhentian said, bowing to Zhuo Shi and then nodding to Long Yeyue.
"Although Yehui's martial soul carries risks, those risks also bring opportunities. Without her martial soul, I estimate I wouldn't have been able to break through yet."
Zhuo Shi shook his head, finding Yuanen Zhentian overly cautious.
"Brother Zhentian, you might not know—the Demon Plane is far more fascinating than we imagined. Besides being invaders and so-called evil demons, in their own plane, they're not much different from us. They have their own societal system, and the Demon Plane is as vast as the Douluo Continent, full of opportunities."
As Zhuo Shi spoke, Yuanen Zhentian became increasingly interested.
Surprise flashed in Yuanen Zhentian's eyes.
This...
What the Yuanen family viewed as a terrifying calamity, Shrek saw as an opportunity?
The opening of the Demon Gate was a sign of the Demon Plane's invasion of the Douluo Continent, but in the eyes of the people of Shrek, it was a medium for counter-invasion?
Yuanen Zhentian listened to Zhuo Shi describe the Demon Plane and sighed again.
He looked at Yuanen Yehui, gesturing for her to come closer. When she approached, he reached out to stroke her head and pulled her into an embrace.
"Child, you've suffered. It's our fault for being powerless."
Yuanen Yehui, overwhelmed with emotions, could only cry to release her pent-up feelings.
She felt wronged, but at this moment, she didn't break free from Yuanen Zhentian's embrace. She merely sobbed softly.
Xu Yuan and the other two did not disturb the grandfather-granddaughter pair. They left the courtyard, leaving the two alone.
"Never would I have thought that Yuanen Yehui's martial soul wasn't a mutation but an inherited martial soul, and that there was such a family who inherited the Titan Ape bloodline," Zhuo Shi said with a sigh of emotion.
Long Yeyue pursed her lips.
"I can't believe how you spent sixty years cultivating yourself without even studying the data or understanding anything. What exactly were you cultivating?"
Zhuo Shi chuckled awkwardly.
"The Yuanen family has had dealings with Shrek in the past. However, they are very conservative, staying within their own territory, not causing trouble, and not even participating in power struggles. They abide by Federation laws, so we didn't bother them unnecessarily."
Xu Yuan nodded in understanding.
Sure enough, a powerful family like this couldn't possibly remain completely unknown.
No matter how secluded they were, there would always be strong individuals. And where there were strong individuals, there would inevitably be contact with the outside world—and where there was contact, their strength would eventually be revealed.
"Xiao Yuan, how has your cultivation been recently?" Zhuo Shi asked curiously.
After half a year, he was curious about how much progress Xu Yuan had made.
He clearly remembered that seven months ago, in the old command center, Xu Yuan had killed the Scorching Sun Douluo, who was no weaker than him, in just three minutes.
Now, after half a year of rapid improvement, surely there must have been some significant progress?
Not to mention Zhuo Shi—Long Yeyue was also extremely curious.
Long Yeyue was at the quasi-god level, but even she admitted that she couldn't defeat the Scorching Sun Douluo within three minutes.
Of course, if no one interfered, she still had a good chance of defeating him, though it would come at a considerable cost of energy and time, and she would likely sustain injuries from his counterattacks.
This was inevitable—a Limit Douluo's final retaliation was often desperate and reckless.
Being reckless meant they didn't need to worry about whether they could survive after forcibly breaking through that bottleneck—or even whether they could survive for another second.
As long as they could unleash a momentary counterattack, it was enough for a dying Limit Douluo.
Thus, killing a Limit Douluo was still incredibly difficult.
Of course, catching them off guard or possessing overwhelming strength could still achieve it.
"My soul power increased by one level," Xu Yuan said with a smile, being honest.
Increased by one level?
Zhuo Shi and Long Yeyue exchanged glances, feeling somewhat speechless.
Already at the quasi-god level, and he still described his progress in terms of "levels"?
It felt absurd.
However, even a single level increase was a massive leap for Xu Yuan.
For a normal Super Douluo, advancing one level between levels 94 and 98 represented a qualitative change, doubling their combat power at the very least.
Zhuo Shi and Long Yeyue couldn't figure out how Xu Yuan calculated his progress, but they sensed it wouldn't be small.
The two of them felt a sense of helplessness.
Without realizing it, Xu Yuan, a younger generation member, had surpassed them in strength, leaving them unable to fully comprehend his abilities.
"Hmm, now that I've emerged from seclusion, I'll return to the academy when I have time. The Demon Plane needs you to visit—it seems there's news regarding your teacher, and some discoveries have been made," Long Yeyue said lightly, shifting the topic as she spoke to Xu Yuan.
"Has Teacher's journey ended?" Xu Yuan asked, surprised yet pleased.
To be honest, he wanted to hand over command to Yun Ming.
"It should have reached a preliminary conclusion. We received the news half a month ago. Your teacher only said that you should return within six months, so we didn't rush to disturb your seclusion."
It had been two years since Yun Ming began traveling across multiple planes connected to the Demon Plane. Though two years wasn't long for such travels, it wasn't short either.
After all, Yun Ming's travels weren't about experiencing societal structures but about sensing the laws of different planes.
After a while, Yuanen Yehui opened the door, signaling for the three to enter.
"Thank you again for helping with Yehui's matter," Yuanen Zhentian said once more.
"It's what we should do."
"Brother Zhentian, let's get to the point. Are you prepared to join the Blood God Legion this time?" Zhuo Shi asked.
Yuanen Zhentian nodded, then shook his head.
"I will join the Blood God Legion, but for now, I plan to return to my family first and inform them about Yehui's situation. Once I've done that, I'll come back here and officially join the Blood God Legion."
"Haha, no problem. Yehui's situation has likely troubled your family for many years. It's reasonable for Brother Zhentian to first resolve her issue and share the news with your family," Zhuo Shi said.
"If there's anything difficult to explain, I can accompany you on this trip," Xu Yuan offered.
"This…" Yuanen Zhentian hesitated for a moment, glanced at Yuanen Yehui, and then didn't refuse. He clasped his hands and said, "Then I'll trouble you, young friend."
"Captain, is it really okay for you to leave the legion just like that?" Yuanen Yehui asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Xu Yuan waved his hand dismissively.
"I can return to the Endless Mountains anytime. Leaving for a while to handle matters won't affect anything. Besides, I do need to return to the academy this time. Along the way, I can accompany you home."
The three sat on a massive mecha resembling a fighter jet, chatting casually.
"Young friend, your mecha is truly incredible. Even a single component feels superior to my battle armor."
Yuanen Zhentian looked down at the fighter-jet-like mecha below, reaching out to touch it.
At this moment, the mecha beneath them consisted of individual components pieced together. Even the entire fuselage was divided into multiple parts, which appeared to be a mecha but were actually scattered components. Yet, far from detracting from its aesthetics, it looked smooth and natural.
Storing too much energy, this mecha couldn't fuse for now and could only exist in a dispersed form, encompassing a space and turning that space into a carrier for its internal energy.
The "single component" Yuanen Zhentian referred to as better than his battle armor naturally meant one of the components.
His statement wasn't wrong.
The metals used in Xu Yuan's mecha were the highest-grade soul-forged metals. Exchanging one piece of metal for an entire set of three-word battle armor might be exaggerated, but exchanging it for half a set was sufficient.
Moreover, the soul-guidance arrays used in his mecha were top-tier arrays equivalent to those of three-word battle armor.
The reason a single component could surpass Yuanen Zhentian's three-word battle armor was due to the high synergy and bonuses between the components.
In reality, a single component couldn't compare to an entire set of three-word battle armor.
"The advantages of the Titan Ape martial soul's strength are obvious. If you learn forging, you should pick it up quickly. It would be beneficial for your family to interact more with the outside world, learn external forging techniques, and cultivate a few excellent forgers. This could also help equip your family's soul masters with battle armor."
Xu Yuan understood the situation of the Yuanen family and found it hard to fathom how they had managed to reach their current state.
A demi-god with only one set of three-word battle armor was normal—more than half of the Limit Douluos were like this—but Yuanen Zhentian's battle armor was considered subpar among three-word battle armors, even inferior to many Super Douluos' three-word battle armors, such as those previously worn by Shrek's elder masters.
Yuanen Zhentian's expression stiffened slightly.
He didn't respond to Xu Yuan's words.
The family's lack of interaction with the outside world was dictated by ancestral rules, so he didn't elaborate further.
Xu Yuan didn't mind and continued piloting the mecha in the direction Yuanen Zhentian indicated.
---
Shangling City
The Yuanen family didn't reside in the bustling urban areas but instead lived in a manor located in the outskirts of Shangling City.
Though it was called a manor, it resembled more of a village. Nestled against the mountains and water, with dense forests behind it, the place had an idyllic, otherworldly feel.
When the mecha descended above the village, it immediately drew the attention of the Yuanen family members, who gathered to watch the slowly descending fighter jet.
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