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After nearly an hour of repeated tests and careful soul power examinations by the Elders, the conclusions were compiled before Xu Jiawei:
First, regarding attribute and soul power enhancement:
For a Soul Emperor with Metal-type martial soul, overall soul power intensity, attack power, and defense increased by approximately40%. For Soul Kings with tiger-type martial souls, the enhancement of soul power intensity and physical attributes was even more pronounced, with overall combat power rising by about 50%, accompanied by a powerful metallic sharpness trait.
Second, the Evolution Watch seemed capable of awakening latent potential within the martial soul's core that resonated with the soul bone's nature, triggering a benign, controllable, directional evolution of the martial soul.
The Evolution Watch crafted from a ten-thousand-year soul bone was equally effective for Soul Douluos, providing an enhancement of approximately 10%–15%. The effect diminished with higher levels, yet it remained astonishingly powerful.
Finally, according to the judgment of the Soul Engineers, the degree of enhancement was directly tied to the quality of the soul bone and the inherent potential of the soul master's own martial soul. If a higher-year, more compatible soul bone were used as the core, the effect would undoubtedly be even stronger.
The training ground fell silent, broken only by heavy breathing. All were stunned by these figures.
One ten-thousand-year soul bone had been exchanged for four artifacts capable of stably enhancing the comprehensive combat power of high-level soul masters by ten to thirty percent. What was this but a soul guidance device? This was nothing less than a catalyst for the Xingluo Empire's surge in national strength.
"Your Majesty!" An elite general, entrusted with command of the empire's soul master legions and one of Xu Jiawei's chosen successors to the White Tiger Clan's influence, stepped forward, his voice trembling. "If this device could be mass-equipped to our elite soul master legions—especially the elite units concentrated with Metal-type and feline martial souls—our army's overall combat power would undergo a qualitative leap. It could decisively shape the outcome of future wars."
Another venerable stared intently at Xu Jiawei: "Your Majesty, this boy Gu La… his value is incalculable. He can create this device—he must possess unique Soul Engineering techniques. If we could only…"
He did not finish. But the meaning was clear: control him, imprison him, extract the technology!
Xu Jiawei raised his hand, silencing the murmurs. His gaze was deep; his fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of the Throne.
Xu Jiawei spoke slowly, his voice carrying imperial authority and a subtle chill.
"Do you think a boy capable of crafting such a miraculous soul guidance device—unmoved by assassination attempts from a Super Douluo, unmoved by imperial pressure—would have no safeguards? Do you think Shrek Academy would sit idly by while we moved against their core disciple? Moreover, he is now our only pathway to acquiring more Evolution Watches!"
He swept his gaze across the room, his tone heavy: "One soul bone for four amplifiers—the Empire has already profited greatly. Look to the long term. He needs seeds. He needs soul bones. He needs metals… the Empire can provide these."
"To trade tangible resources for equipment that instantly converts into combat power is far wiser than risking total rupture with Shrek Academy—and possibly losing everything—for the phantom pursuit of an elusive core technology."
And most importantly: soul guidance devices requiring soul bones as cores—even if the Xingluo Empire had accumulated thousands of soul bones over ten thousand years—could at most equip one or two armies, and could be passed down. There was no need to alienate Gu La over this.
Xu Jiawei rose, his eyes gleaming with sharp resolve, and issued his final decree: "By imperial edict: Open the Imperial Inner and Outer Treasuries. Spare no effort to gather every rare plant seed Gu La requires."
"Simultaneously, screen all ten-thousand-year-plus soul bones in the imperial vaults suitable for enhancing Metal-type martial souls or feline-type martial souls. Prioritize quality. Quantity… temporarily set at twenty. Hand them over to Jiujiu. Complete the next batch of Evolution Watch transactions with Gu La as soon as possible."
Twenty ten-thousand-year soul bones—for at least eighty Evolution Watches!
The number drew sharp intakes of breath from the venerables and generals—but then their eyes blazed with fanatic fervor.
If achieved, the Xingluo Empire's elite soul master forces would undergo an unprecedented collective leap.
To them, Gu La had transformed from a prodigy to be courted into a "Supreme Soul Guidance Device Supplier"—one whose demands must be fully met, bound to the Empire by relentless resource investment.
—
Back in his room, Gu La stared at the remaining core fragment of the Swordbite Tiger soul bone, and beside it, a pile of rare metals far superior in quality to those given to the royal family.
Yet his gaze extended beyond the room—he observed the secret imperial council within the palace. Seeing Xu Jiawei's decision, a flash of approval crossed his eyes.
"They're sensible. The trade can continue."
He lifted his head, his gaze turning toward the distant future. "After the finals, I must visit the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well of this timeline. Harvest the essence of the Immortal Herbs to help the Golden Ancient Tree accumulate its foundation. Though these are repeated Immortal Herbs, they are still ten-thousand-year herbs—they should have some effect."
…
Three days later.
Xingluo Square was a sea of noise.
The Grand Continent-wide Advanced soul master Academy Dueling Tournament Final had finally begun.
Yet unlike previous finals, filled with suspense and universal anticipation, this time, every eye in the crowd focused on the golden-haired boy at the center of the Shrek team—a boy with a calm expression, as if wreathed in invisible radiance.
Gu La's presence loomed like an insurmountable mountain, casting a shadow over the entire arena.
His earth-shattering "Sun Angel" martial soul—Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Light—had already become legend in Xingluo City through the Evolution Watch's debut.
Before absolute power, tactics, coordination, and even the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's famed soul guidance device technology appeared pale and powerless.
Almost no one believed that Shrek, with Gu La, would allow the ten-thousand-year championship glory to slip away.
On the Sun Moon side, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed frozen.
Before the match, Jing Hongchen had analyzed countless tactics, seeking weaknesses or openings in Gu La.
Yet every simulation reached the same despairing conclusion: any long-range soul guidance device firepower, before reaching the realm of his supreme, scorching, purifying Ultimate Light Flame, would be ignited and erased like snow thrown into fire.
And close combat? Who could approach the "Angel" radiating solar heat and holy light? It was pure suicide.
Jing Hongchen watched his most cherished grandchildren and the rest of his team, their faces etched with unhidden pressure. Finally, he sighed.
"The outcome… may already be decided. But as soul masters, as the future of Mingde Hall, your value does not lie in winning or losing this single match."
He patted Xiao Hongchen's shoulder, his gaze encouraging. "What matters is what you see, what you learn, what you feel in facing such an opponent. Shed your burdens. Give everything you have. Show your own light!"
Xiao Hongchen clenched his lips tightly and nodded firmly. He understood his grandfather's words—but the pride carved into his bones would not permit him to surrender without a fight. His eyes burned with defiance and stubborn fire.
"Contestants—enter the arena!" The referee's voice echoed across the square.
Shrek Academy: Gu La, Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Xiao Xiao.
Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy: Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and five other core members.
The moment the match began, the Sun Moon side unleashed a suffocating barrage of soul guidance device energy.
Xiao Hongchen stood at the front. His martial soul—the three-legged golden toad—flashed briefly behind him.
As a rare Metal Control-type soul master, his techniques were mostly soul power amplifiers. Instantly, over fifteen distinct soul guidance device cannons and launchers, each pulsing with powerful soul power, appeared around him.
No ordinary soul master could control so many simultaneously. But under Xiao Hongchen's exquisite innate Metal Control technique, every barrel locked onto the Shrek team, and soul power surged wildly.
The other members simultaneously activated their own soul guidance devices, forming a dense web of firepower.
Only Meng Hongchen held back. Her Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad martial soul emitted chilling, eerie energy, seeking openings. But when her gaze met Gu La, that chill instantly dissolved into his invisible radiance—her toxins had no effect.
Facing this terrifying firepower, capable of instantly crippling a Soul Emperor, the Shrek team remained eerily calm.
Gu La stepped forward. The Evolution Watch on his wrist glowed faintly—but did not activate. Before him, the six-winged angelic silhouette, radiating intense heat and holy aura, appeared—like the true form of the Sun Angel martial soul!
No earth-shattering explosion. Only an invisible, pure field of Ultimate Light and Ultimate Fire, quietly spreading outward from Gu La.
A feeling of searing heat, purification, as if capable of melting all things, filled the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Sun Moon barrage—soul guidance device beams, Soul Cannon shells, shockwaves—struck the edge of the light-flame field the moment they entered, as if colliding with an invisible, burning wall.
Violent explosions erupted continuously along the field's perimeter, flames roaring, chaotic energy surging, shaking the arena's protective barrier until it hummed.
Yet not a single one of the devastatingly powerful attacks pierced the seemingly thin veil of light-flame. Not one harmed a single member of the Shrek team.
Long-range attacks: completely ineffective!
"Of course… it won't work?" Xiao Hongchen's pupils contracted, his teeth clenched.
But he did not stop. He pushed his Metal Control technique to its limit. The fifteen soul guidance devices recharged, launching a second wave of saturation bombardment. He refused to believe the opponent could maintain such a powerful field forever.
At that moment, Gu La moved.
Light condensed in his hand, manifesting two pure white longswords composed entirely of Ultimate Fire.
He moved—like teleportation—ignoring the violent explosions still raging at the field's edge, appearing directly before Xiao Hongchen. His speed was so fast it stole the breath of every spectator.
"Your opponent is me." Gu La's calm voice cut clearly through the deafening explosions into Xiao Hongchen's ears.
The twin swords swung. No flashy techniques—only pure speed and power, wrapped in the ultimate heat that could burn all things.
Xiao Hongchen turned pale with terror. His Metal Control technique instantly shifted to defense. His fifth soul Skill flared—his body liquefied into molten metal. In this form, he could negate eighty percent of physical attacks.
Simultaneously, his fifteen soul guidance devices frantically reconfigured and reshaped, attempting to form layered defensive barriers.
Too late.
Before the ultimate numerical superiority, his defense appeared pathetically weak.
Shhhhk! Plop!
The blades of Ultimate Fire sliced through the high-grade alloy soul guidance device shields as if they were butter. The shields melted and severed instantly.
The terrifying heat even caused the severed edges to melt and drip. Xiao Hongchen was forced into a frantic retreat, disheveled and desperate. Had his soul power not been vast and his reflexes not been swift, he would have been critically injured—or eliminated—on the spot.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Shrek team moved.
Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix shrieked, surging with wild flame toward the Sun Moon Team's left flank. Her sixth soul Ring flared—Phoenix Meteor Shower launched.
Dai Yueheng activated White Tiger Vajra Transformation—his claws tore through the air, launching a brutal assault on the right flank. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, veteran partners, moved in perfect harmony—Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and Mystic Turtle Shield alternating, blending offense and defense seamlessly.
From their mouths, He Caitou's cigar glowed, smoke curling. Xiao Xiao, transformed into the Azure Phoenix, circled above, her clear phoenix cry releasing vitalizing green wood energy, rapidly restoring the soul power and healing injuries of her teammates.
Though the other Sun Moon members wielded elite soul guidance devices, under the assault of Shrek's apex combatants combined with perfect support, they were instantly overwhelmed. Their formation shattered, and they could only desperately cling to their soul guidance device barriers—defeat was already evident.
The battlefield was almost entirely one-sided. Shrek was steadily, irresistibly seizing victory.
"No! I won't accept this!"
Xiao Hongchen was slashed backward by Gu La's blade, crashing heavily against the arena's protective barrier, blood dripping from his lip.
He looked at his teammates, completely overwhelmed. He looked at Gu La—unstoppable as a deity. His pride ignited into absolute resolve.
He sharply turned to his sister Meng Hongchen, who was also struggling to hold her ground. Their eyes met across the field—and instantly understood each other's unyielding will.
"Meng! Now!"
"Brother!"
Both screamed simultaneously. They charged toward each other without hesitation. Brilliant soul power erupted from their bodies, merging instantly into a single torrent.
A terrifying energy surge, far beyond their Soul King level, exploded outward.
"Soul Fusion Technique—Love of the Hongchen!"
Blinding crimson-gold light engulfed a corner of the arena.
When the light faded, a colossal, strange toad stood in the center of the arena—its body glowing with molten crimson-gold metal.
Its eyes were deep as ink. But when it gazed at Gu La, golden light—identical to the glow of Meng Hongchen's Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad—flashed deep within its pupils.
The Soul Fusion Technique of the Hongchen siblings, at Soul King level, had reached power approaching that of a Soul Saint.
The crimson-gold toad roared—a thunderous, muffled sound. Its massive tongue, like a crimson-gold lightning bolt, carried terrifying force and bizarre ice-fire energy, lashing out toward Ma Xiaotao, who was currently suppressing the other Sun Moon members.
Ma Xiaotao, caught mid-attack, had just shattered an enemy soul guidance device barrier with her Meteor Shower. She had no time to react—only barely raised her phoenix wings to shield herself.
Boom!
A deafening crash. Ma Xiaotao was struck like a hammer blow. She groaned, flung backward, tumbling through the air several times before barely stabilizing—her blood surging, her face pale.
"Damn it!"
Ma Xiaotao's eyes burned with fury. The Evil Fire Phoenix's savage aura nearly spiraled out of control. Yet she clearly sensed the fusion toad's danger—direct confrontation was unwise.
Gu La appeared beside Ma Xiaotao without warning. The flame swords vanished. His right hand gently pressed against her back.
Instantly, Ma Xiaotao felt a pure, vast, supremely yang and righteous force of Ultimate Fire's origin surge into her body.
Her previously unstable Evil Fire, guided and amplified by this higher-tier flame, surged like a river infused with boundless vitality—becoming utterly obedient yet blazing with ferocious intensity.
Her aura rose rapidly. The phoenix flames on her body shifted from purple-red to deep, dark gold. The temperature soared several-fold.
"Roar!"
Sensing the great threat, the crimson-gold toad's eyes blazed with golden light. It spat its terrifying tongue again—this time laced with ice-fire toxins—straight at Gu La and Ma Xiaotao!
"Phoenix Shriek of Heaven!" Ma Xiaotao roared. Amplified by Ultimate Fire, she pushed her strongest single-target soul skill to an unprecedented peak.
A colossal fire phoenix—with a wingspan exceeding ten meters—formed entirely from dark-gold Ultimate Fire. It flew with the terrifying might of annihilation, crashing directly into the crimson-gold tongue.
Shhhhh…
No earth-shattering explosion. In the stunned gaze of all, the crimson-gold tongue, infused with strange power, met the dark-gold fire phoenix—and like ice meeting a red-hot iron, it emitted a piercing melting sound.
The terrifying Ultimate Fire ignored the ice-fire toxins. It melted, purified, and reduced them to nothing.
The phoenix did not stop. It slammed violently into the massive body of the crimson-gold toad.
"Uuuuuhhh!"
A piercing, agonized cry—merging the voices of Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen—rang out.
The toad's hard metallic body twisted and melted under the dark-gold flames. The immense fused entity instantly collapsed and shattered.
Two figures flew backward like kites with broken strings—Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, their soul power exhausted, their Soul Fusion Technique forcibly broken, grievously wounded.
They crashed heavily to the ground, incapacitated.
The Soul Fusion Technique broken, their core combat power crippled—the last resistance of the Sun Moon team collapsed. The remaining members, under Shrek's onslaught, were swiftly cleared from the arena.
"Match over! Winner: Shrek Academy!" The referee's impassioned voice, drowned beneath the tidal roar of cheers from Xingluo Square, echoed through the heavens.
Shrek Academy had successfully defended its ten-thousand-year glory.
At this moment, Gu La subtly shifted his martial soul, absorbing faint threads of faith energy—signifying a miraculous power.
Suddenly, he frowned. The faith energy was unexpectedly scarce—not because his performance was poor, but because most attributed his success to Shrek Academy, diverting much of the faith energy away.
"Troublesome."
After the match, Emperor Xu Jiawei personally awarded the champions.
Per tournament rules, Shrek Academy earned the right to select three soul bones from the Xingluo Imperial Vault.
Led by Master Wang Yan, they entered the vault. Treasures of legend filled the chamber—gems glowing with starlight, relics humming with ancient power, soul bones radiating divine aura.
Yet the final selection brought little dispute.
Dai Yueheng, representing the White Tiger Duke's household, chose a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear Left Arm Bone—perfect for enhancing brute strength in beast-type martial souls.
Ma Xiaotao selected a ten-thousand-year Crimson Flame Lion King Skull Bone—rich in pure Fire energy, aiding her in suppressing her Evil Fire and elevating flame quality.
The third soul bone's ownership was immediately, unanimously directed toward Gu La. Without his presence like a pillar of stability, Shrek would never have won so effortlessly. His contribution was beyond question.
Gu La's gaze swept the vault, finally settling on a soul bone radiating thick, earthy yellow light, shaped like a dragon's claw, pulsing with immense earth power and resilient life energy.
"That one," Gu La said calmly.
Master Wang Yan studied its shape and aura, judging: "A ten-thousand-year soul bone of the Light attribute, possessing notable draconic lineage. It must have been placed here deliberately by the Xingluo Empire."
Gu La nodded. He understood—it was the Xingluo Empire's quiet attempt to win him over. But still, better than nothing.
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