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Gu La returned to the dormitory assigned by the Sun Moon Academy but did not rest. Instead, he took out the sixth-grade soul device statue and stared at it thoughtfully.
The process of sealing the spear intent had just sparked a flash of inspiration in his mind.
Spear intent, sword intent—these were advanced techniques in which martial soul cultivators intensely condensed their spiritual will and embedded it into their soul power and weapons, touching upon the very essence and even the laws of their martial souls.
But this soul device was also a 'tool.' Could it serve as a completely new medium for spiritual will?
He immediately set to work, dismantling the statue, preserving only the core component containing the spear intent and spiritual imprint.
With both hands, he unleashed the extreme heat of his Ultimate Fire, melting and reshaping the remaining metal. Soon, a prototype of a common modern multi-shot soul cannon emerged—a design that compressed soul power into unstable soul energy spheres that detonated upon impact.
But that was not Gu La's goal. He attempted to link his own Wavepower to the core array of this soul cannon.
The process went surprisingly smoothly.
He immediately tossed the modified soul cannon into the Senhai Youyou Semi-Dimensional Realm and, using his formidable telekinesis, remotely triggered its firing.
Boom! Boom!
Two unstable soul energy spheres shot out—and indeed carried faint spiritual shocks.
However, since the soul device array had not been designed to channel spiritual power, the cannon itself shook violently, internal components spitting out blinding electrical sparks. Clearly, one or two more shots would render it completely useless.
"Interesting… but a core array compatible with spiritual power needs to be designed from scratch," Gu La murmured, stroking his chin. "This kind of intricate array design… is too taxing."
His eyes lit up with a brilliant idea.
'Why not pass the inspiration and basic concept to Huo Yuhao? This kid has decent soul device talent, and with Electrolux and Tianmeng Ice Silkworm helping him, let him wrestle with perfecting the core array. I'll just take the finished product later.'
He wasn't making this special soul device for Huo Yuhao—he was making it for his clone.
Though the clone possessed half his original's power, that "half" didn't include the Battle Armor. Crafting dedicated Battle Armor for the clone would be far too inefficient.
If he could create a portable soul device capable of drastically enhancing spiritual attacks, and combine it with the power of his Evolution Watch, it would significantly boost the clone's combat strength while conserving materials.
Since someone else could handle the R&D, why not let them?
The next day, Gu La arrived at Laboratory Three, ready to "share" his inspiration with Huo Yuhao—only to find Huo Yuhao standing outside the sealed metal door of the lab, his face flushed with anger.
"What happened?" Gu La asked.
Huo Yuhao suppressed his fury. "The other students inside locked the door and won't let me in!"
What he didn't elaborate on was that the Sun Moon students led by Ke Ke and Ju Zi had been viciously hostile, filled with contempt and provocation toward the Shrek students. Prince Wang Shaojie had been especially vulgar in his insults.
"Oh?" Gu La nodded. A flash of light appeared in his hand, coalescing into a blazing sword of fire. "You want to do it, or shall I?"
Huo Yuhao's three soul rings hovered beneath his feet, radiating the chilling aura of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion—he had clearly already prepared for combat.
"Never mind," Gu La said coolly. "I actually need your help with something. I'll handle it."
His fire sword flared with brilliant light. Beneath his feet, the black ten-thousand-year soul ring suddenly ignited—Fourth Soul Skill:
Solar Core Explosion Slash!
The forces of Ultimate Light and Ultimate Fire were compressed and condensed into the blade. With control beyond imagination, Gu La confined the world-shattering energy into an extremely narrow range and slashed downward!
Ssshhhh—!
The thick alloy laboratory door melted as if cut by a hot knife through butter, instantly forming a massive gap. The edges of the metal glowed red-hot, slowly dripping molten metal.
Inside the lab, several students recoiled in terror. Though his face had turned pale, Wang Shaojie, bolstered by his imperial lineage, still dared to shout:
"You bastard! You dare destroy academy property? I'm a member of the Sun Moon imperial family! I—"
"Annoying." Gu La didn't even glance at him. He flicked his wrist backward, releasing another blade of flame so refined it vanished instantly.
Wang Shaojie's shouts ceased abruptly. A hair-thin red line appeared along his body's central axis, and then his body split cleanly in two, collapsing to either side.
His blood never had time to spurt—it was instantly vaporized and carbonized by the extreme heat.
Huo Yuhao watched the scene with a complex expression.
Wang Shaojie had insulted him too—he'd only wanted to teach him a lesson, perhaps cripple his cultivation. He never expected Gu La to act so ruthlessly, killing outright.
Within his Spiritual Sea, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm cried out: "Woah! Yuhao, your classmate has an unusually heavy killing intent!"
Ice Empress: "Hmph! I admire that. For scum like this, one lethal strike is fitting. But killing a imperial family member in the human world? That's going to cause serious trouble."
Electrolux: "Observe quietly. This boy… has some backing."
Ju Zi, inside the lab, turned pale with terror. Ke Ke was frozen into silence.
The other two male students, though furious, stared at Wang Shaojie's severed corpse and stood rigid, their hands trembling as they clutched their soul devices, too terrified to move.
A piercing alarm blared throughout the entire laboratory zone.
Xuan Ziwen rushed in, saw Gu La standing with his sword, Wang Shaojie's corpse on the ground, and the melted door—and understood everything instantly. His expression twisted with profound complexity.
"Gu La! How could you… you killed him! Even if he was wrong, he's still a branch of the imperial family! This—"
Gu La cut him off, his voice chillingly calm: "No problem. If I dared come to the Sun Moon Empire, do you think I'd rely on others' mercy to protect my life?"
As he spoke, he pulled back his windbreaker-style coat, revealing a row of fist-sized, intricately structured circular soul devices tightly arranged against his body, each emitting dangerous energy fluctuations.
"Let me introduce," Gu La's voice whispered like a demon's murmur, "Sixth-grade Soul Guidance Device—Evil's Bane No. 6. It uses a touch of Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Light as its energy source. Each individual explosion… roughly equivalent to an eighth-grade fixed-type soul projectile."
"I have one hundred of them. Their power isn't much—just enough to completely plow the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy from top to bottom."
He paused, as if describing an insignificant detail: "Unfortunately, my soul power is still too low. Otherwise, I could've made them even more explosive. Oh, by the way—I'm immune to fire and light attribute damage. Even at the epicenter of the blast, I'd only suffer minor injuries."
"Heh…" He suddenly sighed, his tone turning nostalgic. "Actually, I still prefer simple, brute-force bombs. Harder shells, stronger energy, greater power…"
"Boom! Hahaha—!" Watching the terrified, ashen faces around him, Gu La burst into a delighted laugh.
In Shrek, he still had to consider Tang San's gaze. But in the Sun Moon Empire? Even if Kong Deming, Ye Xishui, or Long Xiaoyao were here—what of it? If pushed too far, he'd just flip the table!
In truth, most of these "Evil's Bane" devices were illusions crafted by Myriad Forest Visions, meant to intimidate people.
But he immediately ordered his semi-dimensional clone to begin urgently producing similar one-shot, high-power soul devices. With his abilities, he could soon produce several genuine ones.
"Madman!" Ju Zi screamed inwardly. Ke Ke was on the verge of fainting.
Huo Yuhao, prompted by Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, had initially recognized the illusions—and even speculated with Tianmeng whether Gu La possessed a second spiritual martial soul.
But then Tianmeng Ice Silkworm shrieked in terror: "Yuhao! No! Run! The illusions are being replaced by real devices! I can feel it—they're real! The energy fluctuation is terrifying! Your Ultimate Ice counters his, but your cultivation is far too low! And there's Ultimate Light damage too! You can't withstand it!"
Huo Yuhao froze in utter shock. Did Gu La really carry so many soul devices capable of leveling the academy?! And his stated power might even be an understatement!
Xuan Ziwen was utterly paralyzed. He felt he'd been handed a walking human catastrophe. Were the academy's entrance scanners useless?!
Even the usually mild-mannered tech nerd couldn't help screaming silently inside his mind: In his perception, Gu La was now a super bomb composed of dozens of eighth-grade fixed-type soul projectiles, ready to flatten the entire academy.
"Gu La, calm down! Don't act rashly!" Xuan Ziwen's voice cracked as he hurried to soothe him.
"It's just Wang Shaojie. Good riddance! I'll order the disciplinary team to leave. The academy will handle this properly."
Gu La nodded in satisfaction, letting his coat fall back into place. "There you go. Just a scumbag dead. Why all the fuss? I came here to study. I don't want trouble."
His tone shifted, becoming utterly "sincere": "After all, I still want to learn Seventh-grade Soul Engineering knowledge from Teacher Xuan."
Xuan Ziwen's mouth twitched violently. Learn? Learn so you can build "Evil's Bane No. 7"?!
He said nothing, pretending not to hear, and hurried out of the lab. He had to find Dean Jing Hongchen immediately.
This colossal walking armory—he couldn't carry it!
He stormed to Jing Hongchen's office, his pent-up fury and terror stripping him of all decorum. He kicked the door open.
"Dean! You're destroying the Sun Moon Academy!" Xuan Ziwen blurted out.
Jing Hongchen, immersed in paperwork, jumped in surprise, frowning irritably: "Ziwen? What's gotten into you?"
Once he'd vented, Xuan Ziwen regained a measure of his usual technical composure, though his voice remained urgent. He recounted everything that had happened in the lab—especially Gu La's array of "Evil's Bane" devices.
Jing Hongchen froze. He stared blankly for three or four seconds, then his facial muscles stiffened into a smile worse than a sob.
"Ziwen… you're joking, right? Today isn't April Fool's Day."
Xuan Ziwen's face remained utterly serious. He slowly shook his head.
Jing Hongchen's vision darkened. The sky seemed to collapse.
He leapt to his feet, breathing heavily, pacing like a caged beast across his luxurious office.
"Shrek Academy… what kind of madmen do they raise?! How could they produce such… such a terrorist!" The words scraped out of his teeth.
Xuan Ziwen, having dumped the burden, stood silently to the side.
Jing Hongchen's temples throbbed violently. But he was the Dean. He was the Hall Master of Mingde Hall. No matter how dire the mess, he had to clean it up.
Suppressing the urge to strangle Gu La—assuming he could defeat him without triggering the devices—he forced himself, along with Xuan Ziwen, to return to Laboratory Three.
Even from afar, Jing Hongchen clearly sensed the terrifying, heart-stopping energy fluctuation radiating from within the lab.
Even with multiple ninth-grade defensive soul devices on his person, his scalp prickled.
He glared furiously at Wang Shaojie's corpse—this incompetent fool, he deserved to die!
He took several deep breaths, forcing a stiff, unnatural smile onto his face, and stepped into the chaotic lab. His voice, as gentle as he could manage, asked:
"Young Master Gu La… how are you adjusting to life at the academy?"
Gu La scanned the ruined lab, his gaze lingering on the melted door and the charred marks on the floor before finally settling on Jing Hongchen's face, strained with suppressed rage and shock.
A faint, unreadable smile curled on his lips. His tone was as casual as if commenting on the cafeteria food:
"Not bad. Aside from a few overreaching pests, there's nothing major."
"..." Everyone in the lab—including Huo Yuhao, Ju Zi, Ke Ke, and even Xuan Ziwen—felt their lips twitch uncontrollably.
Pests? You call them pests?
And your "pest control" method… is it not a bit too shocking, too final?
That "pest," Wang Shaojie, hadn't even left a whole corpse. They screamed internally, but outwardly remained silent, not daring to utter a word.
Jing Hongchen's chest heaved. He inhaled deeply, forcing himself to calm down, his mind racing.
He didn't believe Gu La would actually detonate those bombs inside the academy. That would be suicide—even if he claimed immunity, no one could survive at the epicenter of such an explosion.
It was pure, extreme deterrence.
Realizing this, Jing Hongchen steadied himself. He abandoned pretense and spoke directly, his voice thick with restrained fury and accusation:
"Today's incident—Wang Shaojie was blind and disrespectful to my honored guest. He deserved to die. I stand by this."
He established his position: he would not pursue murder charges. Then his gaze sharpened, locking onto Gu La.
"But, Gu La. Aren't you obligated to explain yourself to me—and to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy? Why… why are you carrying such dangerous, academy-destroying contraband explosives into this institution?! What are you trying to do?!"
Gu La responded by shrugging indifferently.
His fingers flicked lightly inside his coat, and the previously ominous red-glowing "Evil's Bane No. 6" reappeared in his palm.
He tossed it idly like a toy, the dim red warning light flashing erratically with each movement. Each pulse of light made every other person's heart skip a beat—as if death were seconds away.
"It's unavoidable," Gu La sighed, his expression genuinely exasperated, almost pitiful.
"I'm just naturally insecure. I always feel uneasy wherever I go, afraid someone might ambush me or gang up on me."
He paused, his eyes sweeping over Jing Hongchen's now utterly grim face, then continued in a tone designed to provoke:
"So I've gotten into the habit of carrying a few little 'toys' for self-defense. Not just here in your Sun Moon Academy—even back at Shrek, I buried a few similar… hmm, maybe slightly more powerful ones? Who knows?"
Jing Hongchen's expression unexpectedly softened a fraction. What? Shrek has them too?!
Though this behavior was vile and insane, if Shrek had suffered from it too—perhaps even sent this plague here—then his heart felt… just a little less unbalanced?
He blurted out without thinking, voice filled with desperate verification: "Really?! You buried them at Shrek too?!" If true, how could Mu En allow this?!
Gu La watched the fleeting, subtle emotion in Jing Hongchen's eyes, then grinned, revealing a row of white teeth, and shook his head decisively: "Fake. Just teasing you. Does the Dean hope Shrek gets blown to the sky?"
"Pfft—!" Huo Yuhao couldn't help it; he nearly laughed aloud, quickly clamping his lips shut and lowering his head.
Ju Zi's shoulders trembled slightly as she fought to suppress her laughter.
Even Xuan Ziwen, who looked utterly broken, couldn't help a faint twitch of his lips—he quickly adjusted his glasses to hide it. This twist… was cruel!
Jing Hongchen's face darkened like a soot-covered pot. He felt utterly humiliated.
He glared fiercely at Huo Yuhao, Ju Zi, and the others—who had nearly broken composure—and warned them with a sharp look to rein themselves in.
He took another deep breath, feeling his blood pressure skyrocket. He forced the words out through clenched teeth, trying to reclaim control:
"Gu La, I, as Dean of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and Master of Mingde Hall, guarantee you absolute safety during your studies here. No one will harm you without cause!"
"You have no need for such… such extreme self-defense. Now, hand over all dangerous items immediately."
"Is that so?" Gu La tilted his head, his expression shifting to one of "Ah, I see," and "I almost believe you," nodding in apparent agreement.
Then, as if asking for a trivial favor, he asked casually:
"That sounds reliable. So… if I went out right now and killed your precious Crown Prince Xu Tianran, would you still be able to cover it up and guarantee I'd be safe?"
The room erupted like thunder.
"Ssshh—!" Ju Zi gasped sharply, turning pale, stepping back half a step, staring at Gu La as if he were a demon risen from hell.
Assassinate the Crown Prince?! How could he even think it?! How could he say it?!
Ke Ke covered her mouth with both hands, terrified she'd scream.
Huo Yuhao's pupils dilated in shock—completely stunned by Gu La's utterly unbounded words.
Jing Hongchen's expression shattered. All his relaxed demeanor and probing vanished instantly.
He believed Xuan Ziwen's report—this boy was no ordinary genius. He was a complete, lawless madman!
His voice turned sharply severe, brimming with unmistakable warning and murderous intent:
"Watch your tongue! Gu La! I'll pretend I never heard that. If you dare utter such reckless words again, even if you're strapped with bombs, the Sun Moon Empire has countless ways to reduce you to dust before you can detonate them. You will not escape our pursuit or punishment!"
"Oh…" Gu La, facing this stern warning, didn't flinch. Instead, he nodded again in agreement, as if seriously considering the suggestion.
"Makes sense. A bit rash. Indeed…" He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I should spend some time first—plant a few more 'Evil's Banes' near the palace, or under the Crown Prince's residence. Make thorough preparations before revealing my intentions. Thank you for the reminder, Dean."
"You—!" Jing Hongchen felt his head explode. His temples throbbed violently; blood surged to his skull!
He knew the palace and Crown Prince's residence were heavily guarded—countless hidden trigger devices, elite patrols. Gu La could never succeed.
But this naked, direct threat against the empire's heir—uttered by a man with capability, motive, and who clearly would do it—was already a catastrophe beyond measure.
It surpassed his ability to handle. He dared not provoke him further, terrified he might act immediately.
He stared at Gu La's "reasonable" expression, and all his fury, killing intent, and humiliation dissolved into a single, powerless, exhausted sigh.
He gave up. Completely. The idea of making him surrender the bombs was absurd.
"This matter… ends here!"
Jing Hongchen's voice carried profound weariness. "Wang Shaojie's death—I'll handle it. I'll warn the imperial family. They won't come after you. You… take care of yourself."
Gu La finally nodded in satisfaction, his tone carrying a hint of "It's about time" reproach:
"There you go. Just be honest. How simple. Why all the roundabout nonsense? Wasting everyone's time."
Jing Hongchen didn't want to stay another second. He feared that if he looked at that face any longer, he'd lose all reason and act recklessly.
If he did, and the academy was blown sky-high, if all Mingde Hall's centuries of accumulation and effort were destroyed—then even if he dismembered Gu La, he could never compensate for the loss. He would become the eternal traitor of the Sun Moon Empire.
He gave Gu La one last long, complex look—as if etching the image of this walking catastrophe into his soul—then turned abruptly, his steps unsteady, burdened by low pressure and the exhaustion of barely surviving, and hurried away from this place that had drained his very soul.
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