The Soul Master Tournament progressed tightly scheduled. Gu La's main body needed to remain at the primary venue—ensuring Shrek Academy's matches proceeded smoothly while staying alert for potential threats to protect himself and his avatars.
Yet he equally valued the other front—the underground Soul Engineering Tournament in Mingdu. Thus, he split off a clone possessing roughly a quarter of his true strength, which slipped away from the main arena unnoticed.
This move stemmed from Prince Regent Xu Tianran's inexplicable hatred of gambling. He had strictly banned any official betting on the Soul Master Tournament.
Driven by immense profits, Mingdu's three underground factions—the Duskwater Alliance, Alto Chamber of Commerce, and Common Alliance—had organized their own clandestine Soul Engineering Tournament. It attracted numerous soul engineers and speculators, using rare metals as stakes and prizes, amassing vast quantities of precious materials in a raucous spectacle.
The clone's target wasn't the rare metals or gambling spoils—he coveted the ninth-grade soul engineers invited by the three organizations to serve as judges and evaluators. Their presence elevated the competition's prestige and fairness.
Accessing even fragments of ninth-grade soul device core data or design philosophies would be invaluable to him.
The clone lacked his true body's intelligence-gathering prowess, but he possessed a more direct method—peering into the immediate future.
Using this near-cheating approach, he effortlessly located the underground tournament's venue: the Qingse Hotel, owned by the Duskwater Alliance. Such semi-public events were hardly secret to those who sought them.
At the hotel entrance, a yellow-robed middle-aged man blocked him: "Apologies, the hotel is closed for renovations—no guests allowed."
Gu La's clone wore the guise of his avatar "Du An," masked yet radiating faint Soul Saint-level aura. His voice turned icy: "I'm here to compete."
The man instantly felt crushing pressure, cold sweat soaking his back. As a Duskwater Alliance peripheral member, he knew competitors in such events were no ordinary figures—especially one with this inexplicable aura.
Daring no further questions, he bowed respectfully: "Forgive me, my Lord. The competition has already begun—please follow me."
He hurriedly guided Gu La inside. A manager approached, frowning at the man: "What's happening? Who is this?"
The subordinate urgently signaled: "This honored guest is here to compete."
The manager, sharp and perceptive, sensed Gu La's obscure yet formidable energy. He instantly switched to a beaming smile:
"Of course! Please enter immediately. Though the match started some time ago—time may be tight."
Just then, three more figures entered the hotel—Wang Dong'er pushing Huo Yuhao's wheelchair, with He Caitou trailing behind. They too had come for the competition.
Gu La's clone didn't spare them a glance, following his guide straight into the underground competition zone.
He found an empty soul device crafting station and inquired about the rules.
An elderly supervisor nearby lazily pointed to a massive hourglass:
"Before that hourglass drains, craft a qualifying soul device using materials on-site. Pass the first round."
Gu La glanced at the bare table: "Where are the competition metals?"
The elder didn't even lift his eyelids: "Solve it yourself. You're late—go ask others for some."
Unwilling to plead or spend his own resources, Gu La mimicked Huo Yuhao's remembered tactic. Using his index and middle fingers as blades, gathered his soul power and effortlessly sliced off a corner of the table. The surface was uniform refined steel.
The elder's eyes widened in alarm: "Standard soul device platform! Damage compensation: fifty thousand gold soul coins!"
Gu La gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, then began processing the steel chunk.
His fingers moved like precision carving tools. Without any instruments, fueled solely by soul power and immense spiritual strength, he "molded" the irregular steel chunk into a complex small soul device before the elder's stunned gaze—the Soul Engineering Fragment Hand Grenade.
Though its core array was only third-grade, its unique structure and payload granted explosion effects rivaling fourth-grade area damage.
After submitting it for verification, Gu La passed the first round smoothly. The verifier accidentally triggered its mechanism during testing, getting slashed by sharp shrapnel—but this was clearly not Gu La's concern.
In his eyes, most of the Duskwater Alliance's members deserved death.
After advancing, the Duskwater Alliance immediately sent agents to probe Gu La's background and strength.
Tired of games, Gu La released a wisp of Death God's Scythe martial soul's ultimate death aura.
The scout, Chen An, froze as if plunged into an ice prison—his soul trembling. He dropped to his knees on the spot, too terrified to ask further questions, escorting Gu La away with utmost reverence.
The instant Gu La unleashed that death aura, Huo Yuhao—who had just entered the competition zone—shuddered violently. He whispered in shock:
"Such pure death energy!"
This aura wasn't the resentful filth of evil soul masters but something closer to death's primal essence—pure and icy.
Instinctively, he expanded his spiritual detection toward the source—and "saw" a stranger's face.
But the moment his spiritual probe touched the man, "Du An" (Gu La's clone) seemed to react autonomously. An invisible "blade intent" imbued with death's laws traced back along the spiritual connection!
"Ugh!" Huo Yuhao grunted. His spiritual sea felt slashed by a razor, sharp pain flaring—though it vanished instantly. He clearly sensed a permanent loss of a wisp of spiritual power.
His face paled as he slumped against his wheelchair.
Wang Dong'er supported him anxiously: "Yuhao, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Huo Yuhao suppressed his shock, waving dismissively.
Inside, his mind churned. He was stunned by the spiritual counterattack's ferocity and strangeness—and deeply puzzled: 'Why has my spiritual detection been failing lately? Why am I repeatedly detected and countered?'
In his spiritual sea, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm raged: "My soul skill is flawless! The problem is those others! Big problem! They might all be in cahoots!"
Words carelessly spoken, but Huo Yuhao took them to heart.
'Brother Tianmeng's words hold truth.'
This mysterious figure with pure death energy—and Natural Sect's members who detected his probes... Could they truly be connected?
Gu La didn't know Du An's Death God martial soul would autonomously retaliate, nor that Huo Yuhao had pieced together their connection. Had he known, he'd have realized his recent excessive targeting of Huo Yuhao had exposed flaws.
But no matter how vigilant Huo Yuhao became, he could never guess Natural Sect's members were soul masters from other timelines.
For Gu La's clone, the underground tournament held no difficulty. He merely needed to proceed methodically as rounds advanced.
***
The focus returned to the main Soul Master Tournament venue.
The second round concluded—all forty-two teams advanced. Next came group round-robins to determine the final thirty-two for the finals.
Tang Sect drew catastrophic luck. In group lotteries, they faced the formidable Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy directly.
After weighing options, Huo Yuhao and teammates decided to conserve strength—strategically forfeiting the first group round.
Yet whether through Sun Moon Empire's covert manipulation or sheer misfortune, Tang Sect was paired against Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy again in the next critical draw!
Worse, they shared a "Group of Death" with Shrek Academy. Only the top two would advance to the quarterfinals. The third-place team could still qualify through revival matches—but required consecutive victories, a near-impossible feat.
Tang Sect couldn't forfeit twice. That would betray their dignity and honor. Backs against the wall—they had to fight with all they had!
Thus, the long-simmering grudge match between Tang Sect and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy commenced.
Wang Dong'er took the stage first.
Unlike her original fate trajectory, she had absorbed the essence of three hundred-thousand-year spirit bones transferred by Huo Yuhao during the bone replacement. Her cultivation had surged to Soul Saint level.
Conversely, Huo Yuhao—due to Gu La's interference—had lost some opportunities. His strength lagged slightly behind his original timeline counterpart.
Wang Dong'er concealed her power, displaying only six soul rings to mislead opponents.
The Sun Moon-appointed referee clearly favored their side. But with absolute strength disparity and Tang Sect's sixth-grade Shock Bombs, Wang Dong'er seized opportunities to "accidentally" kill Sun Moon's first fighter, Shi Xing, and later Zhou Xinghao—who, defeated in the second match, attacked her in rage.
Facing Xiao Ping in the third match—an attribute somewhat restraining hers—Wang Dong'er dropped the pretense. Her seven-ring Soul Saint cultivation erupted, securing easy victory.
Seeing Wang Dong'er's true strength, Meng Hongchen dared no flirtation. Xiao Hongchen's face turned ashen as he glared at Tang Sect's direction. Knowing they'd lost three key fighters in individual matches while facing an opponent with a Soul Saint, the seven-versus-four team battle held no hope.
Bearing the Sun Moon audience's torrent of insults and confusion, he made the most rational yet humiliating choice—forfeit the team battle, and led his team off the stage to preserve strength for later rounds.
Yet perceptive observers recognized Xiao Hongchen's wisdom. Sun Moon Empire's round-robin format clearly aimed to expose opponents' secrets through matchups, then counter them with soul devices.
***
In the following days, both tournaments proceeded without major upheavals.
Soon, the spotlight match arrived—Shrek Academy versus Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy!
Xiao Hongchen's expression was graver than ever. Prince Regent Xu Tianran had promised the Holy Spirit Cult (Holy Spirit Sect) wouldn't contest the championship with the Sun Moon Empire. They'd "voluntarily" lose upon meeting and help eliminate strong rivals like Tang Sect, Shrek, and the Body Sect.
But this match—he had to win on his own. Absolutely.
Yet facing Gu La—with three hundred-thousand-year soul rings and unfathomable strength—Xiao Hongchen felt not a shred of confidence.
He sent out his first fighter: Ye Canshang, whose Skeleton Martial Soul was equipped with multiple Mingde Hall-exclusive Invincible Shields.
This technology allowed short-term consecutive use of Invincible Shields. The tactical goal was clear—sacrifice everything to drain Gu La's soul power.
Alas, they'd gravely miscalculated.
To Gu La—who could "see" the future at will—such tactics were open books.
He didn't even bother stepping onto the stage. He enjoyed orchestrating from the shadows.
For the first match, he fielded Zhou Sichen—a specialist in individual arena combat.
Though Zhou Sichen's Treasure Bible Martial Soul faced rule restrictions (requiring retraction every two rounds), his legion of summoned beasts remained formidable. Moreover, he no longer needed to conserve soul power—he could freely use soul devices in combat.
When Xiao Hongchen saw Gu La sitting calmly in the rest area—with no intention of fighting—dread surged within him.
Watching Zhou Sichen draw a sixth-grade soul device beam emitter radiating dangerous energy, Xiao Hongchen's face darkened like storm clouds.
During the match, Zhou Sichen—protected by summoned beasts—continuously harassed Ye Canshang with beam shots and beast attacks.
To survive, Ye Canshang activated four Invincible Shields in succession.
A single high-quality Invincible Shield cost over a hundred thousand gold soul coins, with rare materials—longer duration meant exponentially higher prices.
Ye Canshang alone had burned through nearly a million gold soul coins worth of life-saving items.
Ultimately, soul power nearly depleted, Ye Canshang was expelled from the arena by Zhou Sichen.
After victory, Zhou Sichen—under Gu La's covert direction—suppressed his fear of the Sun Moon audience's fury. Through an amplifying soul device, his voice rang clear:
"Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy? Not so impressive! Your precious soul devices—we Shrek Academy mastered them in no time and wield them better than you!"
"Arrogant bastard!"
"Seeking death!"
The words ignited a powder keg!
The stands erupted with furious Sun Moon citizens. Soul devices were their national foundation—their proudest domain. How dare this insolent outsider belittle and insult them?!
Xiao Hongchen's face wasn't merely grim—it was black as a soot-covered pot.
He seethed at being publicly humiliated by a mere Soul King like Zhou Sichen. Worse, Sun Moon's team was now pinned to the fire.
None of his fighters stood a chance against Gu La in individual matches.
If Gu La entered second, he could still achieve a one-through-six sweep—skipping the team battle entirely to claim victory.
But forfeiting the individual matches now meant admitting fear of Shrek, of Gu La. It meant losing the match. The nation's citizens' spit could drown them.
Continue fighting? One-on-one, anyone facing Gu La risked death.
Look at Tang Sect's Wang Dong'er—how ruthlessly she struck! Their enmity with Shrek and Tang Sect meant opponents might legally kill them. Who'd dare face that monster?
Sun Moon's team members' fighting spirit wavered. Fear and hesitation spread.
Glancing at his disheartened team, then the Gu La in the opposite rest area—who seemed to control all—he felt unprecedented pressure.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)