Shrek Academy, Sea God Pavilion.
A Sea God Pavilion meeting was suddenly convened once again. Elder Mu sat at the head of the long table, his aged and withered body deeply sunken into that high-backed chair, his wrinkled face betraying no expression.
Except for Yan Shaozhe, who had been ordered to remain on Sea God Island for reflection, all the elder masters of the Sea God Pavilion were present today; not a single one was absent.
Elder Mu's gaze swept over the crowd and finally landed on Qian Duoduo.
"Duo Duo, your Soul Tool Department has been cooperating closely with the Spirit Transmission Hall for over half a year. Do you know what this 'Spirit Soul' actually is?"
The reason this Sea God Pavilion meeting was convened urgently was precisely because an invitation from the Spirit Pagoda had been received.
The invitation stated in black and white that the Spirit Pagoda would officially open in seven days, at which time it would demonstrate to the world an epoch-making innovation capable of completely changing the existing Spirit Master system: the Spirit Soul!
When Huo Yuhao left Shrek Academy, he had personally said that he wanted to establish a force of his own.
Now, the Spirit Transmission Hall was flourishing in the Star Luo Empire, and the Spirit Tools it produced were already rivaling those of the Sun Moon Empire's Mingde Hall in the auction market.
And hearing their names, it was obvious that the Spirit Pagoda and the Spirit Transmission Hall originated from the same source.
Following Elder Mu's instructions, the Shrek Academy Soul Tool Department had already established a formal cooperative relationship with Huo Yuhao's Spirit Transmission Hall.
Qian Duoduo was the leader of this cooperation, so Elder Mu naturally had to ask this Soul Tool Department dean first if he knew any inside information.
Qian Duoduo replied upon hearing this: "Elder Mu, after receiving the invitation, I immediately sent people to inquire. The Spirit Transmission Hall only said that Huo Yuhao had indeed started preparing to build the Spirit Pagoda long ago, but they also have no idea what the Spirit Soul actually is."
After Qian Duoduo finished speaking, an old man with white hair and beard on the other side of the long table slightly frowned.
His tone carried a hint of disapproval and skepticism: "Elder Mu, aren't the words written in the invitation a bit exaggerated?"
"What 'changing the existing Spirit Master system,' what 'epoch-making innovation'—Huo Yuhao is only a fifteen-year-old boy. Isn't this claim a bit too bold?"
Elder Mu glanced at that elder and said indifferently: "Age has never represented anything. Have you all forgotten the miracles this boy created at the academy? Which one of them didn't far exceed your imagination?"
The elders present fell silent in unison upon hearing this, their faces showing expressions of contemplation.
Indeed, the mark that boy had left at Shrek Academy in just a few short years was truly too profound.
Seeing everyone lost in thought, Elder Mu slowly added: "And don't forget, this child Yuhao is not alone."
In the minds of all the elders, that cold, arrogant, and stunningly beautiful figure appeared almost uncontrollably.
They would never forget the scene of the two Phoenixes soaring in the sky; after all, that was a Limit Douluo.
Seeing that no one else had any questions, Elder Mu spoke again, finalizing the matter: "I understand this child Yuhao. He has always been steady in his actions and would never be someone who speaks recklessly."
"Since he dared to write this on the invitation, it means he indeed has considerable certainty. This opening of the Spirit Pagoda might truly involve a major transformation of the Spirit Master system. We, Shrek Academy, cannot be absent, otherwise we will surely regret it in the future."
His gaze swept slowly across both sides of the long table and finally settled on Cai Meier: "Meier, you are the dean of the Martial Soul Department. You go this time, and see for yourself what this Spirit Soul actually is."
Cai Meier nodded slightly and replied solemnly: "Yes, Elder Mu."
...
Sun Moon Empire, Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, Dean's Office.
Jing Hongchen sat behind that large mahogany desk. On his round and shrewd face, there was a rare, lingering solemnity. His fingers were unconsciously tapping lightly on the desk, producing a dull and rhythmic sound.
Sitting opposite him was a burly old man with a rugged face.
He had broad shoulders and a thick back, and although his hair and beard were white, he was still full of vigor. Sitting in the chair, he looked like an immovable iron tower.
This person was named Ma Zhong, an elder of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy and also a Class 9 Soul Engineer.
Jing Hongchen remained silent for a long time before finally sighing and saying: "Old Ma, I'm afraid I have to trouble you to make a trip personally this time."
Looking at Jing Hongchen's rare serious appearance, Ma Zhong couldn't help but knit his rugged brows and replied in a voice like a booming bell: "Dean, we have never had any friendship with the three original Douluo nations. I've never even heard of this Spirit Pagoda before. I don't know from which corner this new force popped out; is it worth me making a trip to Star Luo in person?"
Jing Hongchen sighed slowly and did not answer Ma Zhong's question directly, but changed the subject: "I don't really care about that so-called Spirit Soul; what we deal with are Spirit Tools. However..."
He stopped halfway through his sentence. He brushed his right hand lightly over the desktop, and a small, exquisite soul tool ray gun appeared out of thin air in his palm.
He casually tossed the ray gun towards the opposite side.
Ma Zhong subconsciously reached out to catch it. The first sensation upon holding it was that it was light—so light that it didn't feel like the weight such a Spirit Tool of this size should have.
He turned the ray gun over and over, examining it carefully. The disapproval originally in his eyes was gradually replaced by a hint of caution.
As a Class 9 Soul Engineer, his eyes were incredibly sharp. Almost the moment he held it, he judged that this was a low-level Spirit Tool, at most Class 4, but the craftsmanship was extremely remarkable.
Ma Zhong looked up at Jing Hongchen, his eyes full of confusion; he didn't understand what the dean meant by suddenly throwing a low-level Spirit Tool at him.
Jing Hongchen met his confused gaze and expressionlessly spat out two words: "Try it."
Upon hearing this, Ma Zhong's gaze fell back onto the small soul tool ray gun in his hand.
Since Jing Hongchen told him to try it, he didn't waste any more breath. He immediately gripped the gun with one hand and pointed the muzzle at the floor in the distance of the office.
However, as soon as his Spirit Power was injected, Ma Zhong's rugged brows shot up sharply.
Too fast. The charging speed of this soul tool ray gun far exceeded his expectations.
He suppressed the shock in his heart and pulled the trigger steadily.
A faint, thin, and almost invisible deep blue ray shot silently out of the muzzle. There was no explosion, no flash of fire, and no deafening roar.
There wasn't even a trace of recoil; it was so quiet that it felt as if this shot hadn't fired anything at all.
However, when Ma Zhong's gaze fell on the spot where the muzzle was pointed, his pupils shrank violently.
On the expensive dark red carpet covering the office floor, a small hole as fine as a needle prick had appeared.
And the next moment, that small hole began to expand outward at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It wasn't a normal spread of scorching, but rather the very structure of the carpet was being silently decomposed by an invisible force.
Soon, the small hole in the carpet expanded to the size of a fist, revealing the wooden floor underneath, and the wooden floor also began to disappear under the erosion of that invisible force.
Following that was the soundproofing layer beneath the wooden floor, and then the stone floor slab beneath the soundproofing layer.
All of these layered building Materials were silently decomposing and dissipating under the effect of that residual deep blue energy.
Ma Zhong, who had originally been calm, finally changed his expression on that rugged face.
As a Class 9 Soul Engineer, when he injected his Spirit Power and felt the fluctuations of the soul tool Formation, he had determined that this was a Class 3 Decomposition Ray Gun.
But the power displayed by that shot just now was already approaching the level of a Class 5 Spirit Tool.
A Class 3 Spirit Tool firing with the power of nearly a Class 5 Spirit Tool—as a Class 9 Soul Engineer, he knew better than anyone what this meant.
Ma Zhong turned his head sharply to look at Jing Hongchen, his eyes surging with undisguised shock and disbelief.
He raised the exquisite soul tool ray gun in his hand, his voice involuntarily rising a few notches, and asked with an eagerness born of having his perception overturned: "Is this gun a new Spirit Tool developed by Mingde Hall?"
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.