A Deal Struck: Money Can't Buy Weapons or Strength, but It Can Buy the Materials to Make Weapons!

Mu En sat at the head of the table. His gaze swept around the room before he finally smiled at Xiang Bei. "Xiang Bei, this meeting is about you. Why don't you speak first?"

As soon as he finished, all eyes in the room fell on Xiang Bei. Some were appraising him; others regarded him favorably.

They had all heard rumors about Xiang Bei, and now that they were meeting him in person for the first time, they weren't particularly surprised.

The dean and vice dean of the Martial Soul Department, however, were somewhat put off by Xiang Bei. After all, he came from the Sun Moon Empire's Mingde Hall.

"Hello, everyone. I'll spare you the nonsense and get straight to the point."

Xiang Bei rose unhurriedly and bowed, his tone neither servile nor overbearing.

Snap!

He snapped his fingers, and Xiao Yu's virtual image appeared out of thin air, her chubby little face tense with nervousness.

"Hello, everyone. I'm an intelligent AI system. You can call me Xiao Yu. I can control every Soul Tool connected to a Soul Tool circuit. As long as I have enough computing power, there's no upper limit.

"I also possess exceptionally formidable computing power. In terms commonly used in this world, just one-tenth of it is equivalent to a Super Douluo whose Martial Soul is a brain."

"That's only your word. How can we believe you?" Yan Shaozhe, dean of the Martial Soul Department, was the first to speak.

"Everything she said is true," Xian Lin'er explained fervently.

"Based on our research in the Soul Tool Department, we can confirm that Xiao Yu has exceptionally formidable potential. She can control far more Soul Tools at once than a Soul Master possibly could."

"In other words, she's a life-form composed entirely of spiritual power!"

Yan Shaozhe fell silent. Soul Tools weren't his area of expertise.

Having introduced Xiao Yu, Xiang Bei got to the point.

"Everyone, and Mu En, what you have in front of you is my newest Soul Tool, the Azure Luan Communicator. Within the area covered by the Virtual World, it allows unimpeded communication and can even transmit certain items..."

"That concludes my introduction of the Azure Luan Communicator. Next, I'll talk about the cooperation I hope to establish with Shrek Academy."

"At first, the Virtual World can use satellites as stations. Later, Soul Tool virtual cores will need to be built, more or less one in every major power's territory. It's possible to do without them, but the signal will be delayed."

"Wait!" Yan Shaozhe interrupted.

"You mean you want Shrek to help you accomplish this? Why should we?"

"There's no particular reason. But imagine what the Douluo Continent would become in the future if I returned to the Sun Moon Empire before unveiling this technology. It doesn't have to be Shrek.

"I chose this place only because of its neutral status. It's suitable for taking the first step, nothing more."

Xiang Bei continued in an even tone, "Of course, you can refuse, but the wheels of the age are rolling forward. Now that a new technology has appeared, are you sure you don't want to get on board?"

"Also, as the Virtual World expands, Xiao Yu will have to devote a great deal of computing power to maintaining it. I believe you've already learned about the benefits of the Virtual World."

With that, he sat back down and said no more.

Mu En said, "You've all heard him. Let's hear everyone's opinions, and then we'll put it to a vote."

Xian Lin'er was the first to speak. "I think we can cooperate. The Virtual World can greatly reduce student casualties, provide training in the use of Soul Tools, and has the Spirit Ascension function to increase the age of Soul Rings.

"It's enormously beneficial to the academy's future development. And think about it: if we refuse to connect to the Virtual World, Star Luo, Sky Soul, Dou Ling, and the major sects will certainly connect to it.

"When that time comes, the question won't be whether yours is good enough, but whether you have one at all."

Xian Lin'er's final, pointed remark brought Yan Shaozhe, with his prejudice and wariness, to his senses.

Realization dawned on him.

That was right!

Shrek prided itself on being the best academy on the continent. If it didn't even have the Virtual World in the future, wouldn't people laugh their teeth out when they heard?

"I don't know about the rest, but this Azure Luan Communicator really is a good thing. It makes buying things much more convenient." Xuan Zi took a sip of wine and fiddled with the communicator in his hand.

"Besides, I have a feeling that the Azure Luan Communicator will become mainstream across the continent in the future, and may even spread to ordinary people. I don't need to tell you how much power that holds, do I?"

"Ahem..." Mu En cleared his throat. "Everyone, we've discussed this enough. Let's put it to a vote."

Soon,

the voting ended. It passed unanimously, all nine members giving their approval in a rare show of agreement.

"Then the academy will do everything it can to bring about this cooperation with Xiang Bei. We'll settle the details later. As for any personnel the Soul Tool Department needs, you can discuss that with Dean Xian Lin'er."

"All right." Xiang Bei nodded.

The Virtual World was an enormous cake. He couldn't eat it all by himself, nor was it possible for him to do so. Giving others a share of the benefits was inevitable.

But as long as he controlled the core technology and the use of the Azure Luan Communicator, even if he were an ordinary person, he could hold a position of great importance on the continent.

For example,

once the Virtual World covered both the Douluo and Sun Moon continents, and resources, information, Soul Coins, and other real-world goods could be exchanged for virtual currency, even if he took a transaction fee of just one-thousandth, across the two continents,

the wealth and resources he could obtain would be astronomical.

That was only secondary. After all, wealth couldn't buy strength, but he could use rare metals and Soul Coins to purchase basic resources, further develop new technology, and arm himself with it.

Once most people grew accustomed to the convenience of the Virtual World and the Azure Luan Communicator, they would willingly uphold order in the Virtual World.

Meanwhile,

on the Douluo Continent,

in the Worship Hall,

"One, two, three..."

"Nine experts whose strength is close to or even above the Super Douluo level. So this is Shrek ten thousand years later?"

Golden Crocodile counted them one by one as he watched the scene on the Sky Screen.

"Nothing special. They only managed to draw level with my Spirit Hall after ten thousand years of development. What trash." Qian Daoliu scoffed contemptuously.

His Worship Hall alone had seven Super Douluo enshrined at level ninety-six. The Pope's Palace also had numerous Titled Douluo elders, to say nothing of the sects under their wing.

"Great Enshrined, speaking of which, I'm a little curious. By all rights, our Spirit Hall is so powerful, and we have the complete inheritance of the Angel God. Why had we vanished without a trace ten thousand years later?"

Qian Daoliu fell silent, and an eerie hush settled over them.

Seeing this, Golden Crocodile realized he had misspoken and immediately tried to make amends.

"There's no need to worry, Great Enshrined. Now that we've seen the future through the Sky Screen, it means the future isn't set in stone. As long as we act cautiously and nip danger in the bud,

"Spirit Hall will surely endure for ten thousand years under the young mistress's leadership!"

Golden Crocodile slipped in the flattery without batting an eye. He knew Qian Renxue was the person Qian Daoliu cared about most.

Sure enough,

Qian Daoliu smiled faintly. "You're right. As long as Xiao Xue becomes the Angel God, she'll surely lead Spirit Hall to endure for ten thousand years!"