The Server Room Is Completed, a Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell for Rocks

In the sky screen.

Half of Mingde Hall had sprung into action. The small city of steel seemed to have changed shape as it operated at full capacity.

Team after team of Soul Engineers headed for a particular room in Mingde Hall.

They all wore metal devices resembling headsets over their ears. These were miniature Communication Soul Tools that Xiang Bei had recently developed, charged by a Soul Master's own Soul Power.

Xiao Yu coordinated them all.

"Team one, build the black box according to the plans. Team two, put the freshly collected Millennium Profound Ice on the ground. Remember to mix in the Profound Ice Marrow..."

After Xiang Bei supplied the plans, Xiao Yu began assigning people according to them.

In her words, they were building her a house.

"Brother Bei, what are you doing?" Meng Hongchen asked, hopping over.

"This is called a server room. It's where the servers and data are kept. When they're running, they generate a lot of heat. If they aren't cooled in time, the core components will burn out..."

Meng Hongchen was lost in a fog.

Half of Mingde Hall's Soul Engineers worked for three days before they finished putting up the structure of the new server room.

The outermost layer was Soul Tool protection. Inside that were Millennium Profound Ice and Profound Ice Marrow. At the center stood rows of upright servers made from various Soul Guidance metals.

In three days,

dozens of Lithography Machines had been produced. With round-the-clock manufacturing, the number of Soul Guidance Chips had reached its upper limit: three thousand!

That many chips were enough to increase Xiao Yu's computing power a hundredfold. The Lithography Machines with spare production capacity were given to Mingde Hall and the crown prince, Xu Tianran.

Although Mingde Hall was a relatively independent institution within the Sun Moon Empire, Jing Hongchen was clearly on Xu Tianran's side.

Xiang Bei still understood the principle of concealing one's abilities and biding one's time when one lacked strength.

The Eastern Palace.

Xiang Bei and Jing Hongchen went together to see Crown Prince Xu Tianran.

Xu Tianran sat in a Soul Guidance mechanical wheelchair, his gaze sinister and uncanny. Only when he looked at the person behind him did he show a hint of tenderness. That person was Ju Zi.

Besides her,

an Evil Soul Master in a tall black hood stood beside him, his face hidden from view.

"Your Highness, I wish you well."

Xiang Bei bowed and spoke respectfully.

"Your Highness." Smiling, Jing Hongchen gestured toward Xiang Bei. "This is the gifted young man I told you about, Xiang Bei. He was the one who developed that miraculous device, the Lithography Machine."

Xu Tianran's cold, sinister expression quickly melted, like profound ice meeting Ultimate Fire.

"Ahahaha!"

"Good! Excellent! You truly are a fine young man. For the past few days, all I've heard about is what you've accomplished. Tell me, what reward would you like?"

Ju Zi looked at Xiang Bei with a complicated expression, feeling both helpless and powerless.

Jing Hongchen secretly gave him a look. Its meaning was clear.

The emperor was still alive. Accepting a reward from the crown prince now meant choosing a side early. Surely he should wait until the emperor was gone before doing that.

"Thank you, Your Highness. I would like the mining rights to Anshan, Nanyan, Bashan, and the other mines outside the city."

Xiang Bei spoke calmly.

Xu Tianran thought for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"As far as I know, those mines contain very little rare metal. Most of what they have is useless rock. I thought you would ask for the right to use a Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell.

"Hall Master Hongchen told me you've always felt unsafe, and that you keep an enormous number of Level 8 Fixed Soul Cannon Shells in your Storage Soul Tool."

"Uh..." Xiang Bei silently complained about Jing Hongchen. Why does he tell everyone everything? "I'm very sure, Your Highness. Please grant my request."

"Very well."

Xu Tianran's tone remained unchanged. "Those mines are yours from now on. If you need people, just come to me."

Whew!

He had them. Xiang Bei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Over the past few days, he had Xiao Yu send out unmanned mineral-surveying Soul Guidance robots, and they had finally found silicon and aluminum deposits, along with abundant rare earths, in the mines he had just named.

Douluo Continent.

The golden bullet-screen notices appeared as expected.

[Xu Tianran, crown prince of the Sun Moon Empire, a staunch proponent of war whose goal is to annex every power on the continent]

[Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells were exclusive to Mingde Hall for a considerable period of time. Equivalent to a full-force strike from a Limit Douluo, they are scarce and controlled by the imperial family. Paired with a Level 9 Soul Cannon, they can reach across most of the continent]

The Worship Hall.

Qian Daoliu exclaimed, "Equivalent to a full-force strike from a Limit Douluo! Can Soul Tools really reach such heights?"

"Hiss... They're scarce, but every single one is a weapon of mass destruction!"

As a Limit Douluo himself, he understood better than anyone the weight carried by the word "limit." A single full-force attack from him could wipe out half of Spirit City.

That was precisely why he marveled at how terrifying the weapon was.

"If such weapons appear, they must be kept in Spirit Hall's hands!"

The Star Luo Empire.

"Has Sun Moon run out of people? They actually made a cripple their crown prince. What trash!"

The Star Luo Emperor shook his head and spoke mockingly.

"A cripple dreaming of controlling the entire continent. What a fool's dream. So what if he commands the power of a Limit Douluo? A cripple will never be fit for polite society."

Dai Weisi agreed.

"You're absolutely right, Your Majesty. Xu Tianran should count himself lucky he wasn't born in Star Luo, or someone would have strangled him long ago."

"But..." Naked greed flashed in the Star Luo Emperor's eyes. "These Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells really are treasures. They can strike across half the continent."

"What a pity. If only our Star Luo could use such weapons of mass destruction. Heaven Dou? Heh... nothing but a jumping clown."

"Your Majesty is wise. I'll leave for Shrek today to study Soul Tools and strive to make Soul Guidance shells for our Star Luo as soon as possible!"

Shrek Academy.

"Trash! Idiot! Fool!"

Yu Xiaogang pointed at the sky screen and cursed. Even with Tang San right beside him, he didn't let up.

"Little San, you tell me, isn't Xiang Bei an idiot? The crown prince offered him a Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell, but he didn't want it. Instead, he asked for a few useless mines???"

"If that doesn't make him an idiot, what does!!"

Tang San had nothing to say. He too thought Xiang Bei had been shortsighted this time. How could a few useless rocks compare to a Limit Douluo's full-force strike?

"That really is something only an idiot would do. The crown prince clearly meant to win him over. If he'd asked for something better at that moment, the crown prince wouldn't have refused."

"Hmph!" Yu Xiaogang snorted disdainfully. "I'd thought of taking him as my disciple one day, but now I see... he doesn't deserve it!"

Hearing that he was about to gain another rival, Tang San immediately spoke up.

"Teacher, you are wise and mighty, and your research into Martial Soul Theory is unrivaled across the continent. I think having too many disciples would affect the quality of your teaching."

"Is that what you think?"

Yu Xiaogang was somewhat moved. Tears mingled with snot as they streamed down his face.

Tang San suppressed his disgust and nodded. "Yes, Teacher."

In truth,

At your age, you're still crying and making a fuss. If it weren't for the resources those sects send you, and the fact that Soul Tools can be combined with my Tang Sect Hidden Weapons, who would bother with you?

But... what is that guy trying to do?