Spirit Tool Masters and Soul Masters

The defeated Sun Moon Empire, under pressure from Shrek Academy, not only changed the name the Sun Moon Continent had borne since ancient times, but also signed a series of unequal treaties.

From then on, Shrek Academy's reputation rose to even greater heights. It had already been an overlord-level force on the Douluo Continent, and now it carried the bearing of Spirit Hall, the dominant power from ten thousand years ago.

Liu Xing knew very well that Shrek Academy, the Tang Sect, and the Clear Sky Sect all had countless ties to Tang San, the former protagonist of this world.

Tang San had already become a god. With his protection, it was only natural for Shrek Academy to be doing so well. Although the Clear Sky Sect had chosen to withdraw from the world, no one with even a little status dared underestimate it.

The Tang Sect was the only one people could not make sense of. Of the three forces, it felt like the Tang Sect was the stepchild, faring the worst of them all.

However, none of that was Liu Xing's concern. He had only gathered this information to search for things he recognized. After all, he was not sure whether this truly was the world of that novel he had read ten thousand years later, or a similar yet different parallel world.

Under Luan Yu's introduction, Liu Xing and Firefly gradually came to understand the Sun Moon Empire. Although the Sun Moon Empire remained hostile toward the Three Great Empires, the current Sun Moon Empire Emperor still honored the treaty signed by the Sun Moon Imperial Family after their defeat four thousand years ago. He had no intention of starting a war. He also restricted Spirit Tool Masters within the country from developing Spirit Tools related to warfare, vigorously promoted the development of civilian Spirit Tools, and raised the Sun Moon Empire's standard of living far above that of the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms.

The current Sun Moon Empire Emperor suppressed the War Hawk Faction, limited the development of Spirit Tools with massive destructive power, restricted the proliferation of Spirit Tools in military fields, and focused on developing civilian Spirit Tools. He was deeply beloved by the people of the Sun Moon Empire and enjoyed an excellent reputation among them.

Even Luan Yu had a favorable impression of the current Sun Moon Imperial Family. She disliked war and did not reject the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms either; otherwise, she would not have called Nan Shui Shui her sister. Her dream was to conduct research in peace and earn a little money. If given the chance, she also wanted to reach the legendary realm of a Rank 10 Spirit Tool Master.

The relatively peaceful environment on the Douluo Continent was exactly what she wanted to see.

But now that she had two little ones, she also had to consider their futures. She could not have them, like herself, make everywhere their home and wander the world.

To survive on the Douluo Continent, strength, connections, and relationships were all indispensable. The reason she could live so freely was entirely because she was a Rank 9 Spirit Tool Master and had a powerful Elder Sister to support her. That was why she wanted to bring the two little ones back to Mingdu in the Sun Moon Empire, so they could have a good foundation.

Although strength reigned supreme on the Douluo Continent, those who followed the right path gained support while those who lost it found little help. Making as many friends as possible was the true way forward. Shrek Academy was a perfect example. Back then, with a single call, it had rallied hundreds of Titled Douluo to fight for it in a short time. That was an incomparably powerful force. It not only shocked the Sun Moon Empire, but also moved the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms. It was also because of that Holy War that Shrek Academy revealed its astonishing ability to rally people, causing the Three Great Empires to remain extremely wary of Shrek Academy to this day.

Yet because of Shrek Academy's influence, formidable strength, and ten-thousand-year foundation, the Three Great Empires did not dare tear off all pretense with Shrek Academy. They could only think of ways to suppress it and weaken it from the sidelines.

Shrek Academy's Supervisory Group was renowned across the continent. They even had the authority to secretly judge nobles from the Three Great Empires. So long as the evidence was conclusive and a noble had violated the law, the Shrek Supervisory Group could execute first and report afterward. This showed just how domineering Shrek Academy was.

No wonder the Three Great Empires were so wary of Shrek Academy. No ruler would permit an existence like Shrek Academy, but circumstances were stronger than men. Though Shrek Academy was only an academy, its influence and strength far surpassed the Douluo Three Kingdoms. If they truly went to war, the Three Great Empires might be pounded into the ground.

Furthermore, Shrek Academy guarded the Star Dou Great Forest and had repeatedly stopped the Tidal Waves of Beasts launched by the ferocious beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest, making indelible contributions to the continent. The Three Great Empires could not easily move against Shrek Academy, so they could only allow this state within a state to develop smoothly for over ten thousand years.

The Heaven Dou Empire in particular had it worst, since Shrek Academy was located within its territory. It was an area beyond the jurisdiction of its imperial family.

In Luan Yu's view, the future of the Douluo Continent belonged to Spirit Tool Masters. Even if Liu Xing and Firefly did not have the talent to become Spirit Tool Masters, they could at least learn how to use Spirit Tools. That way, they would not fall behind the times like the traditional Soul Masters of the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms.

The people of the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms might still look down on Spirit Tool Masters and underestimate Spirit Tools, but as a Rank 9 Spirit Tool Master, Luan Yu knew very well and firmly believed that Spirit Tool Masters would become the mainstream in the future.

That was also one of the reasons Luan Yu wanted to take Liu Xing and Firefly back to the Sun Moon Empire rather than leave them at the Earthly Dragon Gate.

Although a Rank 9 Spirit Tool Master was at a disadvantage against a traditional Titled Douluo most of the time, if given sufficient preparation time and enough distance, a Rank 9 Spirit Tool Master could kite any Titled Douluo to death without taking a scratch.

The two sides were not even on the same track. Below the Titled Douluo level, Spirit Tool Masters below the Soul Saint rank could often rely on their endless array of Spirit Tools to gain the upper hand and utterly suppress traditional Soul Masters.

But once traditional Soul Masters reached the Soul Saint rank and gained their Martial Soul Avatars, they could in turn suppress Spirit Tool Masters of the same level again, and continue suppressing them all the way from Soul Saint to Titled Douluo.

This was also one reason traditional Soul Masters had always looked down on Spirit Tool Masters. So what if they were stronger in the early stages? Once one broke through to Soul Saint, Spirit Tool Masters truly became somewhat powerless against traditional Soul Masters.

The drawback of Spirit Tool Masters lay in Soul Power cultivation. Since most Spirit Tool Masters devoted their energy to researching Spirit Tools, their cultivation time inevitably decreased. Thus, most Spirit Tool Masters cultivated through pills, leaving their foundations inferior to those of traditional Soul Masters. Furthermore, to work with Spirit Tools in the future, most of the soul rings Spirit Tool Masters absorbed gave Soul Skills that enhanced Soul Power or Spirit Tools, providing little enhancement to their own combat strength. Once they lost their Spirit Tools, they were lambs awaiting slaughter.

Moreover, among Spirit Tool Masters, not even a single Super Douluo existed openly. They could only rely on powerful Ninth Level Spirit Tools to contend against Super Douluo, let alone Limit Douluo.

There were reasons most traditional Soul Masters looked down on Spirit Tool Masters and treated Spirit Tools with contempt. Unable to produce top-tier experts, the Spirit Tool Master system was, in the eyes of traditional Soul Masters, a dead end.