Chen Fu hated people with no sense of boundaries.
Although he was troubled by the delay of the Soul Ring Self-Derivation Project, Chen Fu quickly pulled himself together and began working on what was currently most important.
"Slower, then slower it is."
That was all Chen Fu could do to comfort himself. His fifth Soul Ring contained abundant Soul Power; by his estimate, it should hold 86% as much Soul Power as Ma Xiaotao's sixth Soul Ring. It was already very close to the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring threshold.
"This alone shows just how much Melting Ring improves a Soul Master's physical constitution. After less than a year of Melting Ring cultivation, someone at level fifty can nearly withstand a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's Soul Ring."
Of course, a Soul King's cultivation speed could not be compared with that of a Soul Scholar. So for a Soul Scholar to cultivate a body capable of containing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, it might take an entire lifetime—and even then, there would only be the slightest possibility.
Fortune and misfortune went hand in hand. Chen Fu had always maintained a dialectical mindset when viewing things.
"The Soul Power in this Soul Ring is enough to support half a year of cultivation to level sixty, with some left over. That's not bad either."
Chen Fu settled himself and began issuing orders to [Youlan].
"Fully cooperate with the calculations for the [Ascension] project. Contact [Crimson Phoenix] directly for any required coordination."
[Command recorded]
"Next, before [Ascension] begins, I need to create [Banished Immortal]."
Chen Fu used his Spiritual Power to form a Soul Power model, and a Sword-shaped Soul Tool gradually took shape in his hand.
"Soul Breaking Tear, Soul Shocking Wood, Star Sea Illusion Stone, Dream Pearl... These are a little difficult. But there's still a chance of slowly using samples to formulate materials with identical characteristics. At the same time, using this ultra-dense Mysterious Sky Meteorite Di Tian gave me as the core, then slowly grinding it into a sword blank over time—this has a high chance of success."
Taking out all kinds of peerless divine materials gifted by Di Tian from his space ring, Chen Fu held a fist-sized Metal Sphere wrapped in a Soul Tool and silently calculated in his heart.
This piece of Mysterious Sky Meteorite was only finger-sized, yet its density was extraordinarily high. It had to be encased in a specially made Soul Tool to prevent direct contact from injuring someone.
Logically, such ultra-dense matter should have possessed an immense weight. Yet none of Chen Fu's testing methods could detect even the slightest weight.
Faced with this inexplicable phenomenon, Chen Fu could only make a bold guess. Perhaps it had never moved? Or perhaps it could exist at any point simultaneously?
Unfortunately, this piece of Mysterious Sky Meteorite Iron could be slowly eroded and controlled by [Youlan]. Through small-scale sampling, analysis, and comparison, he discovered that it was indeed extraordinarily dense. Something no larger than a fingertip weighed nearly five tons. The reason its user could not feel its weight was because the material itself possessed a gravitational closed-loop characteristic. Gravity from outside could not affect it, while its own gravity collapsed inward and partially canceled itself out, resulting in the bizarre phenomenon of extreme heaviness feeling light.
The world was always so wondrous. Whenever Chen Fu discovered something new, he would sigh like this.
Sometimes, things that overturned one's understanding would even appear. But that was fine. All he had to do was discover the laws, then make use of them.
This method was suitable for scientific research, and it was suitable for life as well.
Time quietly slipped away through his fingers, while the popularity of Battle Soul Instruments in Shrek City steadily increased. Soul Masters who went out would also return to Shrek City from time to time to update their data with the local [Youlan] mainframe.
Soul Tools were actually quite cheap, if research and development costs were excluded.
Watching the majority of Soul Masters passing through the streets wearing Battle Soul Instruments of various models, Chen Fu suddenly felt as though he were watching his own vegetable garden flourish.
He had given the Battle Soul Instrument body blueprints to Shrek Soul Tool Academy. After the relevant structures were simplified and modularized, some clever Soul Engineers differentiated their Battle Soul Instruments by adding accessories.
"I heard there's a divine material rich in life force that can adapt to changes in Soul Power."
Chen Fu was quite curious about that material. If he could obtain a physical sample, he could try further optimizing [Nirvana] and [Crimson Phoenix], allowing them to truly reach the point of self-evolution.
"I asked the Dean and the others. They said an Evil Soul Master once obtained this metal and turned it into an engraving knife."
The girl beside Chen Fu tugged his hand and led him toward the bustling crowd.
"You promised not to think about Soul Tools. Today, you have to go shopping with me!"
"Alright, alright, I won't talk about it anymore."
Chen Fu raised his hands in surrender. Today was the day Shrek Academy recruited New Life students, and it was also the liveliest time in Shrek City.
"I heard you beat a Soul Douluo until he cried during the Sea God Festival?"
The commotion on Sea God Lake some time ago had been so great that Chen Fu could sense it even outside the academy. He had even used [Youlan] to directly watch the entire process through the Battle Soul Instruments of inner academy students.
"That hateful bastard! If Phoenix flames weren't so destructive, I would've beaten him into a pig's head!"
At the thought of it, Ma Xiaotao immediately grew angry. Couldn't he just be his genius Teacher? Why did he have to come join the excitement?
If Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan had not asked her to help preside over it, she never participated in such events normally, alright?
"...Mm."
Chen Fu did not ask further. He had never participated in such time-wasting events. Moreover, when the conflict erupted, he had temporarily allocated thirty percent of [Youlan]'s processing power to remotely connect with [Crimson Phoenix] for combat assistance, directly bending the scale beam.
That Soul Douluo did not possess much more Soul Power than Ma Xiaotao, who had six external Soul Power sources that had been nurtured for nearly a year, including a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. The quality of his Soul Power was not much higher than Ma Xiaotao's under the enhancement of the Evil Fire Phoenix and [Nirvana], either.
As for combat rhythm and details, [Youlan] had recorded the combat data of tens of thousands of Soul Masters in Shrek City over the past half year. Three layers of processing power, enough to support a Soul Master regiment through a battle, had been remotely allocated to the [Crimson Phoenix] terminal.
The opposing Soul Douluo's Soul Power recovery and consumption at every moment, Soul Skill power, stamina, Soul Power circulation, direction of physical exertion, spiritual fluctuations, and more were all monitored by [Youlan] in real time and synchronized to [Crimson Phoenix], allowing Ma Xiaotao to defeat her opponent whenever she wished.
"By the way, speaking of that, isn't [Crimson Phoenix] a little too powerful?"
Ma Xiaotao touched [Crimson Phoenix], folded and stored by her ear, suspicion evident in her tone. She had compared it with the Battle Soul Instruments on the market. They were fine for daily life, but during high-intensity combat, they could not keep up with the pace and could only record an opponent's Soul Skills and analyze weaknesses. They simply could not do what hers did: instantly analyze a battle against a Soul Douluo and use combat techniques to crush a Soul Douluo from beginning to end.
"It's a custom version made for you. Wouldn't it be strange if it weren't stronger?"
Chen Fu smiled and turned his head aside. The entire city's network had nearly lagged to a standstill back then—how could it not be powerful?
"Hehe, true enough. (òó)"
The girl immediately perked up and pulled Chen Fu toward Shrek Academy's gates.
"Come on, come on! Let's meet this year's New Life students and see if there are any promising ones!"
Martial souls were like a lottery draw, and nearly everyone was fascinated by them.
"Come on? Why aren't you moving?"
Ma Xiaotao failed to pull Chen Fu along and turned back in confusion.
Chen Fu stood there blankly, staring into the distance as the familiar yet unfamiliar back of a girl vanished into the crowd.
Memories of the dead suddenly surged into his mind. The immense sense of emptiness left Chen Fu dazed and at a loss. Wooden buildings and steel skyscrapers seemed to overlap before his eyes, while his past and present lives felt like an upside-down dream.
[Creator's Spiritual Power has undergone intense fluctuations. No attack detected.] [Executing First Protocol]
The invisible web shrouding Shrek City instantly turned into specks of starlight and scattered into the clouds.
"Look! There's starlight in the sky!"
"Are you an idiot? How could there be—holy shit, there really is!"
"Are Titled Douluo fighting?"
The sudden appearance of daytime starlight caused a commotion throughout the city, though it was quickly suppressed by the Titled Douluo who arrived soon after.
Others took out their Battle Soul Instruments and attempted to send information.
"Huh? Why did my full signal suddenly turn into an X?"
Many people began to realize that their Battle Soul Instruments had become offline devices.
Today, Shrek City lost its network.
Before you continue