Encountering Humans

Ruse King did not actually have a detailed concept of human development after the era of Huo Yuhao ended; his knowledge was basically limited to fragments from the timeline of Legend of the Dragon King. That is to say, after the Sun Moon Empire wiped out the Heaven Dou Empire—the original military alliance of the three nations—the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Spirit Empire found it difficult to maintain their defensive lines. Unable to stop the Sun Moon Empire's march toward unifying the entire Douluo Continent, they rushed to develop massive ships to discover new lands beyond the continent. They conquered the indigenous people, managed to preserve their ancestral heritage overseas, and escaped the crushing military might of the Sun Moon Empire.

Logically speaking, after more than two hundred years, the rate at which Soul Beasts were being slaughtered should not have been this fast. However, excluding the Soul Beasts that had fled there, the Folded Ear Continent had seen very few thousand-year or hundred-year Soul Beasts in the last century, save for a very small number of ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts. Unlike the Dragon Clan, these ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts did not possess enough intelligence at their age to communicate with Ruse King; other than mentioning that humans triggered extreme feelings of fear in them, they had nothing else to offer.

This had always given Ruse King the intention of leaving the Folded Ear Continent to investigate exactly what was preventing Soul Beasts from crossing the ocean to seek refuge there.

Now, having integrated all the gray tiles in the northern part of the Folded Ear Continent, he had evolved into the Blade Ruse King form. His strength had been further enhanced, allowing him to contend with a level-99 human. Coupled with his ability to use Soul Tools, Ruse King planned to personally go to the other side of the South Pole to investigate that mysterious continent.

"Are you really planning to go, Ruse?"

Thalassa looked at Ruse King, who was preparing to depart, and said with concern.

"I must go and see. There are currently fewer than eighty thousand Soul Beasts left on the Folded Ear Continent. The Brachiosaurus herd we treat as food on the Folded Ear Continent outnumbers all of us Soul Beasts combined by five or six times."

Ruse King attached the level-9 Soul Tool shield he had researched to his four limbs. If he flew across the South Pole and reached the continent Thalassa had come from, even if he were discovered and attacked by human level-9 Soul Tools in advance, it would provide him with four opportunities to evade.

"Thalassa, tell me again about the objects with significant features you passed when you came over."

"Alright then, if you insist..."

Seeing that Ruse King was determined to explore beyond the Folded Ear Continent, Thalassa had no choice but to recount the experience that had long since blurred in her mind over two hundred and forty years ago.

Starting from the southernmost tip of the Folded Ear Continent, one would first pass through a frigid strait ravaged by powerful Sea Soul Beasts. After a few hundred kilometers, the sea surface would be completely frozen. While not as dangerous as the hunting of Sea Soul Beasts, the entire stretch of several hundred kilometers would be filled with thick fog; visibility would be terrifyingly low, and breathing would be extremely difficult. You wouldn't be able to see clearly within a one-meter radius, as if buried by snow.

If one maintained a straight line, there would be the skeletal remains of a Dragon Clan kin, a hundred meters long, lying on the ice, provided it hadn't been buried by wind and snow or scavenged by carrion-eating Soul Beasts.

After flying for several hundred kilometers beyond this, the brain would be subjected to inexplicable interference. It wouldn't be like a spiritual attack, yet it would feel very much like one, continuing until a flock of black, white, and orange birds began to appear.

After that, the frozen land would turn back into a frozen sea, and as the floating ice on the sea became scarcer, a continent covered in tundra would gradually appear. If you discovered some isolated stone peaks, it would mean you had reached the Old Continent, rather than drifting to some random island.

Ruse King, in his Blade Ruse King state, landed with a huff in front of this stone ridge. The concentration of heaven and earth energy in the surroundings was indeed much lower than on the Folded Ear Continent, even lower than the desert regions of the Folded Ear Continent.

It was no wonder Thalassa said that on this Old Continent, the strongest Soul Beast was actually an ape with only four hundred thousand years of cultivation. Considering the Heavenly Tribulation, the infighting among Soul Beasts, and the slaughter between Soul Beasts and the indigenous humans, fifty thousand years of cultivation was already enough.

But unfortunately, once the Sun Moon Empire or the Heaven Spirit Empire gained a foothold, they would quickly use Soul Tools to shatter all of this.

After resting, Ruse King immediately released the little gadget he had tinkered with: a Soul Tool drone. This Soul Tool, modeled after the Rainbow-7 Drone of his past life, was connected and controlled via Soul Power, using Soul Power to solve the energy problem. It could fly continuously for 9,500 kilometers. This was roughly equivalent to a little less than half the width of the northern part of the Folded Ear Continent. Although it couldn't be equipped with level-9 fixed-load Soul Tool bombs, it was perfectly capable of serving as Ruse King's extra eyes.

Soon, under Ruse King's Soul Power control, the Soul Tool drone discovered human structures.

"This is the southernmost tip of the entire continent. Could it be that an expedition team from one of the two countries has already established a permanent settlement?"

Looking at what appeared to be vegetable greenhouses and various industrial buildings—dozens of container houses like the research stations of various countries in his past life—Ruse King's face looked like he had swallowed a whole lemon, his expression shrinking in disgust at the screen panel.

"Forget it, let it be. I'll just shrink my size and go around it."

Star Luo Empire - Asura Eye Outpost, a joint research station between the Star Luo Empire and the Spirit Pagoda.

The name of the outpost was used to commemorate the legendary figure who, over two hundred years ago, pioneered the method of obtaining Soul Rings through Soul Spirits, single-handedly established the Spirit Pagoda, and ascended to godhood.

Although the current emperor of the Sun Moon Empire also carried the blood of Huo Yuhao, as a classic example of a man who abandoned his wife and children—and an emperor at that—neither the Sun Moon Empire as a whole nor his descendants liked Huo Yuhao himself. On the contrary, the people of the Star Luo Empire and the Spirit Pagoda—which had long since deviated from its original intention of being friendly with Soul Beasts and was now controlled by Shrek Academy and various Title Douluo families—held Huo Yuhao, this powerhouse, in extreme respect and admiration.

"Caught quite a few Soul Beasts trying to escape today; can sell them to the Spirit Pagoda for a good price again."

Inside the outpost's guardhouse, which was filled with various Soul Tools used to detect Soul Beast energy reactions, a human officer finished his officer's meal and enjoyed his morning hot cocoa.

As the Star Luo Empire possessed advanced Soul Tool technology but remained under imperial rule, the situation within its military was naturally indescribable, relying entirely on strength rather than talent. Those who were officers could enjoy officer treatment; as for the soldiers? They were given food, so don't expect much in terms of salary.

Moreover, while soldiers had to be diligent and responsible, they had to complete every task issued by the officers. If they failed, being beaten until covered in bruises or being expelled from the military was considered a light punishment.

And like here, the officers who dared to join the research team were all anthropomorphic creatures in the military who had ambition and a little bit of a bottom line, but not much.

The officer checked the time, confirmed that the soldiers' ten minutes of free time were almost up, and then shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Soldier!"

"Here, sir."

Outside the door of the guardhouse, the soldier standing in the wind and snow with trembling legs heard the officer's call, opened the door, and walked in.

The room, which had been relatively warm, was immediately swept by a cold gust, causing the officer in short sleeves to frown and curse angrily: "Damn it, those brain-dead building designers! When the time comes, I'm going to take a Soul Tool cannon, put it to their heads, and make them add porches and a second door to the second-generation research houses."

After complaining, the officer pointed his finger at another cup of hot cocoa on the table and said.

"Take it, share it with everyone in your squad; don't let them freeze to death on me. If the pension is embezzled layer by layer by the higher-ups, I won't be paying your families out of my own pocket."

"Thank you, sir!"

The soldier took the cup of hot cocoa with a face full of joy. With the cold air rushing in again from the opening and closing of the door, the officer began to curse and swear again.

After cursing the ancestors of the designers for eighteen generations, the human officer carelessly crossed his legs, rested them on the screen of the Soul Tool that detected Soul Beast energy reactions, and watched a little imperial uncle's show to kill the boring time of squatting in the polar region.

Outside the door, the soldier who had received the hot cocoa found the old squad leader and his comrades who had been forcibly conscripted along with the squad.

After distributing the pitifully small, now-cold hot cocoa into everyone's canteens, they all drank it in one gulp.

"Sigh, our outpost's officer is still the best. Look at the ones managing the vegetable greenhouses; they can't even steal any oil, and the mush they cook for us is just indescribable paste with black bread."

After the old squad leader finished his drink, he muttered in a low voice while leaning against the railing, resting his feet near the burning empty oil drum to try and bring some warmth to his frozen toes.

In the Star Luo Empire, the rank of non-commissioned officer was still the highest rank a civilian Soul Master could obtain. Unless they broke through to Soul Elder or participated in this life-or-death expedition that lasted for several years at a time, civilians had no possibility of further advancement.

"Senior, tell me, why are the higher-ups catching so many Soul Beasts? Aren't there plenty of Soul Beasts in the country? Why did we come so far overseas and still have to catch so many?"

The soldier who had brought the hot cocoa rewarded by the officer took the opportunity during the short ten-minute break to ask the squad leader some questions.

"Hey, you don't know about this, do you? Ever heard of Soul Spirits?"

The old squad leader said to the new recruit with a smile.

"Hmm... I don't know," the recruit shook his head, looking clueless.

"Actually, I don't really know what this thing is either, but the higher-ups are obsessed with it. They say it has special effects for leveling up."

"Huh? Is it similar to a Spirit Bone?"

"Who knows? Anyway, the Spirit Pagoda is willing to pay a high price for Soul Beasts, so we just catch them."

There is a reason why the Spirit Pagoda buys Soul Beasts caught by research stations in the new continent. First of all, ever since the Star Dou Forest was hit by Huo Yuhao's marriage scam, it has been severely crippled. It is essentially like a dying tiger that can still breathe, slowly fading away. But it is still a tiger capable of hurting people, and with a "Beast God" like Di Tian, who is over nine hundred thousand years old, the cost of capturing high-value Soul Beasts remains very high.

The situation in the two new continents is different. There isn't a single Soul Beast over five hundred thousand years old, and you can count the ones over four hundred thousand years old on your fingers. The cost of hunting them is incredibly simple. Shipping costs? Just have the research team—not a colonization team—bring along plenty of storage Soul Tools. If they catch a few thousand, is the Spirit Pagoda ever going to be short on money?

The old squad leader was a rough man who couldn't explain much more, so he just brushed it off with a few words and changed the subject to end the conversation.

"Damn it, where's the breakfast cart? Are you making me eat on the go in the last few minutes before I go on guard duty again? If I make it back alive and get promoted to sergeant, I'm definitely going to beat the hell out of these delivery guys."

Just as the officer was reading a dirty book, the soldiers were eating and cursing, and Rus Wang was taking a detour over a hundred kilometers away, the station's multiple sensors used to detect Soul Beast energy signatures picked up Rus Wang's presence. Suddenly, the station flashed a red light, something that had never happened since its establishment.

This caused the officer, who had been sitting with his legs crossed on an empty chair, to fall flat on his back. He then stared in disbelief.

Without caring about anything else, he grabbed the Soul Tool communicator, connected to the research station director's device, and shouted in an urgent tone: "Report, sir! First detection of a hundred-thousand-year level Soul Beast, and the direction... the direction is coming from that mist in the south!"

In an instant, the entire research station's alarm bells rang out. All the officers and heads of research gathered in the heated conference room for an emergency meeting.

The energy signature of a single hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast wouldn't normally make the entire research station nervous. On the contrary, as a key unit for the Star Luo Empire's future migration to this continent to avoid the military might of the Sun Moon Empire, the research team usually had a Title Douluo as the team leader. (There are a hundred Title Douluo in the Peerless Tang Sect era. After Huo Yuhao introduced the method of obtaining Spirit Rings via Soul Spirits, the method was initially only promoted among the upper echelons, but the number of Title Douluo inevitably increased significantly due to the Spirit Spirits.)

The key lies in the fact that this Soul Beast's movement trajectory is not like the previous ones, which fled from the north to avoid humans, even risking being hunted by Sea Soul Beasts to cross the sea and escape into the icy fog, heading toward the world behind them. Instead, this hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast is coming from the south. The south is where several research station advance teams have gone missing to this day. Advance teams led by multiple Spirit Douluo have all tried to penetrate that dense fog and the polar region of mental interference to explore the truth behind why Soul Beasts keep trying to flee further south. But so far, every advance team, no matter how many advanced Soul Tools they brought, would end up walking in circles like a maze every time they entered the mist. After months of wandering, they would emerge from the mist only to find they had returned to their starting point.

"Launch the Soul Tools. Let us see the true face of this Soul Beast."

Following the Title Douluo's order, several Soul Tools flew out from the research station to probe the hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.

Unsurprisingly, the Soul Tools were destroyed by the Soul Beast, but the blurry images they transmitted at the very end still gave everyone in the conference room a good start. The hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast was a four-legged subspecies of dragon never seen before. Its tail had fins resembling those of a fish, wings connected to its forelimbs, and terrifyingly large front claws, indicating that it possessed the ability to adapt to sea, land, and air environments.

"If I remember correctly, the maximum destruction threshold for those reconnaissance Soul Tools is around one hundred and fifty thousand years, right?"

The Title Douluo was silent for a moment before asking the head of the research station's Soul Tool department.

"Yes, my lord. This means this dragon subspecies is a fierce beast with a cultivation of over one hundred and fifty thousand years."

The Star Luo people in the conference room were suddenly overcome with greed and had no intention of selling this Soul Beast to the Spirit Pagoda members present.

Although the Spirit Pagoda, acting as a front for Shrek Academy, has always participated in the exploration of the new continent while secretly funding the Star Luo Empire with various Soul Tools and the latest Spirit Spirit research, it is ultimately a force independent of the empire and not "one of their own."

A Spirit Spirit is a substitute for a Spirit Ring that is superior to the traditional ring, causing less harm to Soul Beasts and maximizing the enhancement of a Soul Master's abilities. High-level Spirit Spirits can grant a Soul Master multiple Spirit Rings and skills at once, and they are inheritable, meaning they can be passed down to future generations—making them even more precious than Spirit Bones.

Capturing a healthy, powerful hundred-thousand-year dragon Soul Beast to serve as a Spirit Spirit is undoubtedly the best choice for a Spirit Douluo from a Title Douluo family. How could they possibly sell it to outsiders? (At this moment, the "scientific" matching relationship between mental power and Spirit Spirits had not yet emerged.)

"Ahem."

Seemingly sensing the thoughts of the Star Luo people, the Spirit Pagoda members immediately stated that they did not want the Spirit Spirit of this Soul Beast; they only wanted to buy the body for experiments.

In reality, ever since Huo Yuhao created the Spirit Spirit method and hurriedly ascended to godhood, both Shrek Academy and the Spirit Pagoda—having abandoned Huo Yuhao's vague original intentions—had spent these two hundred years researching the secrets of Soul Beast Spirit Rings while maintaining a deeply contradictory internal relationship.

The former wants to remain a relatively independent force, existing amidst the unstoppable trend of the Sun Moon Empire unifying the entire Douluo Continent. The latter, however, consists of various independent Title Douluo families, sects, and organizations that are not loyal to the royal family, along with the Spirit Pagoda controlled by Shrek Academy personnel, all wanting to integrate into various countries as service institutions. After all, emperors come and go; as long as a family doesn't take a stand and plays both sides, they can survive forever. There is no point in being stubborn and walking down a dead end.

Therefore, not all Spirit Pagoda members are like the inner court students sent by Shrek Academy, who only recognize the academy and not the empire, acting like stubborn fools who don't know how to adapt. If they really acted like Shrek people, this frozen wasteland would likely become the grave for the Spirit Pagoda member currently sitting in the conference room.

Soon, a series of capture operations centered around Rus Wang began. But what they didn't know at this moment was that Rus Wang, who had originally intended to avoid humans, had decided to turn around and completely wipe out this thorn in its side on the route back to the Folded Ear Continent because of the humans' actions.