Douluo: Founding the Heavenly Court from the Holy Spirit Cult

"Senior, are you familiar with the team our academy is sending to the All-Continent Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament?"

He naturally intended to join the academy team to participate in the next tournament, and it was necessary to make his intentions known early.

He had just seen the Xiao Hongchen siblings today; those two had undoubtedly already become members of the academy's reserve team.

"Are you planning to participate in the tournament, Junior?"

Ju Zi asked, surprised.

"It isn't easy to represent the academy in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament; you need to be at least a Level 5 Soul Master."

"However, given your soul ring configuration and age, you could join the reserve team to prepare for the tournament after next."

"Our Imperial Academy team has always targeted Shrek Academy, but the Shrek team is consistently formidable. Every generation is composed entirely of Soul Kings, and there are even Soul Emperors among them. Their strength is immense."

Becoming a starter was difficult, but being a reserve member was perfectly fine.

As far as she knew, the dean's own grandchildren were currently on the reserve team, preparing for the tournament after next.

"The reserve team will do."

Yang Hao wasn't picky; as long as he could participate in the tournament, that was enough. Reserve teams could also become the main force—take the Shrek side, for instance.

"The academy team is overseen by Teacher Ma, and the captain is Ma Rulong. He is very strong..."

Ju Zi whispered the information she knew; she had been keeping a close eye on this.

She had a mission at the academy to scout talent for the Crown Prince. Those who could enter the team and represent the academy in the All-Continent Tournament were naturally the most outstanding talents.

Since this person was a key talent that both she and the Prince were focused on, and considering their cooperation, he was effectively one of their own. There was no need to keep this intelligence from him.

Yang Hao listened intently, committing the information about those individuals to memory.

There wasn't much to say about the current starting team; their martial souls were relatively ordinary, lacking any top-tier, powerful variants.

This was a major characteristic of the Sun Moon Empire. Their overall level of martial souls was far inferior to that of the Douluo Continent, which was a primary reason why the top powerhouses of the Sun Moon Empire lagged behind those of the Douluo Continent.

However, this side focused on the soul tool system, where combat power relied on soul tools, while martial souls and soul ring skills were secondary.

Yet, soul tools and soul master strength were complementary. If one's martial soul and soul ring skills were too weak, it would undoubtedly hinder the effectiveness of the soul tools, or even become a liability.

Therefore, although soul masters were generally stronger than soul masters of the same level in the early stages, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy team lost to the Shrek team every single time.

If he joined the reserve team, he would have to assemble a squad possessing powerful martial souls and soul skills, while also ensuring they had powerful soul tools.

Just as that great man once said, one must grasp both hands, and both hands must be firm.

Currently, the only confirmed members of the academy's reserve team were the Xiao Hongchen siblings; the rest were still under evaluation.

This was mainly because the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy had too many students. Even with age restrictions, they could still find quite a few candidates.

Furthermore, students enrolled at twelve, and it was difficult to fully display their talent and potential in just a few years, so sufficient time for observation and screening was required.

After all, this concerned the honor of the Imperial family and the academy; they had to select the strongest talents.

"With you joining the team, Junior, we will surely bring victory to our academy this time and break the losing streak against Shrek."

Ju Zi had great confidence in this junior and truly hoped he would succeed.

The next All-Continent Tournament would be held in the Star Luo Empire. According to the intelligence she had gathered, the Shrek reserve team from the previous tournament had included the eldest son of the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, who was also the captain. He would undoubtedly be the captain of the Shrek starting team this time.

She harbored a deep, burning hatred for the White Tiger Duke and did not want his eldest son to lead Shrek to victory.

"Our academy should be able to win this time."

Yang Hao felt their odds were high. The main reason was that their Holy Spirit Cult's honorary elder, Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi, was incredibly "helpful." In the original plot, he had sabotaged the starting team, leaving them dead or crippled, until only three were left to fight, drastically reducing their combat power.

Now, he had also taken Ma Xiaotao away, depriving them of another top-tier combatant.

Meanwhile, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy had the soul armor technology he provided, which was enough to boost their strength significantly, especially their defensive capabilities.

With these factors shifting the balance, even if Huo Yuhao could use his "hacks," he would undoubtedly lose—not to mention that he, himself, was also a cheater.

After chatting with Ju Zi for a while, Yang Hao studied diligently until late at night before returning to his dormitory.

He expanded his spiritual power to create an isolation barrier and deployed the Blue Silver Domain from his Chaos Eight Wings. He raised his hand to condense a ball of fire-attribute soul power, surrounded by a halo that was actively absorbing and burning the power of the Blue Silver Domain.

"It's almost time."

Looking at that halo, Yang Hao wore a brilliant smile.

That was the Fire Domain he was evolving—or rather, its prototype—using the Blue Silver Domain and the principles of the Five Elements Mutual Generation.

The Blue Silver Domain could be considered wood-attribute; after all, Blue Silver Grass was a plant, and its domain could be viewed as a Wood Domain.

In the cycle of the Five Elements, wood generates fire. Therefore, ever since he obtained the Blue Silver Domain, he had been attempting to evolve a Fire Domain through it.

Absorbing the power of the Ice Fire Spring Water last time had given him significant insights, and this time, helping Tang Ya upgrade her Blue Silver Emperor martial soul had provided a deeper understanding of the Blue Silver Domain.

Further development of the Blue Silver Domain was naturally helpful for the evolution of the Fire Domain.

A typical soul master's domain was based on their martial soul, which required a certain soul power level—usually, one had to reach the Soul Saint level to have a chance at awakening one.

However, there were exceptions, such as Tang San, who awakened his early through the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, or Tang Yuehua, who possessed an innate domain.

But the foundation of Yang Hao's domain was a soul bone—a super soul bone at the million-year level—so naturally, there were no restrictions on his soul power level.

Even so, evolving a domain from nothing remained extremely difficult, and it was limited to elemental-type domains.

Elemental powers possess an innate advantage when it comes to domains, allowing them to evolve more effectively.

Currently, Yang Hao has already used the Blue Silver Domain and the properties of Five Elements Mutual Generation to develop the prototype of a Fire Domain; he only needs one final push to successfully bring it to fruition.

Once he evolves his first domain through his own abilities, he will be able to utilize the super-comprehension granted by his Golden Finger to grasp the mysteries within. Coupled with the properties of Five Elements Mutual Generation, comprehending and evolving subsequent domains will become significantly easier and faster.

Therefore, the evolution of this Fire Domain is of vital importance.

After a night of cultivation, Yang Hao headed to Mingde Hall the next day.

His schedule at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy was packed; he spent his mornings studying at Mingde Hall, during which Jing Hongchen would personally come to guide Yang Hao in crafting Soul Tools and discuss research on the deep-level development of rare metals.

In the afternoons, Yang Hao had free time, though he spent most of it reading in the library.

Evenings were reserved for meditation and cultivation.

It was incredibly fulfilling!

Before he could even enter Mingde Hall, he was intercepted by two figures—none other than the Xiao Hongchen siblings he had met yesterday.

"Little brother, you're here."

Before Xiao Hongchen could speak, Yang Hao greeted him with a smile.

Hearing that "little brother," Xiao Hongchen's face turned black, while Meng Hongchen stood to the side, laughing heartlessly as she watched her brother make a fool of himself.

"I..."

Xiao Hongchen was just about to speak, but Yang Hao interrupted him with a serious and earnest expression.

"Call me Boss!"

"You..."

"Call me Boss!"

Xiao Hongchen's face darkened further, but in the end, he still called out, "Boss!"

"I want to challenge you again."

Issuing the challenge once more, it was clear he was very dissatisfied with yesterday's loss.

"No problem!"

Yang Hao did not refuse; he genuinely wanted to win this person over.

Securing him was equivalent to securing Jing Hongchen, and perhaps even Mingde Hall itself.

One must know that Jing Hongchen supported Xu Tianran's rise to power, only to be suppressed by him later, which surely left him harboring resentment.

This plot point could be exploited to win him over and prepare for the subversion of the Sun Moon Empire.

"Come on, let's go to my training room."

Beckoning the two to follow, Yang Hao's status in the academy and Mingde Hall was currently quite high, granting him his own exclusive research lab and training room.

"Your training room is even bigger than mine."

Looking at the massive training room, Xiao Hongchen couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

"It really is much bigger."

Meng Hongchen was also surprised, which served to show just how high his status in the academy truly was.

"I'm ready, come at me."

Drawing his Holy Sword martial soul, Yang Hao signaled that they could begin.

"I won't let you sneak attack me this time."

Xiao Hongchen decisively activated his martial soul and brought out numerous self-made soul cannons, preparing to unleash his ultimate moves, but just then, Yang Hao spoke up.

"You've already lost."

"Huh?"

Xiao Hongchen was bewildered; they had only just started, so how could he have already lost?

"Look below your belt."

Yang Hao gave him a hint. Xiao Hongchen looked down; at first, he didn't notice anything wrong, but upon closer inspection, he discovered a thin gray needle stuck right at his zipper, pointing directly at his vital area, which made him shudder involuntarily.

The needle then skimmed along the ground and flew back into Yang Hao's hand; that was exactly how it had snuck over to hit its target.

The reason he had drawn the Holy Sword martial soul was merely to distract Xiao Hongchen, forcing him to focus on the sword and ignore everything else, especially since he had been knocked unconscious by that very sword yesterday.

It was a small tactical trick, but a highly practical one.

"Can your martial soul control metal as well?"

Recovering from the shock, Xiao Hongchen was filled with wonder.

Yesterday, he had assumed it was a long-range sword-controlling soul skill, but looking at it today, it was clear the other party was controlling the metal itself, not the martial soul.