"The Star Luo Empire is definitely the best choice for you. We've also been vigorously developing our Spirit Engineer system..."
As she described her empire's policies for developing Spirit Engineers, Xu Jiujiu hoped the family behind this woman would relocate to Star Luo. That way, they could build more of those close-combat Soul Tools for them and arm more Spirit Master Legions.
"I'm very satisfied with this trip to the Star Luo Empire. But the decision is up to the elders of my clan. I'll report everything I saw and heard here to them truthfully."
"We very much hope your clan will settle in Star Luo. When the time comes, my brother will surely grant your clan a fief and hereditary title."
Xu Jiujiu's smile grew a little brighter as she promised them a fief and a title.
Yang Hao continued bidding while chatting with Xu Jiujiu.
There was no denying that the Star Luo Empire had considerable resources. This time, they had found fourteen Soul Bones alone, all of them at the ten-thousand-year level.
They also had two pieces of ten-thousand-year-level Whale Rubber, both of which Yang Hao bought.
Meanwhile, the box he occupied had drawn a lot of attention. The main reason was that Yang Hao had displayed astonishing wealth: the total amount he had spent in a single evening exceeded one hundred million Gold Soul Coins.
On top of that, he had bought so many Soul Bones, which gave quite a few people ideas.
"I think I've been targeted. Princess Jiujiu, is there any way you can handle this? It wouldn't be wise for me to reveal myself right now."
After putting the items delivered by the auction house into his Storage Soul Tool, Yang Hao looked at Xu Jiujiu.
Now came the test of their ability and sincerity.
"We've already made arrangements."
Xu Jiujiu smiled, then said, "Grandma Manyi, sorry for the trouble, but please escort Miss Yuhuan out."
An old woman in a red dress pushed open the door. After glancing at Yang Hao, she activated her Martial Soul and a Soul Skill. A door of starlight appeared at once.
"Princess Jiujiu, let's talk again next time."
Yang Hao nodded to Xu Jiujiu, put on a loose Cloak, and stepped through the door of starlight.
"Aren't you going to follow her?"
After closing the door of starlight, Manyi thought it would be best to keep an eye on her. After all, that chubby girl was far too valuable.
"No need!"
Xu Jiujiu shook her head slightly. "She was sent by her clan to sound us out. She isn't the important one. What matters is the clan behind her."
Her clan was most likely truly over in the Heaven Dou Empire. The Star Luo Empire's influence couldn't reach that far.
Besides, the Star Luo Empire wasn't their only choice. There was no need to play the villain.
What's more, they had already made a huge profit this time: ten thousand spears, ten thousand swords, and five thousand shields. That was enough to form a Spirit Master Legion twenty-five thousand strong.
Paired with some ranged Soul Tools, its fighting strength would be terrifying. Its value far surpassed that mere pile of Gold Soul Coins.
Not to mention, that clan could surely make many more of these close-combat Soul Tools. If they could win the clan over, they could form even more Spirit Master Legions.
By then, not only would the Star Luo Empire's strength rise considerably, but the imperial family would grow stronger as well. That would stabilize the country's situation and keep the increasingly powerful White Tiger Duke Mansion in check.
Leaving Xu Jiujiu to her thoughts, Yang Hao—who had been sent out of the auction house—moved swiftly through Star Luo City. He changed clothes several times and used different perfumes one after another to mask his scent. Only after making sure no one was following him did he finally relax.
"Next, I need to get out of the city."
Yang Hao glanced at the pale light of dawn in the eastern sky, cut his hair short, then changed into a loose outfit and headed for the city gate.
In a dark alley near the gate, he activated his One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul and transformed. His body quickly grew to two meters tall.
He was still holding back. Otherwise, he could have grown to two and a half meters in one breath.
But that kind of size would draw too much attention. He didn't want people looking at him right now.
Finally, he put on a hat to cover the eye formed on his forehead by the One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul. That made his disguise perfect. No one could possibly connect him to the chubby girl from before.
Sure enough, the drastic change in his appearance—especially the shift in the Soul Power aura carried by the One-Eyed Vajra Martial Soul—went unnoticed by everyone, and he left the city without trouble.
Of course, his disguise had changed again. He was no longer dressed as a woman, and he had abandoned the Yuhuan identity he'd used before.
Yuhuan was the name he'd given that identity, inspired by a famous plump imperial consort from history in his previous life.
What Yang Hao didn't know was that his purchases had already disrupted the fortune and fate of this era, drawing the notice of Sea God Tang San, who had been keeping a close eye on the Douluo Plane.
"Third Brother, what's wrong?"
Seeing her husband frown, Xiao Wu asked in confusion. Had something bad happened?
"The fortune and fate of the Douluo Plane have shifted a little."
After describing the unusual change he'd noticed, Tang San found himself ill at ease with such an inexplicable turn of events. He was used to having everything perfectly under control.
Besides, a Child of Luck had already appeared on the Douluo Plane, and he had his own plans in motion. This sudden change made him vaguely uneasy.
Unfortunately, he was in the Divine Realm and couldn't closely observe the Douluo Plane. He couldn't make out the source of the change.
"So what if it changed?"
Xiao Wu wasn't concerned. After all, they had already become gods.
Tang San said nothing, but his mood was foul.
The Divine Realm was far from peaceful. The Destruction God King and the previous Asura God had never agreed on their principles and often clashed. Tang San had also faced opposition when he inherited his god position. Without his companions' support, his situation would have been even worse.
The Destruction God King had kept an eye on him all these years, making many things impossible.
Moreover, Tang San had never undergone the Asura God Trial, so his compatibility with the Asura God Position was very low. More than half its power was even in Xiao Wu's hands. To this day, he still hadn't mastered the true power of the Asura God Position. The power of the Sea God alone was no match for the Destruction God King, who had cultivated for countless years.
And there was a flaw in the very path of inheriting a god position. One gave up their original foundation and relied on the power of a god position to break through. The foundation one gained wasn't truly one's own, making further progress incredibly difficult. Tang San could never reach the heights of the previous Sea God and Asura God.
There was a saying from his previous life: "Those who learn from me will prosper; those who merely imitate me will perish." That was exactly the situation he was in now.
If he had the chance, he wanted to start cultivating again from the beginning. Only then might he completely master the Sea God Position and perhaps even advance further.
Unfortunately, he couldn't. The Divine Realm couldn't be without him, or the Destruction God King would inevitably take charge. His principles were far too radical.
"I'll just have to wait patiently."
Tang San murmured inwardly. He had long since laid plans against the Destruction God King, following a strategy left behind by the previous Asura God.
The Asura God was the strongest of the Five Great God Kings, for he was their central nexus. During the Dragon God War, he had fused the power of the other four God Kings and formed the power of creation, then cut the Dragon God in half with a single sword strike.
He had secretly retained part of the four God Kings' power back then and studied it for countless years. His realm had come infinitely close to that of the God of Creation, granting him the ability to foresee the future.
He had sensed that a great crisis would befall the Divine Realm. Passing on his god position was also a way to leave the Divine Realm and seek out the source of the crisis so he could resolve it.
At the same time, this was also an opportunity to deal with the Destruction God King.
As the saying went, if you wanted someone to perish, you first had to drive them mad.
For now, Tang San would keep him restrained and under pressure. When the Destruction God King lost patience, took a dangerous gamble, and revealed an opening on his own, Tang San would strike, crush him in one blow, and seize control of the Divine Realm for good.
But what exactly was the great crisis the Asura God had spoken of in the end?
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Chapter 12: Devouring Soul Bones
Yang Hao had no idea what the God Kings of the Divine Realm were thinking. After getting far away from Star Luo City, he found an uninhabited mountain range and dug himself a hole to hide in.
He had acquired so many good things this time, so naturally he needed to put them to use as soon as possible and raise his strength.
He first studied the Tyrant Tiger Soul-Refining Blade and figured out the secret behind merging Soul Bones with Soul Tools. Then he used the Metal Control ability of his Soul Bone to manipulate the Nine-Turn Soul-Changing Instrument he'd bought at auction, merging it into the base of his Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone.
That was the main reason he'd written it on the list. He wanted his Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone to bear more attributes, but conflicting attributes could be fatal, especially opposing ones like ice and fire, light and darkness.
He needed a force to mediate between them.
The Nine-Turn Soul-Changing Instrument was the best choice. This Soul Tool could absorb Soul Power of any attribute and transform it into Chaos attribute Soul Power. Chaos attribute Soul Power could then fuse with Soul Power of any attribute, and could even be injected into someone else's body.
This Chaos attribute was the perfect mediator, able to accommodate Soul Power of any attribute.
That was why he had specifically asked for a Soul Tool fused with a Soul Bone: he wanted to understand the secret behind combining Soul Bones and Soul Tools.
Combined with the Metal Control Soul Bone Skill he already had, he could merge the Nine-Turn Soul-Changing Instrument into the base of his Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone.
Of course, he wasn't merging the entire Nine-Turn Soul-Changing Instrument. He only needed the inner shell and the Soul Tool core. There was no need to devour the outer shell, which merely served as protection.
The inner shell and Soul Tool core were much smaller on their own, making them just right to merge—or, more precisely, to embed.
It took Yang Hao a full day to merge the Nine-Turn Soul-Changing Instrument into the base of his Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone and guide it into producing Chaos attribute Soul Power.
After getting used to it, he ate a little, then promptly fell asleep. The next day, he began the next part of his plan.
"I hope the devouring goes smoothly."
Yang Hao took out a Soul Bone with an earth attribute and murmured to himself. Then he controlled the uppermost Soul-Devouring Spider Leg to pierce and devour it.
His Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone had once devoured a Soul Bone refined by Tai Wushuang, giving one spider leg a metal attribute. This time, he was using another leg at the very top.
The Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone didn't disappoint Yang Hao. It devoured the ten-thousand-year Soul Bone with an earth attribute, and yellow-brown markings gradually appeared on that spider leg, much like the golden markings on the other one.
Clearly, his original guess had been right. The Soul-Devouring Spider Leg Bone really could devour Soul Bones and obtain their attribute powers.
It had even devoured and fused the Soul Bone Skill, Gravity Control, just as it had when it devoured the Soul Bone from Tai Wushuang.
And with the Nine-Turn Soul-Changing Instrument generating Chaos attribute Soul Power, the two attribute powers didn't conflict. Yang Hao finally let out a breath of relief.
That wasn't all. A surge of vitality flowed into Yang Hao's body, washing over his muscles and bones and strengthening them. He even grew a little taller.
This was one of the benefits of refining a Soul Ring or Soul Bone. Refining a Soul Bone in particular had a pronounced effect on one's physical constitution.
Once the Soul Bone had been completely devoured, and he had confirmed that the spider leg was stable and there was nothing wrong with him, Yang Hao carefully spent a day getting used to it. Only on the second day did he take out the remaining Soul Bones.
"In the future, there seems to be a Martial Soul called Kirin, with the five elements. Maybe I can fuse the Yin and Yang attributes with them to form a Chaos attribute. Perhaps I can start by gathering the five elements."
Looking at the few Soul Bones, Yang Hao thought of a Martial Soul from the future.
"I have the metal and earth attributes now. Next, I'll get wood."
He picked up a Soul Bone from a Plant-type Soul Beast and used a spider leg in the second row to devour it. Green markings soon appeared on it, and the Soul Bone itself gained a wood attribute.
At the same time, the vitality within the Soul Bone was drawn out and washed through Yang Hao's body, further improving his physical constitution.
After getting used to it for another day, he spent the next two days devouring Soul Bones with water and fire attributes. He was most nervous when devouring the water-attribute Soul Bone, since water and fire were opposites.
Fortunately, the Chaos attribute was powerful enough, and the water and fire attributes were confined to the spider legs. They hadn't spread to the Soul Bone's base, so they didn't directly meet, making the pressure much lower.
Next came the Soul Bones with wind and lightning attributes. Those went just as smoothly.
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