The Key to the Martial Soul Essence Experiment!

"Heh, isn't it true that you so-called great powers love to say one thing to people's faces and do another behind their backs?"

Seeing that Ming Yue's expression did not seem feigned, Gong Changshao felt his resolve waver slightly.

After all, having never experienced the darkness, how could one truly crave that seemingly bright dawn?

"You seem to have misunderstood something. You should know that it is I who am giving you a chance right now."

With his indifferent expression unchanged, Ming Yue simply held up three fingers and continued, "I will give you three seconds to consider."

"Three," he lowered one finger.

"Two," he lowered another.

"One."

"I agree!"

Before Ming Yue could retract his final finger, Gong Changshao, crushed by the extreme psychological pressure, broke down and roared.

"Very good." With a snap of his fingers, the Void Archives flashed, and Ming Yue used a simulated Thousand Worlds to transport the two of them onto an enclosed arena.

"This is a medicine that can instantly restore all your stats. Eat it."

He tossed a small porcelain bottle to Gong Changshao, and as the man caught it instinctively, Ming Yue changed his tone:

"I give you one minute to prepare. This will be a fight to the death. Whoever wins will receive a reward from this Tower Master."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ming Yue's figure flashed to the outer perimeter of the arena.

"..." Looking at the porcelain bottle in his hand, feeling at a loss, Gong Changshao fell into a brief silence.

"Damn it, I don't know what kind of luck a piece of trash like you has, but this is the latest Spirit Pagoda standard-issue logistical supply developed by the Tower Master!"

"Even a Titled Douluo like me can only receive one per month."

"Hmph! You have 30 seconds left. If you don't eat it, wait for me to reclaim it!"

However, his dawdling behavior directly infuriated the Titled Douluo from the Spirit Pagoda.

After a disdainful remark, the man coldly lit up his spirit rings.

Seeing this, Gong Changshao stopped hesitating. Since he was going to die either way, he might as well fight for his life; perhaps there was a sliver of hope.

With that thought, he hardened his heart, tilted his head back, opened the bottle, and swallowed the pill inside.

The pill melted the moment it touched his tongue, and within an instant, a surge of heat flooded Gong Changshao's entire body.

He clenched his fists in disbelief; the feeling of overflowing spirit power and peak physical condition was both familiar and strange.

"...It actually has this kind of effect!?"

He exclaimed instinctively, which made the Titled Douluo opposite him feel a flash of disappointment.

But thinking of the reward Ming Yue had just mentioned, he perked up again: "The talent of the Tower Master is not something trash like you can fathom."

"That's fine, too. I would have felt embarrassed to accept the Tower Master's reward for killing a defenseless piece of trash."

"Ten seconds left. Prepare to die, trash."

His spirit power began to churn, and the Titled Douluo stared at Gong Changshao with murderous intent.

"Hmph! It's not like I haven't had the blood of a Titled Douluo on my hands before. Who will be the one to fall is yet to be decided!"

Quickly regaining his composure, Gong Changshao also revealed his spirit rings!

"Boom!"

The next instant, both men stomped hard onto the arena floor. As their spirit rings flared, powerful spirit skills collided with one another!

For a time, the sounds of energy clashing and bodies colliding rang out incessantly.

The visible energy fluctuations were dazzling and brilliant.

However, Ming Yue, observing from outside the arena, showed little reaction.

He simply had Xiao Ya appear to report the real-time status of both combatants.

On the arena, the Titled Douluo found himself evenly matched in both spirit skills and physical combat against a mere level 89 Evil Spirit Master.

Especially with the Tower Master watching, he didn't know why the Tower Master wanted him to fight this guy to the death.

But at the thought of facing the Tower Master's disappointed gaze, the Titled Douluo's body began to tremble.

"No... this cannot be! Such a thing cannot happen to me!!"

With a loud shout, he erupted with all his spirit power. As his spirit rings shone and his spirit avatar emerged, he directly activated his Martial Soul True Body!

He transformed into a majestic and imposing Cang Ying!

"Screech!"

A piercing eagle cry rang out, and the Cang Ying surged toward Gong Changshao, wrapped in massive waves of spirit power!

"Do you think you have me cornered!?"

With a cold laugh, he also used his Martial Soul True Body. Transforming into a giant spider, Gong Changshao's limbs and body began to glow with various colors!

Seeing that both combatants had reached their peak, Xiao Ya, outside the arena, issued a timely reminder to Ming Yue.

"Simulate Judgment of Shamash."

Nodding, he raised his hand in a phantom grasp, and the golden-orange Judgment of Shamash simulated by the Void Archives appeared in Ming Yue's hand.

His figure flickered, appearing directly on the arena, and in an instant, he tossed a special Soul Tool at Cang Ying, sending him flying.

Using the momentum to spin, with speed too fast for the eyes to follow, he decapitated Gong Changshao—who was in his Avatar of the Martial Soul state—with a single strike!

".!?"

The massive spider head slid from the spider body, its multiple eyes filled with human-like confusion and disbelief.

Although he knew he might die, even in death, Gong Changshao could not understand why Ming Yue had gone through such a long, roundabout way just to kill him.

".It only dropped a Soul Bone after all that? And it's even a native Soul Bone that he had already fused with?"

On the arena, Ming Yue kicked aside the head of Gong Changshao, which was gradually returning to its original form, and tossed the Void Archives—now reverted to its base form—into the air, letting Xiao Ya emerge to observe together.

"Judging from the emotional changes and self-perception of this Spirit Master the moment he was slain by Master, he seemed to feel nothing but shock and disbelief until the very end."

"Perhaps we overlooked the most important point, Master~"

Floating over the corpse of Gong Changshao as it gradually reverted to human form, Xiao Ya whispered into Ming Yue's ear while observing.

"Emotional changes... self-perception..." Ming Yue murmured, his sword-like brows knitting together, when a flash of inspiration suddenly struck him:

"Self-perception... you mean the key to the experiment lies in his self-perception while using his Avatar of the Martial Soul!?"

Slamming his palm, Ming Yue realized the crux of the matter.

"That's the general hypothesis. If you want to experiment again, Master can try using the Fenghuang Down~"

A flicker of appreciation crossed her face, and a rare, faint smile appeared on Xiao Ya's stoic, pretty face.

Immediately, her figure vanished, returning into the Void Archives.

"Fenghuang Down..." Smoothing his brow, Ming Yue snapped his fingers, releasing the Soul Tool that had been binding the Titled Douluo.

"Lord Tower Master, you..."

"You did well. Congratulations on becoming the winner of the trial. As a reward..."

"Take this. In addition to receiving three extra rounds of logistical supplies, your armor will also receive one upgrade."

Waving his hand to cut him off, he snapped his fingers to activate the Thousand Worlds and returned to the laboratory, leaving a note for the man.

".Yes! Thank you, Lord Tower Master!!"

Having grown somewhat accustomed to the Tower Master's methods, the Titled Douluo was more focused on the thin slip of paper handed to him.

Accepting it as if it were a priceless treasure, the Titled Douluo sensibly took his leave of the laboratory.