The Terrifying Power of Soul Tools

Qian Daoliu was noncommittal about this. In his heart, soul masters should rely on themselves; relying on external things meant they could never truly reach the peak.

But he did not directly refute Ye Guyi. After all, he had only just arrived on the Douluo Continent ten thousand years later.

He also planned to take things one step at a time.

As for Ye Fan, he knew Ye Guyi was right. Leaving aside distant matters, such as the battle armor and mechas ten thousand years later, just looking at the future Douluo Continent, it would become the world of soul tools. If the future Spirit Hall could not control the production and use of soul tools, it was destined to be unable to gain a foothold on the Douluo Continent.

And going after the Holy Spirit Cult and Tang San for revenge right now would only be throwing their lives away. It was better to plan before acting, to build up strength before striking, and first make themselves stronger before slowly working toward it.

So Ye Fan no longer hesitated. He said to Qian Daoliu and Ye Guyi:

"Sister, Grandpa, I've decided. I'll get my first and second soul rings first."

"Then I'll go enroll in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy."

Hearing this, Qian Daoliu merely smiled faintly and was not surprised. After all, the Six-Winged Angel was a god-level martial soul.

Ye Guyi, however, caught the key point. She excitedly grabbed Ye Fan's arm and asked, "Xiao Fan, are you saying you're not only born with full soul power, but born with full soul power at rank 20?"

Ye Fan nodded and said, "Yes, Sister. My innate soul power should be rank 20."

This time, Ye Guyi was so excited that she jumped up. "That's wonderful, Xiao Fan, Ancestor!"

"There's the Evil Demon Forest within the Sun Moon Empire. Xiao Fan can obtain his soul rings there."

Hearing this, Qian Daoliu and Ye Fan did not linger any longer.

Qian Daoliu brought Ye Fan and Ye Guyi along and hurried on at extreme speed.

After one day and one night, they arrived at the outskirts of the Evil Demon Forest.

As soon as they reached the Evil Demon Forest, Qian Daoliu asked Ye Fan, "Xiao Fan, do you have any requirements for your first soul ring?"

Ye Fan blurted out instinctively, "At least a thousand years to start."

Hearing this, Ye Guyi and Qian Daoliu immediately stepped forward to stop Ye Fan. "No!"

"No!"

Of the two, Qian Daoliu spoke the most fiercely. "Xiao Fan, Grandpa knows you have twin martial souls and were born with full soul power at rank 20, but even so, the theoretical age limit for your first ring is only a little over seven hundred years."

"Absorbing a thousand-year ring as your first ring is far too risky."

At the same time, Qian Daoliu did not forget to signal Ye Guyi with his eyes, telling her to step forward and persuade Ye Fan.

Ye Guyi understood and immediately stepped forward to scold Ye Fan. "Xiao Fan, although you've eaten a lot of Whale Glue over the years, taking a thousand-year soul ring as your first soul ring is still far too risky."

"I think it would be safest to do as Ancestor said. Choose a seven-hundred-year soul ring for your first ring, then choose a thousand-year one for your second."

Hearing the dissuasion of his two closest relatives, Ye Fan did not get angry. Instead, warmth filled his heart.

Then Ye Fan looked at the two of them seriously and said, "Grandpa, Sister, when I said I wanted to absorb a thousand-year first ring, I really wasn't taking a gamble."

"First, just as Sister said, I've eaten a lot of Whale Glue over the years, which has made my physical constitution far stronger than others my age."

"Second, the enhancement my two god-level martial souls bring to my body is also extraordinarily significant."

"Lastly, when Ancestor killed those evil soul masters last night, I felt a pure stream of energy gather into my body, strengthening my physical constitution once again."

"That's why, all things considered, I want to absorb a thousand-year ring as my first ring."

"If Grandpa and Sister still aren't at ease..."

"Grandpa, you can release soul-power pressure at rank 30 and test my physical constitution."

Ye Fan said a great deal in one breath. After hearing him, Qian Daoliu and Ye Guyi were still half convinced and half doubtful.

In the end, Qian Daoliu followed Ye Fan's suggestion, restrained his own aura, and compressed it to the level of a rank 39 Soul Elder.

Ye Fan did not activate his Angel martial soul to protect himself. Relying solely on his fleshly body, he forcefully endured the heavy pressure rushing toward him. His back stayed perfectly straight, fine beads of cold sweat seeping from his temples, but he did not retreat even half a step and held out for a full hour.

Qian Daoliu withdrew his soul-power pressure, his eyes full of amazement as he thought to himself, This kid is extraordinary. The cultivation of a Great Soul Master, but the physique of a Soul Elder.

Ye Guyi also let out a long breath. Looking at his tenacious appearance, most of the worry in her heart dissipated as well.

"Xiao Fan, you win."

"Let's go. Sister will help you choose a suitable thousand-year soul beast."

After the three of them reached an agreement, they began searching for prey on the outskirts of the Evil Demon Forest.

The three searched for a long time, but could not find anything suitable. Either the age was too low, or the age was too high.

A thousand-year first ring really did make things difficult.

But none of the three showed the slightest intention of giving up.

In the end, Qian Daoliu was the first to discover a pack of Dark Burst Demon Wolves. Among them was one Dark Burst Demon Wolf with a thousand years of cultivation.

"Found it!"

Qian Daoliu informed Ye Fan and Ye Guyi of the target. Hearing this, both of them were overjoyed.

Just as the three of them were about to make their move, Rumble!

A deafening roar suddenly erupted as dense volleys of soul-guided artillery shells shot out from the forest, exploding one after another around the pack of Dark Burst Demon Wolves.

Scorching waves of air sent shattered stones flying in every direction. Of the nearly hundred Dark Burst Demon Wolves, all except the thousand-year Dark Burst Demon Wolf at the head were blasted apart, severed limbs scattering everywhere.

Ye Fan, Ye Guyi, and Qian Daoliu immediately focused and went on guard, all turning at the same time toward the direction the shells had come from.

A group emerged from the forest path. Several soldiers equipped with standard-issue soul-guided firearms lined up on both sides, tightly protecting a few boys and girls in academy uniforms. Without stopping for even a moment, they madly poured out all kinds of soul-guided shells, bombarding the wolf pack.

When the officer in military uniform leading them saw that only one Dark Burst Demon Wolf remained in the pack, he raised his hand first and signaled for his subordinates to cease fire.

Then he quickly walked to the side of a girl in an orange dress and spoke respectfully. "Miss Ju Zi, that thousand-year Dark Wolf Emperor's age is just right. It suits you extremely well and can serve as your third soul ring."

At this moment, however, Ye Fan and the other two were not paying attention to that Dark Burst Demon Wolf. Instead, they began focusing on the soul-guided weapons this squad was equipped with.

Beside him, Qian Daoliu was the first to ask Ye Guyi, "Guyi, these must be the soul tools you mentioned, right?"

Hearing this, Ye Guyi immediately replied respectfully to Qian Daoliu, "Yes, Grandpa. These are the soul tools I talked about. The ones this squad is using are still relatively low-end soul tools."

"But even so, their appearance has given ordinary soul masters long-range killing methods, so they no longer have to fight at close quarters."

"The power of high-level soul-guided cannons can even crush soul masters of the same level, greatly smoothing out the gap in soul power. Now that everyone in the Sun Moon Empire studies soul tools, ordinary soldiers can rely on equipment to contend with Soul Elders. The traditional path of relying purely on martial soul cultivation has long since lost the dominance it once had over the continent."

Qian Daoliu's eyes shone as he listened. At last, he understood why Ye Guyi praised soul tools so highly.

Soul tools truly were a great invention. Not only did they smooth out the gap between low-level and high-level soul masters, and between support-type soul masters and combat soul masters, they also gave humanity the possibility of suppressing soul beasts.

Of course, Ye Fan knew even more clearly just how far soul tools would evolve on the Douluo Continent ten thousand years later.

Therefore, Ye Fan did not say much.

Instead, he withdrew his gaze, intending to snatch back his first soul ring from this squad.

Ye Fan said to the dazed Qian Daoliu, "Grandpa, hold down these soul engineers in a moment."

"I'll go seize that Dark Burst Demon Wolf."