Seven-Word Battle Armor, Super-God Level Mecha

Lake of Life.

Not the Lake of Life on the Douluo Home Planet, but the lifeline formed from the accumulated vitality of countless living beings on Elf Planet over many years.

Beside it stood two enormous trees that towered into the clouds.

The Elf Queen and the elven lineage lived atop one of those giant trees.

Di Tian stepped onto the lakeshore.

At that moment, the Lake of Life seemed to boil as life essence began to erupt vigorously.

The churning at the center of the lake intensified, as though something beneath the surface had sensed Di Tian's approach and was about to awaken.

"Thump! Thump—"

The splashing water gradually turned into erupting columns of water.

At a certain moment.

With a splash, waves from the lake surged against the shore. The treasure hidden within the lake finally revealed itself after much anticipation.

It was a divine artifact combining battle armor and mecha into one.

Its helmet bore imposing dragon horns, its leg armor resembled dragon claws, and dragon scale patterns were engraved across its breastplate.

Its body was primarily black and gold. Only its pair of dragon wings and cloak differed: the wing bones were black and gold, while the wing membranes and cloak were blood-red.

Ever since he no longer had to serve as Gu Yuena's personal guard ten thousand years ago, he had gained plenty of time for himself, as well as the inclination to learn about and do other things.

For example, the future survival of the Soul Beast Clan.

And human Soul Tool technology.

As for the former, the future survival of the Soul Beast Clan, he had no choice but to consider the road ahead.

It was true that Gu Yuena had planted spiritual power seeds in human Soul Masters, but those required the Dragon God Core for control, and Gu Yuena had taken the Dragon God Core into the ice with her.

Moreover.

There was a massive loophole in its safety logic.

Without the Dragon God Core, active control could not be triggered at all.

As for passive control?

Unless the soul beast lineage reached a point of life or death, the Dragon God Core's passive control would not activate.

In other words.

As long as soul beasts could still reproduce and survive, the restrictions Gu Yuena had established were utterly useless.

Were there no soul beasts within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well? Would the Tang Sect destroy the treasured land that supplied it with heavenly treasures?

Of course it would not destroy it.

So long as the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well remained, the Soul Beast Clan could continue reproducing and surviving.

That so-called passive control had too many loopholes and possessed no real deterrent power.

The outcome proved it.

It showed just how little control the spiritual seeds had over humanity, and that humanity had found the loopholes in the logic of those spiritual seeds.

On the original timeline, Gu Yuena had clearly stated before the human allied forces and the soul beast elites ten thousand years ago, "At the very least, leave Star Dou Forest to the soul beast lineage."

"At the very least."

And what happened?

Humanity ultimately drove the Soul Beast Clan away, even expelling them to another planet.

It was easy to see that humanity was not worried about those so-called spiritual power seeds at all.

His strength at the time had also been insufficient.

Even if he cultivated diligently for ten thousand years and reached a level where an ordinary beast could fight gods, his strength would still be insufficient.

He could only leave his homeland.

There was no other choice.

He could only think of other methods to preserve the future survival of the Soul Beast Clan.

If strength was not enough, then he could only speak in terms of benefits.

Soul beasts still held advantages over humans: they had long lifespans, and after remaining in one place for a long time, their bloodlines transformed the surrounding environment. This was something humans did not possess.

Areas transformed by the bloodlines of soul beasts that had lived there for extended periods were extremely suitable for the growth of heavenly treasures.

They could make use of this by organizing soul beasts to actively cultivate heavenly treasures and engage in production.

On the original timeline, the cave Tiger King Lan Hudie took Lan Xuanyu to had been created by Di Tian. It was a place where the elements of light, darkness, and life converged. It was suitable for both his and Lan Hudie's cultivation, and could also grow heavenly treasures such as Life Crystals.

This was one of the products of the age of mass production.

They actively transformed their living environment, allowing soul beasts to produce heavenly treasures themselves rather than waiting for nature to produce them passively.

Efficiency increased dramatically.

Then, they would begin mutual trade with humanity.

They would trade heavenly treasures cultivated in the soul beast world, as well as fur, feathers, scales, armor, and other materials shed by soul beasts themselves, for Federation Coins and light industrial Soul Tools...

They would actively incorporate "mutual trade" into the Federation's political system and voluntarily pay taxes to the Federation.

Furthermore, they would make it clear that mass production of heavenly treasures could only be actively carried out by soul beasts. Passive production was less than one percent as efficient.

This would prevent the disastrous consequence of being targeted for possessing treasures.

And if any soul beast was willing to voluntarily become a human Soul Spirit, it could enter Soul Spirit Paradise. He would never interfere.

This was also why, when he underwent his Godhood Tribulation on the original timeline, he had shouted, "I hope the Federation will show us favor and preserve the survival of my clan."

It was no longer a matter of his lord showing favor.

The Soul Beast Clan was one of the largest taxpayers within the Federation system. On the original timeline, it paid a vast amount of Federation Coins as taxes every year.

They exchanged lasting interests for lasting survival.

But.

Lasting interests had earned them survival, and only survival.

They could not buy a bright future. Soul beasts could not return to their home planet to undergo tribulations, nor could they refuse the unreasonable demands of the Douluo Federation's many factions, such as observing his Godhood Tribulation as though watching a monkey, or using his corpse to help humanity study Ecological Warships.

Over nearly ten thousand years.

Apart from considering the future survival of the Soul Beast Clan, he had spent virtually all his remaining energy studying human Soul Tool technology.

He had once traded rare metals with humans for a certain amount of Soul Tool technology.

Ten thousand years.

No matter how poor one's learning ability was, time could wear down stone drop by drop.

By the standards of humanity's Soul Tool technology system.

He was now a ninth-level divine craftsman forger, a ninth-level mecha manufacturer, a ninth-level mecha designer, a ninth-level mecha repairman, and an eleventh-level comprehensive Soul Engineer...

The divine artifact before him, which combined battle armor and mecha into one, was the product of Di Tian's ten thousand years of studying human Soul Tool technology.

Ten thousand years of accumulation.

It had been forged from nine Demon Stones over one hundred thousand years old, including Dragon Pattern Black Gold, Deep Sea Sunken Silver Mother, and Cold Heart Iron Essence.

A divine artifact combining Six-Word Battle Armor and a True God-Level Mecha into one.

Generally speaking, battle armor above five words and mechas above God Level were divine artifacts. They could only be nurtured by gods using divine power and Soul Power, and could not be artificially forged.

Di Tian previously had neither divine consciousness nor divine power.

But he had other methods.

The dragon race also possessed artifact-forging techniques.

Back then, the Dragon God had been the foremost artifact-forging master in the entire Divine Dragon Realm. Plucking off a piece of bone, he could forge the top-tier divine artifact Golden Dragon Spear; breaking off a dragon horn, he could forge the Dragon Clan Dharma Blade.

Di Tian could do it as well.

He had always used the Dragon God Claw to refine his own True Dragon Essence Blood, further tempering the top-tier Four-Word Battle Armor and Red-Level Mecha he had forged.

After nearly ten thousand years, they had finally reached Six-Word and True God Level, and were among the very best of their kind.

Unfortunately.

Divine artifact armor could increase combat power, but it could not help soul beasts overcome their Godhood Tribulations.

A soul beast's Godhood Tribulation was an External Avatar Tribulation.

It was highly unusual.

It manifested a projection identical to the original body. The more extravagant the original body's equipment, the more extravagant the projection's equipment would be.

Therefore.

On the original timeline, he had not used it when undergoing his Godhood Tribulation.

Di Tian caressed the divine artifact armor and murmured:

"It has already been nurtured to the peak of Six-Word and True God Level. I wonder whether the things brought back this time can allow you to advance to Seven-Word and Super God Level?"