Bibi Dong's Scheme! Off to Sunset Forest!

The two God Kings left behind Mental Imprints and departed for the time being.

The night passed without incident.

By morning, Li Chen's mind was clear. The trials of both God Kings began at once, and his soul was the first thing they tempered and cleansed.

The first three trials set by the Evil and Kindness God Kings were much the same.

The Kindness God King's trials were to observe goodness, discern goodness, and witness suffering.

The Evil God King's trials were to observe evil, discern evil, and fall into tribulation.

They only required Li Chen to sharpen his perception until he could distinguish good and evil intentions in others and himself.

They were not too difficult.

The rewards merely cleansed his soul and heightened his perception. There were no Soul Rings or Soul Bones, but those would come from the fourth trial onward.

After washing up,

Li Chen activated his Supercomputer Martial Soul. Its screen connected to a Satellite Remote Sensing Image, giving him a clear view of all Spirit City.

He could even make out the terrain and defensive deployments of both the Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou Empire.

"Spirit Hall works fast..."

Li Chen ate a steamed bun as he marveled at the sight.

More than ten days had passed.

With work continuing through the nights, Spirit City had changed beyond recognition.

Soul Tool Streetlights lined every road. Dawn was approaching, but they had yet to go out.

Every household had installed Soul Tool Lamps too. Perhaps because they were new, most residents left them on and could hardly bear to switch them off at night.

Some people had already begun cooking. This time, though, they did not need to light fires or rely on martial soul power. They used Soul Guide Stoves.

"Not bad. Give them six months or a year of this convenience, and they won't be able to live without it."

Soul Tools ran on Soul Power. They were clean, convenient, and easy to use.

Next, Li Chen planned to introduce Soul Guide Communicators and Soul Guide Trains.

The way people across the continent ate, dressed, lived, and traveled would be transformed. Transport and communication, in particular, would make the distances across Douluo Continent feel far smaller.

Of course,

once war began, Soul Guide Trains would also become war machines for transporting troops and supplies!

Li Chen rose and opened the Military Tent beside him.

"Yuhao, get up and pack. We're going to take a look at Sunset Forest."

At Pope Palace,

Bibi Dong stood in casual clothes, looking down over Spirit City.

"This Soul Guidance Water Heater is wonderful! Cooking and bathing are so much easier!"

"Right? We can go out at night now, too. I heard they're even opening a bar, a Billiards Hall, and some kind of Soul Cyber Cafe!"

"What the heck are those?"

"No idea. We'll check them out when they open!"

People inside and outside the city chatted and laughed.

This was naturally the work of Ye Yulin and Elder Zheng. Li Chen had asked them to buy several properties and bring in staff to open shops.

These entertainment venues would give Spirit City's longtime residents quite a surprise!

Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan now planned to stay in Spirit City for a while and get the Soul Cyber Cafe and bar open as soon as possible.

Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes, then turned back into the hall.

The three members of the Golden Generation entered just then.

Hu Liena said excitedly, "Teacher, these Soul Tools you introduced are amazing! Here, try this!"

Hu Liena handed Bibi Dong a cup of Pearl Milk Tea.

"What is this...?"

Bibi Dong hesitated, then took a small sip.

"Mmm. It's sweet."

"Good, isn't it? It's from the Sun Moon Sect's new Milk Tea Shop. They haven't opened yet, so I went over specially to ask for a sample. It's really good!"

Hu Liena smiled.

Yan pulled out a Soul Guide Mini Game Console.

"Teacher, this little thing from the Sun Moon Sect is fun too! It has Snake, Tank Battle, and Tetris. The students at Spirit Academy are all begging me to buy one for them!"

Yan grinned as he showed it off.

It was a trial unit from the Sun Moon Sect's Arcade. They had invited Yan over to test it and given it to him.

Once he started playing, he was hooked. He had stayed up all night with it.

Bibi Dong frowned.

"Is that from the Sun Moon Sect too?"

Yan nodded. "Yes! And they're about to open for real. I heard they'll have connected computers in the shop later, so people can play against each other! They even invited me to test them. I get to play for free!"

Bibi Dong's eyes narrowed.

Well, well.

She had deliberately promoted Soul Tools in Spirit Hall's name so the people of Spirit City would think Spirit Hall was behind them.

Yet the Sun Moon Sect had turned around and opened these shops in Spirit City. Wasn't that practically announcing to everyone that they had made the Soul Tools?!

"Hmph!"

Bibi Dong snatched the console from Yan's hands. "All you do is play! If you have this much time to waste, perhaps you aren't training hard enough. Should I add to your training?!"

Yan shrank back in fright.

"Teacher, I was wrong. Please don't be angry. I won't play anymore."

Bibi Dong's expression softened. "That's better. Go back and train properly!"

"Okay."

Yan lowered his head and turned to leave.

Heh. I'll just climb over the wall to play at night. Teacher doesn't check our rooms anyway.

"Teacher, why are you so angry? Yan just likes to play. He still trains hard," Xieyue said.

Bibi Dong's expression darkened. "We know next to nothing about this Sun Moon Sect. We'd never heard of them before, and now they've emerged with such a grand display. I fear they have other motives!"

Hu Liena looked puzzled. "Surely not, Teacher. They're just selling food, drinks, and entertainment, and they don't charge much.

"This milk tea is only two Copper Soul Coins a cup. That console costs less than one Silver Soul Coin. It looks like they're barely making a living."

"I asked them, and Senior Ye smiled and said they only wanted to buy some Rare Metals from us to take home. That's good for both sides."

After all,

the Sun Moon Sect's demand for metal had already put over ten thousand people to work mining and smelting for Spirit Hall.

Even ordinary people could do that work.

If nothing else,

it had created jobs. The Sun Moon Sect clearly needed a great deal of metal, and more and more residents were choosing to refine it.

The Sun Moon Sect had even sent people to help build a Smelting Plant and said there would be more jobs in the future.

Hu Liena held a high position and had never lacked food or clothing.

But she could see

that ordinary people in Spirit City could earn money from this, far more than they made at their usual jobs.

"Hmph! Hu Liena, what have I taught you? Only what we control ourselves truly counts!"

"The Sun Moon Sect may seem to be working with us and helping Spirit City grow, but they hold all the key technology!"

Hu Liena understood. "That's true. If the Sun Moon Sect ever stops working with us, everything we've built around their technology will grind to a halt."

Bibi Dong smiled in satisfaction.

"Good. You're smarter than that fool Yan."

"But Teacher, the Sun Moon Sect worked hard to develop this technology. They certainly won't just give it to us."

"Then find a way! Send some of Spirit Hall's best people to work in the Sun Moon Sect's shops and factories. Have them learn the core technology as soon as possible!"

Hu Liena nodded. "Yes."

She turned and left.

In Spirit City,

the two Titled Douluo, Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan, were run off their feet.

A steward hurried over. "Elder Ye, the Smelting Plant is complete, and we've recruited almost enough people for the toy factory and Milk Tea Shop."

"But the Core Magic Arrays have to be transported back and forth from our base in the Flowing Cloud Mountain Range every day. It's inconvenient. Should we move that work here too?"

Ye Yulin shook his head. "No. The Core Magic Arrays are our most crucial technology. Li Chen said Spirit Hall would certainly send people to steal our methods. We absolutely cannot inscribe the arrays right under their noses."

Zheng Zhan added, "Exactly. A little inconvenience won't hurt. We can build a Soul Guide Train line later. Remember, everyone transporting the Core Magic Arrays must be one of our own. Don't let anyone from Spirit City slip in."

The steward nodded. "Yes!"