The first Fixed-Installed Soul Tool Shell! Ju Zi led the corps into Star Luo! The first Soul Guide Train line!

At the gates of Heaven Dou City,

amid the cheering crowd, Ji Juechen had already returned to his usual languid self.

He was still a little disappointed. This was the Sword Douluo?

A level 96 Super Douluo, yet his swordsmanship was so superficial. All he had was the overwhelming strength of his Seven Kill Sword Martial Soul—not a shred of real technique.

As for Ji Juechen,

with the level 8 Soul Tool [Demon Sword: Thousand Blades] that Li Chen had designed and Kong Deming had personally forged for him, his blade was every bit a match for the Seven Kill Sword.

Had Ji Juechen already become a Titled Douluo, that last strike would have ended Chen Xin's life.

Chen Xin clutched his chest, disbelief filling his eyes.

Ji Juechen's last strike had drawn on the soul power of heaven and earth, and his swordsmanship had been truly exquisite.

"Wait!"

Chen Xin struggled into the air and flew forward, calling for Ji Juechen to stop.

"Y-you, what was that last strike called? Where did you learn that sword technique?!"

His voice was urgent.

One strike had drawn on the soul power between heaven and earth, unleashing an attack far beyond the wielder's own strength.

Chen Xin could not help thinking that if he knew that technique, perhaps he could even hold his own against Qian Daoliu!

Ji Juechen stopped without turning around.

"I taught myself. Ten thousand sword swings a day—that was a goal I set for myself long ago. Practice enough, and it comes naturally."

With that said,

Ji Juechen thought for a moment. "You don't deserve your Martial Soul. If you fight by relying solely on its strength, then the sword is wielding you, not the other way around."

Then Ji Juechen left.

"Uncle Jian, this..."

Ning Fengzhi was dumbfounded.

He had never imagined that this sword-wielding Soul Douluo from the Sun Moon Sect would be so powerful.

At level 89, he had wounded their level 96 Sword Douluo.

The crowd surrounded Ji Juechen, cheering as they slowly returned to Heaven Dou City.

Chen Xin clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Damn it! How could such a powerful sword technique exist? How?!"

The Bone Douluo remained silent.

The Seven Kill Sword Martial Soul,

passed down through the Chen Clan and renowned as the continent's most destructive Martial Soul, had been defeated by a Soul Douluo today.

Moreover, watching Ji Juechen fight, Gu Rong had realized that his Martial Soul was certainly not innately powerful. He had not used a single Soul Skill.

In fact, Gu Rong felt

that Ji Juechen had not even used the power of the Demon Sword: Thousand Blades. He had defeated Chen Xin through sword technique alone.

For Chen Xin, the Sword Douluo, this was undoubtedly a devastating blow.

"Uncle Jian, d-don't dwell on it. Perhaps the Sun Moon Sect acquired the legacy of some powerful swordsman."

Ning Fengzhi spoke up.

For a swordsman, losing confidence could mean the end of all progress. Chen Xin might never advance again.

Chen Xin let out a long breath. "Fengzhi, go into the city and handle the negotiations. I won't be joining you. I'm taking the sect to the Star Dou Great Forest to launch the Soul Hunting Operation!"

"Once I obtain a suitable Soul Bone, I swear I'll wipe away today's humiliation!"

After saying that,

Chen Xin rose straight into the air and flew away.

Whether he was desperate to obtain a Soul Bone or simply too ashamed to enter Heaven Dou City again was anyone's guess.

"Haah."

Ning Fengzhi sighed. Watching Chen Xin fly away, he lowered his gaze to the long fissure in the ground.

It was the scar Ji Juechen's sword strike had carved into the earth.

Powerful sword intent still lingered within it.

"Let's go, Fengzhi. Chen Xin will work through this himself."

The Bone Douluo offered some reassurance.

Meanwhile,

inside Heaven Dou City,

the crowd escorted Ji Juechen all the way to the city center and into the Sun Moon Sect's shop.

"Heavens, you're incredible! You actually defeated the Sword Douluo!"

"Big brother, what's your Martial Soul? Your sword looks amazing!"

"When you were fighting, I saw the fragments of your sword extend its reach. What kind of sword is that? Does your Sun Moon Sect sell them?!"

The crowd gathered around the entrance, firing off questions in excitement and curiosity.

Ji Juechen had no interest in such flattery. Cradling the Demon Sword: Thousand Blades, he went straight into the back room to sleep.

Li Chen appeared at just the right moment. "Everyone, don't crowd the entrance. I'll answer your questions."

"Old Ji only had level 3 innate soul power. His Martial Soul is just an ordinary iron sword."

"Want a sword just like his? The Demon Sword: Thousand Blades—unmatched under heaven, made for pure offense! Just one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins each!"

The moment he said that,

the crowd practically vanished.

One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins? What a joke! Most ordinary citizens couldn't afford that even if they sold themselves.

However,

a few reckless young nobles remained and promptly paid on the spot.

Those wealthy fools took their stripped-down, bargain-basement versions of the Demon Sword: Thousand Blades and headed home in delight.

Li Chen looked at the Gold Soul Coins covering the table and warehouse floor, piled into little hills. A casual flick of his fingers sent them spilling with an intoxicating clatter.

Xue Ye's guards carried vast quantities of metal in through the back door almost all day without rest.

"Mm, we've stockpiled plenty of Soul Power Storage Crystals, titanium gold casings, mithril array plates, and heat-insulating mica."

Li Chen carefully inspected the resources inside his Storage Soul Tool, grinning from ear to ear.

"Elder Kong, these resources are already enough to make a Level 8 Fixed-Installed Soul Tool Shell."

A Level 8 Fixed-Installed Soul Tool Shell was equivalent to a Super Douluo's full-power strike. With the greater density of ambient soul power in this era, it would only be more powerful.

Kong Deming nodded. "Indeed. I'll discuss it with Jing Hongchen. Working together, we should be able to finish it within half a month."

Li Chen nodded.

Fixed-Installed Soul Tool Shells—now those were true weapons of mass destruction.

They would make one first to get some practice. Once resources became more plentiful, Li Chen even intended to recreate the Level 12 Fixed-Installed Soul Tool Shells of the Douluo III era!

When that time came,

whether it was Spirit Hall's Qian Daoliu or the Sea God's Bo Saixi, one shot would send them straight to their ancestors!

After handing the resources over to Kong Deming,

Li Chen called Ju Zi to ask how the relocation was going.

"We pulled out of Spirit City overnight, took the western sea route, and circled around to Gengxin City in the southern Star Luo Empire. Metal resources are abundant here, and it should be far from the battlefield."

Ju Zi's voice came through.

Li Chen nodded.

In the Douluo I era, the Heaven Dou Empire lay to the north and the Star Luo Empire to the south, with Spirit Hall and the Star Dou Great Forest between the two empires.

To the west lay the desert, where Slaughter City was located.

Beyond the desert was the ocean, and Sea God Island lay out at sea.

By comparison,

the southern Star Luo Empire was indeed the safest place. Even if war broke out, the fighting was relatively unlikely to reach Gengxin City.

It was neither a strategic location nor the seat of any powerful faction.

An organization like the blacksmiths' association barely attracted the attention of powerful figures in the Douluo I Era.

"Good. You can negotiate with the Star Luo emperor. We'll start negotiations on our end too and try to build a Soul Guide Train line from Heaven Dou City to Star Luo City, then on to Gengxin City."

Li Chen smiled.

This would be the Douluo Continent's first Soul Guide Train line in this era. Once it directly connected north and south, transporting supplies and even boosting both empires' economies would be easy.

As for Ju Zi's safety, Li Chen was not worried in the slightest.

The Star Luo Empire's military might be stronger overall than the Heaven Dou Empire's, but...

when it came to top-tier combat power, it did not have a single Titled Douluo.

The two Soul Engineer Corps accompanying Ju Zi were not yet fully equipped, but each corps had a Soul Douluo serving as its deputy commander.

The two Soul Engineer Corps under Ju Zi's command were enough to conquer Star Luo City.

The Star Luo emperor ought to be more worried about his own safety.

Just then, Huo Yuhao walked in.

"Li Chen, an old craftsman named Lou Gao wants to join our sect."