The Simulated Universe Emerges

In three years, he had become a Soul Elder. Behind this rapid progress were the benefits he gained from absorbing soul rings beyond his level.

His first soul ring had already been fifteen hundred years old, far beyond what an ordinary Soul Master could initially withstand.

The tremendous Soul Power fed back by absorbing the soul ring had directly raised him three levels in a row.

His second soul ring was even more astonishing, reaching six thousand years.

When he had absorbed that second soul ring, he had suffered immensely. The agonizing pain, as though his body were about to burst apart, had nearly made him faint.

In the end, with the aid of his second martial soul, White Flower, he gritted his teeth and endured it. The reward had been equally generous, as that soul ring had also allowed him to jump three levels in succession.

All told, he had actually risen fourteen levels over those three years.

Not only had his Soul Power Level increased rapidly, but Lu Jingming had finally moved beyond mere armchair theory when it came to practical combat experience.

Over the past year, he had spent nearly all his free time immersed in the Simulated Universe.

Within the simulated world, he engaged in fierce battles against all kinds of simulated opponents.

Every battle was a fight to the death. Some of those simulated enemies were as swift as ghosts, while others possessed astonishing strength, their every attack powerful enough to make the ground tremble.

Through his battles with them, Lu Jingming constantly summarized his experiences and honed his techniques. From his initial flustered scrambling to his later ease and confidence, his practical combat ability underwent a qualitative leap.

Over that year, Douluo Continent had been anything but peaceful. Undercurrents surged beneath the surface, and the source of it all was the sudden emergence of the Simulated Universe.

When this novel creation that shook the Soul Master world appeared, with Shrek Academy standing behind it as a guarantor, the entire Douluo Continent became like a tranquil lake struck by a massive boulder. Towering waves erupted, and ripples rapidly spread in every direction.

After personally experiencing the Simulated Universe, countless Soul Masters instantly became addicted to it. The Spirit Fighting Arenas that had once been so popular among Soul Masters suddenly became deserted.

The reason was simple: the Simulated Universe was simply too realistic.

In that virtual world, Soul Masters could unleash their soul skills to their hearts' content and engage in fierce slaughter with their opponents. That exhilarating thrill of battle was something they could never experience in the restrictive environment of a Spirit Fighting Arena.

Compared with the relatively fixed and limited opponents in Spirit Fighting Arenas, the Simulated Universe was a treasure trove filled with endless possibilities.

It could provide all manner of bizarre and varied opponents. It could even vividly simulate figures who existed only in legends, revered and celebrated by later generations.

Although they knew that fighting these legendary figures was virtual, the thrill and sense of achievement from challenging historical powerhouses still drove countless Soul Masters mad. Like moths flying into flames, they threw themselves into the embrace of the Simulated Universe.

Even more alluring was that defeating enemies in the Simulated Universe could earn tangible rewards.

Although the increase in spiritual power gained each time was only an exceedingly tiny trace, almost imperceptible, as the saying went, "Without accumulating small steps, one cannot travel a thousand miles; without gathering tiny streams, one cannot form rivers and seas." With countless victories piling up, Soul Masters' spiritual power would unknowingly improve significantly.

In just one year, the Simulated Universe swept across the entire Douluo Continent like a prairie fire.

This wave of fervor even crossed national borders and spread into the Sun Moon Empire.

And Haiyuan City sold Simulated Universe Login Devices to the Sun Moon Empire through the Peaceful Alliance.

Unlike the Soul Masters of the Original Three Douluo Kingdoms, who simply enjoyed the combat experience brought by the Simulated Universe, the Sun Moon Empire had deeper ambitions for this wondrous virtual world.

What they desired most was to uncover the principles hidden behind the Simulated Universe and determine exactly how this virtual world had been created.

After all, how could the Sun Moon Empire, which had always been at the forefront of technology and Soul Tool development, tolerate the existence of a technology beyond its understanding while knowing nothing about it?

Thus, the Sun Moon Empire gathered the nation's finest Rank 9 Soul Engineers and formed an elite research team to conduct an in-depth study of the Simulated Universe Soul Tool device.

When they confidently dismantled the Soul Tool device, however, the sight before them instantly left them bewildered.

The Soul Guiding Crystal at the device's core was like an unfathomable mystery, covered in runes and patterns they had never seen before, far more complex than they had imagined.

When The Great Black Tower created the Simulated Universe, she had not left behind any safeguards against it being cracked. Even with the Simulated Universe's sub-core laid bare before them, these top-tier Soul Engineers were still completely at a loss and had no idea where to begin.

After countless attempts and failures, the Soul Engineers of the Sun Moon Empire ultimately had no choice but to give up researching the principles behind the Simulated Universe.

However, just as they were preparing to accept this fact, an unexpected discovery once again caused the Simulated Universe to stir up even greater waves within the Sun Moon Empire.

To their astonishment, they discovered that all kinds of Soul Tool materials could actually be simulated within the Simulated Universe.

This discovery was like lighting a lamp in the darkness, allowing the Soul Engineers to see limitless possibilities.

In the world of Soul Engineers, this profession had always been known for burning money.

Researching Soul Tools required the consumption of vast quantities of precious Soul Tool materials, and those materials had always been outrageously expensive.

For a Soul Engineer to grow, immense financial support was often needed behind them, as countless Soul Tool materials vanished in experiment after experiment.

But the emergence of the Simulated Universe completely changed this situation.

Here, Soul Engineers no longer needed to run everywhere and rack their brains searching for scarce Soul Tool materials. Nor did they need to worry about losing everything and going bankrupt because they failed to create a Soul Tool.

The moment this news spread, it shocked the entire Soul Engineer world of the Sun Moon Empire.

Almost overnight, the Simulated Universe became the most precious treasure in their eyes.

In order to obtain a Simulated Universe Login Device, the Soul Engineers of the Sun Moon Empire nearly went mad.

Even though a single login device cost as much as one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, they did not hesitate. Some would even sell everything they owned, determined to find a way to buy one.

After all, what the Simulated Universe saved them was not merely immeasurable resources, but also countless precious hours. These were the scarcest and most valuable treasures on the path of Soul Tool research.

As the Simulated Universe continued to spread in popularity, the name The Great Black Tower rose like a dazzling star within the Soul Engineer world, becoming a legendary existence.

For a time, rumors spread throughout the continent. Some claimed that The Great Black Tower had already reached the legendary realm of a Rank 10 Soul Engineer, her accomplishments far surpassing those of the Sun Moon Empire's Three Great Soul Engineers.