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At the same time...
In the Soul Sea Fortress, Zhu Zhuqing was discussing with Tang San, Ge Long, and others how to handle the members of the Star Crown Sect.
Among the captives of the Sun-Moon Army were people from the Star Crown Sect, including Xu Xing.
Initially, Tang San had handed these individuals over to Zhu Zhuqing, reasoning that since they were from the Star Luo Empire, it was best to let their own people deal with them.
However, after three days of reflection, Zhu Zhuqing concluded that the members of the Star Crown Sect were guilty of treason for aiding invaders from other continents in taking over this land. The entire continent had the right to judge them, not just the Star Luo Empire.
Xue Beng was the first to agree. After all, he needed an opportunity to assert his authority. "The female marshal of Star Luo speaks wisely. The Star Crown Sect has committed crimes against the whole continent, not just one nation. It's only right that we judge them together."
"Now, with the three great empires—Tian Dou, the new Tian Dou Federation, and Star Luo—and one hall, the Spirit Hall, all gathered here, it's the perfect time to hold a joint trial and broadcast it across the entire continent to demonstrate justice."
"What does everyone think?"
Ge Long snorted, clearly disdainful of Xue Beng, but still nodded. After all, Soul Sea City was within Tian Dou's territory. If the Star Crown Sect's traitors were taken back to the Star Luo Empire, it would be a disgrace to the empire.
Tang San, though indifferent to such matters, also agreed.
The trial was completed three hours later. Ge Long represented Tian Dou, Zhu Zhuqing represented Star Luo, Xue Beng represented the new Tian Dou Federation, and Hu Liena represented the Spirit Hall. Together, they announced the many crimes of the Star Crown Sect members. Following their judgment, Xu Xing and the other members were swiftly executed.
But why was Hu Liena the representative of the Spirit Hall?
Hu Liena, as Bibi Dong's assistant in Spirit City, held great authority. Additionally, Tang San had no desire to get involved in such matters, avoiding any potential rumors that he was competing with the Spirit Hall's saintess for the next position of the Pope.
As Tang San gazed at Xu Xing's severed head, pale and wide-eyed, he shook his head silently: life is not a game—you play with it, and it plays with you.
However, after Xu Xing's death, his martial soul, the Star Crown, emerged from his body. It hovered between reality and illusion, almost becoming tangible but not quite.
Perhaps it was because Xu Xing's power was too weak. Over the past five years, he had likely wasted too much time exploring the seas, and his soul power had only reached rank 51.
"Is this his martial soul?" Ge Long asked in surprise, witnessing such a phenomenon for the first time. "Why does the martial soul still exist after death?"
Tang San wasn't surprised. He had already figured it out. These travelers from another world seemed to possess some kind of "golden finger," giving them special abilities. Their martial souls were often unusual, naturally half-materialized or semi-divine.
However, Xu Xing had wasted much of his potential, which left his martial soul incomplete. Now, even its half-materialized form was slowly fading, and in no more than a few moments, it would disappear entirely.
Guiding it with his soul power, Tang San drew the ethereal Star Crown martial soul into his hand. It hovered there, and as it absorbed his soul power, it began to radiate light, resembling the sun, moon, and stars.
Tang San turned to the others and asked, "This martial soul is unique. May I study it?"
Ge Long immediately nodded, eager to please, laughing heartily. "Who doesn't know that the great Count of Silver and Blue is a master of martial soul theory? We have no idea what this martial soul is, but if you can uncover its secrets, it would be a great learning experience for us all. Hahaha!"
Zhu Zhuqing had no objections either, simply saying, "I don't mind."
As for Hu Liena, there was no need to ask. She and Tang San were in the same camp, so it would be strange if she opposed him.
Only Xue Beng was somewhat reluctant, suspecting that the translucent Star Crown martial soul might be a treasure of some sort. However, seeing that the other three had no objections, he couldn't argue and reluctantly agreed.
As Tang San continued to channel his soul power, the Star Crown Martial Soul became increasingly solid, and then—
Boom!
It shattered into countless fragments, dissipating into nothingness.
Hu Liena: "..."
Zhu Zhuqing: "..."
Ge Long and Xue Beng: "..."
Feeling the awkward tension, everyone quickly decided not to mention what had just happened. They even instructed the nearby crew filming the event to cut that part out to avoid damaging Tang San's reputation.
However, Tang San remained unfazed, casually saying things like, "Failed experiments are common," "It's normal," and, "No need to cut it."
In truth, only Tang San knew that the Star Crown Martial Soul hadn't really broken. Its core essence had already merged into his Blue Silver Emperor.
From a higher perspective, viewing the space where Tang San's martial soul resided, one could see countless stars surrounding the Blue Silver Emperor. Centered around the sun and moon, 365 large stars and 3,000 smaller ones orbited each other in a specific pattern. This formation created an array that harmonized with the celestial scene within the Blue Silver Emperor's twelve leaves, which upheld the starry sky and its radiant gem.
Tang San could sense that, with the help of this "Zhou Tian Star Formation," the starry world was now able to draw in fragments of void energy, dimensional pieces, and space shards nearly a thousand times faster.
The wrinkles on the [Heavenly Dao] had now grown to 365 lines, each adorned with 365 bright points and 3,000 smaller dots, forming a protective shell around it.
As the starry world and [Heavenly Dao] strengthened, Tang San's spiritual essence also became more substantial. According to Electrolux, his spirit had now reached a level comparable to that of a peak Tier-One God.
When connected to the [Heavenly Dao], Tang San's mental computational ability increased by 3,650,000 times his normal capacity!
Yes, million times!
With this level of processing power, the progress of Tang San and his team's various research efforts would skyrocket. As long as they could improve the foundational productivity, transforming the Douluo Continent into a modern society within a century was entirely feasible!
Under these conditions, the only thing the researchers lacked was inspiration!
Liberating the entire continent!
It was inevitable!
Disconnecting from the [Heavenly Dao], Tang San brought his thoughts back to the present. He rubbed his temples and mused to himself, "This increased computational power does put a strain on the brain. Even for me, I can't stay connected to the Heavenly Dao all the time. I need at least an hour of rest each day. For others, it's even more challenging, so..."
"We'll need to implement a kind of 'anti-addiction system' for them, tailored to their mental and physical conditions."
"But that's something for later. Right now—"
Tang San gazed in the direction of Soul Sea City.
The Emperor of the Sun-Moon Empire had arrived. However, there weren't many Titled Douluo on his ship—just one—but their soul power had reached Rank 98…
(End of Chapter)