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"Well, the uninvited guest has left," Tang San said as he stepped down from the Thrones of Kindness and Death, addressing Electrolux. "We've managed to fool them for now. If they come back, you can disguise yourself as me. That's the advantage of not having a physical body—you can freely alter your outward appearance. Plus, with the Blue Silver Emperor's aura, unless it's someone extremely close to me, they won't notice the difference."
"The Divine Realm truly is troublesome," Electrolux replied, sounding concerned. "Tang, my friend, you need to quickly spread the Blue Silver Emperor across the entire planet. Locate all traces of the gods and sever their spatial connections to the Divine Realm."
Electrolux's worry was evident. While their combined strength—bolstered by the Thrones of Kindness and Death as well as the celestial world within the Blue Silver Emperor—could stand up to a true god, the Divine Realm had sheer numbers on its side.
Indeed, even in the vast universe, strength and alliances mattered. Without a backing, one had to first build their own.
"I'll do my best," Tang San replied. "But the Douluo Continent isn't unified yet, let alone the Sun-Moon Continent. These things can't be rushed. If we take too big a step forward, we risk ruining everything."
After returning to Spirit City, Tang San summoned the Twelve Zodiac Members to continue their experiments with martial soul fusion. However, the results were the same as before—without the will of "Ancient," the twelve individuals couldn't control the fused form of "Person."
So, Tang San, using *[Heaven's Dao]*, analyzed the energy dynamics within "Person" and created a special technique for channeling essence, energy, and spirit. He integrated himself into the process and discovered that by doing so, it was akin to awakening a martial soul for "Person." This allowed "Person" to use either the Blue Silver Emperor or the Haotian Hammer, but only one martial soul at a time. Switching required breaking and reinitiating the fusion.
To test further, Tang San invited Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan, who were on a break, to assist. When they integrated with "Person" using the new method, "Person" took on their appearances and wielded their martial soul abilities, with power amplified tens to hundreds of times.
Tang San then extended the experiment to other soul masters and found the results consistent. The fused "Person" acted as a "soul master amplifier," enhancing the physical and martial abilities of anyone who joined.
From this perspective, the "Person" formed by the Twelve Zodiac Members could be piloted by anyone. Regardless of the pilot's strength, the fused entity could exhibit power equivalent to levels 99 to 100, though the duration depended on the pilot's soul power reserves.
Thus, the true essence of martial soul fusion became clear: *[Twelve Zodiac Members + Pilot].* If the twelve couldn't achieve spiritual unity, an external controller would be required to guide and dominate the fusion.
However, the fusion also had a compatibility factor between the pilot and the fused "Person." This affected how seamlessly the pilot could control the body.
That said, this wasn't a major issue. Anyone piloting an unfamiliar body would need time to adapt, much like a toddler learning to walk. It was a matter of practice and familiarity.
Sustaining the fusion between "Person" and the pilot required significant energy, supplied jointly by the Twelve Zodiac Members and the pilot.
Here, the energy contributions were distinct. The Twelve Zodiac Members provided the energy to maintain "Person's" physical form, while the pilot supplied the energy for actions and combat.
If the pilot's soul power depleted first, they would be forcibly ejected, leaving "Person" motionless. Conversely, if the Twelve Zodiac Members exhausted their soul power first, "Person" would collapse, forcing the pilot to revert to their original form.
Of course, the Twelve Zodiac Members' martial souls weren't entirely suited for creating a perfect "Person." If their martial souls were more complete, the fused entity might naturally absorb ambient energy, establishing a self-sustaining system. At that point, the Twelve Zodiac Members' energy consumption could be reduced, potentially eliminating the need for their additional soul power altogether.
Tang San's initial objective was merely to understand the flow of energy from the fused "Person."
However, achieving this required incorporating more martial soul owners into the Twelve Zodiac Members. While the Spirit Hall had many with innate martial souls, their soul power was generally low, and they lacked both rapport and mutual trust with the Twelve Zodiac Members.
Alternatively, they could only wait for the twelve to awaken their innate martial souls further in the future, hoping their souls might become more complete.
This time, however, Tang San chose not to take Shen Hou and the others into the Eternal Domain for accelerated growth. After all, they were living beings with their own lives and destinies. They couldn't exist solely for cultivation or to serve as test subjects for his experiments.
"Did you see that?"
Tang San's experiment did not escape the notice of Xu Huang and Fu Hongchen. Xu Huang gaped in astonishment. "Twelve people fusing their martial souls, and the fused entity can even be controlled by someone else? How powerful would that be?"
"Their strength could rival that of Grandma You Hongchen," Fu Hongchen muttered, clenching his fists. But in the end, he released them. He already knew that You Hongchen had died at Tang San's hands.
*Revenge?*
It was a futile notion.
Moreover, the Hongchen family had many members, and Fu Hongchen wasn't a direct descendant of You Hongchen but rather from a collateral branch. He had only been fortunate enough to stay by the duchess's side due to his talent.
"I didn't expect this guy to be so strong. He defeated an imperial enshrined and is also brilliant, like a master researcher," Xu Huang remarked, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "If we work hard, maybe we can learn all his techniques."
Fu Hongchen, less optimistic, sighed. "Some things aren't learned just by observation. His study alone has tens of thousands of books—we couldn't finish them in a lifetime."
"Then how did he read them all?" Xu Huang countered. "Those books must be there to mislead people."
"Not necessarily. Peerless experts operate on a higher level of existence than ordinary soul masters. He might possess photographic memory," Fu Hongchen reasoned, speaking with fairness. As someone from the Hongchen family with a background in soul tools, he had some research acumen.
"The value of his discoveries is immeasurable," Fu continued, "but the truly priceless part isn't the results—it's the process of research. If we tried to use his creations against him, we'd be thoroughly beaten."
"The most important thing is—"
"His strength has reached level ninety-nine, the pinnacle of humanity. For now, we should focus on learning the advanced techniques here. If he keeps his word, perhaps one day he'll allow us to return to the Sun-Moon Empire."
Xu Huang nodded fervently. "You're absolutely right. That's exactly my plan."
"You two..."
(End of Chapter)