Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
******
Heavenly Soul Empire.
Royal Family.
"Weina, how are the preparations on the Ontology Sect's side this time?"
Unlike the Star Luo Empire, which planned to serve as a foil to Shrek Academy, the Heavenly Soul Empire approached this Soul Master Tournament with ambitious intentions.
After all, with a true alliance through marriage to the Ontology Sect, the ambitions of the Heavenly Soul royal family had swelled even further.
Even if their territory was far smaller than that of the Star Luo Empire, so what? In the Soul Master Tournament, they could still stand as equals to Shrek's Sun-Moon Hall!
Although the impact might not be significant, it was enough to showcase the Heavenly Soul Empire's foundations and to send a warning to the Sun Moon Empire not to engage in a mutual destruction scenario.
"Father, Aotian has already reached the level of Saint and successfully obtained his seventh soul ring. With a Saint sitting in command and the Ontology Sect's battle techniques, we definitely have a chance to compete head-to-head with Su Yu."
Five years ago, during the last Soul Master Tournament, although Long Aotian was already engaged to Weina and relations between the Ontology Sect and the Heavenly Soul Empire were good, he did not participate in the tournament since it was restricted to academy teams.
At that time, Long Aotian was already close to the level of a Soul King approaching Soul Emperor. Now, he had advanced to the level of Saint.
Such terrifying cultivation, combined with his lineage from the Ontology Sect and the second awakening of his Silver-level Martial Spirit, made Weina full of confidence in him.
Besides, she herself would be present.
A twin martial spirit and a six-ring Soul Emperor.
*Sun Moon Empire, Sun-Moon.*
After arranging matters concerning the Sacred Soul Grass, Su Yu returned to his regular training.
Two months passed quickly.
Su Yu was fortunate enough to complete the production of a second ninth-level soul-guided ray cannon within the first month. Compared to his first attempt, this one was significantly smaller, measuring only two meters in length, making it easy for an ordinary soul master to carry on their shoulder.
Moreover, the soul-guided ray cannon greatly reduced recoil, making it practical for combat scenarios.
However, Su Yu did not plan to bring this soul-guided ray cannon to the tournament venue.
In the second month, rather than rushing to create a third ninth-level soul-guided device, Su Yu began to experiment with constructing the framework for his future super battle armor.
The two successful productions had provided him with valuable experience.
Most importantly, the techniques he understood had been validated through the creation of the two ninth-level soul-guided devices, proving his comprehension to be correct.
With no theoretical misunderstandings, he could now proceed to design the core formation array for the super battle armor.
Su Yu deliberately bypassed issues concerning domains and virtual soul cores, deciding to focus on constructing the framework first.
A month passed in constant revisions. Immersed in the massive web of the core formation array's patterns, Su Yu expended a tremendous amount of energy, barely finalizing the framework.
"What does the Hall Master want now?"
Su Yu rubbed his temples. Even over the past month, he often felt mentally exhausted.
Thankfully, he had two Clearmind runes that helped him quickly recover his energy.
With exceptional comprehension and quick thinking, Su Yu could analyze problems faster. But the key issue was that condensing the same amount of mental effort into shorter periods placed greater pressure on his willpower.
Genius?
A genius doesn't always find the most direct solution to a problem immediately.
Often, their brilliance lies in their clarity of thought. Like everyone else, they must repeatedly explore incorrect paths, identify points of failure, and start anew.
The difference lies in their ability to calculate faster, process information quickly, and systematically plan their next approach once errors are identified.
Some geniuses can even articulate why a certain approach failed during this process.
They work quickly, but that doesn't mean they think less.
Su Yu was exactly like this. Especially in the construction of the core formation array, which relied more on personal insight than absolute truths, he had to repeatedly refine his design to align it with his vision.
There were moments of difficulty and fresh ideas that required him to start from scratch.
Jing Hongchen observed Su Yu's state with a satisfied nod.
This was the first time he had seen Su Yu so absorbed.
It seemed that Su Yu had truly been training diligently during this period.
Su Yu: ???
Did I not train seriously before?
"Cough, cough. This time I've called you all here to assign a task. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy has already set up an arena. Your mission is to defeat all academy students from every grade—regardless of their age!"
Jing Hongchen's words stirred a small commotion among the fourteen people present.
What?
Fighting their own people?
What kind of bizarre operation is this?
Jing Hongchen added, "Defeat them soundly. Don't just win easily; I want you to beat them in the areas they excel in the most!"
Su Yu's expression shifted to one of interest.
He could roughly guess Jing Hongchen's intentions. Since reforms were to be introduced, the first step was to make everyone realize why change was necessary.
Because he was strong!
It had to be said, before the advent of battle armor, humiliating everyone in battle first, and then using this same technology in the Soul Master Tournament to prove the overwhelming strength of battle armor masters—even across the entire Douluo Continent—was a genius strategy.
This would solidify the academy students' recognition of battle armor masters.
No wonder Jing Hongchen, as the Hall Master of Sun-Moon Hall for decades, had such a strong grasp of management.
For Su Yu, this task was a welcomed distraction—after an overly busy month, watching the battles would be a nice way to relax.
While Su Yu maintained his calm composure, the other thirteen individuals were visibly confused.
Even Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen didn't fully understand their grandfather's intentions.
Fortunately, they weren't tasked with participating in the battles.
"This mission will primarily be handled by Xiao Ping, Shi Xing, and Zhou Xinghao. Su Yu, Huo Yuhao, and Xiao Meng will not take part. Of course, if unexpected circumstances arise, Huo Yuhao is permitted to step in."
Although Jing Hongchen mentioned contingency plans, his tone made it clear that he did not want the three designated fighters to fail, forcing Huo Yuhao into action.
A five-ring Soul King, combined with a nearly complete set of battle armor, was already top-tier among Soul Emperors. With the support of additional soul tools, such a fighter could even clash with Saints—excluding their Martial Soul True Body.
"As for the seven of you who haven't acquired battle armor yet, you won't be fighting this time," Jing Hongchen said, addressing the seven younger members of the reserve team. "Instead, your task is to observe the battles and correct any mistakes the three of them make during combat."
Even with great power, mistakes were inevitable during battles.
Since the battle armor had just been completed, the users still needed to adapt to this new combat mode.
The purpose of the next month would revolve around this adaptation.
And where should this adaptation focus?
That was precisely the goal of today's battles.
The graduation criteria at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy were relatively lenient. There were even students as old as twenty-five or twenty-six, many of whom were Soul Emperors or sixth-level soul engineers.
Through today's battles, many flaws in the application of battle armor during combat could be identified.
"These are sixth-level soul tools I've crafted. They will help you better observe the details of their battles and identify improper responses."
Jing Hongchen handed seven goggle-like soul tools to the reserve team members.
Can't see their movements clearly?
I'll equip you with devices that ensure you can keep up.
(End of Chapter)