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.
******
Su Yu was the ideal person to lead the entire project.
Moreover, as Kong Deming's personal disciple, his status commanded respect, and his talent and skill were beyond reproach.
"The Sun-Moon Hall has collected a variety of secret soul power circulation paths and has documented their effects.
This is just preliminary research material; if further data is required, Sun-Moon Hall can gather resources for the project."
Hearing this, Su Yu's eyes lit up.
Jing Hongchen chuckled bitterly.
Indeed, only genuine benefits could capture Su Yu's interest.
All the earlier discussions had been met with calm acknowledgment from Su Yu, but as soon as they mentioned the project's level of investment, his attitude shifted immediately.
"Hall Master, this project doesn't require round-the-clock research, does it? You know, I still need to cultivate my soul power and study soul tools."
Jing Hongchen smiled, explaining to Su Yu, "The project leader's role is primarily to monitor progress and provide direction in research."
Su Yu understood and quickly agreed with a nod.
"Yes, I have full confidence in your ability," Jing Hongchen said, knowing well that Su Yu's comprehension was nothing short of extraordinary. Keeping track of progress wouldn't pose any difficulty, and he was well-equipped to set the research direction. When this role was proposed, Su Yu had already listed several theoretically feasible cultivation methods, showing that he had a clear plan.
"The Institute for General Cultivation Techniques?"
Su Yu looked at the name of the institute on the approval document with some surprise.
Did this mean that the techniques developed were intended for public release?
"The institute has just been established and is in the process of recruiting staff. It's expected to officially begin operations in about two months."
Today, they had just finalized the paperwork, and Jing Hongchen had decided to appoint Su Yu as the director.
Su Yu wasn't in any rush.
"Could I get a copy of the institute's current materials?"
"The collection has only just started, but we've already compiled a significant number of soul power circulation paths and their corresponding effects." Jing Hongchen handed over the materials gathered so far to Su Yu.
"Oh, and if you know any suitable candidates, feel free to recommend them."
Su Yu didn't dwell much on this point.
He didn't know many researchers, so there was no need to push his own connections.
After two months of seclusion in Sun-Moon city, Su Yu received notice from Kong Deming upon his return.
During this period, he focused on developing runes primarily for enhancing martial spirits and harmonizing conflicting forces.
He had put aside the upgrades to his soul tools for the time being.
There was also the development of the linked secret technique. Although the direction was clear, tangible results might take more time.
"Teacher."
"You've advanced a level?"
Sensing Su Yu's soul power fluctuation, Kong Deming was slightly taken aback.
Such rapid advancement? Could soul masters with extreme attributes progress this quickly?
"Teacher, is your development going smoothly?"
Su Yu was curious about Kong Deming's progress.
After all, if things went well, Kong Deming's soul power level could also rise swiftly.
Increasing soul power directly translates to greater strength.
Although reaching Rank 99 as an Ultimate Douluo was ambitious, he certainly needed to reach Rank 98 as soon as possible.
Then, he could upgrade his soul tools, harnessing a Rank 98 power level to operate a Rank 10 soul tool, and equip himself with soul bones.
If he accelerated the development of his battle armor here, or even brought his teacher in to collaborate, then—
With such power, wouldn't they at least be able to hold their own against a deity?
Not that they could fully resist, but under certain restrictions, the power that a God-King could channel to the lower realms should at least be manageable. At the very least, there would be no need to worry about the likes of Da Ming and Er Ming anymore.
"The potential of rune-based techniques is truly remarkable," Kong Deming marveled.
Indeed, he had successfully constructed a corresponding rune system.
That's right—a rune system.
Kong Deming was no novice when it came to research and development. He had pioneered a multi-rune combination system based on the foundation of runes.
Su Yu's "Star" rune, combined with other runes like "Life," "Strength," "Speed," "Body," and "Protection," hinted at such combinations.
These different runes could be combined to produce stronger effects, though Su Yu's combinations were relatively simple.
Kong Deming's multi-rune combination system, on the other hand, treated each rune as a "pattern," combining them to form new, complete circuits.
In terms of strengthening martial spirits and harmonizing conflicts, the amount of existing reference material was limited. Even with all the core arrays that Kong Deming had mastered, only a handful could influence martial spirits.
Despite the enhancements from Purple Qi and the infusion of life force, even Kong Deming, a peak Rank 9 soul engineer, could only achieve results up to the purple grade.
But for Kong Deming, purple-grade amplification was unlikely to help him close the gap in martial spirit quality that he was aiming for.
To solve this issue, Kong Deming developed the multi-rune combination system.
He created large numbers of purple-grade "Sun" runes, connecting and layering them to form a massive "Sun" circuit.
He then overlaid this circuit with "Soul" and "Strength" circuits, achieving satisfactory results through a three-layer stacking process.
Crafting a multi-rune combination system was no simple task.
A two-layer stack was manageable for most Rank 9 soul engineers, but with each additional layer, the complexity increased significantly.
Even for Kong Deming, the three-layer stacking initially resulted in multiple failures. Only by continually optimizing the second layer and refining it to the point where the third layer could be successfully added did he finally achieve success.
"The quality gap between martial spirits is no longer an issue; the next step is to harmonize conflicts between martial spirits.
This shouldn't be difficult—with sun and moon in balance, martial spirit fusion should be achievable."
Martial spirit fusion is a powerful technique that relies on compatibility between martial spirits.
Aside from natural compatibility, martial spirits can also achieve synergy through acquired familiarity and by employing special methods of fusion.
However, this acquired synergy only results in a fusion technique. It's more like a combination than a true integration between martial spirits.
Still, such combinations can create harmony between martial spirits that otherwise lack compatibility.
Shrek Academy has its Seven-in-One Fusion Technique, which is one of their ultimate skills.
While the Sun and Moon Empire hasn't achieved anything as complex as that, they have mastered two-in-one fusion techniques.
However, while two-in-one fusion techniques enhance overall power beyond either individual's strength, they don't surpass the combined power of both.
In other words, one plus one is still less than two.
The transformation in quantity doesn't yet result in a qualitative change.
But none of this matters to Kong Deming.
As long as he can harmonize the conflicts between martial spirits, that's enough.
"Xiao Yu, get ready. In a couple of days, I expect I'll be absorbing another soul ring."
Kong Deming was clearly excited.
The hundred-thousand-year fifth soul ring he obtained had provided tremendous physical reinforcement. He was confident that, after harmonizing the martial spirit conflicts, he would be ready to absorb his sixth soul ring!
(End of Chapter)