Welcome to our new Patron: Sebastian Zawada!
------------------------------------------------------
"Master Uncle, if anyone asks about everything that happened these past few days, there's no need to hide it."
Xu Yuan informed Zhen Hua before leaving Tian Dou City.
"After becoming a Divine Craftsman, he doesn't even plan to conceal it for a moment?" Zhen Hua muttered to himself.
He pondered the current situation and soon came to understand.
In today's Douluo Continent, the undercurrents of hidden turbulence were at their peak.
Although the two Godslayer Missiles that struck Shrek Academy hadn't caused widespread visible repercussions, they had already stirred significant changes within and outside the Federation.
Now that Xu Yuan had revealed everything, it was enough to become the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Yun Ming was an elder powerhouse, Feng Wuyu was a veteran Elder of the Sea God Pavilion, but Xu Yuan belonged to the new generation.
Not yet twenty years old—a Divine Craftsman!
The implications were clear.
Moreover, during these days Xu Yuan spent forging in Tian Dou City, outsiders could sense each Heavenly Forging tribulation, which always manifested as extraordinary phenomena. There were always people paying attention nearby.
Four days, sixteen Heavenly Forgings.
Regardless of how many times he successfully endured the tribulations, just the frequency of undergoing them surpassed Zhen Hua's most intense period.
Zhen Hua's peak was short-lived, but what about Xu Yuan?
Within half a day, the events in Tian Dou City had spread to all major factions of the Federation.
Actually, Xu Yuan's tribulation lasted three days, and news of it had been circulating wildly during that time.
With Xu Yuan's tribulation complete, Yu Guanzhi summarized everything and presented the information in the parliamentary meeting. Only then did the major factions realize the extent of Xu Yuan's revealed strength.
"Does he really possess Limit-level power?"
Some found it hard to believe.
Xu Yuan was only nineteen!
Even if one said his soul power had reached Level 95, allowing him to briefly contend with some Limit Douluos through various methods, it would be understandable.
But Yu Guanzhi's report stated that Xu Yuan was a twin martial soul master. His second martial soul had seven rings, and his soul power fluctuated around the mid-80s.
An 80-plus level soul master possessing Limit Douluo-level strength? The significance of this required no further explanation.
It was even more astonishing than Yun Ming in his prime.
"How did he manage to evolve his martial soul into a divine weapon?"
This was the focal point for everyone.
It was also the key reason Yu Guanzhi speculated that Xu Yuan might possess Limit-level strength.
A divine weapon could transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. If used as a martial soul, it could allow a soul master to leap across an entire tier of strength.
And because he personally witnessed Jue's tribulation, Yu Guanzhi firmly believed that Xu Yuan's spear had evolved into a divine weapon.
"I don't know," Yu Guanzhi replied silently.
He had seen divine weapons before.
He also knew some methods for nurturing them. For example, a powerful quasi-god on the verge of death could infuse everything they were into their martial soul, potentially creating a divine weapon embryo. After centuries or even millennia of nurturing by descendants, it might evolve into a true divine weapon.
Or someone like Yun Ming, a powerful quasi-god, might directly infuse their entire being into their martial soul, forming a divine weapon.
But such processes inevitably involved the soul master's demise.
Xu Yuan's situation, however, was unprecedented.
A living soul master who turned his weapon-type martial soul into a divine weapon!
"I think I can offer some explanation." A burly man in the corner of the parliament raised his hand to speak.
Oh?
All the senators turned their gaze to the corner, surprised to see the burly man.
He was a representative of the Blacksmiths' Association, and his mere presence at the parliamentary meeting was unexpected. No one anticipated he'd comment on today's topic.
"Ten days ago, Xu Yuan entered the Heavenly Refined Forging Table with President Zhen Hua. The Heavenly Refined Forging Table is accessible only to Divine Craftsmen."
The burly man spoke only these two sentences and fell silent again.
Yet these words sent a shiver through the hearts of the senators present.
"Xu Yuan's tribulation indeed began with the Heavenly Forging lightning tribulation," Yu Guanzhi confirmed.
However, he couldn't clarify the exact nature of Xu Yuan's martial soul and spirit soul.
Initially, it was both the evolution of Xu Yuan's martial soul and his spirit soul. It seemed as though his martial soul and spirit soul had perfectly fused together.
This was extraordinary.
Yu Guanzhi shared everything he knew and looked toward the representatives of the Spirit Pagoda, waiting for their explanation.
To everyone's surprise, even the Spirit Pagoda's representatives were baffled and couldn't comprehend this form.
Finally, Long Ao of Shrek Academy, who had been lazily reclining in his seat, opened his mouth to explain.
"Xu Yuan's spear martial soul formed a pact with his blood essence and, through secret techniques, merged with a spear spirit soul. The spear spirit soul became his martial soul, and his martial soul also became intertwined with his blood essence. As for how he managed to grant himself up to seven soul rings through a single spirit soul, I don't know."
"As for his strength—"
Long Ao's gaze swept across the faces of those present, and with a smirk, he said, "At Level 59, he directly defeated a Title Douluo in a head-on battle."
He didn't mention Xu Yuan's subsequent achievements.
There was no helping it—Xu Yuan's battle armor always lagged behind his growth.
Strictly speaking, Level 59 marked the peak of Xu Yuan's ability to leap tiers in combat.
Even so, the knowledge of Xu Yuan's accomplishments at Level 59 made the senators keenly aware that Xu Yuan possessed Limit-level strength.
At over Level 80 now, even without relying on the might of his divine spear, he likely already possessed the strength of a Super Douluo.
If he utilized the divine weapon, unleashing Limit Douluo-level power wouldn't be difficult, would it?
Even if not, who would care?
Xu Yuan, not yet twenty years old, was already an 80-plus level Soul Douluo. How far was he from becoming a true Limit Douluo?
A genius soul master who was also a Divine Craftsman—who would doubt his ability to break through to Limit Douluo?
Crafting a set of four-word battle armor for himself and repeatedly experiencing that realm, Xu Yuan's entry into the Limit was practically inevitable.
In summary, Xu Yuan's appearance this time placed immense pressure on the Federation.
The restless sentiment caused by the earlier upheaval due to the Godslayer Missiles was instantly quelled.
Yun Ming dominated an era, securing his position as the continent's number one for decades, but eventually, someone comparable to him emerged, someone capable of contending with him.
But what about Xu Yuan?
---
The Spirit Sea
Yao Yao flew back and forth in the air, muttering incessantly.
"Hmph~ Hmph~ (That guy Jue really showed off big time this time)."
It conjured a pair of tiny hands, wailing loudly, and said to Xu Yuan, "Hmph~ (Next time, I want to do it too!)."
Xu Yuan shook his head helplessly.
"Jue's achievement stems from his own strength. Over the years, Jue has practiced his spear skills daily and delved deeply into spear techniques. Today's transformation of his true form was merely the catalyst, allowing him to fully integrate everything into himself."
In simpler terms, the others were simply too lazy.
Still, Xu Yuan employed a bit of tact in his wording.
Rather than directly urging Yao Yao and the others to train harder, he subtly conveyed the message.
Sure enough, Yao Yao's large eyes filled with contemplation.
Could it be… reasonable?
Every day in the Dream Space, Jue was the most diligent. The key was his persistence. If he gained even a fraction more every day, after so many years…
Oh no, I've been deceived by that thick-browed, big-eyed Jue!
Yao Yao expressed that it had always considered itself the trump card, only to be deceived by Jue's seemingly unthreatening strength.
"Well, your opportunity is here too. As long as you make good use of the stellar anomalies, breaking through to a hundred thousand years will mainly require you to raise your cultivation."
---
Shrek Academy
Yun Ming was no longer at the academy, and Long Yeyue had long since stopped managing its affairs. At this moment, much of the academy's responsibilities fell to Feng Wuyu.
Feng Wuyu was among the first to learn of the commotion Xu Yuan caused in Tian Dou City.
"That brat… why didn't I take him in back then?"
What a pity.
If he had taken him as a disciple, he would now have a Divine Craftsman disciple.
Two Divine Craftsmen in one sect!
How prestigious would that be?
"That brat seems to belong to the Body Sect. The method for transforming blood essence martial souls has been included in the Body Sect's secret techniques. Won't this mean that the Body Sect now possesses a method to nurture divine weapons?" Feng Wuyu knew a lot, and at this moment, he couldn't help but feel envious.
In comparison, forging Heavenly Forged metal suddenly felt somewhat inferior.
So what if it was Heavenly Forging? Even a full set of Heavenly Forged metals used to craft four-word battle armor wouldn't qualify as a divine weapon. Yet Xu Yuan had genuinely forged a divine weapon!
"The War God Hall should exert more effort. Those War Gods should go out and exterminate evil soul masters. What's the point of staying idle in the War God Hall? Shrek should also step in to eliminate evil soul masters. The inner court students are already bored in the Demon Plane—it's time to change things up."
---
Tian Hai City
Xu Family
When Xu Shengqun learned of Xu Yuan's information, he was momentarily stunned.
"Did this brat get his hands on some of Xu Zhi's legacy?"
No wonder he suspected this.
After all, Xu Yuan's trip to the Dou Ling Continent was to retrieve something left by Xu Zhi. Upon returning, he immediately caused such a stir, evolving his martial soul to the level of a divine weapon. It certainly seemed like he had obtained something from Xu Zhi's legacy.
"Incredible. Evolving a martial soul into a divine weapon—I wonder how many levels this brat can leap now."
Xu Shengqun took a deep breath and didn't dwell on it further.
He turned his attention to the documents in his hand.
"This Qiangu Dongfeng has grown overly confident that he won't fall from power. These top-secret files were accessible only to him. But now that he's out of office, after carefully reviewing them, I've finally found something."
In Xu Shengqun's hands at this moment were documents related to the work on potion development in the Heaven Dou branch of the Spirit Pagoda.
---
The Endless Mountains
Xu Yuan's return from Heaven Dou City to the Endless Mountains took only three days.
When he arrived back at the military camp, he met Cao Dezhi, Zhang Huanyun, and Mu Ye.
The three looked at Xu Yuan with varying expressions.
"Truly worthy of being a soul master from our Body Sect!" Mu Ye stepped forward, patting Xu Yuan on the shoulder and giving him a once-over. He seemed quite satisfied.
Cao Dezhi wore an expression of awe but said nothing.
Zhang Huanyun's face, however, was the most conflicted.
He had just broken through not long ago, so how was it that the Blood God Legion's peak combat strength kept skyrocketing?
The assessment that Xu Yuan possessed Limit-level combat strength came from Yu Guanzhi.
Though it was debatable, Yu Guanzhi's evaluation was surely based on intuition rather than logical deduction.
For Limit Douluos, such intuition was often far more accurate than conclusions drawn step by step.
After striving for most of his life, Zhang Huanyun had finally broken through to become a Limit Douluo in his later years. All he wanted now was to quietly fulfill his duties as the commander of the Blood God Legion and stabilize the Abyssal passage.
However, the constant upheavals were wearing him down.
Later, Mu Ye joined the legion, and now Xu Yuan was suspected of possessing Limit-level strength.
This did ease some of the pressure on him.
But it also brought new challenges.
Cao Dezhi was fine—after sixty years of cooperation, Zhang Huanyun knew that Cao Dezhi wouldn't interfere with his authority as the commander.
But Xu Yuan was different.
A Divine Craftsman!
A Divine Craftsman!
Once this news spread, who knew how many members of the Blood God Camp would be pestering Xu Yuan daily for heavenly-forged metals?
Zhang Huanyun stepped forward.
"Xu Yuan, welcome back."
Xu Yuan felt somewhat awkward at the unexpected grand reception for his simple return to the Blood God Legion.
The commander's behavior seemed to hint at a request.
Otherwise, there was no reason for him to be so polite.
"Xu Yuan, I need to confirm something. Have you truly mastered heavenly forging?"
Zhang Huanyun stared intently at Xu Yuan.
Although there were reports from various sources, and even Zhen Hua himself had confirmed it, Zhang Huanyun still felt it wasn't real. So he asked outright.
"I have mastered heavenly forging, though I've only just started. The sentient alloys I forge are limited to one type for now."
Xu Yuan already had an idea of what Zhang Huanyun was going to ask of him.
"Good!" Zhang Huanyun's eyes gleamed as he turned to Xu Yuan, speaking in a tone that seemed to seek Xu Yuan's opinion. "I'm considering offering an opportunity within the legion to exchange merits for heavenly-forged metals. Could you help with the forging?"
Exchange merits for heavenly-forged metals?
That's probably too expensive for most people.
Mu Ye thought to himself.
Still, those who could afford it deserved the opportunity.
Counting everyone in the Blood God Legion, the few who had accumulated enough merits were likely the veteran Blood Gods, the vice-commander, and the two division leaders. They had made tremendous contributions to the legion.
Long ago, after reaching the uppermost tier of strength in the legion, the value of merits diminished significantly for them compared to lower-ranking soldiers.
In other words, they had spent a long time serving the Blood God Legion without asking for anything in return.
They deserved such an opportunity.
However, heavenly-forged metals didn't necessarily mean they could craft four-word battle armor. The fusion process required to form four-word battle armor was incredibly difficult to endure. For non-Limit Douluos, the cost of fusing four-word battle armor was extremely high.
Even so, adding a piece of heavenly-forged metal to three-word battle armor could significantly enhance its strength by one level.
Moreover, incorporating heavenly-forged metal into mecha could also boost its performance substantially.
Alternatively, one could store the heavenly-forged metal for future use, passing it down to their descendants.
Of course, the latter option was rarely chosen—good things were best used immediately to enhance one's own strength.
Still, the last choice couldn't be dismissed entirely. If one belonged to a large family, having heavenly-forged metals in reserve was essential.
Take, for example, the Qiangu Family or the Angel Family—they undoubtedly possessed at least one or two pieces of heavenly-forged metal suitable for their legacy martial souls.
Even if a generation lost its influence, or if there were no Divine Craftsmen in the outside world, or if relations with Divine Craftsmen soured, they could still use these heavenly-forged metals to replace critical components of three-word battle armor and nurture them long-term, achieving quasi-four-word battle armor.
Xu Yuan looked at Zhang Huanyun and wasn't surprised by his request.
Given the commander's personality, he would naturally do whatever he could to benefit the legion. Even if the request seemed unreasonable, he would still push forward.
"Don't worry, Commander. I'm also part of the Blood God Legion. As long as the price is right, I have no problem with exchanging heavenly-forged metals publicly."
Upon hearing Xu Yuan's response, Zhang Huanyun breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
"However, I don't accept merit exchanges."
Xu Yuan's next statement caused Zhang Huanyun's expression to change.
No merit exchanges?
Then what does he accept?
Xu Yuan had his own ideas.
The Blood God Legion was essentially a blank slate. Although it included members from various factions, the legion itself, due to its prolonged focus on resisting Abyssal invasions, paid little attention to power struggles in the outside world. Especially those soul masters who had settled in the Blood God Legion and whose families had been stationed here for generations—like Jiang Wuyue's Jiang family—they were almost completely isolated from the outside world, belonging to no faction.
Such a Blood God Legion, once the Abyss issue was resolved, would become a significant force.
Xu Yuan intended to take control of it.
He now regarded the legion's strength as part of his future plans.
Therefore, he wouldn't do anything that might hinder the legion's development.
What were merits for?
Advancement.
Especially after the establishment of the stellar energy training rooms, merits had become meaningful for every soul master.
Even the Blood Gods benefited significantly from the stellar energy training rooms.
"I propose setting up a separate forging department within the legion. All blacksmiths can concurrently serve as part of this department, taking on all forging tasks required by the legion. Of course, I'll also serve as the head of the forging department—not just for the heavenly forging I promised earlier, but also for soul forging and even higher-quality spirit forging. As long as the price is right and tasks are issued, I'll accept them."
Zhang Huanyun's expression shifted.
Clearly, with Xu Yuan doing this, the entire legion's power structure would undergo a massive transformation.
Forging was a crucial aspect.
Within the legion, it was among the most important tasks.
In the past, there had been no unified management. Only when the legion couldn't meet certain forging needs internally would they apply to the Federation's upper echelons.
Now, Xu Yuan wanted to establish a forging department and personally lead it, taking on tasks. Wouldn't this, to some extent, isolate the legion's dependence on the Federation?
Of course, that wasn't important. What mattered was that it wouldn't take long for Xu Yuan to quickly accumulate a certain level of cohesion within the legion.
"You said you wouldn't accept merit exchanges. Then what will you accept?" Zhang Huanyun didn't reject the establishment of the forging department but instead asked about the exchange conditions.
He needed to know the terms before deciding whether to proceed with the forging department.
"It's simple. In calculating Abyssal creature kills, aside from calculating merits, we'll add an extra category for forging merits. The forging merits required for forging won't count against the soldiers' earned merits."
Zhang Huanyun's pupils contracted.
What did this mean?
A perk?
Zhang Huanyun pondered Xu Yuan's intentions.
Soon, his heart skipped a beat.
He realized Xu Yuan's goal.
He viewed the entire Blood God Legion as his own!
He was cultivating the Blood God Legion!
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead Guaranteed: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)