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Su Wen remained indifferent as to whether Gao Yun was optimistic about his proposed Soul Tool Hall.
To be honest, for Su Wen personally, the utility of soul tools was currently minimal. In this era, where the technology for Battle Armor hadn't even reached an embryonic stage, standard soul tools offered him very little real assistance.
His insistence on researching soul tools was genuinely for the benefit of the vast majority of soul masters.
Of course, there was also Su Wen's ulterior motive: he wanted to use this opportunity to find a way to the Sun Moon Continent.
"Everything depends on whether Spirit Hall truly has a connection with the Sun Moon Continent," Su Wen mused.
This was a speculation on his part. He reasoned that since Spirit Hall had previously engaged in conflicts with Sea God Island, they clearly possessed the capability to explore the ocean, and it was highly likely they had already conducted such explorations.
Furthermore, although soul tools on the continent were technically discovered in ancient ruins, it seemed that new ruins were constantly being unearthed, and new soul tools were always being found. Even the classification of these soul tools seemed abnormal compared to the native civilization.
Adding these points together, Su Wen had enough grounds to form his hypothesis.
As for the Soul Bone Hall, that research was directly related to Su Wen's own cultivation.
He did not lack soul bone skills; currently, his only remaining need regarding soul bones was to complete a full set of Soul Bone Armor.
---
*Spirit City.*
*The Pope's Palace.*
"Soul Bone Hall? Soul Tool Hall?" Upon hearing the report from Gao Yun, Bibi Dong furrowed her brows.
This Su Wen really didn't stop for a single moment.
"The Soul Bone Hall is understandable. He likely wants to research the principles behind the generation of soul bones and how their skills work. This actually holds significance for soul masters. However, soul tools do not have such a great impact on soul masters," Gao Yun stated his thoughts truthfully.
Bibi Dong disregarded Gao Yun's opinion.
As the Pope, she naturally knew many of Spirit Hall's secrets, including the existence of the Sun Moon Continent.
Although she believed that the truly most powerful beings would always be pure soul masters, she could not deny that according to Spirit Hall's intelligence, the soul engineers on that other continent were quite formidable. Their soul tools were sufficient to allow weaker soul masters to arm and strengthen themselves significantly.
This knowledge made her perception of soul tools vastly different from that of the average soul master on the Douluo Continent.
Could Su Wen's research into soul tools be for this very reason?
To develop it to a certain level and then arm ordinary soul masters?
Bibi Dong frowned, sensing that matters were not as simple as they appeared.
"Regarding the research of the Soul Tool Hall, Spirit Hall can give him the support he desires. Elder Ju, you will make a trip to the Star Luo Empire. You may explain matters regarding soul tools to him as clearly as possible. As for the Soul Bone Hall, Spirit Hall is powerless to help."
Whenever Bibi Dong thought about the three top-tier soul bones taken by Su Wen at the Continental Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, a bitter taste filled her mouth. Under these circumstances, how could she possibly provide the Academy with more soul bones for research?
Those three soul bones were all supreme quality treasures she had meticulously selected for the Golden Generation. Even as the Pope, she could not mobilize such resources casually. She had chosen the tournament as the perfect node to award them under the guise of the championship prize.
Who could have predicted that Su Wen would charge in out of nowhere?
And Su Wen had proven to be so powerful that Bibi Dong couldn't even bring herself to blame the Golden Generation for their loss.
There was also the dignity she had to maintain as the Pope back then, watching helplessly as Su Wen collected not only Tang Hao's two heritage soul bones but also four other high-quality bones. Just thinking about it made Bibi Dong's heart race with envy.
Su Wen currently possessed at least nine soul bones.
Unfortunately, following the recent destruction of the Clear Sky School and various other clans, there were very few soul masters left on the continent who dared to harbor designs on Su Wen.
Even Bibi Dong would not hunt Su Wen down solely for this reason.
"The Soul Bone Hall... even if this department is established, it can likely only support research at the headquarters in the two great empires. Is he trying to use the two headquarters to gather the scholars scattered across the Academy's branches in both empires, thereby achieving a unified structure?"
After the others had departed, Bibi Dong continued to ponder Su Wen's intentions.
If a project attractive enough to all soul masters were launched at the headquarters, then the entire demographic of soul masters would become a tool for Su Wen to link the Academy together.
At that point, with the Academy headquarters in the capitals of the two empires acting as the core, there was a real hope of integrating the entire organization.
"However, soul bone research might not necessarily have that much appeal."
Was it just boring research, or did he have some special project in mind?
Everything remained to be seen based on Su Wen's actions.
---
While Gao Yun was traveling back and forth to Spirit City, Su Wen was rapidly establishing the 'Mountain of Books and Sea of Learning' branches throughout the entire Star Luo Empire.
At every location, after opening a branch, Su Wen wouldn't even pause to rest before rushing directly to the next destination.
He had no choice; he had stayed in Star Luo City for a month previously, and now the soul masters of the Star Luo Empire were getting anxious.
Even if Su Wen wanted them to be patient, it wouldn't work; he could only complete the opening work as quickly as possible.
Previously, opening the branches within the Heaven Dou Empire had taken Su Wen half a year.
However, based on his current speed, the branches within the Star Luo Empire would be fully established in just three months.
Su Wen had only left Star Luo City a month ago, and just as he arrived at East Sea City, the Chrysanthemum Douluo (Ju Douluo) also arrived from Spirit City.
"I didn't expect that His Excellency, the Chrysanthemum Douluo, would come personally this time." Beneath Su Wen's smile lay hidden killing intent.
However, he was now very adept at concealing his thoughts. With his spiritual power surpassing that of the Chrysanthemum Douluo, his ability to hide his emotional fluctuations was flawless.
Unfortunately, it was still sensed by the Battle Sky Douluo standing behind him.
The Battle Sky Douluo's brain might be a bit... ahem, well, let's just say he was a straightforward man. However, when it came to combat, his instincts were incredibly sharp.
With the Martial Soul 'Battle Soul', he seemed born for fighting. Coupled with the excellent combination of soul skills cultivated under the War God, the Battle Sky Douluo's combat power was extremely high. Even though he was only rank ninety-six, he would not necessarily fall to a disadvantage against a rank ninety-seven opponent.
Consequently, the Battle Sky Douluo was the most sensitive to any emotions related to battle.
He clearly detected Su Wen's killing intent. His expression showed a hint of surprise as he carefully observed the Chrysanthemum Douluo.
Eww~
So feminine.
After listening to the Chrysanthemum Douluo speak just a few sentences, the Battle Sky Douluo decided he didn't want to hear anymore.
The Chrysanthemum Douluo also noticed the Battle Sky Douluo standing behind Su Wen.
A Peak Douluo! (Note: 'Peak' refers to Super Douluo here. While protagonists might use distinct terms, others currently view rank ninety-five and above as the peak of the continent, hence the title Peak Douluo).
The Chrysanthemum Douluo was shaken to his core.
Su Wen had actually recruited a Peak Douluo?
However, he did not let his emotions show on the surface.
"Master Wen's status in the hearts of the soul masters of the world is no less than that of the Pope of my Spirit Hall. Naturally, we couldn't just send a random envoy to brush you off," the Chrysanthemum Douluo said with a chuckle.
"Is this regarding the Soul Tool Hall?" Su Wen suppressed the urge to kill this guy immediately and prepared to extract the main business first.
"Correct. Spirit Hall has a substantial reserve of soul tools, but there is little meaning in us researching them. After all, soul tools involve an entire independent system. The tools we possess are not enough to reverse-engineer the complete soul tool system."
"'The tools we possess'?" Su Wen played along, latching onto the specific wording the Chrysanthemum Douluo used.
"Indeed. The soul tools we possess on the Douluo Continent are only a fraction of what exists."
"It seems that outside of the Douluo Continent, there are other groups of soul masters who possess the heritage of soul tools."
Seeing Su Wen calmly state this guess without a hint of surprise, the Chrysanthemum Douluo couldn't help but think:
This man is too boring.
(End of Chapter)