area51novel Chapter 272 The Greatest Temptation to Come to Mingdu
Chapter 272 The Greatest Temptation to Come to Mingdu
The match ended quickly, and in terms of the process itself, it wasn't particularly interesting or dramatic. However, if you carefully observed the expressions of the players throughout the match, you could actually glean some insights from it.
"Senior Brother, aren't the people from the Dragon Slaying Sect acting a bit strange? They seem a little too dejected, which isn't normal. Losing to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy seems like a perfectly normal result."
Although he is usually rather careless, Little Fatty is a qualified Soul Master after all, and he has observational skills that are above the basic level.
“Junior Brother Songhe, this involves your blind spot. You are well aware that the original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms are far behind the Sun Moon Empire in terms of soul tools, but are you aware of the attitude of the vast majority of nobles and traditional soul master sects in the original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms towards soul tools?”
His tone was somewhat arrogant, and filled with a deliberately boastful, "know-it-all" attitude—a hallmark of Xu Sanshi, that scoundrel. The questions he asked would be answered, but the person whose question was answered wouldn't feel any gratitude towards Xu Sanshi; instead, they'd feel an urge to attack him.
In other words, the chubby guy knew that he was at the bottom of the food chain in the team, and the current situation was not appropriate. Otherwise, if someone else had "mocking" him like this, the chubby guy would have made sure that they knew how he got the title of "fire mage"!
However, the reason why Xu Sanshi said that Xiaopangzi Songhe's knowledge in this area was lacking was actually related to the current student composition of Shrek Academy.
What are the admission requirements for Shrek Academy? Applicants must be under twelve years old, have a soul power level of 15 or higher, and possess a recommendation letter from a city lord. These three requirements combined result in very few commoner students at Shrek Academy; even the very few commoner students are usually connected to various noble or city lord factions. So, what kind of students make up the majority at Shrek Academy? Nobles and wealthy merchants.
This is where the root of Xu Sanshi's foul mouth comes in. Among the students of Shrek Academy, very few come from major sects, so the vast majority of students have a relatively superficial understanding of the traditional sects on the continent. But Xu Sanshi? This guy is an anomaly among sect successors. His sect is one of the most established and well-connected sects on the continent, and he has an exceptionally clear understanding of many things within traditional sects.
Seeing that Xu Sanshi still had that smug look on his face, Song He was prepared to endure it to satisfy his curiosity and let Xu Sanshi's desire to show off. But Bei Bei couldn't stand it anymore. She slapped Xu Sanshi on the head: "If you want to say it, say it properly. If you don't want to say it, then keep it to yourself."
As the senior disciple of the Tang Clan, and with the Tang Clan's situation visibly improving, Bei Bei's aura was growing stronger day by day. With a single slap, even a scoundrel like Xu Sanshi would be rendered speechless for a period of time.
"Junior Brother Songhe's observation is quite meticulous. The Dragon Slaying Sect is indeed not entirely convinced of their defeat in this match. This situation actually involves certain historical issues."
The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament initially allowed sects to participate, but for some unknown reason, it later became a tournament that only allowed students from Soul Master Academies to participate.
The reason for this change is impossible to verify at the time, but a little analysis will show that it could only have been due to some conflict between the academic faction and the sect faction, with one side ultimately disdaining to compete with the other.
If this analysis holds true, then the reason for the current situation is quite easy to guess. It's because of a lack of understanding. Traditional Soul Master sects simply don't understand their current students, especially the Soul Master Academies of the Sun Moon Empire. The previous Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament was one of the few channels of communication between academy students and the younger generation of sects. With this channel severed, communication between academies and sects has become extremely limited.
"Most of the people gathered in the academy are young people, and young people's views are always more open. Nowadays, most soul master academies use some soul tools, while the views of traditional soul master sects are actually similar to the old ideas of our academy. They think that soul masters are just messing around, and if you really want to see combat power, you still have to rely on traditional soul masters."
Compared to Xu Sanshi's quirky sense of humor, Bei Bei was quite serious when explaining things, always tracing the root cause to the source. Although sometimes a bit verbose, this was a way to guide the Tang Clan members to think for themselves.
However, the explanation Bei Bei gave was truly difficult for everyone to accept. Take Song He, who raised the question, as an example. The chubby Song He didn't pursue a research-oriented path in soul tools; instead, he followed the path of a combat-oriented soul tool master, which Long You had developed tens of thousands of years ahead of time. He knew a little about soul tool creation, but not comprehensively, and it didn't consume too much of his energy. He mainly relied on soul tools like battle armor to enhance his combat strength.
Guided by this development strategy, although the chubby boy is currently only a level 59 Soul King, he ranks among the top in Shrek Academy's inner court combat strength rankings. Considering that his academy's combat strength is among the best in the continent across all age groups, it's no exaggeration to say that the chubby boy is a leader among his peers. This demonstrates that the role of soul tools in enhancing a Soul Master's combat power is indeed undeniable.
So after Beibei finished explaining, apart from Xu Sanshi who already knew, everyone else looked at Beibei with the same expression: "You're not lying, are you?"
After all, soul tools significantly enhance a soul master's combat power, and even the old-fashioned Shrek Academy has begun to change. How could anyone be so blind?
Perhaps because of the blatant stares from her companions, Beibei's usually elegant smile turned bitter at that moment.
"Really, I'm not lying to you. If everyone didn't have this kind of idea, how could the level of soul tools in the original Douluo Continent's Three Kingdoms be so much worse after more than three thousand years?"
With twitching lips, the Tang Sect members were well aware that "Great Soul Masterism" was very prevalent in the original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms. After all, they had all experienced the conflict between the Martial Soul System and the Soul Guidance System in the academy. However, they really did not expect that after Shrek Academy, which could be regarded as the trendsetter of the original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms, had undergone a reform that could be described as a do-or-die effort, the traditional Soul Master sects in the original Douluo Continent Three Kingdoms would still be so arrogant.
"Those who do evil will not live long."
There's absolutely no need to feel down about other people's mistakes. The next match is about to begin. After Tang Ya made a comment, the Tang Clan members refocused their attention on the match.
When it comes to gathering extensive information for a team, it's best to do so right at the start of the competition. The Tang Sect has a natural advantage in information gathering, and if they don't make good use of it, they'll end up just like those old-fashioned, rigid soul master sects.
On the first day of the competition, there were quite a few matches to be played, and the Tang Clan members were no exception. As for their opponents, they were familiar faces to the Tang Clan members—the Earth Dragon Clan.
Why is it considered an acquaintance? It all started with the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal. The Ice Extreme Divine Crystal is an extremely valuable material for crafting soul tools, but the Earth Dragon Gate lacks the tradition and heritage of crafting soul tools. To maximize the profit from these precious materials, the Earth Dragon Gate chose to sell them.
Given the immense value of the Ice Extreme Divine Crystal, the Earth Dragon Sect, not wanting to be ripped off, had no choice but to select a reputable organization from the original Douluo Continent's Three Kingdoms. In this situation, Shrek Academy naturally became the Earth Dragon Sect's top priority.
However, an academy is still an academy, and these kinds of transactions are actually handled through various smaller factions affiliated with Shrek Academy. Coincidentally, the Tang Sect is currently one such faction. Since it was a fair trade, and knowing that the Earth Dragon Gate would definitely sell their Ice Extreme Divine Crystals, the Tang Sect started promoting themselves early on and ultimately successfully secured this big deal.
Over time, the Tang Clan members and the younger generation of the Earth Dragon Clan became acquainted. The Earth Dragon Clan obtained a number of suitable soul tools from the Tang Clan to enhance their combat power, but unfortunately, even with their improved combat power, they were still no match for the current Tang Clan.
Despite Nan Qiuqiu's sullen expression, the Tang Clan members held back several times, gifting the Earth Dragon Gate a one-day tour of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament.
That's outrageous! That's outrageous! That's too much! —Nan Qiuqiu
Because the Sun Moon Empire does not provide accommodation for eliminated participating forces, the Earth Dragon Gate needs to immediately return to the Mingyue Hotel to pack their belongings after losing the competition.
Throughout the journey, Nan Qiuqiu, this little princess who had basically never experienced any setbacks, constantly flooded the group chat with messages using the communication soul tool she bought from the Tang Sect. It was unclear whether she meant that the Sun Moon Empire's direct expulsion was too much, or that the Tang Sect's immediate elimination of them was too much.
However, what Nan Qiuqiu was complaining about wasn't important; what mattered was He Caitou. He Caitou was currently conflicted about whether or not to tell the Earth Dragon Gate about the Sun Moon Empire's possible plans, so that the Earth Dragon Gate wouldn't rush to leave Mingdu.
Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story. While He Caitou was struggling with his dilemma, Long You at the Mingyue Hotel finally caught his breath with the help of the nutrient solution. He was able to barely suppress the persistent hunger in his mind and regain control of his body.
[This is terrible, absolutely terrible! The feeling of hunger is just too unbearable.]
Sighing, Long You climbed out of the medical pod. Looking at his arms, which were noticeably thinner, he knew without even looking in a mirror that he looked like a refugee. Fortunately, being able to control his body allowed him to mobilize his soul power.
After leaving the luxury sphere, Long You didn't rush back to his room. Instead, he went straight to Bei Bei's room and started eating. As a foodie, carrying plenty of ready-to-eat snacks in his storage soul tool was no problem at all.
Normally, a person who has lost weight through starvation should absolutely not binge eat immediately, because their stomach and intestines cannot handle it and they might even die from overeating. However, Long You's weight loss is not due to prolonged starvation, but rather because his body has overexerted itself during the process of adapting to the laws of transformation. There is no weakening of his digestive function; on the contrary, Long You's digestive system is currently quite active, and his nutrient absorption efficiency is very high.
However, before Long You could eat for very long, a message suddenly appeared in front of him from Byrne, making Long You so excited that he completely ignored the temptation of the delicious food in front of him.
The Mingdu war preparation warehouse has been located; a way to decipher the soul-guided mechanism is being sought.
Eating? What's there to eat! The biggest reason why someone as "steady" as Long You would still come to participate in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition, even knowing that the Sun Moon Empire was up to something, is this Mingdu Warehouse.
"Great, show the exact location. Now can we determine what's inside that war reserve warehouse?" As Long You asked, a map of the entire Mingdu was suddenly projected in front of him, with a faintly flashing red five-pointed star on the map.
"This place? It could be considered the center of Mingdu (in terms of location alone), but I don't see any important departments around here. Is there any explanation for this?"
"It's still uncertain. Based on the information we have so far, this can only be considered a military family housing area."
"Military family housing area, the family housing area of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Corps?"
"This question also cannot be determined at the moment."
"Alright, that's not too important. Our current focus should be on figuring out how deep that military depot is underground, how many layers of protection we need to get through to enter, and which areas we absolutely cannot touch. In short, we need to start developing a feasibility plan now. Do you need any help?"
"I still need to conduct further investigations. We were able to pinpoint the location now entirely because the metal detector soul tool worked, confirming the presence of a large amount of rare metal underground and the subtle, regular fluctuations of soul power emanating from it. To proceed with further investigations, I need even more information."
However, there's one task we can begin preparing for now. We need the help of some small animals, such as ants and mice. Although the detection work still requires soul tools, we need to eliminate soul power fluctuations as much as possible before starting. The Sun Moon Empire is now aware of detecting soul power fluctuations, and if the detection soul tool emits prolonged, regular soul power fluctuations, it's hard to guarantee that it won't be detected by the Sun Moon Empire's defenses.