From Long Yuxue's explanation, Xu Yuan now had a general understanding of the previous research processes aimed at devouring Abyss energy.
Soul-guided weapons—a concept that had been repeatedly emphasized to Xu Yuan since joining this place.
From the middle-aged female officer before his evaluation to his bet with Jiang Wuyue, the term "soul-guided weapons" kept coming up. In the Blood God Legion, when dealing with Abyssal creatures, soul-guided weapons were clearly the most critical tool.
"The emergence of soul-guided weapons is what truly allowed us to confine Abyssal creatures within the Abyssal passage, preventing them from entering our world." Long Yuxue sighed. "Soul-guided weapons represent an entirely new branch of soul-guided technology. The soul arrays used in these weapons aren't adapted to Douluo Plane's laws but to the Abyss's rules. The soul power stored inside the weapons is converted into a form that can resist the suppression within the Abyssal passage. However, it still dissipates quickly—but it's sufficient to activate and allow the weapons to absorb energy from the Abyssal passage, using the Abyss's own energy to power themselves."
Learning from the enemy?
"Soul-guided weapons were just the beginning. As they were developed, we gradually uncovered an entirely new system of soul arrays, which we've also integrated into other technologies, such as mecha. Our Blood God Legion's mecha have the most advanced endurance capabilities because they constantly convert external energy to ensure normal operation within the Abyssal passage."
". . ."
After explaining soul-guided weapons, Long Yuxue moved on to mecha.
Once she finished explaining, she finally let Xu Yuan leave.
A day of learning didn't put much pressure on Xu Yuan. His brain's ability to process information far exceeded that of ordinary people; this amount of knowledge wasn't a burden for him.
At this moment, Xu Yuan was reflecting on the achievements of the researchers Long Yuxue had mentioned.
"The Sand Demon Worm's fluid does seem to have some effect, but it's limited. That's why the predecessors focused on its principle to develop an entirely new branch of soul-guided weapons, creating tools to fight Abyssal creatures based on the idea of sustaining battles through combat."
The Abyssal passage had varying depths. In the outer regions, one could still use a bit of soul power and martial souls, but deeper inside, martial souls became completely unusable. The simulation during the evaluation was designed for the worst-case scenario, allowing newcomers to directly experience the terror of the Abyssal passage.
"Fortunately, I wasn't counting too heavily on the Sand Demon Worm anyway."
Others had already explored that path, so Xu Yuan wasn't disappointed.
What he was most hopeful about was the Great Devouring Heaven and Earth Technique, into which he had poured the most effort.
This wasn't just key to devouring Abyss energy—it was also the foundation of his survival, his fundamental technique.
Life in the Blood God Legion was simple—simpler than at Shrek Academy. It was purely about growing stronger.
Cultivation, training.
And for Xu Yuan, there was also studying.
Time passed.
It had been a full month since Xu Yuan joined the Blood God Legion.
By now, his evaluation results were long out. The person who finalized his score was Cao Dezhi, the leader of the Blood Gods, known as Blood One.
Considering that researchers started at the rank of Second Lieutenant, and given the importance of his research topic, Cao Dezhi added another rank and factored in Xu Yuan's evaluation performance, ultimately assigning him an initial rank of Major.
Major was actually a relatively conservative ranking.
Xu Yuan had no objections.
He didn't have much need for a high rank.
After receiving his rank, he quickly began undergoing various evaluations.
Within a month, he had completed all the necessary evaluations to enter the Abyssal passage, meaning that as long as he accepted suitable missions, he could personally experience the Abyssal environment and encounter real Abyssal creatures.
"I didn't expect you to complete all the evaluations so quickly," Jiang Wuyue said with admiration.
Upon hearing about Xu Yuan's progress, he made time to fulfill their agreement.
Jiang Qiyue and Long Yuxue also came along to watch.
Now, Xu Yuan was officially a researcher under the Research Institute. With his rank of Major and his efforts over the past month, he had proven his abilities and quickly taken over a major research project focused on devouring Abyss energy.
The so-called effort was, naturally, a demonstration of strength.
Here, everything ultimately came down to strength and merit points. Rank, to a certain extent, represented merit points, which was why he was able to take over the project so quickly.
In reality, many of the researchers in the institute still doubted Xu Yuan's research capabilities.
But none of that mattered to Xu Yuan.
Others' opinions didn't matter; what mattered was steadily progressing at his own pace.
Research projects required intelligence support from special operations units and cooperation with combat personnel from the Operations Department. Naturally, Xu Yuan began collaborating with Long Yuxue, Jiang Wuyue, and others.
"You're at level sixty-five soul power, so I won't hold back. I'll be fighting with my full strength," Jiang Wuyue said gravely.
Even though Xu Yuan had defeated him in the arm-wrestling match and performed exceptionally well in his evaluations, Jiang Wuyue still had confidence in his own abilities.
There was no way around it. Xu Yuan's evaluation results were classified, and what Jiang Wuyue knew was that Xu Yuan's outstanding performance was largely due to his ability to use martial souls and soul skills in the Abyssal passage.
Therefore, Jiang Wuyue didn't fully understand Xu Yuan's true strength.
Long Yuxue watched the scene unfold, silently sighing.
Jiang Wuyue, oh Jiang Wuyue, you really don't know how powerful Xu Yuan is.
Though you have the Tyrant Dragon martial soul, Xu Yuan is someone who can go toe-to-toe with Ba An.
The four of them arrived at the living area of the Blood God Legion.
The living area consisted of a large cluster of interconnected buildings with various recreational facilities. Outside of combat and missions, this was where the soldiers trained, relaxed, and entertained themselves.
The combat rooms were places for live combat training, rented out for fifty merit points per hour.
Life and cultivation in the Blood God Legion required merit points, so soldiers of all ranks had to work hard to earn them.
Approaching an available combat room, Jiang Wuyue swiped his metallic wristband, deducting fifty merit points and temporarily gaining one hour of usage rights for the room.
The metallic wristband was called the Blood God Ring. It was highly useful, recording a soldier's personal data and automatically logging merit points earned from killing Abyssal creatures. All transactions involving merit points were conducted through the Blood God Ring, which was also linked to the wearer's physical condition. If injured or ill, it would immediately notify headquarters, which would then send medical assistance.
Just the last function alone highlighted the value of the Blood God Ring, which was crafted from spirit-forged metal!
"Come in," Jiang Wuyue said, leading Xu Yuan and the others into the combat room.
The combat room was spacious, with a diameter of one hundred meters. Constructing such a facility in the icy, snowy Endless Mountains was no small feat.
Jiang Wuyue took off his coat, and his demeanor changed. From a somewhat affable presence, he transformed into a lion ready to pounce on his target.
He walked to one side of the combat room and activated the internal energy shield.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan moved to the opposite side, instantly entering a combat-ready state. An intangible aura spread throughout the room.
"What a powerful aura!"
Jiang Qiyue felt as though she was being targeted, as if a spear was already aimed at her, ready to strike at any moment.
"Spear intent, and spear momentum," Long Yuxue nodded.
During the earlier evaluation, Xu Yuan hadn't been able to use soul power, so he couldn't fully demonstrate this. Thus, Long Yuxue hadn't felt it as strongly.
Moreover, without soul power, Xu Yuan's Seven Forbidden Techniques had been restricted.
Now, within the Blood God Legion, there was no environmental suppression. Xu Yuan was at his peak!
Spiritual power, soul power, and blood essence mingled, silently enveloping the entire combat room.
The heavens and earth were under his control.
This was a higher-level influence on the surrounding environment than even a domain.
However, compared to a domain, Xu Yuan's Seven Forbidden Techniques were far more subtle.
On the other side, Jiang Wuyue could only intuitively sense an immense pressure bearing down on him, as if part of his soul power had been locked away—not unlike the suppression experienced in the outer regions of the Abyssal passage.
Looking at Xu Yuan across from him, Jiang Wuyue's eyes widened in shock.
What kind of ability was this?
It was so similar to the suppression of the Abyssal passage.
If it could suppress, perhaps it could also counteract similar suppression. Could this be why he wasn't affected by the Abyssal passage and could freely use his soul power and skills?
Thoughts raced through Jiang Wuyue's mind.
If so, was this ability area-wide?
Could his teammates nearby also avoid the environmental suppression of the Abyssal passage?
His thoughts expanded, but he quickly cut them off.
This was a battle.
"Wuyue, get ready, and we'll start!"
"Alright!"
Both sides shouted loudly.
Xu Yuan extended his right hand to the side of his body. Blood essence surged from within him, swirling around his body and converging on his right arm, extending outward and coalescing into the Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear.
Jiang Wuyue's pupils contracted.
Watching this, Long Yuxue also gained clarity.
It wasn't that Xu Yuan had a twin martial soul with one being a body martial soul—he was directly manifesting the spear as his body martial soul. And this spear was his blood essence!
Xu Yuan's display was clear enough.
Blood essence condensed into the Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear.
"Roar!"
Across from him, Jiang Wuyue roared fiercely, charging toward Xu Yuan.
As he sprinted forward, his body began to swell. After just a few steps, his height had grown to over seven meters, resembling a towering humanoid beast.
His upper body's skin turned pitch black, covered in thick, heavy scales like metal ore. His eyes glowed red, and his overwhelming aura distorted the air around him.
Compared to Long Yue's Mountain Dragon King, the Tyrant Dragon martial soul was naturally weaker.
However, unlike Long Yue's Mountain Dragon King, Jiang Wuyue had complete control over his Tyrant Dragon martial soul, with no risk of losing control.
With perfect mastery of his Tyrant Dragon martial soul, Jiang Wuyue's strength wasn't necessarily inferior to that of Long Yue at the same level.
Beneath Jiang Wuyue's feet, soul rings rose—one after another, four purple and two black.
This combination was quite impressive. Even some Elders of the Sea God Pavilion had soul ring configurations of purple and black in their first six rings, yet Jiang Wuyue had achieved this at the six-ring stage. By the time he reached Super Douluo levels, he might even have the chance to upgrade his soul rings to all-black.
The Abyss was both a crisis and an opportunity.
Gaining the Tyrant Dragon martial soul, which shouldn't have naturally appeared, was the greatest opportunity the Abyss had given Jiang Wuyue.
Jiang Wuyue's family had served generations within the Blood God Legion, dedicating themselves to combating the Abyss. Families like the Jiangs were numerous—thousands upon thousands.
Around the Abyssal passage, even the laws of Douluo Star were twisted, though some fundamental rules remained unchanged.
With the laws disrupted, anything could happen in this area, including mutations in martial souls.
Jiang Wuyue was not an isolated case.
Among the families that had fought generation after generation in the Blood God Legion, there were at least dozens of examples of descendants developing super martial souls through mutation. Moreover, many of these mutated martial souls were passed down through generations.
Jiang Wuyue's soul ring configuration was excellent, but Xu Yuan was even better.
As Xu Yuan's Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear martial soul took shape, soul rings also rose beneath his feet.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Black!
Five black soul rings rose in succession, causing Jiang Wuyue's pupils to contract sharply as he charged toward Xu Yuan.
Wait—five soul rings?
Jiang Wuyue instantly realized something.
Twin martial souls.
Since Xu Yuan had reported having sixty-five levels of soul power, he must have six soul rings. If this spear only had five soul rings, then there must be another martial soul equipped with six soul rings.
But to begin adding soul rings to a second martial soul at just the sixth ring?
One had to admit, five black soul rings were indeed impressive.
The hundred-meter distance was crossed in the blink of an eye by Jiang Wuyue.
He had already charged to the center of the arena.
Xu Yuan stepped forward with his spear, and with a loud thud, a crater formed beneath his feet. Then, like an arrow released from a bow, he shot forward. The Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear traced a crescent-shaped arc, slashing down fiercely.
Jiang Wuyue let out a roar, his right hand transforming into a pitch-black dragon claw as it lunged forward.
Boom!
Blood essence and soul power exploded in all directions, waves of energy rippling outward like shockwaves, distorting the energy shield of the combat room.
"Good!" Jiang Wuyue's eyes brightened. He shouted, "Again!"
Without retreating, he planted his legs firmly on the ground and unleashed another dragon claw strike.
Xu Yuan was also surprised.
The Tyrant Dragon martial soul's raw power far surpassed Yuanen Yehui's Titan Ape.
For one thing, Yuanen Yehui was female, and her manifestation of the Titan Ape's strength attributes wasn't complete. Additionally, the Titan Ape excelled in areas like air and gravity manipulation rather than pure strength, whereas the Tyrant Dragon was all about brute force.
"Amazing!" Jiang Qiyue, watching from the sidelines, had stars in her eyes. "I never expected Xu Yuan to be able to match my brother in a pure strength contest during actual combat."
Beside her, Long Yuxue's lips twitched slightly.
Xu Yuan was holding back a lot.
That spear strike definitely wasn't his full power.
Not even close. If Xu Yuan had unleashed the same level of strength as during the evaluation, he would have easily suppressed Jiang Wuyue.
Moreover, now that he was outside the evaluation, Xu Yuan could use his soul power and had also deployed an ability far superior to a domain, amplifying himself while weakening his opponent.
Boom!
The two clashed once again.
Jiang Wuyue felt an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.
He and Xu Yuan continued to exchange blows.
The dragon claw and spear collided repeatedly, and the oppressive sensation of blood essence seemed to awaken Jiang Wuyue's latent potential, continuously increasing his strength.
Immersed in the continuous eruption of his own power, he failed to realize that Xu Yuan's strength was rising in tandem with his. When Jiang Wuyue's power growth began to plateau, Xu Yuan's strength surged further, overpowering him. The blood essence suppression reignited Jiang Wuyue's previously stabilizing power growth.
Boom!
After countless exchanges, Jiang Wuyue gradually came to his senses.
He looked at Xu Yuan across from him, his heart trembling.
"You!"
"Noticing your natural talent in physical strength, I can't let it go to waste," Xu Yuan smiled. "Your Tyrant Dragon martial soul aligns well with the blood essence cultivation methods of my Body Sect. Why don't you join my Body Sect?"
You and the Body Sect are fated.
A flicker of interest appeared in Jiang Wuyue's eyes.
Many soldiers in the Blood God Legion, like Jiang Wuyue, were born here and had no sect or faction affiliations. Their sole goal was to combat the Abyss. Joining a sect was feasible, but most sects wouldn't provide benefits without expecting something in return, especially if you were to spend your entire life fighting in this harsh land without contributing to their cause.
People like Jiang Wuyue were clearly destined to dedicate their lives to the Blood God Legion.
Unless the Abyss crisis was resolved someday.
But the Abyss crisis had persisted for six thousand years—how could it possibly be resolved without warning now?
Xu Yuan had access to more information than others. He knew that within ten years, the Abyss crisis would be resolved, and the elites of the Blood God Legion would become fresh blood.
Anyone who could be absorbed into the Body Sect or Shrek Academy would be recruited.
Receiving an invitation from Xu Yuan, Jiang Wuyue was naturally tempted.
During their earlier clashes, he had already sensed something. Cultivating blood essence would undoubtedly bring him a qualitative leap in strength.
"Forget about that for now. Continue! Today, I'll help you condense your blood essence!"
Unlike Xu Yuan's early days, Jiang Wuyue had already honed his body to an extraordinary degree, with high physical fitness and abundant blood essence. He could directly condense his blood essence.
However, it required skill.
Xu Yuan employed a method of applying pressure.
Unbeknownst to anyone, he had already retracted the Seven Forbidden Techniques.
He fought purely with blood essence, which permeated the surroundings, pressing down on Jiang Wuyue from every angle.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Blood essence hammered into every corner of Jiang Wuyue's body, stimulating the blood essence energy within him.
Jiang Wuyue, suppressed by Xu Yuan, roared in frustration. A fire burned within him as he felt his energy boiling, igniting instantly.
Blood essence, condense!
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