Three years to become a Soul Elder—such rapid progress was thanks to the gains from absorbing higher-level soul rings.
His first soul ring was already 1,500 years old, far beyond what ordinary soul masters could withstand at that stage.
The soul power it fed back immediately boosted him by three levels.
His second soul ring, astonishingly, was 6,000 years old.
Absorbing it was an ordeal that nearly made him faint from the agonizing pain as if his body would burst. But with the help of his second martial soul, White Flower, he gritted his teeth and persevered—reaping the reward of another three-level jump.
In total, over these three years, he had gained fourteen levels.
Not only did his soul power rise rapidly, but his combat experience also passed beyond theory.
For the past year, he spent almost all his spare time in the simulated universe.
There, he fought all sorts of simulated opponents, each battle a struggle of life and death. Some enemies were as fast as ghosts, others had earth-shaking strength.
Through these battles, Lu Jingming constantly summarized his experiences, refined his skills, and went from clumsy beginner to masterful fighter, making a qualitative leap in combat ability.
This past year, the Douluo Continent was far from peaceful—undercurrents surged, all originating from the sudden rise of the simulated universe.
When this astonishing new thing rocked the soul master world—and with Shrek Academy's endorsement—the entire continent was thrown into turmoil, like a huge stone dropped in a calm lake, sending out ripples in all directions.
After personally experiencing the simulated universe, countless soul masters instantly became addicted. The once-popular spirit arenas became deserted overnight.
The reason was simple: the simulated universe was just too real.
In that virtual world, soul masters could unleash their full power and fight intense battles, enjoying a thrill impossible in the restrictive environment of the spirit arena.
Compared to the fixed, limited opponents of the arena, the simulated universe was a treasure trove of infinite possibilities.
It offered all kinds of strange and powerful opponents—even legendary figures from history could be vividly simulated.
Fighting these legends, even knowing it was all virtual, still brought an exhilarating sense of challenge and accomplishment that drove soul masters wild. They flocked to the simulated universe like moths to a flame.
Even more enticing, defeating enemies in the simulated universe brought real rewards.
Though each victory gave only a tiny, barely perceptible increase in spiritual power, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"—after enough victories, a soul master's spiritual power would improve significantly.
In just a year, the simulated universe had spread like wildfire across the Douluo Continent.
The craze even crossed borders, reaching the Sun-Moon Empire.
Through the Common Alliance, Haiyuan City also sold simulated universe login devices to the Sun-Moon Empire.
Unlike soul masters in the original three kingdoms, who simply enjoyed the battles, the Sun-Moon Empire had deeper ambitions—they wanted to uncover the technology behind the simulated universe and figure out how this virtual world was created.
After all, as the continent's leader in soul tool technology, how could the Sun-Moon Empire tolerate a technology beyond their comprehension?
So they gathered their top Rank 9 soul engineers to form a research team and dissect the simulated universe devices.
But when they eagerly opened the device, what they saw left them utterly baffled.
The core soul guiding crystal was engraved with mysterious runes and patterns they'd never seen—far more complex than they'd imagined.
Herta left no anti-cracking measures; even with the sub-core laid bare, these top engineers were at a total loss.
After countless attempts and failures, the engineers finally had to give up.
However, just as they accepted this reality, an unexpected discovery caused another uproar.
To their amazement, they found that the simulated universe could generate all kinds of virtual soul tool materials.
This discovery was like a light in the darkness, revealing endless possibilities.
In the soul engineer world, the profession had always been a money pit.
Developing soul tools consumed vast amounts of rare materials, which were always outrageously expensive.
For a soul engineer to grow, they needed enormous financial support. Countless resources were wasted in failed experiments.
But the simulated universe changed everything.
Soul engineers no longer had to scour the world for materials or worry about bankruptcy from failed crafting.
When this news spread, it shocked the entire Sun-Moon engineer community.
Almost overnight, the simulated universe became their most treasured tool.
To get a login device—even at the astronomical cost of 100,000 gold soul coins—engineers would do anything, even sell everything they owned.
After all, the simulated universe saved not only resources but also invaluable time—the rarest and most precious resource in soul tool research.
With the ongoing craze, the name "Black Tower Herta" rose like a shining star in the soul engineer world, becoming legendary.
Rumors swirled—some said Lady Herta had reached the mythical Rank 10 soul engineer level, far surpassing the Sun-Moon Empire's three great soul engineers.