The hope of a cure?
Upon hearing this, Xu Tianran's hands tightly gripped the armrests of his wheelchair. Faint cracks were beginning to appear on the armrests.
A glimmer of hope also flashed in his eyes.
After a moment of excitement, he took a deep breath and regained his composure.
"I cannot be impatient. This useless body of mine would clearly be a burden on the battlefield. Even if I could forcefully arrange for a group of guards to kill Abyssal creatures for me, it would inevitably cause gossip and criticism."
As he spoke, his expression turned somewhat bitter.
Here he was, holding great power, already the emperor of the sole empire on the entire continent, yet he still had to be timid and hesitant.
His gaze shifted from the Abyssal Gate to the figure sitting cross-legged not far away on the roots of the Tree of Life. In the deepest depths of his eyes, a flicker of murderous intent flashed.
"To change this situation, we need the qualifications to make the rules. Many of the rules here haven't actually been stabilized yet. Apart from Contribution Points, the other systems haven't been established."
Ju Zi listened quietly to Xu Tianran, not voicing her own opinions.
Her gaze swept across the plain. Occasionally catching a glimpse of the figure she held in her heart, a trace of concern would flash in her eyes.
"Ju Zi, go speak with Yan Shaozhe of Shrek Academy again."
Ju Zi turned around and pushed Xu Tianran's wheelchair, changing direction toward the forests.
Inside a canyon where the Abyssal Gate couldn't be directly seen, tents were set up in an orderly fashion. Spirit Masters in uniform came and went. This was Shrek Academy's encampment.
Inside the largest tent at the center, Yan Shaozhe and other elders were chatting idly.
"Qian Duoduo, have you figured out the core formations of the Battle Armor yet or not?"
Yan Shaozhe was somewhat irritated.
A hint of embarrassment appeared on Qian Duoduo's face.
"I've roughly understood the function of those core formations, but I still know too few formations. If I were asked to design a set of formations for a student of the academy, I definitely couldn't do it."
Elder Lin said, "We've already done our best to exchange for One-Word Battle Armor in advance for students of different specializations and types. Aren't these templates enough?"
Qian Duoduo smiled bitterly.
"It's not that simple. The key point with the formations is matching the spirituality. They are structurally different from the core formations of ordinary Spirit Tools. Of course, I can piece together a complete formation and, using a set of Spirit Metal, produce quasi-One-Word Battle Armor. But following the formation to guide the spirituality and replicate it... whether it can achieve true One-Word Battle Armor, I'm not sure."
It wasn't that he wasn't sure; it was definitely impossible.
He just found it hard to say directly.
The academy has spent considerable time and energy lately trying to crack the Battle Armor technology.
Outside Spirit Kings still need to find some seniors to help, then take on debts, quickly repaying the Contribution Points. Shrek Academy's students, on the other hand, had their teachers help them gather Contribution Points, first obtaining a set of quasi-Battle Armor. Then, among these forests, they communicated with the spirituality within the Battle Armor, striving to replicate the formations, removing the "quasi-" from the quasi-Battle Armor as soon as possible, all without being troubled by debts.
They were all teachers and students; no debt collection.
Because of this, although elders like Yan Shaozhe went in and out of the Abyssal battlefield every day, they didn't have many Contribution Points. Forget exchanging for the Soul Refined Metal needed for a set of Three-Word Battle Armor for themselves; they couldn't even exchange for a single piece of Soul Refined Metal.
The combined Contribution Points of Yan Shaozhe and the others were only enough to exchange for one piece of Soul Refined Metal.
"Alas..."
A chorus of sighs.
"Yan Lao."
Wang Yan's voice broke the atmosphere inside the tent.
He strode in from outside and said, "Xu Tianran is here again."
Hearing this, Yan Shaozhe and the others exchanged glances.
"Shaozhe, we've been dragging this out for a long time. Xu Tianran's sincerity has been tested. Formal cooperation can begin now," Elder Lin said.
Yan Shaozhe's eyes flickered with hesitation. But at the end, he slowly nodded.
Soon, Xu Tianran was invited into the tent. Ju Zi pushed him to a spot beside Yan Shaozhe, then stood behind the wheelchair and remained silent.
"Your Majesty."
Xu Tianran looked around and could tell these people didn't have much reverence for him.
He didn't mind.
"I'm still with my previous proposal, everyone. Right now, our say in the Spirit Master world is too low."
Yan Shaozhe said thoughtfully, "With Su Ming's strength and contributions to the Spirit Master world, it will be difficult for us to surpass him in a short time."
Xu Tianran's eyes lit up.
Previously, the answers he received were all along the lines of "wait until the battlefield situation stabilizes." But today, Yan Shaozhe's reply gave him an opening.
"I, the Emperor, am certainly aware of this point as well. After careful consideration, I've decided not to compete with him in prestige."
"Oh?"
Xu Tianran's words clearly captured the attention of the Shrek elders.
"Since we cannot surpass him in prestige, we must turn to interests."
Yan Shaozhe's eyes narrowed slightly as he waited for Xu Tianran to continue.
Xu Tianran smiled as he observed everyone's reactions, knowing these people were also troubled by how to regain their say.
"My idea is to establish a new power suitable for the current situation. Use this new power to unite all the Spirit Masters present, thereby obtaining part of the qualification to make the rules."
"Establish a new power?" Yan Shaozhe's gaze turned cold.
They were all people of Shrek Academy. They wouldn't abandon their own home to go manage some new power with Xu Tianran.
Shrek Academy, after all, has ten thousand years of heritage, the legend of the Sea God, and its own glory and pride.
"This brand-new power will not affect the existing powers everyone belongs to, nor will it require anyone to do anything. It would be similar to an honorary institution. Only like this can it encompass all the Spirit Masters on this battlefield."
"The current theme is planar war. In the confrontation with the Abyss, all Spirit Masters are fighting for the plane. I believe that just because everyone isn't speaking up doesn't mean they don't need it. More or less, we should record everyone's merits and bestow some honorary titles upon them."
Yan Shaozhe and the others stared at Xu Tianran, their expressions urging him to continue.
Xu Tianran no longer beats around the bush. He said solemnly,
"I wish to establish the War God Hall."
"All Spirit Masters may join the War God Hall. Based on Contribution Points, they can obtain titles of different ranks. The highest rank will be War God."
Hiss~
God Realm.
"Dai Boss, you have to seize this opportunity."
Dai Mubai let out a wry laugh.
"Since you've created such an opportunity for me, of course I'll do my utmost to seize it."
"All Spirit Masters will join, but the one truly controlling the largest group of Spirit Masters is still the empires," Tang San said. "Dai Boss, I know the fall of the Star Luo Empire was a huge blow to you, but now on Douluo Continent, there is only the Sun Moon Empire. We also need to look forward."
"..."
Temple of the God of Destruction.
"Just establishing a War God Hall, huh..." The God of Destruction murmured softly.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
When Tang San went to see the God of War, he instinctively became alert, constantly watching Douluo Star, fearing the God of War might be persuaded by Tang San to act against those below.
"Three peaks... if they're going to establish a War God Hall, maybe I should guide them to create two more new powers."
The God of Destruction was inspired by Tang San.
"But, what powers to establish? And on what basis could they become mainstream down there?"
***
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