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It was clearly his side that had discovered Su Wen first. If the enemy managed to snatch him away, Elder Yang felt he would be too ashamed to face the vast community of Soul Tool engineers within the Sun Moon Imperial Cult.
"Su Wen, oh Su Wen, where on earth are you? You've completely vanished for half a month."
Even though he knew Su Wen was somewhere in Radiant City, Elder Yang couldn't find a trace of him. His anxiety hadn't just started today; it had been building ever since Su Wen arrived and failed to make contact. After the first week of Su Wen's seclusion, the Elder began scouring the city and hunting for clues, but to no avail. When news broke two days ago that the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Treasures had acquired a batch of "Divine Genius" Soul Tools half a month prior, Elder Yang found it impossible to remain seated.
Unfortunately for him, Su Wen's concealment of his aura during seclusion was flawless. Even if Elder Yang were to blanket the entire city with his mental strength, he wouldn't find him. Normally, Su Wen simply didn't bother to hide his presence, allowing others to easily sense his Soul Emperor cultivation. However, if he chose to restrain it, no soul master with mental strength inferior to his own could hope to perceive his soul power fluctuations.
Su Wen, meanwhile, was entirely unaware that Elder Yang was hunting for him. He was immersed in his own world, refining the breakthrough direction for Rank 7 Soul Tools.
As he researched the unification of different formation abilities, his understanding of the connections between a soul master's rings deepened. Combined with his perception of the Martial Soul Space and the subtle resonance of the ring positions within his martial soul, he was simultaneously perfecting his theoretical framework regarding Soul Rings.
Every theoretical foundation laid was useful. Even if it couldn't be applied immediately, it would eventually serve a purpose—much like his "Theory of Martial Soul Growth." It might not have had a direct impact on his initial research, but as a core principle, it guided his cultivation and produced derivative results that streamlined his progress.
To Su Wen, research into the various aspects of martial souls was a holistic endeavor. One never knew when a specific study might become the missing piece of a larger puzzle. Unless time was of the essence, he preferred to codify his insights into formal theories the moment inspiration struck, turning them into fuel for his own growth.
Besides, his current research into Soul Rings wasn't entirely without immediate utility. At the very least, it would be vital when he eventually condensed his own seventh Soul Ring—a milestone that was fast approaching, contingent only on his breakthrough to Rank 70.
"Rank 7 Soul Tool... complete."
Gazing at the long spear in his hand, Su Wen broke into a satisfied smile. This was the fruit of half a month of design and integration, a Soul Tool built upon the unification of three Ten-Thousand-Year level core formations.
The basic formation of the spear itself? Su Wen didn't even count that among the three; it was merely the framework. Within that frame, he had integrated three Ten-Thousand-Year core formations of his own creation: 'Spear Like a Dragon,' 'Mental Oppression,' and 'Unity of Man and Spear.' With these three unified, the Tyrant Dragon Spear could exert all three soul skills, even utilizing them simultaneously to complement one another.
For a Soul Sage, wielding this spear would easily double their combat power. If the user already possessed a spear-type martial soul, the 'Unity of Man and Spear' effect combined with their Martial Soul True Body would elevate their strength far beyond a mere doubling.
Currently, Su Wen achieved these Ten-Thousand-Year formations through a combination of his "Stroke of Divine Genius" and sufficiently powerful Thousand-Year formations. Of course, many were formations he had developed himself. After all, research and development were his greatest strengths. Having mastered numerous soul skills and analyzed their soul power circulation routes, translating them into core formations was not a difficult task.
This was why Su Wen felt like a fish in water when it came to Soul Tool engineering. Not only did he digest existing knowledge at a lightning pace, but he also rapidly innovated, creating core formations for a wide variety of corresponding soul skills.
"The Soul Tool research is progressing smoothly. It's time to try and complete the Stone God's trial," Su Wen mused. He hadn't forgotten the trial to create a comprehensive Array System and spread it across the Douluo Planet.
"I feel like I've forgotten something... but my state of mind is perfect right now. I'll refine the Array System first." He sensed a nagging thought in the back of his mind but brushed it aside, throwing himself back into his work.
In truth, he had already created the prototype for the Array System long ago; he simply hadn't codified it into a complete hierarchy. Now, using the framework of Soul Tool core formations as a template, he began to build the system step by step.
As Su Wen delved into his work, time slipped away once more. For two months following the creation of the Tyrant Dragon Spear, Su Wen remained focused on the Array System.
During those two months, the Sun Moon Continent became a cauldron of hidden currents. After the initial violent clashes, both the Sun Moon Imperial Cult and the Imperial Family had fallen into an eerie silence. In this strange period of calm, both sides were searching for a single Soul Tool engineer.
This atmosphere left the soul masters of the continent feeling deeply unsettled. They had no idea what the two superpowers were doing, let alone that the suspicious peace was caused by both sides hunting for Su Wen.
"Huh?"
Su Wen finally emerged from his trance-like focus, noticing a subtle shift.
"My faith energy... it seems to have changed."
It wasn't the amount of faith energy, but the source. Two and a half months had passed since he had circulated those "Divine Genius" Mid-Level Soul Tools. Immersed in his research, he had lost track of time, but now he remembered his original scheme.
Guessing the cause, Su Wen allowed a smile to spread across his face.
"Two and a half months... has my influence finally reached the point of generating faith?"
As his mass-produced "Divine Genius" tools reached the Imperial Family and the ears of countless engineers, and as they were studied over time, more and more powerful engineers began to feel a sense of profound admiration for the creator. Even if it wasn't pure religious faith, this collective reverence, maintained over time, was enough to coalesce into faith energy.
It wasn't just the Imperial engineers; the Cult likely had them as well. Before leaving Ninghai, Su Wen had given Lin Tian a batch of those tools, and he had circulated even more on his way to Radiant City.
In other words, across the Sun Moon Continent, Rank 5 and Rank 6 Soul Tools were making waves. Now that the incubation period of two and a half months had passed, an untold number of engineers were beginning to burn with curiosity regarding the identity of Su Wen.
(End of Chapter)