Wan Hun Douluo received the beast hide handed over by Jiang Jue with both hands. At Jiang Jue's signal, he began to browse the contents written on it.
Meanwhile, Zeng'e Douluo stood beside Wan Hun Douluo with his massive body, somewhat curious, his eyes drifting toward the beast hide from time to time.
Zeng'e Douluo's title was the same as his martial soul—Abomination—belonging to the undead creature known as an Abomination. Even in the undead demiplane, Abominations were considered mid-to-high level undead and could strengthen themselves by continuously devouring corpses.
Therefore, Wan Hun Douluo and Zeng'e Douluo often acted together. One needed souls, the other needed corpses—maximizing reuse and ensuring nothing went to waste.
"Although I can't free myself to go to the ocean right now, letting these two go first is still a good choice. And perhaps the two of them might even bring me some surprises."
Jiang Jue looked at the two of them, a glint flashing in his eyes as he thought to himself.
These two were among the rare evil soul masters who actually used their brains. Back when Huo Yuhao invented the Soul Spirit method, Wan Hun Douluo used that method to "scam" the Sea Princess clan.
And he had actually succeeded!
He successfully lured the Sea Princess's youngest daughter, the Mermaid Princess, onto land and carried out soul extraction, turning the Mermaid Princess's soul into one of the spirits within the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.
"Young Master, th-this… did you invent this? This is practically a completely new path for soul masters!"
"If this method works, then the number of beast souls inside my Ten Thousand Soul Banner could increase a lot!"
Wan Hun Douluo himself was a spiritual-type soul master and had dealt with souls for many years, so he understood the contents very quickly. After reading it, the excitement in his eyes could hardly be concealed.
Hearing this, Jiang Jue merely smiled without saying anything.
One's stance determined one's behavior. When the Snow Empress saw the Soul Spirit method back then, she thought about reducing the losses of soul beasts. But Wan Hun Douluo only thought about how it could increase the number of beast souls inside his Ten Thousand Soul Banner.
"Well? With this now, do you think you have a chance of accomplishing it?"
Jiang Jue asked softly, his gaze fixed on the two of them.
"Yes!"
Wan Hun Douluo gritted his teeth, a fierce light flashing in his eyes as he nodded heavily.
The task given by the Holy Son was to capture a Mermaid Princess. From what he knew, the Sea Princess clan believed in the Sea God and disliked killing.
If they added this Soul Spirit method—which on the surface could reduce the conflict between humans and sea soul beasts—they might actually be able to accomplish it.
"Very good. Then I'll have to trouble the two elders. We'll meet in Dongyang City when the time comes."
Jiang Jue smiled faintly, meeting Wan Hun Douluo's gaze.
"No trouble, no trouble. Being able to relieve the Holy Son's worries is the honor of Elder Zeng'e and myself."
Wan Hun Douluo put away the beast hide, pulled Zeng'e Douluo along, bowed, and then left the council hall.
"The Sea Princess… the Demon Soul Great White Shark… both are loyal believers of the Sea God."
Jiang Jue sat alone in the now-empty hall and murmured softly.
His plan regarding the Sea Princess was not only because she was a spiritual-type soul beast suitable for becoming his soul ring, but also because the merfolk clan she belonged to were believers of the Sea God.
As a major race among sea soul beasts, countless other sea soul beast groups were attached to the merfolk clan. The amount of faith power they produced was extremely enormous.
The Asura God relied on the Law of Slaughter as his foundation, but the Sea God had become a god through faith. The former's god position was unshakable—but the latter might not necessarily be.
"Faith can both achieve someone and destroy them."
Jiang Jue said with distant eyes. Most of the faith power inside his Soul Refining Banner came from the souls within it. There were no distracting thoughts involved, so the hidden risks were extremely minimal.
"But comprehending laws and inheriting a divine position is still the safest path."
Jiang Jue shook his head slightly, throwing these thoughts out of his mind. In his hand appeared the ice-blue bead gifted by the Water Dragon King.
By absorbing and understanding the Water Dragon King's insights on ice contained within it, his control over Ultimate Ice had advanced further—already almost equal to that of the Ice Empress.
After putting away the ice-blue bead, the fragment of the Angel God's divine position appeared in his palm. No sooner said than done—next he would set out to find the remaining fragments of that divine position.
"Oh right, I should also remind Master. Xu Tianran cannot be left unguarded against."
With that, Jiang Jue stood up and headed toward Zhongli Wu's hall.
…
"Finished talking?"
Inside Zhongli Wu's hall, Zhongli Wu looked at Jiang Jue and asked softly.
"Yes. Master, what do you think of Xu Tianran?"
Jiang Jue nodded slightly and spoke after a moment of thought.
"Disciple, what about Xu Tianran?"
Zhongli Wu stopped what he was doing and asked curiously.
After considering for a moment, Jiang Jue explained the matter concerning the forces under Xu Guozhong cultivating a soul master with an Angel martial soul.
"But Master, rest assured. That angel martial soul user has already been dealt with by me."
"Hmph! That old dog Xu Guozhong has quite the courage. It seems the impression I left him last time wasn't deep enough. Xu Tianran's ambition is truly not small—he hasn't even crossed the river yet, and he's already preparing to kill the donkey after it has finished pulling the mill."
Zhongli Wu snorted coldly, a chilling light flashing in his dark eyes.
"But that's fine. This sect master isn't afraid that he has ambition—I'm afraid that he doesn't. That his ambition isn't big enough!"
After all, he still needed Xu Tianran to conquer the entire Douluo Continent for the Holy Spirit Church. He had already invested so much effort into Xu Tianran in the early stages, so naturally he expected to be repaid a hundredfold.
The things without a price tag are often the most expensive.
"Disciple, you don't need to worry too much. After some time, your master plans to enter seclusion and break through to become an Ultimate Douluo."
"When that happens, our Holy Spirit Church will have three Ultimate Douluo under one sect. On the entire Douluo Continent, what force would dare to fight us? Which force could fight us!"
"They're all nothing but chickens and dogs."
Zhongli Wu slowly rose from his chair, a violent aura surging from his body, radiating an almost unrivaled arrogance.
"Master, the foundation of the Sun Moon imperial family should not be underestimated. The development of soul tool technology may also have already reached a new domain."
Jiang Jue shook his head slightly and spoke softly, pouring a bucket of cold water over Zhongli Wu.
In the later stages, the Sun Moon Empire's Level 9 soul engineers emerged endlessly. Not only were there the four Beast King legions on the surface, but also numerous consecrators led by Kong Deming. They even developed linked soul tool mecha.
They didn't just crush the former Three Great Empires with overwhelming superiority—Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao were eventually tricked by linked soul tools as well.
"Hmm. Disciple, I will also take your suggestion into account. We can't let Xu Tianran, that little wolf cub, live too comfortably."
After a moment, Zhongli Wu seemed to have thought of something and slowly sat down again, speaking in a deep voice.
Jiang Jue's eyes moved slightly. Seeing his master's expression, he knew that Zhongli Wu had listened—how much he had taken to heart, however, he did not know.
"Oh right, disciple. That soul engineer you brought back from Mingde Hall a few years ago has been requisitioned by the Supreme Elder. Although the Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology is advanced, the first Level 10 soul engineer might not necessarily come from them."
Zhongli Wu said to Jiang Jue.
Hearing this, Jiang Jue's eyes flickered slightly.
"The Death God Tower…"
The one capable of merging soul tools with a martial soul wasn't only Kong Deming. Later on, Ye Xishui could achieve the same through the Death God Tower. And after the great explosion in Mingdu, the Death God Tower indeed transformed into a Level 10 soul tool.
Of course, the Death God Tower's transformation into a Level 10 soul tool owed a great deal to Huo Yuhao's assistance…
"Just borrow them as needed. Then I won't disturb you any longer, Master. Please continue with your work."
Jiang Jue stood up and prepared to walk toward the hall's exit.
"Disciple, what do you think of the two Saintesses within the church?"
(End of Chapter)