The envoy of the Star Dou Great Forest, Bi Ji, who had long been keeping watch beside the slumbering Jiang Feixin, suddenly sought out Jiang Shengyu and revealed her purpose for coming.
"Shrek Academy's eyes are fixed greedily upon the Star Dou Great Forest. Recently, Di Tian discovered that more and more Titled Douluo have begun infiltrating deep within the forest—and even a Super Douluo has been sighted among them! Some of these people carry a divine aura. I fear their first move will be against the Star Dou Great Forest!"
"People with a divine aura…"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shengyu showed an expression that said as expected.
He replied calmly, "It seems the rest of the original Shrek Seven Devils have finally lost their patience! They intend to forcibly raise the power of the three human nations on the original Douluo Continent using their divine inheritances."
"Di Tian hopes that the Sun–Moon Empire can provide the Star Dou Great Forest with some defensive strength. Those fixed soul-guided artillery shells of yours would be ideal!" Bi Ji said earnestly, looking at Jiang Shengyu.
Jiang Shengyu frowned slightly in thought.
"Fixed soul-guided shells are consumables. The demand is enormous. To fully arm the Star Dou Great Forest's defenses with them is… unlikely."
"We can purchase them!"
Bi Ji blurted out quickly—but almost at once, her expression turned awkward. After a brief hesitation, she asked softly, "But… we don't have human currency. Could we pay with resources instead?"
Jiang Shengyu waved his hand dismissively.
"That's not the issue. Once war begins, only quantity matters—prices lose meaning. But the pressure on soul-guided shell production is already heavy. Even with our new factories in operation, front-line consumption is immense. What we can spare for the Star Dou Great Forest… won't be much."
He shook his head as he explained the Sun–Moon Empire's current military production situation.
Just ten years ago, most of the Empire's soul tools still relied on the Mingde Hall and a few research institutes crafting them by hand. Even the so-called production lines were primitive, and manufacturing capacity was limited.
Although Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong had since established true soul tool factories, and output had increased, consumption had grown just as rapidly.
Bi Ji understood what he meant and sighed.
"I see… that's unfortunate."
Seeing her disappointed look, Jiang Shengyu added with a faint smile,
"There's no need to be so disheartened. Fixed soul-guided shells may be limited, but other types of soul-guided weapons—when properly coordinated and systematized—can unleash power no less than that of the cannons themselves."
"Truly?"
Bi Ji's eyes brightened with excitement.
Di Tian had only ever witnessed the destructive power of the fixed soul-guided shells—especially the terrifying blast of the ninth-grade fixed shell that caused the Mingdu Explosion. That was what prompted him to send Bi Ji to seek aid from Jiang Shengyu.
But as for other soul-guided weapons, Di Tian had never seen them in action, and Bi Ji knew even less.
Rather than explaining further, Jiang Shengyu took Bi Ji directly to observe a demonstration of the various soul-guided weapons working in formation.
When she saw the tremendous defensive strength these coordinated weapons could produce, Bi Ji was ecstatic.
She asked hurriedly, "How much would an entire defense system like this cost?"
"Don't worry—it's not expensive."
Jiang Shengyu shook his head lightly, reassuring her. Though a full soul-guided defense system was certainly costly, the Sun–Moon Empire could still afford to gift a few sets.
"If the Star Dou Great Forest feels uneasy about taking them for free," he added with a sly smile, "just grant us mining rights instead."
Money was merely a number—resources were true power!
Jiang Shengyu well understood the saying: 'What's free is often the most expensive.' A few sets of weapons and logistical support in exchange for the forest's mineral rights—an excellent deal!
When Bi Ji reported everything to Di Tian, he immediately saw through Jiang Shengyu's calculation.
He cursed under his breath,
"That brat sure knows how to scheme!"
After all, once the mining rights were granted, who could say how much ore the Sun–Moon Empire would take? The soul beasts had no real sense of how to measure mineral value against the cost of such soul-guided weaponry.
"Agree to it," Di Tian finally said decisively. "Those weapons are exactly what the Star Dou Great Forest needs right now! Without the present, there will be no future."
Though the Bear Lord admired Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong's defiance of the divine powers behind the three human nations, he couldn't help but frown when he learned that Di Tian had permitted the Empire to mine within the forest.
"Di Tian… are those so-called soul-guided weapons really worth that much?"
"You can't imagine their might until you've witnessed them yourself," Di Tian sighed. "Human creations… have already reached the level of the Limit Douluo!"
At that, the Bear Lord fell silent.
Since the Star Dou Great Forest lay deep within the territories of the three original nations of the Douluo Continent, transporting these weapons there would not be easy.
Thus, Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong personally accompanied the convoy, using the Soul Skill of their Spirit Eyes martial soul to conceal its passage through the Mingdou Mountain Range, en route to the Star Dou Great Forest.
This was the first time Jiang Shengyu, in his current identity, had ever set foot in the forest's core region.
The Bear Lord, the Ten Thousand Demon King, and the other soul beasts were also meeting Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong together for the first time. When they sensed the yin–yang complementary energy from their respective soul cores, they were all stunned.
"Ultimate Douluo? No… not quite. Each of you only has one soul core—but this aura…"
The Bear Lord stared at them, eyes wide, mind struggling to process what he was sensing.
Di Tian fixed his gaze on the pair and said in amazement,
"You've made your individual soul cores rotate in opposite directions… and formed a yin–yang complement outside your bodies?"
Jiang Shengyu nodded slightly.
"That's unprecedented!" Di Tian exclaimed. "You two are the most gifted humans I've ever seen! Once you fully mature, you may truly be able to defeat the gods themselves."
"Don't use vague words like 'may'," Jiang Shengyu replied with a confident smile. "You should have faith in us."
Then, turning to wave at the rear of the group, he called out. The attendants, who had been momentarily awestruck by the presence of Di Tian and the other fearsome beasts, hurried forward, setting the various soul-guided weapons before them.
Specialized instructors began explaining how each weapon functioned and how they could be coordinated to maximize combat efficiency.
For the first time, the soul beasts witnessed what systematic warfare truly meant—an enemy no longer faced a single type of soul-guided weapon, but a layered, interlocking network of armaments that compounded one another's power into a terrifying whole.
The Bear Lord stood before the Sun–Moon Empire's soul engineers, listening to their technical lecture on operating and coordinating these weapons.
As he tried to keep up with the complex terminology, a rare thought crossed his mind: perhaps… his brain wasn't quite enough for this.
Seeing the confused look on his face, the Ten Thousand Demon King said kindly,
"If you don't understand, you can just stop listening."
"Who says I don't understand?!" the Bear Lord snapped back instinctively.
Jiang Shengyu, watching from the side hesitated for a moment before saying,
"Bear Lord… you really don't need to listen anymore. Come here—I have something else for you to do."
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