Douluo Continent: On Becoming a God Through Science

Chapter 111 The Sixth Soul Ring (Part 2)

Marquis Shanya's pupils contracted when he heard You Chen, who was wearing a mask, accurately state the information about his side.

He naturally discovered that the organization that hunted the Archaeopteryx was the recently rising "Skynet" assassin group. He was indeed somewhat surprised that this organization possessed the ability to hunt Archaeopteryxes with over 50,000 years of cultivation.

But he had always looked down on assassins, those rats in the gutter. As a nobleman, he didn't take such shady forces seriously at all.

Among nobles and Soul Masters, etiquette and interests are important.

A high-age soul beast with rare ancient bloodlines is indeed precious, but is that enough for a small underground organization to decide to clash with such a powerful force?

It is obviously not possible.

It should be noted that "Skynet" is an organization operating within the Star Luo Empire.

It's fine if they hide in the undercurrents of the world, but if such a shadowy force dares to show itself and compete with the forces of the surface world for benefits, countless people will swarm up and crush it!

Marquis de Santo and Prince Antonio would only be one of these forces.

As for silencing them?

Stop joking.

The man in front of them was able to pinpoint their intelligence so accurately in such a short time, so he was definitely not a brainless person.

When he said those words, he must have known that even if he killed everyone present, he couldn't prevent the information from leaking out.

The fact that they had targeted Skynet's prey and attempted to steal its spoils was by no means a secret. No secrets stay hidden forever; even if it could be kept quiet for a while, it would soon become common knowledge among the upper echelons of the Star Luo Empire.

The outcome of this struggle was that Skynet survived, while Marquis Shanya and Prince Antonio went missing? It's obvious what happened!

Therefore, as long as SkyNet wants to operate within the Star Luo Empire, or even within the Douluo Continent, it cannot afford to attack its own side!

Moreover... they might not even be their match.

It was precisely because he had come to this conclusion that Marquis Shanya remained so confident and certain after hearing what You Chen said to Ignis.

Then, the Marquis of Shanya heard—

"Attention, all troops—volley fire!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!

This time, the number of Soul Fighting Beasts with at least Soul Venerable combat power was significantly higher than last year. More than fifty people took out their Black Fire Crossbows and fired a volley, turning more than a dozen people wearing Imperial military uniforms into a sieve.

The hostages, too, did not escape unscathed.

However, compared to the resentful expressions of the Imperial soldiers, the hostages looked at Ignis with delight.

Ignis, who gave the order to shoot down her comrades, showed no sign of wavering.

Her face showed only a resolute expression.

"The Soul Beasts are an organization created to change the plight of the Beast-Transformed Mutants, but they are also an organization created for the benefit of their leader! And the leader's interests, the future he represents, are precisely the future of the Beast-Transformed Mutants!"

This was Ignis's idea, and also the idea of ​​all the Soul Fighting Beasts!

In Ignis's mind, the most important thing for a leader is to understand the purpose of his actions and the purpose of the organization's existence!

Once this is confirmed, all you need to do is follow this direction and execute it steadfastly!

There should be no hesitation whatsoever in this process!

Their mission is to help their leader obtain a spirit ring! Therefore, even if it means opposing the empire, helping their leader acquire a spirit ring must be their top priority!

Seeing Ignis's decisive command, You Chen's lips curled up slightly.

In fact, whether Ignis chose to avoid his sharp edge or prioritize his interests, You Chen didn't care.

Even You Chen himself couldn't be certain which option was absolutely correct.

Therefore, no matter what Ignis chooses, You Chen will not blame her.

The important thing is that, as a leader, you must have the courage to make decisions!

Instead of dragging things out, being overwhelmed by pressure, or being intimidated by the other party's momentum!

Ignis clearly gave You Chen a satisfactory answer.

The Blackfire Crossbow's technology has not yet been innovated; however, even a year and a half ago, the Blackfire Crossbow could kill a Soul Emperor unexpectedly.

The distance between the two camps was only a few dozen meters, and with the firing rate of the Blackfire Crossbow, it was truly just a matter of a moment.

None of the nearly twenty soldiers that the Marquis of Sanya and Prince Antonio had assembled for this operation reacted in time.

Nearly twenty of the weakest Soul Kings and the highest-level Soul Emperors were all killed in an instant.

Only Marquis Shanya survived, but he was also severely injured.

The Blackfire Crossbow is designed specifically for attacking humans, and it is less effective against large creatures like Soul Beasts. However, when it penetrates a human, a single bolt can cause widespread and severe damage.

After being targeted and pierced by dozens of crossbow bolts, Earl Shanya finally reacted, summoning the Wild Boar King's Martial Soul to possess him. He then turned to flee without hesitation, not even bothering to notify Prince Antonio and the others who were hunting Archaeopteryx nearby.

Marquis Shanya felt a chill rush straight to his head.

"How dare they?! How dare they?! What assassin group?! They're a bunch of lunatics! The one who gave the orders is a lunatic, the one who carried them out without hesitation is a lunatic, and that man who seemed to have done nothing but leave the decision-making power to the lunatic is also a lunatic! And those weapons, what the hell are those weapons?! How could Soul Venerables and Soul Masters possess such things, capable of instantly killing Soul Emperors and severely injuring Soul Saints?!"

Terrified, they fled at full speed. Even though Marquis Shanya was a powerful offensive Soul Saint, the Soul Fighting Beasts had difficulty even aiming at him.

Ignis stopped everyone from getting involved with a single gesture. Her gaze shifted, and the ethereal figure, now with beautiful white wings, quickly gave chase.

Even before he was injured, Marquis Shanya was not as fast as You Chen, let alone after he was injured.

In just a few breaths, You Chen arrived in front of Marquis Shanya, their eyes meeting.

Marquis Shanya was already in a state of shock, his mind and will were in a state of panic and fragility. Under the influence of the Soul-Soothing Technique, he instantly lost his focus and collapsed to the ground.

Killing a human soul master who is dazed and defenseless is much simpler than killing a soul beast that is dazed.

With his dragon-transformed arm, You Chen swiftly unleashed the variant soul skill "Wind-Flowing Claw" from the Wind-Moving Fist, cleanly piercing through Marquis Shanya's chest and ending his life in an instant.

Having completed all this, You Chen quickly returned to the group and solemnly instructed, "You no longer need to participate in the following matters. After erasing all traces at the scene, return to the main camp immediately, gather all the beast soldiers and beast tamers who are out, and prepare to relocate. I will come to your aid as soon as I finish things here. For the next long period of time, all missions and intelligence gathering work are suspended!"

Ignis's pupils contracted: "But, Chief, there are probably at least two Soul Saints with the Archaeopteryx. If we help them, even just me alone, we can—"

"This is the leader's order."

You Chen said calmly, gazing at Ignis, "They need your protection, but I don't."

As soon as he finished speaking, You Chen's aura quickly disappeared.

Ignis gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with undisguised resentment, but she finally turned around and said, "Everyone, evacuate immediately!"

……

On the other side, You Chen had already concealed all his aura and silently approached the source of the fluctuations from the battle between the soul beasts and soul masters in the distance.

The fact that such a huge accident occurred during this operation, and that it might even destroy the intelligence network that Soul Beast had built up over the years, was naturally beyond You Chen's expectations.

However... such accidents are inherently difficult to completely avoid.

When a soul beast reaches a certain age, it becomes an extremely rare resource, especially for soul masters whose attributes are compatible with it; it is an absolute resource that must be fought over.

Since intelligence networks are used to collect information on high-age soul beasts in order to reduce search time, it is inevitable that conflicts with other soul masters will one day occur.

It's just that there are only so many spirit rings, and you only need to hunt them a few times. Some spirit masters just happen not to encounter this situation in their careers.

If you really have to hold a grudge, you can only blame fate for not going your way.

You Chen wasn't too upset. He quickly regained his composure. He knew that as time went on, Prince Antonio and the others would definitely discover that Marquis Shanya and the others had lost contact.

The reason they haven't come to check the situation yet is probably because the battle is so intense that they have no time to spare.

You Chen didn't spend much time and quickly approached the edge of the human-beast battlefield.

It is visibly clear to the naked eye that Archaeopteryx is at a disadvantage.

It was constantly controlled by a Soul Saint who led several Soul Emperors, and was unable to break free from the battle line.

On the other hand, a handsome young man wearing white-gold knight armor, with blond hair and wielding a greatsword surging with storms, was surrounded by extremely strong wind power, launching attacks on the Archaeopteryx time and time again, adding more and more wounds to its body.

However, he himself was by no means unscathed.

Archaeopteryx would occasionally unleash almost invisible, silk-like air blades, attacking the knight in front of it time and time again.

With claws, with beaks, with wings, with tails, even with feathers!

It's as if the entire Archaeopteryx was a generator of air blades!

If the knight hadn't repeatedly used the strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" to proactively absorb most of the damage, the Soul Masters responsible for support and control around him would probably have suffered more than half of their casualties in a short period of time.

Even so, casualties still occur from time to time.

This powerful and highly concealed air blade, the signature move of the Archaeopteryx, is precisely why You Chen chose it as his sixth spirit ring.

After discovering the perfect evolution ratio, You Chen decided to choose pure wind-type soul rings for the fifth, sixth, and seventh rings of his main body.

There are actually quite a few types of soul beasts to choose from, but You Chen doesn't really care about the specific soul skills they have.

Especially for the fifth and sixth rings, You Chen did not demand perfection.

He chose Archaeopteryx not for any particular reason, but simply because it was the right age and had excellent qualities in all aspects. As for acquiring the opponent's Air Blade technique, that was just an extra.

After achieving the same level of control over his soul skills as Yan's martial soul talent, You Chen can also enhance his training speed for wind attribute nature changes or form changes by referring to soul rings and soul skills.

Archaeopteryx's Air Blade can be described as an ultimate form of wind-attribute transformation.

Of course, obtaining the Air Blade would make You Chen stronger, but without it, he wouldn't be much weaker even with another soul skill.

You Chen did not explain these things to Ignis in order to interfere with her judgment.

Because it is true that using the Archaeopteryx Soul Ring is better. Compared to the choice that is one level lower, his strength at this stage may be 20% to 30% weaker. Looking to the future, his strength may eventually be less than 10% weaker.

However, it is sometimes difficult to say whether a change in strength that is not visible for even a fraction of a second in the long run will lead to a change in the ending of the story.

And some things, once done, should naturally be done to the extreme.

Just as Archaeopteryx was weakened once again, likely when Prince Antonio's armored knights were about to contact Marquis Shanya, You Chen used the Soul-Sealing Technique on them... and then the wind and clouds stirred!

You Chen didn't even intend to use the Wind Claw. In order to prevent this prince from hiding some kind of life-saving soul tool black technology, he directly used his strongest killing move!

After taking strength pills, speed pills, and other elixirs, even a Soul Douluo would never dare to take You Chen's attack head-on!

The group of Soul Masters were terrified when they saw You Chen suddenly appear and try to take their master's life. The Soul Saint immediately gave up controlling the Progenitor Bird and used his strongest control technique on You Chen from a distance, intending to turn the tide of You Chen's attack.

However, this time You Chen didn't even look at it, and took the Soul Saint's attack head-on, successfully completing the perfect fusion of Wind and Cloud Movement!

What terrified the Soul Saint was that his full-force attack on You Chen not only failed to change the course of the attack, but also failed to break through the defense!

Even if he was only a control-type Soul Saint, and even if he had only used the technique hastily, the opponent's defense was terrifying! He was a defense-type Soul Saint!? But how could a defense-type Soul Saint have gotten here so quickly and stealthily, and how could he have so easily immobilized his master?!

Before the Soul Saint could figure it out, You Chen had already unleashed his Wind and Cloud Movement.

For a moment, the world fell silent.

The knight in armor had his head blown off!

Even just before You Chen's fist was about to strike his head, a mysterious golden light suddenly shone. Faced with this terrifying power, it still couldn't stop You Chen for even a moment!

You Chen suddenly appeared and killed the prince, who possessed the strength of a Soul Saint, in the blink of an eye.

But in that instant, one creature reacted faster than anyone else!

When Archaeopteryx saw that the person who posed the greatest threat to it had suddenly stopped attacking, and that the person who had the greatest restraining effect on it had also shifted its target, it immediately seized this opportunity and went berserk, unleashing its full power.

The sheer number of air blades was overwhelming; even the smallest blade, so tiny as to be invisible, was clearly visible in their sheer number!

In an instant, all the other Soul Masters present, except for You Chen and the control-type Soul Saint, were pierced through by the air blades and died instantly!

"Chuck chuck chuck!!!"

Archaeopteryx cried out, ignoring the blood streaming down its body, and soared into the sky!

In response, You Chen seemed to be in a great hurry to unleash the roar of the wind dragon, but it only barely grazed the tail feathers of the Archaeopteryx and ultimately failed to stop the soul beast in its desperate struggle.

"I am willing to be your slave, and from this day forward I will respect you above all others. Please spare my life!"

Seeing the sudden appearance of this ferocious person who caused the annihilation of their entire army, the Control-type Soul Saint, who was still bleeding from being pierced by numerous air blades, suddenly spoke up.

Compared to his own miserable state, You Chen only suffered minor injuries after taking the air blade head-on.

This control-type Soul Saint naturally and wisely chose to offer his loyalty.

But You Chen didn't need the loyalty of someone whose background he knew nothing about, so he chose to fight without saying a word.

The outcome of the battle is self-evident.

As expected of a Soul Saint who could serve as a guest elder in the Antonio family, he managed to hold out for several minutes before finally succumbing to his injuries without You Chen using the Soul-Suppressing Technique.

The reason why You Chen did not use the Soul-Sealing Technique was also very simple.

With his remaining spiritual energy, to prevent his clone in Notting City from running into trouble, he would need to use the Soul-Suppressing Technique once more against a Soul Saint-level being, which would be about the limit.

And this last one... of course, is reserved for Archaeopteryx.

That seemingly useless roar of the wind dragon was certainly not unfounded.

Just like he had done to Hu Liena, You Chen also left a mental imprint on Archaeopteryx.

Maintaining a spiritual imprint naturally requires the consumption of mental energy, which is one of the reasons why You Chen does not use the Soul-Suppressing Technique on control-type Soul Saints.

"After working so hard for so long, it's finally time to reap the rewards."

Even with You Chen's patience, he couldn't help but sigh.

Having secured the location of Archaeopteryx and with no other obstacles in its way, coupled with the fact that Archaeopteryx was now severely injured and on the verge of death, the subsequent harvest was naturally a matter of course.

Just four hours later, You Chen completed the hunt for the Archaeopteryx and the absorption of its soul ring.

"Sixth Soul Skill, Air Blade, successfully acquired!"

You Chen, who was sitting cross-legged on the spot, suddenly opened his eyes and revealed a faint smile.

He then reached out and summoned a deep black spirit ring, which spun around. Countless tiny, almost imperceptible blades appeared out of thin air, instantly turning the ground in front of him into dust.

A 70,000-year-old spirit ring skill: Air Blade. As a spirit ring skill, a spirit master naturally cannot control the output of a single or hundreds of air blades as freely as a spirit beast. Once used, it is close to the final burst of output of the Archaeopteryx.

However, with You Chen's control over his soul power, he was able to quickly "self-transform" this soul skill and achieve its most basic use. In a sense, it was equivalent to being able to autonomously control it like the Archaeopteryx, only the upper limit was not high for the time being.

In addition to the soul skills, the Starbone Dragon Martial Soul has also been enhanced. In terms of speed bonus alone, it has probably reached the level of "quasi-super performance". With the improvement of the fifth soul ring, the Starbone Dragon Martial Soul's rating has entered the top tier.

Of course, scores are scores, and quality is quality. You Chen could sense that his martial soul origin had not undergone a fundamental sublimation and was still at the advanced martial soul level.

You Chen was naturally very satisfied with this result, and couldn't help but let out a soft hum.

However, there was an unexpected surprise during this absorption of the spirit ring.

(End of this chapter)