Douluo Continent: A Man of Unparalleled Talent and Heaven-Defying Comprehension

Chapter 186 Huo Yuhao's Carving Knife (Please Subscribe!!!)

The Soul Master Competition, hosted by the three strongest black market forces in Mingdu, was naturally aimed at making profits.

No one will do something that doesn't bring any benefit.

This Soul Master Competition is a case in point.

The three major black market forces wanted to capitalize on the popularity of this Soul Battle Tournament to acquire large quantities of rare metals. Since gambling was prohibited during the tournament, they naturally thought of holding this Soul Master Tournament instead.

The competition to create soul tools is separate from the main Soul Battle Tournament, and is designed to differentiate it from the main event as much as possible.

Firstly, it can attract viewers who want to watch some fresh matches after watching the Soul Fighting Tournament, and secondly, it can attract geniuses from various Soul Master Academies to participate, thus gathering popularity.

Even though the level of soul tools in Douluo Three Kingdoms is lagging behind, there are still "geniuses" who can reach the fourth or fifth level of soul master at the age of twenty. How could they not be arrogant?

Not everyone can accurately recognize the true differences between soul tools.

After all, even in the Soul Battle Tournament, the difference between the two sides' Soul Masters in terms of the use of Soul Guidance Devices was not apparent.

While the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Masters held an overall advantage, in the eyes of the Douluo Three Kingdoms, this was merely a difference caused by the Sun Moon Empire's abundant resources.

They couldn't even obtain many of the rare metals used in making soul tools, so naturally their soul tools were inferior in quality.

This is the inner thought of most of the "genius" Soul Masters in Douluo Three Kingdoms.

After all, even if the technology of level 6 and below soul tools (excluding level 7) is lagging behind, the Douluo Three Kingdoms can make up for it little by little over time.

At least, the geniuses who have studied these difficult theories will not think that their soul tool technology is inferior to that of the geniuses of the Sun Moon Empire.

Little did people know that all cultivation ultimately boils down to simplifying complexity, and after simplifying complexity, it is a process of simplification and then complication, repeating endlessly.

These geniuses from Douluo Continent clearly hadn't yet developed soul tools to their most complex stage, and were unaware of the benefits of simplification.

They haven't yet realized the effect of simplicity.

In conclusion, this Soul Master Competition is a drain on the resources of Douluo Three Kingdoms.

Of course, some of the large powers and wealthy sects and families of the Sun Moon Empire were also targets for their pursuit of profit.

However, the massive number of tourists from Douluo Three Kingdoms, as well as the geniuses from various academies and sects, are actually the foundation that ensures they don't lose money.

"The three major black markets have spared no expense this time, inviting royal patrons and the ninth-level soul master Ye Yulin as the chief referee. The ninth-level soul tool reward for this competition is also Ye Yulin's signature soul tool, the Sun God Needle!"

"Master Ye Yulin!" Huo Yuhao exclaimed in surprise as he listened to Su Yu's introduction of the Soul Master Competition.

Huo Yuhao wasn't entirely sure how many level-nine soul masters the Sun Moon Empire actually had, because level-nine soul masters were basically trained in the Mingde Hall or the military. Regardless of their origins, they would eventually join the Empire and contribute to its research.

Of course, there are still many renowned level nine soul masters who are known to the public.

Among them, Ye Yulin is one of the three most famous, and is ranked as one of the three level-nine soul masters, along with Jing Hongchen, the head of Mingde Hall and Huo Yuhao's teacher.

Ye Yulin's Sun God Needle was even used by Kong Deming in the past. It complemented his own Sun Martial Soul and was extremely powerful. On the way back from the last Soul Battle Tournament, he used the Sun God Needle to severely injure Du Busi and Xian Lin'er.

Su Yu knew that Ye Yulin's Sun Needle seemed to have been upgraded later. The Sun and Moon Needle, which was the reward this time, was an upgraded version of the Sun Needle, which got rid of the drawback that the Sun Needle could only be used during the day to maximize its power.

It must be said that both the Sun Needle and the Sun and Moon Needle are a perfect match for Kong Deming.

However, Ye Yulin's martial soul is the starry sky, which is more abstract. It is understandable that he would choose the sun and moon, two more representative stars in the starry sky, to make the soul tool.

They could even incorporate the name of the Sun and Moon Empire into it, further enhancing their fame.

Or perhaps, Kong Deming also helped Ye Yulin perfect the Sun God Needle and the Sun and Moon God Needle?

After all, Kong Deming's mastery of soul tools is unmatched. He is not included among the three level-nine soul masters, as if they have tacitly acknowledged him as a unique existence, a half-step level-ten soul master.

"Whether it's the Sun Needle or the Sun and Moon Needle, their size is so small that it's definitely not easy to make them. The design and construction of the core magic array is extremely difficult."

But none of that matters.

Su Yu looked at Huo Yuhao, who was eager to try, but did not dampen Huo Yuhao's enthusiasm.

"In order to attract outstanding Soul Masters to participate, the competition will be divided into many rounds, each of which is an elimination round, and each round will have rare metals as a reward."

As long as you pass one round of assessment, you will receive a rare metal reward.

And if you pass the second round, there will be an additional second-round reward.

The higher the level you reach, the richer the rewards.

The three major black market forces each have their own arena, and the three champions who are ultimately determined will compete in an additional contest. Only the final winner will be qualified to receive a level nine soul tool as a reward.

Su Yu looked at the list of rewards and was filled with emotion.

"No wonder I spent several days in Mingdu and only managed to find a few scattered pieces of precious and rare metals, but I didn't acquire any large quantities of rare metals."

In the days leading up to the competition, Su Yu spent his time exploring Mingdu. Despite the city's immense popularity, he didn't acquire a large quantity of rare metals, only some scattered high-grade rare metals.

He has some memory of the original work, but that doesn't mean he knows all the details.

For example, regarding this Soul Master Competition, he only knew that such a thing existed, but he really didn't know why it was for or what impact it had on various industries.

Naturally, they didn't know that the competition was actually for rare metals.

Su Yu obtained this more specific information from the investigation conducted by Mingdetang.

"The prize for this competition is a level nine soul tool, and there's only one available. So, should we compete together or separately?" Su Yu asked.

Huo Yuhao thought for a moment and said, "Brother Yu, let's each choose one side to participate in the competition."

"That works too. We can also see the strength of your soul tool during the finals."

Su Yu nodded, thinking Huo Yuhao's suggestion was good.

In the three major competitions, Huo Yuhao chose the Ordinary Alliance, while Su Yu chose the Aodu Chamber of Commerce.

"Brother Yu, why don't you choose the Sunset Alliance?"

Of the three major black markets, the Xishui Alliance has the greatest influence.

The three major forces are the Xishui Alliance, the Pingfan Alliance, and the Aodu Chamber of Commerce.

Among them, the Ordinary Alliance has the most common name and operates the most vulgar business, controlling the entire sex industry in Mingdu. The Aodu Chamber of Commerce, on the other hand, controls guilds similar to assassin guilds, thief guilds, and various criminal gangs, making a living from all sorts of shady activities.

Although the Ordinary Alliance and the Audu Chamber of Commerce are both among the three major black markets alongside the Xishui Alliance, there is actually a significant difference in their strength. The two sides are almost in an alliance against the Xishui Alliance.

Because the business operated by the Xishui Alliance was much more sophisticated. In addition to human trafficking, their main business was the sale of medicines and weapons.

The backgrounds of the three major forces can be seen from their business operations.

The people behind the Xishui Alliance are absolutely second to none in terms of power.

Its own power is also the largest.

Huo Yuhao thought Su Yu would choose to participate in the Xi Shui Alliance's competition.

After all, Su Yu was stronger than him, so he consciously chose the weaker Pingfan Alliance. He didn't expect Su Yu to choose the Xishui Alliance instead of the Aodu Chamber of Commerce.

"Hehe, I have my reasons for making this choice, you'll see when the time comes." Su Yu didn't explain too much.

The three major black markets are, in essence, not very legitimate; they are all shady industries.

The Xi Shui Alliance has a background with evil soul masters, and the other two major black markets are not clean either. Taking advantage of the competition, we will clean up the two major black markets, which can be regarded as paving the way for the future.

As for the Xi Shui Alliance, Su Yu will definitely make a move after the finals of the competition.

All I can say is that none of the three major black markets can escape.

Su Yu will also inform Jing Hongchen and Kong Deming later that with their support, Su Yu only needs to focus on the three major black markets.

Moreover, Su Yu's own strength is enough to deal with all of this.

It's just that she dislikes some underhanded and despicable practices and doesn't want to waste energy dealing with future troubles, so she wants Jing Hongchen and Kong Deming to cover for her.

If the two of them also deeply resent these roots and completely eradicate them following Su Yu's actions, Su Yu has no objection.

Reforms need a prelude, isn't that normal?

On the other side, Shrek and his group also appeared here.

"Caitou, with your skill level, you easily passed the previous rounds of elimination, and even have a chance to enter the semi-finals, which is the finals of the regional competition. That's enough for us to make some moves." After arriving at the scene and gaining a better understanding of the rules, Qian Duoduo instructed Caitou, who had come with him, "Also, Tang Zhen, I know this is beyond your scope of mission, but I still request that you team up with Caitou this time."

The competition can be completed in teams.

One person is truly responsible for making the soul tools, while the other is responsible for assisting. This way, the soul master's skills can be maximized.

Although the Haotian Sect has remained secluded from the world, their martial spirit, the inherited Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique, and their blacksmithing skills have not been lost.

Even top geniuses still rely on their family's traditional skills.

During the era of soul tools, the Clear Sky Sect was not particularly interested in soul tools, but they did explore this area.

Wang Dong's strange illness cannot be blamed on the Haotian Sect, which is why it is called a strange illness.

The Haotian Sect's blacksmithing profession is so good. Even if it doesn't help one become a Soul Master, the metals they forge greatly increase the success rate of making Soul Tools.

If this point cannot be grasped, the title of the number one sect in the world should have been abolished long ago.

On the other hand, even sects that live in seclusion still need sources of funding. For example, the Xuanming Sect still needs to maintain a certain level of Xuan Shui Dan sales to keep the sect running. And the Haotian Sect's business is clearly their blacksmithing skills.

With Tang Town in charge of helping He Caitou with the initial metal forging and shaping, He Caitou was able to achieve the best possible results.

"Don't worry, I'm personally very interested in the rare metals that are the rewards for this Soul Master Competition."

"Thank you," Qian Duoduo said.

Since Tang Zhen had no objections, Qian Duoduo brought Tang Zhen and He Caitou to the Xishui Alliance arena.

Su Yu and Huo Yuhao are both highly skilled Soul Masters, possessing certification badges from the Mingde Hall. Although they didn't receive the latest badges due to the lack of significance, they still hold badges indicating they are Level 7 Soul Masters.

The staff quickly arranged a match for the two.

The competition provides participants with enough rare metals to complete their creations, which can be considered a kind of hidden benefit.

Of course, there are no explicit rules, and if you offend the organizers, it's impossible for all your requests to be met.

However, Su Yu and his companion did not cause any trouble, and since they had demonstrated their status as certified Soul Masters by Mingde Hall, they received exceptionally good treatment.

"It's only the first round. Making a level four soul tool is enough. I didn't expect to be given some soul-forging silver as well."

This Soul Silver is good enough to be used as the main material for making level 6 Soul Tools, and it can even be used to make level 7 Soul Tools without any problem.

Now that he had prepared Soul Forging Silver, Su Yu naturally wouldn't refuse to use it.

Select the most precious and rare metals and place them on the crafting table for smelting and forging.

The three major black markets still wield considerable power. Although this crafting station cannot compare to the configuration in the workshops of the elite researchers at Mingde Hall, it is still the standard for crafting stations in the personal workshops of the Royal Soul Master Academy.

On the other side, He Caitou and Tang Zhen were still marveling at Mingdu's advanced technology in soul tool manufacturing.

He Caitou was only six years old when he experienced the upheaval, and his understanding of the soul tools of the Sun Moon Empire was only superficial. After more than ten years of study at Shrek Academy, his cognitive level was also restricted by Shrek Academy.

They expressed amazement at the various capabilities of the Soul Tool Crafting Station.

This production station is something that Shrek Academy might not be able to replicate even at great expense.

"This piece of Soul Forging Silver cannot be wasted; the crafting of a Level 4 Soul Tool cannot be too ordinary."

After thinking for a while, Su Yu came up with an idea.

At the same time, he has also completed the most basic calcination of the Soul-Forging Silver.

He touched his brow with his right hand, and a transparent dagger, entirely emerald green, appeared in his hand—the Blade of Life.

His hands landed steadily on the metal sphere made of Soul-Forging Silver.

On the other side, ice-attribute crystals spread across Huo Yuhao's right hand, gradually forming a sharp dagger.

Ice crystal blade.

This is an ability that Huo Yuhao learned from Ice Bear King Xiaobai after obtaining his soul.

The Ice Bear King is used to enhance the cutting power of its bear claws, which makes perfect sense, right?

While not as powerful as the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, it is still powerful enough to easily cut rare metals.

Of course, this is not one of the soul skills that Xiaobai bestowed upon Huo Yuhao; it was something Huo Yuhao learned later.

At the same time, it is also a carving knife that Huo Yuhao created based on the unique skills of his teacher, Jing Hongchen.

As a Soul Master, how can one be without a carving knife that suits them?

Since Xuan Ziwen's martial soul can be a carving knife, Huo Yuhao naturally wasn't limited to the idea of ​​a real physical carving knife.

Using the power of ultimate ice and Xiaobai's experience, an ice blade with extremely strong cutting power was condensed. At the same time, Jing Hongchen's ultimate technique was incorporated into the ice blade, and a large number of core magic arrays were integrated into it. With the addition of runes and other enhancements, this ice crystal blade is no less than any of the listed engraving knives.

There will be a recommendation tomorrow, so I'll be updating with 20,000 words!

I was planning to save up some drafts these past two days and post them tomorrow, with one after midnight, but I accidentally overdid it, cough cough, yes, I overdid it and didn't save them.

So there won't be any more chapters after 4,000 words tonight.

I'm taking a day off tomorrow, no studying, just writing all day. I'll try to write 16,000 words, or 12,000 if that's not enough. I'll make up for the shortfall of 4,000 or 6,000 words the day after tomorrow or the day after that.

If the rules are correct, then double the update will be made up.

For example, if I'm 4,000 words short tomorrow, and I was supposed to write 4,000 words the day after tomorrow, I'd have to make up for it with 8,000 words. So, I'd have to update 12,000 words the day after tomorrow, or 8,000 words over two consecutive days to make up for it.

Well, this is kind of a wake-up call for me, otherwise I might end up reading novels again tomorrow, cough cough, or overdoing my studies.

Also, please, brothers, don't keep this as a story, considering how sincere the author is! We need to aim for a high-quality post this month, please!

(End of this chapter)