Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

Along Yan's journey, similar incidents have occurred many times. In most cases, the other party offered tribute voluntarily, and if he refused, they would prepare knives and guns to kill him.

The overall chaos on the mainland has led to people worshipping the strong, and the status of Soul Masters is much higher than it was on Douluo Continent.

Or rather, ordinary people are terrified of the power of Soul Masters. When a caravan encounters an unfamiliar Soul Master in the wild, they will generally show some respect. If the Soul Master accepts their offer, it's a sign of respect, and the caravan feels at ease. If they don't accept, there's a high probability that the Soul Master is eyeing the caravan, and in that case, it's no wonder they'd target you.

Yan was initially a little unaccustomed to this situation, but after seeing it more often, he eventually adapted to local customs, since he was the one who benefited anyway.

Perhaps due to the prolonged war, many forces on the continent are pursuing greater destructive power, and the research on soul tools has naturally been put on the agenda.

Because of its abundant mineral resources, the New World has far better conditions for researching soul tools than the Douluo Continent. After so many years of development, they have achieved some results in their research on soul tools.

Among them, the Mingde Hall of the Sun and Moon Empire, located in the central part of the continent, is considered a leader in this field. Yan also had the idea of ​​visiting the Mingde Hall during his trip to Sun and Moon City.

Yan was very fast, traveling alone with Bai Xiuxiu, and the little sharks kept them entertained along the way.

This journey with just the two of them, one human and one shark, has been somewhat of a tourist trip, but now that they're nearing Sun and Moon City, they need to speed things up.

"This is Sun and Moon City, the name of Mingdu is truly well-deserved." Yan quickly arrived at the end of the official road. He leaped up a small hill a hundred meters high not far away and looked down at the city in front of him.

Night was approaching, and the sinister scene of the city ahead was quite shocking. If Wuhun City was like a city of light where darkness had never descended, then Mingdu was a city of stars.

The development of soul tools in the New World is indeed more advanced. While most people in the Douluo Continent were still using torches and oil lamps, Sun Moon City already had soul-guided lighting devices. Although they were extremely rudimentary, this represented the different levels of development between the two sides.

Ahead lay the Ming capital, a vast expanse of buildings stretching as far as the eye could see. Looking into the distance, it was impossible to count how many households there were. The myriad lights illuminated this seemingly boundless city, dazzling it almost as if it were competing with the stars in the sky.

Of course, this so-called dazzling is just an adjective. In reality, it's like the stars in the night sky, which are quite mesmerizing, but still far inferior to the bright streets of Wuhun City.

After all, the current Spirit City was built and designed by Yan, the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall. Its level of advancement far surpasses that of the entire Douluo Star. Not to mention the Douluo Continent, even the New World is tens of thousands of years behind Yan in terms of knowledge.

"Let's settle down in the city first. This Sun and Moon City is quite lively, it's like a city that never sleeps." The sun had completely set, and Yan's figure drifted in the sky with the wind. This was not the flight of a Title Douluo, but rather Yan using the power of wind elements through his battle armor to propel himself.

His battle armor was forged primarily from the sacred dragon Noxi, and modeled after that sacred dragon, making it a divine artifact-level weapon that retained many of Noxi's abilities.

Although he was limited by his own cultivation level and could not unleash his full strength, he had still developed some abilities quite well.

The capital of the Sun and Moon Empire is called Sun and Moon City, also known as Mingdu. The nights in Mingdu are beautiful but not pleasant. As the capital, the prosperous Mingdu also hides many dark corners, and all sorts of dark things happen every day.

However, in the brightly lit streets during the first half of the night, there wasn't much to worry about regarding security. Yan, dressed in the clothes from the small seaside town where he first arrived in the New World, mingled in Mingdu without attracting much attention.

"The nobles here are all dark-skinned. Another race? A special bloodline? That's really strange." His gaze wandered across the street. Although it was almost night, there were still many people on the bustling street. Moreover, it seemed that in this capital, even more dignitaries came out at night. Many of the people getting off their carriages had dark skin. It seemed that this country regarded dark skin as beautiful.

In the Sun and Moon Empire, although not all nobles have dark skin, almost all dark-skinned people in the Sun and Moon Empire are nobles.

Therefore, in the Sun and Moon Empire, black is the noblest color. As the imperial capital, Mingdu naturally has an extremely rich nightlife, and although it is already late at night, it still presents a scene of great prosperity.

Moreover, the capital city boasts a vibrant nightlife and a distinctly hedonistic pace of life. The streets are lined with a dazzling array of shops, some of which specialize in nighttime business and are exceptionally bustling.

Yan, having adapted to local customs, visited many places, and now that he was in Mingdu, he naturally frequented many lively venues.

Prices in Mingdu are very high, much higher than in any of the cities Yan has passed through. Living in the capital is not easy, and this is true for any continent or empire.

"I think I'm being watched." Yan came out of some shops and walked out again with many packages of various sizes in his hands. There were some things in these shops that he was quite interested in, and he had money to spare, so of course he would buy them. However, when he walked into the street again, he could clearly feel that many eyes were watching him.

These must be some local tyrants who have set their sights on Yan because of his lavish spending as an outsider.

Mingdu is not short of wealthy people, but most of the wealthy people who can stay in Mingdu are powerful and influential, and are not people that these local bullies can afford to offend.

But some people are different; they are outsiders without any background, especially unfamiliar faces like Yan, who are most likely to be noticed.

On the bustling street, Yan's eyes flickered. After thinking for a moment, he did not walk towards the more lively area, but instead headed towards a street with few people. There seemed to be several hotels there, and it looked like he was going to stay at one of them.

Yan's shadow was stretched long under the lamplight, and the crowd around him had thinned out considerably. Behind him, two figures had appeared out of nowhere.

Yan didn't walk too fast; in fact, he slowed down to allow more scoundrels to follow. These people targeted him, unaware that Yan also targeted them. In this unfamiliar place, finding a local strongman was a good way to gain an advantage.

The guys following him were clearly familiar with the terrain. They didn't follow Yan around all the time, but instead took random detours and occasionally walked the same path as Yan, always making sure they didn't lose him. It was obvious that they had been navigating the streets for years.

Yan turned another street and slowly passed a shop. The light from outside the shop shone on him, and he subconsciously glanced back, noticing that there seemed to be only an old man inside the shop.

He left the area illuminated by the lights and entered the darkness. The package in his hand had disappeared. This place was secluded enough; there weren't many people around any further. It was time to close the net, beat these guys up, and then ask them what he needed.

"Eukins, I told you last time, if any of you three-handed thugs dare to set foot in this area again, I'll chop you all up." Just as Yan was silently pondering how to deal with these local bullies, an old voice rang out from the shop Yan had just passed. One of the thugs who was about to chase after him suddenly shuddered and immediately turned and ran.

"Old Dick, damn it, why is that old guy meddling in other people's business again?"

"Never mind, that outsider was lucky to just happen to be passing by here."

"Let's go ahead and wait. He might come out soon." The group of thugs who were about to rip Yan off scattered like birds. Clearly, the old man who had spoken earlier was no ordinary person, and these thugs seemed quite afraid of him.

Yan watched the thugs scatter like birds and beasts, somewhat speechless. Just then, a seemingly emotionless, aged voice came from behind him.

"Young people should avoid walking at night; it's easy to fall."

Chapter 295 The Soul King Who Lives in Seclusion

"A Soul King is actually hiding in such a place. And he's a kind person too, that's interesting..." Yan paused in the darkness, then looked back at the shops shrouded in light, shook his head, and turned to leave the neighborhood.

Although the plan to lure the snake out of its hole failed, Yan had no interest in deliberately causing trouble for those thugs.

I'm a bit tired today, so I'll rest early and explore Mingdu again tomorrow. ... The next morning, as the rising sun warmed the earth, a young man with fiery red hair strolled into a rather peculiar shop in the western outer city of Mingdu.

The shop was somewhat dimly lit, but when Yan walked in, a peculiar energy fluctuation immediately caught his attention. This strange energy fluctuation was somewhat similar to soul power, but not exactly the same.

"A soul tool? It seems to be incomplete. Is it a beginner? Or is it figuring it out on its own?" Yan's knowledge far surpassed that of ordinary people, and he easily determined that this energy fluctuation was the soul power fluctuation unique to soul tools.

The difference between a soul tool and an ordinary weapon is that a soul tool is used by a soul master and has an energy source and energy fluctuations.

If it's not used and bound to someone's own soul power, it will release soul power outwards. Of course, these soul tools that release soul power fluctuations are basically the most basic soul tools, making their extraordinary nature easy to detect.

Some powerful soul tools still possess the ability to conceal and suppress their aura, somewhat similar to divine objects hiding their true nature.

Most of the soul tools in Douluo Continent are antiques passed down from ancient times, and the vast majority of them are auxiliary. Very few offensive soul tools have been discovered. As for the ones in Yan's hands, they were developed by himself.

Although the New Continent was ahead of the Douluo Continent in the research of soul tools, it was only limited to some relatively ordinary soul tools. It would be another 10,000 years before it truly flourished.

Yan walked into the shop. There was only one person inside, calmly sitting behind the counter doing his work. There were some items on the wall and shelves next to him, all of which looked very old and not valuable at all.

Behind the counter is probably the shop owner, who looks to be around fifty years old. Although he is not young, he is quite muscular. At this moment, he is holding a carving knife and engraving some patterns on the base of an antique lamp.

The elderly man, in his fifties, had gray hair and wore a pair of black-rimmed crystal glasses with round frames, perhaps reading glasses. He squinted from time to time while doing things, as if his vision wasn't very good.

Yan's entry into the shop did not attract his attention; it seemed that he was already self-satisfied, or rather, he did not care about Yan's actions at all.

"Such a large piece of crystal must be tens of thousands of years old. I wonder how powerful the dragon whisker needle made from it will be." Yan walked up to a cloudy crystal about the size of a pillow. There seemed to be gold threads inside. This is a variant of crystal called plate crystal. The gold threads in plate crystal are a metallic substance that can be obtained and used as a weapon.

The gold threads inside the crystal plate are also known as gold hair. Tang San's tried-and-tested weapon, the Dragon Beard Needle, was made by slightly processing the gold hair from the crystal plate with his soul power.

The crystal in front of Yan was a plate-shaped crystal with dense gold lines inside. Although its transparency was poor, it was still quite beautiful overall.

"This crystal isn't expensive. If you want it, take it for three hundred gold coins or thirty grams of mithril." Yan glanced at the crystal a few more times, and then an old, slightly hoarse voice rang out from behind the counter.

His speech was somewhat slurred, perhaps due to a previous vocal injury. However, since it was quiet enough that Yan was the only one in the shop, he was able to clearly understand what Yan was saying.

"If you think it's too expensive, then forget it, young man. You don't seem to be here to buy anything." The middle-aged man behind the counter looked at him a few more times when he didn't respond. His cloudy eyes showed a strange light, as if he had become more wary.

"A five-ring Soul Master is actually hiding in this remote street. Is the old man living in seclusion? But it doesn't seem like it. Those thugs only know that you are not simple, old man." Yan's voice rang out in the shop. When he mentioned the five rings, a soft click sounded. The carving knife in the old man's hand, which was engraving the Soul Guidance Array, made a soft sound. His cloudy eyes suddenly became sharp.

With the old man unconsciously exerting force with his right hand, the carving knife suddenly touched the metal surface. With a crisp sound, the blade snapped off, and the soul guidance array was completely destroyed. The manufacturing of this soul guidance device was basically ruined, and it could only be remade.

The engraving knife and the rough blank of the soul tool used to engrave soul guide runes are both extremely precious materials. However, the old man staring at Yan at this moment did not care about those at all. His eyes were fixed on Yan, and in the silence, the atmosphere in the entire shop became oppressive.

He recognized the young man as the one who had been walking alone at night last night. When he witnessed that incident last night, he was reminded of his past self and seemed to see a reflection of himself, which led him to meddle.

I thought he was coming to express his gratitude, but I didn't expect him to be the one causing trouble.

"I didn't expect that I would take a look at this old man too. Young man, it seems that I was indeed meddling in other people's business last night." Yan did not speak for a long time. This attitude made the old man more and more dissatisfied and wary. The atmosphere around him was heavy, and a faint chill gradually lingered in his cloudy eyes.

"Who exactly are you? What is your purpose in coming here?" Yan still didn't answer, but just stared at the old man quietly. The old man didn't want to continue staring at him like that.

As he spoke, the old man lightly tapped a spot on the table with his palm, and the open door seemed to be controlled by some mechanism, closing shut with a loud bang.

The old man stared intently at Yan with sharp eyes, a cold aura mixed with a powerful presence emanating from his body.

"An ice-attribute martial soul is quite powerful in combat, and I can sense that your soul ring configuration is probably not low. Becoming a noble shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?" A few strands of white frost gradually spread inside the shop, and even some ice crystals appeared in the air. Yan casually took a rhombus-shaped ice crystal, squeezed it in his hand, and said casually.

"It seems you didn't come here specifically to find out about my situation. If you just came out of curiosity, tell me your background, and I don't want to hurt you without reason." The old man looked at Yan, who was completely unaffected by his aura, and a strange light appeared in his cloudy eyes. He didn't seem to find any hostility from Yan, which puzzled him. Could it really be a misunderstanding?

"You're quite a good person, actually trying to discern the other party's good or bad intentions under these circumstances." Yan didn't care about the old man's emotional changes at all, and just said to himself, "However, many people have curiosity, and mine is especially strong. Old sir, what is your purpose in living in seclusion here? Can you tell me?"

"This is my business, none of your concern. Tell me your origins, or I'll have no choice but to take action. If you still don't tell me the truth, then don't blame me for bullying the weak." The old man said calmly, his white hair moving without wind, a chilling aura of soul power swirling around him, and a beast-shaped head faintly appearing on his face, while he unconsciously let out a few low growls.

"You can try, but I don't think you can do it. Old man, I think you should agree with me and do as I say." Yan's expression remained calm, but his words made the old man laugh in exasperation.

"Although I have been living in seclusion for decades for some reasons, it is not up to a junior like you to tell me what to do." The white-haired old man seemed to be angered by Yan's attitude. A murderous aura flashed across his face, and his expression suddenly became much fiercer. He stomped his foot on the ground and his figure shot out from behind the counter like lightning, rushing towards Yan.

Immediately after the old man made his move, the temperature inside the shop dropped significantly, and a cold mist quickly filled the air, causing frost to form on many things around them.

"I've seen quite a few martial souls with ice and water attributes, but it's really rare to see one with your cultivation level reaching such a low temperature." White mist swirled before Yan's eyes. For a five-ring Soul King to be able to achieve such a level without releasing his martial soul, this old man's martial soul quality was definitely extraordinary.

The old man rushed in front of Yan and suddenly reached out with his claws to grab him, but in the next instant Yan's figure turned into a blur and disappeared from the spot, and his attack missed.

This made the old man even more sober and furious. He felt he had been tricked, so he unleashed his full power.

A low roar came from the old man's throat, and his hands instantly turned into crystal-clear blue crystals. Two spiraling dragon horns appeared on his head, and strange scales appeared on his face and other parts of his skin.

Two yellow, two purple, and one black—five optimally configured spirit rings appeared beside the old man, prompting Yan to take a closer look.

Along the way, he had met many Soul Masters, but most of them were self-taught and did not have many choices for their first Soul Ring. Many of them only had a ten-year white Soul Ring, while their fifth Soul Ring could reach ten thousand years. This was rare not only in the New World but also in the Douluo Continent.

The first spirit ring takes a hundred years, and the fifth spirit ring takes ten thousand years. With such an optimal spirit ring ratio, barring any unforeseen circumstances, one should be able to continue cultivating and advancing two more rings. Becoming a Spirit Saint shouldn't be difficult; it just takes time.

For an elderly person of that age, this period of time may be quite long, only a few decades.

Chapter 296 The Old Man with the Ice Crystal Dragon Martial Soul

"Boy, make your move!" The icy white mist seemed to transform the entire shop into a world of ice and snow, and the old man's voice could be heard faintly amidst the pervasive cold.

Yan's gaze did not follow the direction from which the voice came, but instead suddenly locked onto a certain direction, and he sighed helplessly, "Old man, can't we just sit down and talk things over?"

"Hehe, your eyesight isn't bad. You seem to have some background. Once I capture you, I'll have a good talk with you." The old man's voice rang out again. When he reappeared from the white mist, he appeared in the direction Yan was staring at, only three steps away.

The old man was surrounded by white mist, and a chill emanated from his body, making him appear extraordinary.

"An Ice Crystal Dragon Martial Soul, and the quality of the Martial Soul is not low. Logically speaking, the innate soul power awakened by this kind of Martial Soul should not be low. After so many years of cultivation, the progress of your soul power is a bit strange." Yan recognized that the old man's Martial Soul was a powerful dragon species of an ancient dragon race, similar to the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Ice Crystal Dragon.

With a martial soul of this strength, unless a malignant mutation similar to that of Yu Xiaogang occurs, anyone who awakens innate soul power and becomes a soul master will at least possess soul power of level four or higher.

The old man's martial soul quality is very high, definitely not just level four, but at least level seven or higher. According to the Douluo Continent, awakening a soul power of level seven or higher at the age of six is ​​a true genius, and he can probably become a one-ring soul master in two or three years.

Soul Masters at the seventh level of the Innate Realm or above, with normal development in their fifties, would easily become Soul Emperors, let alone Soul Saints. However, the old man in front of Yan was only a Soul King. Although his Martial Soul quality and Soul Ring configuration were not weak, it was somewhat unworthy of his talent.

"You awakened your martial soul after you came of age?" Yan thought of a possibility, and his gaze towards the old man took on a different hue.

The New World is somewhat different from Douluo Continent. In Douluo Continent, the Spirit Hall exists, and awakening a spirit is free, with a uniform age of six. Those who awaken early can start cultivating early as well.