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After his mental power broke through, Su Wen felt as if the entire world had been recalibrated. Everything became strikingly clear. Whether it was the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi, the various elemental forces, or even the obscure "artistic conceptions" hidden between heaven and earth, nothing escaped his notice.
Gazing at the distant surface of the ocean, Su Wen suddenly spoke.
"The wind is rising."
The moment the words left his lips, a violent gale swept across the sea ahead. The previously calm waters instantly transformed into a churning chaos of surging waves.
Xiao Bai, the Demon Spirit Great White Shark, was left stunned by Su Wen's display. "Master Wen, have you already reached the level where you can manufacture a storm of such magnitude?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. Was this not the same as a natural disaster?
Sensing her shock, Su Wen shook his head and explained, "I didn't stir this up. It formed naturally; I simply predicted it in advance."
Following his breakthrough, Su Wen could now capture the ubiquitous "artistic conceptions" of the world. Unlike the intense intent found within flashing lightning or swirling hurricanes, the natural world's everyday intent was incredibly faint, yet it was undeniably real. Once such an intent took hold, it could guide vast amounts of natural energy, resulting in terrifying natural catastrophes.
In truth, these faint artistic conceptions were merely different trends formed by the natural flow of Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. While they represented a flow of energy, they also carried a unique "feeling." When the trend of energy over a vast area shifted, a faint intent would emerge, which Su Wen could now perceive.
Su Wen was certain that if he returned to the Douluo Continent now to travel its mountains and rivers again, he would be able to feel the influence of the ley lines with far greater clarity. After all, were the fluctuations in Yuan Qi caused by changes in the ley lines not exactly these faint artistic conceptions?
Different ley line patterns correspond to different artistic conceptions...
Su Wen closed his eyes in deep thought. Within his Sea of Consciousness, he began to visualize the various maps of terrain and mountains he had previously internalized. He started to organize his past gains, following the principle of "reviewing the old to understand the new." Sensing the same things repeatedly often yielded different insights.
Now, having gained an understanding of the world's artistic conceptions, Su Wen experienced an entirely different realization as he re-examined the maps of the mountains and rivers.
Around him, the "Visualized World"—which had briefly manifested during his breakthrough before vanishing—reappeared. This time, however, the manifestation was different. It was incredibly rich and vivid. Previously, his mental breakthrough had caused the Visualized World to appear in the form of a book, with each page revealing a world as if they were stories being told.
Now, the manifestation felt as though the actual mountains and rivers were being brought into reality. In this moment, the world seemed to come alive, imbued with a distinct rhythm and a sense of terrifying authenticity that inspired awe.
Xiao Bai silently carried Su Wen, veering away from the storm-tossed waters to avoid disturbing his meditation. She continued her steady course toward the Sun Moon Continent.
Starting from Sea God Island, they had stopped at various islands along the way to establish academies. After three months of travel, Su Wen finally arrived at the other continent.
This land was known as the Sun Moon Continent, named so because it was ruled by a single, absolute power: the Sun Moon Empire. Su Wen recalled the intelligence he had gathered long ago from Yue Guan (Chrysanthemum Douluo), mentally reorganizing the current state of affairs on this continent.
"By the way, Xiao Bai, do you know anything about the situation on the Sun Moon Continent?"
"Master Wen, I only know that a continent exists here," Xiao Bai replied innocently. "We Demon Spirit Great White Sharks usually live in the deep sea; we don't really keep track of how Soul Masters live on land."
She truly knew nothing. Su Wen sighed softly.
"Fortunately, the information I got from the Chrysanthemum Douluo was sufficient. At the very least, I understand the basic social structure."
On the Sun Moon Continent, Soul Engineers held the highest status, followed by Soul Masters. Unlike the Douluo Continent, there was no prominent hereditary noble class. Of course, once any group of Soul Masters formed a society, class distinctions were inevitable, but here, the gap was smaller. While there was a clear difference in status between a Soul Master and a commoner, there wasn't a blatant sense of antagonism.
Soul Masters didn't necessarily act superior to everyone else; rather, the most significant class divide existed between Soul Engineers and traditional Soul Masters.
"The royal family of the Sun Moon Continent is the Xu Clan, and their inherited martial soul is the powerful Tyrant Ruin Devouring Dragon (Purple Glory Extinction Dragon)," Su Wen murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. A black box appeared in his hand, and he brushed his fingers over its surface.
Lightning power and dense dragon aura—when these two combined, aside from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon of the Douluo Continent, there was only one other inherited martial soul closely linked to them: the royal soul of the Sun Moon Empire.
The Tyrant Ruin Devouring Dragon was also a True Dragon martial soul. It was equally adept at wielding lightning, but its nature leaned more toward the concept of "Destruction." This perfectly matched the lightning resonance of the ring inside Su Wen's black box.
Taking the ring out once more, Su Wen felt a distinct pull. He could sense the Power of Faith within the ring becoming active, as if it were nearing the inheritance grounds of its corresponding god.
Putting the ring away, Su Wen stepped off Xiao Bai's back and onto the soil of the Sun Moon Continent.
"I might be exploring this place for a while. You should head back to Sea God Island first."
The current rulers, the Xu family, were likely the faction with the most Titled Douluo on the continent. Combined with the high-level Soul Engineers cultivated by the royal family, they maintained absolute control over the land.
Soul Masters here focused heavily on Soul Tools; a Soul Tool was the definitive mark of a Soul Master's strength. They didn't prioritize improving their own soul skills. Instead, many chose soul skills that were auxiliary or combat-assisting in nature, pairing them with offensive Soul Tools. After years of practice, they integrated these tools into their combat styles, allowing them to exert power comparable to same-ranked Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent.
In reality, however, only those who truly mastered the integration of Soul Tools achieved this. Most Soul Masters on the Sun Moon Continent were generally weaker than those on the Douluo Continent because their energy was split between cultivation and familiarizing themselves with technology, often leading to imperfect soul skill combinations.
Yet, there were outliers—Soul Masters who used Soul Tools so perfectly that their strength surpassed even the geniuses of the Douluo Continent. Both systems had their own merits and flaws.
Su Wen continued to recall the Chrysanthemum Douluo's words.
"Whether 'Peak Soul Engineers' truly exist is something Spirit Hall cannot confirm, but that rank certainly exists in their classification system. There are definitely Peak-level Soul Tools, though it's unclear if anyone currently living has reached that height of craftsmanship."
"Of course, if such a person exists, they would undoubtedly belong to the Sun Moon Imperial Family."
"The Sun Moon Imperial Family has unified the continent, but there is also a 'Sun Moon Divine Cult'—a behemoth of an organization that possesses enough influence to sway the entire land."
(End of Chapter)