The galaxy slowly faded as a pale streak rose on the horizon, like the first milky-white stone placed upon the dark cosmic chessboard woven by heaven and earth.
On a hill outside Shrek City, a middle-aged man with faintly visible green hair on an otherwise bald head appeared silently within rippling spatial waves, followed by a group of oddly shaped disciples.
"Ha! Quite lively here," he muttered, before leading his followers farther away.
Although Shrek Academy was known as the strongest power, before it became a power, it was first and foremost an academy.
As Shrek's demand for metal resources dwindled and the unrestricted, possibility-filled lake-ring project neared completion, even a blind man could sense the storm-like pressure building within Shrek Academy.
If not for the two openly revealed Extreme Douluo in the city, whose black and white auras formed a massive yin-yang millstone covering the entire area, Shrek City would have already been torn apart.
How many Extreme Douluo existed across the entire continent? Most factions didn't know, but they understood that even one Extreme Douluo was enough to make Shrek unparalleled. The two working together was unimaginable.
Not to mention that within certain major factions, Mu En had a record of killing another Extreme Douluo of the same rank.
Why call it madness? Because that opponent, despite possessing three red soul rings, a full set of soul bones, and a golden-awakened martial soul, was beaten to death.
Even if rumors said Mu En was heavily injured afterward, it was only "heavy" by the standards of his rank; to small fry like them, he could still slap them to death without discussion.
"So lively…"
Ning Yi, who had rushed over from Nine Treasures City with a Title Douluo consecration elder, suddenly realized he might not even have a place here.
Hundreds of miles around Shrek City, many auras hid in the shadows,many of them old acquaintances.
"City Lord Ning, will you come over for a talk?"
A spiritual transmission sounded from the void. Seeing it was an old friend, Ning Yi headed toward the source with the elder.
Boom!
A sudden burst of soul power exploded at the distant horizon, then quickly dissipated.
"Looks like the border has temporarily stopped fighting," the elder beside Ning Yi transmitted quietly.
"Ninth-level soul tool fluctuations… those lunatics really dared to fire from halfway across the continent."
Ning Yi looked toward the direction. If he remembered correctly, that should be Star Luo's "hidden point"… How fitting.
Beneath the brilliant Golden Tree, Chen Fu stood with Zhefán in hand. Mu En and Long Xiaoyao stood beside him.
The enormous "Azure Wheel" floated behind Chen Fu like a divine disc, with four transparent soul rings set with special black-red "Arks" forming a matrix within the halo.
Watching the young man levitating in the air, framed by the Azure Wheel and radiating both rationality and divinity, Mu En sighed silently. Without noticing it, this young man had already grown into someone he could no longer ignore.
His actual soul power level was only sixty, not even broken through; by rights, Mu En could crush him with one finger. Yet with various blessings, this youth possessed soul power control so terrifying even an Extreme Douluo felt fear.
Those four special Arks embedded in the wheel made Mu En once again feel the helplessness of facing a technological barrier,things laid out blatantly yet completely impossible to copy. The young man called them prototype third-generation Arks.
Their capacity was only at the upper limit of an ordinary Title Douluo, but they somehow produced soul power continuously.
And yet Chen Fu called this unbelievable thing "a test item that can only run for one minute."
"Giving this to you… does that mean everyone's life and death here rests in your hands?"
Mu En no longer questioned the boundless psychic network connected to the wheel. It was a massive spiritual web covering the entire city, its center being the monstrous being worshipped day and night by hundreds of thousands of soul masters,now contained within Chen Fu's Azure Halo.
"The choice lies with me."
Golden light and azure spiritual power reflected each other as Chen Fu spoke. His voice held divinity and rationality, distant and magnetic, yet without emotion.
Mu En glanced at Long Xiaoyao, who remained silent throughout.
…He once thought regained brotherhood would triumph over that woman. Unexpectedly, for a sliver of hope, his brother rekindled his belief again. Damn it,Mu En wanted nothing more than to swear. Even if Long Xiaoyao had to stay in a wheelchair forever, today the Dragon God Douluo would still skin this bastard alive!
"I finally understand what you meant back then. You always gain what you desire through loss."
It was what Chen Fu once told Di Tian: Causality cycles. Yin and yang balance. Whatever you lose will eventually be compensated elsewhere.
In the end, Mu En gave up arguing. His "loss" was already destined; he should face his "gain."
From what he knew of the young man, Chen Fu only took what he deserved and had no interest in anything else.
His "loss" was constructing for Shrek a ninth-level soul tool that could no longer be defined by ninth-level standards,a miracle. His "gain" was control over this super soul tool.
What was a technological barrier? What was a conceptual divide? Mu En felt foolish,building something whose fatal weakness wasn't even in Shrek's hands, simply because they were sweet-talked into it. Everyone in the Soul Tool Academy deserved a slap.
"Was this all planned?"
If so, Mu En felt his old scalp tingling like it did in his youth on the battlefield.
"There was no plan. This is gain and loss. To gain, you must lose. As long as one lives, all causal lines will eventually return. That's why I don't do meaningless things like destruction."
"This doesn't sound like something you would study."
"It wasn't my work. It was a friend's. Gain and Loss,a conceptual framework that corrects human behavior, used as a strategic mindset when facing unbeatable foes. A piece of insane logic from an era where physics was dead."
Chen Fu had been her first experimental subject, and the only one. With his death, it should have ended, but the related social theories survived.
"In simpler terms: stay calm and rational, choose the right actions in changing circumstances, and quietly grow stronger."
Speaking of her work, Chen Fu instinctively explained more.
Gain and Loss was a life philosophy, a way of thinking. Jiang Nan had engraved it into Chen Fu's foundational logic so he could survive in an era without direction, because defeating their enemies required physical technology,she could offer only spiritual support.
"So what's the purpose of telling me all this?"
"Still the same. To make a deal."
…
…
…
Character Profile (to avoid forgetting)
Name: Chen Fu
Martial Soul: Throne of Technology · Azure (evolving)
Level: 60 (currently undergoing self-generating soul ring plan)
Soul Rings: Data Divine Ring, Transparent Rings ×4 (embedded with nuclear Arks)
Soul Skills: Suppression ×5 (low presence yet always active)
Relevant Soul Tool Designs:
Soul-Guided Rifle: Level-4 soul tool. A graduation project to assist Fan Yu. Works with Ark energy to extend combat potential. No supporting technology. A small practice piece.
Nirvana: A foundational masterpiece involving martial soul and spiritual domains. Purifies soul power, assists circulation, and has undeveloped functions.
Phoenix Ascension: Special battle-soul device. Has access to the Azure mainframe. With Nirvana, allows Azure to fight in his stead. Hard to believe it isn't part of the same series. Has undeveloped functions.
Emerald: Extracts Jade Phosphor Serpent poison and increases the body's resistance over time.
Divine Ring: Birthplace of the Azure Divine Ring. An initial integration of soul, spirit, and essence studies. Removes remnants and breaks soul ring constraints. Low energy level.
Awakening Array: First-generation functional octagonal soul ring engraver. Still room for improvement.
Zhefán: So-called ninth-level melee soul tool. An expanded application of storage-ring and dissolution-ring technology. Cuts down the mighty to the mortal. Unknown special effects against soul masters. Battle record unknown.
Ascension: Ninth-level soul tool miracle. Nearly emptied Shrek's treasury. The massive lake-ring track hides its ambition toward the Golden Tree. A modern engineering-based strategic soul tool, integrating all of Chen Fu's research. Truly capable of creating gods.
Ark: Core technology. Energy foundation for all his research.
Azure: Digitized personality to handle repetitive martial soul tasks. Assists data processing. Foundation of multi-line research.
PS: Technology is a double-edged sword, and every edge slashes soul beasts.
Thanks to the supporters for the monthly votes and recommendation tickets.
All foreshadowing is being recovered. The protagonist is about to go berserk. His true background will soon be fully revealed.
Chen Fu: Move aside. I'm about to show off.
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