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Deep within the Federation's army, three ninth-grade stationary soul-guided cannon shells had long been locked onto the depths of the Extreme North.
At the onset of the chaotic battle, the cannons were too far from the target, and although the soul engineers in control were high-ranking, they were under immense pressure and refrained from firing the three shells.
Instead, it was the eighth-grade soul engineers, who were positioned closer to the core area, that launched the first three ninth-grade stationary soul-guided shells.
Now, as the battle entered its second phase, the Abyss was preparing to condense four energy bodies—vessels for summoning four more powerful entities into the Douluo Continent.
Su Yu and the others had already been dealing with this development for some time.
The soul engineers of the Federation army had understood Su Yu's intent.
Let the four energy bodies take shape!
This provided them with the perfect opportunity to aim without restraint.
With no allies nearby the four forming energy bodies, there was no concern of friendly fire.
So, the three ninth-grade stationary soul-guided cannon shells were launched.
Boom!
Boom! Boom!
Three thunderous explosions echoed through the Extreme North, shaking the battlefield into utter silence. It was as though even sound itself had been swallowed up.
Compared to the first three cannon shots, these final three collided almost simultaneously, causing a chain reaction of explosions. The power was significantly greater.
The ancient, eternally frozen ice at the heart of the Extreme North melted into thin streams under the intense heat.
Steam surged and billowed in the air.
A massive mushroom cloud rose skyward.
Terrifying energy waves rippled outward from the explosion's epicenter in visible shockwaves.
These energy ripples were nearly tangible, capable of affecting every presence on the battlefield.
At the heart of the explosion, a wave of intense radiation burst forth, causing every battle armor master on the field to feel its impact.
This energy also had a noticeable effect on the abyssal creatures.
Fortunately, this radiation remained tolerable for soul masters of at least Soul King level and above.
The true epicenter of the blast was at the very core of the central zone. The battle armor masters were fighting on the edge of this area, still a good distance away.
Those who faced the blast directly were Su Yu's group of eight and the many emperors of the Abyss.
Yet even they were not heavily affected.
After all, it was only the aftershock.
Even a direct hit from a ninth-grade stationary soul-guided cannon wouldn't necessarily guarantee their annihilation—let alone just the residual waves.
Su Yu turned his head toward the explosion's core.
Endless steam rose, completely obscuring the center of the blast. However, Su Yu swept the area with his spiritual power, activating mental detection to observe the scene beyond the steam.
"Just as I thought. They only partially collapsed—they weren't completely destroyed."
The flesh bodies of the Demon Emperor and the others had already been ravaged. Since abyssal beings were inherently energy lifeforms, the first step was to use these bodies as vessels for transformation.
Moments ago, the Abyss had already begun reshaping them into energy-based forms.
Still, remnants of their original flesh remained.
Now, with the ninth-grade cannon strikes, that flesh was utterly obliterated.
However, the resulting energy forms were even more suitable for the descent of the Abyssal Emperors.
Of course, these three ninth-grade stationary soul-guided cannon shells did achieve results—they destroyed the potential of the four forming energy bodies.
Even if they descended, the power of the newly arriving Four Emperors would not be very strong.
The Abyss.
The Four Emperors, who had completed their preparations, sensed the condition of the host bodies awaiting them on Douluo Continent. Instantly, hesitation arose.
"Holy Monarch, this..."
The Spirit Emperor, Flame Emperor, Wisdom Emperor, and Bee Emperor all turned to the Abyssal Holy Monarch, expressions dark and grim.
These four bodies had already sustained damage. Even if they were temporarily repaired using energy, they would not be able to unleash the Emperors' full power.
This was especially frustrating for the Spirit and Flame Emperors, who had intended to descend and swiftly crush the opposition to secure victory. Now, however, it seemed they would only be able to fight on par with the likes of the Black Emperor and others.
In that case, wouldn't they still end up being suppressed?
"Go."
The Abyssal Holy Monarch gave only this single command.
The Wisdom Emperor let out a soft sigh.
He understood—this was something they had to do.
Even if they couldn't immediately conquer Douluo Continent, they had to stabilize the situation.
Right now, the performance of Su Yu, Gu Yuena, and Electrolux had pushed the Abyss's fierce offensive into a disadvantageous position. Worse yet, the spatial passage might be sealed at any moment. If that happened, the entire invasion could be ruined.
But that wasn't the only issue.
In truth, Douluo Continent possessed two devouring-type treasures—one was a divine artifact that could devour abilities, and the other was a semi-plane capable of devouring abyssal energy on a massive scale.
And beyond these, there was Su Yu—whose own cultivation had allowed him to comprehend a devouring ability and carve a rune capable of absorbing abyssal energy.
Given these circumstances, the most rational decision for the Abyss would be to retreat.
As many of the frontline forces—over ten thousand abyssal creatures—should retreat as possible, and those that couldn't would have to be abandoned.
However, at that very moment, Su Yu revealed the Rune of Life and Death.
The Wisdom Emperor knew those two runes had already completely captivated the Abyssal Holy Monarch.
And it wasn't just him. Even the other top-tier Abyssal Emperors from the upper ten layers were all consumed with desire for those two devouring runes.
As long as they could obtain them, there was hope for them to break through to the god level.
"Let's go. We don't need to defeat the powerhouses of Douluo Continent right away. What the Abyss must do is secure control of the area outside the spatial passage and stabilize the battlefield," the Wisdom Emperor said, offering explanation on behalf of the Holy Monarch.
Upon hearing the explanation, the Spirit, Flame, and Bee Emperors' expressions softened.
"As long as we stabilize the situation first, with time, and with the spatial passage to the Abyss at our backs—and the support of the Holy Monarch—we can gradually repair our bodies and unleash our full strength," the Wisdom Emperor said quietly.
Extreme North.
From within the endless steam, four distinct energy fluctuations rippled out.
"Damn it. Even that wasn't enough to destroy them?"
Quasi-Gods.
At that level of power, the ninth-grade stationary soul-guided cannon shells should have been able to annihilate them.
After all, these shells were said to carry the force of a Limit Douluo's full-strength strike. But that level of power was roughly equivalent to someone who had just stepped into Rank 99—a quasi-demigod's all-out attack.
Even among beings at the quasi-demigod level, there remained a chance to endure such damage.
If it were a higher-tier demigod, or even a quasi-god, then the result would be even more predictable.
However, these four condensed energy bodies weren't true powerhouses, so the impact they sustained was considerable.
Even so, because the ones who restructured these energy bodies were at least of quasi-god level, it was understandable that they weren't destroyed outright.
Amid the mist that blanketed the sky, four figures gradually emerged.
The Spirit Emperor, ruler of the Abyss's second layer, possessed a divine-level spiritual realm. The Flame Emperor, from the third layer, wielded divine power.
The Wisdom Emperor, hailed as the mastermind of the Abyss and an expert in control and manipulation, hailed from the sixth layer.
The Bee Emperor, known as the creator of the Bomb Bees, specialized in group attacks and ruled the Abyss's eighth layer.
With the descent of the Four Emperors, Su Yu, Gu Yuena, and Electrolux could no longer afford to ignore the threat and continue targeting "ordinary" abyssal creatures.
Leaving the undead army to continue the general battle, Electrolux locked onto the Bee Emperor.
The Bee Emperor's attack style was unmistakably focused on area-of-effect assaults—something Electrolux, on the Douluo side, was particularly effective against.
If she summoned bomb bees to attack him, he could simply convert them into undead.
Gu Yuena, meanwhile, set her sights on the Spirit Emperor and Flame Emperor.
However, the Four Emperors had clearly not come with the intent of being tag-teamed.
What's more, Gu Yuena was already engaged in a fight with the Black Emperor.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Four streaks of light flashed past and spread out in all directions across the battlefield, giving Su Yu's group no chance to gang up on any one of them.
The Bee Emperor didn't go after Electrolux; instead, she charged toward the frontlines. Countless bomb bees swarmed around her, and she swiftly broke through the periphery of the core zone, heading straight toward the Soul Engineer Legion.
Electrolux snorted coldly and raised his right hand.
The surrounding space instantly froze, as though time itself had paused.
Gu Yuena had a spiritual domain capable of locking down space, while Su Yu had mastered spatial control through personal research.
But as Su Yu's teacher, Electrolux was in no way inferior in his understanding of spatial power.
After all, he had independently created a vast undead demi-plane, forged the Eternity Tower with internal worlds of its own, and could even craft pseudo-divine artifacts with his bare hands.
Under his control, the undead demi-plane perfectly fused with the spatial structure of the Extreme North. Space itself seemed to bend to his will.
Boom!
Under the crushing force of compressed space, the Bee Emperor's speed plummeted drastically.
"Hmph! Your opponent is me!"
Electrolux gave chase relentlessly, but the Flame Emperor couldn't stand by any longer. He charged directly at Electrolux, prepared to engage him in combat.
Meanwhile, the Wisdom Emperor rushed toward the battlefield where Gu Yuena was suppressing the Black Emperor, intending to rescue the latter, who was on the verge of defeat.
The Black Emperor was being completely overwhelmed by Gu Yuena.
For eons, the Black Emperor had relied on his innate devouring ability in combat. But now, faced with Gu Yuena's Silver Dragon Spear, which severely countered that ability, he was almost rendered useless. Aside from his quasi-god-level raw power, he had no other abilities to fall back on—and was clearly losing ground.
With the Wisdom Emperor joining the fray, the Black Emperor's condition gradually improved. Drawing on the core of the Abyss's ninth layer, he absorbed massive quantities of abyssal energy to restore himself.
It was similar to the power of a plane's will. Even though he had left the Abyss, the dense energy surrounding the battlefield allowed him to tap into similar abilities and rapidly replenish his strength.
Of course, the efficiency of this recovery was far lower than it would have been inside the Abyss itself.
But it was only when the Wisdom Emperor truly faced Gu Yuena that he realized the terrifying pressure she brought.
Initially, he had planned to join forces with the Black Emperor to fight Gu Yuena, while using his control skills to dominate the battlefield and assist the other Seven Emperors.
Now, he knew—that was simply impossible.
The Wisdom Emperor finally understood the full extent of Gu Yuena's strength—especially her spiritual power, which was unfathomably deep. It made him suspect that she was on the same level as the Spirit Emperor in terms of spiritual prowess.
No—
As the battle continued, the Wisdom Emperor confirmed his suspicion.
Gu Yuena's spiritual power had reached the Divine Soul Realm!
And Electrolux—he had also condensed divine power.
What a terrifying Douluo Continent.
Apart from the Abyssal Saint Lord, Douluo Continent's top-tier combat power could actually rival the Abyss!
Strictly speaking, the Abyssal Saint Lord only possessed first-tier godhood strength because he was the core of the Abyss itself—the will of the entire plane. He could draw upon the full power of the Abyss.
If Douluo Continent had a similar "Plane Lord," it too could unleash the might of a first-tier god.
So—
"In terms of top-tier power, Douluo Continent isn't any weaker than the Abyss!"
How was that even possible?
In terms of raw energy intensity, the Abyss far surpassed Douluo Continent.
The truth was—if not for Su Yu, Douluo would never have had such high-caliber top-tier fighters.
Gu Yuena was the Silver Dragon King—strictly speaking, not a being who had grown up on Douluo Continent. The same went for Electrolux.
As for the rest—Jing Hongchen, Kong Deming—without Su Yu's Soul Armor system, they might've displayed great strength, but never at their current level. They would've stood no chance against quasi-gods. And Du Busi? He wouldn't even be part of the conversation. That final bottleneck from Level 98 to Level 99 wasn't something he could have crossed on his own. Without the Soul Spirit cultivation system, without Su Yu resurrecting him and sparking that epiphany in the heat of battle, he never would have broken through.
Strictly speaking, among the current quasi-god-level beings, only Di Tian and Xue Di had climbed the ranks through Douluo Continent's own cultivation paths.
Of course, the very fact that Su Yu could have this level of influence was a testament to his power.
Douluo had earned its place.
The continent's foundations for producing top-tier cultivators were firmly in place.
"The Martial Soul system is the greatest advantage," Su Yu had always believed.
Martial Souls didn't just give soul masters their innate unique abilities—they also allowed them to directly master all kinds of soul skills through spirit rings.
What's more, Martial Souls could grow over time.
All of this formed the fundamental strength of Douluo's soul masters.
As long as they were lucky enough to obtain the right opportunities, anyone on Douluo with a Martial Soul could potentially reach the peak. The path to power was open.
Even Su Yu had only reached his current level thanks to a myriad of fateful encounters.
To be fair, his Innate Rank Three Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was already among the most heaven-defying of its kind on the continent. That much was undeniable.
But even a regular Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul—so long as the soul master had spirit power—could become terrifyingly strong, given enough fortuitous opportunities.
Take the things Su Yu had acquired, for example: the Snow Lotus, the Blade of Living Spirits, and the Mutated Swordgrass—all powerful spirit rings passed down from Kong Deming.
Of course, such power depended on whether one could absorb and fully utilize those opportunities.
Perhaps not everyone could become as monstrous as Su Yu, but they would definitely enter the ranks of top-tier powerhouses.
Smaller energy structures. Weaker energy quality.
Yet Douluo Continent had somehow given rise to powerhouses on par with those from the Abyss.
"Is this… the foundation of Douluo Continent?"
In the ancient era, Douluo had been far stronger than it was now.
No—maybe it wasn't that Douluo itself was stronger, but rather that it had been connected to too many powerful beings. Too many legacies and bloodlines had been left behind.
Martial Souls—so many rare and powerful variants—might just be the true heritage of Douluo Continent.
At that moment, the Spirit Emperor set his sights on Su Yu.
Su Yu continued to perfect the seal, and by now, he had almost completely integrated it into the spatial passage.
The Abyssal Saint Lord had noticed this shift.
The formation of the four energy bodies and the arrival of the four great emperors had originally been meant to stop Su Yu, but who would have thought that the delay caused by the Ninth-Level Fixed-Installation Soul Guidance Cannon would have allowed time for the Spirit Emperor to arrive too late to stop him.
A powerful spiritual force swept across.
The overwhelming mental energy of the Divine Soul Realm pressed down on Su Yu, making him feel a sense of pressure.
"So this is the power of Divine Soul Realm-level spiritual force?" Su Yu's expression grew grim, but there was no trace of fear.
In his Spiritual Sea, runes like "Protect", "Consolidate", "Clarify", and "Illuminate" shimmered with spiritual radiance, boosting his spiritual defenses and powers.
Boom!
The Spirit Emperor's mental assault slammed into Su Yu's Spiritual Sea.
It felt as though a tiny boat was drifting in an endless ocean, subject to fierce waves.
This was the first time Su Yu felt so vulnerable, like a mere vessel in the vastness of a mental struggle. But with the reinforcement of the runes, his Spiritual Sea was unshakable. Even if it was a boat, it was a massive one, standing firm against the roaring tide.
The Sword Rune flashed, and in an instant, Su Yu's spiritual power coalesced into a blade of mental energy.
The spiritual sword light shot forth with terrifying speed, slicing toward the Spirit Emperor.
Surrounding the battlefield, the surrounding energy of heaven and earth converged.
It felt as if some special force was infusing the mental blade with even greater power.
A flash of extreme sword light erupted, razor-sharp and deadly.
The Spirit Emperor's expression shifted.
His mental defenses contracted, sensing a sharp mental blade cutting into his very soul, sending a sharp sting through his being.
"Such a well-condensed spiritual force…"
Even though Su Yu hadn't reached the Divine Soul Realm, the pressure was undeniable.
The Spirit Emperor looked at Su Yu with a deep, weighted gaze.
"His mental defense and offense are equally formidable!"
This Su Yu was truly multi-talented.
The reason the Spirit Emperor had come to face Su Yu was to test his ability to suppress Su Yu in terms of mental power.
But although Su Yu's spiritual power hadn't reached the Divine Soul Realm, he had more than enough defenses to protect himself.
"I can't give him any more time to develop."
Now that he had truly descended upon Douluo, experiencing everything with the full power of the Divine Soul Realm, the Spirit Emperor's heart sank even further.
Comparing Su Yu's spiritual fluctuations to those of the other Douluo strongmen, the Spirit Emperor had no choice but to acknowledge the surging tides in his own mind.
"His soul power… it hasn't even reached its peak!"
And yet… it was still far from the peak!
(End of Chapter)