Chapter 129: Blueprint of War
"A 700,000-year-old beast? Has the soul tool technology of the Sun-Moon Empire really reached that level?"
When Elder Mu—Moon En—compared the threat of the Sun-Moon Empire's soul tools to a 700,000-year-old soul beast, the Sea God Pavilion fell into stunned silence. Everyone present had been aware that the Sun-Moon Empire's soul tool technology was advanced, but none had imagined it had reached such terrifying heights.
A soul beast of 700,000 years—unless Elder Mu drew power directly from the Shrek Golden Tree and fought with everything he had—would be unbeatable in his current condition. In a direct confrontation, he would have no chance of survival.
"Mr. Mu," one elder asked cautiously, "is it possible that what you sensed wasn't the soul tool itself, but a true soul beast? After all, doesn't the Sun-Moon Empire have the Evil Emperor—a 700,000-year-old soul beast?"
Moon En shook his head. "No. On the way back, I used my spiritual sense to scan the Demonic Forest. The 790,000-year-old Demonic Emperor is still there. Besides, given the longstanding animosity between humans and soul beasts, the Demonic Emperor would never aid the Sun-Moon Empire."
"Other than the Demonic Emperor and Emperor Tian, only the Snow Emperor could possibly have reached the 700,000-year level," he continued. "But why would the Snow Emperor appear in the Sun-Moon Empire, let alone support them?"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the room.
"And even if the Snow Emperor had broken through to 700,000 years and chose to intervene, I wouldn't have made it back alive. Once a soul beast surpasses 700,000 years, it is no longer an opponent any human can defeat. Even a peak Ultimate Douluo would be nothing more than prey."
He turned serious. "Begin upgrading our soul tool technology immediately. We still don't know the full extent of the Sun-Moon Empire's advancements. If their tools can truly slay an Ultimate Douluo, then even if their emperor is a coward, war will erupt—and when it does, the original three Douluo Kingdoms will be crushed."
"I've already agreed to an exchange student program with them. Hopefully, that initiative will help improve our soul tool development."
"Mr. Mu, we understand your intent," said one elder. "But with only a few exchange students, it's unlikely we can make significant progress in such a short time."
"No," Fan Yu suddenly stood up from the end of the table. Though not an elder, Fan Yu was still a respected member of the Sea God Pavilion and the most talented soul tool researcher in Shrek. His words carried weight.
"There might be a way."
Moon En nodded. "Go ahead, Fan Yu."
"Mr. Mu," Fan Yu began, "we previously believed the Sun-Moon Empire had only three Rank Nine soul engineers. But…"
Moon En interrupted, correcting him. "That's no longer accurate. On my recent visit, I encountered more than three. I estimate there are at least ten Rank Nine soul engineers. We were too complacent. We must adjust our intelligence reports accordingly. Now, continue."
"Yes, Elder Mu," Fan Yu acknowledged before continuing.
"Normally, we can't surpass their soul tool technology in the short term. But if we can't surpass it, we might be able to replicate it."
"Replicate?" several elders echoed in surprise, their curiosity piqued.
Fan Yu nodded. "Yes. If we can't catch up quickly, we should find a way to mirror their advances. That's where the Extreme Single Soldier Plan comes in."
He raised his voice slightly as he explained, "The Extreme Single Soldier Plan is about creating a super agent—one individual capable of intelligence gathering, assassination, infiltration, and precision sabotage."
"We can use this plan to replicate the Sun-Moon Empire's soul tool technology."
Elder Mu tapped the table. "Go on. I want specific steps. We must judge the feasibility."
Fan Yu nodded. "Our Soul Guidance Department recently admitted a promising new student—Huo Yuhao. His martial soul is his eyes, and his first soul skill is spiritual sharing. Alone, it isn't useful for this plan, but if his second soul skill becomes clairvoyance, we may be onto something."
"As part of the exchange program, we'll send Huo Yuhao to the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy. With clairvoyance, he can see the internal structure of their soul tool devices. Then, using his spiritual sharing ability, he can transmit that vision to He Caitou, who will record it and draw up blueprints. That way, we can reconstruct the designs here at Shrek."
An elder raised a concern. "The plan sounds good, but using soul skills like that inside the Sun-Moon Empire would surely be noticed. They're not fools."
Fan Yu nodded. "Under normal circumstances, yes. But Huo Yuhao is still under level 20. We can delay the exchange program for one to two years. During that time, we'll help him reach level 30. If his third soul skill becomes simulation, he'll be able to disguise his soul skill activations, fooling any observers."
"Clairvoyance from the second soul ring, simulation from the third?" Yan Shaozhe frowned. "Simulation is a reasonable third ring skill. But clairvoyance requires at least a thousand-year-level soul ring. Can his body even handle that kind of energy?"
"Dean Yan," Fan Yu replied, "Huo Yuhao is a spiritual-type soul master. His spiritual capacity can withstand thousand-year-level soul ring fluctuations. As for his physical fitness, we can use thousand-year-level whale glue and one soul bone to reinforce him."
The moment he mentioned a soul bone, Yan Shaozhe immediately stood up. "Qian Duoduo, so this is your doing! Do you realize how precious a soul bone is?!"
Although the plan was Fan Yu's, Yan Shaozhe's anger was directed squarely at Qian Duoduo.
But before Qian Duoduo could defend himself, Elder Mu intervened sternly.
"That's enough, Shaozhe. Don't be so narrow-minded. At this stage, what's more important—a soul bone or our survival?"
He paused, eyes cold. "This time, we'll use a ten-thousand-year-level soul bone from the soul bone martial soul system. Since this is for Shrek, we must be willing to sacrifice."
"Set the exchange program for one year from now. In that time, raise Huo Yuhao's level to 30. A three-ring soul master won't attract suspicion. With clairvoyance and simulation, he'll replicate their designs discreetly. That's our plan."