"Embryo?!" Zhu Ziyang was taken aback when he heard this. His eyes filled with confusion and curiosity as he stared at the stream of energy in Electrolux's hand.
At that moment, the energy stream, constrained by Electrolux's power, gradually began to reveal a rounded shape. Within the hazy mist, a tiny infant-like outline faintly emerged.
This surreal scene astonished Zhu Ziyang.
"That's right, it's an embryo!" Electrolux nodded, eyes flickering with an unusual glow as he spoke. "If my understanding is correct, this embryo should be the result of a soul beast undergoing transformation—an event long rumored in the soul master world!"
"Teacher, you mean…" Zhu Ziyang instantly grasped his teacher's implication. A surprised smile spread across his face. "This embryo is a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in the midst of transforming into a human?"
"Exactly!" Electrolux affirmed. "No other explanation fits. Why else would a powerful embryo like this appear in the core circle of the Extreme North?"
"That makes sense!" Zhu Ziyang nodded in agreement after a moment of contemplation. Then he asked, "But which hundred-thousand-year soul beast does this embryo belong to? And more importantly, what should we do with it?"
"Based on the theory of soul beast transformation, since the embryo hasn't formed a physical body or bloodline, it should still be treated as a soul beast," Electrolux said. "That being the case, and given that it's a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the best option is to kill it and absorb its soul ring and soul bone."
"Or," Zhu Ziyang added, recalling knowledge from the Silver Dragon Wolf's memory, "have a soul master who can endure a hundred-thousand-year soul ring absorb the embryo and make it their second martial soul!"
"Hahaha, that may be true for others—but not for you, Ziyang. You have a third option!" Electrolux laughed with a proud and mysterious expression.
"Teacher, you have another solution?" Zhu Ziyang looked at Electrolux with anticipation, eager to discover what kind of surprise this otherworldly teacher had prepared for him.
"Indeed!" Electrolux nodded sagely. "In our world, there exists a kind of contract—a master-servant pact that allows humans to control magical beasts. Magical beasts are a unique kind of lifeform, quite like the soul beasts of this world. In our world, like here, humans and magical beasts were once mortal enemies."
"However, a mighty being once emerged who devised a contract that allowed magical beasts to be controlled by humans. We call it the Master-Servant Equality Contract. Under its binding force, human and beast coexist. The human is the master, the beast the servant. The beast's strength grows with the human's, and the human can freely summon the beast to fight."
"Coexistence means that if the human dies, the beast perishes too. But if the human lives, the beast can be reborn endlessly. Though it loses all memory and power upon each rebirth, it is essentially immortal."
"A contract like that actually exists?!" Zhu Ziyang exclaimed in amazement. "Truly, the universe is full of wonders! So Teacher, is this third option you mentioned the Equality Contract?"
"Naturally!" Electrolux smiled faintly. "I've made modifications to the original contract to adapt it to the laws of the Douluo Continent. Though it hasn't yet been tested, I have full confidence that it can become a new system parallel to soul rings in this world!"
Electrolux's confident arrogance made Zhu Ziyang's eyes light up. After all these years together, he understood his teacher well. Electrolux was the kind of man who, if he decided to do something, would make it nothing short of extraordinary. Since he was saying this so firmly, it meant he was completely confident in the modified contract.
"Teacher, what are we waiting for? I'm ready!" Zhu Ziyang said excitedly. He knew he would essentially be the test subject, but he had no hesitation. He trusted that Electrolux would always put his safety first.
"Hahaha, I was a bit hesitant at first. But seeing your trust in me, I'm truly touched!" Electrolux's face was filled with warmth as he said, "Originally, I wanted to use that little dragon as a test subject, but the appearance of this embryo gave me a new idea—and a safer method! Ziyang, what we're about to do is essentially establishing a new rule system. If we succeed, all will be well. But if we fail, we'll be punished by the world's laws—the Divine Thunder of Heaven won't be far off."
"Teacher, I understand," Zhu Ziyang said solemnly, nodding.
"My original plan was that if we failed, I'd use this remaining shred of soul to protect you at all costs," Electrolux said with a smile. "But now that we have this soul beast embryo, I won't need to die. If it fails, we can redirect the consequences to the embryo!"
"Teacher, don't be so pessimistic. We'll definitely succeed!" Zhu Ziyang encouraged, sensing Electrolux's somber mood.
"Hahaha, I'm just getting old, and overly cautious," Electrolux chuckled. "Since you're prepared, then there's no reason for me to back down. To create a new system, we'll need vast amounts of Heaven and Earth energy. Thankfully, this lake filled with Source-less Water meets all the conditions. Ziyang, I'll first explain the changes I made to the Equality Contract. Once you've cleared and surveyed the island thoroughly, we can begin the signing process!"
"I understand, Teacher!" Zhu Ziyang nodded, looking seriously at Electrolux.
"I've named this modified contract the Spirit Soul Contract. Spirit Soul—meaning the spirit of the soul ring—is the core of this entire system," Electrolux said. "Through the Spirit Soul Contract, when a soul master reaches a bottleneck, they'll no longer need to hunt and kill soul beasts. They can simply form a contract with one, obtain a soul ring, and simultaneously preserve the beast's mind and soul—transforming it into a fighting companion."
"Spirit Soul…" Zhu Ziyang repeated the term, a radiant smile gradually blooming across his face.
"In my vision," Electrolux continued, "a Spirit Soul is a special intelligent entity formed by fusing the remnant soul of a soul beast with the life force in the soul ring. It retains the combat capabilities it had in life and can evolve as its host grows stronger. Depending on its cultivation in life, a Spirit Soul can provide its host with one or multiple soul rings. As the Spirit Soul's strength increases, the age of the soul rings it provides also increases—enhancing the power and effects of soul skills accordingly."
"Teacher, if that's really achievable, doesn't it mean the number of soul beast hunts will decrease? That would ease the tension between soul masters and soul beasts!" Zhu Ziyang's mind whirred as he quickly analyzed the implications of Spirit Souls. With admiration in his eyes, he said, "Teacher, if this works, you'll be the savior of the Douluo Continent!"
Currently, there were two prevailing attitudes toward soul beasts in the soul master world—captivity and coexistence. Both stemmed from one root issue: the declining number of soul beasts, especially low-level ones.
Far-sighted high-ranking soul masters had already realized that if this trend continued, soul beasts would dwindle to extinction. Fewer beasts meant fewer soul rings. Fewer soul rings meant fewer soul masters. Without advancement, soul masters would fade. And without soul masters, the profession would vanish altogether.
This idea might seem alarmist now, but it reflected an undeniable long-term trend. Perhaps in a thousand years—or ten thousand. Regardless, few present-day soul masters cared about the fate of their kind. They only cared about themselves.
Truthfully, Zhu Ziyang shared this concern but felt powerless to change anything. Hunting soul beasts for rings had always been considered justifiable. He had no reason to oppose it.
"Hahaha, I'm not so noble," Electrolux said with a carefree smile. "I just wanted to leave something behind for you. But if you want to use it to help the soul master world, I won't stop you. To be honest, even if Spirit Souls become a reality, the conflict between soul masters and soul beasts won't fundamentally vanish. The root lies in the rules of this world."
"Mhm." Zhu Ziyang nodded thoughtfully, then turned to give orders to the Hell Knight and Lich King to clean up the island and gather all the Snow Lotuses. Meanwhile, he walked toward the ruins of the ice house.
He wanted to see if anything hidden beneath the ruins might reveal the identity of the embryo.
(End of Chapter)
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