Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi rose to an altitude of a thousand meters. In the distance was Moon Pivot City, shrouded in a golden-red evening glow.
Ye Guyi's pure white angelic wings wrapped around their bodies, forming a massive cocoon of light as they plummeted downward.
The speed of the fall grew faster and faster. After more than a dozen breaths, just as they were about to crash into the sea, Ye Guyi's angel wings behind her suddenly unfurled, whipping up fierce waves of wind.
Even the hundred-meter warships anchored in the crescent-shaped inner bay were rocked slightly by the surging waves.
Ye Guyi withdrew her martial soul with a flushed face. Xu Zihuang, understanding her intent, held her close, stepped onto a crystalline mirror surface, and walked step by step to the shore at the edge of the inner bay.
Ports had also been built around this inner bay, but this one belonged privately to Viscount Yue Nan, Yao Yang. At this moment, aside from Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi, only Nana was attending nearby.
"Master, Mistress."
As soon as their feet touched the ground, Nana hurried over carrying a tray.
On the tray were two glasses of freshly squeezed juice with ice cubes. Through the crystal-clear, exquisite goblets, the distinct, granular fruit pulp inside was clearly visible.
Xu Zihuang casually took one and handed it to Ye Guyi, nodding as he spoke.
"Sister Lingyi, let's go."
"Mm." Ye Guyi linked her arm with Xu Zihuang's, responding softly as she returned to her usual cool and dignified demeanor.
Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi walked along the bluestone steps toward the castle, with Nana silently following behind them.
Unknowingly, Xu Zihuang had already stayed on Moon Pivot Island for over a month. He had accomplished all his goals for this trip, so there was no need to linger.
Today, he and Ye Guyi planned to leave Moon Pivot Island and return to the continent.
To avoid drawing attention, they had scheduled their departure by sea ship for nighttime. Before leaving, a farewell banquet would be held in the castle.
By the time Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi arrived in front of the castle, the sky had already darkened. Soft soul guidance lamps dotted the wide plaza in front of the castle, casting a bright and peaceful glow.
Various delicacies and drinks filled several long tables.
Including Wang Xiao and Yao Yang, no one had taken their seats yet; they were clearly waiting for Xu Zihuang.
Seeing Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi approach, Wang Xiao led the soldiers of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion in a respectful salute.
"Young Master, Young Miss."
"No need for formalities, everyone. Please be seated." Xu Zihuang smiled faintly, leading Ye Guyi to the central round dining table. Wang Xiao, Yao Yang, and several senior elders from the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion accompanied them there.
For example, Lin Long, Meng Cang, as well as the less powerful but more senior Yu Lao and Cheng Lao.
Only after Xu Zihuang and the others were seated did the rest take their places one after another.
Everyone was in high spirits. Cups clinked, and conversation flowed freely. Since soul masters could always circulate soul power to evaporate alcohol from their bodies, there was no need to deliberately abstain.
On the contrary, in the coming period, many of them would board the ship together as escorts, so relaxing beforehand was fine.
Under the illumination of the soul guidance lights, the amber liquor shimmered with dazzling brilliance.
After toasting the group, Xu Zihuang took a light sip of the aged white wine from his thin crystal glass. A faint fragrance instantly lingered in his mouth, rich and flavorful.
Even after sitting down, Ye Guyi still leaned against Xu Zihuang.
At that moment, Wang Xiao, who had recently ended his secluded research, spoke up proactively: "Young Master, there are no issues with the design blueprints for that item; they are complete. Mingde Hall shouldn't have withheld any details from you. However, fabricating it is quite difficult and requires many extremely rare metals. Some of those rare metals are tightly controlled by the Sun Moon Empire, making them hard to acquire through normal channels."
"I'll handle the rare metal issue," Xu Zihuang said thoughtfully.
"Elder Wang, with your abilities as a class 9 soul engineer, if materials are sufficient, how long would it take to successfully produce one class 9 stationary soul guidance cannon?"
Wang Xiao answered decisively: "Within one year, it will definitely succeed."
Though his expertise in soul engineering leaned toward close-combat soul tools, many principles overlapped. Moreover, this stationary soul guidance cannon was special; it only needed to maximize destructive power, with no need to consider other aspects.
The difficulty of fabrication was actually lower than that of ordinary soul tools activated by soul power.
This was also why Xuan Ziwen, Xian Lin'er, and Qian Duoduo had been so excited back then. Most class 9 soul tools were the culmination of a class 9 soul engineer's personal abilities, tailored to their own characteristics and poured with heartfelt effort.
They were difficult to replicate.
For example, Starry Sky Douluo Ye Yulin's Sun Moon Divine Needle, even if another class 9 soul engineer obtained the complete and detailed blueprints, they might not succeed in making it.
But this class 9 stationary soul guidance cannon was different. Though intricate and somewhat dangerous to produce, it lacked such strict requirements and had always been the class 9 soul tool with the lowest fabrication difficulty.
"Then I'll trouble you with it, Elder Wang." Xu Zihuang's gaze then turned to Yao Yang as he spoke seriously.
"Brother Yang, afterward, suppressing those pirates will still require you to take the lead. It's time for the situation in the Yue Nan Archipelago to change. Xu Tianran isn't someone content with peace; once he takes power, war is inevitable, but in the short term, he shouldn't extend his reach here again. Recapturing the entire Yue Nan Archipelago will also facilitate mining those underwater veins. In short, first secure firm control over those rare metal veins, no matter what happens later, we'll be in a much stronger position."
"Rest assured, Zihuang. Leave it to Uncle Wang and me," Yao Yang smiled gently, then grew serious as he cautioned.
"On the contrary, you, representing Shrek Academy at the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Grand Competition in Mingdu, must be extra careful and know your limits."
The smile in Ye Guyi's golden eyes faded as she firmly wrapped her arms around Xu Zihuang's arm.
"Brother Yang, I'll always stay by Zihuang's side. I won't let him take risks, and I won't let him bear such heavy pressure alone again."
Feeling the strange yet somewhat teasingly kind gazes from those around them, Xu Zihuang coughed awkwardly.
"Let's eat first."
Lin Long and Meng Cang were fine with it, but Wang Xiao and Yao Yang had seen his memories and knew about his relationships with Ning Tian and Ju Zi. Moreover, Ye Guyi's last words carried a rather meaningful tone.
"Mm—"
Ye Guyi smiled and lifted her smooth chin slightly. Xu Zihuang immediately understood, picking up a piece of tender peony lobster sashimi and feeding it to her.
Seeing the interaction between Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi, Wang Xiao, Yao Yang, and the others couldn't help but exchange smiles.
Filled with optimism for the future, everyone enjoyed the meal thoroughly. Yet they did not delay the scheduled departure time.
One hour later, the group was ready to set off.
Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi boarded the warship, followed closely by Wang Xiao, Lin Long, Meng Cang, and twenty elite members of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion. Wang Xiao directed the others to turn the ship and sail toward the Douluo Continent.
Yao Yang stood on the shore of the crescent inner bay, with Nana, Yu Lao, and the remaining Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion members behind him. Together, they watched the warship disappear into the darkness.
This hundred-meter-class warship was similar to the Sea Dragon that Xu Zihuang had ridden before, with five decks above the main deck and two below. The only difference was that there were far fewer cabins.
Naturally, Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi occupied the topmost room on the upper deck. That deck had only this one room, extremely spacious.
As soon as they entered the room, he began inscribing core formations.
Some time ago, he and Wang Xiao had designed a close-combat soul tool for Ye Guyi. Similar to his short blade Whale Fang, it could swap internal core formations. In extreme conditions, it could withstand the energy impact of a class 8 core formation.
In other words, the completed form of this close-combat soul tool would be a class 8 close-combat soul tool.
However, what Xu Zihuang was currently inscribing was only a class 7 core formation. Once finished, this close-combat soul tool would merely be class 7.
Aside from the main sword blade, which was crafted by the class 9 soul engineer Wang Xiao, all other components had been made by Xu Zihuang himself. He had nearly finished the intricate parts; now only the internal core formation assembly remained.
According to his design, this core formation assembly required the inscription of a full eight class 7 core formations.
In the top-deck room, Xu Zihuang sat at a metal desk. Under bright soul guidance lighting, the matte metal surface reflected no glare.
Xu Zihuang held a deep purple engraving knife. The knife itself did not appear to be made of metal; its texture was smooth, somewhat resembling amethyst. The closer to the blade, the thinner it became.
The knife gave a gradient sensation, from deep purple to bright purple, then to light purple, and finally transparent. On both sides of the blade's spine was an unusual dragon relief: the dragon head at the tip, the tail spiraling around the handle.
The knife and dragon relief were seamlessly integrated, with clearly visible sharp deep-purple dragon scales on the relief.
Purple Patterned Imperial Dragon, ranked third among the Ranking Engraving Knives.
This was the Ranking Engraving Knife once used by Xu Zihuang's father, passed down within the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family. Later, along with the external soul bone Imperial Dragon Claw, it was entrusted to Wang Xiao. After rescuing Xu Zihuang, Wang Xiao handed both to him.
However, before heading to Shrek Academy, Xu Zihuang had left the Purple Patterned Imperial Dragon with Wang Xiao, only reclaiming it now.
After all, with his disguised identity at the time, possessing such a highly ranked Ranking Engraving Knife would have been too suspicious.
Although the Purple Patterned Imperial Dragon had only circulated within the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family and few had seen it in person, making it the most mysterious of the Ranking Engraving Knives, any experienced high-level soul engineer could recognize its extraordinary nature at a glance.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Xu Zihuang had not taken it then. He hadn't needed it anyway.
But now, with his spiritual force reaching the tangible realm, he could ensure no one detected it when using it privately.
Naturally, he would no longer let such a top-tier Ranking Engraving Knife gather dust.
The greatest strength of Ranking Engraving Knives lies in their unique properties, or even spirituality. When crafting soul tools, especially while inscribing core formations, they could imbue the finished soul tool with the knife's own characteristics, producing abilities that surpassed the tool's inherent level.
The first- and second-ranked knives each possessed at least three attributes.
Yet the third-ranked Purple Patterned Imperial Dragon had only one: destruction. To rank third among over a hundred Ranking Engraving Knives with just one attribute was proof enough of its fearsome power.
Xu Zihuang gripped the Purple Patterned Imperial Dragon tightly in his right hand and channeled soul power. The knife immediately radiated deep purple light, like a cluster of deep purple flames dancing with the movements of his right fingertips.
His right hand merely brushed lightly over the brilliant golden rare metal, and a layer of fine powder puffed away, evenly scattering around it.
As the Purple Patterned Imperial Dragon moved, a low dragon roar faintly emanated from the blade. With every cut, a layer of deep purple appeared on the golden rare metal before quickly submerging; that was the fluctuation of the destruction attribute.
This rare metal had been chosen by Xu Zihuang as the core formation assembly; it could withstand the energy impact of eight class 7 core formations and possessed exceptional hardness and structural integrity. Yet under the Purple Patterned Imperial Dragon's carving, it was as easy as cutting tofu, with no resistance or hesitation.
The deep purple flames sometimes slashed down, sometimes pierced like fine needles, and occasionally transformed into countless blade rays that silently covered the surface—fluid and effortless. Ye Guyi, watching from the side, was left dazzled.
But Ye Guyi simply sat quietly nearby, gazing at Xu Zihuang's flawless profile without interrupting.
Breaking through to level 70 was a threshold for soul masters; over ninety percent, limited by martial soul quality and talent, could never cross it in their lifetime. The same applied to soul engineers; class 7 soul engineers could already be called grandmasters in the field. Becoming one required immense effort and energy.
The reason it was so difficult was that class 7 core formations were on a completely different level from class 6, with complexity at least ten times greater.
Ordinary soul engineers could only rely on tedious, repetitive practice, trial after trial, to reduce errors and gradually increase success rates.
But Xu Zihuang, with the innate ability of his Golden Eyes martial soul and tangible spiritual force, held an overwhelming advantage.
No matter how hard an average person worked, they could not raise their ceiling, while geniuses were blessed with supreme glory from birth.
One hour later, Xu Zihuang suddenly raised his left hand high.
Three blade rays fiercely struck the core formation he was inscribing, twisting and cutting like spiritual serpents to complete the final step.
With his left hand, Xu Zihuang pointed at the center of the core formation.
"Buzz—" A light humming vibration sounded. The entire core formation lit up. Golden light first gathered inward, then burst outward through every gap. Intense soul power fluctuations spread, golden halos rippling outward. The formation's lines shone with dazzling brilliance, crystal clear.
Success. But to complete the entire core formation assembly, seven more class 7 core formations still needed to be successfully inscribed.
Xu Zihuang looked around and noticed that Ye Guyi had already sat cross-legged on the bed and entered meditative cultivation.
He withdrew his gaze, not disturbing her, and continued inscribing the remaining seven class 7 core formations on his own.
Despite the ship's constant rocking from the waves, it did not affect them; both were fully immersed.
With Wang Xiao and the others as escorts, though they encountered attacks from sea soul beasts along the way, all were easily dealt with.
To finish Ye Guyi's close-combat soul tool as quickly as possible, Xu Zihuang had little time to spend with her.
Yet Ye Guyi was not the type to act childish; she never threw tantrums. When bored outside of cultivation, she would casually deal with the attacking sea soul beasts.
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
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