Douluo: Brains Over Bloodline

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"Of course, Xiao Yuan, you don't need to feel disappointed. What I said was just speculation—simply because after all these years, there hasn't been any trace of the materials he left behind."

Xu Shengqun's words were correct.

Xu Yuan had been focused on cultivation all these years.

And Xu Shengqun hadn't been idle either. Besides preparing cultivation materials for Xu Yuan, he also had to deal with the pressure from Qiangu Dongfeng while continuing his own cultivation.

Under such heavy pressure, Xu Shengqun didn't disappoint—he successfully reached the level of a Limit Douluo.

It could be said that people are pushed to their limits.

In the original timeline without Xu Yuan—or without this overwhelmingly powerful version of Xu Yuan—Xu Shengqun might have slacked off. His cultivation progress wouldn't have been as exaggerated as it is now, and later, for reasons unknown, he was removed from his position by Qiangu Dongfeng and disappeared without a trace.

Neither of them had put much effort into searching for the research materials left behind by Xu Zhi.

Now, however, they did have some resources and conditions, so perhaps they could attempt to look for them.

After hearing Xu Yuan explain the "broken mechanism" essence of evil soul masters' martial souls, Xu Shengqun felt somewhat astonished. He even felt a sudden urge to search for Xu Zhi's research materials.

Once evil soul masters reached the level of Titled Douluo, their "broken mechanisms" became less effective—but it wasn't the mechanism itself that was ineffective; it was the evil soul masters themselves.

Xu Yuan made it very clear: what he referred to as the "broken mechanism" was essentially the key medium in the essence of soul master cultivation. Mastering even one of these could assist a soul master in reaching the pinnacle.

As for why evil soul masters began to weaken after reaching the Titled Douluo level, it was naturally because their own strength was too weak.

Being inherently weak, no matter how much they consumed or absorbed, they would eventually be dragged down by it.

A small balloon cannot contain power beyond its capacity.

Forcing absorption would only lead to an explosion or the loss of previously accumulated power, leaving them stagnant.

Normal soul masters accumulate gradually, and by Level 95, they can reap the fruits of their labor. But evil soul masters bypass normal mechanisms, continuously devouring others' power. Their own strength doesn't even sprout—let alone bear fruit.

Therefore, advancing to Super Douluo status is an enormous hurdle for evil soul masters.

Beyond that, becoming a Limit Douluo presents yet another hurdle. This means that evil soul masters must repay all the debts incurred from taking shortcuts throughout their journey—a torment for those accustomed to cutting corners.

Of course, there is a category of evil soul masters who aren't bound by these limitations.

These are the most terrifying type of evil soul masters.

They are the ones who fall into darkness midway through their cultivation.

By relying on their own strength to reach Soul Sage or even Soul Douluo levels, they may achieve a rapid ascension to Super Douluo status within just a few years after falling.

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Returning to the main topic.

"If you're going to lure the snake out of its hole, the Holy Spirit Sect won't be unprepared. After all, sending Leng Yulai this time might not have been without ulterior motives," Yun Ming said.

His reminder was spot-on.

Xu Yuan silently grew more vigilant.

True, Leng Yulai hadn't been swayed by him.

But her failure—neither killing nor capturing Xu Yuan—spoke volumes.

Better to believe it exists than to dismiss it.

This mindset was deeply ingrained among the evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Sect, especially when it came to suspicion.

"Either your bait will fail, or they'll send someone far beyond the norm," Yun Ming calmly outlined the two possible outcomes.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan smiled.

"The first scenario is fine. If it's the second, I'd actually look forward to it even more."

Exceeding the norm?

Who could they possibly send?

The Ghost Emperor himself?

Even if the Ghost Emperor personally intervened, two Limit Douluos would still have the ability to hold him off until Yun Ming arrived on the scene.

"Don't forget, the Holy Spirit Sect and Qiangu Dongfeng are colluding," Yun Ming reminded.

By now, Yun Ming and the others had long assumed this—that Qiangu Dongfeng was collaborating with evil soul masters.

In fact, Xu Yuan's plan to lure the enemy out already considered the factor of collusion between Qiangu Dongfeng and the Holy Spirit Sect. After all, luring out the Holy Spirit Sect itself required Qiangu Dongfeng's information leaks.

However, Yun Ming's reminder made him reconsider this relationship, and he realized a critical point.

They could lure the snake out of its hole, but the enemy could also use the strategy of "luring the tiger away from the mountain"!

Once the enemy was on guard, it wasn't guaranteed that they'd only send stronger forces.

"If we don't have Teacher's support, once the Holy Spirit Sect sends an evil soul master at the Limit Douluo level, we won't be able to stop them. The entire plan would be pointless," Xu Yuan frowned.

"You can ask Yue Jie to go," Yun Ming suggested.

Xu Yuan's eyes flickered.

Long Yeyue?

That would work.

Long Yeyue's strength was undoubtedly formidable—she ranked among the top tier of quasi-gods.

After all, she possessed the twin martial souls of Light and Dark Holy Dragon.

In this era where twin martial souls were considered weak, any soul master who managed to cultivate twin martial souls to their full potential could bring their advantages to another extreme.

Ten thousand years ago, in the era before spirit souls, the greatest advantage of twin martial souls was having nine additional soul ring slots, granting the opportunity for nine ten-thousand-year soul rings.

Moreover, absorbing nine soul rings often meant nine instances of feedback from ten-thousand-year soul rings. Even if each instance only provided a single level boost, nine soul rings would easily grant a nine-level breakthrough!

Especially with careful planning—after cultivating one martial soul to the Soul King level, the other could absorb soul rings during major bottlenecks (Levels 59, 69, 79, and 89), significantly reducing the time spent struggling with bottlenecks.

While this might not directly allow a breakthrough, it could at least halve the difficulty.

With good luck and suitable soul rings, breaking through whole-number level bottlenecks was entirely possible.

Even if the soul rings weren't perfectly compatible, as long as their duration was sufficient, they could save a soul master a tremendous amount of time.

This was the greatest advantage of twin martial souls.

However, in the current era, this advantage has become a burden.

Acquiring soul rings no longer depended solely on physical fitness—it placed a significant strain on spiritual power. Many soul masters struggled to supply enough spiritual power for even one martial soul's spirit souls, let alone two.

And that wasn't the main issue. In the era of spirit souls, except for the occasional spirit souls-granted soul ring unlocking an extra level at whole-number milestones, absorbing soul rings no longer provided feedback.

This effectively rendered twin martial souls obsolete.

Moreover, with two martial souls and eighteen soul skills, a soul master's focus was divided, often resulting in mediocrity across the board.

However, if one could fully utilize this setup, any soul master who managed to cultivate twin martial souls would inevitably become incredibly strong.

Having double the basic number of soul skills allowed for the development of even stronger unique techniques.

Long Yeyue was clearly one such example.

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