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Due to the involvement of a demi-god level evil soul master and Yun Ming, the current Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion who held immense influence over the Federation, the Federation paid special attention to this battle. They quickly mobilized their satellites to remotely observe the entire fight.
With the Federation's resources, they were also able to swiftly uncover information about this evil soul master.
It was none other than the Ghost Emperor.
The Ghost Emperor was already a well-known evil soul master with a notorious record of countless crimes committed against the Federation. He had been defeated by Yun Ming years ago and had since vanished without a trace.
No one expected that after so many years, he would not only reach the Limit Douluo level but also possess four-word battle armor, with his strength fully reaching the demi-god level.
When the Ghost Emperor disappeared back then, no one assumed he had simply died.
However, without any leads on his whereabouts and no further criminal activity, it was nearly impossible to locate him, even if the entire Federation were turned upside down.
As for the so-called lingering threats—
In reality, very few people cared.
The pinnacle of power on the continent still belonged to Limit Douluos and demi-gods.
The advancement of evil soul masters was extremely abnormal; their soul power increased in an unreasonable manner, and random massacres could potentially lead to an overnight title promotion.
However, after reaching the rank of Titled Douluo, evil soul masters generally began to lose their edge. Their previous advantages might still exist to some extent, but they became more predictable once their characteristics were known and guarded against.
Moreover, at the Super Douluo level, the cultivation speed of evil soul masters slowed significantly.
Breaking through to become a Limit Douluo was almost impossible.
Of course, there was always a way.
Some lucky individuals managed to overcome various obstacles and achieve the Super Douluo level using the methods of evil soul masters, eventually pushing toward the Limit Douluo level.
Among them, the Ghost Emperor was one such example.
When he retreated years ago, he had just barely reached the Super Douluo level.
Perhaps it was that defeat that gave him some clarity, causing him to retreat into seclusion and avoid personally committing massacres. Instead, he relied on arduous cultivation to complete the most difficult stages of an evil soul master's training.
In fact, not just the Ghost Emperor—careful research into the history of the Holy Spirit Sect revealed that all Limit Douluo-level evil soul masters had gone into hiding after reaching the 95th level or earlier, no longer causing major incidents.
The news of Yun Ming's battle with the Ghost Emperor spread to all the major powers.
Naturally, the Sea God Pavilion was the first to learn of this information.
They received the most complete and detailed intelligence from Yun Ming.
"First, according to Brother Ming, the Godslayer Missiles were indeed stolen by the Holy Spirit Sect. The Ghost Emperor did not refute Brother Ming's accusations."
"Second, this Ghost Emperor—a demi-god level evil soul master—is everyone's nightmare. Brother Ming stated that this Ghost Emperor has not changed his abhorrent ways. His reappearance will undoubtedly bring chaos."
"Finally, and most importantly, behind the Ghost Emperor stands another demi-god. Even Brother Ming was unable to suppress this individual when they clashed in the ocean."
The Ghost Emperor?
Beaten mercilessly by Yun Ming.
Years ago, he gained fame after narrowly escaping a crushing defeat at Yun Ming's hands. Clearly, the Ghost Emperor had suffered greatly under Yun Ming's suppression.
Even now, after so many years, the gap in strength between him and Yun Ming remained vast.
This was the strongest person on the continent, dominating an entire era.
In the original storyline, even the consumption of the Godslayer Missiles allowed Yun Ming to severely wound the Ghost Emperor. Now, with Xu Yuan's arrival triggering changes, Yun Ming's strength had improved significantly.
Thus, what seemed like a three-day, three-night battle was actually the Ghost Emperor fleeing for three days and three nights.
From the west coast to the south coast, and finally into the depths of the ocean, the Ghost Emperor escaped with his life only thanks to the help of the demi-god in the ocean.
"A demi-god in the ocean?" Long Yeyue frowned, having no recollection of such a figure.
Every evil soul master had a record.
Some factions could hide their trump cards by encrypting the data of their internal geniuses, but evil soul masters could not erase their own records.
Every famous evil soul master had a resume filled with heinous crimes during their early accumulation phase.
Such a record could not be erased.
However, this demi-god of the ocean left no traces.
"Could it be that she isn't an evil soul master?" Long Yeyue speculated.
"If she's not an evil soul master, why would she ally with the Ghost Emperor?" Cai Yue'er asked, puzzled.
"Even if she's not an evil soul master, it's possible she collaborated with the Holy Spirit Sect for some reason. Perhaps… a certain individual," Long Yeyue hinted.
Everyone present felt a chill run down their spines.
The existence of a hidden demi-god was shocking enough, but this person was also ambitious, even collaborating with the Holy Spirit Sect—this was deeply unsettling.
"Brother Ming said that he couldn't suppress her either. Clearly, her strength is beyond that of an ordinary demi-god."
The hearts of those in the Sea God Pavilion grew heavy.
This Douluo Continent was starting to feel unfamiliar.
All sorts of strange figures were emerging.
Could this be another turning point in history?
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Time passed.
After completing his battle armor, Xu Yuan began upgrading his mech suit.
When it was still a yellow-grade mech, he had constructed it entirely from sentient alloys.
Now, upgrading it to a purple-grade mech involved replacing its core formation arrays with those equivalent to two-word battle armor standards. Additionally, he performed spirit forging on all the sentient alloys in the mech's original materials.
Of course, the types of sentient alloys were also diversified, no longer limited to jade silver alone.
Upon completion, the upgraded mech surpassed the amplification capabilities of two-word battle armor and approached those of three-word battle armor. Combined with Xu Yuan's one-word battle armor Yuan, which also surpassed two-word battle armor, Xu Yuan's strength had reached an unimaginable level.
Even a Soul Douluo in their true martial soul form would be unable to suppress Xu Yuan.
Unless the opponent possessed battle armor—and at least three-word battle armor—they would find it exceedingly difficult to pose a threat to Xu Yuan.
Three months had now passed.
"Brother Yuan."
Xu Lizhi approached Xu Yuan.
"What is it?"
"Well, we're going to hold the Seven Monsters ranking competition soon. Brother Yuan, could you team up with me during the event?" Xu Lizhi's eyes carried a glimmer of hope.
Xu Yuan decisively shook his head.
Impossible.
Xu Yuan had to secure first place in the ranking competition.
Tang Wulin had changed drastically, and carrying a burden at this moment could lead to mistakes. Losing the top spot might mean all of Xu Yuan's previous efforts would be wasted.
Moreover, the ranking competition wasn't solely about absolute strength.
The Sea God Pavilion would certainly take Xu Lizhi's situation into account, and the ranking criteria would not be based purely on strength.
"You don't need to seek others for help. Instead of relying on someone else, focus on finding a breakthrough within yourself. Think about your strengths and how to maximize them. The rankings won't be determined solely by personal strength."
After giving Xu Lizhi this advice, Xu Yuan left him to ponder and flew toward the Sea God Pavilion.
That's right—he flew!
Xu Yuan flew there.
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