"So you're telling me… you wiped out the vanguard force?"
Xu Cheng looked surprised.
Through the transparent window, he observed the Abyssal creatures wailing in the lab. Their bodies twisted frantically as they tried to escape, but were firmly trapped inside a thin transparent soul power membrane.
"These are the ones capable of short-range spatial teleportation. I wiped out all the rest."Xiao Hongchen waved casually, acting all noble and self-righteous, as if it wasn't worth talking about.
"Compliment you a little and you start gasping for air," Xu Cheng chuckled.
"You didn't see the command situation! It was a close call! The adjutant panicked completely — in the critical moment, I had to take over and command the whole operation."Xiao Hongchen said with mock nonchalance as he flicked his hair, clearly enjoying the praise.
"But to think they can perform short-range teleportation…"
Xu Cheng's eyes glinted with a trace of surprise.
This Abyssal Plane… was truly a treasure trove.
He didn't regret keeping it around, as a whetstone for the Sun-Moon Empire.
If he had funneled all of it directly into the underworld to fuel the Nether River, he would have missed out on these unexpected little surprises.
"The vanguard's here, but the main force still has about a year left."
Xu Cheng muttered, "To forge a real spacefaring military, you can't raise it in a greenhouse. Keep pushing forward. Ground combat, naval combat — most of it's useless in space stations. This is a whole new system. Training experience has to start from scratch. The Space Academy has been operational for only half a year. I'll need you to put more heart into it."
"No problem. Leave it to me!"
Xiao Hongchen nodded seriously.
"But still…"
Xu Cheng gazed out past the starship into the vastness of space.
His expression grew solemn.
Just now, the God of Destruction had sent word… the situation in the lower realms could no longer be hidden. Tang San had finally lost control and started probing. Given his rank as a God King, there was no way he'd be fooled.
Though the God of Destruction had blocked him and even gained the upper hand temporarily, with the Sun-Moon Empire growing this fast, Tang San would sooner or later tear the peace treaty apart and try to wipe out the Sun-Moon.
The balance of the Divine Realm was also shifting.
Two ancient gods, long-established, had formally passed on their positions — the gods of Good and Evil, who held five council seats, were now inherited by Ji Dong and Lie Yan.
For now, the momentum clearly favored Destruction's side.
After all, it was four versus one. Even if Tang San was monstrously capable, this was a hard turnaround.
But… if that was all he had, Tang the God King wouldn't have been the dominant figure in the original series, walking over Destruction like it was nothing.
His ability to manipulate people's hearts was unparalleled.
Don't worry about whether what he says makes sense — just look at the results.
Ji Dong and Lie Yan share one soul. If one is swayed, the other will inevitably follow… Sadly, Xu Cheng was still just short of godhood, and could only warn Destruction to be careful — those two rookies might still be seduced by Tang San's words.
If he pulls off a comeback… now that would be interesting.
Now that Tang San knows, there's no need to hold back in dealing with Shrek Academy.
The only lingering concern was Ah Yin.
Xu Cheng tapped his fingers on the desk, contemplating the upcoming grand tournament six months from now.
In truth, now that he'd reached level 98 Super Douluo, and after a few rounds of rebuilding Azoth, even without borrowing Tianmeng's spiritual power, he could now use Azoth to its fullest potential.
This was the true definition of a Demigod.
Yes, that's right.
Azoth was forged from materials gathered through the Sun-Moon military — dragon scales found in a hidden realm, a 100,000-year-old turtle shell from the Sea Princess's vault, a cast-off dragon scale from Di Tian, and a scale donated by the Silver Dragon King herself.
After multiple rounds of upgrades, it became the current version of Azoth.
Its defense was unquestionable, but more terrifying was its resilience and tolerance for power.
Currently, the strongest metal even Wang Dong'er could forge in the Sun-Moon Empire couldn't handle demigod-tier power — it would just break on contact.
However, Wang Dong'er had a high potential ceiling.
She might not be able to do it now, but eventually, she would.
A spirit-forger like her could reach terrifying heights. Xu Cheng estimated that any system-produced forging talent was at least god-tier. While the Divine Realm currently had no "God of Forging and Flame," there's no reason Wang Dong'er couldn't become one.
But he was getting off-track…
Xu Cheng thought about the current Shrek Academy.
It was, frankly, miserable.
They were forced to use soul rings provided by the Sun-Moon Empire, while the Star Dou Forest had also begun limiting both the quantity and age of spirit beasts available for hunting. Things were getting tougher and tougher.
Worse, a number of old sects and powers had defected, which Shrek saw as betrayal.
But what choice did they have?
Now, pledging loyalty to a wise ruler was the only path.
In the past, people were willing to wait things out with Shrek, since their foundations were intact. But now that the Star Dou Forest was tightening resources and Shrek was monopolizing everything — snatching up the Clear Sky Sect and other powers without even leaving scraps — what were others supposed to do?
So in recent years, some smaller powers quietly took their assets and slipped over to the Sun-Moon Empire.
The Empire didn't hold it against them.
They only had one policy: discourage raising talent within clans or sects, and instead encourage enrollment into Empire-run academies.
No forceful coercion needed. Just the simple benefit that all students in the Empire's academies could get soul rings for free was enough to trigger the change.
Even buying soul rings in the Sun-Moon Empire was cheap — about one-fifth the price compared to the old continent.
Still, many closed-off clans sent their juniors to the academies in droves.
Who'd pass up such a good opportunity to show loyalty?
As the saying goes:"I don't know who gave gifts — but I know exactly who didn't."
"Alright, let's head back to the surface."Xu Cheng waved his hand.
"Leave this place to Old Ma for now. Let him be the acting flagship commander until Le Xuan takes over."
"Sure. I heard he just advanced to Title Douluo, and he's a level-9 soul engineer too. His seniority might be a bit lacking, but right now the Empire runs on your word — who's going to object? Who dares?"Xiao Hongchen grinned.
The commander of the flagship fleet was one of the most important figures in the Empire.
Especially the first flagship commander.
Didn't you see all those level-9 soul engineers scrambling to become escort ship captains?
It wasn't about the escort ships — it was about the main ship, and more importantly, about being part of the first generation.
They'd go down in history.
In other words:Today's escort commander might be tomorrow's general of the first Space Army Corps.
"…"
Xu Cheng fell silent for a moment.
A year ago, his father abdicated and became the Retired Emperor.
And Xu Cheng took on the heavy responsibility as the new Emperor.
Because he had climbed step by step, steadily and fairly, his prestige was unprecedented in the Empire's history.
He had doubled the territory of the Sun-Moon Empire, added numerous vassal states, and even built railways into the skies and seas. These were unmatched achievements.
Yes.
Three years had passed.
With resources from the ocean floor and the Star Dou Forest, the Empire's development had skyrocketed. The expensive and ambitious "Starlink Railway Project" had now spread across the nation, carrying the prosperity of Mingdu to every province of the Empire.
So the ones grateful to Xu Cheng weren't just Mingdu...
It was the entire Sun-Moon Empire.
Even the Evil Demon Forest had submitted.
They had no choice. Xu Cheng had crushed them so brutally that every creature in the forest shivered at the sight of his black-and-white mecha. It was the eternal nightmare of the Evil-Eyed Tyrant's offspring.
And the Evil-Eyed Tyrant itself became Xu Cheng's ninth soul ring.
Xu Cheng: "I swear I didn't kill it. It took one look at my spirit souls and strength, then begged to hitch a ride on the fast track to godhood."
PS: The starship arc ends here. The next arc returns to ground-level plotlines.
Deep within the Star Dou Forest, morning light filtered through the ancient, towering trees. A single sunbeam landed gently on Wang Dong'er's shoulder.
The girl stood silently on a smooth boulder, her pink-blue hair fluttering in the breeze, her breathtaking face filled with calm intensity.
This was her first time forging using her Martial Soul as the spirit-forging material.
Yes — this was the first forging of a Martial Soul in all existence, a realm mentioned in the legends of spirit forgers. If she succeeded, she would become a true level-9 Spirit Forger.
"Nine-stage Spirit Forging — begin!"
She pressed her palms together. Soul power surged. Behind her, the phantom of the Bright Goddess Butterfly slowly unfolded, scattering radiant stardust from its dazzling wings.
"Martial Soul resonance — spirit forging, merge!"
She shouted, and the butterfly phantom suddenly contracted, transforming into a stream of light that merged into the Blazing Profound Iron in her hands. In that instant, gorgeous runes surfaced on the metal — pulsing with life.
Wang Dong'er flipped her right hand — a forging hammer appeared from thin air, its shaft inscribed with intricate soul tool glyphs.
And with everything prepared…
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Each hammer strike came with an intense surge of energy, as if the fires of heaven and earth were roaring together.
At the center of it all, the Clear Sky Hammer (Hàotiān Hammer) was undergoing subtle changes.
This type of Martial Soul restructuring was extremely dangerous. Any misstep could cause irreversible consequences, so while the girl appeared to be swinging her massive hammer with incredible momentum, she was actually being very careful.
As the hammer fell again and again, beads of sweat began forming on the girl's forehead. They soaked the hair around her temples and rolled down her neck in large drops.
"If she succeeds… her future will be limitless."The Red King stood atop an ancient tree, looking down at the human girl with deep emotion in his eyes.
"No kidding. But forging a Martial Soul… where did she even get this idea?"Bear Lord (Xiong Jun) smacked his lips in disbelief.
"If she fails, she might fall into ruin… or have to start all over. But if she succeeds…"Di Tian muttered thoughtfully.
"…"
Xu Cheng stood silently among the other powerful soul beasts.
Hands clasped behind his back, dressed in plain clothes, his mouth twitched involuntarily.
He wasn't too worried that Wang Dong'er would fail. His focus was on the Martial Soul she was forging… forming under her strikes…
No matter how he looked at it…
It looked like a signal axe.
Didn't she say she didn't like axes? Said they were too rough?So why now…?
"What's wrong?"Gu Yuena, graceful and light, stood on the ancient tree nearby and gently asked.
"Nothing…" Xu Cheng replied, his expression somewhat strange.
Forget it. I'll ask her about it later.
If her Martial Soul really became a signal axe, now that would be hilarious.
"BOOM!!!"
With the final hammer strike, the Clear Sky Hammer suddenly erupted with blinding golden light.
In her hands formed a massive battle axe, glowing entirely crimson, its edge lined with a faint bluish aura.
Intricate butterfly-wing patterns curled around the axe shaft, and the edge shimmered with a divine aura unique to the Bright Goddess Butterfly.
As if to shed the legacy of the Clear Sky Sect, she had chosen to make her other Martial Soul the dominant one, and even fused aspects of both Martial Souls together.
"I did it!"Wang Dong'er smiled, lifting the battle axe gently. A streak of blazing light cut through the air, and the surrounding trees instantly evaporated, leaving only charred remains.
"Power of light and flame combined—capable of slaying evil and purifying darkness. Your name shall be:Bright Goddess Butterfly — Signal Axe!"
Satisfied, she stored the battle axe and looked up toward the canopy of tall trees.
A figure above made her face light up with joy.
"Teacher!!!"
A pair of butterfly wings unfurled from her back. She rose lightly into the air with grace and fluidity.
"Not bad…"Xu Cheng smiled, watching the excited young girl.
In the past three years, he hadn't been idle either. He'd been working on optimizing Azoth.
So it had already been more than a year since he last saw her—at the coronation ceremony.
She hadn't disappointed.
Her soul power growth wasn't even the highlight.
The real achievement was that she had pushed the rare class of spirit forger to level 9 — a godlike progression. Now, within the Sun-Moon Empire, she held an extremely high status. High-level soul engineers frequently sought her help, and even crucial components of interstellar battleships were made from metals she forged.
She even had her own dedicated lab at Mingde Hall.
This time, she had come to the Great Star Dou Forest to break through to level 9 uninterrupted, as it was rich in life force and devoid of distractions.
"This signal axe is going to be my Martial Soul from now on!"Wang Dong'er summoned the axe again, wiped the sweat from her face, and looked proud.
"…Why that shape?"Xu Cheng looked puzzled.
An axe imbued with both light and destruction…
That was quite the statement.
"Didn't you mention once before, Teacher, something about making a signal axe? I didn't think much of it at the time, but as time went on, I started to get more and more interested. I realized… axes can be art too."Wang Dong'er shrugged casually.
Xu Cheng: "…"
He glanced silently at the sky.
Hopefully a certain God King didn't see this…
"…He probably didn't, right?"
As expected—doubt, understanding, becoming, surpassing—this is the natural rhythm of the world.
Casually, he pulled out a towel and gently wiped the sweat from her face.
Wang Dong'er leaned in, clearly enjoying her master's "facial towel service," completely relaxed.
But as he noticed the curious, gossiping stares from the surrounding soul beasts, Xu Cheng's face twitched. He sighed, looked at her contented expression, and draped the towel over her face
"Do it yourself."
(End of chapter)