Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 206 The King's Words: The trend of the times is inevitable; those who follow it will live, and those who resist it will perish!

Inside the Shrek team's meeting room, Wang Yan was overjoyed to learn that Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi had been selected as the next generation of Shrek Seven Devils. This gave him even more confidence for the upcoming matches.

However, there was one more thing he hadn't said, so the meeting wasn't over yet.

He said, "Although you haven't seen the other academies' matches, I must tell you that this year's Soul Master Competition is very different from previous years. The difference is that there are very few purely Soul Master academies now; all academies are developing towards a fusion of Soul Master instructors and Soul Masters."

"The fusion of a Soul Master and a Soul Master Guide?" Ma Xiaotao frowned upon hearing this and asked, "Is it really necessary?"

"Yes! Absolutely necessary!" Wang Yan said decisively. "If you all had a defensive soul tool after that explosion, we wouldn't be in this situation now!"

"Hmm?" Ma Xiaotao frowned even more deeply. Her attitude towards soul tools was the same as her teacher Yan Shaozhe's. They both believed that soul tools were a minor path, not as bright and pure as the pure path of soul masters. Therefore, after hearing Wang Yan's words, she immediately felt dissatisfied.

Wang Yan, as a teacher of the Martial Soul Department, so highly praised the Soul Guidance Department. In Ma Xiaotao's mind, this was a complete act of betrayal!

"Perhaps some of you will find what I'm saying unpleasant, but it is indeed an undeniable fact," Wang Yan said in a deep voice. "The fusion of Soul Masters and Soul Instructors is a major trend, an irreversible one. It began to emerge fifty years ago, and it has finally been fully exposed in this competition."

Based on my observations in the first phase, nearly 80% of the 133 academies—more than 100 academies—have already begun using soul tools. Excluding a small number of soul master academies, the rest are all soul master academies! Almost all their students have started using soul tools; truly pure soul masters are becoming increasingly rare.

"They've forgotten the glory of Soul Masters! Shouldn't our battles as Soul Masters be pure? Only abilities cultivated through our own efforts are truly reliable and trustworthy. Soul tools are, after all, external objects," Xu Sanshi said thoughtfully. He came from the Xuanming Sect, a typical reclusive sect, and reclusive sects are also the most averse to soul tools.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yan said, "What you said is certainly correct, and I can tell you with certainty that San Shi's idea is the same as that of the vast majority of the higher-ups in our academy, and it is precisely because of this that the development of the academy's Soul Guidance Department has been constrained. However, through my observation of this competition, I must say that this critical issue has reached a point where it cannot be left unresolved, and it is urgent."

The general trend of the world is such that those who follow it live, and those who go against it perish!

"After the competition ends, I will immediately present this viewpoint to the academy upon my return."

"So, what's the purpose of telling us all this?" Ma Xiaotao asked impatiently, her tone sharp.

"Uh~" Wang Yan choked for a moment, then said helplessly, "I'd like to ask, besides Yuhao and Caitou, who else here possesses a combat-type soul tool?"

"I have a level seven soul-guided shield on me," Zhu Ziyang said.

"I have a Level 3 Flash Soul Guidance Cannon on me," Tang Ya said.

"Oh?!" Wang Yan was surprised. He hadn't expected that besides Huo Yuhao and He Caitou, who were both Soul Masters, someone else actually possessed a Soul Tool. He asked, "Ziyang, Xiaoya, don't you reject Soul Tools?"

"To me, Soul Masters and Soul Guides are just cultivation paths. If a Soul Tool can enhance my strength, I will naturally not refuse to use it," Zhu Ziyang said calmly.

"Ziyang, you've surprised me!" Wang Yan exclaimed in surprise. "I thought someone with such powerful Soul Master talent would reject Soul Tools, but I never expected your attitude towards them to be so similar to the cutting-edge Dual Soul Fusion style on the continent! Truly worthy of being..."

Wang Yan didn't continue speaking, but looked at Tang Ya and asked, "Tang Ya, what about you?"

"Hehe, how should I put it? At first, I really hated soul tools. As you all know, the decline of our Tang Clan is largely related to soul tools," Tang Ya said. "However, if I want to revitalize the Tang Clan, I must understand why soul tools can defeat Tang Clan's hidden weapons. So, I guess I took the initiative to learn about soul tools."

"I see!" Wang Yan understood, and then stopped asking questions. He said directly to everyone, "I know that some of you are very averse to soul tools, but I still hope that each of you can have a soul tool, even if it is a defensive soul tool!"

After all, if everyone uses soul tools, and we don't, we'll be weaker than other teams, especially in the current situation!

So, there's an auction tonight, and I'll be taking you all there to buy soul tools! I won't force Xiao Tao and Nan Nan, but you seven from the pre-selection team must go!

"Yes!" Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and the others all responded, regardless of their inner feelings.

Ma Xiaotao looked gloomy, while Jiang Nannan looked at Zhu Ziyang and asked softly, "Brother, shall we go?"

"Go ahead, why don't you go?" Zhu Ziyang said.

That evening, Wang Yan led the Shrek team to the entrance of an auction house.

There were nine people in total. That's right, only nine people. Ma Xiaotao ultimately chose to refuse, and the other person who didn't come was actually Wang Dong! This really surprised Zhu Ziyang.

Based on his observations and behavior over the past few days, he could basically conclude that Wang Dong was Huo Yuhao's destined love. However, what Zhu Ziyang didn't expect was that Wang Dong, as Huo Yuhao's destined love, was someone who rejected soul tools! This was truly a great irony. Huo Yuhao, as a soul tool master, and possibly a milestone figure in the history of soul tool technology, had a partner who rejected soul tools!

So, the so-called like-minded, harmonious, and virtuous wife is a lie?

"Yuhao, why didn't Wang Dong come?" Tang Ya asked.

"Sigh, Wang Dong said he has a strange aversion and rejection to soul tools. He doesn't know where this aversion and rejection comes from, but he just doesn't like them in his heart," Huo Yuhao said helplessly.

"That's normal. After all, Wang Dong is from the Clear Sky Sect, and the Clear Sky Sect is the strongest among the hidden sects. Naturally, their aversion to soul tools is the deepest," Bei Bei tried to explain, using Xu Sanshi as an example. "See, isn't this a ready-made case?"

Xu Sanshi's face was full of reluctance. Seeing Bei Bei still teasing him, he immediately became angry and said, "Pah! Today I will definitely buy ten or eight soul tools and then slap your face, you opportunistic Bei Bei!"

"You 'kicking someone when they're down,' Bei Bei's face immediately turned ugly, and she retorted, 'I'm waiting to see, you two-faced bastard!'"

The two playfully teased each other, filling the team with a joyful atmosphere.

The group entered the auction house. The exterior building looked small, but the interior was surprisingly spacious. According to Wang Yan, this auction house was actually the largest auction house in Xingluo City.

Wang Yan led everyone directly to today's destination, Auction Hall No. 12, which was a special auction for Soul Tools. All the auction items were Soul Tools of Level 6 or below, suitable for Soul Masters and Soul Masters with cultivation levels of Soul King or below to equip and use.

After the auction began, various soul tools appeared one after another. Wang Yan made a series of purchases, buying more than a dozen soul tools without even blinking, which made everyone exclaim that he was a rich man.

Of all the soul tools, the one that interests Zhu Ziyang the most is the last one, a level four soul tool called the Milk Bottle. It is a functional soul tool that can store soul power and accelerate soul power recovery, which is of great help for sustained combat. Although Zhu Ziyang already has a soul core, who would complain about having less mana recovery speed?

Unfortunately, there was only one of these baby bottles, which were shared by the team, so Zhu Ziyang couldn't keep it all to himself.

As the auction neared its end, a minor incident occurred after the last item was brought to the stage. Huo Yuhao suffered a backlash when he used his mental detection to examine the last item. Fortunately, he withdrew his mental energy in time, otherwise he would have suffered a great loss.

When the last item was revealed, He Caitou and Wang Yan immediately understood why Huo Yuhao had suffered a backlash from his spiritual power. It was because it was actually a list-engraving knife, and a notorious one at that—the Soul-Devouring Engraving Knife!

Wang Yan immediately deflated and lost all desire to take a picture of it.

This puzzled Zhu Ziyang and others who were unfamiliar with the carving knife. After He Caitou explained, they finally understood that the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife was actually a Master-Devouring Killer Knife!

No wonder, no wonder Wang Yan chose to give up; this Soul-Devouring Carving Knife undoubtedly failed to sell at auction.

The auction ended, and everyone returned to the hotel.

(End of this chapter)