During the period when the number of soul beasts drastically declined, the Spirit Pagoda was established with the goal of regulating the relationship between humans and soul beasts. It pioneered the creation of artificial soul spirits, forming the foundation of the current Spirit Pagoda.
From that point onward, human soul technology rapidly advanced, leading to the invention of various types of soul devices, eventually culminating in the development of mechas.
It wasn't until several thousand years ago, with the emergence of battle armor, that mecha civilization truly gained the potential to surpass the original capabilities of soul masters.
Battle armor significantly enhanced the strength of high-level soul masters. A newly advanced Rank 90 Title Douluo, if equipped with a four-word battle armor, would possess power comparable to the historical pinnacle of humanity—an Ultimate Douluo.
Although the Ultimate Douluo realm remained the highest level dictated by the world's natural laws, the increase in the number of individuals reaching this tier allowed humanity to decisively suppress the final desperate counterattacks of powerful soul beasts. This ultimately led to the decline of soul beasts until, in modern times, they were on the brink of extinction.
It's easy to imagine how esteemed a four-word battle armor master is within human society. The number of known four-word battle armor masters across the entire continent is limited, and each one is an unparalleled figure. Rumors suggest that the other two continents also have four-word battle armor masters, but the people of Douluo Continent firmly believe that their own battle armor masters—hailing from the birthplace of soul masters—are the strongest.
Yuanen Yehui, who rarely spoke much, suddenly interjected, "Heavenly Phoenix Douluo? The vice tower master of the Spirit Pagoda and deputy speaker of its council?"
Yue Zhengyu smiled wryly. "Who else could it be? I never expected to meet Heavenly Phoenix Douluo in person today. What an honor! Gu Yue, from now on, you're my big sister!" His face was filled with admiration, just like an ordinary fan meeting their idol.
Gu Yue remained silent.
The 99th Floor
The entire space underwent a drastic transformation. A lush forest emerged, brimming with an endless aura of life.
All traces of metallic elements vanished, making the place seem like a naturally formed sanctuary. Gu You stepped forward, venturing deeper into this domain. Towering ancient trees surrounded him, with the shortest ones reaching over ten meters in height.
He was eager to see what kind of soul beast the Spirit Pagoda had been carefully preserving for so long as a hundred-thousand-year soul spirit.
At the same time, his spiritual power radiated outward, scanning everything around him.
"Shhh, shhh..."
The sound of something swiftly scraping against tree bark echoed through the forest.
It's here!
Gu You lifted his gaze, unleashing a powerful energy wave that immediately repelled whatever had been creeping toward him, sending it soaring into the sky.
A massive silhouette appeared, resembling a ten-thousand-meter-long flood dragon. Its entire body was a striking shade of red, with sharp, well-defined features.
The moment Gu You got a clear look at the soul beast's appearance, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy crap! This is a Mandala Snake?"
There was no mistaking it—the distinctive deep green, triangular head, and ruby-like eyes were unique to the Mandala Snake. The only noticeable difference was the two long horns protruding from its head.
"Is it really turning into a dragon?" A shiver ran down Gu You's spine.
This transformation was fundamentally different from that of the Demon Lizard Dragon, which evolved into a Western-style dragon that emphasized bloodline inheritance. Gu You's own martial soul was also a Western dragon.
However, if this Mandala Snake were truly evolving into a dragon, it would likely take the form of an Eastern-style Azure Dragon, similar to the legendary Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan. This meant that it might not even be affected by typical bloodline suppression. In the setting of Soul Land III, soul power determined one's future, martial soul determined one's potential, and bloodline determined one's lower limit. As long as it was classified as a dragon, bloodline hierarchy would come into play.
The Mandala Snake hovered in the air for a brief moment before vanishing into the depths of the forest at an astonishing speed—so fast that it didn't make a single sound.
Despite its silence, Gu You clearly saw its enormous body.
It was unimaginably massive—this was no ordinary snake.
"Is that really a Mandala Snake?" Even Yue Zhengyu, who was quite knowledgeable, couldn't believe his eyes. "Can this species even reach a hundred-thousand-year cultivation?"
"That snake is huge..." Xu Xiaoyan covered her face in terror. She was genuinely afraid of snakes—terrified, even.
Under normal circumstances, a Mandala Snake's natural lifespan would cap out at ten thousand years. Snakes had inherent limitations in their growth potential.
Mandala Snakes were dark green in their early years, growing one meter in length every hundred years. By the time they approached a thousand years of cultivation, they could reach nearly ten meters long.
Upon breaking past the thousand-year threshold, they would continuously shed their skin, condensing their power and turning pink while shrinking back to a single meter. From then on, they would grow one meter every hundred years, reaching around a hundred meters at the ten-thousand-year mark.
A hundred-meter-long serpent was no joke. Standing before such a creature, humans wouldn't even compare to ants.
And that was just at the ten-thousand-year level.
Beyond two thousand years of cultivation, the Mandala Snake's pink hue would begin to darken, eventually turning yellow upon reaching the ten-thousand-year level. It would undergo another round of skin-shedding and power condensation before continuing to grow—one meter per century.
By the time it miraculously reached the hundred-thousand-year realm, it would measure nearly a thousand meters long. The sheer enormity of such a being was incomprehensible.
Judging from this hundred-thousand-year Mandala Snake's deep red color, it had likely completed its final shedding phase and would no longer condense its power.
It was a complete, unrestrained, thousand-meter-long beast!
The Mandala Snake was also an incredibly intelligent soul beast. At the hundred-thousand-year level, its wisdom would rival that of a human. Its body was incredibly tough, nearly impervious to conventional weapons, with only its mouth and eyes as weak points. However, it was highly skilled at protecting those vulnerable areas. Moreover, its speed was extraordinary, and its venom was among the deadliest of all poisonous soul beasts.
Even at a mere hundred years old, its venom could kill thousand-year soul beasts. No soul beast had ever survived a bite from a hundred-thousand-year Mandala Snake.
Watching the scene unfold on the screen, Leng Yaozhu (Heavenly Phoenix Douluo) wore a complex expression. She had initially been skeptical of the existence of a hundred-thousand-year Mandala Snake. But after reviewing historical records from the Spirit Pagoda's archives, she finally understood how this particular Mandala Snake had defied the odds.
Before the Spirit Pagoda had fully enclosed and imprisoned the Star Dou Forest, some of its internal members had begun surveying the core region, attempting to catalog the area's most powerful soul beasts. Using newly developed soul devices, they had made a startling discovery—beneath the forest lay an enormous underground chamber.
However, at the time, humanity had yet to fully control the Star Dou Forest, so the exploration of this subterranean domain had been postponed indefinitely.
But as mecha and battle armor technology rapidly advanced, and soul beasts became incapable of resisting the tide of human progress...
(End of Chapter)