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Even though the Sun Moon Empire had studied Ultimate Spirits in detail because of past grudges, when it came to actual understanding, they still couldn't compare to Shrek Academy. But sending those two little ones to Shrek? No way. She might be okay with it, but her sister definitely wouldn't, and neither would the higher-ups of the Sun Moon Empire.
Her sister wasn't like her. She held serious hostility toward the old Douluo Three Kingdoms—let alone Shrek. Back in the day, when they represented the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, they'd lost to Shrek, and a close friend of theirs had even died in the process.
She herself didn't really hold grudges—just not her nature. After all, anything can happen on a battlefield. Their friend just had bad luck, that's all.
But her sister? Totally different. That's why she joined the military and became the captain of the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Regiment. Her sister had always been way more intense—and had always wanted to teach Shrek Academy a lesson or two.
The Fire Phoenix Douluo frowned—yeah, it was a problem. But she still shook her head and said, "Let me handle this. Mingde Hall has probably done research on Ultimate Spirits too. They might have a way to help them grow. When it comes to resources, we're not that far behind Shrek."
"I guess that's all we can do for now," Luan Yu sighed.
She'd actually considered sending Meteor and Liu Ying to Earth Dragon Gate, have them join Shrek under that identity, and use it to learn how Shrek trains Ultimate Spirits. But after thinking it through, she gave up on the idea. She'd been traveling across the continent for years and had seen things clearly—whether it was the Sun Moon Empire, the old Douluo Three Kingdoms, or even Shrek Academy, none of them were innocent.
Everyone had their own agendas. War was only a matter of time. The only reason it hadn't broken out yet was because the current Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire was holding things down. Otherwise, it would've already started.
Once war did break out, if Meteor and Liu Ying were part of Shrek, they'd end up fighting against the Sun Moon Empire—and that would put her in an impossible position.
Besides, with her and her sister around, why wouldn't they be able to train Ultimate Spirits themselves?
Meteor was playing with a flame in his hand. He'd read about Ultimate Spirits before, and this concept didn't even exist in his memory of the first world.
Apparently, the main character of this "second world" also had an Ultimate Spirit. Even with all the overpowered advantages, he was still behind his peers in terms of soul power early on. Just goes to show how hard it is for Ultimate Spirits to develop in the early and middle stages. They're a type of Spirit that only shines in the late game—slow starters, big finishers.
But he and Liu Ying were different. When Liu Ying trained and increased her soul power, his would go up too—and vice versa. That meant their training speed was basically doubled. Even though double the speed still didn't completely close the gap between Ultimate Spirits and top-tier regular Spirits, at least they wouldn't fall too far behind.
Plus…
Meteor could feel a steady, flowing life force inside his body. It made him feel incredibly comfortable. Maybe it was because Liu Ying had inherited the divinity of the Goddess of Life, or maybe because the genetic nature of the Broodmother was deeply connected to life itself.
Either way, their Spirits weren't just fire and destruction—they also had a hidden life attribute. That constant stream of life force in their bodies? That was their innate Spirit ability—the Domain of Life.
However, their version of the Domain of Life couldn't be projected outward. It was locked inside their bodies. It instinctively absorbed ambient energy and turned it into pure life force, replenishing what they used up and healing injuries.
Maybe it was because they were still too weak now, but Meteor wondered if the Domain would evolve later as they got stronger.
As long as their heads weren't chopped off, they could recover from basically any injury over time. Meteor even suspected that if either of them lost a limb, given enough time and soul power to convert into life force, the limb could grow back.
With this Domain of Life, he could even try some extreme training methods that drained life force to boost strength. Then again, "Miss Scared of Dying" Liu Ying probably wouldn't let him try anything too crazy.
Liu Ying wanted to live—she wasn't about to waste her life force recklessly, and she definitely wouldn't let Meteor throw his life away either.
Even with an Ultimate Spirit, Meteor was confident his training speed wouldn't fall behind his peers. Besides, he knew that the higher the spirit ring's age, the more soul power it fed back when absorbed. With his and Liu Ying's physical capabilities, they could definitely push the limits on their first soul ring.
And once they took that bold first step, they'd have way more options for future rings.
Of course, "bold" didn't mean reckless. He finally had a new life—he wasn't about to throw it away before he even got to enjoy it.
Three days flew by. During that time, Luan Yu didn't rush to take Meteor and Liu Ying out hunting for their first soul rings. Instead, she had them get familiar with their Spirits, study the soul beast guide, and figure out what kind of beast would suit them best before heading out.
Fire Phoenix Douluo also took a break from her military duties to help. She dug into all sorts of materials, doing everything she could to lay a strong foundation for the two kids. She didn't intend to make them Soul Engineers either.
After all, with Ultimate Spirits, going the route of soul masters who rely on raw power made way more sense than depending on soul tools.
Soul Engineers focus on soul tools. When choosing soul rings, they prioritize support or soul power enhancement skills rather than combat ones, which gives them more flexibility.
But for soul masters, it's a whole different story. Their choice of soul beasts needs to be much more specific. The higher the beast's bloodline, the stronger the soul skill it offers.
After some discussion between Fire Phoenix Douluo and Luan Yu, they decided that the two kids weren't suited to be full-on Soul Engineers. They could learn how to make and use soul tools, sure—but when it came to soul rings, they had to pick ones that actually boosted their personal combat strength.
Also, they couldn't use any soul power-enhancing pills with side effects just to level up faster. Soul Engineers could afford that, but soul masters couldn't. Their whole strength and future potential depended on it.
"So basically," Luan Yu said with a grin, "you two are gonna be what we call 'Combat-Type Soul Engineers.'"
"Little Auntie, what's that mean?" Meteor raised his hand.
Luan Yu explained patiently, "It's simple. A Combat-Type Soul Engineer is someone who uses soul tools to boost their own fighting power—basically a soul master who's good at using gear."
"Regular Soul Engineers use their soul skills to enhance their tools. Combat-Type ones do the opposite—they use tools to strengthen their skills and combat ability."
Meteor got it. The two types were totally different—one was tool-focused, useless without them, basically a glass cannon. The other just used tools as a bonus—still dangerous even without them. Both paths had their strengths and weaknesses.
"....."