Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
******
Improving the standard of living for ordinary people—
This is an extremely important matter.
Only when life becomes easier will people have the energy to create better conditions for the next generation.
Otherwise, those struggling on the edge of survival simply won't have the time or strength to practice any kind of soul cultivation method.
"Utilizing the power of soul masters for production yields results far beyond those of ordinary people."
Su Yu was preparing to gradually establish various research institutes across the continent.
"When the quality of life for ordinary people improves and the nutrition of the next generation is ensured, the soul master world will have a continuous source of new blood."
"In the next two years, every province and region of the Federation will need to establish a system for sampling and recording a specific data point."
Su Yu's expression was solemn.
Seeing this, the gathered council members also began listening attentively.
They understood that what Su Yu was about to say might become the central focus of their work for the next two years.
Political achievement—this is what officials value most.
"Population registration."
The moment Su Yu spoke, many council members breathed a sigh of relief.
This task seemed manageable.
"Every person on the Douluo Continent must register their personal information with the Federation. Each individual is allowed to have only one identity record. Anyone without valid identification will be considered an enemy of the Federation!"
"I will have Sun-Moon Hall assist in developing soul tool identification devices to bind personal identities. These will be designed for mass production and broad distribution."
"Additionally, no fees are to be charged under any circumstances, and the daily lives of ordinary people must not be disrupted."
". . ."
As Su Yu's list of requirements gradually unfolded, the once-relieved council members began to tense up again.
This was difficult.
To be honest, registering the population of the entire continent was no simple task.
"Of course, this is not the main goal. After all, just registering people and binding identities is not that big of an issue for you."
"Population registration must be completed within six months. At the same time, another piece of data must be collected—namely, the percentage of people whose martial souls awaken with soul power."
"What?"
Immediately, a council member interrupted Su Yu.
Su Yu calmly waited for the various objections he knew were coming.
He had already prepared for resistance the moment he said it.
"Your Grace Lanling, I believe this is unfair and unreasonable. Martial soul awakening is purely a matter of luck. How can something entirely based on chance be used as a performance metric? Moreover, in large cities like Sun-Moon, where soul master families are concentrated, the probability of soul master births is naturally higher. This puts remote regions at a severe disadvantage."
"That's right. In cities like Sun-Moon, where elite soul masters and their families gather, there is an inherent advantage."
". . ."
One by one, council members voiced their opinions.
Overall, they all held the same viewpoint: such data could not accurately reflect the competence of officials, and the current demographic structure inherently favored certain regions.
There was simply too much uncertainty.
"Of course, the focus won't be solely on the soul master ratio—it will also include the change in that ratio over the two-year period," Su Yu said calmly.
His gaze swept across the council members, observing their reactions.
As expected, his explanation prompted some members to pause and reflect.
However, most of them remained unconvinced, still believing that the outcome relied too heavily on luck.
"Your Grace Lanling, even if the ratio increases, that doesn't necessarily mean the living standards of ordinary people have improved. Conversely, even if the standard of living across a region improves, there's no guarantee that the soul power awakening rate will rise."
Even in a single village, there may be three or four children born with soul power in a year—yet at times, not a single one appears.
Even when expanding the scope to the entire continent, or to the territories of the former empires, the same inconsistency applies.
Take, for example, the last hundred years. The proportion of outstanding soul masters born across the continent has greatly surpassed that of the previous century.
This generation, with so many Limit Douluo emerging, is proof that this is an era of great transformation. It is the changing external environment that has given rise to these powerful soul masters.
"Your Grace Lanling, the Federation must operate on scientific and rigorous data—not on luck."
". . ."
Su Yu's expression remained unchanged as he listened to the council members' arguments. Internally, he was also refining his own plans.
It wasn't that he refused to listen to others' opinions.
While he would stay firm on the overall direction, he was willing to adjust the specifics based on the feedback from the council.
"Everyone, I've recently developed a new cultivation method that can be practiced universally, alongside the general soul cultivation techniques."
Most of the council members were caught off guard by Su Yu's sudden change in topic.
Why is he suddenly talking about cultivation methods?
Was Su Yu trying to show off his genius?
Just casually inventing a technique—does that mean his ideas must be correct?
Politics isn't the same as cultivation.
One by one, the council members whispered among themselves, puzzled about what Su Yu was leading up to.
"The probability of ordinary people awakening a martial soul with innate soul power is far too low. This has always been a major obstacle to the growth and expansion of the soul master world.
To solve this issue, I developed the Soul-Nurturing Method.
The Soul-Nurturing Method nourishes the martial soul, strengthening its origin and keeping it in peak condition at all times."
Su Yu slowly introduced the concept of the Soul-Nurturing Method.
In the entire virtual conference hall, only his voice echoed.
All the council members listened quietly, not daring to interrupt, afraid they might miss or misinterpret something critical.
Impossible—
That was the first reaction from all the council members.
If what Su Yu said was true, this Soul-Nurturing Method would be revolutionary for the entire soul master world.
Soul-nurturing—nourishing martial souls.
The council members contemplated the implications of such a method.
If the Soul-Nurturing Method were to be widely implemented, then the data Su Yu had proposed for evaluation would finally have a scientific basis.
Because only when people's lives improve do they have the capacity to consider the future of the next generation.
And in the eyes of many council members, everything Su Yu had said earlier now seemed like a buildup to introducing this method—laying the groundwork to spread the Soul-Nurturing Method and expand the soul master world.
Viewed in this light, even if civilians were forcibly encouraged to practice the Soul-Nurturing Method, even if strict training standards or birth policies were enforced—at least, from a political performance standpoint, there would be no major issues.
"Don't play clever games. Under the Federation's unified administration, everything must operate systematically.
You can force civilians to practice the Soul-Nurturing Method to raise the local soul power awakening rate, but if the overall standard doesn't rise, it won't matter how many children are born with innate soul power—you won't have the resources to properly train them."
Growing the soul master world isn't just about raising the awakening rate.
That being said, for the next two years, we'll focus heavily on this area in order to improve the ratio.
"The construction of a communication network will also accelerate over the next two years. The Federation's resources will be invested accordingly. Soul engineers from Sun-Moon Hall will push forward research on related soul devices. Within six months, the data from the population registration will be digitally stored.
All academies across the Federation must also build their own databases. The official soul master academies under the Federation, and even civilian educational institutions, will be incorporated into a unified system under the Federation's educational management."
Since a Federation-wide meeting had already been called, Su Yu didn't hold back and directly shared many of his views on how the Federation should operate.
The meeting concluded.
Su Yu's people-first philosophy was accepted. Civilian living standards were officially added to the evaluation criteria, and greater attention would now be given to the birth and training of soul masters.
The Soul-Nurturing Method would also be promoted across the entire Douluo Continent following this meeting.
"The Soul-Nurturing Method requires rune-based guidance. I will ensure that the guiding soul devices are distributed to all provinces within a month, and I will make the core formation diagram of the device publicly available."
"And lastly, a personal matter."
Su Yu looked around at everyone.
"I have inherited the legacy of the God of Wisdom. Stop assigning me other titles. When my name is spread across Douluo Continent, I want to be known only as the God of Wisdom—not with any other random labels."
The atmosphere in the virtual conference room instantly turned awkward.
Su Yu had made no effort to soften his words—was it really appropriate to speak so bluntly?
That was the question on the minds of many council members.
Good grief, wasn't Su Yu's message obvious enough?
He was essentially saying:
"Spread the word among the common people—I am the great God of Wisdom. In the name of wisdom, I developed the rune system, the battle armor system, pioneered the soul spirit cultivation system, reformed the soul master world, unified the Douluo Continent, and established the Federation."
Yeah…
The council members remained silent, until Xu Jiujium finally broke the silence.
Her voice held a hint of curiosity—pure curiosity.
"May I ask, Your Grace Lanling… is this for the sake of faith? After all, you once explained the nature of divine thrones to us."
Su Yu didn't deny Xu Jiujium's speculation. Instead, he responded with a question of his own:
"Haven't you all noticed that the process and methodology for developing martial souls has become noticeably easier?"
Hmm?
The council members were momentarily stunned.
Most of them, having been among the earliest appointed council members, were themselves soul masters—with either strong talent or relatively high soul power levels.
Thinking back over their recent years of cultivation, it did seem things had become smoother.
At first, they had attributed it to the soul spirit cultivation system. But now, it seemed it wasn't that the system had become simpler.
"The condensation of the Wisdom God's divine throne can, to a certain extent, enhance the comprehension of all living beings on the Douluo Continent. That was my main reason for forming the Wisdom divine throne. After all, it's not as though I didn't have access to other thrones." Su Yu spoke calmly.
He wasn't sure if anyone would attempt to obstruct him from establishing his own belief system—but he doubted it.
Any such move would require considerable strength to back it up. Otherwise, directly offending Su Yu—who had the support of several Limit Douluo and was an unparalleled genius himself—would be incredibly unwise.
And ultimately, pointless.
"I hope that within five years, the Douluo Continent will be able to counterattack the Abyss. Within ten years, it must completely devour it. In this process, the development of the soul master world is of utmost importance. I will not tolerate anyone sabotaging this progress."
Su Yu's gaze swept over the council members, his expression cold.
Each council member felt the pressure weigh down on them—as if, from across vast distances, Su Yu could still lock onto them with pinpoint precision.
"Your Grace Lanling, we will ensure the smooth execution of this mission."
Satisfied with their response, Su Yu nodded and adjourned the Federation meeting.
"With the spread of the Soul-Nurturing Method, the foundation for my faith as the God of Wisdom should now be secure. Within six months, I should be able to complete this assessment."
The next objective was spacecraft manufacturing technology. Without the ability to traverse space, even if the assessment were completed, the reward—a star map of the universe—would be meaningless.
When it came to developing soul tool technology, Su Yu naturally thought of Xuan Ziwen.
"Senior Brother has immense talent in the field of soul tool research. His growing soul power also allows him to produce soul devices with greater ease.
Most importantly, the all-terrain soul cannon platform he has been developing already touches on several technologies that overlap with spacecraft systems."
With the rune system in place and the full backing of Federation resources, Su Yu was confident that creating a spacecraft capable of interstellar flight was entirely within reach.
The only real concern was the ship's speed.
"Within these six months, Senior Brother must complete the technical development. As for the power system and actual construction, that will fall to me."
Su Yu didn't rush to contact Xuan Ziwen.
After finalizing all the follow-up arrangements for the Soul-Nurturing Method at Sun-Moon Hall, he tore open space and directly teleported to Heaven Dou City.
The Ironblood Sect.
"How is the Heavenly Forging technology development progressing?"
Su Yu had previously approved of Kuang Tie's tribulation forging technique and had thoroughly explained the concept of tribulation and how to counter it, even eliminating a few Titled Douluo as potential aids. That had been quite some time ago.
Now, Su Yu felt it was time to see some successful cases.
As expected, Kuang Tie did not disappoint him.
Kuang Tie's talent for forging was truly remarkable.
"I've successfully forged two pieces of Heavenly Forged Metal," Kuang Tie said excitedly. "They've already been tested by a level-nine Soul Engineer from Sun-Moon Hall. Their spiritual quality and total quantity are more than enough to create a Super Battle Armor!"
Although Kuang Tie looked a bit weak now, he was full of excitement as he shared the news of his success in forging the Heavenly Metal.
"However, forging Heavenly Metal demands a high level of skill from the forger. I've only succeeded twice, even though I've tried almost ten times in total. Every time I faced tribulation, although the Starry Sky Douluo helped me resist it, the connection I had with the Heavenly Forged Metal still caused some backlash."
The Starry Sky Douluo, Ye Yulin, was also a level-nine Soul Engineer.
After the Soul Spirit Cultivation System was introduced, although Ye Yulin could no longer cultivate from scratch through this system, he had learned many techniques from it to help him merge with his martial soul.
Of course, Su Yu's assistance had been crucial—using his unparalleled vitality to help Ye Yulin solidify his foundation, pushing him to the 95th level.
It wasn't just Ye Yulin; Su Yu had helped other level-nine Soul Engineers, previously stuck at the 94th level in the Sun and Moon Empire, break through their bottlenecks.
With the 95th-level Ye Yulin assisting him, Su Yu had thought that forging the Heavenly Metal would be safe, but it still posed a challenge.
Although it wasn't the same as the Heavenly Forging from ten thousand years later in the original story, the forging process was similarly demanding.
"The backlash against vitality is easy to deal with, but the backlash against mental power is the most dangerous," Kuang Tie explained.
During the Heavenly Forging process, the forger had to maintain constant mental synchronization with the spiritual metal. When the metal went through tribulation, the forger's spirit would be affected by the tribulation's backlash.
Fortunately, Kuang Tie had a natural talent for mental power. His martial soul had mutated to possess mental attributes, and his Soul Suppression Hammer had the ability to suppress the Sea of Spirit, which allowed him to withstand the backlash each time.
Yet, the repeated tribulations had taken a toll on his body, and now he needed time to recover.
"Backlash against mental power and vitality?" Su Yu nodded thoughtfully.
He raised his hand.
A dense green light gathered from the surrounding world, the powerful vitality almost tangible.
Kuang Tie felt the weakness in his vitality instantly drain away as he absorbed the immense life force.
No surprise—it was Su Yu's ultimate vitality.
Kuang Tie couldn't help but marvel at how far Su Yu's expertise in the realm of life had gone—truly the peak of all time on Douluo Continent.
In an instant, his vitality returned to its prime. In fact, Kuang Tie could feel that this life force was guiding his soul power to new heights.
The tribulation backlash was indeed a crisis, but it also represented an opportunity for further growth.
"As for your mental power?" Su Yu observed Kuang Tie's condition and said, "Your mental power should have reached the peak of the Spirit Abyss Realm by now."
This was already an incredibly high level of power.
"That's all thanks to the two symbolic inheritances you gave me," Kuang Tie said gratefully. "Your two inheritances allowed my mental power training to progress at an astonishing pace."
Soul Masters who opened the Sea of Spirit could begin to sketch runes and cultivate the rune system. With a complete inheritance of runes, a Soul Master could quickly elevate the runes to an extremely high level, especially if the runes focused on mental power. Such inheritances were invaluable.
Kuang Tie had received Su Yu's inheritances for the Condensing and Gathering runes, which allowed him to accelerate his mental power cultivation.
"Your talent is just as crucial," Su Yu responded indifferently. "Even with runic cultivation, most Soul Masters can't condense runes as quickly or achieve such rapid growth."
Compared to the past, the rune system only provided Soul Masters with a method and direction for cultivating mental power, but it did not solve the issue of innate talent. The gap caused by talent remained unchanged.
For example, the rune inheritances of Condensing and Gathering that Su Yu had given to Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had helped them improve steadily, but they still couldn't compare to Kuang Tie.
These two Soul Master prodigies could not make as much progress in mental power as Kuang Tie!
However, there were definitely other factors at play. For instance, Kuang Tie had constantly interacted with spiritual metals, exploring the process of perceiving the spiritual transformation within these metals, which likely aided his mental power growth.
Being surrounded by spirituality every day, it would be strange if his mental power didn't improve quickly.
"Since the tribulation is a dual backlash against both vitality and mental power, it is naturally also a dual refinement," Su Yu said as he restored Kuang Tie's vitality to its peak with his life force. As his life force continued to flow into Kuang Tie, his weakened mental power quickly began to recover as well.
"I suggest you sketch another rune to assist you in using your mental power to counteract the tribulation's backlash. By leveraging the tribulation, you might be able to refine your mental power. Perhaps the continuous process of Heavenly Forging is the opportunity for you to break through to the Spirit Domain Realm," Su Yu suggested, no, encouraged, with a tone full of wisdom.
He raised his right hand, manipulating the forces of the heavens and the earth, and began to sketch a rune in the void.
Su Yu's inspiration led him to quickly draw a relatively complete rune.
"Resilience!"
Kuang Tie watched as the "Resilience" rune quickly condensed, almost naturally forming. Then, the rune slowly began to disassemble, only to be drawn again from scratch, with every stroke carefully crafted, drawing him deeply into the process.
"This is roughly equivalent to a three-thousand-year Soul Skill effect. How you improve it in the future will depend on you," Su Yu remarked.
This was the rune that Su Yu had instinctively created, and in the Sea of Spirits, a similar rune was taking shape as well.
"These are some details about Heavenly Forging. There are some differences compared to the techniques I had before attempting the tribulation," Kuang Tie said, passing on the insights he had gained from his experience with Heavenly Forging.
"I will pass this technique on to the Federation for talented blacksmiths who want to master Heavenly Forging. You have no objections, right? Don't worry, the Federation hasn't yet achieved results in training blacksmiths, and the master-level blacksmiths on the continent will still need to undergo assessments," Su Yu explained.
Kuang Tie quickly waved his hand. "Feel free to pass on the Heavenly Forging technique to the Federation. I just hope that blacksmiths, as a profession, can truly rise with the Federation's support."
"Don't worry. Blacksmiths are the foundation of Battle Armor Masters. In the future, an excellent blacksmith will have countless Battle Armor Masters backing them, and their status will be unmatched."
Upon hearing Su Yu's guarantee, Kuang Tie smiled.
The reason he worked so hard was for this profession.
Although the title of blacksmith had changed to "blacksmithing master," what difference did it make? Every blacksmith could become a forging master. A blacksmith, at its core, was still a blacksmith.
What truly mattered was that blacksmiths would now be respected—this was Kuang Tie's greatest accomplishment.
Kuang Tie seemed to feel that he had completed his life's goal, and a sense of inner satisfaction washed over him. His spirit began to undergo a transformation.
Su Yu noticed this but didn't pay it much mind.
It was normal for a person to undergo a spiritual transformation after achieving their life's goals. Moreover, Kuang Tie was special in that he had not only completed his personal mission but also had the hope of continuing to explore the art of forging, pursuing his passion.
With the Heavenly Forging technique now matured, Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Heavenly Forged metals should be enough to support the creation of a spaceship capable of space travel."
Just as the creation of Super Battle Armor required Heavenly Forged metals, these high-quality materials were the most basic need.
With the Heavenly Forging technique in place, the only thing lacking in spaceship technology was the know-how.
Taking out his communication soul tool, Su Yu contacted Xuan Ziwen.
"Shi Xiong, are you interested in space and the cosmos?"
(End of Chapter)