"Guang Biao?" Seeing the black mecha, the Evil Soul Master's expression darkened.
Just like Spirit Rings, mecha ranks were divided into white, yellow, purple, black, and red.
Among them, black-rank mechas were crafted from special materials through unique designs and advanced techniques. A Soul Spirit could fuse with the mecha to a certain degree, making it feel like an extension of the pilot's own limbs.
Piloting a black-rank mecha required a cultivation at or above the Soul Emperor rank and spiritual power in the Spirit Sea Realm or higher. In the East Sea Mecha Battalion, only one person possessed such qualifications—Guang Biao.
He had not expected the Mecha Battalion captain to arrive so quickly.
What was his useless partner doing? Had he not told him to keep watch at the Mecha Master Association and cause a commotion to divert the Mecha Battalion's attention? Where was he?
Though fuming inside, the Evil Soul Master had no intention of waiting around to die. He swiftly took Tang Ziran hostage, pressing his staff against Tang Ziran's neck as he glared at the black-rank mecha.
"Come any closer and I'll kill him!"
"Dad!"
Tang Wulin lay sprawled on the ground, glaring furiously at the Evil Soul Master with his teeth clenched. He struggled to crawl back to his feet, but suddenly spotted a figure appearing behind the Evil Soul Master, and his expression instantly shifted to pleasant surprise.
Seven Spirit Rings, plus a mecha... Could that be the person Xie Xie mentioned...?
His face greenish from the poison, Guang Long forced his eyes open. Catching sight of that figure, a faint smile tugged at his lips before he passed out cold.
'Honestly... You're not the protagonist of some storybook. Next time, don't wait until the very last second to save someone...'
Seeing that the black-rank mecha before him did not reply, and catching a glimpse of Tang Wulin's expression, the Evil Soul Master felt a sudden spike of dread. A realization struck him.
Because he lacked a Soul Spirit of his own, he had overlooked a critical capability of modern mechas—Soul Spirit piloting!
As Soul Beasts integrated into human society, people—primarily the Spirit Pagoda—had conducted specialized research into equipping Soul Beasts with Battle Armor and mechas. After all, Soul Beasts were physically distinct from humans, so human Battle Armor and mechas were ill-suited to them.
The inspiration for Soul Spirits piloting mechas came directly from this. The only fundamental differences between Soul Spirits and Soul Beasts lay in their state of existence and strength; their intelligence and other faculties remained unchanged. If Soul Beasts could do it, Soul Spirits certainly could as well. Moreover, at the level of a black-rank mecha, a Soul Spirit could even fuse with the frame, yielding promising research progress.
Nowadays, certain Thousand-Year Soul Spirits could operate mechas with proper training, and the Heirloom Soul Spirits of established mecha-pilot clans might even pilot them better than beginners. (Xie Xie: That's right, you're talking about me!)
Given the strength of a black-rank mecha and its close bond with its owner, a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Spirit was fully capable of controlling it. In that case... where was Guang Biao himself?
A hulking shadow fell over the Evil Soul Master from behind. His body stiffened as he turned his head. Before he could even make out the man's face, he caught sight of a Spirit Ring configuration of two yellow, two purple, and three black. An instant later, a scale-covered fist blotted out his entire field of vision.
BANG!
The Evil Soul Master flew through the air in an arc and slammed violently into a wall. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with shock and terror.
Yet before he could recover from the agonizing pain, the black-rank mecha closed in like a shadow.
Its metallic palm clamped onto his shoulder like an iron vise. The mecha's glowing optical sensors gleamed with a cold, predatory light, as if appraising its quarry.
Its other metal hand raised high, then slammed onto the Evil Soul Master's head with a resounding clang.
"Aaargh!"
The Evil Soul Master had time only for a strangled cry before the crushing strike left him completely dizzy. His vision blurred, and his consciousness began to fray.
Yet the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Spirit seemed to have channeled Guang Biao's fury. Refusing to let him off so lightly, it pounded the Evil Soul Master dozens of times with fists the size of human heads.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The terrifying sound of bludgeoning echoed far and wide, sending chills down the spines of nearby residents. Only when the Evil Soul Master's face was bathed in blood and he had lost consciousness entirely did the mecha finally stop.
Tang San's divine sense: "..."
This mecha pilot is already courting death!
Why did you have to show up so promptly?
And this Evil Soul Master is pathetic enough to court death as well!
Why even become an Evil Soul Master if you're this trash?
And most importantly... Wulin, what is with that starry-eyed look of admiration you're giving that black-rank mecha and Guang Biao?!
Watching Tang Wulin look at Guang Biao with such obvious awe, Tang San's divine sense felt an inexplicable surge of unease.
Still, now that Wulin's crisis had passed, Tang San's divine sense reluctantly chose to withdraw.
Only the Golden Dragon King's God Core within Tang Wulin could replenish his divine sense to any extent, but that required Wulin to break the seals before it could be absorbed. As such, divine sense had to be reserved strictly for critical moments.
If he exhausted too much and truly lost his memories as discussed earlier, everything would be ruined...
***
At the Mecha Battalion garrison, Guang Biao brought his younger brother and Tang Wulin's family inside. He handed the Evil Soul Master over to his subordinates and summoned a healing Soul Master to treat the wounded.
Afterward, he walked into his office. Looking at the middle-aged man waiting inside, he asked with a grave expression, "How is the investigation going? Why were they targeted by an Evil Soul Master?"
He was in a foul mood. His wretched brother had completely forgotten his instructions. If not for the tip from the Spirit Pagoda and his own timely arrival, Guang Long might already be dead.
Even so, no matter how bad his mood was, official duties could not be neglected.
Hearing the question, the middle-aged man took out two folders and handed them to Guang Biao.
"Captain, this is information I retrieved from higher up. Tang Ziran and his wife were formerly a Mecha Designer and a pharmaceutical researcher under the Federation. Later, for unknown reasons, they resigned from their posts and went into seclusion. Only recently did they start working at the Mecha Master Association, apparently to earn money."
"Oh?" Guang Biao raised an eyebrow, taking the documents. As he flipped through them, he asked, "Are you saying the Evil Soul Masters set their sights on them back when they were federal researchers?"
Otherwise, there was no explaining why a former federal mecha designer and a pharmaceutical researcher would go into hiding, only to become so pressed for money now that they had to work at the Mecha Master Association.
Most likely, they dared not touch their previous bank cards at all.
"Exactly," the middle-aged man replied with a frown. "However, I haven't uncovered the exact reasons yet. We may need to question them directly."
"I'll go talk to them shortly."
Flipping to Tang Ziran's place of origin, Guang Biao looked somewhat surprised. "He was originally from the Star Luo Federation?"
"Yes, he entered the Federation from Star Luo as an undocumented immigrant. However, since the Federation accepted him as a researcher, there shouldn't be any issues." The middle-aged man nodded.
Ten thousand years ago, although the manifestation of Sea God Tang San had halted the war for a time, everyone understood that the peace was merely temporary.
The Sun Moon Empire's Silver Moon Douluo and Soul Engineer legions were unmatched, and not even Shrek Academy could hold them back. The other nations had no choice but to seek another path.
In the end, the remnants of Heaven Dou and the Star Luo Empire truly found a way forward.
They crossed the vast ocean, each discovering a continent of their own. They then relocated their populations and occupied the lands they had found, naming them the Heaven Dou Continent and the Star Luo Continent respectively.
Among them, Heaven Dou retained its imperial system as the Heaven Dou Empire, while the Star Luo Empire adopted a federal system, transforming into the Star Luo Federation.
And Tang Ziran was originally a citizen of that very Star Luo Federation.
Chapter 50