Although it was somewhat strange that Qian Renxue seemed to realize at the last moment that she was a Heavenly Level Assassin, You Chen did not pay much attention to it.
Because he had successfully achieved his goal for this return.
The tasks of the two Titled Douluo were completed in full, diverting Qian Renxue's attention from Sky Net, and thus from him.
At the same time, he planted the seed of hostility towards You Xing in Qian Renxue's heart.
The reason You Chen abandoned the task concerning Qian Renxue at the first opportunity was that he had learned a lesson from Qian Renxue's mother.
Not to mention that "rule characteristic," which, according to the system's description, directly ignores the laws of the universe and takes effect with the highest priority as a defiant ability...
Such a reward, which was clearly substantial and could significantly enhance one's combat power, was undoubtedly a top-tier challenge, and it was basically impossible to complete in a short time.
Now that the first task line was stuck, if the second task line also got stuck, he would be in a dilemma.
Of course, the system itself did not have a restriction like "task blockage."
The key point for You Chen was that being "stuck" meant investing a lot of resources without quickly reaping rewards; he would be reluctant to let go of the sunk costs...
According to his planned "task schedule," it was not about lightly provoking Qian Renxue with words as he was doing now, but rather about giving her a thorough education, which he intended to schedule for later.
At least, before completing a few important high-fate tasks, he did not plan to advance Qian Renxue's task.
So, what would he do when he truly wanted to trigger Qian Renxue's task?
This was when You Xing would come into play!
From You Chen's observations, Qian Renxue would likely feel a surge of killing intent towards You Xing every now and then.
Even if this emotion gradually calmed down over time, the moment she truly saw You Xing again, or if You Xing confronted her once more... it would surely trigger Qian Renxue's task easily.
Before long, You Chen finally flew to the small town he had agreed upon with Dugu Bo.
Ye Lingling looked curiously at the unfamiliar adult man with black-rimmed glasses standing next to You Xing. With her intelligence, it was not difficult to guess You Chen's identity, but she could not be completely certain yet.
At this moment, Dugu Yan had also woken up.
However, she did not pay much attention to You Chen, who was likely to become her nominal teacher; instead, she kept secretly observing the expressionless You Xing.
In her impression, You Xing was the kind of boy who completely disregarded her identity as a girl, ruthlessly trampling on her delicate face and giving her a painful lesson. Yet now, for some unknown reason, Dugu Yan found herself blushing and lowering her head as she looked at You Xing.
It seemed as if she had awakened some extraordinary attribute.
Dugu Bo, however, was completely unaware of this; he leisurely raised a wine glass he had somehow acquired and smiled at You Chen, saying, "Resolved? As expected of Brother Chen, I could feel that battle fluctuation from far away. Were there three Titled Douluo?"
You Chen replied, "One of them is not, but you can simply understand it as three Titled combat powers."
Dugu Bo looked You Chen up and down, teasingly saying, "Brother Chen, the way you put it makes it sound like you casually dealt with a few small fries. It makes me a bit scared. By the way, what are they? A force that can produce so many Titled Douluo in one go and is targeting you, Brother Chen. It wouldn't be... the Martial Soul Palace, would it? Although I had anticipated it, to face a force like the Martial Soul Palace so soon... Brother Chen, can't you give us a little psychological preparation time?"
"It's not what you think."
You Chen rolled his eyes and explained, "Although they are indeed from the Martial Soul Palace, the internal factions of the Martial Soul Palace are also complex and not a monolith. The ones who came this time are acquaintances of mine."
"Acquaintances..."
Dugu Bo couldn't help but show a strange expression, his lips trembling slightly, and his hand holding the wine glass became a bit unsteady.
"Is this how you treat acquaintances? That soul power fluctuation made me tremble from far away. Brother Chen, I'm worried this might be my future fate!"
Dugu Bo compared the strength You Chen displayed when he acted against him yesterday and increasingly confirmed that his good brother had indeed held back a lot.
Having a boss with such solid strength was both reassuring and unsettling...
You Chen snorted, "Acquaintances are acquaintances, friends are friends. Since they have been following us for no reason, they certainly deserve a lesson."
Dugu Bo sighed again, "I didn't expect that there would be Titled Douluo from the Martial Soul Palace hidden in Heaven Dou City? Tsk tsk, just as I thought, the waters here are really deep."
Hearing this, You Chen couldn't help but tease meaningfully, "If we really talk about it, I saved your life by pulling you out of the whirlpool."
This was indeed the truth, but Dugu Bo did not believe it, proudly stating that with his Titled Douluo strength, he did not need saving from the trivial conflicts of the secular world.
Listening to their conversation, Dugu Yan was still peeking at You Xing, a beat behind in her reaction, while Ye Lingling suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
She widened her eyes slightly and looked at You Chen: 'Just now... what did he say? Did he just deal with three Titled Douluo?'
Titled Douluo was already the ceiling in the eyes of most Soul Masters, yet at this moment, Ye Lingling realized that there were also significant differences among the titled ranks.
Even the ceiling has its heights, or rather... there are higher levels above the ceiling they recognized.
'And the Martial Soul Palace? How did it suddenly get involved with the Martial Soul Palace?'
Ye Lingling couldn't help but feel as if she had just escaped from a tiger's den and entered a wolf's lair...
At that moment.
"Little girl Ye Lingling."
You Chen smiled at Ye Lingling, "I've actually been secretly watching you all behind the scenes these past few days. Hmm, you're quite impressive."
Mainly because she had good insight, You Chen silently added in his heart.
"N-no, I don't dare."
Ye Lingling cautiously lowered her head in response.
From Dugu Bo's earlier titles and words, it was clear that the elegant man before her was definitely a powerful Titled Douluo far beyond the ordinary!
No matter what thoughts she had in her heart, she did not dare to harbor any disrespect.
"You don't need to be so cautious; we will all be on the same side from now on."
You Chen smiled and said, "Welcome to the team."
Having completed the gathering, You Chen and Dugu Bo did not delay any further. They sped along at Titled Douluo speed, and even with a few young ones in tow, they quickly reached the destination of the Cataclysm Mountains.
Dugu Yan was needless to say, and Ye Lingling, a lonely orphan joining the group, did not require overly strict information control.
If people like Yu Feng, Osro, and the Shijia brothers were to join, considering the family forces behind them, You Chen would not directly reveal the details but would first register a chamber of commerce with Dugu Bo to incorporate them into an external organization.
However, now they directly revealed most of the truth about the Soul Arena Beasts. Matters involving black fire weapons and some confidential research would not be disclosed yet.
Considering the upcoming expansion of the organization, as the Soul Arena Beasts gradually came to the forefront, they needed to be prepared for a certain degree of internal information leakage.
After all, from now on, their interactions with the outside world would inevitably become more frequent.
However, the comprehensive strength displayed by the members of the Soul Arena Beasts, along with their highly organized discipline that far exceeded most external forces, was enough to shock Dugu Bo and the others.
Even Dugu Bo was astonished by the quality exhibited by this group of young Soul Masters, let alone Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling.
They all realized that what You Chen and You Xing had said earlier was not a bit exaggerated!
Especially Ignis, who was not yet seventeen or eighteen years old, already possessed the cultivation of a Soul King and had an outrageous configuration of spirit rings with yellow, purple, purple, black, and black, which left them almost speechless.
They had never seen such a genius.
It was likely that it wouldn't be long before the age record for breaking through to Titled Douluo, set by Clear Sky Douluo, would be broken by Ignis!
Although they were unaware that there were actually earlier records within the Martial Soul Palace, this was at least the first on the surface!
If the Soul Masters from decades ago, before You Chen brought about a revolution in the Soul Master world, could be considered the old version of Soul Masters, the 0.0 version of Soul Masters.
Then, after his revolution, the current golden generation of Soul Masters led by the Martial Soul Palace could be called the 1.0 version of Soul Masters.
Now, here, those cultivated by You Chen without any reservation, pouring in various resources, could be called the 1.5 version of Soul Masters.
If one were to add the black fire weapons that You Chen was currently hiding from Dugu Bo and the others, it would be the true 2.0 version of Soul Masters.
The comprehensive strength of Soul Masters has been advancing with the development of the times.
Taking the original timeline as an example, during Tang San's era, a Soul Master who could become a Soul King before the age of twenty was considered the top genius of the time.
But by the time of the second era, with the development of the times, the ceiling for Soul Masters in various aspects had been raised to the Soul Saint level. A Soul King at twenty was merely a decent genius, while only those who could become a Soul Saint at twenty could be considered extraordinary talents.
What You Chen did was equivalent to bringing forward the versions of thousands or even tens of thousands of years into the present and using them solely for his subordinates.
In some aspects, it was even superior to the era ten thousand years later!
Taking Ignis, who was currently developing the best and has absorbed the most benefits from this version, as an example, she was nearly eighteen years old, already a level 54 Soul King, and her combat power was infinitely close to that of a Soul Saint when fully unleashed.
This cultivation was at least two or even three years ahead of the golden generation of the Martial Soul Palace in the original work.
Although breaking through to Soul Saint at twenty was still quite challenging, breaking through to Soul Emperor at twenty could be considered a certainty.
And this did not even account for the Immortal Herb that You Chen would have her consume next.
If the original Ignis only had the potential of a Super Douluo, with the help of the Dragon Blood Immortal Herb, her next goal would be to become an Ultimate Douluo.
After announcing the addition of new members and the appointment of new beast leaders to the Soul Arena Beasts, there was a brief period of rest.
You Chen called together the senior members to conduct an in-depth discussion about the reorganization and expansion of the Soul Arena Beasts, as well as the establishment of the chamber of commerce.
If the many details discussed during the meeting were to be revealed one by one, it would be a bit too verbose. Focusing on the actual changes, only the main points were clearly listed.
First, there was a change in the organizational structure.
Considering future expansion, the name "Soul Arena Beasts" had become too small.
The organization was officially renamed "Beast Soul Alliance," meaning an alliance established primarily by Beast Soul Masters, with You Chen as the current leader.
Under You Chen's strong advocacy, the Beast Soul Alliance also classified plant-type spirits as variant Beast Spirits, thus blurring the differences between the Wood Spirit Leader and the newly joined Ye Lingling and others in the Soul Master category.
The Beast Leader remained the leadership tier, and this point did not change.
The biggest change was that the original name "Soul Arena Beasts" was specifically separated as a standalone system.
All original beast soldiers were categorized under this type, divided into upper, middle, lower, and apprentice Soul Arena Beasts based on their rank differences.
Beast Masters were renamed Envoys, directly obeying the orders of the leader and the Beast Leader.
Envoys, research institutes, and the future Beast Soul Chamber of Commerce, along with the possibly revived Sky Net, would all be separate systems.
However, the Soul Arena Beasts would serve as the core armed force of the Beast Soul Alliance, holding the highest status.
Secondly, the Envoys would be uniformly categorized as external organizations, with no explicit distinctions in rank.
From now on, external members would first work in the Beast Soul Chamber of Commerce, undergoing various assessments and promotions, and only after entering the core of the Beast Soul Alliance would they have the right to understand the organization more deeply and even advance to other systems.
The Soul Arena Beasts would become the highest honor for every Soul Master joining the Beast Soul Alliance.
The changes in the organizational structure were roughly as described.
The Beast Soul Alliance did not intend to abandon the base in the Cataclysm Mountains.
The energy here, or rather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, was denser compared to the outside world, and it was not as violent as the core area of the Disaster Mountains. If one were to cultivate and live in such a place for a long time, not only would the speed of cultivation not be slow, but it would also greatly benefit the control of Soul Masters' soul power.
At least for Dugu Yan, who needed to condense her Soul Core at the Soul Saint stage, it was very necessary for her to cultivate here.
If the energy concentration of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was 10, and the core area of the Disaster Mountains was 8, this place at least had 5. Coupled with the abundant soul beast resources, the cultivation speed would not be much slower than that at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
It is worth mentioning that shortly after Dugu Bo arrived at this base, You Chen, pretending to have inquired about more information on the Immortal Herb, informed Dugu Bo that there was an Immortal Herb at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well that could directly eliminate the hidden dangers of Dugu Yan's Martial Soul Poison.
However...
"The Immortal Herb is a nemesis of all poisons, capable of neutralizing all toxins. It cannot detoxify by itself, but it can counteract poison. As long as it is carried on her person, Dugu Yan will have no worries about being poisoned. But this is not without risks; the greatest risk is that the Immortal Herb could be taken away or lost. If that happens, the accumulated toxins could suddenly erupt, and your granddaughter might face a backlash even stronger than normal. Therefore, the only way to solve the problem fundamentally is the right path."
You Chen's statement quickly gained the approval of Dugu Bo, who was devoted to his granddaughter.
Few people knew about the Immortal Herb, but the risk of losing it while carrying it was certainly not negligible.
The most common situation would be during soul hunting in the wild, where it could fall during an attack by a soul beast.
Dugu Bo was deeply moved by You Chen's candid approach. After all, the Immortal Herb was originally his possession, something meant to save his granddaughter...
Dugu Bo thought about it and worried whether he would harbor resentment because of this, thus not putting in his full effort. However, You Chen had openly informed him of the truth without any concealment.
This made Dugu Bo even more determined to stand on You Chen's side.
In response to Dugu Bo's serious pledge of loyalty, You Chen naturally reciprocated by carefully nurturing him and even preemptively allocating an Immortal Herb to Dugu Yan.
In reality, even a perfectly compatible Immortal Herb could not guarantee that one person would complete the Martial Soul evolution with just one herb.
Its significant role in improving qualifications was largely due to the seemingly supplementary effects of Meridian Strengthening and Marrow Cleansing.
In the original work, the Immortal Herb allowed for Martial Soul evolution, primarily by compensating for the original flaws of the Martial Soul. Ning Rongrong, Ma Hongjun, and even Yu Xiaogang were all examples of this.
The simplest example is that Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile evolved into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile. The original Seven Treasure Glazed Tile was already a top-tier Martial Soul, and to evolve further, it would at least have to be a quasi-super Martial Soul, right? So, did her Martial Soul undergo any qualitative change in ability? No, her Martial Soul evolution merely compensated for the original flaws that prevented it from reaching a higher level. Rather than saying it was a Martial Soul evolution, it was more accurate to say it returned to the complete state that the Martial Soul was originally supposed to have.
The other two also had flaws in their Martial Souls.
Otherwise, why didn't Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai's Martial Souls evolve? It couldn't be that the Immortal Herb they absorbed was incompatible with them, right?
Even Tang San himself, his Martial Soul definitely did not evolve; it merely added ice and fire attributes.
Many fanfics that depict a scenario where one swallows an Immortal Herb and directly jumps from a trash Martial Soul to a top-tier Martial Soul or Super Martial Soul are somewhat exaggerated.
The effects of the Immortal Herb, as described in the original work, focus more on the Soul Master themselves rather than the Martial Soul.
The occurrence of Martial Soul evolution is purely an exception for a few cases.
However, no matter how much one talks, without retrieving the Immortal Herb, it is all just empty talk.
You Chen certainly would not foolishly run back and forth like that.
He asked Dugu Bo to rely on his expertise in poison and Martial Soul power, along with the research institute's studies on soul-guided devices, to develop a poison formation that would seal off the valley of the Beast Soul Alliance's base.
With the power of this poison formation, the soul beasts of the Cataclysm Mountains would no longer dare to invade this place.
In addition to the mechanism for removing the formation, Dugu Bo also reserved a portion of special antidotes as insurance against unexpected failures of the mechanism.
After retrieving the ten-thousand-year Dragon Blood Immortal Herb and assisting Ignis in absorbing it, allowing her to break through to level 60 and obtain her sixth Spirit Ring, You Chen then led Dugu Bo along with several higher-ups of the Beast Soul Alliance who had higher cultivation levels, as well as a group of lower-level and apprentice Soul Arena Beasts, northward...
Distributing the Immortal Herb to the higher-ups was the most important goal, followed closely by transitioning them and those lower-level Soul Arena Beasts to the cultivation environment of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The former no longer needed to enhance their soul power control, while the latter