"If this succeeds, I can become your protector on the path."
Though the statement came late, Mu En had always understood what Chen Fu desired most. As for betraying him afterward and killing him with a single strike?
Better not even think about it. Mu En had already been unsettled by the "Gain and Loss" logic gate Chen Fu mentioned. Maybe it was just meant to scare him, or maybe it was pretending to be a scare hiding some unknown factor. In any case, the lingering doubt made his head ache.
So he simply stopped thinking altogether. Choose what he deserved. Do what he should do…
A sudden coldness shot straight to his forehead. If he hadn't confirmed that the damned brat beside him hadn't made a move—and that his head was still attached to his neck—Mu En would have suspected that his skull had already been removed. He couldn't even feel his scalp anymore.
Watching Mu En caught in the closed loop of the Gain and Loss logic, Chen Fu sighed in relief.
It seemed his hidden deeds—silent preparations beneath the surface and explosive actions in times of chaos—combined with the Gain and Loss logic gate had finally anchored the heart of this all-knowing, all-suffering, unstable Limit Douluo.
Gain and Loss was a logical trap. Not especially mystical, but incredibly effective on certain people.
Indeed, those who study psychology and cognition often have extremely dirty minds.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Fu lifted the sword Zhe Fan. The eerie blue divine ring slowly enveloped the small silver-blue blade. As the ring contracted, finally becoming pure energy engraved into the sword, densely packed linear inscriptions began appearing across the blade, occasionally flickering with blue light.
Zhe Fan was a protector's sword, Chen Fu's highest achievement in spiritual and soul-related craftsmanship. It possessed the ability to sever alien spirits—he had previously used it to remove the remnant soul from Zhang Lexuan's soul ring.
The sword incorporated Chen Fu's altered Soul-Separation and Soul-Summoning Matrix technology, as well as the refined Spirit Impact technique, granting it overwhelming suppression against traditional soul masters.
However, corrupting living spirit organisms was not something this blade was suited for. That task belonged to Youlan.
Tian Meng and Mu En were not wrong: in some ways, Youlan was quite sinister. After countless days and nights of "worship" from the hundreds of thousands of soul masters passing through Shrek and its surroundings, this malevolent spirit had grown at an unbelievable pace.
After all, the knowledge repository shared by the Battle Soul Platform was not priceless—but it was certainly valuable.
The massive Golden Tree seemed to sense danger. Its previously gentle golden light erupted into blazing flames of gold… but too late.
Dong.
Chen Fu tapped the sword hilt with his finger. A ripple of circular spatial waves burst from the sword's tail. Under its preset program, the entire blade transformed into a spirit composite form and instantly pierced through the Golden Tree's trunk, stabbing straight into the living spirit of this precious variant species.
Hum… hum… hum!
A chaotic storm of spiritual fluctuations erupted, stirring the clouds above. The once clear sky now churned with massive black storm clouds like an apocalypse descending.
The sword returned in a flash of light. Zhe Fan had completed its task, successfully implanting Youlan into the living soul of the Golden Tree.
"Do you think this is going too far?"
The vast spiritual net constructed in the skies above Shrek descended. Streams of blue starlight enveloped the enormous Golden Tree.
Where the star net swept, the sky instantly cleared.
"What… what are you doing?"
Within the falling blue light, the Golden Tree's leaves began dropping rapidly. But new leaves sprouted just as quickly—this time marked with shimmering blue speckles.
Mu En truly did not understand why Chen Fu insisted on targeting this ancient Golden Tree of Shrek.
"I'm giving it a new definition. I want it to become the mainframe for Ascension."
The soul-tool field laid beneath the entire lake-ring structure had been prepared for this purpose.
If the tree did not serve as the mainframe, then Youlan would have had to take its place. But doing so would consume an enormous amount of Youlan's spirit-database, degrading it severely.
Chen Fu always prepared multiple plans. If Mu En had not been intimidated by the logic trap, Chen Fu would have used his original plan—sacrificing Youlan as a disposable component, allowing Mu En to complete his ascension while Chen Fu protected himself from the shadows.
As for why he would help Mu En achieve ascension even if it meant degrading Youlan, the answer was simple: firsthand experimental data was rare. And Youlan's technology was stable—reproducing another was always possible.
Besides, the candidate for ascension had to be a wealthy, gullible grand patron—namely, Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion Master, Mu En.
Now that Mu En chose to join his side, Chen Fu had to consider solidifying the Ascension Soul Tool, turning it into a one-of-a-kind, non-divine divine-class soul tool.
And among all available options, the enormous Golden Tree—coveted by Chen Fu ever since entering Shrek Academy—was perfect.
As the blue starlight net fully enveloped the tree, the Golden Tree stopped resisting and began emitting a gentle blue-gold glow.
"Because I want to anchor the Ascension System atop Sea God Lake, and open a new era—an age of man-made gods."
Seeing everything fall neatly into place, Chen Fu relaxed and began explaining his intentions to Mu En, who was now more or less half an ally.
"The original ascension plan was… single use?"
That massive soul-tool field around the lake—was single-use? Shrek practically bankrupted itself building it!
"If you had refused my proposal, then yes, it would have been single-use."
The track-field structure could still function, but without Chen Fu's recalibration and without Youlan's spiritual network operating system, Shrek would not even be able to control it.
Chen Fu's systematic development had naturally created a technological barrier.
"Opening an age of man-made gods? I can't believe you dare think that far."
Mu En's mind gradually quieted. This young man's ambitions were terrifyingly high. In contrast, Mu En merely wished to protect Shrek Academy and let the rest of the world's disputes fade away.
And he had learned Chen Fu's way of dealing with people: mutual benefit.
As long as one didn't try to oppress others, normal exchanges would not leave either side at a loss.
"I told you, this old man just has too many attachments. He needs repeated polishing."
Dragon Xiaoyao, quiet until now, finally spoke. A solitary wanderer with simple desires—only yearning for a woman and, thanks to Chen Fu, a chance at godhood.
He firmly supported Chen Fu not only because Chen Fu once promised to solve his evil martial soul problem, but also because Chen Fu offered him an extra ascension quota.
Did anyone really think that creating a god was something everyone could achieve? Did they not understand the colossal resources required for a single god?
The true meaning of a god-making era was:
A god can be artificially created.
"Hmph!"
Mu En snorted coldly. Damn bastard. After all the years he spent raising his son, he felt a sudden urge to strangle the boy right in front of him.
"The mainframe is ready. Now we can move to the next step—activating the Ascension Ring Track Field."
Amid the gold-blue halo, Chen Fu carried the Youlan divine ring. The four nuclear ark reactors forming the energy matrix rotated slowly within it. Fully activated, Zhe Fan shone with silver-blue light. The fully awakened spirit-forged blade stabbed heavily into the metallic interface on the ground.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Like a heartbeat, pulses of energy transformed by Zhe Fan hammered into the earth.
Hum!
Waves of spirit-infused shock pulses activated the deeply buried soul-tool modules according to Youlan's design.
Centered on Zhe Fan, rings of blue glowing inscriptions lit up layer by layer across the entire Sea God Lake like a breathing light.
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