The creation of spirit souls was a historic turning point when soul beast numbers had dropped sharply. In order to ease tensions between soul beasts and humans, artificial spirit souls were invented—laying the foundation for the modern Spirit Pagoda.
Since then, human soul tool technology advanced rapidly. Various soul tools emerged one after another, and soon, mechas were invented.
It wasn't until several thousand years ago, when battle armor was born, that mecha-based civilization finally gained the foundation to surpass soul masters in terms of raw power.
Battle armor greatly increased the strength of high-ranking soul masters. A newly ascended Title Douluo at Rank 90, if equipped with a complete set of four-word battle armor, could elevate their strength to rival even the rare and legendary Limit Douluo.
Even though Limit Douluo represents the peak allowed by the world's laws, once more humans could reach that height with increased numbers, the last resistance of soul beasts was thoroughly crushed. From that point forward, soul beasts declined into near extinction.
It's easy to imagine how lofty the status of a four-word battle armor master is in the human world. Across the entire continent, only a handful of people possess such armor—each one a figure of supreme reverence. Some say the other two continents may also have four-word battle armor masters, but people of the Douluo Continent staunchly believe that their battle armor masters, as the origin of soul masters, are the most powerful.
Yuanen Yehui surprisingly chimed in, "Heavenly Phoenix Douluo? The Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda? Also the Vice Speaker of the Pagoda Council?"
Le Zhengyu gave a bitter laugh. "Who else could it be? I never imagined we'd get to meet the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo today. I can die happy! Gu Yue, from now on, you're my big sister." His expression was full of awe, not unlike an obsessed fan meeting their idol.
Gu Yue didn't respond.
Ninety-ninth Floor...
The entire space underwent a complete transformation. Dense forest, ancient trees, and a rich aura of life surrounded the area. Gone was the metallic atmosphere of earlier floors; it felt like an untouched realm of nature. Gu You stepped forward, eyes sweeping the towering trees—each one at least ten meters tall.
He was curious. What kind of creature had the Spirit Pagoda kept hidden for so many years as a ten-thousand-year spirit soul? What was the first one he'd face?
He expanded his spiritual power outward, probing the surroundings carefully.
Swish, swish—
The sound of something rapidly scraping bark rang out.
"There!"
Gu You looked up. At the same time, a strong wave of energy erupted from him, blasting away whatever had been attempting to sneak up on him. It flew upward, exposed.
The massive creature resembled a serpent dragon, its entire body gleaming blood-red. Its angular scales caught the light as it spiraled through the air.
Gu You shouted instinctively, "The hell—is that a Mandala Snake?!"
There was no mistaking it. That distinctive triangular ink-green head and ruby-like eyes were iconic. The only difference? Two long horns had sprouted from the top of its head.
'Don't tell me this thing's actually turning into a dragon?' Gu You's scalp tingled. This wasn't the same as a Magma Lizard Dragon's evolution into a Western dragon. Magma dragons evolved through bloodline purification. His own martial soul was a Western dragon.
But this Mandala Snake was likely transforming into a Huaxia-style Eastern dragon—akin to a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. It probably wasn't suppressed by bloodline—rather, it defied suppression from Western dragons. Yet the rules of this world were clear: soul power level determines your future, martial soul determines your ceiling, and bloodline sets your floor. In short, even among dragons, hierarchy mattered.
The Mandala Snake hovered for a moment, then dropped suddenly, vanishing into the undergrowth without making a sound.
Still, Gu You had seen its enormous form clearly.
It was huge, far beyond the scope of a normal snake.
"Is that... really a Mandala Snake?" Even the well-informed Le Zhengyu looked stunned. "Can something like that reach the hundred-thousand-year level?"
"What a huge snake..." Xu Xiaoyan covered her face in terror. She had a deep fear of snakes.
Normally, snakes could only reach about the ten-thousand-year level at best. That was their limit as a species.
Mandala Snakes were originally dark green and could grow about one meter per hundred years. Once they approached the millennium mark, their bodies could reach ten meters.
After surpassing a thousand years, they condensed their energy and shed their skins, turning pink. Their size would shrink back to one meter, but then continue growing at one meter per century. At the ten-thousand-year mark, they'd be about a hundred meters long.
That might not sound too long—but when you're standing in front of a hundred-meter-long snake, you're less than an ant.
And this one wasn't just ten-thousand years old. Once a Mandala Snake hit the two-thousand-year mark, its pink scales darkened. By ten-thousand years, its body turned yellow. It would condense again and molt, growing a meter every century. At one hundred thousand years? That's nearly one thousand meters.
Absolutely terrifying.
This particular Mandala Snake had a dark crimson body. It hadn't condensed its power again. No sign of molting.
It was a full-grown, thousand-meter-long monster.
Not only that, the Mandala Snake was notoriously clever—especially at the hundred-thousand-year level. Its body was incredibly durable, resistant to most weapons. Its only weaknesses were its eyes and mouth, which it guarded fiercely. Its speed? Blinding. And its venom? Beyond lethal.
Its poison could paralyze and destroy a soul master's nervous system entirely. Even a hundred-year Mandala Snake could kill a thousand-year soul beast with a single bite.
No one alive had ever tested the venom of a hundred-thousand-year Mandala Snake. No one dared.
Leng Yaozhu watched the monitor feed, eyes serious. Even she hadn't fully believed that this Mandala Snake had reached the ten-thousand-year level. But after going through the Spirit Pagoda's classified archives, she'd finally pieced together the truth.
Back when the Star Dou Forest hadn't been completely sealed off by the Spirit Pagoda, their internal researchers had begun covert investigations. Using newly developed soul tools, they detected something bizarre in the forest's core—an underground hollow space.
At the time, humans hadn't completely controlled the forest. The exploration of that hollow area was put on hold.
But when mechas and battle armor advanced rapidly and soul beasts began losing ground—
(End of Chapter)
---
This Fanfiction Has Been Completed on Patreon.
Support me if you like this Fanfiction.
Patreon,com/Fallen_Archangel_
(Remove comma for dot.)
Leave a 5 star Review and a Power Stone.