Chapter 205: Breaking the Order of Nobles
Du Weilun was terrified by Xiao Qiang's soul system, cold sweat soaking his back. The foundation of noble power had always relied on their innate martial souls and monopolization of high-quality soul rings.
The first ring—a hundred-year soul ring—could be acquired with some wealth and the help of soul masters. At this stage, commoners still had a chance; money and connections could get them through.
The third ring—a thousand-year soul ring—required more than money. One needed to be born into a minor noble family with at least a Soul King among them. Only then was a thousand-year soul ring at the third stage feasible.
As for ten-thousand-year soul rings, they demanded ties with mid-tier or even high-ranking nobles—connections completely out of reach for ordinary civilians.
For the average person, the only way to interact with the upper nobility was through servitude—selling oneself as a slave to enter the noble households.
Soul masters with ordinary talent would choose to become slaves under minor nobles to obtain hundred- or thousand-year soul rings. More talented individuals would submit themselves to great nobles in exchange for ten-thousand-year soul rings.
With few exceptions—prodigies blessed by fate—most soul masters had to either be born into nobility or become dependents of noble families to climb the ladder.
This had been the unshakable rule of Douluo Continent for thousands of years: the strong remain strong, the weak remain weak.
But now, this entire structure was about to collapse.
Xiao Qiang had made it so that anyone reaching level 10 could get a loan from the Soul Palace—no collateral required—to purchase a hundred-year soul. This alone struck a fatal blow to the small nobles at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Shrek Academy might have tolerated this development. After all, Shrek had never prioritized protecting minor nobles.
Even the thousand-year soul loans, representing the interests of lower noble families, might have been reluctantly accepted.
But the Soul Palace dared to sell ten-thousand-year souls—souls that in the past, only noble-linked soul masters could attain by surrendering their freedom.
And now, they were selling twenty-thousand-year souls.
These twenty-thousand-year souls could be used as the fifth soul ring—four soul rings of ten-thousand years each. That level of enhancement was beyond imagination.
Even if the sixth ring was also twenty-thousand years, it still surpassed most of what Shrek could offer. Not every Shrek student had a sixth ring at that level.
The seventh soul ring might fall short, but with two previous twenty-thousand-year soul rings as foundation, the overall strength of the soul master was still formidable—sufficient to push for the Soul Douluo realm.
The eighth ring being twenty-thousand years might not be ideal, but that didn't matter. First, the Soul Palace never said you couldn't purchase even more advanced souls. Second, a soul master able to reach that point wouldn't stop at level 82.
The Soul Palace's soul loan policy gave power and choice to those who had once had none—those who once begged at the gates of nobility.
Even without wealthy families or powerful elders, soul masters from ordinary backgrounds could now secure top-tier soul rings—no need to kneel, no need to sell themselves.
Once the soul loan system matured, the noble monopoly over soul ring resources would be shattered.
Although innate talent still varied, the Soul Palace's financial support would remove the resource gap that once determined a soul master's ceiling. And once ordinary people in the Sun-Moon Empire gained access to these powerful soul ring resources, the Douluo Kingdoms would face a catastrophic shift.
"This Soul Palace is even more outrageous than the Spirit Hall of ten thousand years ago!"
Du Weilun felt a chill run through his bones. This had to be reported—immediately. Not just to the principal. This had to go straight to the Sea God Pavilion.
He turned urgently to Xiao Xiao and the others. "Xiao Xiao, you and the rest—stay here. I must report everything to the Sea God Pavilion right away."
Soaked with sweat, Du Weilun rushed to send a detailed report to the Pavilion. His fears had grown far beyond Shrek's pride or the academy's survival. He now realized the terrifying potential of this system—the Soul Palace had created a way to equalize soul ring acquisition across all social classes.
Even if they couldn't stop the sale of souls entirely, Shrek had to secure exclusive access to rare and high-tier souls. At the very least, the Soul Palace's influence had to be restricted by Shrek's power.
The message reached the Sea God Pavilion.
Upon hearing the report, the Pavilion elders were bewildered. The very idea of "souls" had never seriously entered their minds.
If it hadn't been Du Weilun, and if he hadn't sworn on his life that what he saw was real—not a trick of soul skills or illusion—and that these souls were about to spread across the entire Sun-Moon Empire, they would've laughed it off.
Inside the Sea God Pavilion, a meeting was immediately convened.
Moon sat at the head, his expression dark. "Tell me. What do you all think should be done about this?"
"Elder Mu," one elder spoke hesitantly, "This… this soul thing—it sounds impossible. We've combed through the Spirit Hall's legacy and the entire body of soul master records. There's no mention of this technology."
"This isn't the time to argue about whether it's in the records," Moon said coldly. "Du Weilun's report leaves no room for doubt. I want solutions, not history lectures."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Moon's gaze swept over the elders. "Speak freely. Right or wrong doesn't matter right now. Don't waste my time with silence."
"Yes, Elder Mu," another elder stood up. "What I suggest is… how about sending Xiao Xiao undercover into the Soul Palace?"