Normal days

Thousand of years had passed and technology had made several leaps since humanity grasped the power of martial souls. With the advent of Titled Douluos, humans no longer ran from soul beasts with their tails tucked between their legs.

'Yeah, as if humans have tails to tuck between their legs. '

The number of soul rings a person possessed reflected the strength of their cultivation. Mankind had advanced to the point where amassing more than nine soul rings was no longer a dream since long ago. Every soul power rank from 90 onward provided a surge in strength. 

In order to become a Titled Doulou, one needed to break through the threshold of rank 90. After reaching rank 95, they would stand at an even higher peak and possess the powers of a Hyper Douluo at rank 98. Ultimately, a soul power of rank 99 gave rise to a Limit Douluo. Only with a Limit Douluo could humanity contend with the greatest of soul beasts, for the two types of existences stood on equal footing. 

The first appearance of the Limit Doulou had marked a turning point in mankind's history, opening the door to humanity's rise as the masters of the continent. Then came the mythical generation in which the Tang Sect Founder, Thousand Hands Douluo Tang San, was born. With his Tang Sect arts and twin martial souls, he surpassed his limits, rose to the summit of the world, and ascended to godhood. He was the sky beyond the sky. 

But he wasn't the only legendary figure to appear. His six companions, which along with him wore the banner of the Shrek Seven Monster's first generation, also reached the heavens. 

To this day, after thousands of years of progress, no subsequent generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters had surpassed the first. They didn't get the chance to.

Another turning point for humanity occured ten thousand years after Tang San's ascension. That was when the Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao appeared, hellbent on reviving the Tang Sect. In a time of a declining soul beast population, he created spirit souls in order to ease the tensions between soul beasts and humanity since the Auspices Emperor had done unrepairable damage to the relationship between them. Later with spirit souls as the basis, he founded the Spirit Pagoda. 

From then on, soul technology rapidly progressed and mankind invented all sorts of soul devices and mechas.

After a few thousand years, battle armour was introduced to the world. This marked the occasion in which mecha technology could finally transcend the might of soul masters. 

Battle armor gave a soul master an incredible power boost. With four-word battle armor equipped, a new Titled Douluo could match a Limit Douluo in might! 

Although a Limit Douluo was the highest form of existence attainable by mortals, aided by battle armor, no soul beast could stand a sliver of a chance. In the end, most of the common soul beasts were wiped out. 

And that had led us to the current problem of the extinction of the spirit beasts and in turn, the existence of the Spirit Masters in the near future. That's it for today's classes."

Shen Yi looked at the time and stopped the lecture.

"It's been a month since the beginning of the school year and I'm sure you've all grown quite a bit. We will be holding a competition between the first and second grades in the four main professions and combat," Shen Yi announced from behind the lectern, sweeping her gaze through her students, stopping the one who had stood up to leave.

"In order to decide on the participants fairly, and to put forth the best combatants, you will be tasked to form your own teams. Then each team will sign up for the competition where the winners will represent our class. Each team may have no more than seven people and no less than three. The class council will be representing us for the professional competitions. When forming your teams, keep in mind that for the sake of fairness, the second grade's team will have one less person than ours. So if our representative team has three people, then the second grade's team can only have two. Now, let's begin the process for selecting the representative team. Tang Wulin."

"Yes." Tang Wulin stood up.

"Once class is over, record all the teams and submit a report to me."

"Understood."

After class, the entire classroom erupted into chatter. Everyone was tantalized by the possibility of representing their class in a battle against the second grade. It was an opportunity for them to earn extra credit, boosting their chances of entering the inner court in the future. There wasn't a single person willing to let this chance slip through their hands.

'She went really fast. I couldn't even ask if it's compulsory.'

Fan Lin was thinking about what should he design today. He had already broken past the second rank and reached third rank. He finally grasped what he was having trouble with. Now everything was good.

[What was the problem?]

"Would you become a part of our group in the group fight." A girl's soft voice came into his ears.

"No." Fan Lin replied without looking.

She didn't move from that spot. Fan Lin looked at her. She blushed. It was Xu Xiaoyan.

"I hate when people act in front of me. Please just tell me what you need? And my answer is still no." Fan Lin said indifferently. This time she blushed for real while taking a step back.

" But... But... I haven't even said what I want?" She said.

"But... But... I don't want to hear." Fan Lin mimicked her tone in his emotionless voice.

Her facade broke and she stomped her foot and went towards Tang Wulin and his crew. They all looked at him weirdly, not understanding his true nature.

Wulin came to him this time, "Why did you refuse? I am not here to ask you to join me. Just tell me why did you refuse, I need to record it."

"I am not taking part in it." Fan Lin replied.

"It's compulsory." He said mimicking my tone.

"Then I will enter alone and give up on the first round."

"You need three people to enter and giving up cause deductions in contribution points." [Tang Wulin]

"I will talk to Shen Yi then." 

"Why? Just take part in the competition. You have to finish your project with the contribution points you earned anyways and I don't think you would lose. Even if you don't lack any points at least you could get in the limelight. It will be good for entering inner court." [Tang Wulin]

"Kid, the only thing I lack is time and all my wealth couldn't even buy a second of it. I don't have the luxury to waste it on something useless as standing out among a group of kids nor I will." Fan Lin replied a little colder than his usual voice. Emotionless and cold were two different things.

Tang Wulin said nothing after that and silently returned to his seat. And Fan Lin's voice wasn't just cold. It was loud enough for everyone to hear. He sometimes forgot that the kids were spirit masters with keen hearing.

Now everyone was looking there since Tang Wulin's Class President's title had been in question due to the incitings of Luo something and others. Now even a low social standing kid like Fan Lin had shown disrespect towards him, the situation was serious.

Fan Lin had seldom raised his voice. He was an outcast in the class and not much was known about it except his second skill.

'Looks like the pressure is making getting to me despite my usual rests. I need to relax a little.'

Fan Lin got up and left. Now was the time to eat something to live his sorrows away. If he had any.

Lunch. Fan Lin was eating his food normally. No disturbance of any kind.

'I had already asked Qiangu Dongfeng to give me spirit ascension platform tickets where the human density was highest. Huh? He had sent me the tickets already. Now I just need to relax and have a good time.'

And compulsory huh. I will see him later.

"Who is Fan Lin? Teacher Wu Zhangkong is asking for him."

Jinxed myself, didn't I.

*Teacher Wu Zhangkong's office*

"Why did you not participate in the tournament? Give me a valid reason." Wu Zhangkong said.

"I don't want to."

"That's not enough. Anyone can say that. Be it weak or strong. Why do you not want to?'

"It is the same. I don't want to. Some things don't need substantial reason for them. I just don't want to. It's as simple as that."

"Wulin said you don't have enough time. I will let you use your money to build the battle armour piece. This should save you time right."

"Design. You meant piece design then no worries. Iam already a third rank mecha designer. I do not need to use my money to anymore. I can easily earn contribution points now. I need time for something else. At least for a few weeks, I need peace of mind and at little violence as possible. If you don't have anything else I need to go now."

Fan Lin left the office after saying that.

Thirty minutes later.

He was standing below the Spirit Pagoda. After some thinking, he went inside, got on the lift, reached spirit ascension platform, showed his tickets to the staff and went to lay there in the pod.

Qiangu Dongfeng got the news that Fan Lin had came. He connected the TV at his office to Fan Lin's spirit server.

Fan Lin was killing humans left and right. He was absorbing the remnant spirit energy in the environment. That was all that he did. There was still no change in his face. Neither was he screaming or showing any signs of excitement or unusual behaviour. 

It was just a machine that was killing people left and right. 

"Why though? This clearly looks like he has an agenda against the mankind."