War God Ao Rui's tone became urgent as he asked, "Hall Master, what should we do now? Should we capture all the soul beasts from the soul beast forest?"
However, Guan Yue didn't rush into a decision and responded, "No need to hurry."
Turning to the federation member he had spoken with earlier, he asked again, "You just said that some federation members have brought back the soul beasts released by the Spirit Pagoda?"
The latter affirmed, "Yes, Hall Master!"
Guan Yue pursed his lips, "Where are those soul beasts? Take me and War God Ao Rui to see them immediately!"
This federation member showed a trace of unease, "This... The soul beasts have been sent to the federation's research laboratory for analysis, and I do not have the clearance to enter!"
Other than Hall Master Guan, even the War Gods had no clearance to enter the research laboratory!
Let alone someone like him who was just an ordinary member with no presence!
After understanding the situation, Guan Yue's gaze turned much more serious, "Ao Rui, come with me to the research lab to confirm whether these soul beasts are really created by the Spirit Pagoda!"
Ao Rui naturally had no objections; he too wanted to see what the newly constructed research lab looked like!
With these words, he left the Council Hall with the former, heading towards the direction of the research lab...
The man left standing there couldn't help but pat his chest, "Whew... Thankfully, Hall Master Guan is approachable; otherwise, talking with War God Ao Rui would've been just too much pressure!"
...
Before long, Guan Yue and Ao Rui had already arrived at the great doors of the research lab...
The federation members guarding the place immediately recognized the former's identity and said in chorus, "Hall Master Guan!"
The reason why they ignored Ao Rui was simple: they only took orders from the former!
Guan Yue nodded slightly and ordered, "Open the gates. War God Ao Rui will enter with me."
The members didn't say much and began to input the password in turns...
War God Ao Rui, who had remained silent all along, squinted his eyes and thought to himself, "So this is where the research lab is hidden. No wonder including me, none of the War Gods knew its exact location!"
This place was not only completely isolated from the outside world, but just the road leading to this place was rigged with hundreds of high-grade soul guidance devices!
Even a Super Douluo level expert intruding uninvited would probably be exposed within seconds!
However, it was understandable since the Spirit Pagoda's influence had already infiltrated the federation; being extra cautious was never a mistake!
While he pondered, the federation members had finished inputting the password...
The great doors before them started to rise with a clanging mechanical noise, revealing a brightly lit passage...
Only then did Guan Yue turn to Ao Rui and explain, "War God Ao Rui, this is the new research laboratory, let's go in!"
"Of course, be careful inside, it's full of complex mechanisms!"
Ao Rui knew that the other wouldn't say such a thing for no reason and silently took note...
As they entered the research lab, what greeted their eyes were countless machines and researchers...
Ao Rui swallowed hard and couldn't help but exclaim, "This place is so vast, Hall Master, it must have taken a lot of funds and time to build this research lab, right?"
Guan Yue affirmed, "You're right, War God Ao Rui. This place had been under secret construction since the Spirit Pagoda tried to implant their pawns into the federation!"
"But due to confidentiality and manpower issues, it was only recently completed!"
If it could have been completed earlier, that God-Slaying level soul-guided missile probably wouldn't have encountered any mishap!!
The former stroked his chin, lost in thought, "I see!"
Such a massive project, requiring both absolute secrecy and substantial size, naturally couldn't be built quickly!
One of the researchers saw their arrival and quickly came over...
He said in a respectful tone, "Hall Master Guan!"
Guan Yue pointed at Ao Rui and introduced him, "This is the War God Hall's first War God, Ao Rui!"
The former, understanding the situation, also spoke respectfully, "War God Ao Rui!"
To this, Ao Rui simply nodded as a sign of acknowledgment, "Hmm!"
After all this, Guan Yue turned his attention back to the researcher in front of him and inquired, "How about those captured soul beasts?"
The latter replied after hearing the question, "Hall Master, after these soul beasts were brought to the research room, we immediately commenced their analysis."
Guan Yue's tone grew excited, "And the results??"
The researcher's face darkened, "We can only confirm one thing, none of them were born through natural reproduction!"
"Simply put, the Spirit Pagoda might have already mastered the technology to create artificial spirit beasts!"
Guan Yue clenched his fists tightly and pressed on, "Can the federation replicate this technology?"
Since they are artificial spirit beasts, perhaps they might contain something that shouldn't naturally exist!
The former shook his head without hesitation in denial...
"Hall Master, the artificial spirit beast technology used by the Spirit Pagoda is nearly perfect!"
"From every aspect, these soul beasts are indistinguishable from real soul beasts, meaning we cannot extract any useful information from them and thus cannot replicate it."
Guan Yue sighed helplessly, "That means... inside the Spirit Pagoda, there might be a large number of soul beasts!"
"These soul beasts released into the soul beast forest are probably because the Spirit Pagoda can no longer accommodate them, that's why they did it!"
Ao Rui took a deep breath, "Could it be that the Spirit Pagoda, with this technology, is already capable of reviving the Soul Beast Clan??"
It's hard to believe, if this technology were applied to humans, how terrifying could it be!
Guan Yue glanced at him, "Hmm, based on what I know about that Gu Yuena, I'm afraid it is indeed the case!"
"Moreover, this act of releasing soul beasts, is probably something she deliberately let us know about!"
If not, she could have used much more covert methods!
Instead of acting so ostentatiously in front of so many federation members lurking in the shadows!
Ao Rui's eyebrows furrowed deeply, "But, why do this? To publicly announce that the Spirit Pagoda is capable of creating artificial spirit beasts??"
"Such an act offers no advantage!"
Guan Yue suddenly sneered, "If I'm not mistaken, the reason for doing this is to probe the federation's and various other powers' stance towards the revival of the Soul Beast Clan!"
"If the forces supporting the Spirit Pagoda are plentiful, then the next step would be to wage a full-scale war against the federation!!"
At this moment, the level of trouble Gu Yuena represented in Ao Rui's mind had reached its peak...
"I didn't expect this Gu Yuena, young as she is, to have such formidable methods, if not for what you mentioned, Hall Master, I would never have thought of that!"
After pausing for a moment, he spoke again, "So Hall Master, do we need to kill these captured soul beasts? Perhaps, they might be under the control of the Spirit Pagoda!"
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