Douluo Dalu 2: You are an Evil Soul Master, but also a good person ?

"Buzz!"

Accompanied by a burst of air, Xu Cheng piloted the massive mech and slowly landed on the control platform.

The surrounding precision robotic arms automatically locked into place. The hatch opened, and Xu Cheng leaped down from above, walking over to Elder Cheng's side.

"The consumption of mental energy... is indeed enormous. This is definitely not something an ordinary person could handle," Xu Cheng said, shaking his dazed head and letting out a long breath.

He had borrowed a bit of Tian Meng's spiritual power just now, yet he still felt exhausted.

By his estimation, if he went all out, using this mech's Soul Power Core Cannon, Superconducting Laser Beams, and other weapons, even with Tian Meng's assistance, he could only maintain normal operations for two to three hours.

Any longer than that, and even Tian Meng would be overextended.

If it were just him alone, ten minutes would likely be his limit.

"Not bad. You actually lasted for an hour. Even a pure spiritual-type Soul Sage would struggle to do that…" Elder Cheng said with a satisfied smile.

Clearly, he was extremely pleased with his apprentice.

After all, in his mind, today was just to give his apprentice a pleasant surprise. As for actual combat readiness, he estimated that it would require several rounds of optimization, likely taking a few more months.

He hadn't expected his apprentice to operate it so skillfully right from the start.

"It's a pity that mental power can't be replenished with energy bottles…" Xu Cheng shook his head, a bit disappointed.

"What are you thinking?" Elder Cheng said helplessly. "This is a dual-drive system using both soul power and mental power. The fact that we can store soul power is already quite an achievement. Otherwise, only spiritual-type Soul Douluo would barely be able to pilot this mech."

"Hehe…" Xu Cheng chuckled sheepishly.

He realized he was indeed being ungrateful.

"There's only one of this kind of giant mech in the entire Sun Moon Empire... no, in all of Douluo Continent," Elder Cheng said with his hands behind his back, pride evident in his voice. "But even after a few more rounds of optimization, probably half a year from now, only a select few will be able to pilot it…"

"You mean because of the mental power requirement?" Xu Cheng asked thoughtfully.

After all, this world was filled with powerful soul masters, but those who also cultivated mental power were extremely rare.

And judging from his earlier test drive, this mech was incredibly difficult to operate. Without Tian Meng's support, even he couldn't unleash its full potential.

And if it couldn't be fully utilized, it would be nothing more than a flashy yet useless machine.

Maybe it would be better to develop lower-grade mechs and reduce the operational difficulty…

"Is there any possibility of further optimizing this type of giant mech?" Xu Cheng asked hesitantly.

"There's very little room left," Elder Cheng shook his head slightly. "I can carry out up to three rounds of optimization. After that, at best, the mental power requirement could be reduced to your level. But even then, it would require a spiritual-type Soul Sage at the very least…"

"…"

Xu Cheng nodded slightly.

In reality, even a spiritual-type Soul Sage could likely only bring out 30-40% of this mech's power—about the level of a Titled Douluo.

But to fully unleash its potential, reaching beyond Super Douluo's power, at least a Soul Douluo's level of spiritual power would be necessary.

Frankly speaking, in the Sun Moon Empire, spiritual-type Soul Douluo were even rarer than Rank Nine Soul Engineers…

"By the way, Teacher, can this mech's power ceiling be increased?" Xu Cheng asked, deep in thought.

"When building it, I used the best materials for every part. Its cost alone is over a billion gold soul coins, and that's with the Sun Moon Empire's abundant metal resources keeping prices reasonable…" Elder Cheng stroked his beard. "But I've never piloted it myself. Since it's driven by mental power, its limit depends on your spiritual strength. In other words, even an Ultimate Douluo could use it without the materials breaking down. But the question is, can your mental power reach that level…"

"So powerful!"

Xu Cheng's eyes widened.

The most precious materials… This was practically aimed at creating a Level Ten Soul Tool.

And this Growth-Type mech was an enormous surprise for him.

He had originally thought its limit was at the Super Douluo level, but now he realized that was just its "minimum potential"…

For him, as Tian Meng gradually unsealed and due to his Blood Pupil Martial Soul, his mental power was bound to far surpass his soul power. This mech might be a hindrance for others, but for him, it was perfect!

"Given its size, at least a Level Eight spatial-type Soul Tool would be needed to store it. The issue isn't just the volume but also the soul power fluctuations. Even in its dormant state, it periodically emits powerful soul tool energy waves…" Elder Cheng explained patiently.

"When you head to the Continental Soul Tool Master Tournament, I'll complete the final round of optimizations. By then, take it with you. If anything unexpected happens, at least you'll have a means of protection."

"Mm…" Xu Cheng nodded solemnly.

"Because of this mech's limitations, this is the first and last giant mech I'll build," Elder Cheng sighed. "From now on, I'll focus on developing smaller mechs that can be mass-produced to completely suppress the other three nations…"

Hearing this, Xu Cheng recalled the original story.

Indeed, the small mechs that appeared later in the Sun Moon Empire severely pressured Huo Hang and the other three nations.

But Teacher's speed is terrifyingly fast…

"You already knew I planned to start a war?" Xu Cheng sighed.

The two stood in silence, staring ahead.

"No need to guess," Elder Cheng laughed. "Since you caused such chaos at the Holy Spirit Cult, I knew you had great ambitions, a determination to unify the continent and bring reform to the people."

"Starting the Second Continental War is just a matter of time. Since that's the case, as your teacher, I'll do everything I can to help you accomplish this."

"So… you want to help me one last time before your life ends?" Xu Cheng suddenly asked.

"…"

Elder Cheng looked at his disciple in shock, then sighed, shaking his head. "I didn't think you'd even notice that. I thought I was hiding it pretty well…"

Xu Cheng's brows furrowed.

If it weren't for Tian Meng sensing something off, he would still be in the dark.

No wonder his teacher had been racing against time for the past two years, always on the frontlines of research whenever he visited. So this was the reason…

Seeing that there was no point hiding it, Elder Cheng explained everything.

When he was young, like Huo Yuhao, he was born into poverty. Unable to afford help from a soul master to obtain his first soul ring, he ventured alone into the forest, fighting desperately for his life.

But without a soul tool, he could only rely on his own strength to hunt a wounded hundred-year soul beast.

The beast's dying counterattack severely injured him.

A teacher from the Sun Moon Royal Academy happened to pass by and saved him.

However, the internal injury never healed, especially the damage to his brain, which occasionally caused mental instability. It wasn't until he grew stronger that he began to realize the severity of his condition.