"Arriving at the designated sea area. Commencing depth test."
"Beginning soul power injection. Opening main ballast tanks No. 1 and No. 3…"
"Descent rate stable…"
"Trim angle stable…"
"Depth continuing to decrease. Sensor readings normal…"
"The diving soul tool's status matches the theoretical model by more than 99%…"
Along the coast of the Extreme North Ice Sea, several tents had been set up at some unknown time. Soldiers of the Sun Moon Empire surrounded and isolated all the tents, preventing ordinary people from approaching.
From time to time, soul engineers equipped with flight soul tools passed overhead, busy with unknown tasks.
Inside the largest tent, several soul engineers stood in front of different soul guidance screens, holding their breath as they stared at the constantly changing numbers on the screens.
"We've reached it—we've reached the predetermined depth. All readings are normal. The diving soul tool's status still matches the ideal model by more than 98%!"
A delighted voice rang out. A young soul engineer who appeared to be just twenty years old suddenly straightened up and turned to report to another soul engineer beside him.
"Senior Brother Ma, it's exactly as you predicted."
As the young soul engineer spoke, a strange glint flickered briefly in his eyes.
Although the person before him looked young, he was the captain who had led the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy to defeat Shrek Academy and win the previous continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Competition. The reason he was here participating in the diving soul tool trial was also because of this very person.
Ma Rulong's expression did not change much upon hearing this. He stepped forward to the soul guidance screen. "Continue descending. Test the limit depth."
"Yes!"
The surrounding soul engineers responded in unison, picking up the voice-transmission soul tools nearby and beginning to relay the latest instructions.
"Instruction received. Opening main ballast tank No. 2. Continuing descent…"
"Current depth has exceeded the maximum diving depth of the ideal model. Deformation appearing on the diving soul tool's outer shell."
Ma Rulong picked up the voice-transmission soul tool nearby. "How does it feel inside the soul tool?"
"Senior Brother Ma, we can already see the seabed. There's a slight feeling of breathing difficulty inside the soul tool."
"Good. Stop descending. Do not go any deeper. Prepare to return."
"Wait—"
Just as Ma Rulong finished speaking, another voice suddenly came from the voice-transmission soul tool.
"What is it?" Ma Rulong's expression changed, and he leaned forward slightly.
But the voice-transmission soul tool fell silent.
"Did you encounter some danger?" Ma Rulong asked urgently.
"No, it's not that." After hearing Ma Rulong again, a voice finally returned through the tool. "Senior Brother Ma, we seem to have seen… a corpse."
"A corpse?" Ma Rulong frowned and turned to look at the other soul engineers in the tent. "When we selected this location, did anyone hear of any recent murder cases in the area?"
The soul engineers exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"Ignore it. Come back first."
"But Senior Brother Ma, this corpse… it seems to be alive…"
A living… corpse?
Ma Rulong couldn't quite wrap his head around how those two words could be connected.
After a moment of thought, he picked up the voice-transmission soul tool on the table again. "Transmit the captured images back."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
Soon, several images appeared on the soul guidance screen in front of Ma Rulong.
Deep on the seabed, mud and sand had piled up into the shape of a human. But upon closer inspection, it wasn't just mud and sand; there really was a person beneath, covered in it.
The chest seemed to be rising and falling slightly, as if the person were truly alive.
Ma Rulong's eyes flickered. If the person in the image was really alive, didn't that mean their physical strength surpassed even the diving soul tool they had developed?
But if it was truly a corpse, what explained the rising and falling chest?
Moreover…
Although the mud and sand obscured the person's face, Ma Rulong had a strange feeling that he had seen them somewhere before.
"Can you get closer?"
"Okay, we'll try." A voice came again from the voice-transmission soul tool. "Commencing deep diving navigation operation."
"Current speed stable…"
"Rudder angle stable…"
"Propulsion system operating normally…"
Beneath the sea surface, the diving soul tool slowly moved, stirring up a current that gently washed away the seabed mud and sand. Ma Rulong stared fixedly at the soul guidance screen and suddenly exclaimed.
"Senior Brother Lin?"
All the people in the tent turned to look at Ma Rulong at once.
But Ma Rulong no longer had time to pay attention to them. "Can you… Salvage that corpse?"
"Yes, Senior Brother, we'll try."
The people inside the diving soul tool seemed to notice something off in Ma Rulong's tone and quickly agreed.
"Commencing seabed retrieval operation now."
Soon, a mechanical arm-like device slowly extended from the exterior of the diving soul tool, reaching toward the "corpse" on the seabed.
When the mechanical arm brushed away the mud and sand covering the "corpse," Ma Rulong's eyes instantly widened. He recognized that face—it was unmistakably Lin Xiao.
However, ever since Lin Xiao had left the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy on vacation a year ago, he had completely disappeared. Even Illustrious Virtue Hall had sent people to search for him, but there had been no news.
Ma Rulong had mentioned it to several other disciples who had participated in the competition, but none of them had found any trace of Lin Xiao either.
Only the smiling Hongchen siblings seemed to know something, but due to their status, Ma Rulong hadn't inquired further.
They had made many guesses, but none had expected to find Lin Xiao here, at the bottom of the ice sea, as a "corpse."
"Target successfully captured. Commence return voyage?"
"Yes, come back quickly!" Ma Rulong dropped the words and, without waiting for a response from inside the diving soul tool, rushed out of the tent and ran toward the ice sea.
Soon, a pitch-black, whale-shaped soul tool floated to the surface.
Ma Rulong didn't wait for them to return to shore. The flight soul tool on his back lit up, and he flew toward the soul tool on the sea.
In just a few moments, Lin Xiao's "corpse" was placed on the shore. Many soul engineers gathered around, frowning deeply at the scene before them.
A decaying, deathly aura emanated from Lin Xiao's body, as if he had been dead for a long time, with the aura of death accumulating continuously on him.
Yet his chest was genuinely moving. Although breathing couldn't be seen underwater, once on shore, faint airflow could still be detected from his mouth and nose.
For a moment, Ma Rulong didn't know how to handle the situation. He had too many questions stuck in his throat.
What exactly was Lin Xiao's current state? How could he withstand such immense water pressure? And how had he stayed underwater for so long?
"You all handle the data from this trial first. I'm returning to the academy."
After a long silence, Ma Rulong finally made his decision.
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