Gu Yue's mastery of the three elements of water, wind, and earth left the audience stunned.
The three layered elemental lotuses spun serenely in her hands, and her expression remained calm, showing no signs of strain despite the effort required to conjure them.
She raised her right hand once more, and the moment did not go unnoticed by Cai Yue'er. A feeling of tension gripped her heart as an absurd thought crossed her mind. What Gu Yue did next caused her to widen her eyes in disbelief.
Gu Yue flipped her right hand, palm upward, and the surrounding air grew scorching hot. One by one, crimson sparks appeared and gathered toward her palm. The fiery glow condensed into a fire elemental orb.
Cai Yue'er leaned forward, visibly shaken. Her slightly open mouth betrayed her inner turmoil. Four-element mastery, including earth, fire, water, and wind—the foundational elements! This is beyond extraordinary!
Shen Yi and the two other examiners had been utterly numbed by shock. Shen Yi began to realize how little she truly understood about these three children. After all, three years ago, they had only been Soul Elders and Grand Soul Masters. Now they had advanced to Soul Ancestors and Soul Elders.
Gu Yue, unfazed by the reactions around her, calmly continued. She placed the fire orb atop the seven-petaled green lotus, causing all three of her spirit rings to light up simultaneously. As she manipulated the fiery petals, a radiant six-petaled red lotus took shape.
With the fourth lotus in place, Gu Yue began her final performance.
The elemental lotuses—earth, water, wind, and fire—began to fuse. Gu Yue's eyes shimmered with silvery brilliance as she combined the elements. The process was mesmerizing, yet dangerous, as the interplay of water, fire, wind, and earth created a volatile and destructive force.
Before the stunned audience, the colored lotuses vanished, replaced by a dazzling silver lotus with fifteen petals. Its radiant beauty belied its ominous aura, as if it could explode at any moment, unleashing unparalleled destruction.
Jing Shaoyu observed Gu Yue's effortless display with a sense of admiration. He knew this was far from her limit—if she wished, she could likely create a seven-element lotus, something he privately dubbed the Buddha's Wrath Silver Lotus.
Even Cai Yue'er, who had seen countless geniuses in her lifetime, could only marvel. This was a lotus formed from the four foundational elements of creation. It was an unparalleled phenomenon.
In the current understanding of the Douluo Continent, all things are composed of elements. Among them, water, fire, earth, and wind are considered the four foundational elements, also known as the primal elements. Mastery over these elements is believed to represent the essence of creation—a concept that transcends mere power and delves into the realm of higher truths.
In Shrek Academy's records, there was once a Soul Master who mastered three elements. However, the burden of controlling three elements hindered his spiritual development, ultimately confining him to the Soul Sage rank. The three-element mastery that was both a blessing and a curse became his insurmountable barrier, leaving his life full of regret.
But the young girl before them had achieved four-element mastery, effortlessly maintaining harmony among them. Such talent was unprecedented in the history of Douluo Continent.
Cai Yue'er could only conclude one thing: Gu Yue's spiritual power had likely reached the Spirit Sea Realm and was even approaching the Spirit Abyss Realm. Only with such extraordinary spiritual power could she manipulate four elements so seamlessly.
Suddenly, Cai Yue'er sat bolt upright, her gaze fixed on Gu Yue with shock and disbelief.
She's using her right hand again? Could it be… there's more?
Golden light, soft and radiant, cascaded from the window. The scattered light gathered in response to Gu Yue's motion, forming a golden ribbon that gracefully intertwined with the silver lotus.
Everyone was mesmerized by the scene.
Gu Yue's cold, indifferent eyes shimmered with silver light as she looked upward.
Jing Shaoyu's heart sank. He immediately realized her intent and softly called out, "Gu Yue."
Hearing his voice, Gu Yue turned back to look at him. When she saw Jing Shaoyu shaking his head, her lips pressed into a thin line, and the silver gleam in her eyes dimmed slightly.
Cai Yue'er also glanced at Jing Shaoyu, her expression shifting from confusion to annoyance, and finally to an awkward realization.
She had mistakenly thought Jing Shaoyu's call of "Gu Yue" was directed at her.
Well, an easy mistake to make.
At Jing Shaoyu's intervention, Gu Yue changed course. She clasped her hands together, summoning a burst of brilliant silver light. The four-element lotus vanished from her hands.
Everyone was momentarily taken aback. Following her gaze, they noticed the silver lotus now floating high in the sky outside the window.
With a simple gesture, Gu Yue clenched her fist, and the lotus exploded. A magnificent firework of yellow, blue, green, red, silver, and gold illuminated the sky above Shrek Academy. The dazzling display attracted the attention of many other examinees in the teaching building.
Cai Yue'er applauded enthusiastically, her face alight with admiration and excitement. "Good, good, good!"
The three successive exclamations of "good" were followed by hearty laughter. Her reaction brought a look of wild joy to Shen Yi's face. She knew it—the three children were guaranteed to pass now.
"Six-element mastery! Six-element mastery!" Cai Yue'er exclaimed after calming down. "The final two elements you demonstrated should be light and space. Excellent, truly excellent! This girl no longer needs to continue the exams. She's qualified to directly join the inner court. Six-element mastery! This will be a legend in the Soul Master world!"
She walked up to Gu Yue, her smile brimming with approval as she scanned the young girl from head to toe. Meanwhile, the two male examiners exchanged helpless looks. With such a prodigious talent, skipping the outer court and heading straight to the inner court was reasonable—but it meant the outer court would lose an extraordinary student.
Cai Yue'er addressed Gu Yue warmly, "Young lady, your name is Gu Yue, right? It seems we have a connection. My name is Cai Yue'er, and we both share the name Yue."
Her attempt to build rapport was met with Gu Yue's stoic expression. Behind her, Jing Shaoyu's face took on a subtle expression—was this an attempt to recruit her as a disciple?
"Gu Yue, would you like to become my disciple?" Cai Yue'er finally asked directly.
Gu Yue glanced at her, then shook her head decisively. "No."
Cai Yue'er was taken aback. Her surprise quickly gave way to curiosity. "No? Why not?"
Gu Yue raised her head, her eyes glinting with a trace of disdain. "I don't think you're qualified to be my teacher."
The room fell into dead silence.
Cai Yue'er's smile froze on her face. Had she misheard? Had this girl just said she wasn't worthy?
Shen Yi was equally stunned. When she heard Gu Yue's rejection—and her subsequent bold claim—she panicked. Rushing forward, she grabbed Gu Yue's hand and exclaimed, "Gu Yue, don't say that! Elder Cai is a member of the Sea God Pavilion, a Level 96 Super Douluo, a three-word Battle Armor Master, the Silver Moon Douluo, and one of the strongest in the Soul Master world! Being her disciple would be a blessing!"
"And so?" Gu Yue's indifferent response silenced Shen Yi.
And so?
Those three words nearly caused Cai Yue'er to lose her composure entirely. The unseen observer in the shadows couldn't help but laugh at the scene.
Shen Yi, now exasperated, said, "So you should apologize to Elder Cai and request her to accept you as a disciple! How can you be so ungrateful?"
"But I'm just stating facts," Gu Yue replied calmly. "She's not even an Ultimate Douluo. Why should she be my teacher?"
"You…" Shen Yi was at a loss for words.
Cai Yue'er chuckled coldly, her voice laced with suppressed anger. "It seems I overestimated myself. With your talent, only an Ulti
mate Douluo could teach you. Shrek Academy cannot accommodate a 'great Buddha' like you. Leave."