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"Director Ye, since my students were the ones who provoked you first, why don't you go and guide them? Let them experience the strength of a Soul King?"
As Li Luochen spoke, his eyes turned deep red. Ye Zhiqiu was so frightened that he dared not refuse and could only nod in agreement.
Li Luochen smiled as he withdrew his oppressive aura and addressed the members of Shrek Academy.
"Dai Mubai, Tang San, Xiao Wu—since you three were the ones who started this, why don't you team up and have some fun with Director Ye? Let him give you some guidance.
This is your trial. If I'm not satisfied, your training will double, Dai Mubai—you should know what I mean."
Dai Mubai shuddered all over. Li Luochen's training methods were extremely terrifying. Although they boosted strength significantly, they were also horrifyingly intense. Doubling the training? That would be asking for his life!
Tang San and Xiao Wu, on the other hand, had different reactions. Xiao Wu felt irritated. Why did Principal Li have to show such respect to this guy? They should have just beaten him up and been done with it. What was the point of dragging things out?
Tang San, however, felt excited. He saw this as an opportunity for growth provided by Director Li. He hadn't yet fought against higher-level spirit masters, and since he believed himself to be invincible among peers, he wanted to test his abilities against someone of a higher rank.
Outside, Dai Mubai, Tang San, and Xiao Wu assumed their battle stances, their spirit rings appearing one by one.
On the other side, Ye Zhiqiu summoned his martial soul—a turtle. His five spirit rings—one white, two yellow, and two purple—were the most common configuration possible. Still, reaching the level of a Soul King with such a setup was already quite impressive.
As for this battle, Li Luochen believed Tang San and the others were bound to lose. Even though this old turtle's spirit ring configuration was poor, he was still a Soul King—not something a Soul Elder and two Great Spirit Masters could match.
True to expectations, at the start of the fight, Dai Mubai launched the first attack. The result? Predictably, he suffered a setback. Against a defensive-type Soul King two ranks above him, even with subpar spirit rings, breaking through his defense was impossible.
Regarding the White Tiger martial soul passed down in the Star Luo Empire, Li Luochen thought the White Tiger only excelled in strength and defense compared to other tiger-type martial souls—it lacked any standout features.
Though it was considered a top-tier beast martial soul, it paled in comparison to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. The people of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family might not be the best at interpersonal relations—they were often arrogant and looked down on others—but there was no denying that in this era, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul was incredibly powerful. Especially with their clan's secret technique of full dragon transformation, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon spirit masters became invincible at their level and could even fight opponents of higher ranks.
For instance, a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Douluo using their complete dragon transformation combined with their true body martial soul could rival a Title Douluo of levels ninety-one or ninety-two—roughly equivalent to Spear Serpent Douluo.
During his travels in the Star Luo Empire, Li Luochen had encountered White Tiger martial soul users at the Soul Sage and Soul Douluo levels, and even a Title Douluo. To put it bluntly, he always felt the White Tiger martial soul was somewhat underwhelming.
It could only bully weaker beast martial souls. Against something like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, it was bound to fail.
At this moment, Dai Mubai and the others were completely suppressed. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass couldn't control Ye Zhiqiu, and Xiao Wu's grappling techniques were ineffective. Against a defensive-type Soul King, Xiao Wu's attacks were hard to land unless she could pull off her eight-step throw.
Thus, by now, the three of them had nearly exhausted their spirit power, while Ye Zhiqiu was in excellent condition—better than ever.
"You three, come back. Tang San and Xiao Wu, I won't say anything about them since they're new. But Dai Mubai, you're truly useless. How could you end up like this?"
Li Luochen called a halt to the fight. He felt the desired effect had been achieved. He noticed Tang San's hands weren't entirely clean, so he decided to cut their losses early.
"Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong, you three step forward. Oscar and Ma Hongjun will lead the attack, while Ning Rongrong provides support.
You three take a good look at how a proper fight should be conducted!"
Li Luocheng directly called for Oscar and Ma Hongjun. Oscar was a forty-two-level Soul Zong, Ma Hongjun was a forty-level near-Soul Zong, and with Ning Rongrong's twenty-six-level auxiliary support, either Oscar or Ma Hongjun alone could handle the fight with ease.
Oscar and Ma Hongjun assumed their battle stances. Oscar's spirit ring configuration—one yellow and three purple—appeared, while Ma Hongjun's—one yellow and two purple—also emerged, stunning the spirit masters present.
Even Tang San's deadpan face opened wide in shock. His teacher, the "Master" Yu Xiaogang, who was known for his "theoretical invincibility," had drilled into him the exact year limits for spirit rings:
First spirit ring: 423 years; second spirit ring: 764 years; third spirit ring: 1,760 years; fourth spirit ring: 5,000 years; fifth spirit ring: 12,000 years; sixth spirit ring: 20,000 years; seventh spirit ring: 50,000 years; eighth spirit ring: under 100,000 years; ninth spirit ring: around 100,000 years.
Tang San's second spirit ring, despite his innate full spirit power, was only 600 years. Yet here were these two seniors with millennium-level second spirit rings?
This left Tang San feeling somewhat discouraged. He thought that if he trained with that hammer, perhaps he could absorb spirit rings like this too. But alas, Blue Silver Grass was ultimately a useless martial soul. Even with innate full spirit power, he couldn't escape its status as a weak martial soul.
"Director Ye, you'd better be careful. My two students here don't hold back when they fight. Don't get hurt."
Li Luochen's words snapped Ye Zhiqiu out of his shock. He had been stunned by the spirit ring configurations of these two students, and then he realized the girl behind them was a Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda spirit master! And both boys had millennium-level second spirit rings?
His own fourth spirit ring was only a millennium-level one, which made him feel utterly defeated. He sighed inwardly: this was truly a top-tier academy—the kind that could produce someone like Li Luochen.
"Seven treasures emerge with glassy brilliance! One for strength! Two for speed!"
Ning Rongrong immediately activated her augmentations. Oscar and Ma Hongjun felt the boosts from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda and inwardly marveled at how it was indeed the ultimate auxiliary weapon-type martial soul.
"Second Spirit Skill, Divine Swift Swallow Mushroom Sausage! Fourth Spirit Skill, Explosive Berserk Pink Sausage!"
Oscar took flight and produced two pink sausages—one for himself and one for Ma Hongjun. Meanwhile, his right arm extended into a short sword made of white jade.
"Third Spirit Skill, Rebirth of the Phoenix! Second Spirit Skill, Phoenix Wings Soaring to the Sky! First Spirit Skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"
Ma Hongjun unleashed two augmentation skills, stacking them onto his first spirit skill. With Ning Rongrong's support and the boost from the pink sausage, the power of his first spirit skill had now reached the level of a Soul King.
"Not good! Fifth Spirit Skill, Turtle Shell Protection!"
Ye Zhiqiu sensed the immense power of this attack and immediately released his strongest defensive skill. However, his ordinary turtle shell, though slightly imbued with ice attributes, was no match for the scorching flames of the phoenix.
The Phoenix martial soul was a top-tier beast martial soul. Ma Hongjun's martial soul was undergoing a positive mutation, approaching the level of a super martial soul. Its flame power was continuously increasing, though it still had a long way to go before reaching the pinnacle of fire.
Although Ye Zhiqiu managed to block the attack momentarily, his body was already burned. Just as he prepared to catch his breath, he felt a short sword at his neck—Oscar had sneaked up beside him and placed the blade against his throat.
Ye Zhiqiu knew he had lost, but he couldn't believe how quickly it had happened. Even the spectators didn't understand what had transpired. The entire fight lasted only ten seconds—ten seconds to instantly defeat a Soul King?
Dai Mubai clenched his fists tightly, then relaxed them. If only he hadn't spoken arrogantly earlier, perhaps Li Luochen could have trained him too. Oscar and Ma Hongjun were personally taught by Li Luochen.
Their combat abilities were incredibly strong. Oscar broke through to Soul Zong at just fourteen, while Ma Hongjun achieved it at twelve. Both earned Gold Spirit Badges in the Soto City Grand Spirit Arena.
All of this far surpassed him. He wanted to compete for the throne, but he hadn't seized the opportunities that came his way.
Ning Rongrong was astonished by how strong they were. Though they were only slightly older than her, their cultivation levels were monstrous.
Tang San grew increasingly eager to receive better training. He felt confident again—he believed he could do it!
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