A wave of doubts swept through the entire venue, and everyone's gaze focused on the boy at the center of the platform.
The danger on every level of Soul Hunting Valley had been carefully designed.
The soul beasts on the final level of Soul Hunting Valley were at most thirty thousand years old.
If one was unlucky, they might encounter soul beasts forty or fifty thousand years old.
Even a Soul King could not clear the final level.
The students graduating from the Four Junior Soul Master Academies were around twelve years old. By graduation, their soul master level would not exceed level fifty.
Clearly, students at this age did not possess the qualifications to clear the final level.
Hu Liena clenched her hands tightly. Having lost to Tuoba Yan once again, she felt deeply unwilling to accept it. "How could a coward possibly clear Soul Hunting Valley? Host, judges, Headmaster, and Pontiff, I strongly demand a thorough investigation!"
Whenever Hu Liena thought of how she and her brother had risked their lives to save Tuoba Yan out of kindness, only for Tuoba Yan to leave without a word, her prejudice against him deepened.
"Investigate!"
"Investigate!"
"Investigate!"
Below the platform, the graduating students from the four academies loudly joined in.
They unanimously demanded a thorough investigation.
"Your Holiness, I think that girl makes a great deal of sense!"
The speaker was Ju Douluo.
It was not just the students; Ju Douluo also doubted that Tuoba Yan had the ability to clear Soul Hunting Valley.
Bibi Dong called softly, "Tuoba Xi, what are your thoughts on this matter?"
Tuoba Xi frowned slightly.
Many eyes were fixed on him.
He was the main person in charge of this trial. No student had ever cleared Soul Hunting Valley upon graduation. Bibi Dong's question at this moment spoke for itself. She also suspected that Tuoba Xi had used his position to secretly help his grandson.
Tuoba Xi had nothing to hide and spoke righteously. "Just because you cannot do something does not mean others cannot either. This old man is not a fool. If I wanted to help my grandson, I would not have let him clear the trial. Wouldn't it have been more reasonable to let him reach the sixth level?"
Bibi Dong added, "You are a Platinum Bishop. As far as I know, your grandson is a two-ring Soul Grandmaster."
Tuoba Xi interrupted her, a trace of pride in his tone as he smiled. "No, Your Holiness. My grandson has already obtained his third soul ring. He is a three-ring Soul Elder."
"Oh, a three-ring Soul Elder."
Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes and looked at the back of Tuoba Yan's head. There really was something unusual about him—rebellious to the bone. Smiling, she said, "A three-ring Soul Elder cannot clear Soul Hunting Valley. You should explain yourself."
Tuoba Xi pondered for a moment. Under the attention of the masses and pressured by the situation, he rose from his seat and walked over to Tuoba Yan.
"Yan'er, the Pontiff wants you to explain how you cleared Soul Hunting Valley."
"There's no need for that, is there?"
"Yan'er, this concerns our honor and innocence. If you do not explain, the entire family will be questioned as well. You should explain."
"Fine, then."
Tuoba Yan walked over to Hu Liena, who immediately became wary. Tuoba Yan smiled. "Don't panic. You wanted me to explain how I cleared Soul Hunting Valley, didn't you?"
"No one has ever cleared Soul Hunting Valley. Even the Pontiff and the Grand Elder could not do it when they were young, yet you did. Shouldn't you explain yourself?"
"Fine. I'll explain."
Tuoba Yan turned around, putting his back to Hu Liena.
Suddenly, Tuoba Yan spun back around and faced Hu Liena. At the same time, he moved with incredible speed, pulling a longsword from his Storage Soul Guide Device and slashing down at Hu Liena's arm.
The entire motion flowed in one seamless movement.
Startled, pink Soul Power erupted from Hu Liena's body as she tried to block it, but a sharp pain struck her.
Hu Liena had been completely unprepared.
"Ah!"
Hu Liena screamed. By the time she reacted, Tuoba Yan had already cleanly severed her left arm. Blood sprayed forth.
"Tuoba Yan!"
Xie Yue flew into a rage.
Four soul rings descended from above Xie Yue's head.
Xie Yue gripped his Moon Blades in both hands and charged at Tuoba Yan with murderous intent, intending to kill him and avenge his sister Hu Liena.
He had only taken two steps before Tuoba Xi subdued him with a heavy arm.
At the same time, three soul rings descended from above Tuoba Yan's head. Their colors were extraordinarily striking: yellow, purple, and black, from the inside out.
Three soul rings, three different colors.
"A ten-thousand-year soul ring!"
"How old is he? He already has a ten-thousand-year soul ring!"
"No way! It would already be unbelievable for his second soul ring to be a thousand-year one, but his third soul ring directly leaped to the ten-thousand-year level!"
Countless doubters cried out in shock as they saw Tuoba Yan's soul ring configuration.
The upper limit for a soul master's second soul ring was seven hundred and sixty-four years.
The upper limit for the third soul ring was one thousand seven hundred and sixty years.
Yet Tuoba Yan's soul ring configuration far exceeded the standard arrangement.
First Soul Skill: Horse Talisman: Time Reversal!
As the first soul ring rose, a beam of white light enveloped Hu Liena.
The severed arm lying on the ground automatically broke free of gravity, floated into the air, and reattached itself to Hu Liena's severed arm.
In the blink of an eye, Hu Liena, whose arm had been cut off by Tuoba Yan, was restored to her complete state.
"This...?"
Countless people were dumbfounded.
"What terrifying healing ability!"
"A severed hand was restored instantly."
"Nine Heart Sea Tang is the number one healing-type martial soul in the world. It can only heal; it cannot regenerate. In my opinion, Nine Heart Sea Tang will have to yield its position before long!"
The miraculous scene unfolded before everyone's eyes.
Many who had doubted Tuoba Yan's ability to clear the trial understood everything after witnessing the healing power of his first soul ring.
With such an ability, clearing Soul Hunting Valley was not impossible.
However, someone still questioned him. "I am also a healing-type soul master. Even if you possess exceptional healing abilities, you are still only a three-ring Soul Elder. How did you pass through the perilous Soul Hunting Valley?"
"Do I have to tell you my secret of gliding too?"
As Tuoba Yan spoke, he lightly tapped the ground with the tip of his foot and activated his second soul skill. His entire body floated in midair.
The healing ability of the Horse Talisman made Tuoba Yan nearly impossible to kill. What truly allowed him to clear Soul Hunting Valley was the levitation ability of his second soul skill.
Tuoba Yan could use the least amount of Soul Power to leap vertically like the Hulk, traveling through layer after layer of forest between the treetops.
Furthermore, Tuoba Yan was, after all, a three-ring Soul Elder.
He made clever use of Soul Hunting Valley's terrain.
Whenever he passed through a level, he would remain atop the desert city walls for a while to recover the Soul Power he had expended.
Thus, he spent seven days crossing Soul Hunting Valley, which stretched hundreds of kilometers deep.
Before you continue