At this moment, the atmosphere around them grew tense, as if the air itself had frozen.
Seeing the unfriendly expressions on the three men's faces, Flender realized that his words might have caused a misunderstanding and hurriedly explained:
"Please don't misunderstand. I don't mean to look down on the academy's rules. It's just that our strength is already above the Spirit King level, so this kind of test... is really unnecessary."
"Oh?"
The old man in the middle raised his brows, his tone full of doubt.
"Are you saying that all of you have already broken through to the Spirit Emperor level?"
Flender nodded calmly. "That's right. We old fellows were lucky enough to cross that threshold."
The three old men exchanged glances. They were clearly still doubtful, but the leader nevertheless said in a deep voice:
"The academy does have a rule that Soul Masters above the Soul Emperor level may skip the assessment. If you can prove your strength, you only need the dean's approval to begin working here directly."
Hearing this, Flender turned around and jerked his chin at the people behind him:
"Old friends, looks like we'll have to show them what we've got today."
Before his voice had even faded, several surging waves of Soul Power suddenly erupted, making the pillars inside the hall hum faintly.
Li Yusong was the first to step forward. Yellow light surged around him, and a long staff covered in Dragon Pattern appeared in his hand. Six Soul Rings hovered around him in perfect formation:
"Level sixty-three, Martial Soul: Dragon Patterned Staff, Weapon Spirit Emperor, Assault System."
Next, the Star Luo Chessboard appeared before Lu Qibin, its interlocking lines spreading pale-purple waves of Soul Power. His six Soul Rings shone just as brilliantly:
"Level sixty-six, Martial Soul: Star Luo Chessboard,