Eastsea City Primary Spirit Ascension Platform.
While Tang Wulin was still dazed, Na'er, thrown into disarray by concern, knocked him out of the Spirit Ascension Platform. Seeing this, the heavily injured Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi, who had been crushed by the Golden Dragon Claw, wisely fled at once. Only three people remained in the forest.
Zhao Xuanzhen, Na'er, and Gu Yue.
"You're Gu Yue?" Zhao Xuanzhen confirmed.
"That's right."
Gu Yue's tone was utterly calm, showing no reaction whatsoever despite facing two monsters alone.
Zhao Xuanzhen looked at Gu Yue and suddenly realized that she was unexpectedly beautiful. Her features were exquisite, her skin fair and smooth, reminding him of warm jade beneath sunlight. Her black eyes, like a still lake, shimmered with moisture, faint ripples stirring within them.
Searching through his memories, Zhao Xuanzhen found the reason for Gu Yue's changed appearance in 0.25 seconds.
In another timeline, Gu Yue and Na'er had made a bet. Gu Yue would approach Tang Wulin with an ordinary appearance and make him fall in love with her. If she succeeded, Na'er would willingly abandon her humanity, and the two girls would merge into one, allowing the Silver Dragon King Gu Yue Na to reappear in the world.
Ever since Na'er had wandered into Shrek City, the world had changed. Na'er had joined the Spirit Pagoda and did not know Tang Wulin at all, while Gu Yue had entered Eastsea Academy solely to obtain the Golden Dragon King God Core.
There was no romantic wager in this life. With the pride of the Silver Dragon King and Dragon Clan, Gu Yue would never deliberately alter her appearance. Her current peerless beauty was her truest appearance.
Perhaps because he already knew they were both halves of the Silver Dragon King, Zhao Xuanzhen inexplicably felt that the two girls' eyebrows and eyes bore some resemblance. Yet their vastly different temperaments washed away those similarities.
After observing Gu Yue's changes, Zhao Xuanzhen spoke. "Spirit Pagoda, Zhao Xuanzhen, Na'er.
I am your test officer today. Defeat me, and you will automatically be promoted to a Spirit Pagoda Core Disciple. Otherwise, the Spirit Pagoda will reassess your overall potential."
Upon hearing this, Leng Yaozhu, watching from outside, smiled in satisfaction. With Gu Yue's Elementalist martial soul and Hidden Family background, she would become a member of the Spirit Pagoda regardless of her performance. Zhao Xuanzhen was merely using the information gap to force her to give it her all.
"Fine!"
Gu Yue answered decisively. She had to enter the Spirit Pagoda. She would climb to the very top, step by step!
Two yellow Soul Rings rose, releasing the aura of twenty-first-level Soul Power. Na'er felt immensely gratified and secretly made a face.
Hehe, Gu Yue, my Soul Power is higher than yours!
A cross-shaped vein bulged on Gu Yue's forehead. When she had taken human form, her soul had accidentally split into Na'er. Coupled with the original injury to the Silver Dragon King's true body, Gu Yue had spent three years recuperating in the Star Dou Great Forest before barely recovering a trace of her power. Yet one of the culprits was now mocking her!
"She's so fierce, Zhao Xuanzhen. Nothing like me, all well-behaved and adorable!"
Na'er transformed into a pitiful, innocent young girl and openly twisted the knife, seizing every chance to disparage Gu Yue!
Gu Yue was getting a little heated. She snorted coldly as her First and Second Soul Rings flashed at the same time. Centered around her body, earth, water, wind, fire... elemental spheres of every color condensed.
First soul skill, Elemental Tide. Second Soul Skill, Elemental Control.
Unlike Na'er, who wielded the Silver Dragon Spear, Gu Yue had inherited the Silver Dragon King's most formidable elemental abilities. Neither Soul Skill was offensive. Their effects were greatly increasing Soul Power intensity and causing the elemental power around her to surge. Gu Yue's fighting style was to bombard her enemies by controlling Multiple Elements!
Azure light swirled as fierce winds formed sharp wind blades. Accompanied by piercing shrieks, they tore through the air and shot toward Zhao Xuanzhen.
"Xun Word, Wind Blade."
Zhao Xuanzhen's eyes turned deep blue as the Bagua Qimen Earthly Dao Technique unfolded. Stronger winds descended and instantly annihilated the Wind Element Gu Yue had created!
Gu Yue's expression grew solemn. She raised both hands high, red light flickering at her fingertips. Wild Fire Element gathered there as clusters of scorching fireballs bombarded Zhao Xuanzhen in succession!
"Li Word, Flame Bullet."
The fireballs met the same fate as the wind blades. The Bagua Qimen Flame Bullets shattered them and continued onward, their target clear—Gu Yue!
"Boom—"
An earth wall rose from the ground. The Flame Bullets exploded, and waves of scarlet fire spread outward in layers, swallowing huge stretches of forest. Everything turned charred black as the surrounding temperature surged.
Gu Yue used the Earth Element to block the Flame Bullets, then took advantage of the fire waves obscuring his vision to hurl an Ice Cone backhandedly. However, the Ice Cone collided with another Ice Cone in midair!
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Gu Yue's defenses shattered. Her lovely face twisted slightly. The exact same skill—the Silver Dragon King's elemental power had actually lost to a human. If it had merely been a crushing difference in Soul Power, Gu Yue would have had nothing to say. But the issue was that she could sense the suppression of this world against her through Zhao Xuanzhen's Earthly Dao Technique!
"Why is it impossible?"
Zhao Xuanzhen chuckled. Bagua Qimen controlled the changes of the heavens and earth!
"Kun Word, Earthquake!"
The ground violently shook. Countless grains of sand and stones floated into the air, and a Stone Python as large as a mountain range appeared. Its giant mouth split open more than one hundred and eighty degrees, its fangs flowing with the earth-yellow power of the land as it viciously bit toward Gu Yue!
"Ice and Snow Storm!"
Her ivory teeth sank deeply into her red lips as Gu Yue controlled the Ice Element and Wind Element to raise an icy tornado. When the Stone Python tore through the air, the tornado exploded with a roar. Ice crystal fragments collided with flying sand and shattered stones in the air, while dark-blue ice shards and earthly debris poured down like torrential rain!
The two commanded the elemental powers of heaven and earth at the same time. Zhao Xuanzhen pointed into the void, and hurricanes flanked from both sides. Gu Yue pressed her hands together, condensing a Water Curtain into a hemispherical ice crystal. The instant the hurricanes struck the ice shell, dense flame patterns grew across the ice layer's surface. This was a dual fusion of water and fire elements, and the surroundings exploded into ruins.
The sky suddenly flickered between light and dark. Gu Yue floated on the wind, purple light igniting deep within her eyes. Light and Dark Elements condensed into tangible tentacles. Zhao Xuanzhen spun through the air as the hurricane transformed into a drill, breaking through the shockwave unleashed by the Light and Dark Tentacles and shattering Gu Yue's hastily formed Water Element shield into mist.
"Multiple Element combinations can't beat a single element. Heaven and earth help you, not me!" Gu Yue gritted her teeth. "What exactly is this ability of yours?!"
"Within my formation, I am heaven and earth. I am the Heavenly Principle. The strength of elements and their mutual generation and restraint are determined by me."
The deep-blue light in Zhao Xuanzhen's eyes grew increasingly profound. The free elements across the battlefield began to collapse inward, and Gu Yue discovered in horror that her Elemental Control seemed to have been overridden by a higher-dimensional authority. Even the Wind Element sustaining her flight had betrayed her!
"Well done, Zhao Xuanzhen! Suppress her hard!"
Na'er was so excited that she could barely contain herself. Throwing left and right hooks while chanting "hey ha, hey ha," she cheered Zhao Xuanzhen on.
Gu Yue shot Na'er a vicious glare. Her Dao Heart was about to shatter, yet this girl was still taunting her!
"Basic elements are ineffective. If I want to turn defeat into victory, I must catch him off guard!"
As the spokesperson for the Dragon God's wisdom, Gu Yue ultimately calmed down and swiftly considered how to break the situation.
Silver light flashed, and Gu Yue teleported above Zhao Xuanzhen's head. She gripped an ice blade in each hand—Space Element, instantaneous teleportation!
"Gan Word, teleportation."
Zhao Xuanzhen vanished into thin air. When he reappeared, he was already beside Na'er.
"Xun Word, Wind Rope."
Flowing wind vortices wove themselves into green Wind Ropes. Gu Yue's waist tightened as her body was forcibly pulled downward. She activated the Dark Element in an attempt to corrode the Wind Ropes, but just as the darkness erased one rope, more ropes wound around her. Gentle yet irresistible, they sealed the key joints and pressure points of her body.
The final Wind Rope wrapped around her hands, and the young girl glared at Zhao Xuanzhen with a gaze that was half fierce and half helpless.
Seeing Gu Yue unable to move, Na'er was immediately overjoyed. She trotted over, brought her pretty face close to Gu Yue's, and rolled her eyes around.
"Oh dear, oh dear, what's wrong with you, classmate Gu Yue? You couldn't even beat Zhao Xuanzhen with the elements you're best at. As the Second Test Officer, I'm very disappointed∽"
"Put me down!"
Gu Yue's face was full of unyielding defiance. She looked like she wanted to brawl with Na'er on the spot!
"Nope, nope!"
Under Gu Yue's murderous gaze, Na'er vigorously pinched that delicate little nose, avenging the Ten Thousand Demon King's pursuit from four years ago!
Xiao Na was triumphant!
"That's enough."
Zhao Xuanzhen pulled Na'er back to keep her from drawing a turtle on Gu Yue's face, then released the Wind Ropes.
Gu Yue rubbed her red, swollen wrists. For some reason, a faint blush that seemed almost shy flashed across her cheeks.
"Through the Soul Guidance Screen broadcast, the Spirit Pagoda's high-level officials saw our battle just now in its entirety," Zhao Xuanzhen said.
"Then can I become a Core Disciple?" Gu Yue could not help asking.
She was preparing to carry out a plan, and its prerequisite was becoming a core member of the Spirit Pagoda. Zhao Xuanzhen had thoroughly suppressed her elemental power earlier, and Gu Yue worried that the Spirit Pagoda would not value her as much as she had expected.
"Go home and wait for news."
Zhao Xuanzhen answered calmly.
"I request another evaluation," Gu Yue said. "Have someone else fight me, for instance... Na'er beside you."
"Who says I'm afraid of you!"
Na'er drew the Silver Dragon Spear, and Gu Yue summoned Multiple Elements. The two girls instantly became charged with hostility as silver-white and black sparks flew.
Zhao Xuanzhen smiled helplessly, pulled Na'er over, and looked at Gu Yue. "You only get one chance. We have a Spirit Pagoda mission to carry out, so we won't keep you company."
Gu Yue's gaze dimmed slightly as she watched Zhao Xuanzhen and Na'er leave. Then she softly sighed and voluntarily withdrew from the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform.
As she slowly woke up, Gu Yue saw Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi still immersed in the battle footage, along with Wu Changkong, who was equally moved.
"Have you seen the gap between yourselves and those of the same age across the continent?" Wu Changkong's voice was icy.
"There's no comparison. We're like immature children."
Tang Wulin smiled bitterly. Zhao Xuanzhen had not only used technique to toy with his strength, but their final unadorned fist clash had also told him that someone capable of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds possessed a thousand pounds of strength as well!
"It's as vast as a chasm, like a natural barrier."
Xie Xie had lost all confidence. Na'er's Silver Dragon Spear was unpredictable, and even the joint effort of the Light Shadow Dragon Dagger had not lasted more than a few exchanges. Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi had fared about the same. Zero Class, the most talented group in Eastsea Academy, had been brutally crushed by monsters of talent.
"There are always people above people, and skies beyond skies. Experiencing the gap early is a good thing. It will keep you from becoming overly arrogant."
After pausing for half a second, Wu Changkong changed the subject. "However, never doubt yourselves. You are all geniuses worthy of Shrek Academy, but even if those two were placed in Shrek, they would still be Peerless Monsters seen only once in several thousand years.
"Especially Zhao Xuanzhen. I saw no weakness in him. At close range, he countered Wulin. At long range, he surpassed Gu Yue. Controlling Multiple Elements meant his Spiritual Realm was powerful, and his overall strength was nearly flawless.
"My personal judgment is that he is extremely likely to become the next-generation leader of the Spirit Pagoda. By then, the Spirit Pagoda may even surpass Shrek Academy and become the continent's number one Soul Master Forces."
"That's that terrifying!?"
Other than Gu Yue, everyone in Zero Class gaped.
"That is the truth." Wu Changkong nodded slightly. "After the academy break ends, I will train you even more harshly. You must also continue chasing after Zhao Xuanzhen."
"N-no extra training!!!"
Zero Class wailed miserably in the Eastsea Spirit Pagoda, while Zhao Xuanzhen and Na'er advanced deeper into the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform, searching for the guardian Leng Yaozhu had mentioned.
After defeating Tang Wulin, the king of stats, and Gu Yue, the queen of mechanics, Zhao Xuanzhen could not help feeling cheerful. So I was the Technique Emperor after all!
The Golden Silver Dragon King were nothing special. The inheritor of an Authentic Dragon was still the best!
The next second, his peak twenty-ninth-level Soul Power naturally broke through to level thirty. A black Soul Ring quietly condensed within Zhao Xuanzhen's body.
Na'er spun the Silver Dragon Spear. Though she did not want to admit it, Gu Yue's appearance had made her feel a trace of unease. She poked Zhao Xuanzhen's arm with her fingertip and tested him.
"Zhao Xuanzhen, is Gu Yue pretty?"
"A girl's appearance is not for outsiders to judge."
Zhao Xuanzhen immediately stacked his defenses. Nice try, you think I'd fall for such a clumsy scheme!
"Then which of us is prettier? You have to answer!" Na'er stamped her foot in anger.
"One of you two is very pretty."
"..."
Na'er raised her fair little fist and threatened, "You'd better mean me!"
"Whoosh—"
A powerful aura suddenly erupted in the distance, and both of them immediately restrained every inappropriate emotion.
That aura rapidly spread. The forest's light abruptly dimmed, and the cries of insects and birds in every direction fell silent.
The ground shook as a giant bear covered entirely in dark gold fur tore apart the towering ancient tree blocking its path and entered their field of vision. The giant bear stood over five meters tall, with a strong, broad back and a body as heavy as a city wall. Cold, enormous dark gold claws extended from the ends of its thick arms.
"Thousand-Year Darkgold Fearclaw Bear. There's an eighty or ninety percent chance it's the Spirit Ascension Platform guardian..."
Zhao Xuanzhen's eyes lit up slightly. The hundred-year Darkgold Fearclaw Bear had been replaced by a Thousand-Year Darkgold Fearclaw Bear, and this new guardian appeared to hold some hidden mystery!
The guardian of the Spirit Transmission Tower Headquarters' Primary Spirit Ascension Platform was also a Thousand-Year Darkgold Fearclaw Bear, so Zhao Xuanzhen had an extremely direct comparison. This Eastsea City Darkgold Fearclaw Bear's claws were thicker and sharper than those of the headquarters' guardian, shining with an imposing dark gold luster!
"One Beast Double Claws? Teacher really gave us an incredible gift..."
Zhao Xuanzhen finally understood Leng Yaozhu's intentions. No wonder she had forced them to kill the guardian!
"Screech—"
Another piercing shriek rang out as a massive single eye floated over. Four silver tentacles hung to the ground, leaving ravines in their wake. The Darkgold Fearclaw Bear was domineering and powerful, but the giant eye was even colder and more ferocious!
Thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant!
"Zhao Xuanzhen, leave the Evil Eye Tyrant to me!"
Na'er volunteered eagerly. She would naturally claim her own gift herself!
The two charged toward their respective opponents. Three Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings rose around Zhao Xuanzhen, his Third Soul Ring dazzling brightly!
Black and White Two Colors ripples spread wildly. Starting from the roots, his black hair was dyed white. His body, spirit, and Soul Power broke through their shackles, entering another realm!
Third Soul Skill, The Way of Wuji!
From powerful, to even more powerful!
Before you continue