Did Shrek Really Have Students Die?

Sun Moon Academy.

Xu Tinglan stood bare-chested in the forging room, his well-proportioned, muscular body exposed to the air.

The deadline for setting out for Star Luo City was drawing closer by the day.

With only this little time left,

Xu Tinglan could not even be bothered to join the team's practice sessions. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to the critical push toward Spirit Forging.

After undergoing multiple reforgings, the Soul Tool Armor [Mountain and Sea Heaven-Bearing]

was now mostly made of Thousand-Forged metal. When fully activated, it could raise his strength to the peak of the Soul Emperor realm.

During his match with Ma Rulong, he had not brought out this armor's true power at all.

Thousand-Forged Armor

had another name in later generations: One-Word Battle Armor.

But if Spirit Forging was used, its effects would only be stronger.

Although the minimum requirement for using a Spirit Forged Soul Tool was a Soul Emperor,

Xu Tinglan was confident that, with the Black Tortoise Abyssal Descent state and his own vitality, he could use a Spirit Forged Soul Tool despite falling short of that level!

After securing his place on the Sun Moon Team,

Xu Tinglan spent only one shichen meditating each day, pouring all his remaining energy into forging.

He had practically reached the point of forgetting food and sleep.

Ever since his martial soul awakened at the age of six and his physical fitness improved drastically, he had begun experimenting with metal forging.

Thanks to the attributes of his Mysterious Underworld Turtle—earth and water giving rise to metal—Xu Tinglan possessed an exceptional talent for metal forging.

He had never slackened in all these years.

After receiving Kong Deming's guidance, his understanding of metals advanced by leaps and bounds.

What Kong Deming pursued was actually Heaven Forging, Human-Tool Unity, and forging laws into Soul Tools.

Xu Tinglan, meanwhile, advanced one step at a time.

He removed impurities from metal, attempting to build a bridge between his martial soul and the metal and grant it spirituality.

Xu Tinglan swung his forging hammers.

His Soul Power communicated with the metal, while his heart and mind fused with it.

A mass of bright silver light gathered.

The sound of ocean tides and the heaviness of rock manifested themselves within the Deep Sea Silver.

Spirit Forging could be attempted starting from the Soul Ancestor realm.

Now that he was already a Soul King, both his Soul Power and life force far surpassed those of ordinary people.

He also did not need to worry about lacking stamina or the connection between his martial soul and the rare metal breaking.

Xu Tinglan completely immersed himself in the world of Deep Sea Silver.

His right hand rose high, and a hammer came crashing down!

The feel and experience cultivated through countless rare metals gave him the best possible support at the crucial moment of forging.

In the era of Legend of the Dragon King ten thousand years later,

why did great families have such high success rates in training Spirit Forgers? Precisely because they had enough resources to throw at it!

And as Kong Deming's adopted son, Xu Tinglan naturally did not lack rare metals.

Ink-blue light shot into the sky,

and splendid radiance surged forth!

The most critical moment had arrived.

He spat a mouthful of blood onto the metal.

With both hammers in hand, he brought them down fiercely.

Ten Thousand Forging Life Creation!

"Boom!"

The sound of ocean tides receded, and a streak of ink-blue light soared into the heavens.

The phantom of a Black Tortoise drifted within it.

This head-sized piece of metal gave off a strange sensation. It was like a living creature, radiating hazy vitality.

The Deep Sea Silver had shed its silver color, its entire surface now covered in ink-blue patterns.

The original meteorite veins had vanished without a trace, replaced by the armor patterns of a Black Tortoise.

Holding it in his hand, Xu Tinglan even felt a bloodline connection to it.

A relieved, relaxed smile appeared on his face.

"Let's call you Black Tortoise Gold."

With a thought,

the piece of Black Tortoise Gold merged into his right hand.

The key to Spirit Forging lay in the essence blood that was continuously dripped into the metal during the forging process.

It completely sealed in the metal's spirituality.

From then on, it possessed characteristics utterly similar to, yet distinct from, a Soul Bone.

Thousand Forging fixed the metal's form once the forging was complete, making further changes difficult.

Spirit Forging was different.

As Spirit Forged metal absorbed more energy, its quality could continuously improve.

Every Spirit Forger could use the same metal yet forge it into entirely different forms.

He checked the time. Less than ten days remained before the competition began.

Time was pressing.

"Reforging Mountain and Sea Heaven-Bearing from scratch definitely won't be possible. I can only try making a sword first."

"That works too. After all, my weakness is my offensive power."

"Although my Fifth Soul Skill is formidable, it needs time to charge."

"Making a Spirit Forged Sword couldn't be more suitable for increasing my combat strength."

Weapons were also part of Battle Armor. Usually, the first pieces made were the Heart Protector Mirror or Arm Armor.

Xu Tinglan had confidence in his own defenses, which was why he chose a weapon.

"Shrek's students, I have waited a very long time for this day."

The youth put on his clothes and swept his sleeve through the air, his garments billowing like clouds.

His cuffs snapped in the wind like spread wings, carrying the high spirits unique to youth.

Xu Tinglan had never understood.

In the eyes of those people at Shrek,

herbs and medicinal pills were not external aids, nor were Soul Rings and Soul Bones.

So why was it that when it came to Soul Tools, they became external aids they refused to rely on?

But had you cultivated your own Soul Rings and Soul Bones?

The atmosphere at Shrek's Sea God Pavilion was tense.

On the way to Star Luo City, the Shrek Seven Devils had carried out a mission, resulting in the horrific outcome of one dead and six seriously injured.

Yao Haoxuan had been left without even a corpse.

Gongyang Mo had lost both legs, while Chen Zifeng had lost his left arm. Both were left permanently disabled.

Xixi had been gravely injured and was on the brink of death. She had been urgently sent back to Shrek.

The remaining three had all suffered serious injuries.

Mu En looked over the report, his expression darkening somewhat.

"I'm making the decision this time!"

"All Inner Court disciples must go to the Soul Tool Department and have at least two Soul Tools custom-made for them—one for flight and one for defense!"

At those words, a trace of delight appeared on Xian Lin'er's face.

The deaths of Inner Court disciples were certainly regrettable, but what did they have to do with her?

They were all disciples of the Martial Soul Department.

Originally, this year's main team had included a Soul Engineer from her side.

Unfortunately, that person had been pushed out by the captain, Ma Xiaotao.

If there had been a Soul Engineer present, this mission would never have ended so tragically.

With just a few Invincible Barriers, no one would have died!

It was not as though Shrek did not have such things.

Even the Dou Ling Empire, the nation with the weakest national strength, bought more than a dozen every year to prepare for its students.

At that thought, Xian Lin'er

could not even be bothered to needle Yan Shaozhe.

As for Ma Xiaotao's actions in ostracizing a teammate, she would never believe that the sanctimonious man had not encouraged it behind the scenes.

Yan Shaozhe was truly panicking.

He had suppressed the Soul Tool Department for so many years. How could he allow Xian Lin'er an opportunity to catch her breath?

What did he care if more people died?

Xuan Zi could take the blame!

At that moment,

Yan Shaozhe no longer addressed Mu En as Pavilion Master. He tried another approach, hoping to draw closer to the old man.

"Teacher, shouldn't we reconsider this?"

Mu En glared at him furiously.

"How many more Inner Court disciples have to die before you change?"

"My decision is final!"

"If you remain this stubborn and refuse to change, then stop being dean!"

The old man's anger caused the entire Sea God Pavilion to fluctuate with his emotions.

Seeing this,

no matter how dissatisfied Yan Shaozhe felt inside, he did not dare argue. He could only agree respectfully.

Xian Lin'er, meanwhile, wore the smile of a victor.

Only a few students had died.

Did they really care?

Not many people would even learn of this matter. Even within Shrek, no one would dare risk grave disrespect by leaking the news.

Since that was the case,

had any students really died?

It seemed not.