Spring passed and winter came. Under Mu Ye and Wu Zhangkong's tutelage, Class Zero's first-year students grew stronger and stronger.
In the blink of an eye, nearly three years had passed, and only one month remained before the Eastsea Grand Competition.
"Reporting to the Temple Master: five of the eight members of Class Zero, counting Long Yue, have now broken through to the three-ring level."
"Among them, Yuan'en Yehui and Gu Yue have already reached nearly Soul Power Level 37."
"Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan had low Soul Power Levels when they enrolled, so their Soul Power is at Level 29."
"Xu Xiaoyan's Star Staff Martial Soul is still somewhat unstable."
"As for Tang Wulin, because he's limited by Blue Silver Grass, his Soul Power is also at Level 29."
"Long Yue, who has the greatest talent, has already broken through to four rings."
"He's only a hair's breadth away from becoming a Five-Ring Soul King."
Wu Zhangkong gave the War God Temple Master a detailed report.
Xie An looked over the information in the report and nodded.
A lot had changed over the past three years.
Now and then, people had tried to enter Eastsea Academy, but Mu Ye had driven them off with his red Mecha.
Over the past three years, under Wu Zhangkong and Mu Ye's instruction, Class Zero's abilities had improved by leaps and bounds.
First, Wu Zhangkong's practical combat training had given every member of Class Zero a wealth of battle experience.
Second, every member of Class Zero had received guidance from Mu Ye.
Under Mu Ye, a master of the human body, each student's physical condition had become far superior to that of Soul Masters at the same level.
Tang Wulin, in particular, had received special treatment from Mu Ye.
His abundant Blood Essence had given Mu Ye the idea of recruiting him into the Body Sect.
Mu Ye had spared no expense, pouring precious medicinal herbs into Tang Wulin.
With the herbs' help, Tang Wulin had now broken through his second Blood Essence seal.
He had already gained his first golden Blood Essence Soul Ring.
Xie An nodded in satisfaction.
"I'll find a way to stabilize Xu Xiaoyan's Star Staff."
"Zhangkong, what else do you think these children need to do to guarantee victory over Shrek?"
Wu Zhangkong gave a wry smile.
"Temple Master, if you ask me, they're already fully capable of defeating Shrek Academy."
"I've looked at the students who'll be competing. Only Wu Siduo and Ye Xinglan pose any real threat."
"Wu Siduo may have broken through to four rings, and might even possess a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, but Long Yue can handle her."
"Even that child Gu Yue could defeat her."
"The others are geniuses too, but they're nothing to worry about."
As he spoke, Wu Zhangkong couldn't help praising the Temple Master for somehow gathering such a remarkable group of young people.
Every one of them had the potential to become a Limit Douluo.
Xie An gave a soft laugh.
"Since you say so, I'm relieved."
"But they still need to be tested. If I remember correctly, the Spirit Ascension Platform is about to enter its period of unrest."
"Send Long Yue to the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform alone. The others will take part in the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform's period of unrest."
"Yes, Temple Master."
Wu Zhangkong nodded in agreement.
"..."
The entire first-year Class Zero was brought to the Spirit Pagoda.
The cold metal hatch of the Spirit Ascension Platform slid open, and a dense surge of spiritual power and spatial fluctuations poured out.
Soon, the seven members of Class Zero other than Long Yue entered the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform's hatches one after another, while Long Yue entered the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform alone.
Before they went in, Wu Zhangkong gave them a few instructions.
"Do your best to raise your Soul Ring ages and improve your own abilities."
The hatches slowly closed. When they opened their eyes again, they had appeared in separate parts of a dense forest.
Gu Yue adapted first, curiously looking around at the place where she had been transported.
She had entered many times before, but that did nothing to lessen her fondness for the place.
The air was filled with the forest's distinctive scents: fragrant plants, shadowy trees, and damp earth. It was just like being in the Star Dou Forest.
"If I could control the High-level Spirit Ascension Platform, could I use some special method to control powerful human Soul Masters?"
After killing several Spirit Beasts and raising her Soul Ring age again, a frightening idea came to Gu Yue.
But she quickly shook her head. It was far too soon to think about such things.
Gu Yue shook her head, briefly sensed her surroundings, then headed toward Tang Wulin.
Several Wind Baboons tried to attack Gu Yue, but ice spikes struck their vital points one after another, killing them outright.
Elsewhere, Tang Wulin wandered aimlessly through the forest.
Perhaps it was a connection of their hearts, or perhaps something else. In any case, he happened to run into Na'er, who had entered the platform too.
When Na'er saw Tang Wulin, she was overjoyed and called out at once.
"Brother!"
The two exchanged a glance and smiled, then naturally took each other's hands.
During their three years of training, Tang Wulin and Na'er had developed an exceptional rapport.
Blue Silver Grass vines wrapped around Na'er's waist, while she gripped the Silver Dragon Spear in her hand.
During their practical combat training, Tang Wulin had discovered that when his vines wrapped around an ally, they gave that person a boost.
As Xie Xie put it, after Tang Wulin wrapped him up, it felt as if he had an endless supply of strength.
This boost was especially pronounced for Dragon-type Martial Souls.
With Tang Wulin's boost, a faint golden glow shone from the silver-white tip of Na'er's Silver Dragon Spear.
As they continued to work together, it was as if they could read each other's minds.
One took the lead in attacking, while the other provided support and control.
The Silver Dragon Spear flashed up and down, leaving behind nothing but Spirit Beast corpses.
Tang Wulin swung his vines, continually killing the Spirit Beasts that tried to ambush Na'er from either side.
The bodies of the Spirit Beasts piled up on the ground.
A few points of light emerged from the corpses and entered Tang Wulin and Na'er, subtly raising the ages of their Soul Rings.
The two of them thrived in the Spirit Ascension Platform.
"..."
Xie An and Wu Zhangkong stood together before the Spirit Ascension Platform's screens, watching everyone's performance.
A staff member stood quietly and respectfully behind them, waiting for instructions.
Seeing Na'er and Tang Wulin work together so seamlessly, Xie An nodded in satisfaction,
then shifted his gaze from Tang Wulin's screen to the others.
Yuan'en Yehui's Titan Giant Ape Martial Soul unleashed tremendous power as she fought her way through the rampaging Spirit Ascension Platform.
Xu Xiaoyan relied on her keen senses to avoid groups of Spirit Beasts, picking off stragglers instead.
Dai Yun'er's Twin Martial Souls lived up to their name. Her Hell Spirit Cat granted her incredible speed, while her Spirit Eyes gave her powerful spiritual strength.
As she moved swiftly, she could also rely on her Spirit Eyes to sense danger in advance and avoid it.
Xie Xie was more or less like Xu Xiaoyan.
Xie An sighed to himself. Without the Space-Time Dragon, Xie Xie really couldn't measure up to the others.
As for the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform, Xie An had no worries at all.
Long Yue was now a four-ring Soul Master, and the advantage of his top-tier Mountain Dragon King Martial Soul was beginning to show.
As soon as he released a little of his aura, weaker Spirit Beasts would immediately prostrate themselves, while the stronger ones fled into the distance.
To kill Spirit Beasts, Long Yue had to deliberately restrain his Martial Soul.
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