Wu Sidu

While Wang Chuan marveled at the Spirit Pagoda's immense wealth and willingness to invest, he also felt quite satisfied.

This was the kind of magnanimity and vision a major organization should possess!

Identify potential, spare no cost in early investment, provide unreserved support, and ask for no immediate return, waiting only for the talent to grow and give back to the organization in the future.

Only this model could build a truly solid sense of belonging and identification.

In contrast, he thought of the "work-study student system" at Shrek Academy, which was so highly praised in the original work.

And the task models of the Tang Sect, which appeared to be tests but were actually just a means to secure cheap labor.

He found them difficult to understand, even somewhat laughable.

Shrek Academy let geniuses work as work-study students, euphemistically calling it "tempering one's character" and "experiencing the bottom of society," saving the academy a massive amount of resources while still expecting the geniuses to be grateful to the academy.

In the original work, Tang Wulin and the others risked their lives for Shrek Academy time and again, even participating in its reconstruction. Yet, every "opportunity" they gained was something they had to fight for with their own lives, earned by completing arduous tasks.

During this process, Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect mostly provided an "opportunity" or a "channel," and often benefited from it themselves!

So, where were the substantive, unconditional early investments?

On one hand, they let geniuses scramble for survival and points to improve; on the other, they used grand ideals and sentimentality to bind them, demanding gratitude and loyalty.

To Wang Chuan, this model looked more like a combination of shrewd calculation and emotional kidnapping, rather than something truly centered on cultivation.

"An organization has grace only if it first makes tangible contributions without counting short-term returns."

"Otherwise, it is just an equivalent exchange, or even an unequal employment relationship. How can one speak of grace and righteousness?"

Wang Chuan pondered to himself.

This was also one of the important reasons why he had firmly chosen the Spirit Pagoda and kept his distance from Shrek Academy.

The Spirit Pagoda also had its internal struggles and calculations.

But at least in terms of cultivating him—one of their own—it currently appeared to be sincere, simple, and direct.

Give enough resources, support silently, and wait for you to grow.

This clear and straightforward model made Wang Chuan feel more reliable, and it made him more willing to repay this "investment" in the future.

He put his thoughts aside.

Wang Chuan turned his gaze back to the forging table.

The clamor brought by the ranking would eventually pass.

The true foundation...

Still lay in the constant improvement of his own strength.

Looking at the brown-haired girl with a temperament as cold as frost who had taken the initiative to challenge him, a trace of helplessness rose in Wang Chuan's heart, though it was mostly confusion.

Wu Duosi.

She came from Star Luo City and was hailed as a once-in-a-century genius of Star Luo. She possessed twin martial souls and even a rare self-contained Martial Soul Fusion Skill, ranking eleventh on the newly released Youth Wind and Cloud Ranking.

Normally, challengers would prefer to challenge opponents ranked immediately above them, climbing step by step to test their own limits.

Skipping the top nine to challenge him, the top-ranked, was truly puzzling.

"I remember, you are currently ranked eleventh on the Youth Wind and Cloud Ranking, right?"

Wang Chuan asked straight to the point, his tone calm.

"Why did you come to challenge me directly?"

"By order, shouldn't you start from the tenth place?"

Standing before him, although Wu Duosi was only nine years old and her stature had not yet fully developed, there was already a coldness and composure in her brows that surpassed her age.

Hearing this, she looked at Wang Chuan calmly, her voice like ice beads falling onto a jade plate.

"Those ranked ahead of me are mostly between sixteen and eighteen years old, with soul power levels reaching the five-ring or even six-ring stage."

"With my current strength, my chances of winning against them are slim."

Wang Chuan nodded slightly, suddenly realizing.

He had overlooked the age span of the Youth Wind and Cloud Ranking.

The upper limit of eighteen meant that the top positions on the list were likely occupied by "older" geniuses who had practiced longer and were in a period of rapid soul power growth.

The gap in soul power accumulation caused by age was particularly obvious between the ages of eleven and eighteen.

Even if Wu Duosi was gifted and possessed powerful trump cards like twin martial souls and a self-contained Martial Soul Fusion Skill, trying to defeat opponents two or three major ranks higher was almost a pipe dream.

After all, although her self-contained Martial Soul Fusion Skill was immensely powerful, the consumption of soul power was borne entirely by her alone, creating a natural weakness in prolonged battles.

"Then what is your current cultivation?"

Wang Chuan asked accordingly.

"Three-Ring Soul Venerable."

Wu Duosi answered crisply.

"But I recall that the data on the Youth Wind and Cloud Ranking should have also noted my cultivation level..."

"Four-Ring Soul Ancestor."

The look of curiosity in Wang Chuan's eyes deepened.

"Since I was able to parachute into the top spot with Four-Ring cultivation, it is enough to show that the judges believe my comprehensive strength can suppress the Five-Ring and Six-Ring geniuses behind me."

"I am very curious, where does this confidence... or perhaps courage, of yours to challenge me come from?"

Wu Duosi looked straight at Wang Chuan, a rare expression of seriousness appearing on her cold, clear face.

"I know your strength must be very high."

"But looking at the entire ranking, among those of similar age to me, you are the only one ahead of me."

She paused for a moment, then continued.

"So, I want to know..."

"Just how strong are you!"

There was one more sentence she did not say out loud.

She wanted to know exactly "what" gave Wang Chuan the right to firmly occupy the top spot on the Youth Wind and Cloud Ranking!

Everyone here was a one-in-ten-thousand genius; who didn't have the ability to fight above their rank?

Although she was only a Three-Ring Soul Venerable, relying on her twin martial souls and self-Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

Her comprehensive combat power had long surpassed an ordinary Five-Ring Soul King, and she could even contend with an average Six-Ring Soul Emperor.

And the original top-ranked, now second-ranked.

That eighteen-year-old Six-Ring Soul Emperor even had the fierce record of defeating a Seven-Ring Soul Saint and fighting an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo to a draw!

In Wu Duosi's view, fighting above one's rank was the norm among geniuses.

Even if Wang Chuan was a monster, with Four-Ring cultivation, his theoretical limit would be defeating a Six-Ring or barely holding his own against a Seven-Ring.

Could he really cross four major ranks?

She didn't believe it, and she wasn't convinced.

And this curiosity and competitive spirit drove her to directly seek out this "top-ranked" newcomer, wanting to personally weigh his worth.

"Fine."

Wang Chuan looked at the undisguised inquiry and fighting spirit in Wu Duosi's eyes and nodded.

Since the other party insisted on a fight, he would oblige.

Coincidentally, he also wanted to see just how much "gold content" the other top geniuses of this era possessed.

And as the closing disciple of the Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua.

Applying for a temporary sparring arena within the Heaven Dou City Blacksmith Association was an easy task.

The news spread, even attracting a regular at the association, Zhen Hua's friend and personal chef--

Body Sect Master Mu Ye.

This burly man, whose aura was as heavy and steady as a mountain, heard there was a show to watch—and a match involving that kid Wang Chuan, no less—so he immediately ran over with great interest to volunteer as the referee.