Wang Yan reassured the students,
saying that Teacher Zhou Yi had just been a little emotional lately, and that she still hoped to get along well with everyone, and so on.
The students below sat in silence,
anyone could tell that was a lie.
Wang Yan cleared his throat. He knew his words weren't convincing, and they weren't true, either.
He brought the conversation back on track with a few words.
"All right,"
"But in any case,"
"Congratulations on officially becoming first-year students in the Outer Academy of Shrek Academy!"
The students below couldn't help feeling energized.
That was right.
They had all come out on top in two rounds of competition,
and when it came to talent and strength, they were the cream of their generation!
"But,"
Wang Yan's expression turned serious.
"Don't let your guard down. Assessments like this will take place every year for the next six years..."
The atmosphere beneath the podium grew solemn again.
The students looked serious, but neither weighed down nor pessimistic.
"The promotion standards after fourth year are rather complicated. Soul Power, Soul Fighting points, and other criteria all have to meet the requirements. But for now, we're still first-years."
"The standard for moving from first year to second year is reaching level twenty."
Everyone already knew this standard.
It was no secret.
For students who had passed the Freshman Assessment, it wasn't very high.
Quite a few people below were already Second Ring Soul Masters, and some were even Third Ring.
"There are still eight months left in this semester,"
Wang Yan reminded them.
"I hope everyone can pass the second-year entrance assessment without a hitch."
Shrek had one semester each year, and each semester lasted eleven months. The twelfth month was vacation.
After returning, students had to take a promotion exam.
Those who passed advanced to the next year; those who failed had to leave.
Next, Wang Yan explained how the courses differed from first through sixth year at Shrek Academy, and which ones were relatively important.
Whether or not it came as a surprise to Lu Ran,
Wang Yan made a point of bringing up Soul Tools.
"As everyone knows, the collision with the Sun Moon Empire four thousand years ago changed a great many things: new Martial Souls, new Soul Beasts, new technologies... and a new Soul Master system."
Under the students' gaze,
Yan Shaozhe took out a finely crafted silver Soul Tool.
It was quadrilateral, but its corners were extremely smooth, a blend of a square and a cylinder.
It was about as long as a forearm and as thick as a palm.
"This is called a Soul Tool Sprayer. It's loaded with fire-attributed gems and can spray Sulfur Flame. It's highly effective against opponents below the Third Ring, and any Soul Master can activate it."
"With one of these, support-type Soul Masters can attack or defend themselves, while close-combat Soul Masters can strike from a distance."
"Some people might say, 'So what? Soul Masters discovered the explosive power of fire-attributed gems ten thousand years ago. They could do something similar, too. The only difference is that it was weaker and had shorter range. That's no different from an ordinary weapon.'"
Wang Yan's expression was serious.
"But what I want to say is—"
"No."
"This is fundamentally different."
"All traditional weapons, including Hidden Weapons, are merely extensions of a Soul Master's power. The stronger the Soul Master, the less useful traditional weapons become. A level-thirty Soul Grandmaster can use a Godly Zhuge Crossbow to defeat a level-forty Soul Elder, but an eighty-level Soul Douluo could never use a Godly Zhuge Crossbow to defeat a ninety-level Titled Douluo."
"These weapons require practice to use, lack room for growth, and have a low ceiling..."
"Please note that I group them all under the term 'weapons,' because they can only be used on the battlefield."
"But... Soul Tools are completely different."
The students below listened intently.
Wang Yan spoke in a calm, clear voice.
"Soul Tools aren't Soul Tool weapons. They're devices. Look, the lamps above our heads aren't weapons, but they're Soul Tools. The storage ring I'm wearing isn't a weapon, either, but it's also a Soul Tool. Certainly, Soul Tools are better known for their use as weapons..."
"But they have a vast range of applications, from everyday life to the battlefield."
"Most importantly, a complete system of research has already been established, and it's still developing..."
Lu Ran understood perfectly.
To put it simply,
traditional weapons had a low ceiling. Their technology tree had reached its limit, and there was no way to advance further.
Soul Tools had a high ceiling. Their technology tree was still climbing, flourishing with every step.
Oh, no! The traditionalists were going to lose!
He couldn't help shaking his head and sighing at the end of an era.
But Wang Yan was only half right.
The future belonged to Soul Tools,
but he could never have predicted that developing Soul Tools in the future would require forging technology—
the most important foundational technology,
the kind that made all progress impossible without it.
Bet you didn't see that coming! The traditionalists were back!
The strength of the old generation!
Lu Ran felt quite gratified.
But then he thought about how Yan Shaozhe, as the head of the Martial Soul Department and Shrek Academy, had always rejected Soul Tools,
while teachers like Zhou Yi, Mu Jin, and Wang Yan were all praising them.
It felt a little like being stabbed in the back...
Wait, Yan Shaozhe himself seemed to secretly use Soul Tools, too—and an expensive Mental Amplification Soul Tool, at that...
Then there was nothing to worry about.
"What are you laughing at?"
Wu Feng, sitting beside him,
saw Lu Ran shaking his head slightly, then nodding. Her beautiful eyes narrowed.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Hahahaha! Now the Young Lord is mine!
"..."
Lu Ran silently glanced at her,
then raised his hand and lightly rapped her forehead with his knuckles.
"Ah, ow..."
Wu Feng shrank back and clutched her head, her beautiful eyes wide.
"Huff, huff..."
She looked ready to start hissing at any moment.
"The future of Soul Tools is boundless. You're all students of the Martial Soul Department, but I still hope you'll take elective courses in Soul Tools."
"Learn the most basic principles of making and using them."
Wang Yan spoke sincerely,
and he truly meant it.
He believed that Shrek and even the Douluo Three Kingdoms were stagnating in their ways, and that sooner or later they would fall to the Sun Moon Empire.
That aside,
Soul Tools ranged from level one to level nine, just as Soul Masters ranged from the First Ring to the Ninth Ring.
Their combat strength could be matched against each other.
But once a Soul Tool was made, it could be put away. If stored and maintained properly, it could last for a hundred years or more.
And in a hundred years, ninety-nine percent of the Soul Masters in Shrek and the three kingdoms would be dead.
The Sun Moon Empire could win just by dragging things out.
What's more, the Sun Moon Empire had never stopped advancing.
In the future, they might even develop Soul Tools capable of contending with Limit Douluo.
As for Soul Engineers needing extremely high Spiritual Power, that was true. A group of first-years had hardly any Spiritual Power—some barely had any Soul Power, either. That was true as well.
But the requirements for making a level-one Soul Tool weren't high.
That should be no problem, right?
The Soul Guidance Department,
the gray teaching building, second floor.
About fifty students sat quietly in a large classroom, split evenly between boys and girls, all wearing the same green uniform.
A young female teacher with copper-colored skin and a high brown ponytail
stood at the podium. Her clear voice echoed around the classroom.
"Soul Tools have a wide variety of uses. According to their function, they can be divided into attack-type, defense-type, support-type, fixed-type..."
Below,
Huo Yuhao unconsciously clenched his fists.
No wonder Teacher Fan Yu thinks so highly of me. It's because I have a Mental Attribute!
This is what I'm good at... This is what I'm meant to do!
In his deep-blue eyes,
the scene of him blasting the Duke's Mansion to pieces with Fixed Soul Guidance Cannonballs slowly appeared.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help grinning, revealing a row of white teeth.
This is... This is just amazing!
Before you continue