"You transformed again today? And you went toe-to-toe with Wu Zhangkong?"
After hearing Lan Kai recount what had happened that day, Juggler looked at him with a little more amusement in his eyes. It was hard to tell whether he was pleased with Lan Kai's performance or not.
"Yeah. Unfortunately, I'm still not strong enough, and I was too wary of the low temperatures in close combat. Otherwise, I think I might have had a chance of beating Teacher Wu if he'd gone all out."
Lan Kai answered honestly.
On the way home, he had also reviewed the battle. If there was one area where he could have done better, it was the close-combat portion in the middle.
Because he had been too wary of the low temperatures caused by Wu Zhangkong's Martial Soul and Soul Skills, Lan Kai had been reluctant to engage in close combat—so much so that he'd let fear of choking make him give up eating.
If he'd been a little bolder and acted more decisively in close combat, perhaps the battle would have ended very differently.
Still, his concern wasn't unfounded. Judging by the Ultra Warriors' performances, most of them—aside from that one Flame-Headed Warrior—weren't weak against fire, but they were weak against ice.
"Mm, you can't be blamed for that. Forget the Warriors of Light—even ordinary warriors don't do well in low-temperature environments.
"But is your current transformed strength capped at that of a six-ring Two-Word Battle Armor Master? Then you really do need special training.
"Even if your opponent's ice attribute is Ultimate Ice, you shouldn't have lost just like that."
Juggler pondered for a moment, but didn't criticize Lan Kai any further.
Even he didn't fare well in low-temperature environments.
Besides, the next form Lan Kai unlocked would most likely be the Burnmite Form, which wielded the power of the master-and-disciple pair Ultraman Taro and Ultraman Mebius.
In this world, unless Lan Kai ran into an Ultimate Ice Soul Master on the level of Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao, the man who had founded the Spirit Pagoda, there was probably no one who could freeze him in his Burnmite Form.
And as Lan Kai's strength grew, even Huo Yuhao wouldn't be able to freeze him.
Still, if they wanted Lan Kai to transform into the Burnmite Form, special training to accelerate his growth seemed like the fastest way.
Juggler also felt that Lan Kai was ready to move on to the next stage of his special training.
So when Lan Kai arrived at Class Zero the next day, he looked rather battered.
Wu Zhangkong seemed to have realized something, but said nothing. Instead, he brought the six members of Class Zero to the room where the academy tested their physical data.
The results of the tests left everyone in Class Zero astonished.
Even without transforming, Lan Kai's stats were at the very top across the board—and not just barely. He was first, with no second place, while third place lagged a hundred thousand miles behind.
The only ones whose physical data could compare with Lan Kai's were Tang Wulin's strength while using Golden Dragon Claw and Gu Yue's mental power.
"Lan Kai, come here for a moment."
After everyone had finished their physical tests, Wu Zhangkong called Lan Kai over.
"Given your current condition, would entering the Spirit Ascension Platform cause you any trouble?"
Lan Kai was taken aback. Wu Zhangkong had actually noticed the problem from his physical test data.
That was the inner court disciple of Shrek Academy for you. He was far more perceptive than that weirdo Lone Bamboo.
"It's fine. My teacher has already found a way to deal with the problem. As long as I don't cause too much of a stir in the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform and use the designated Simulation Pod, there won't be any trouble."
"Your teacher? Could it be Snake Heart Douluo? In that case, I'm not surprised...
"But can you use that designated Simulation Pod whenever you want?
"Class Zero is expected to enter the Spirit Ascension Platform once a week. If you can't use the designated Simulation Pod..."
"No problem, Teacher Wu. We just need to let them know in advance.
"Besides, Gu Yue's teacher is Heavenly Phoenix Douluo of the Spirit Pagoda. She can help too."
Lan Kai answered Wu Zhangkong's questions candidly.
"I see. The Spirit Pagoda really does move fast..."
Wu Zhangkong murmured under his breath. If Lan Kai hadn't had Ultra hearing, he wouldn't have caught what Wu Zhangkong had said.
Lan Kai didn't think much of it. It was obvious what Wu Zhangkong wanted: to recruit them into the Tang Sect.
But now that Wu Zhangkong knew he and Gu Yue were both with the Spirit Pagoda, would he still take them to experience the Tang Sect's Hall of Heroes?
Lan Kai was actually looking forward to the chance to fight the data recreations of the former Shrek Seven Devils in the Tang Sect's Hall of Heroes.
After all, who could turn down the chance to give those legendary Shrek Seven Devils a proper beating?
After several more days of lessons, the day finally came for Class Zero to head to the Spirit Pagoda for their training.
Since Wu Zhangkong already knew that Lan Kai and Gu Yue had entered the Spirit Ascension Platform once before, he explained more about it to the other members of Class Zero, giving them a better understanding of the environment inside.
Then Wu Zhangkong led the six students of Class Zero to the Spirit Pagoda in Eastsea City.
But waiting for them there were not only Long Hengxu, the director of Eastsea Academy's teaching department, but also Juggler.
"Greetings, Your Excellency Snake Heart." The moment he saw Juggler, Wu Zhangkong bowed to him.
"You must be Wu Zhangkong, Eastsea Academy's finest teacher, right? My disciple has been in your care."
Juggler seemed not to care about the formalities. He smiled in reply, then walked over to Wu Zhangkong. As they passed one another, he quietly said:
"Don't lose yourself in darkness. Otherwise, you'll never be a match for Dark Hummingbird."
Wu Zhangkong's body immediately stiffened. That title Juggler had suddenly mentioned was closely tied to Wu Zhangkong.
In truth, Wu Zhangkong had been desperate to find Dark Hummingbird.
But hardly anyone knew about this, not even at Shrek Academy.
How had Snake Heart Douluo found out?
And judging by the look of things, he even knew all about Long Bing's existence.
"Teacher Wu, what are you spacing out for? Come on..."
Seeing Wu Zhangkong standing there dazed, Long Hengxu hurriedly gave him a shove from behind. Only then did Wu Zhangkong snap out of it and lead the rest of Class Zero into the Spirit Pagoda.
Watching Wu Zhangkong's retreating figure, Juggler's expression grew even more serious.
"Yan Yu, contact Vice Pagoda Master Leng. Send me all the information from the past five years related to the Four Dark Heavenly Kings."
"Yes!"
Before you continue