Xu Yuan's Ambition

Five?

Xu Yuan sighed inwardly.

The battle had gone on for so long. Though he and Ye Xinglan could continuously recover physically, their mental exhaustion was impossible to stop.

Although Xu Lizhi had not fought, he had been constantly making Big Meat Buns, which also consumed Soul Power.

The food made by Food-Type Soul Masters was also effective on themselves, and some could even enjoy a hundred percent of its effects.

Xu Lizhi could benefit from his own Big Meat Buns, and he could even gain positive returns.

In other words, the Soul Power restored after eating one exceeded the Soul Power spent to make it.

Though this seemed to violate conservation of energy, that was only when looking at Xu Lizhi's own Soul Power expenditure and recovery. Making Big Meat Buns consumed Heaven and Earth Origin Qi.

Rather than saying that the energy within the Big Meat Buns used to restore Soul Power and stamina was Xu Lizhi's Soul Power, it was more accurate to say it was Heaven and Earth Origin Qi—or rather, a restoration mechanism.

Most of Xu Lizhi's Soul Power was used to maintain that mechanism, transforming into a unique energy that allowed the body to rapidly absorb the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi within and restore Soul Power.

"Make four Big Meat Buns. I'll eat two, and you'll eat two. You should recover some Soul Power before the next round, so try to restore enough to make three buns.

"Ye Xinglan hasn't fully digested what she just ate yet. In this battle, focus on digesting the previous energy at full capacity and recover as quickly as possible."

In the eleventh match, Xu Yuan fought one against three and passed.

In the twelfth match, Xu Yuan and Ye Xinglan faced the enemy together and passed.

In the thirteenth match, Ye Xinglan helped Xu Yuan eliminate one opponent in the first half, then began recovering. Xu Yuan fought one against two and passed.

In the fourteenth match, Xu Lizhi squeezed out enough Soul Power to make only one Big Meat Bun, which he gave to Xu Yuan. Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi each stepped forward to hold off one enemy, giving Xu Yuan a one-on-one opportunity. After swiftly dealing with his opponent, he took care of Xu Lizhi's enemy, then joined forces with Ye Xinglan to defeat the final opponent.

With fourteen victories in total, Xu Yuan and the other two received full marks.

After leaving the Soul Arena, Wang Hao and the others did not rush to take Xu Yuan's group to the next assessment.

The three each entered meditation, recovering their exhausted minds.

Only after giving them a full half hour did Wang Hao speak and interrupt their recovery.

"All right. Next, you will undergo the ninth assessment."

The ninth assessment tested one's character.

Xu Yuan and the other two would still proceed as a team.

They entered a virtual platform simulating the Star Dou Great Forest.

"There's no danger around us. Let's continue recovering first," Xu Yuan suggested.

The exhaustion from their fourteen consecutive battles had not fully faded. Since circumstances permitted it, they naturally had to recover first.

"Although we're tired, the last stage really pushed us to our limits. It was extremely effective in improving our combat skills. Go over the details of those battles," Xu Yuan reminded Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan nodded. The coldness she had felt toward Xu Yuan was gone.

She had known Xu Lizhi since childhood. She thought Xu Lizhi was too fat and disapproved of him eating too much. Yet Xu Yuan had immediately taught Xu Lizhi an Ultimate Art that supposedly let him eat even more, which had made her dissatisfied.

Furthermore, she had felt that something was off at the time and believed Xu Yuan was deceiving the little glutton.

But after experiencing a battle with him, she instead realized the benefits of Xu Yuan's Heaven Devouring Earth Eating Great Art.

If they had not been unfamiliar with each other, and if she had had something to offer in exchange, she would have wanted to learn that Ultimate Art from Xu Yuan as well.

After resting in the distance for a full two hours, Xu Yuan and the other two had fully recovered.

"Let's go. It's time to explore this place."

Staying where they were was not a solution.

Just as the three were about to move, two fluctuations of Soul Power suddenly entered their perception.

Strangely, despite the powerful Soul Power fluctuations, all three unanimously decided to investigate.

They arrived at a valley and cautiously observed the situation within from outside.

"Two powerful Soul Beasts are fighting. Based on what I know, one of them is a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. The aura it's giving off is terrifying. I don't know whether it's a Ten-Thousand-Year or Thousand-Year Soul Beast, but I'm leaning toward Thousand-Year. After all, a Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear is comparable to a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and its destructive power should be greater than this one's."

A Thousand-Year Soul Beast, but definitely not one that had only just reached a thousand years.

Xu Yuan's attention was on the other Soul Beast.

"Emperor Rui Beast Three-Eyed Golden Lion!"

Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan were greatly shocked.

They had not expected the two sides fighting below to be such rare and powerful Soul Beasts. Moreover, the Emperor Rui Beast was a legendary Soul Beast.

The three observed for a full hour. The two super Soul Beasts seemed to bear a deep grudge against each other, fighting with the intent to kill until they finally perished together.

They approached the corpses of the two super Soul Beasts.

"Soul Bones!"

Xu Yuan's gaze sharpened as he looked at the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's right claw.

Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan's breathing also quickened.

Before the three had entered, Wang Hao had told them that this place was similar to the previous Beast Arena and Soul Arena, but also different. The Soul Beasts inside were real. If they needed Soul Rings, they could directly absorb the Soul Rings of the Soul Beasts here. If Soul Bones dropped, they could even absorb and fuse them.

Everything could be taken out!

On its right claw, this clearly would not be one of the usual six Soul Bones, but an External Soul Bone!

The three breathed even faster.

Xu Yuan calmed down and said to the two, "Don't rush. Let's look at the situation first."

He also had the thought of claiming the Soul Bone for himself, but he felt that there was something inappropriate about it. This was, after all, an assessment.

"Special super Soul Beasts like the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion have an extremely high chance of leaving behind Soul Bones after death. Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bears mostly produce Dark Gold Terror Claws. As for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion..."

Xu Yuan looked toward the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's head.

The Heaven Origin Spear stabbed down.

A thread of rose-gold light bloomed.

There was one!

"Two Soul Bones, but we have three people. How do we divide them?" Xu Lizhi looked at Xu Yuan.

Among the three of them, Xu Yuan was the strongest. In the end, Xu Yuan had the final say in how they would be distributed.

Ye Xinglan could not defeat Xu Yuan. Though they had never fought, the assessments in the seventh and eighth stages had made this very clear to Xu Lizhi.

If Xu Yuan wanted to monopolize both Soul Bones, they would not agree.

Xu Yuan frowned and thought for a long time.

"I can forgo the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's Soul Bone. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's skull bone will be mine."

Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi breathed sighs of relief.

What they feared most was Xu Yuan monopolizing both Soul Bones.

The fusion requirements for a Dark Gold Terror Claw are terrifyingly high. I probably shouldn't even think of fusing it before Level 50, Xu Yuan thought.

As for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's skull bone, its effects were the best.

Without realizing it, Xu Yuan had been guided into overlooking many memories. He had also believed Wang Hao's earlier words completely, subconsciously considering even the illogical parts reasonable.

To be honest, the Dark Gold Terror Claw did not fit Xu Yuan's plans for his own combat system.

Even if he claimed it, he would not absorb it himself, and there was no way he could absorb it in the short term.

He might as well give the Soul Bone to Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi. The two of them were quite talented, after all. In the original work, they were also part of this generation's Shrek Seven Devils. In the future, they could serve as the foundation of his Xu Yuan's faction...

Some readers think this is a drop in intelligence, or wonder whether the protagonist shouldn't know the truth.

Wasn't this foreshadowed earlier?

Shrek definitely used this kind of assessment more than once. The Spirit Pagoda's Hall of Heroes, or families with Titled Douluo, would surely know about it, right? If they explained everything clearly to the younger generation in advance, what sort of human nature could they possibly observe?

So there had to be Illusion Arts ensuring that those who knew everything would temporarily fail to think of it, while also guiding them into believing that the Soul Bones inside could be taken out.

Personally, I think that is more reasonable.