Skywater, Divine Wind, and Blazing Academy: The Three Elemental Academies (2)

Skywater Academy's arrival instantly balanced out Blue Tyrant Academy's overwhelming male-to-female ratio.

After walking for less than two hours,

Blue Tyrant Academy's and Skywater Academy's soul-hunting teams successfully crossed the Star Dou Mountain Range.

However, judging by their numbers, they should have been called a soul-hunting corps. Blue Tyrant Academy had over fifty people, while Skywater Academy had its dean, Shui Feng, along with three Soul Emperor teachers. Together, the group was nearing sixty strong.

One Titled Douluo hidden in the shadows: Dugu Bo.

Two exceptionally combat-capable Soul Douluo: Liu Erlong and Shui Feng.

Three Soul Sages: Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Shao Xin.

And a whole group of Soul Emperor teachers.

"With a lineup like this, I'd believe it even if you said we were hunting eighty- or ninety-thousand-year soul beasts..." Shui Feng did not know about Dugu Bo, just as Dugu Bo did not know about the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King flying overhead. Though her teasing reflected her true thoughts, her perspective was still somewhat limited. "Erlong, you've been hiding things well. When did your Blue Tyrant Academy recruit three Soul Sage teachers? One of them is even a food-type Soul Sage?"

The upper limit of support-system soul masters was universally acknowledged to be low.

Among all support-system soul masters, food-type soul masters were recognized as having the lowest ceiling.

Ninety-nine percent of food-type soul masters were stuck around rank thirty or forty, and rarely surpassed rank fifty. Only those food-type soul masters with extraordinary talent could become the exceedingly rare Soul Emperor or Soul Sage.

Throughout the history of the Douluo Continent, not a single food-type Titled Douluo had ever appeared. Even food-type Soul Douluo had last appeared more than three thousand years ago.

A food-type Soul Sage was a prized treasure.

Even Spirit Hall would scramble to recruit one.

A teacher Blue Tyrant Academy had, but even Heaven Dou Royal Academy did not?

Sisters were supposed to be heart-to-heart, yet she was playing games with her sister?

Liu Erlong was rather troubled by this matter as well.

This was not humblebragging.

It was a problem with her personal relationships.

However, in front of Flender, Yu Xiaogang, Qin Ming, Dai Mubai, and the rest of Shrek's group, she could not conveniently tell her close friend Shui Feng the truth.

She could only offer a few vague replies, then gave Shui Feng a look that said, "I'll come find you tonight," postponing the matter until that evening.

There was nothing much to say about the process of obtaining soul rings.

Kill soul beasts → absorb soul rings → continue hunting soul beasts.

If there was anything worth mentioning, it was the shock of Skywater's group and Shrek's group. Their mouths had practically remained open from the moment they first opened them.

"A hundred-year first ring is only natural."

"Why is the second ring already a thousand-year ring?"

"A five-thousand-year third ring? Six thousand years?"

"And there's even someone absorbing a seven-thousand-two-hundred-year ring?"

Other than Blue Tyrant Academy's students, everyone looked like they had never seen the world before. Even Dugu Bo, hidden in the shadows, was deeply shaken. Yu Xiaogang was even more unable to comprehend it, tearing up his manuscript. "Following this pattern, shouldn't the fourth ring be over ten thousand years?"

Ning Rongrong, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and the others who understood the Stellar Martial Path thought even further ahead, their thoughts racing like runaway alpacas.

"What he said... couldn't be true, could it?" Xiao Wu immediately recalled that miserable day a week ago, a day that had felt like falling into hell. Holding Ning Rongrong's hand, she whispered, "Could he really absorb a 100,000-Year Soul Ring without needing anyone to sacrifice themselves?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Half annoyed and half sympathetic, Ning Rongrong tapped Xiao Wu's forehead. She looked at Ye Qingcang walking at the front of all the students. The golden vertical sword insignia gleamed brilliantly against his black-and-gold cloak, impossibly conspicuous, like sunlight piercing the night. "How about I go ask him for you? See whether he's still interested in you?"

"You're awful!" Xiao Wu jumped in fright, only realizing afterward that Ning Rongrong was teasing her. She slapped Ning Rongrong's arm irritably, then looked at the students whose second rings were thousand-year rings and whose third rings neared ten thousand years. Her voice gained a hint of melancholy. "At this rate, the fourth rings will start at ten thousand years, the fifth at thirty thousand, the sixth at fifty thousand, and the seventh at seventy thousand. There might even be eighty-thousand-year, ninety-thousand-year, or even hundred-thousand-year soul beasts that end up tragically falling to human hands..."

"So, you've never eaten grass?" Ye Qingcang's voice suddenly sounded in Xiao Wu's mind, transmitted directly to her ears. "Tang San's mother is Blue Silver Emperor A Yin. Humans at least let soul beasts live for tens of thousands of years. But you? You've eaten countless little Blue Silver Grass plants that had lived less than a year, in an even crueler fashion. Does that count as them tragically falling to your hands?"

Xiao Wu stumbled and fell to the ground.

She nearly dragged Ning Rongrong down with her.

"Xiao Wu!" Tang San, who had been focused on Xiao Wu the entire time, immediately noticed her fall. He cried out in alarm and rushed over to help her up.

However, Xiao Wu did not want to touch Tang San.

She waved her hand, indicating that she was fine.

Brushing the dust from her knees, she stood back up.

It was not exactly directed at Tang San. Right now, she did not dare trust anyone. Compared with Tang San, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar, she was more willing to speak with close friends she got along with daily, such as Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing. Even dealing with Violet, or even wandering around in front of Ye Qingcang, that tiger, only meant worrying about her own life.

She, Xiao Wu, would never be foolish enough to help someone count the money after they sold her!

Xiao Wu silently swore.

She looked exactly like an old general on an opera stage, with every kind of flag planted behind her back.

"The area ahead is where Enchanting Spirits live."

"According to the optimal soul ring age chart, the first soul ring should be four hundred and twenty-three years, the second should be seven hundred and sixty-four years, and the third should be one thousand seven hundred and sixty years. As for the fourth soul ring, its age range has been broadened to between three thousand and five thousand years."

Before reaching the Enchanting Spirits' habitat, Huo Wushuang carefully explained things to his younger sister, Huo Wu. He glanced at Feng Xiaotian, who was fussing over her in flustered concern, then at Huo Wu, who remained unmoved, and sighed deeply. "Enchanting Spirits are special soul beasts born from Elemental Spirit Mines. Their exact attribute depends on the attribute of the Elemental Spirit Mine that gave birth to them. They are immune to damage from their corresponding element. Little sister, since your martial soul is Fire Shadow, you should choose a three-thousand- to five-thousand-year Fire Enchanting Spirit. But Fire Enchanting Spirits are immune to fire. Let Xiaotian make a move—his wind blades can effectively damage a Fire Enchanting Spirit..."

Feng Xiaotian silently gave Huo Wushuang a thumbs-up.

Huo Wushuang was not pleased by the praise at all.

Instead, his face was filled with faint sorrow.

I know you're praising me, but do I need your praise?

Brother, get a grip on the situation, will you?

I'm setting you up so you can perform, so you can show yourself off in front of my sister Huo Wu—not so you can show her how close you are with me, her future brother-in-law!

Why can't you get the hint?!

"No need." Huo Wu had little fondness for Feng Xiaotian and rejected him outright. "I insist on trying myself. Besides, who says a soul master with a fire-attribute martial soul can't defeat a Fire Enchanting Spirit that's immune to fire?"

The two middle-aged men at the front of the group both smiled bitterly.

"You girl..." One of them, the middle-aged man dressed in an azure robe, sighed deeply. "If those two really end up together, my foolish son will probably be completely wrapped around the finger of your fierce little girl."

"A son takes after his mother, a daughter takes after her father..." The other middle-aged man had an imposing presence, short red hair like steel needles, and pupils that seemed to burn with flames. The instant he spoke, both he and his prospective in-law's expressions changed. They quickened their pace while ordering the juniors behind them to prepare for battle. "Move faster. Someone is fighting in the spirit mine area ahead. We don't know whether they've come for that Fire Enchanting Spirit!"

(:з"∠)