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The Shrek students before them were at least five years younger on average.
Their soul power levels were also at least five ranks lower.
Yet, on their home turf, in a terrain they were familiar with, they had suffered complete defeat.
Not a single victory.
This left Xiao Tiantian and the others deeply disheartened, even questioning whether they had taken the wrong path in their cultivation.
They hadn't neglected any practical combat training in their daily lives, and their standards for battle weren't low. So why was the gap so vast?
Did Shrek Academy really possess such incredible magic?
Or was this simply the difference in innate talent?
Li Zhilong could no longer smile.
He quietly consoled his students, urging them not to be discouraged.
Although he had anticipated a loss, the defeat had been far too decisive.
The quality of this year's freshmen at Shrek Academy made him wonder if he had attended a fake Shrek back in his day.
Li Zhilong turned his gaze to a young man who had arrived during the earlier battles.
The young man was twenty-five years old, with a full forty-nine silver stars on his chest, indicating a soul power level of forty-nine. His challengers were Wu Siduo and Xu Yucheng.
The two would take turns battling this soul master named Zhang Tianyou.
Wu Siduo would fight Zhang Tianyou first, followed by Xu Yuan battling Zhao Quan, a fifty-seven-level Soul King teacher. Meanwhile, Zhang Tianyou would quickly recover his strength before facing Xu Yucheng.
After three rounds of battles, the atmosphere at the Celestial Star Soul Academy grew increasingly tense.
"Even Teacher Zhao Quan couldn't defeat him?"
Xiao Tiantian took a deep breath as he looked at Xu Yuan, who stood with his arms crossed. It felt as though a mountain of weight had settled on his heart.
Was this even human?
His cultivation speed was fast enough, but to possess such overwhelming combat strength?
And his soul ring configuration—a ten-thousand-year soul ring at the Soul Ancestor level?
Suddenly, a massive change occurred on the battlefield.
The patterns on the walls surrounding the observatory lit up, and the stars in the sky seemed to grow several times brighter. Countless beams of starlight converged toward one spot.
That was where Xu Xiaoyan sat cross-legged.
From the moment the observatory's formation was activated, Xu Xiaoyan had shown signs of abnormality. Tang Wulin had her participate in a one-on-one battle first, after which she remained seated cross-legged, cultivating under the dense starlight channeled by the formation. Her aura had grown increasingly mysterious.
Now, it seemed that a qualitative transformation had occurred.
At this moment, Xu Xiaoyan was completely enveloped in starlight. Golden light wove around her, creating a dazzling spectacle. A pattern appeared on her forehead, identical to the starwheel atop her Starwheel Ice Staff when she wielded it.
Martial soul mutation!
Li Zhilong was astonished, observing the scene before him and deducing what had happened to Xu Xiaoyan.
No matter how you looked at it, this was a beneficial mutation.
As the phenomenon faded, Xu Xiaoyan opened her eyes, brimming with joy.
"Class Monitor, my martial soul has mutated!"
She looked at Xu Yuan, her excitement palpable.
Coming to the Celestial Star Soul Academy had been Xu Yuan's decision, and her martial soul had undergone this starlight-nourished mutation here. Naturally, all credit went to him.
It turned out that bathing in such concentrated starlight gave her Starwheel Ice Staff martial soul the chance to fully evolve into a true Star Staff martial soul!
At this moment, Xu Xiaoyan's face flushed with excitement, and she felt like throwing herself into Xu Yuan's arms to kiss him.
"This observatory truly lives up to your academy's reputation. This mutation in Xiaoyan's martial soul is thanks to the environment here," Xu Yuan said.
Li Zhilong waved his hand dismissively.
"It's this girl's own martial soul that's exceptional. She likely just needed a trigger."
"No, the starlight here is extraordinary. I can feel it," Xu Yuan shook his head.
"Oh?" Li Zhilong looked at Xu Yuan in surprise, ceasing his modesty.
If Xu Yuan said he sensed something different, then he likely did perceive the uniqueness of the starlight channeled by the observatory.
"Senior, may we cultivate here for a day?" Xu Yuan asked Li Zhilong.
"We'll cover the cost of activating the observatory. Additionally, I plan to attempt some forging here. If I produce anything, I'll offer it to Brother Xiao and the others first."
"Agreed," Li Zhilong nodded after weighing the options.
There were actually many instances of the observatory being rented out.
Every year, several groups came to borrow it, bearing the activation costs while the academy's top students cultivated here.
Moreover, the academy's elite team members could only use the observatory once during the training phase before important competitions.
Today, Xu Yuan, as the class monitor of Grade One, Class One, had brought twelve other classmates for an exchange match. This could be considered representing Shrek Academy, so Li Zhilong naturally extended the warmest welcome, selecting the observatory as the venue and activating the formation.
Now that Xu Yuan offered to cover the maintenance costs and requested to borrow the observatory for a day, Li Zhilong naturally wouldn't refuse.
His own students could tag along—it wasn't a loss.
Furthermore, Xu Yuan's final remark intrigued him.
Xiao Tiantian and the others were students Li Zhilong had personally mentored. If they could advance further, he would be delighted.
Li Zhilong didn't know the exact level of Xu Yuan's forging skills, but they certainly weren't low.
A Shrek student already at level forty-nine, despite being young, likely had at least a fourth-level secondary profession.
Under the influence of this starlight-rich environment, successfully forging a few pieces of Thousand Refinements Grade-One metal was entirely possible.
With sufficient preparation, even one or two pieces of Thousand Refinements Grade-One metal could add a piece of battle armor for one of them.
The formation ran at full power, and under Xu Yuan's direction, Tang Wulin and the others channeled starlight into their bodies to refine their soul power.
Following Xu Yuan's guidance, Tang Wulin and the others used the starlight to refine their battle armor, marveling at its wonders.
Starlight truly was extraordinary.
"Senior Zhao, may I have a word with you?" Instead of cultivating, Xu Yuan approached Zhao Quan and began conversing with him.
"The honor is mine," Zhao Quan smiled.
Though Xu Yuan was only thirteen, his strength surpassed Zhao Quan's. There was no distinction of seniority here.
The capable deserved respect.
"My cultivation methods probably aren't worth discussing. You're interested in the technology behind my mech, right?" Zhao Quan smiled.
He could guess Xu Yuan's intentions.
Far from being annoyed that Xu Yuan was eyeing his mech technology, he felt pleased.
That such a brilliant genius was interested in mecha only made him, as a mech pilot, feel a sense of kinship.
"That's right. Senior's mech is different from ordinary mechs. Its flight system must rely on special technological support."
"This is our Celestial Star Soul Academy's flight mech technology. While most mechs have flight capabilities, the flight mechs produced by our academy far surpass ordinary ones in terms of speed and performance."
"Senior, that's not what I'm focused on. I want to know—can your academy refine the flight formations to support a mech flying beyond Douluo Star?"
Zhao Quan's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he stared intently at Xu Yuan.
"How did you come up with such an idea?"
"It's the direction I've been contemplating for my own mech: a Starry Sky Mech," Xu Yuan replied honestly.
Zhao Quan fell silent for a long time before slowly speaking.
"No, we haven't reached that level of mech technology yet. However, our academy's spaceship manufacturing technology is relatively advanced. Some satellites used by the military and even spacecraft for federal space exploration are provided by our academy."
As he spoke, Zhao Quan exuded confidence.
Xu Yuan's eyes gleamed.
Yes, yes, yes—that's exactly what I wanted to hear.
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