Before Zhen Hua could think it through, his train of thought was interrupted by Mu Ye, who chuckled and said, "Today, I might have taken on a disciple unprecedented in history, never to be seen again."
Hearing this, the corners of Zhen Hua's lips curled up slightly. "Me too."
Mu Ye raised an eyebrow. "You mean that little girl? Can she inherit your Heavenly Refinement?"
Zhen Hua's smile deepened. "More than that—she might even surpass my Heavenly Refinement!"
Hearing the boast in Zhen Hua's voice, Mu Ye snorted. "My disciple is definitely better than yours! Not only can he surpass my achievements as a Soul Master and in the Body Sect's secret techniques, but he can also surpass my accomplishments in Mechas! He'll become the first quasi-god powerhouse in history to reach the pinnacle in both the Mecha Master and Battle Armor Master professions!"
Zhen Hua was startled inside, not expecting Mu Ye to hold Huo Yuhao in such high esteem. But thinking of the soul tool array Huo Yuhao used to create alloys, he suddenly didn't find it so surprising after all.
To develop such technology, Huo Yuhao was truly an exceptional genius. Zhen Hua just wondered when he would be able to acquire that technique from the boy's hands.
From what Huo Yuhao seemed to imply, the boy intended for Zhen Hua to offer some advice, and then Huo Yuhao would figure out the suitable alloy pairing for the Ice God Crystal on his own.
No doubt, as a disciple, it was Huo Yuhao's filial piety toward the Snow Empress, right?
'Getting that soul tool array seems hopeless for now. Still, it doesn't really matter. Even if I don't know it, isn't Gu Yuena here?'
Turning the thought over in his mind and recalling the way Gu Yuena and Huo Yuhao interacted, Zhen Hua let out a faint chuckle. Meeting Mu Ye's puzzled gaze, he said, "She can also become a Red-rank Mecha Master and a Four-Word Battle Armor Master."
Mu Ye raised an eyebrow. "Stop joking. I don't believe anyone can match Yuhao in Mecha design and crafting."
"What if they're together? She becomes a Divine Craftsman and provides Heavenly Refined Metal, while Huo Yuhao designs and crafts. Wouldn't that do it?" Zhen Hua said with a meaningful smile.
"..."
Mu Ye fell silent. Before long, a teasing look appeared in his eyes. "I really didn't see it earlier—another match made in heaven."
One was a Mecha Designer and Mecha Crafter, while the other was a Divine Craftsman... Fitting. Truly fitting.
...
While Mu Ye and Zhen Hua were boasting about their disciples, inside the Spirit Pagoda Heaven Dou Branch, an imposing burly man dressed in formal attire was recalling the message that had appeared on his soul tool optical screen earlier, utterly baffled.
The Lord wanted to observe the Heavenly Refinement, yet wouldn't let him go over... What was the intention behind this?
Why couldn't he go?
As Bear Lord pondered, a knock on the door suddenly sounded, interrupting his thoughts.
"Come in."
A middle-aged man of average height and ordinary looks walked in. Bear Lord knew him well: Liang Xiaoyu, an Agility Attack System Titled Douluo, who was the assistant assigned to him by Di Tian and the Deputy Pagoda Master of the Heaven Dou Branch.
However, Bear Lord felt that Di Tian was judging him by old impressions. With his strength and wisdom, could anything go wrong while he oversaw a branch?
Whoever dared to cause trouble would get a taste of his Heaven-Tearing Claw... All right, he couldn't be that reckless.
Liang Xiaoyu said, "Lord Pagoda Master, Shrek Academy's final exams have begun. A student tried to sneak onto a Soul Airplane to travel quickly to the major cities and was caught by the inspection personnel... I've already handled it and just came to report."
"...Can't Shrek change that bizarre exam? Even we Soul Beasts don't live as wildly as they do nowadays!"
Bear Lord picked up his soul tool optical screen and spoke self-righteously while browsing through various pieces of information.
Hearing Bear Lord's words, the corner of Liang Xiaoyu's mouth twitched, but seeing the soul tool optical screen in Bear Lord's hands, he said nothing.
Because in a sense, it really was the truth.
It was currently the time for final exams across all academies, followed by a vacation of over a month.
And as far as he knew, Shrek Academy's first-semester final exams generally followed the same broad rules, with only minor differences in details.
Their rules went like this:
Students had to leave their storage soul tools, communication soul tools, identification documents, and money behind at the academy, departing with nothing on them.
During the final exam, Shrek students had a total of fifteen days. Within those fifteen days, they had to travel to a designated major city.
Along the way, they had to pass through at least ten cities, including the destination, and in every city, defeat an opponent whose cultivation exceeded the Shrek student's by at least five ranks.
Teachers would shadow them in secret to score them along the way. However, when students encountered danger, it was said that the teachers wouldn't intervene, the purpose being to make students recognize their own limits and avoid challenging opponents they couldn't handle—though whether that was true or not remained unknown.
But thinking back ten thousand years ago to how a Soul King had killed members of the Shrek Seven Devils and escaped from Shrek Academy's Super Douluos, Liang Xiaoyu felt that Shrek's teachers might genuinely never intervene...
Heaven Dou City and Shrek City were both located near the center of the continent and weren't far apart, making this an easy choice as a target city for exam candidates.
Occasionally, reckless young students who feared nothing would emerge—like today's—trying to board a Soul Airplane without documents or a reservation to travel quickly to other cities. After all, their time was limited, and exam scores determined whether they could enter the Inner Court, so some acted with little regard for the consequences...
Because it was convenient for travel, Soul Airplanes often had reservations made by Federation parliament members and high-ranking officials, so inspections were strict. Couldn't they just follow the rules properly?
Just as Pagoda Master Bear Lord said: What era was this, and why did they play so wildly?
Even Soul Beasts are more civilized than you! Have some sense!
Liang Xiaoyu continued, "I've already had someone throw that student back to the Shrek teacher shadowing in secret, and a complaint letter has also been sent to Shrek."
"It'll probably just amount to nothing again, won't it?"
Bear Lord frowned upon hearing this. "Do you think we should suppress Shrek's arrogance a bit? Because of that so-called continent's number one, Shrek Academy's influence across the continent is growing day by day, and some of their people are acting increasingly brazen... They really forget the pain once the scar heals. If I'd known, that claw strike I gave Long Yeyue back then should have been even harder!"
Liang Xiaoyu: "..."
Shrek's Light-Dark Douluo, Long Yeyue, was a living legend. Over the past two hundred years, she was the first being who had dared to storm the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters over a conflict with the Spirit Pagoda!
Of course, she had walked in on her feet and been carried out lying down...
As for what specifically happened, his generation wasn't entirely clear.
Now, at least, he knew: Lord Bear Lord had been at the headquarters back then, and had even given her a claw strike...
The thought flashed through his mind and vanished. Liang Xiaoyu looked at Bear Lord and shook his head slightly. "Pagoda Master Bear Lord, let's still handle it as before. If the Federation doesn't speak up, we don't take charge, nor should we get involved in those matters."
"...Understood." Bear Lord raised an eyebrow. He didn't insist either; after all, it was just a minor matter. "You didn't come here just for such a trivial issue, did you?"
Liang Xiaoyu nodded and took out a soul tool optical screen, handing it to Bear Lord. "There's something I need your approval for. I might take on a disciple in the near future, which will take up some of my time, so could we arrange for someone to take over my duties?"
"Xie Xie?" Bear Lord took the soul tool optical screen and narrowed his eyes as he read.
On it was Xie Xie's file, along with his combat performance in the Rioting Ascension Platform, battle footage from the virtual battlefield...
After a moment, Bear Lord said:
"Innate full soul power, conjoint Twin Martial Souls, Agility Attack System... His talent is decent, and his development direction matches yours quite well, but he didn't even pass the Black-rank evaluation. Aren't you rushing things a bit?"
"I'm from a commoner background after all," Liang Xiaoyu said with a smile. "Descendants of great clans and those with supreme talent won't fall into my hands anyway. Someone from a minor clan or a commoner background suits me best. His talent is already very good. Settling it early avoids having someone else beat me to him later."
"Fine, do as you wish. Approved."
As Bear Lord spoke, he swiped across Liang Xiaoyu's soul tool optical screen and caught sight of another person's file, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Tang Wulin, ten years old, rank-3 Forging Master.
Martial Soul: Bluesilver Grass, and...
Dragon King bloodline?
Now that's interesting.
Chapter 95