On both sides of the highway were forests and fields.
When the car broke through the barrier and fell below, everyone felt a sudden pain in their rear ends, but no one cared much—they could only rush into the forest. At times like this, as long as they hid well in the woods, they could basically survive the crisis safely.
On the other side, multiple soul-guided mechas noticed their sudden change of direction. They leapt into the air, each with their soul-guided cannons aimed at Gu You, rapidly approaching.
However, these mechas belonged to the Spirit Transmission Tower, not the Federation's official forces. The Spirit Transmission Tower mechas never dared kill lightly; the Federation's order must not be broken.
When the mechas were halfway through their flight, they all retracted their soul-guided cannons but maintained their speed, flying toward the group.
"Hurry and leave."
Gu You knew someone had to cover their retreat, and that person had to be him.
He actually didn't want to fight because this was a public highway. Once he acted, it would be newsworthy, and he'd become famous again.
But now, there was no other way.
So be it…
A dazzling purple light flickered behind the Shrek group. No one looked back—they could only seize the opportunity to run hard, which was the best way to repay Gu You.
…
Gu You clapped his hands twice, shaking off dust. At his feet lay more than a dozen scrapped mechas.
More than a dozen people were tied to a nearby tree with a single rope.
Their mouths were stuffed with rags, so they couldn't speak, but their terrified eyes were easy to see.
"Don't be afraid, I won't harm you. Just wait for your own people to come rescue you." Gu You's face was shrouded in destructive divine light, making it impossible to see any features.
After saying this, Gu You ran off.
The next cities on their route were large cities with soul master academies, likely home to soul saint-level experts.
It wasn't until they had run nearly 200 kilometers that they caught up with the others.
Two hundred kilometers was nothing to someone as physically strong as Gu You.
They chatted for a bit.
"The Spirit Transmission Tower!" Xu Lizhi shouted angrily, waving his fist.
"What are you planning?" Gu Yue asked quietly.
Xu Lizhi glanced at her. "I'll never sell buns to them again!"
Ye Xinglan said scornfully, "Look at your ambition."
They found a small hotel to rest. Being soul masters, their recovery was quick. Gu You also inquired about the location of the soul master instructor academy.
The city they were currently in was called Tianding City, about 2,000 kilometers from Mingdu, with several cities in between.
Tianding City indeed had a soul master instructor academy, quite famous—called Tianding Starry Sky Academy.
This was a special soul master instructor academy, only recruiting soul masters with flying martial souls. It also had an advanced college that trained high-level soul masters, mech pilots, and battle armor specialists.
Regarding training battle armor specialists, everyone agreed there was no need to take it too seriously. The typical graduation age of the advanced college was 22 to 25 years old. Even at Shrek Academy, few students could finish one-line battle armor by that age, let alone other academies.
Tianding Starry Sky Soul Master Academy had trained many talents and cooperated closely with the military. In early days, the military preferred soul masters with flight capabilities when recruiting instructors.
Although soul masters could fly using soul-guided devices, those who could naturally fly had a far stronger grasp of air combat.
Even if the martial soul wasn't strong, combat power could be enhanced by soul-guided devices. The invention of these devices greatly narrowed the gap between ordinary soul masters and geniuses. With mechas, a soul master's personal strength could no longer solely determine battle outcomes for a long time. Only later with battle armor did strong soul masters regain an advantage.
Tianding Starry Sky was mainly focused on training flying soul master instructors. Their mech pilots were famous throughout the Federation and were rare talents in major military districts. Supported by the military, the academy grew rapidly. Aside from the historic top academies, it ranked near the top among second-tier academies.
A regular soul-guided car stopped in a small alley near Tianding Starry Sky Academy.
Getting out was Gu You, wearing a green Shrek uniform. It wasn't official, just bought at some clothes store but enough to represent Shrek Academy.
The main gate of Tianding Starry Sky Soul Master Academy was very impressive—made of metal, about twenty meters high and forty meters wide, wide enough for mechas to easily pass through.
The high academy walls covered a large area in the southwest of Tianding City.
"Use your methods," Gu You said calmly.
Xie Xie's lips twitched as he pulled out something—two long bamboo poles supporting a banner.
The banner was about ten meters wide, white with over ten large green characters. Though the calligraphy was rough, it was clear enough to read. Xie Xie and Xu Lizhi each held one side and planted the poles into the ground.
The bustling crowd in front of Tianding Starry Sky Academy immediately noticed the banner.
A passerby read aloud instinctively: "We are from Shrek Academy, challenging your academy's strongest team under twenty years old."
This was basically crashing the place!
There were gatekeepers at the entrance. It was noon, so many had gone to lunch. People stopped and stared, some surprised, some frowning, some angry, some curious. Soon a crowd gathered at the gate.
Shrek Academy? The most eye-catching thing was undoubtedly those three words.
To any student, those three words meant something extraordinary—the legendary existence! Students from Shrek Academy actually came to challenge our academy? What was going on?
Challenge the strongest team under twenty? Judging by their ages, they were at most about fifteen.
"Are you really from Shrek?" a young man asked.
"Yes, from Shrek," Gu You replied.
"How can you prove it?"
Purple-golden light flashed in Gu You's eyes. Circles of blood-colored soul rings rose from beneath his feet, causing nearby onlookers to exclaim in surprise.
What was with those purple-gold, purple-blue soul rings? Even the strongest spirits were usually orange! Such soul rings, really…
(End of chapter)