Before him stood the most complex and massive soul tool array Gu You had ever seen.Unlike the small formations on battle armor, the arrays atop the Star Observation Platform were numerous and densely packed—dense yet precise, precise yet vast.
As he observed and took in the surroundings, a group soon appeared not far in front of him.
The uniforms of the Tianding Starry Sky Soul Master Academy were black, with embroidered star patterns on the chest.
Silver stars represented one's cultivation level—each additional star meant one more rank of soul power.Upon reaching the Soul King level, silver stars would turn gold.
Thus, judging a student's strength here was as simple as counting the stars on their chest.
The six students who arrived all wore silver-starred uniforms. Their silver light shimmered faintly.Four men, two women.The moment they entered, their eyes fell on Gu You's group of six, curiosity in their gaze.They looked to be between eighteen and twenty years old.
Gu You swept his gaze over them and instantly judged their cultivation levels.
Just ants beneath the Soul King realm.
The strongest among them had only forty-six silver stars.The other five all had over forty, just barely matching the criteria for Gu Yue's group to face.
So where was the promised Soul Sage-level opponent?
Gu You glanced at Li Zhilong.
Li Zhilong smiled faintly. Standing before the six, golden light suddenly flashed on his chest, and stars appeared behind him.
Gu You counted—eighty-six in total!
As expected of a Shrek Academy graduate—even without making it into the inner court, he was bound to be a powerhouse anywhere.
Everyone watched in surprise, though no one commented.
"I'll make introductions first. This tall one—uh, the captain—is Xiao Tiantian, an assault-control system battle soul master. This is…"
Li Zhilong gave a brief rundown of the team.
"They're all introduced, so I should introduce myself as well. I'm Li Zhilong, but you can call me Uncle Li. Martial soul: Stardust. Eighty-sixth rank assault system battle soul master."
Eighty-sixth rank!
The six Shrek students all turned their eyes to Gu You—that was a full sixteen levels higher!
"Gu You, seventieth rank battle soul master. I'm honored." Gu You clasped his fists respectfully.
The Tianding students looked at him with some surprise. Honestly, they didn't believe it.How old could Gu You be? Judging by height alone, he wasn't even eighteen.
A Soul Sage under eighteen—perhaps not impossible, but extremely rare.
After introductions, Gu You was surprised to see that many on the Tianding side were control-type soul masters.
And given the academy's usual focus, they typically only recruited flight-type martial souls.A flight-type with control abilities?
This match would be anything but easy.
Gu You frowned—a rare sign of concern.
His main worry was Li Zhilong.Against someone above the Soul Sage level, even being controlled for 0.1 seconds could decide victory or defeat.
"Since we're done introducing ourselves, the teacher responsible for managing the Star Observation Platform is in position. We'll activate the platform's barrier shortly. This is a friendly spar—stop at the point of contact." Li Zhilong smiled warmly.
He had always been proud of graduating from Shrek Academy, but today he felt even prouder.To see the academy produce such a young Soul Sage reassured him greatly.
The academy was always improving.
Both sides retreated to open distance—at least a hundred meters apart, as per the rules.
As he moved back, Gu You's eyes grew brighter.
He could already tell this battle would push him to bring out many of his abilities.Fighting a Soul Douluo who graduated from Shrek—such opponents were far stronger than ordinary ones.
And this one was a battle armor master.Graduating required becoming a battle armor master, and after all these years, Li Zhilong likely had at least one or two pieces of three-word battle armor.
They took a triangular formation: Tang Wulin at the front, Xie Xie and Ye Xinglan behind, Gu You in the center, and Gu Yue, Xu Xiaoyan, and Xu Lizhi at the rear.
The other six didn't bother forming a special formation, remaining in a straight line.
"Ready!" the referee barked.
A low hum sounded as the walls surrounding the Star Observation Platform lit up.The intricate patterns shimmered as though alive, and the glow surged upward into the air.Hundreds of light beams converged at a single point before transforming into a massive pillar of light shooting skyward.
This platform…
Gu You's heart stirred as he felt the energy fluctuations. Something deep in his mind seemed to be tugged.
The sky darkened in an instant.All golden light vanished, replaced by boundless starry night.The surrounding walls still shone with intricate beauty, but daylight had become a sea of stars, each seeming close enough to touch.A strange, pure energy descended from above, bathing the entire platform.
Everyone could see it—on the opposing six, faint golden halos formed around them.Their auras strengthened, only slightly, but enough to prove they gained an environmental bonus here.
"Hm?" A soft hum came from behind.
Following the sound, everyone turned to witness a surprising sight.
Brilliant golden light shone from behind Xu Xiaoyan, taking the form of a golden mist that rose into the air, obscuring her features entirely from anyone close by.
"This feeling… so strange." Xu Xiaoyan's voice trembled—yet it was the tremor of excitement.
Li Zhilong looked shocked.He knew the Star Observation Platform well.Here, students with flight-type martial souls could absorb starlight to temper their bodies.The platform was the very foundation of Tianding Starry Sky Soul Master Academy.
Fighting here granted both a soul power boost and faster recovery than outside.
But what was going on with that Shrek girl?Could it be her martial soul?
The degree to which a student could sense and absorb starlight varied—The more in tune one was with it, the stronger the visible starlight fluctuation would be.Normally, only a faint golden halo could be seen; even among the academy's top inner court members, very few could manifest starlight in visible form.
Xu Xiaoyan's golden mist was nearly tangible.Even Li Zhilong, familiar with the platform, couldn't figure out what was happening.
"Begin!"
The referee reacted quickly—so quickly that most contestants barely had time to process it.
From Shrek's side, three figures shot forward like lightning, blindingly fast.
(End of chapter)
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