Gu Yuena's silver hair fell messily around her face.
"I...I'm not sulking," she retorted in a low voice, though it lacked conviction.
Leng Yu Lei leaned against the door, her crimson eyes full of amusement.
"Yes, yes, five minutes are up. Come in and watch together."
This time, Gu Yuena didn't refuse.
As the five-minute break ended, the moment Lu Jun opened his eyes, an electronic synthesized voice echoed in his ears.
"Challenge begins. Opponent drawn: Xu Sanshi, one of the Shrek Seven Monsters from ten thousand years ago, at the three-ring Soul Venerable stage."
"Defeat the opponent, or last for five minutes, to earn points."
When Xu Sanshi's figure appeared on the virtual battlefield's light screen, the entire observation hall instantly erupted.
"Ancestor Xu Sanshi?!" someone exclaimed, "He was the strongest defense-type Soul Master among the Shrek Seven Monsters back then!"
"His Mysterious Tortoise Shield martial soul was known for being invincible in defense at the same rank, even a Soul Sect couldn't break through his defense."
"It's over. Lu Jun is probably going to fall this time."
The core disciples turned to look at Qian Gu Zhangting, their eyes questioning.
"Brother Zhangting, do you think Lu Jun has a chance to win?" a female disciple couldn't help but ask, "Is Extreme Ice effective against defense-type Soul Masters?"
Qian Gu Zhangting crossed his arms over his chest, a confident smile playing on his lips, and shook his head.
"Impossible," he said definitively, "Defense-type Soul Masters fear extreme attributes the least, especially those with tool-type martial souls."
"Ancestor Xu Sanshi's Mysterious Tortoise Shield, a water attribute, is said to be as good as an extreme attribute, even if it isn't one."
"Moreover, Lu Jun's martial soul is a sword, not a power-attack beast martial soul. It doesn't have much advantage in the early stages, lacking explosive power. He won't be able to break through the Mysterious Tortoise Shield's defense, let alone Ancestor Xu Sanshi's Mysterious Tortoise bloodline."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the situation displayed on the screen before them suddenly changed.
Facing Xu Sanshi, Lu Jun slowly raised his Ice Abyss Sword, its blade wreathed in chilling air.
He once again used his domain, changing the battlefield to create an environment advantageous to himself.
Xu Sanshi frowned but didn't panic. He slammed his Mysterious Tortoise Shield onto the ground, black light swirling, firmly blocking the encroaching cold air.
But in the face of Xu Sanshi's defense, Lu Jun suddenly sheathed his sword.
This action stunned everyone in the observation hall.
"He gave up?" someone asked in confusion.
Qian Gu Zhangting scoffed:
"See? What did I tell you? He can't break through the defense at all."
On the screen, Lu Jun and Xu Sanshi both stood still.
Lu Jun stood still because he was silently strengthening the intensity of his domain.
Xu Sanshi didn't move because he needed to exert all his effort to defend against the surrounding cold air.
As well as the cold poison slowly invading his body.
Time passed bit by bit, and just as everyone thought Lu Jun had lost just like that,
Lu Jun slammed his right hand onto the sword hilt, and an icy blue soul power erupted instantly.
A terrifying chill instantly swept through the entire field. The surface of Xu Sanshi's Mysterious Tortoise Shield visibly froze over with a thick layer of frost, and even his own movements became sluggish.
Xu Sanshi immediately activated his soul power, wanting to shatter the ice, but the ice layer grew thicker and thicker. In a blink of an eye, his arms and legs were completely frozen.
Lu Jun merely raised his hand again, releasing his second soul ring.
Ice Abyss Slash!
The next second, the cold poison, which had accumulated sufficiently within Xu Sanshi's body, instantly erupted, transforming into ice blades that grew from the inside out.
His chest, abdomen, head, and other areas were all pierced by the ice blades growing from within.
Completely ending Xu Sanshi's life.
The electronic synthesized voice rang out:
"Congratulations on defeating the opponent on the second floor. Rest time is five minutes. Prepare for the next floor challenge."
Seeing this scene, the observation hall was silent.
"Ancestor Xu Sanshi… was instantly killed?"
"He was the strongest defense-type Soul Master, and he was just dragged to death by him?"
"What kind of monster is this person?! Is he also going to defeat everyone like the girl in first place, until he meets Ancestor Huo Yuhao?"
Listening to the discussions around him, Qian Gu Zhangting felt his face burning.
It was as if he had been slapped.
Fortunately, no one was paying attention to him now.
Otherwise, he would have made a fool of himself.
"I'll never comment on this guy again. He's a true monster. Could he be from Shrek Academy?"
Qian Gu Zhangting cursed inwardly.
In the room, Gu Yuena also had to sigh:
"Quite impressive…"
Leng Yu Lei appeared behind her at some point, patting her shoulder with a smile.
"What, not being stubborn now?"
Gu Yuena immediately straightened her face:
"I'm just objectively evaluating his strength."
Leng Yu Lei smiled without speaking, her gaze returning to the screen.
Next, the strength Lu Jun displayed once again refreshed everyone's understanding of a Soul Venerable.
The lights of the virtual battlefield lit up again and again, then extinguished again and again.
Each flash of light was accompanied by the defeat of a Shrek ancestor.
Lu Jun's ranking points also grew higher and higher, subtly showing a momentum towards reaching the top.
The breathing in the observation hall grew heavier and heavier.
"The… the sixth one…" someone's voice trembled, "The battle situations are all one-sided; there's no opponent at all."
"He's too strong, even more outrageous than what that girl showed. Could it be that even Ancestor Huo Yuhao isn't his opponent?"
"Hard to say, it's really hard to say. That's Ancestor Huo Yuhao, the strongest Soul Master from ten thousand years ago. Even at three rings, he's not someone we can defeat."
"Currently, there's no record across the entire Douluo Continent of anyone ever defeating Ancestor Huo Yuhao."
"Ah, the experience and techniques he left behind are all recorded, but none of us can defeat him."
"Indeed."
Hearing this, Qian Gu Zhangting's knuckles turned white.
When he challenged the ancestral projection back then, every battle was a struggle. Yet, the young man on the screen now was crushing his opponents as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.
The gap was simply too vast.
"He's just relying on his innate domain, it's nothing great. Once my battle armor also has a domain, maybe I can be like him too."
Qian Gu Zhangting felt a bit unconvinced.
However, he then thought about how three-word battle armor masters were no longer allowed to enter the virtual world, which made him lose his spirit.
"Challenge begins. Opponent drawn: Huo Yuhao, one of the Shrek Seven Monsters from ten thousand years ago, at the three-ring Soul Venerable stage."
"Defeat the opponent, or last for five minutes, to earn points."
When the light screen lit up this time, Lu Jun, for the first time, did not immediately attack.
On the empty battlefield, a young man in simple, sturdy attire stood quietly.
His eyes glowed with a faint golden light, and three seemingly ordinary soul rings floated behind him.
White, yellow, purple.
The most common soul ring configuration, yet it made all of Lu Jun's muscles instantly tense.
And when Huo Yuhao appeared, the observation hall suddenly fell silent.
"He really ran into Ancestor Huo Yuhao…"
"Here we go, here we go. It's the second person today to encounter Ancestor Huo Yuhao. Let's bet how long he can last?"
"I bet a million federal coins he can last one minute!"
"Nonsense, thirty seconds."
"How about I bet ten million federal coins that he can defeat Ancestor Huo Yuhao?" a core disciple cautiously suggested.
"Bullshit!"