Rise!
Gu You formed a hand seal, and a strange purple magic array automatically carved itself beneath his feet. The Ascending Dragon Tablet in front of him emitted a blinding white light that shot straight into the sky.
A sea-blue vortex appeared in the sky, pierced by the beam of white light. In that moment, everything froze.
Roar!A mournful dragon's cry echoed within the vortex.
"Your mission... is over." Gu You said calmly.
A streak of purple light flew out from his chest and surged into the sea-blue vortex in the sky.
The vortex expanded, then shrunk into a single point, rushing toward the Ascending Dragon Tablet below.
The bony surface of the Ascending Dragon Tablet faded away, replaced by a crystalline white glow.
Stars seemed to glimmer upon its surface, radiating faint light.
Gu You glanced at the transformed tablet and nodded with satisfaction.
With a tap of his two fingers, the entire Ascending Dragon Tablet soared into the sky, transforming into beams of light, vanishing into the starry sea within his spiritual domain.
It was a different way of resistance, one might say.
Gu You sat cross-legged in place. There were still two days left before the promotion match against the sixth years.
It was time for some serious cultivation.
With the Ascending Dragon Tablet's aid, as long as a soul beast or human had dragon blood in this world, their cultivation speed would more than double.
Moreover, the tablet significantly boosted the attributes of star-type soul beasts. Unfortunately, such beasts were incredibly rare. Across the entire Douluo World, there had only been a handful. Star-type martial spirits, however, were more common.
One could say the tablet's secondary effects were somewhat lacking, but its primary role as a cultivation aid was impeccable.
Gu You focused inward, feeling the soul power coursing through his body, as if it were connected to his very bloodline.
The life force and elemental energy in the air flowed into his body in various ways.
It was a pleasant sensation—so much so that time seemed to fly.
Two days later.
Gu You's eyes suddenly opened wide, his aura shifting dramatically—dense, yet calm.
Level 68!Feeling the wild soul power within him, Gu You clenched his fist.
This match against the sixth years—was a good opportunity to let off some steam.
Shrek Academy's sixth-year students were divided into two groups: the new sixth years and the old sixth years.
The new sixth years had only recently advanced from the fifth year.
The old sixth years were those who had lingered at this level for five or six years—unable to enter the inner court and unable to craft their battle armor to graduate.
Gu You's team would face a mixed group: three selected from the new sixth years and three from the old.
Some might ask: why only six people when it's supposed to be a 7v7 match?
The Shrek faculty had discussed this at length. Having one fewer person seemed fair, since the opponent was from a higher grade. But adding one more also made sense—because the lower grades had a monster like Gu You.
In the end, the decision was made to appoint the strongest student from the new sixth years—one with the potential to enter the inner court—as their captain.
This was all done to limit Gu You. He was simply too powerful. Even soul engineers with battle armor might not last more than a few seconds against him.
This grand cross-grade friendly match would be open for students of all grades to watch. Inner court disciples could come as well. So Shrek had activated its largest Soul Duel Arena in the outer court.
"You're here?"
Xie Xie looked slightly dazed, gazing at the vast arena outside the window. From the beginning, they all knew—this was Gu You's stage.
"Yeah.""Everyone, get ready. If you can fight—fight. If not—just focus on secrecy. Since they can go all out, the destructive power won't be low." Gu You glanced at everyone.
The match rules had changed frequently: first limiting sixth years to below four soul rings, then allowing battle armor, and now—no limits at all.
Totally unfair—for Xie Xie and the others. But Gu You couldn't argue. Because for him, this was fair.
If the sixth years were restricted to four-ring power, that would have been unfair to them when facing him.
"Both teams, enter the arena."
The referee's thick voice boomed—it was clear from the sound alone that this was no ordinary man. A veteran, and at Shrek no less.
The arena was massive—capable of holding over a thousand people.
Even more exciting and nerve-wracking: not a single empty seat!
The crowd was packed so densely that Xu Xiaoyan didn't even dare lift her head.
Luo Guixing, Wu Siduo, Xu Yucheng, Yang Nianxia, and Zheng Yiran sat in the spectator stands—absent were Yuetian and a support-type soul master.
Apart from Luo Guixing, Wu Siduo, and Yang Nianxia, the other two had been struck by Gu You's Sphere of Destruction the day before—battered, their faces twisted beyond recognition. But thanks to Yali's healing, they were mostly fine, without disfigurement. Still, the gloom lingered on their faces.
They lost. And in such a baffling way. It was a same-rank battle!
Conservatively, with Wu Siduo present, six of them should've been enough to crush any team.
But why—why—did Gu You only use a single soul skill, flash a bit of purple light, and the next thing they knew... they were down?
Zheng Yiran was unwilling to accept it, but a loss was a loss. No matter how she felt—it changed nothing.
Yang Nianxia was the calmest of the five. He shrugged."Gu You was clearly holding back. When my bear paw clashed with his dragon claw, he pulled his punch. Otherwise, I'd have lost this arm."
Hearing this, the others nodded slightly—except Luo Guixing.
Yes, even when holding back, he beat them.
Wu Siduo narrowed her eyes. She had never doubted her martial spirit talent—but ever since meeting Gu You, it was the first time she'd felt the pain of being instantly defeated—in front of the entire Class One.
"That match was days ago. Let's watch this one carefully. Find out where the gap lies," said Xu Yucheng, glancing sideways at the others.
"True. Is Yuetian alright? He's been emo since Gu You punched him out of the arena," Yang Nianxia asked Luo Guixing.
They were teammates after all—concern was warranted.
"I'm not sure. Best not to disturb him. His martial spirit seems... fractured." Luo Guixing shook his head.
Martial spirit fractured?
The others gasped in shock. Gu You's punch was that strong? Enough to shatter a martial spirit?
"Today's friendly match will be watched personally by me and His Holiness the Holy Spirit Douluo. After this match, a batch of special resources will be awarded!" Cai Yue'er announced to the spectators.
A wave of cheers erupted.
As the outer court dean, Elder Cai usually didn't handle routine matters. At her cultivation level, most of her time was spent on training. After all, becoming a Title Douluo wasn't the end—you had to keep cultivating to stabilize and maintain your vast soul power, while also nurturing your battle armor to delay aging.
But ever since this year's freshmen class enrolled, Elder Cai had clearly paid more attention to Year One.
The Silver Moon Douluo had appeared in Class One's lessons more than once. On the day of the class tournament, besides Holy Spirit Douluo serving as referee and healer, Elder Cai had also been there—just watching from a hidden corner.
Both teams now stood on the enormous battlefield, separated by a hundred meters.
In terms of age and height, there was an obvious gap. But overall, besides the six- or seven-year age difference, height-wise, the first-years were only a bit shorter—except for Xu Xiaoyan, who was really tiny.
"Introduce the team captains."
"Ye Shihong. Martial Spirit: Golden Leaf. Level 63, Power Attack System, Battle Soul Emperor."
A thunderous roar erupted from the audience.
This...
(End of Chapter)