The highway was flanked on both sides by woods and fields.
When the vehicle crashed through the guardrail and dropped down the slope, everyone inside felt a sharp jolt in their backsides. But now was no time to care about pain. They had to get into the woods and find cover. In a situation like this, as long as they could hide well enough, they had a good chance of evading pursuit.
Meanwhile, the multiple soul-powered mechas pursuing them from above immediately noticed the vehicle's sudden detour. They rose into the air, and one by one, their soul cannons locked onto the fleeing group, engines roaring as they gave chase.
However, these were mechas from the Spirit Pagoda, not the federal military. As such, they wouldn't dare to open fire casually. Destroying order under the Federation's law would come at a heavy price.
As they covered half the distance to their targets, the mechas withdrew their soul cannons but continued closing in at high speed.
"You all go ahead."
Gu You knew someone had to stay behind. And that someone could only be him.
Truthfully, he didn't want to act recklessly. After all, this was a public area—if he made a big move, he'd probably end up on the news again. That would make him famous once more, and not in a good way.
But things had reached this point. There was no other choice.
So let's do this.
A dazzling purple light erupted behind the fleeing Shrek students. No one turned around to look. They knew that what they could do now was run—run as fast as they could. Wasting this opportunity would be a betrayal of Gu You's effort.
…
Gu You clapped his hands twice to dust off the dirt, surveying the wreckage below him.
Over a dozen destroyed mechas lay around his feet.
He had tied up more than ten people and secured them to a nearby tree with a thick rope. Their mouths were stuffed with rags so they couldn't shout. But one only had to look into their terrified eyes to understand what they were feeling.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Just wait until your comrades come get you." His expression was obscured by the divine light of Destruction that cloaked his face, hiding any trace of emotion.
With those words, he turned and ran off.
The next few cities on their itinerary were all large urban centers with soul master academies. There should be Soul Saints in those cities.
After covering nearly two hundred kilometers on foot, Gu You finally caught up with the rest of the group.
For someone like him with a body far stronger than normal, two hundred kilometers was nothing.
The group talked for a bit to catch up.
"Spirit Pagoda!" Xu Lizhi growled, shaking his fists in frustration.
"What do you plan to do?" Gu Yue asked coolly.
Xu Lizhi glanced at her. "I'll never sell them buns again!"
Ye Xinglan rolled her eyes. "That's your big plan?"
They checked into a modest hotel to rest. As soul masters, their recovery was fairly quick. While they recuperated, Gu You also asked around for information about the local soul master academy.
They were currently in a city called Tianding, still about two thousand kilometers from Mingdu. There were several other cities on the way.
As expected, Tianding had a soul master academy—one quite renowned in fact, called the Tianding Starry Sky Soul Master Academy.
It was a specialized soul master academy that only accepted soul masters with flying-type martial souls. It also had an advanced division focused on training higher-ranked soul masters, mecha masters, and battle armor masters.
That said, most people didn't take becoming a battle armor master too seriously. Even in top-tier academies like Shrek, students who could complete one-word battle armor before the age of twenty-five were rare. In regular academies, they were virtually unheard of.
Tianding Starry Sky Academy had a strong reputation for producing talent and maintained close ties with the military. The military had long favored soul masters with flying abilities. While soul devices allowed flight, those with inherent flying abilities were naturally more effective in aerial combat.
Even if their martial souls weren't particularly strong, their combat ability could be greatly enhanced with soul devices. The emergence of soul technology had significantly narrowed the gap between common and gifted soul masters. Then came mechas, making a soul master's innate strength even less relevant. Only after battle armor emerged did talented soul masters regain their advantage.
Tianding Starry Sky Academy's focus on flying soul masters and soul engineers made its graduates highly desirable in military circles. With military backing, it grew rapidly and was considered one of the best second-tier academies, second only to those with long-standing histories.
A nondescript soul car pulled up in a small alley near the academy.
The first to get out was Gu You, dressed in a green Shrek Academy uniform. Of course, it wasn't official—it was something they bought from a clothing store. Still, it bore the Shrek emblem, which was more than enough to draw attention.
The academy's front gate was impressively futuristic. Constructed of gleaming metal, it stood twenty meters tall and forty meters wide—wide enough for mechas to pass through with ease.
The outer wall was tall and imposing. Judging by its layout and the sheer amount of space it occupied, the academy took up a massive portion of Tianding's southwestern district.
"Do your thing," Gu You said blandly.
Xie Xie smirked, pulling something out of the car—a long horizontal banner attached to two bamboo poles.
They stretched it out, the white cloth bearing green characters, though the handwriting was clearly atrocious. Still, it was legible. Xie Xie and Xu Lizhi each held one side and planted the poles into the ground.
The area around the academy's front gate was bustling with traffic and students. As soon as the banner went up, people started stopping and whispering among themselves.
A passing student read the banner out loud. "We come from Shrek Academy, here to challenge your strongest team under the age of twenty."
A crowd began forming around them. Shock, amusement, curiosity, and even a bit of indignation flashed across faces.
Shrek Academy?
Those two words were enough to make anyone stop and stare. That name held immense weight across the entire continent. For students especially, Shrek was like a sacred mountain. And now students from that legendary school had come here to issue a challenge?
"Are you really from Shrek?" someone asked, stepping forward.
"Yes," Gu You answered calmly.
"How do we know that?"
Gu You's eyes flashed purple-gold. A series of five strange-colored soul rings rose from beneath his feet. The crowd gasped.
What kind of soul rings were those? Even the most powerful soul spirits didn't produce colors like that! What kind of existence was this guy?
(End of Chapter)
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