Could such soul rings truly exist?
And there were five of them! That meant the boy in front of them was at least a Soul King. But how old could he possibly be?
Yet, they had no idea just how much Gu You was still hiding.
The young man who had questioned him was visibly shocked, taking two involuntary steps back.
Just then, a few people emerged from inside the Tending Starry Sky Soul Master Academy. All of them appeared to be in their forties or older. The one leading the group was tall and broad-shouldered, his short gray hair standing upright like steel needles, giving him a vigorous and commanding presence.
Gu You made no effort to hide the aura of his bloodline soul rings.
"Shrek Academy? Are you inner court or outer court students?" the middle-aged man asked.
"Outer court, Class One," Gu You replied calmly, meeting his gaze.
"Class One?" This time, the middle-aged man was even more surprised than when he first saw Gu You's unusual soul rings.
"Put away your banner. Come in," the man said, stepping aside to make way for them.
"Go to class, all of you. Don't just stand here gawking," he barked to the surrounding students. He clearly held a high status at the academy. Upon his command, the crowd dispersed swiftly, each student returning to their own path inside the campus.
Gu You and his companions followed the man into the academy. As expected of an institution with a long-standing history, the academy was massive and beautifully landscaped. Elegant sculptures lined the paths, and the atmosphere within was quiet and scholarly.
"I'm Li Zhilong, Director of the Teaching Office here at the Tending Starry Sky Soul Master Academy," the man introduced himself. "Our academy has a long history and is the leading higher education institution for soul masters in Tending City. We focus on training flying-type soul masters, soul engineers, and mecha pilots. We also have a postgraduate program dedicated to training battle armor masters. Are you here on behalf of Shrek Academy?"
"We're not representing the academy," Gu You replied honestly. "To be frank, Director Li, we're here on our own behalf. This is part of a trial from our school. We were required to seek out opponents stronger than ourselves in various cities. All of our identification and equipment was confiscated for the duration of the trial. We had no choice but to come here and challenge your academy. We chose the Tending Starry Sky Soul Master Academy because we know it's the best in this city, and perhaps the entire northwestern region."
Li Zhilong burst into laughter. "Truly brave youngsters, not afraid of anything. As expected from the little monsters trained by Shrek Academy. The fact that you didn't just storm in already shows you've given us face. I remember back in my day, one of our seniors carried out his academy mission by charging straight into a military base. It turned the place upside down."
The words "our Shrek Academy" surprised everyone.
"You studied at Shrek?" Ye Xinglan asked.
Li Zhilong chuckled, "Yes, I did. I graduated about fifteen classes before yours. Unfortunately, only barely from the outer court." Though he said "barely," his face was full of pride. Graduating from Shrek Academy had been the crowning achievement of his life.
"I accept your challenge. I'll arrange opponents for you as requested—a team of our strongest under-twenty students. I'm curious to see how much of a gap there is between our students and yours. It's been years since I've returned to Shrek. I miss the Spirit Ice Plaza dearly. Back then, my biggest dream was to study beside Sea God Lake, to enter the inner court. Sadly, I never made it."
"By the way, senior, we have one more request," Gu You added.
"What is it?" Li Zhilong asked, raising a brow.
"During the team battle, we'd like your side to include a Soul Sage," Gu You said casually.
A... Soul Sage?
Li Zhilong's mind practically short-circuited. Were these kids insane? A Soul Sage, given enough time, could level an entire city!
Seeing his expression, Gu You could only shake his head and release a small portion of his aura…
The main academic building of the Tending Starry Sky Soul Master Academy was a towering structure nearly a hundred meters tall. From the outside, it was hard to tell how many floors it had, but the sheer scale and dome-like roof made it clear this was the centerpiece of the campus. While not quite as vast as Shrek Academy's, it was certainly comparable in majesty.
Li Zhilong led them to a rest area first. "Just soul master skills, right? No mechas?" he asked anxiously.
"No," Gu Yue answered before anyone else could, clearly annoyed. "Do we look like we'd be allowed to bring mechas out of the academy?"
"Alright then. Rest here and have some water. I'll go make the arrangements."
He returned shortly after.
"Need time to prepare?" he asked upon reentering.
"No need. We're ready to fight," Gu You replied immediately.
"Very well. Follow me."
They climbed all the way to the top floor of the building, which had an exceptionally high ceiling—over thirty meters. It was a massive dome structure, and through a corridor, they entered a vast hall.
To everyone's surprise, this hall was open to the sky.
"This is our observatory," Li Zhilong said. "It's also our main combat training area. With a diameter of three hundred meters, it's completely open to the sky since our academy specializes in training flying-type soul masters. There's no height restriction in this space."
"It must be beautiful to gaze at the stars here at night," Xu Xiaoyan said, her eyes gleaming.
Li Zhilong smiled. "You can come back and stargaze later if you like. This observatory has some unique features. Day or night, once activated, it can bring us closer to space. The large soul tool array here draws star energy directly from the cosmos and channels it into this space, providing pure energy for our students to cultivate with. Only the most exceptional students are allowed to train here during special times. Usually, it's reserved for postgraduate classes to refine themselves and their battle armor using the star energy."
"Please wait here for a moment and get used to the environment. Our students will arrive shortly."
The observatory was enclosed by thirty-meter-high walls. Upon closer inspection, the walls were embedded with complex patterns made from rare metals. With Li Zhilong's explanation, it was now evident this arena was powered by an immensely potent energy system.
Soul tool arrays had been widely used in civilian life for years, but for millennia, humanity had never stopped researching and improving them. Many large-scale, complex arrays were developed for different purposes. The military possessed the most, using them for national defense.
The soul tool array embedded in this observatory was unlike anything Gu You had ever seen…
(End of Chapter)
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