At this moment, after hearing what Jing Hongchen had announced, the members of the Sun Moon Team all became somewhat nervous.
"What? The captain is taking leave?"
"At a time like this? The All-Continent High-Rank Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament is about to start!"
"Yeah, training time is so precious, and he's actually taking a month off... He must have run into some major trouble!"
The team members whispered among themselves, looks of worry appearing on their faces simultaneously.
They knew Liu Yuan's character well; he was certainly not the type to drop the ball at a critical moment.
Since he chose to leave at this juncture, he must have encountered an emergency that had to be dealt with.
For a moment, everyone's hearts were hanging in suspense.
Meng Hongchen was even more worried. She hurried over to Jing Hongchen and asked urgently: "Grandfather, what happened to Brother Liu Yuan? What on earth did he encounter? Is it serious?"
Looking at his granddaughter's anxious expression, Jing Hongchen reassured her: "He didn't specify, just said he had family matters to attend to."
He paused and added: "However, he said he would return in a month."
Upon hearing this, the worry in everyone's hearts did not diminish much.
Seeing them all looking like this, Jing Hongchen felt quite gratified; it showed that Liu Yuan had truly forged them into a united team.
He continued in a reassuring tone: "Since he provided a specific return date, it means the problem shouldn't be too significant."
"Moreover, I asked him if he needed the academy's help, and he refused quite firmly, indicating he could handle it himself."
"This proves the matter is still within his control, so you don't need to worry excessively."
At this, everyone's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
Indeed, given Liu Yuan's strength and personality, if he said there was no problem, then there was a high probability that there really wasn't.
They gradually set their minds at ease.
Seeing this, Jing Hongchen nodded with satisfaction and turned to leave the training ground.
With the principal's departure, Ma Rulong took a deep breath and stepped forward.
As the vice-captain, he knew he had to shoulder the responsibility at this moment.
He looked around at his teammates and said in a serious tone: "Alright, let's start to Cultivate."
"Even though the captain isn't here, we must still adjust ourselves to the best state and maximize our training effectiveness!"
"We want him to see an even stronger Sun Moon Team when he returns!"
"Do you understand?!"
"Understood!"
Ma Rulong's words were like war drums, instantly igniting the fighting spirit in everyone's hearts!
Far from being slack or dissatisfied because of Liu Yuan's departure, they were all as pumped up as if they had been injected with adrenaline, their eyes burning with intense flames.
For a time, the atmosphere in the entire training ground became hotter than ever before!
...
Of course, Liu Yuan, who was thousands of miles away, did not know what Ma Rulong and the others were thinking.
After leaving the Sun Moon Royal Academy, he headed straight towards the Star Dou Great Forest.
Starting from Bright Capital in the Sun Moon Empire and heading to the Star Dou Great Forest within the Heaven Dou Empire, the journey was long.
Even at his current strength, traveling at full speed with several rests in between, it would take at least seven days to arrive.
The journey was tedious, especially when traveling alone.
In his spare time, Liu Yuan couldn't help but let his mind wander.
What kind of skill would his fifth spirit ring bring after completing this mission?
Speaking of which, his Spirit, Rayquaza, already possessed four powerful skills.
The first spirit ring's Extreme Speed, extreme speed, was a god-tier skill for cutting into the battlefield, chasing, and evading.
The second spirit ring's Storm, a powerful area-of-effect special attack, possessed both control and damage.
The third spirit ring's Dragon Dance, a top-tier buff skill that combined attack and speed enhancement.
The fourth spirit ring's Surf, made up for the water-type coverage and large-scale clearing ability.
The combination of these four skills was already excellent: there was a buff (Dragon Dance), special attack output (Storm, Surf), physical attack output (Extreme Speed), and the coverage spanned three attributes: Flying, Dragon, and Water, which could be called perfect.
So, what would the fifth skill be?
"Following the idea of complementing the coverage, a Fire-type or Electric-type skill seems quite good?" Liu Yuan thought, rubbing his chin.
"For example, Flamethrower or Fire Blast could effectively restrain Ice-type and Grass-type Spirits. Or maybe Thunderbolt or Thunder, which have miraculous effects against Water-type and Flying-type Spirits."
"From the perspective of strengthening, Swords Dance also seems like an excellent choice. Dragon Dance boosts physical attack and speed, while Swords Dance boosts physical attack significantly. I wonder if these two skills can be used at the same time? Anyway, they are both dances... How about I use one dance as two?"
"There's also the STAB attack skill, Draco Meteor is also good."
The more Liu Yuan thought about it, the deeper he went, unable to stop.
Of course, what he looked forward to most was Rayquaza's signature god-tier skill — Dragon Ascent.
The power of that skill was beyond conventional categories; once acquired, it would definitely become his strongest trump card!
Just like that, amidst the rapid travel and daydreams, six days passed.
On this day, when Liu Yuan arrived, travel-worn, at a small town named "Sunset Town," it was already late.
This place was already very close to the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest, and many Spirit Master teams entering the forest would choose to perform their final resupply and rest here.
Liu Yuan intended to rest for one night in this town, recharge his energy, and officially head to the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow morning.
He walked in the direction of the town's busiest area and soon arrived in front of a restaurant that looked quite large.
However, just as he stepped into the restaurant's entrance, a chaotic aura mixed with spirit power fluctuations rushed towards his face!
"Bang!"
A wooden table was kicked away by brute force, tumbling through the air towards the entrance. Liu Yuan frowned slightly, sidestepped, and easily dodged it.
He looked up and saw that in the center of the restaurant's hall, a farce of bullying the few with the many was unfolding.
A young girl in blue tight-fitting clothes, with a pretty face but looking somewhat disheveled at the moment, was being surrounded by four or five Spirit Masters.
In the girl's hand, she was controlling several tough blue vines, struggling to fend off attacks coming from all directions.
The girl's cultivation was not weak; looking at her spirit ring configuration, she was a three-ring Spirit Master, but under the siege of that group of people, she appeared stretched thin and was retreating step by step.
The few Spirit Masters besieging her were mostly in their thirties or forties, and their spirit power Rank was also between three and four rings. Clearly, they were relying on their numbers to bully this young girl who was alone.
Although Liu Yuan felt very unhappy about this kind of bullying behavior, not knowing the cause and effect of the matter, he originally didn't want to meddle in other people's business.
But when he looked closely at the girl's face, he couldn't help but be stunned.
That stubborn yet familiar face...
Wasn't it Tang Ya, one of the few friends he had made back at Shrek Academy?
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