Chapter 62: The Star Dou Forest From Ten Thousand Years Ago

Because the East Sea Academy's competition was initiated by the federation's high-level officials, and Xia Yi did not face Ye Xinglan again, let alone defeat her once more, the ban on Eastern Sea Academy's participation in the Skysea Alliance Tournament was not lifted, even though Gu Yue defeated Ye Xinglan.

That same night, the contestants and mentors from East Sea Academy boarded the bus back to their campus.

Long Hengxu no longer underestimated Xia Yi. On the very night they returned to East Sea Academy, he personally visited Xia Yi and Wu Jin in their dormitory.

"These are entry cards for the Ascension Platform during the riot phase in East Sea City. From now on, you two will enjoy the treatment reserved for Class Zero. In addition to a daily free premium meal, you'll also have the opportunity to enter the Ascension Platform once a week for training." Ever since Xia Yi and Gu Yue defeated Ye Xinglan, Long Hengxu's smile had never left his face. With a broad grin, he handed two metallic entry cards to Xia Yi and Wu Jin.

Xia Yi did not refuse. He had defeated Ye Xinglan and brought unprecedented honor to East Sea Academy.

Such rewards were hardly sufficient to match the glory he had achieved.

Wu Jin also accepted without hesitation. His talent rivaled the prodigies of Class Zero, so he accepted the benefits with a clear conscience.

"Take some rest and recharge. Prepare for the riot-phase training at the Ascension Platform in a few days. This time, East Sea City will gather prodigies from all over the region. Strive to make East Sea Academy's name resound once more in their presence." Long Hengxu didn't linger to disturb Xia Yi and Wu Jin further. After handing over the Ascension Platform entry cards, he left.

With East Sea Academy gaining fame, Long Hengxu, as the director of education, naturally had his hands full.

He had several meetings to attend. If not for Xia Yi, he wouldn't have personally come to the students' dormitory.

"How much do you know about the Ascension Platform? And what does the riot phase mean?" Xia Yi turned to Wu Jin and asked. He had heard of the Ascension Platform before and knew it could enhance the age of soul rings. However, his understanding was limited to that.

After all, he had only been in the human world for a month. During this time, he had been busy cultivating and learning forging, leaving no room to delve deeply into such matters.

Wu Jin looked at the Ascension Platform entry card in his hand and explained in a deep voice, "The Ascension Platform was created by the Spirit Pagoda as a replica of the Star Dou Forest from ten thousand years ago. Everything within it is almost identical to the forest's ancient appearance. It's a place for soul masters to train and improve their personal strength while experiencing the charm of the soul master world from ancient times.

"The principles behind the Ascension Platform are unclear to me. It's said that over ten Titled Douluo and numerous top-tier scientists were involved in its initial construction. The Spirit Pagoda paid a hefty price to complete it."

"When it was first built, its main purpose was to advance the study of artificial soul spirits by the Spirit Pagoda, hoping the platform could elevate their quality and allow the creation of stronger soul spirits. However, the experiments were only partially successful. The Ascension Platform does help improve the quality of soul spirits, but the effects are neither significant nor consistent."

"After such a massive investment, the Spirit Pagoda wasn't willing to let it go to waste. Through further development, the Ascension Platform became a unique space. In simple terms, it's a culmination of the continent's peak soul tool technology, soul master expertise, and scientific research. When a soul master enters the Ascension Platform, it's as if they're entering another dimension. While the platform itself offers safety measures, it allows combat against virtual soul beasts to enhance real-world combat experience. Some exceptionally lucky soul masters can even use it to increase the age of their soul spirits and soul rings, achieving the 'ascension' effect."

Hearing this, Xia Yi couldn't help but feel a surge of curiosity. "How does it increase the age of soul rings?"

Wu Jin explained, "It's simple. Whether it's soul spirits or the soul rings directly absorbed from soul beasts in the past—or even the kind of soul rings you and I possess—their power and evaluation are determined by their age. Enhancing a soul ring means increasing its age. In the Ascension Platform, soul beasts are virtual but composed of genuine energy. According to the platform's rules, when you hunt a soul beast, ten percent of its age is converted into energy and infused into your soul ring within a second. If you have multiple soul rings, the energy is evenly distributed.

"For instance, if you kill a ten-year soul beast, you'll gain one year of energy for your soul ring. If your soul ring is currently one hundred years old, it will become one hundred and one years old. I currently have two soul rings, so if I were to kill a ten-year soul beast, each ring would only increase by half a year. Since you only have one soul ring, which already seems to exceed one hundred years, it wouldn't take much to upgrade it to a thousand-year soul ring. Killing a few thousand-year soul beasts should suffice—provided your body and soul can endure the power of a thousand-year soul ring."

"I see," Xia Yi muttered, stroking his chin in thought. Wu Jin's explanation made it sound easy, but in practice, it would undoubtedly be a monumental challenge.

The strength of a thousand-year soul beast was formidable, and even Soul Elders would flee at the sight of one. For an ordinary one-ring soul master, encountering a hundred-year soul beast was often a matter of life and death, let alone defeating it.

Killing a thousand-year soul beast was nothing short of a dream.

"What about the riot phase of the Ascension Platform?" Xia Yi continued to ask.

Wu Jin replied, "The Ascension Platform undergoes two riot phases each year. Initially, these were caused by instability in the energy core used to construct the platform. With technological advancements, the riot phases are now controlled and turned into special events. During the riot phase, soul beasts in the platform become extraordinarily active and their numbers increase significantly, making the environment far more dangerous.

"Each of the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars has three hundred entry slots during these phases. Besides us, the three prodigies of Class Zero will also be participating. Securing five riot-phase entry cards must have cost the academy a hefty price to convince the East Sea Spirit Pagoda."

Wu Jin paused before continuing, "Under normal circumstances, when entering the Ascension Platform, participants are randomly scattered. However, during the riot phase, teams can enter together and be teleported to the same location. Teams are limited to seven members. Inside, participants may not only encounter soul beasts but also other soul masters. These soul masters are even more dangerous than the soul beasts."

"Why?" Xia Yi asked, his curiosity piqued.

Wu Jin explained, "During the riot phase, the absorption time for soul beast energy is extended a hundredfold. For example, if it usually takes one second to absorb energy from a soul beast, it will take one hundred seconds during the riot phase. If you leave the platform before the absorption is complete, any remaining energy will be taken by the nearest soul master. This is a unique feature of the riot phase."

Xia Yi's eyes lit up. "So, others can steal the energy from the soul beasts I hunt, but I can also steal theirs?"

Wu Jin nodded and said calmly, "If you're confident, then yes. But let me remind you that the upper limit for the Beginner Ascension Platform is three-ring Soul Elders at the peak of their level. Many of these soul masters enter during the riot phase as a gamble to see if they can upgrade their soul rings by hunting more beasts and other participants. You'd be facing peak-level Soul Elders, likely in seven-member teams. Do you think you could defeat them all within one hundred seconds?"

Xia Yi shook his head. He wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could accomplish that.

"Did you enhance your own soul ring to a thousand years in the Ascension Platform?" Xia Yi asked Wu Jin.

"My first soul ring, yes," Wu Jin replied solemnly.

"Where did you get the entry card?" Xia Yi asked, curious.

"If you want one, you'll find a way," Wu Jin said indifferently.

"That's true," Xia Yi nodded.