Chapter 21: Xu Yuan’s Bottleneck
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Xu Shengqun frowned.
He had been reminded by Xu Yuan earlier and realized that if Xu Yuan were to enter Shrek now, his primary goal would no longer be seeking protection. Instead, it would be about honing himself on the stage where talented soul masters gathered.
However, there was still one reason why he hesitated to let Xu Yuan apply this year—his concern that Xu Yuan, at such a young age, might be influenced by Shrek's ideologies upon entering.
Xu Shengqun pondered deeply for a long time before finally abandoning his previous worries.
To put it bluntly, Xu Yuan's words just moments ago had already proven that his mentality and worldview were sound.
Moreover, everything in life was about weighing pros and cons.
Xu Shengqun's inclination to delay Xu Yuan's participation in Shrek's admissions until three years later stemmed not only from concerns about Shrek's influence but also from other contributing factors. Now that those factors had been resolved, this single concern was no longer enough to sway him completely.
In fact, from another perspective, he began to counter his own thoughts. Even if Xu Yuan were influenced, what harm could it truly bring? Was there really anything about Shrek's style that didn't suit Xu Yuan?
Such was human nature.
The fluctuations of the human heart could change in an instant.
"Xiao Yuan, since this is what you want, Uncle will help you register."
For other soul masters, securing a spot might require careful consideration. After all, Shrek Academy was a sacred place in the hearts of soul masters across the continent, and everyone wanted to apply. If any random soul master could sign up, the pressure on Shrek's admissions process would become overwhelming. At present, Shrek didn't have the technology to support a continent-wide open audition, nor had the conditions for such a system arisen.
Thus, they relied on a fixed number of spots per session.
Every three years, Shrek's entrance exam allocated a certain number of application slots to various influential factions.
While other soul masters might struggle with securing a spot, Xu Yuan didn't need to worry.
The spots were granted by Shrek. Whether one more or one less made little difference to them.
After all, admitting one more genius wouldn't harm Shrek in any way.
As long as Xu Shengqun spoke up, Zuo Shi granting Xu Yuan an application slot wouldn't be difficult.
It could be said that the rules set by Shrek—a group notorious for disregarding rules—didn't need to be taken too seriously.
As for why they didn't secure a spot through factions like the Tianhai Alliance? There was only a week left before Shrek's official admissions process began.
After deciding to apply, it took only a single day for Xu Yuan to obtain an Inner Court admission qualification from his uncle.
"There are still a few days before the exam, so we're not in a rush to leave," Xu Shengqun said. "Once you pass the assessment, you'll likely be directly enrolled in the Inner Court. After that, if you want to access the Spirit Ascension Platform, you'll only be able to do so at the Spirit Pagoda headquarters, which might cause some inconvenience. Use these next few days to visit the platform a few times while you can."
As a Spirit Envoy, obtaining access to the Spirit Ascension Platform wasn't difficult for Xu Shengqun. However, if he were to do so at the headquarters, there would always be three people above him, especially Qiangu Dongfeng, who might interfere.
It wasn't impossible to secure access, but it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Xu Shengqun wasn't from Shrek and didn't share their philosophy of avoiding conflict at all costs.
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Tianhai City Spirit Pagoda
"Spirit Envoy, sir."
Xu Shengqun led Xu Yuan to a floor designated for high-ranking members of the Spirit Pagoda.
"This is the Spirit Ascension Platform equipment reserved for internal personnel. It connects to the same Spirit Ascension Platform, but the slots are exclusively available to internal staff, exchanged with contribution points. These slots differ from those available to the public, and there are often vacancies here."
Xu Yuan's lips twitched slightly.
Vacancies all year round?
This was clearly the exclusive allocation for Spirit Envoys, Tower Masters, and the like.
Xu Yuan hadn't entered blindfolded—he noticed other rooms on this floor, likely also housing internal-use-only Spirit Ascension Platforms that were tightly scheduled. Only the innermost room was unoccupied.
Moreover, strictly speaking, Xu Yuan wasn't an internal staff member.
It could only be said that rules were often made by the strong.
To be honest, Xu Yuan had never entered the Spirit Ascension Platform before.
"Lie down," Xu Shengqun instructed, guiding Xu Yuan into a sealed chamber.
"Remember, if you encounter a crisis inside the Spirit Ascension Platform and are destined to die, press the emergency exit button immediately. You still need to take Shrek's exam. If you die in the platform, your spirit might be damaged, which could affect your performance in the assessment."
"I understand," Xu Yuan nodded.
The chamber door closed, and Xu Yuan shut his eyes, feeling a peculiar force within the chamber drawing his spiritual power into resonance. In a unique manner, his consciousness was being extracted from his body.
His consciousness detached from his physical form, and after a dizzying sensation, he arrived in a surreal world.
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Inside the Spirit Ascension Platform
Xu Yuan landed.
He secured the red emergency exit button and began adapting to his new body.
"After all, this isn't my real body. Although it's almost perfectly replicated through my consciousness, there are still differences."
With his strong spiritual power, Xu Yuan could sense the differences in his current state.
In reality, his physical body was at its peak, with his consciousness taking the lead. But within the Spirit Ascension Platform, everything revolved around consciousness.
"This body is essentially my consciousness. To be precise, I don't have a physical body here—just a body formed by my consciousness." Xu Yuan marveled at the uniqueness of the Spirit Ascension Platform.
Whoever invented the Spirit Ascension Platform was truly a genius.
"I suspect the precursor to the Spirit Ascension Platform was some kind of combat space technology designed to hone battle skills," Xu Yuan speculated.
The Tang Sect had the Hall of Heroes, and the Federation had developed similar virtual reality technologies. Both seemed to share some similarities with the Spirit Ascension Platform.
However, the Spirit Pagoda had evolved this technology into the Spirit Ascension Platform, which allowed users to fight while also enhancing their spirit souls. The Tang Sect's Hall of Heroes simulated the abilities of powerful existing soul masters, allowing users to train by battling projections of historical figures. The Federation's virtual reality technology focused on broader applications, aiming for widespread use across the entire Federation.
After reflecting on this, Xu Yuan quickly adapted to his new body and began surveying his surroundings.
The Spirit Ascension Platform simulated an ancient forest of soul beasts, primarily modeled after the former Great Star Dou Forest.
The beginner-level Spirit Ascension Platform simulated the outer regions of the Great Star Dou Forest, mostly populated by ten-year soul beasts, with century-old soul beasts being rarer and millennium-old soul beasts almost nonexistent.
"Century-old soul beasts are rare, so avoiding them is possible, but killing century-old soul beasts is the fastest way to ascend spiritually," Xu Yuan thought.
That's right—Xu Yuan intended to ascend spiritually.
Even back when he fused with his spirit soul, his spiritual power had already broken through to the Lingtong Realm, reaching a value of 130. Now, a year later, after opening his spiritual sea and establishing a foundation, his progress had become even more stable. Over the past year, his spiritual power had increased by a full 80 points, reaching 210.
An increase of 80 points in a single year.
This wasn't Xu Yuan's limit—it was the limit of what his developing body could handle.
Indeed, Xu Yuan's spiritual power growth had hit a bottleneck.
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