Chapter 27: The Three-Thousand-Year Earth Demon Rhino
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"The dual oppression on both the spirit and the body is limited to this, but compared to the pressure exerted by powerful soul masters, Dragon Pressure is far more difficult to resist and its intimidation far stronger."
A unique skill of aura-based oppression!
It aligned perfectly with Xu Yuan's previous understanding of Dragon Pressure.
The young man, Wang Hao, looked at Xu Yuan in astonishment. He had yet to see a trace of fear in Xu Yuan's eyes. Upon closer observation, he noticed that Xu Yuan's gaze had only briefly revealed shock at the immense pressure of the Dragon Pressure before quickly steadying itself as he mobilized his soul power and spiritual energy to resist the oppressive force.
This child's willpower was strong, and his ambition even greater!
Even someone with sky-high aspirations would struggle to remain completely fearless under such circumstances—it required an extraordinary will to achieve this level of composure.
This initial reaction was decisive—willpower.
Clearly, Xu Yuan had earned Wang Hao's approval in terms of willpower.
Next came the test of soul power and spiritual strength.
In this regard, Wang Hao was also satisfied.
"His soul power is very condensed, and his spiritual strength is remarkably resilient."
As time passed, the other candidates in the hall had already fallen one by one, gasping for breath, their eyes filled with terror.
Xu Yuan, however, remained standing, still facing the massive mural ahead.
The Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian!
Simply portraying it vividly, along with a single drop of blood from him, created such an overwhelming sense of oppression.
Dragon Pressure.
Wang Hao was quite astonished that Xu Yuan could endure for so long.
Xu Yuan assessed his own spiritual power and soul power. Knowing he needed to conserve energy for the upcoming tests, he stopped resisting, shifted his gaze away from the mural, and looked at Wang Hao.
"Under the intimidation of Dragon Pressure, you were still able to maintain control over your body. Impressive, junior brother," Wang Hao began addressing Xu Yuan as "junior."
The surrounding students, upon hearing this, turned their gazes toward Xu Yuan, admiration mingled with envy in their expressions.
Such a young kid.
Though they were all around twelve or thirteen years old, seeing Xu Yuan still made them marvel inwardly at how young he was.
"Consider this trial a perfect score for you." Wang Hao said to Xu Yuan.
He wasn't a professional admissions examiner but rather an Inner Court disciple temporarily assigned to assist. From Xu Yuan's performance just now, he could confidently say that Xu Yuan's talent was more than sufficient.
As long as there were no issues with the next test of mentality, Xu Yuan's admission was practically guaranteed.
The Outer Court teacher in charge of this batch of examinees was also surprised, glancing repeatedly at Wang Hao.
"Senior, I'll take this junior ahead to the next trial," Wang Hao said to the teacher.
The teachers teaching at Shrek Academy were all graduates of the Inner Court, so Wang Hao referred to this Outer Court teacher as "senior."
The teacher waved dismissively.
The rest of the examinees had already collapsed under the weight of the Dragon Pressure and been given their scores but were still resting here for a while.
"The first test primarily examined spiritual strength. Although the pressure of Dragon Pressure also involved soul power, clearly spiritual strength was the key to resistance."
"Your willpower was unwavering, and you were even able to control yourself not to look at the mural."
"In fact, the duration you endured would have earned you full marks normally, and that's without considering your age factor." Wang Hao suddenly realized something, smacked his forehead, and then asked Xu Yuan, "By the way, junior, how old are you?"
Xu Yuan looked skeptically at this seemingly unreliable senior.
"Senior, do the scores you gave count?"
Is this unreliable senior just here to work part-time?
Wang Hao's lips twitched slightly.
What kind of question was that?
"Although I'm not a professional examiner, I've received proper training."
When encountering special recruitment candidates, he could conduct one-on-one assessments directly and had the authority to assign scores.
Of course, this authority was limited to the first few trials.
"By the way, how old are you?"
"I awakened my martial soul just a year ago."
Seven years old~~~
Wang Hao understood.
He was inwardly shocked.
Just a year after awakening his martial soul, his spiritual power was already this terrifying?
"May I ask what your current spiritual power value is?" Wang Hao inquired curiously.
"Two hundred and sixty points."
After the spirit soul evolved and the soul ring reached the thousand-year mark, although there was some physical strain, there were also benefits. Especially at Xu Yuan's age, breaking through to a higher soul ring significantly boosted his physical development and overall physical fitness.
A few days after the spirit soul's evolution, his soul power had directly broken through to level nineteen, and his spiritual power surged by fifty points, reaching two hundred and sixty.
Wang Hao sucked in a sharp breath.
What kind of monstrous data was this?
"You're indeed a monster, junior. You truly belong in our Shrek Academy."
While conversing, Wang Hao had already led Xu Yuan to another hall.
"Do you want to rest for a bit?"
Xu Yuan was puzzled as to why he wasn't recovering in the previous examination hall like the other candidates. He frowned slightly.
Still, resting wasn't a bad idea, so he nodded and sat cross-legged.
No sooner had Xu Yuan closed his eyes to meditate than the lighting in the hall changed.
Xu Yuan's eyes snapped open.
The hall had grown dim, with beams of light tracing patterns above, resembling a starry sky. Then, Xu Yuan felt a sudden dizziness as everything around him underwent a drastic change.
"Similar to the Spirit Ascension Platform?"
Xu Yuan quickly realized the nature of his current state.
Compared to the process of entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, which involved equipment chambers, his consciousness was now directly pulled into this space by a powerful illusion.
Not far away, a massive soul beast roared.
Xu Yuan extended his spiritual awareness and took a deep breath.
"Earth Demon Rhino, three-thousand-year cultivation!"
Over ten meters in length and more than five meters tall, its massive body was covered with thick armor-like keratin layers. It had two horns on its head, the front one longer than the other, and its eyes glowed a blood-red.
The Earth Demon Rhino wasn't a super soul beast, but it was certainly among the upper tier of soul beasts.
Upon seeing Xu Yuan, the Earth Demon Rhino slowly advanced, each step exuding immense pressure.
"Earth attribute…" Xu Yuan frowned and began increasing the distance between them.
Before his spirit soul evolved, Xu Yuan wasn't confident he could defeat a thousand-year soul beast. Now, with the evolution of his spirit soul, he had gained the ability to kill one.
However, a three-thousand-year Earth Demon Rhino was beyond his capabilities.
An earth-type soul beast meant formidable defense and devastating attacks. A single hit could shatter internal organs.
Seeing Xu Yuan retreat, the Earth Demon Rhino let out a roar and charged toward him.
Despite its massive size appearing cumbersome, it didn't mean it was slow.
With a burst of speed, it quickly closed the distance. Thick earth elemental energy radiated outward from its body, enveloping Xu Yuan within moments.
A suffocating pressure arose.
"This is useless against me." Xu Yuan sketched with his Tianyuan Brush, dispelling the surrounding earth elemental energy and dissipating the pressure.
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