Chapter 34: Ethereal Form? Sorry, I Counter You

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How could the tall, thin man not see through Xu Yuan's clumsy tactics?

No matter how random his movements appeared, the fact that the distance between them was steadily closing was crystal clear to the tall man.

Of course, it wasn't just about spotting the tactic—it was also a habit born from years of avoiding close-range ambushes.

His martial soul's defense was too fragile. If he were to be caught in close combat, one strike would be fatal.

His first soul skill, though enhanced by his spirit soul, merely improved the thrusting speed and crushing technique of his tentacles. It remained an ordinary skill with no standout features.

His rise began only after he coincidentally obtained his second spirit soul.

With the second spirit soul, his second soul skill—spatial teleportation—combined with his first skill, allowing him to execute various tactics that greatly increased his strength. This was what allowed him to pass Shrek Academy's entrance exam.

However, during his first year at Shrek, he was practically useless in any competition or battle because he was too fragile. Despite his unusual attacks, he was always targeted and eliminated.

This year of experience honed his survival instincts to an extraordinary degree.

Such instincts were invaluable.

Even after gaining his third soul skill—Ethereal Form—his survival ability became his strongest asset, and it continued to serve him well.

For instance, now, Xu Yuan's approach was entirely within his expectations. He even planned to use this opportunity to counterattack and defeat Xu Yuan.

The tall man, now ethereal, felt confident of victory.

Xu Yuan, observing the glow of the tall man's third soul ring, prepared himself accordingly.

Closing in on his opponent, he naturally focused on the man's survival abilities. The third soul skill, which the tall man had yet to use, was clearly the crux of his strategy.

Watching the tall man gradually fade into an ethereal state, Xu Yuan couldn't help but smile.

So your survival ability is Ethereal Form, huh?

What a coincidence—I happen to counter that.

Within Xu Yuan's body, five-colored light flowed, channeling through his arm into the Tianyuan Spear. The Five-Element Spear Spirit attached itself to him, and the rudimentary spear intent he had been cultivating alongside his unstoppable spear momentum transformed, becoming even sharper and more piercing.

At this moment, space itself seemed within reach of his spear.

Though he couldn't shatter space, this strike impacted it directly, transmitting its force onto the tall man.

Space froze.

Cai Yue'er's figure quietly appeared in the corner of the room. Around her floated a series of soul rings, their colors shockingly exaggerated—three purple, three black, and three red. This configuration defied all logic.

The tall man sighed in relief as he looked at Xu Yuan.

"Junior brother, I admit defeat." He forced a bitter smile, never expecting his plan to use himself as bait to end so abruptly. His survival ability had been countered.

This was pure suppression.

There was nothing he could do about it.

Luck, too, was a form of strength.

Xu Yuan had chosen him—the opponent with the highest soul power level—but coincidentally, he happened to possess the means to counter him.

Cai Yue'er observed Xu Yuan with great interest.

"Did you inherit your uncle's spear intent?" she asked in surprise.

"No, it inherited my uncle's spear intent," Xu Yuan replied, shaking his head. A flash of five-colored light shimmered on the Tianyuan Spear as the Five-Element Spear Spirit hovered beside him.

Cai Yue'er gazed at the Five-Element Spear Spirit, her eyes reflecting a hint of curiosity.

Recalling the details of the battle, it seemed that Xu Yuan's spear intent only transformed into that reality-piercing spear intent when the Five-Element Spear Spirit fused with his martial soul.

Still, it was only a rudimentary form. Though it hadn't truly shattered space, it had managed to attack through space, striking the tall man hiding in the spatial crevice.

Cai Yue'er scrutinized Xu Yuan carefully.

His physical attributes were exceptionally strong—a detail she hadn't noticed in the arena earlier.

A physique surpassing that of an average Great Soul Master, combined with a thousand-year first soul ring, gave Xu Yuan the foundation of a typical Great Soul Master. This compensated for his lower soul power level. Alongside his spear techniques, spear intent, and the coincidental tactical advantage, Xu Yuan had secured victory—a Soul Master defeating a Soul Honored student who had trained at Shrek for three years.

Of course, the term "average Great Soul Master" here referred to the baseline for students at Shrek's Outer Court during the Great Soul Master stage.

In the blink of an eye, Cai Yue'er mentally reviewed the details of this battle.

"This trial… consider it a perfect score."

Cai Yue'er felt a flicker of anticipation.

Could this child achieve a perfect score in every trial?

It had been a long time since such a feat had occurred at Shrek Academy.

The last time was during Yun Ming's enrollment.

The greatest obstacle to achieving full marks was undoubtedly this seventh trial—defeating a senior who had trained at Shrek for three years was akin to a hell-level challenge.

Of course, there was still a sliver of hope.

In reality, after entering Shrek, students' soul power levels were no longer the sole focus. Shrek's curriculum allocated significant energy toward other areas, especially battle armor. Even prodigies who reached the Soul Honored rank by age thirteen struggled to reach level forty within their first three years. By their third year, breaking through to the Soul King rank was achievable only by the top few students—and by then, they were already twenty years old. Each cohort produced only a handful of such individuals over three years.

Did Soul Kings exist outside at age twenty?

Yes, and not just a few. Even without the backing of major organizations like Shrek Academy or the Spirit Pagoda, there were more than a few twenty-year-old Soul Kings.

However, twenty-year-old Soul Kings who were also single-word battle armor masters were rare.

After three years of training at Shrek, most students remained at the Soul Honored level, albeit with immense combat experience.

But they weren't invincible.

Luck, coincidence, and absolutely monstrous talent were all factors that could lead to defeating a senior in this trial and securing a perfect score.

Technically, this was the eighth trial of the admissions exam, but the Inner Court assessment placed it as the seventh, removing the original seventh trial's endurance test.

Instead, an additional endurance test was added as the eighth trial.

"Teacher, I'm a food-based soul master," Xu Lizhi reported, asking how he should proceed in the fight.

"You can concede and secure a base score of two points," Cai Yue'er replied.

This trial tested combat ability, offering no opportunities for auxiliary-type soul masters to collaborate.

Xu Lizhi nodded reluctantly.

In any case, he had already secured enough points.

Unlike Xu Yuan, who was taking the Inner Court exam slots, Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan were specially recruited. Shrek Academy, being a top-tier institution, had special channels unknown and inaccessible to ordinary soul masters.

Xu Lizhi didn't need to score eighty-five points; passing with sixty points was sufficient for Inner Court admission.

As for Xu Yuan, he needed to score eighty-five points.

Ye Xinglan earned four points.

She hadn't lasted ten minutes, but her overwhelming sword intent had forced her opponents back several times, earning her four points for the pure display of sword mastery.

"The eighth trial is the endurance test."

In the standard exam, the seventh trial tested endurance, while the eighth tested combat.

However, the Inner Court assessment swapped the order: combat first, then endurance.

The content of the endurance test also differed significantly.

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