Chapter 35: The Eighth Trial
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Entering the next room, Xu Yuan saw equipment similar to the Spirit Ascension Platform.
"The eighth trial will take place in the Dueling Arena. Your opponents will be projections with the strength of ordinary Great Soul Masters from the continent. Your task is to continuously duel until you achieve ten victories to pass, earning six points. After that, each additional victory will grant one more point."
The seventh trial had already tested practical combat.
Now, the eighth trial was testing endurance through continuous combat.
The Dueling Arena.
Was it a virtual platform modeled after the Grand Dueling Arena?
Xu Yuan had long known that the foundational technology of the Spirit Ascension Platform was widely mastered by major factions. However, he hadn't expected Shrek Academy to develop so many virtual platforms using this technology.
From the previous Beast Arena to the current Dueling Arena.
"Of course, this trial allows you to cooperate and participate in 3v3 matches."
There was also a 3v3 option?
"In that case, let's go with 3v3," Xu Yuan shrugged indifferently.
Although having a non-combatant like Xu Lizhi would increase his burden slightly, Xu Lizhi wasn't entirely useless. His steamed buns could restore stamina, which was uniquely advantageous for an endurance test like this.
The three entered separate enclosed cabins.
"Welcome to the Dueling Arena."
The scenery before their eyes changed completely, transforming from the examination room into a massive arena.
There were no hosts or spectators on the platform—only mechanical voices from the system.
"3v3 team battle, first match."
As the mechanical voice rang out, three figures appeared opposite Xu Yuan and his group.
The Dueling Arena differed from the Tang Sect's Hall of Heroes. The Hall of Heroes simulated powerful soul masters who had actually existed in the Tang Sect's history, with their abilities reasonably reconstructed based on their respective levels.
In contrast, the Dueling Arena was built using information collected by Shrek Academy about soul masters of various levels across the continent today.
It wasn't that the opponents represented specific soul masters from the continent.
Instead, the Dueling Arena gathered data on almost every type of martial soul and soul skill combination currently existing on the continent. It could generate projections by pairing martial souls, soul skills, and soul rings according to demand.
The enemies Xu Yuan and his group now faced were at the level of the most ordinary Great Soul Masters.
One yellow spirit soul and two yellow soul rings, with soul power below level twenty-five and combat techniques still in their rudimentary stages.
"Both sides, prepare."
Just three seconds after the opponents were generated, the mechanical voice announced the start of the match.
Xu Yuan released his martial soul, holding the Tianyuan Brush in hand.
He didn't plan to fight with the Tianyuan Spear. In a small team battle like this, he functioned best as a control-type soul master, and this form allowed him to conserve soul power more effectively.
Ye Xinglan released her Star God Sword martial soul, gripping it in her right hand, her gaze sharp and piercing.
Xu Lizhi hid behind Xu Yuan, beginning to make steamed buns.
His first soul skill was the Restorative Meat Bun, which could restore physical stamina and soul power while also providing basic healing for injuries. If the injuries weren't severe, the meat bun could fully heal them.
Ye Xinglan, wielding her Star God Sword, charged forward. Her fighting style was aggressive—she always took the initiative.
The three opposing figures quickly spread out. Two of them, seemingly agility attackers, flanked Ye Xinglan from both sides, while the remaining turtle-soul defensive-type soul master charged straight at her, attempting to restrain her.
From the rear, Xu Yuan swung his Tianyuan Brush.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two blobs of ink rapidly landed in front of the turtle-soul master. One exploded with wood elemental energy, causing trees to grow and entangle him, while the other transformed into earth elemental mud upon landing, further binding him along with the trees.
An ink-drawn prison.
Xu Yuan continued to swing the Tianyuan Brush, creating small patches of mud beneath the feet of the two agility attackers using water and earth elements.
Halfway through her charge, Ye Xinglan's yellow soul ring flashed brightly.
"First soul skill, Stellar God Sword!"
The tip of her Star God Sword shimmered like starlight, and a streak of stellar light shot toward one of the opponents—a leopard-soul agility attacker.
Xu Yuan swung his Tianyuan Brush, coordinating with Ye Xinglan to restrict the movements of the leopard-soul master.
Ye Xinglan poured her full focus into this sword strike.
After witnessing Xu Yuan's spear technique earlier, she was deeply moved by the fact that he had already grasped spear intent.
Though she hadn't yet cultivated her own sword intent, her heart was already devoted to the way of the sword. This single strike channeled all her concentration.
Three soul masters were challenging three Great Soul Masters.
Among them, Xu Lizhi lacked combat ability and could only stay in the back, needing protection while also guarding against ambushes.
Xu Yuan and Ye Xinglan bore significant pressure.
Still, they were ultimately capable of defeating their opponents.
The real challenge lay in the need to fight continuously without rest.
Even after securing a victory, they had to keep battling.
Fortunately, though Xu Lizhi lacked combat ability and required protection, he could produce Restorative Meat Buns.
After some calculations, Xu Yuan was confident that he could endure from start to finish.
In a single battle, Xu Yuan consumed about half of his soul power. Eating one meat bun restored him to full strength, and by the end of each battle, Xu Lizhi's meat buns would have perfectly replenished his energy.
As for Ye Xinglan, her consumption was much faster.
Xu Yuan's use of elemental energy relied on fusing his own soul power with external heaven-and-earth origin energy, with only forty percent of his own soul power being expended.
In contrast, Ye Xinglan nearly depleted her soul power after each battle.
Of course, eating more meat buns could restore her to full strength, but she needed three per battle.
At first glance, it seemed sustainable, but there were significant challenges.
Each battle lasted only about ten minutes.
After ten battles—totaling roughly an hour and a half—she would have eaten thirty buns.
And this was during combat.
The first five battles went smoothly, but by the sixth, Ye Xinglan simply couldn't eat any more buns.
Fortunately, the residual energy from the partially digested buns in her body continued to sustain her, allowing her to barely scrape by in the sixth battle by squeezing out every bit of her remaining soul power.
In the seventh battle, she managed to eat another Restorative Meat Bun.
Xu Yuan put in extra effort, restricting their opponents and easing the pressure on her.
In the eighth battle, Ye Xinglan retreated to stand beside Xu Lizhi, essentially not participating in the fight. She ate two Restorative Meat Buns, restoring her to full strength.
In the ninth battle, they switched positions again.
Xu Yuan was now fully restored.
In the tenth battle, they switched once more. Xu Yuan, having exhausted his soul power, fought three Great Soul Masters alone, managing to defeat them.
However, Ye Xinglan hadn't fully recovered.
She truly couldn't eat anymore. She forced down one more Restorative Meat Bun and spent the remaining time meditating to recover her soul power.
As a result, Xu Yuan bore tremendous pressure, genuinely fighting three opponents alone.
"Little Fatty, give me a few more buns!"
In the eleventh battle, Xu Yuan didn't plan to step down and continued to fight three opponents alone.
He was still able to eat.
While fighting, he used his Great Devouring Heaven and Earth Technique to digest the meat buns, restoring his energy quickly while simultaneously eliminating the feeling of fullness.
In this way, his coordination with Xu Lizhi was nearly perfect.
However, Xu Lizhi began to struggle.
"Xu Yuan, my soul power is almost depleted. I can make at most five more meat buns."
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