Chapter 36: Xu Yuan's Ambition
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Five?
Xu Yuan sighed inwardly.
The battle had dragged on for so long. Though his and Ye Xinglan's physical states could continuously recover, their mental exhaustion was unstoppable.
As for Xu Lizhi, though he hadn't fought, his soul power had been steadily consumed from continuously making Restorative Meat Buns.
Food-based soul masters' creations were effective even on themselves, with some even enjoying a hundred percent effectiveness.
Xu Lizhi's Restorative Meat Buns worked on him as well, providing positive feedback.
In other words, the soul power restored after eating them exceeded the soul power consumed in creating them.
While this might seem to violate the law of energy conservation, it was more accurate to say that the energy within the buns restoring soul power and stamina came not from Xu Lizhi's soul power but rather from heaven-and-earth origin energy—or, more precisely, a recovery mechanism.
Most of Xu Lizhi's soul power was used to sustain this mechanism, converting it into a unique form of energy that allowed the body to rapidly absorb the embedded heaven-and-earth origin energy to restore soul power.
"Make four meat buns—two for me, two for you. In the next round, you should be able to recover some soul power. Try to get back to being able to make three buns by then.
Ye Xinglan hasn't fully digested what she ate earlier. This match, focus on digesting the energy from before and recovering as quickly as possible."
Eleventh match: Xu Yuan took on three opponents alone—passed.
Twelfth match: Xu Yuan and Ye Xinglan fought together—passed.
Thirteenth match: Ye Xinglan eliminated one opponent in the first half, then began recovering while Xu Yuan faced two opponents alone—passed.
Fourteenth match: Xu Lizhi squeezed out enough soul power to make one meat bun, giving it to Xu Yuan. Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi each engaged one opponent, giving Xu Yuan a one-on-one opportunity. After swiftly defeating his opponent, Xu Yuan helped Xu Lizhi deal with his opponent, then teamed up with Ye Xinglan to defeat the final enemy.
With fourteen victories in total, Xu Yuan's group earned a perfect score.
Exiting the Dueling Arena, Wang Hao didn't rush Xu Yuan's group to the next trial immediately.
The three entered meditation to recover their mentally exhausted states.
After giving them a full half-hour, Wang Hao finally interrupted their recovery.
"All right, next is the ninth trial."
The ninth trial tested mentality.
Xu Yuan's group would still proceed as a team.
They entered a virtual platform simulating the Star Dou Great Forest.
"There's no danger around us for now. Let's continue recovering," Xu Yuan suggested.
The fatigue from fourteen consecutive battles hadn't fully dissipated yet. With the situation allowing it, they naturally prioritized recovery.
"Though we're tired, the previous trial pushed us to our limits, which was highly effective for improving our combat skills. Reflect on the details of the recent battles," Xu Yuan reminded Ye Xinglan.
Ye Xinglan nodded, her earlier coldness toward Xu Yuan now gone.
She had known Xu Lizhi since childhood. She felt Xu Lizhi was too fat and disapproved of him overeating. Xu Yuan's so-called secret technique, which encouraged Xu Lizhi to eat even more, had initially irritated her.
Additionally, at the time, she thought something seemed off and believed Xu Yuan was deceiving the little foodie.
But after fighting alongside him, she realized the benefits of Xu Yuan's Great Devouring Heaven and Earth Technique.
Had it not been for her unfamiliarity with the technique and her lack of anything to offer in exchange, she would have liked to learn it herself.
After resting for a full two hours, Xu Yuan's group fully recovered.
"Let's go. It's time to explore this place."
Staying in one spot wasn't a solution.
Just as they were about to move, two powerful fluctuations of soul power appeared in their perception.
Strangely, despite the overwhelming strength of these soul power fluctuations, the three unanimously decided to investigate.
Arriving at a valley, they cautiously observed the situation inside from the outside.
"Two powerful soul beasts are fighting. From my understanding, one is a Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear. Its aura is terrifying—I'm not sure if it's ten thousand years old or just a millennium. I lean toward the latter, as a ten-thousand-year Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear rivals a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, and its destructive power should exceed what we're seeing here."
A millennium, but certainly not freshly a millennium.
Xu Yuan focused on the other soul beast.
"The Imperial Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!"
Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan were shocked.
They hadn't expected the two battling below to be such rare and powerful soul beasts. Moreover, the Imperial Auspicious Beast was a legendary soul beast!
The three observed for a full hour as the two super soul beasts fought as if they had a deep grudge, going all out until they both perished.
Approaching the corpses of the two super soul beasts:
"Soul bones!"
Xu Yuan's gaze sharpened as he looked at the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear's right claw.
Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan's breathing quickened.
Before entering, Wang Hao had told them that this place was similar to the previous Beast Arena and Dueling Arena but also different. The soul beasts here were real. If they needed soul rings, they could directly absorb the soul rings of the soul beasts here. Even if soul bones dropped, they could absorb and fuse them.
Everything could be taken out!
On the right claw—it was clearly not one of the standard six soul bones but an external soul bone!
The trio's breathing grew even more rapid.
Xu Yuan calmed himself and said to the others, "Don't rush. Let's assess the situation first."
He entertained the idea of claiming the soul bone for himself but also felt it inappropriate, as this was part of the trial.
"The likelihood of special super soul beasts like the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion leaving behind soul bones is very high. Most of the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear's soul bones are Dark Golden Terror Claws. As for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion..."
Xu Yuan turned his gaze to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's head.
The Tianyuan Spear pierced down.
A wisp of rose-gold light burst forth.
There it was!
"Two soul bones, but there are three of us. How do we divide them?" Xu Lizhi looked at Xu Yuan.
Among the three, Xu Yuan was the strongest. Ultimately, the decision rested with him.
Ye Xinglan couldn't defeat Xu Yuan. Though they hadn't fought directly, Xu Lizhi understood this clearly from the seventh and eighth trials.
If Xu Yuan wanted to claim both soul bones for himself, they wouldn't agree.
Xu Yuan frowned, pondering for a long while.
"I'll pass on the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear's soul bone. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's skull will be mine."
Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi exhaled in relief.
Their greatest fear had been Xu Yuan monopolizing both soul bones.
"To be honest, the fusion requirements for the Dark Golden Terror Claw are terrifying. I doubt I could fuse it before level fifty," Xu Yuan thought to himself.
As for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's skull, its effects were optimal.
Unconsciously, Xu Yuan had been subtly guided to overlook certain memories and accept Wang Hao's earlier statement as truth, rationalizing any illogical aspects.
To be honest, the Dark Golden Terror Claw didn't align with Xu Yuan's plans for his combat system.
Even if he claimed it, he wouldn't absorb it himself, nor could he do so in the short term.
It was better to give the soul bones to Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi. These two were talented individuals who, in the original story, were part of this generation's Shrek Seven Monsters. They could serve as his future foundation.
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Author's Note: Some readers feel that this seems like a drop in intelligence or wonder why the protagonist shouldn't already know the truth.
Didn't we set this up earlier?
This kind of trial has undoubtedly been used by Shrek Academy more than once. Those familiar with the Spirit Pagoda's Hall of Heroes or those with access to a Title Douluo at home would surely know. If they explained everything in advance to the younger generation, how could they observe true human nature?
Thus, there must be illusions ensuring that those who know everything temporarily forget and are guided to believe that the soul bones can indeed be taken out.
Personally, I think this makes sense.
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