Chapter 81: Assisting the Northern Campaign and Spirit Ascension

A gentle green glow flickered and enveloped the five people—it was Gu Yue's wind element control. Though not particularly strong, it was enough to reduce their weight, making everyone more agile.

Tang Wulin raised his right hand, and two strands of Bluesilver Grass shot out. A yellow soul ring appeared beneath him as the two strands of grass slithered forward like spirit snakes, sweeping to the sides to clear away the undergrowth, revealing a clear path ahead.

Zhang Yangzi lifted his hand, and his soul spirit, the little black eagle, soared into the sky. The black eagle's primary function wasn't just combat enhancement—its greatest advantage was its ability to share vision with Zhang Yangzi. Though the eagle could not move more than ten meters away from him, this additional perspective allowed them to see farther.

Gu You's hands were also covered in dragon scales, and a faint dragon's might radiated from him. With his presence alone, ten-year soul beasts dared not approach.

Without any thoughts of luck, the moment they entered the Spirit Ascension Platform, they all released their martial souls without hesitation.

Inside the Spirit Pagoda Observation Room

A staff member smiled at Wu Zhangkong. "These little ones aren't bad at all, Teacher Wu. You've trained them well."

Wu Zhangkong gave a slight nod. "Let's see how they perform."

He was always the type to keep his emotions hidden, but he was quite satisfied with these students.

Watching them reminded him of the academy's two-thousand-year-old motto:

"Shrek Academy only accepts monsters, not ordinary people."

Though not every generation perfectly upheld this principle, it remained ingrained in the hearts of every Shrek student, a mark of pride.

He wondered how far these children would go.

To become true monsters required not only personal effort but also extraordinary talent. At present, all six of them seemed to meet these criteria.

From a talent perspective, the weakest was probably Gu You, but his special identity made direct comparison unfair.

The most gifted, without question, was Gu Yue. Her martial soul was unprecedented in both Spirit Pagoda and Shrek Academy records—multi-element control. It was simply too incredible. Though her soul skills only enhanced her own soul power and elemental manipulation, controlling five different elements and combining them freely meant she hardly needed additional soul skills.

The second most talented was undoubtedly Xie Xie. Twin martial souls were rare in any era. Though his were of the accompanying type, making them slightly inferior to true twin martial souls, this had its own advantages—he might even evolve and mutate in the future.

...

If he had to pick one student to recruit into his organization, Tang Wulin was probably the most suitable choice.

As for Gu Yue, he still couldn't fully understand her—this girl harbored many secrets, requiring further observation.

Gu You, on the other hand, wasn't an option at all. From his personality alone, it was clear—he had no intention of obeying or serving anyone.

...

In the Spirit Ascension Platform

Tang Wulin carefully parted the undergrowth with his Bluesilver Grass vines, leading the group forward slowly.

Because of their upcoming final exams, their top priority was surviving for an hour. Hunting soul beasts was secondary.

Finding a relatively safe place was most important.

"No soul beast activity detected behind or to the sides for now," Zhang Yangzi reported.

Tang Wulin nodded slightly. Silver light flickered on his left hand as he gripped a thousand-forged Heavy Silver Hammer, while his right hand remained free, ready to activate his Golden Dragon Claw at any moment.

Just then, a low roar sounded ahead.

A massive figure emerged from the underbrush—a huge ape-like creature with a towering, muscular build. It exuded a faint stench, its fur was dark gray-black, and its blood-red eyes glowed ominously.

Since their first time entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, the group had dedicated themselves to studying soul beast species. Combined with their experience, their knowledge had grown significantly. Tang Wulin instantly recognized this beast—

A century-old Iron Arm Ape!

A humanoid-type soul beast with high speed and immense strength. Its iron-like arms were as tough as refined steel. Most troublesome was its innate aura-based skill—Intimidation. If affected, soul masters with weak spiritual power could experience severe mental disruption, even losing the will to fight.

Against an Iron Arm Ape, the best strategy was to strike first!

A cold hmph echoed.

A tremendous force suddenly blasted Tang Wulin backward.

"What kind of power is this?" He was utterly shocked. Even with his Golden Dragon Claw active, he couldn't match this strength.

A human-like roar resounded.

Spirit ascension energy scattered in waves, the dust settled, and Gu You casually shook his dragon claw. He flashed an "OK" gesture to the group.

"What's the point of all these battle formations? With me around, soul ring ascension is easy, isn't it?"

Everyone was stunned.

Gu You's strength was simply overwhelming.

He was right—if he wanted to, obtaining a thousand-year soul ring was effortless.

Xie Xie gave Gu You a thumbs-up.

The group began sharing the spirit energy. Gu You, uninterested in absorbing it, only made one simple request in exchange for his help.

The others were puzzled—what could he possibly want?

But Tang Wulin and the others couldn't hide their joy.

If they could obtain a purple thousand-year soul ring as their first ring, it meant they would later have the potential to host three thousand-year soul spirits, allowing up to nine soul rings—reaching Title Douluo level.

Of course, this was just a possibility. Throughout human history, no one had ever reached Title Douluo with three thousand-year soul spirits—such a foundation was simply too weak.

Under Gu You's lead, the team went on a soul beast massacre.

They slaughtered century-old beasts so rapidly that the absorbed energy overflowed. Even Gu You absorbed a little, though he remarked that it was barely useful to him.

Finally exhausted, Gu You halted.

"Let's rest here for a while. Then I'll help you guys with the next hunt."

"Alright!" Zhang Yangzi agreed.

He swiftly climbed a nearby tree, scanning the distance from the branches. His soul spirit, the black eagle, observed in another direction, keeping watch over their surroundings.

Outside the Spirit Ascension Platform

Wu Zhangkong nodded in approval.

Even with a powerhouse like Gu You protecting them, the team maintained excellent counter-reconnaissance discipline—they weren't arrogant or reckless.

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie sat cross-legged, recovering their soul power.

Although their consumption was almost negligible, maintaining peak condition was essential in the Spirit Ascension Platform—only in perfect form could they go further.

"Someone's coming."

"Three people, two males and one female, heading in our direction."

"They look around fifteen or sixteen years old. One has three rings, the other two have two rings each. Two of them seem to be absorbing energy…"

(End of Chapter)