"Third Soul Skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"
Before Tang Luochuan, the blond-haired youth's evil eyes flashed as his sole purple Soul Ring suddenly radiated with intense light. His body became covered in fur, and his stature grew slightly taller.
"Golden Dragon Claw."
Tang Luochuan remained silent, merely extending his hand and striking toward his opponent with lightning speed.
Evil Eye White Tiger, Dai Mubai...
Today, he was here to crush this very tiger.
"First round of testing concluded."
"The next round will begin in ten seconds."
As the mechanical voice faded, Dai Mubai—who had been grinning moments ago—dissolved into streams of data and vanished before Tang Luochuan's eyes.
"As expected, it's not enough..."
Outside the room, Wu Zhangkong watched the scene on the screen, his expression contemplative. For the first round of challenges, everyone except Tang Wulin had faced the strongest opponent within their current realm.
Each challenger was different. For instance, Tang Wulin, as the wielder of the Blue Silver Grass Spirit, had faced Tang San, the founder of the Tang Sect and the ascended Sea God.
Xie Xie had challenged Jiang Nannan, the Magic Rabbit Douluo, a renowned Agility-type Soul Master from ten thousand years ago.
Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi, and Wei Xiaofeng had faced Yu Tianheng of the Blue Dragon, Bai Chenxiang of the Flying Swallow, and Dugu Yan of the Azure Phosphorus, respectively.
Gu Yue had been pitted against Huo Yuhao, the Spirit Ice Douluo—the unprecedented master of spiritual power and the former master of the Spirit Transfer Pagoda.
But when it came to Tang Luochuan...
Wu Zhangkong hadn't been sure whom to assign at first.
Given that his Martial Soul was undeniably a dragon-type with overwhelming dominance, Beibei wasn't a suitable match. In the end, he had chosen Dai Mubai, the only god of war who had ascended through sheer combat prowess, as a test subject.
But clearly, a three-ring Dai Mubai was no match for him.
"Then what about four rings...?"
Wu Zhangkong's eyes flickered. Ten seconds later, Dai Mubai reappeared beside Tang Luochuan—only this time, four Soul Rings hovered around him.
This was Dai Mubai at his four-ring stage, the level at which he had secured victory in the Continental Soul Master Tournament. Surely, he could last a little longer this time...
"Second round of testing concluded."
"..."
Not long after, Dai Mubai was once again obliterated by Tang Luochuan. Wu Zhangkong's expression stiffened—this outcome wasn't entirely unexpected, but the problem was...
This time, Dai Mubai had lasted only one second longer than before.
This was a level 49 Dai Mubai!
"Four rings—Tang San, the Sea God!"
"Third round of testing concluded."
"Four rings—Ma Hongjun, the Phoenix!"
"Fourth round of testing concluded."
"Five rings—Dai Mubai, the God of War!"
"Fifth round of testing concluded..."
"..."
Gradually, Wu Zhangkong stopped focusing on Tang Luochuan because even a level 59 opponent couldn't withstand him.
How terrifying was this...?
By the sixth round, he had deployed the Netherworld White Tiger duo—the original Shrek Academy's strongest combination—yet they hadn't lasted a minute. Before Tang Luochuan, even the Netherworld White Tiger was nothing more than a mischievous kitten. The most unbearable part was...
The combined duration of all six rounds hadn't even exceeded the three-minute time limit set for the first round. That limit was meant for barely surviving or narrowly winning—not for outright annihilation.
"Let me see how the others are doing..."
Wu Zhangkong took a deep breath and switched to Gu Yue's perspective. Currently, she was locked in an evenly matched battle against Huo Yuhao in the second round.
"Gu Yue's talent is already extraordinary..."
"But compared to Luo Chuan, she still seems human."
Wu Zhangkong shook his head with a smile. Gradually, when he saw Xie Xie, Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi, and Wei Xiaofeng barely endure for three minutes, his expression improved slightly.
Note: They endured—meaning they exhausted every means just to last three minutes!
This is what normal people look like, alright.
"And then there's Wu Lin's side."
"With only one Soul Ring, he's the weakest among them, facing the leader of the Shrek Seven Monsters, the strongest man in the continent's history. It must be quite a struggle for him."
Switching the view to Tang Wulin's side, Wu Zhangkong pondered. However, he soon froze at the sight before him.
In the scene, the two-ringed Tang San had somehow been tied up into a bundle and set aside, while in Tang Wulin's hand, a slender yet unyielding blue whip—Blue Silver as Whip—was tightly gripped.
One lash, two, three... relentlessly striking Tang San. If these trial participants had souls, they would surely be screaming in pain by now.
Humiliation—this was utter humiliation.
"..."
Even Wu Zhangkong's expression stiffened. Blue Silver as Whip—this was the technique he had suggested to Wu Lin. But now, the boy was using it against the founding sect master?
Even if it was just a virtual avatar, this was truly...
"First round test: endure for three minutes."
"Test concluded. The next round will begin in ten seconds. Test duration: five minutes."
"Finally, the three minutes are over."
As the mechanical voice announced, the enemy's figure vanished, and Tang Wulin finally stopped his actions, his expression calm.
Of course, he hadn't deliberately targeted this trial participant. Though he admitted the opponent gave him a sense of Old Tang, he wouldn't let that cloud his judgment...
The real issue was that the opponent's figure kept flickering like a ghost, which annoyed him so much that he had no choice but to tie him up and resort to the most primitive form of attack.
What kind of bondage play was this?
"I wonder who the next test participant will be..."
Tang Wulin blinked as the countdown ended, and a familiar figure reappeared...
"Huh?"
"It's you again."
Tang Wulin's expression turned blank—wasn't this the same Blue Silver Grass Soul Master from before?
But he noticed with surprise that while the opponent still had two yellow Soul Rings, the Blue Silver Grass in his hand had disappeared, replaced by a hammer.
"A hammer!"
Looking at the scene, Tang Wulin chuckled and shook his head.
This guy was copying him by using a hammer?
Let's see you fly!
With that thought, his Blue Silver Grass Spirit merged with the powerful Golden Dragon Blood Energy, forming a dazzling golden hammer in his hand—complete with the characters for "Dao" and "De."
"Let's see..."
"Who comes out on top..."
Tang Wulin tightly gripped his hammer and charged forward with a laugh.
"..."
In the end, Tang Luochuan passed six rounds, Gu Yue passed four, Tang Wulin passed three, while Xie Xie, Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, and Wei Xiaofeng only managed one each.
"..."
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After the exam concluded, Wu Zhangkong's gaze swept over the group before finally settling on Tang Luochuan. He opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.
It was better not to disclose Luo Chuan's exam results to the others—lest they become too disheartened.
"Aside from Luo Chuan, Wulin and Gu Yue achieved the highest scores in this exam. You all performed exceptionally well."
"I believe this battle has shown you that while innate talent is a unique advantage, this world is never short of geniuses."
Wu Zhangkong collected himself, his expression calm as he spoke.
"Teacher Wu, the opponents we faced earlier..."
"Who exactly were they?"
Xie Xie nodded first, then couldn't help but ask with curiosity.
The female Soul Master he had challenged, though older than him, had seemed like an undernourished girl at first glance. Yet, someone like that had nearly overwhelmed him in the first round.
"Yeah."
Wang Jinxi and the others also nodded in agreement. The opponents they had faced were undoubtedly top-tier geniuses.
"The challengers you faced were all simulated test subjects based on combat data collected by my organization from historical powerhouses."
"Xie Xie fought against the Magic Rabbit Douluo Jiang Nannan from ten thousand years ago. Wulin faced Tang San from twenty thousand years ago. And Gu Yue..."
"Challenged the founder of the Spirit Transfer Pagoda—Huo Yuhao."
"As for Wang Jinxi, your opponents were also figures of similar stature."
The moment Wu Zhangkong finished speaking, the group froze in unison. The reason was simple—the names he had just mentioned...
Were all historical figures they had studied, especially Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao, who had laid the foundation for the world of Douluo.
"So that means I fought the Blue Lightning Douluo Beibei."
"Mine was probably Bai Chenxiang, the cousin of Sea God Tang San."
"Then mine must have been the granddaughter of the Poison Douluo."
Listening to Wu Zhangkong's words, the three of them couldn't help but sigh in realization, piecing together the identities of their challengers.
Only Tang Wulin wore a pensive look on his small face. So that guy who looked so punchable was Tang San from twenty thousand years ago?
No wonder Brother had said he wasn't a good person.
He really didn't look like one.
"You're all correct."
Wu Zhangkong nodded one by one, smiling.
"But Teacher Wu's organization does seem incredibly impressive."
At this point, Wei Xiaofeng mused thoughtfully.
"Regarding my organization, I won't keep it hidden any longer. Even if you haven't learned about it, you've definitely heard its name..."
"The Tang Sect."
Wu Zhangkong spoke slowly, a confident smile on his face.
The reputation of the Tang Sect was unparalleled across the entire Douluo Continent. He was certain Xie Xie and the others would be stunned.
"You are all the most outstanding students of the academy. Would you be willing to join my organization?"
For a moment, he asked softly, his eyes filled with anticipation.
He desperately hoped his students would join the Tang Sect together—even if the possibility was slim, he still held onto that hope.
"..."
Hearing his words, the group remained silent.
"Teacher Wu, I have no intention of joining any faction."
Tang Wulin was the first to shake his head, rejecting outright. He had no affiliations yet, but as for the Tang Sect...
He disliked it intensely.
Whether it was the teachings from his brother during childhood or his current thoughts, the Tang Sect had never been an organization he wished to join.
As for which faction he might join in the future, perhaps he would choose to go to the Spirit Transfer Pagoda with his brother and Gu Yue (older sister).
"We don't have that intention either."
Not just Tang Wulin, but Xie Xie and the others also spoke up one by one, similarly expressing refusal. After so many visits to the Spirit Ascension Platform, the Spirit Transfer Pagoda had frequently extended olive branches to them.
None of them had joined any faction yet.
But even if they did, the Spirit Transfer Pagoda would be their first choice.
"You all..."
"Alright, I respect your choices."
Wu Zhangkong's face carried a trace of disappointment. The Tang Sect was such a great place—why didn't anyone like it?
But since this was his students' decision, he naturally respected it.
Only...
Had the Tang Sect really become so unpopular?
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