In terms of cultivation speed, the Golden Guard were even more exaggerated than Lu Jingming and the others.
Of course, they belonged to the "reach the heavens in a single bound" type, relying entirely on the abundant resources of Herta and the Abyss City.
Moreover, their upper limit depended on the upper limit of the Fusion Warrior surgery, and they also couldn't cultivate and break through on their own.
Everything about them originated from Abyss City, so they were destined to be bound to Abyss City.
"Xiao Ming, you've broken through!" The moment Lu Jingming stepped into the Dean's office, Zhang Lexuan keenly detected the overflowing soul power fluctuations from him, an obvious sign of a recent breakthrough.
"Yes, Sister Lexuan, we can set off to acquire soul rings now," Lu Jingming nodded.
Zhang Lexuan had broken through several days ago and hadn't yet acquired her eighth soul ring, waiting for Lu Jingming to break through so they could go together.
"Good, I'll go find the teacher now." Zhang Lexuan's eyes sparkled with excitement, her tone filled with impatience.
She was single-mindedly devoted to becoming stronger, for in her heart, only by being powerful enough could she truly help Lu Jingming.
When Zhang Lexuan and Lu Jingming found Jing Liu, she was supervising March 7th practicing her sword.
In a training ground at St. Freya Academy, March 7th wore a bitter expression, wielding two long swords, her movements vigorous and swift.
Seeing Lu Jingming arrive, March 7th's face lit up, and she quickly winked at him, 'A'Ming, save me!'
'No problem, leave it to me.'
Lu Jingming returned a reassuring look to March 7th.
This back-and-forth eye contact happened in an instant, yet it was perfectly synchronized, and Lu Jingming did not disappoint March 7th.
"Teacher, Sister Lexuan and I have both broken through. We'll have to trouble you to take us to the Star Dou Great Forest again."
Lu Jingming spoke straightforwardly.
"Alright."
Jing Liu gave a cool nod, then looked at March 7th and said, "You have great talent in swordsmanship, but... never mind!"
Her hesitant words made March 7th a little embarrassed. She could only give an awkward smile.
Learning swordsmanship from Jing Liu was something she had impulsively requested, but she was also the one who practiced irregularly. Jing Liu's continued tolerance of her showed her good temper.
However, it was undeniable that March 7th's talent in swordsmanship was truly astonishing. In a short time, she had already grasped the basics.
Although she couldn't yet conjure sword qi with swordsmanship alone, nor had she comprehended any profound sword intent, in terms of sword techniques alone, she had already reached an advanced level.
One must know that March 7th had always used a bow and arrow before. The transition from ranged attacks to close combat was a span that most people found difficult to adapt to, yet she adapted very quickly.
This showed that she was indeed a martial arts prodigy.
It was just a pity that March 7th was too playful and never truly focused on practicing her sword. Otherwise, with her talent, becoming a sword master would be just around the corner.
Waving goodbye to March 7th, Lu Jingming and the other two left the training ground. Jing Liu also didn't ask March 7th to continue practicing.
Watching the three leave, March 7th immediately stopped her movements and plopped down on the ground. After resting for a while, she looked at the two swords on the ground, a hesitant expression on her face.
After much deliberation, she slowly extended her hand, picked up the two swords, as if making a difficult decision.
'Just ten more minutes of practice!'
In the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest, the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.
"Sister Wuming, take Sister Ruoruo and go!" The black-haired girl's voice was filled with despair, yet incredibly firm.
At this moment, her entire body glowed with soul power, and her fifth soul ring shone with black light, clearly indicating she had used her fifth soul skill. She unhesitatingly stood in front of Han Ruoruo, who was spitting blood and pale-faced, while forcefully pushing Han Ruoruo towards Wuming.
"No!" Han Ruoruo was severely wounded and powerless to resist. She could only watch helplessly as a beam of silver moonlight, condensed into a ray, descended from the sky, enveloping the black-haired girl.
She despairingly watched the girl, just like the junior students before her, being assimilated and eroded by the moonlight little by little, eventually transforming into silver moonlight and dissipating into the air, leaving behind only endless sorrow and despair.
"Damn it!" Wuming once again witnessed a classmate die before her eyes. Her eyes instantly turned red with fury, and she bit her lower lip tightly, blood slowly trickling from the corner of her mouth.
The rage in her heart burned fiercely, her rationality almost completely consumed by anger.
However, when she felt the faint breath of Han Ruoruo in her arms, who had just been severely injured by the 100,000-year soul beast, the Silver Moon Flood Dragon Emperor, while protecting her, the last shred of her rationality pulled her back.
She took one last deep look at the black-haired girl who had turned into points of light and dissipated. The complex gaze in the girl's eyes before her death, like a sharp blade, deeply pierced her heart.
In that gaze, there was sadness, despair, hatred, and even deep bewilderment and doubt.
Until the last moment of her life, the black-haired girl couldn't understand why the leading teacher who was secretly protecting their soul-hunting mission, the Taotie Douluo Xuan Zi, had not intervened, but just watched as these inner court disciples were slaughtered one by one by the Silver Moon Flood Dragon Emperor!
Wuming was equally filled with doubt, but more so with anger.
But at this moment, it was clearly not the time to ponder these things, because that terrifying 100,000-year Silver Moon Flood Dragon Emperor had already caught up.
Wuming's Golden Crow Wings suddenly unfolded behind her. She no longer cared about the other fleeing junior students, with only one thought in her mind: to escape this place with the severely injured Han Ruoruo.
A massive black shadow, like a dark cloud, instantly obscured the light of the sky.
A hundred-meter-long beast swiftly swept across the high altitude. Wherever it went, silver moonlight rained down like scattered drops.
Fleeing figures were successively locked by the moonlight. Only desperate screams pierced the night sky, and those enveloped by the moonlight instantly turned into moonlight and dissipated, leaving not even a complete corpse behind.
Listening to the continuous screams from behind, Han Ruoruo was overwhelmed with grief and indignation.
Her injuries worsened, and with a "wow," she spat out another mouthful of fresh blood, her vision blurring, and she directly fainted in Wuming's arms.
Feeling Han Ruoruo's life force weakening in her embrace, and hearing the desperate screams of her classmates behind her, Wuming's anger reached its peak, and she roared hoarsely, "Elder Xuan, what in the world are you doing?!"
Her roar was deafening, echoing through the empty forest, but her only reply was a deathly silence; no one gave an answer.
However, her roar unexpectedly drew the attention of that hundred-meter-long beast.
The Silver Moon Flood Dragon Emperor's silver vertical pupils slowly turned towards the direction Wuming and Han Ruoruo were fleeing, its icy gaze seemingly able to penetrate everything.
Its hundred-meter-long body was entirely covered in silver scales, each scale adorned with natural moon patterns on its surface, reflecting a chilling luster under the light.