At Shrek Academy's Dueling Arena.
The sunlight bathed the wide central area, illuminating the two figures standing opposite each other.
On one side was Wang Yan, the gentle teacher holding the dark golden Coiling Dragon Staff. On the other was Gu La, the calm freshman with a holy flame angel phantom floating before him. The atmosphere was tense yet filled with anticipation.
"Gu La, please," Wang Yan held the staff with one hand, its tip pointing diagonally to the ground. His posture was relaxed but carried a sense of gravity. Facing the Ultimate Fire martial soul, he dared not be careless.
Gu La gave a slight nod, and beneath his feet, three soul rings—one yellow, two purple—began to glow.
"First Soul Skill, Sun Sword!"
The Sun Angel phantom's hand glowed intensely as a solid longsword made of pure gold-white flames instantly materialized, covering the sword in its hand. The blade rippled like molten lava, exuding terrifying heat and sharpness.
He flicked his wrist, and several condensed sun sword qi tore through the air with ear-piercing shrieks, shooting straight at Wang Yan!
Wang Yan's eyes narrowed. The Coiling Dragon Staff spun like a wheel, its heavy and domineering shadow smashing precisely into the sword qi.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The collision of sword qi and staff shadows erupted in deafening blasts and scorching shockwaves.
Wang Yan felt a searing, overwhelming force surge through the staff, causing his arm to tingle slightly. He thought inwardly:
"What powerful Ultimate Fire! These sword qi are not only sharp, but their burning power is truly terrifying."
Just as he dispelled the sword qi, Gu La stepped forward. The Sun Sword traced mysterious trajectories, its strikes fierce and cunning, targeting vital points.
Wang Yan focused completely, wielding the Coiling Dragon Staff with intricate techniques. The staff shadows were like mountains—solid and heavy—attempting to overpower with sheer force.
For a time, the clanging of metal echoed continuously, flames intertwining with staff winds, making the scene incredibly intense.
However, as the battle wore on, Wang Yan began to feel something was off. Gu La's fighting style was simply too slippery.
When Wang Yan attacked aggressively at close range, Gu La relied on precise footwork and swordsmanship to maneuver. The Sun Sword always found weak points in the transition of his staff techniques, striking from tricky angles with concentrated force.
When Wang Yan tried to create distance to catch his breath, Gu La immediately launched harassing remote sword qi, forcing him to expend soul power for defense.
What troubled him even more was that strange second soul skill—Illuminating Sunlight" clearly a passively triggered AOE skill.
As the battle progressed, the surrounding fire elements were continuously attracted and gathered by the Sun Angel under Gu La's deliberate guidance.
Every clash of sword qi, every explosion of flames, seemed to "charge" the area. When the energy accumulated to a certain critical point…
Boom!
Without warning, the air within a radius of ten meters around Gu La suddenly ignited explosively.
Blistering golden flames blossomed like a radiant sunflower, engulfing the area instantaneously. The scale and temperature far exceeded Wang Yan's expectations.
"Not good!" Wang Yan hastily raised a soul power shield. The Coiling Dragon Staff swung rapidly to block the explosive impact and flames. His teacher's uniform was scorched with several blackened holes, and his hair slightly curled, making him look rather disheveled.
Too passive! Too passive!
Wang Yan lamented internally. This Gu La was like a moving solar furnace—harassing with remote sword qi, delivering tricky close-range swordsmanship, and occasionally detonating the surrounding environment.
He didn't care about winning or losing, but being forced into such a sorry state by a Soul Master while he himself was a Soul King… If he lost on the first day in front of the students… where would he put his face?
"This can't continue," Wang Yan's eyes flashed with determination.
The fifth soul ring—a deep black light suddenly illuminated.
"Fifth Soul Skill, Evil Repelling Manifestation·Dragon Soul Possession!"
Roar—!
A majestic and sacred dragon roar resounded throughout the Dueling Arena. The Coiling Dragon Staff emitted brilliant golden light, and the golden dragon patterns wrapped around the staff seemed to come alive.
A vivid yet substantial dragon-shaped shadow radiating imperial righteousness and evil-repelling power surged from the staff, coiling around Wang Yan.
Wang Yan's aura skyrocketed instantly. A powerful dragon presence mixed with righteous power spread out, forcibly suppressing the fiery elemental disturbances caused by Gu La's Illuminating Sunlight.
"Gu La, be careful."
Wang Yan bellowed, his speed and strength spiking. The Coiling Dragon Staff, enveloped in the might of the righteous dragon soul, transformed into a golden dragon shadow tearing through the air, crashing down on Gu La with thunderous force. The power of this strike far surpassed previous ones.
Gu La's eyes slightly narrowed. So this was the beast soul power housed within the Coiling Dragon Staff? The Evil-Repelling Dragon? Truly extraordinary.
Although Wang Yan's own soul power limited the dragon soul's might, the rule-based essence of evil-repelling and soul-suppressing, along with the perfect fusion of the dragon soul and weapon-type martial soul, was exactly what he wanted to observe.
"Third Soul Skill, Angel Possession!"
Facing this terrifying strike, Gu La activated his third soul skill without hesitation.
The Sun Angel phantom instantly transformed into a blazing streak of light, merging into his body.
In an instant, Gu La seemed to become a being composed purely of light and fire. His body turned semi-transparent, emitting a sacred and scorching glow.
Boom—!!!
The Coiling Dragon Staff wrapped in the righteous dragon soul struck Gu La's "elementalized" form, with no physical collision sensation.
The violent force and righteous golden light penetrated Gu La's elementalized body, akin to plunging into a thick, hot magma. Large amounts of light and heat were annihilated and dispersed, causing Gu La's elementalized body to fluctuate violently, its glow noticeably dimming.
Gu La feigned a groan, his body flying backward several meters. The glow receded, revealing his physical form again. His face appeared "pale," and his breathing became "ragged."
He perfectly portrayed a state of immense soul power depletion, struggling to maintain elementalization.
Wang Yan retracted the staff, the coiled dragon soul shadow slowly dissipating. He also took a few deep breaths.
Seeing the seemingly exhausted Gu La, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Victory. Though it wasn't… particularly easy, and he had to use his trump card, the fifth soul skill, to barely win.
"I concede, Gu La," Wang Yan steadied his breathing, his face regaining its gentle smile, though a hint of lingering fear remained in his eyes.
He walked up to Gu La, looking at him earnestly, his tone filled with admiration and amazement:
"No wonder it's called the Ultimate Fire martial soul! Your combat system is extremely sophisticated—it's almost unbelievable for a freshman to achieve this."
Wang Yan adjusted his glasses and began his theoretical analysis, which he excelled at:
"The first soul skill enhances your weapon, condensing the Sun Sword, integrating offense and defense, fully maximizing the lethality of the Ultimate Fire. Your swordsmanship is astonishing—precise, cunning, far surpassing your peers."
"The second soul skill passively gathers fire elements and periodically detonates them... It's practically a divine skill! Especially in chaotic battles—the more enemies, the stronger the environmental forces you trigger. Combined with your swordsmanship, you're almost invincible!"
"The third soul skill 'Angel Possession,' elementalization… seems to grant immunity to physical attacks and fire/light damage… That survivability is terrifying. If my fifth soul skill hadn't contained the righteous force of the evil-repelling dragon soul, which could forcibly disperse some elements, I probably wouldn't have been able to deplete your soul power, and you would've dragged me to defeat."
He paused, his tone growing more serious, tinged with inquiry: "Most importantly, your innate domain—the constant burning and suppression of opponents' soul power—is overwhelmingly dominant."
"If my Coiling Dragon Staff didn't inherently contain the dragon's majesty and evil-repelling force, my soul power consumption rate would likely double. The Ultimate Fire combined with the sacred purification properties of the Angel martial soul works beautifully together."
Wang Yan looked at Gu La, hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Forgive me for being presumptuous, Gu La. From your fighting style, it seems you focus on the Ultimate Fire as the core, developing the 'light' attribute inherent in your martial soul relatively less. Do you... have any connection to the Angel lineage?"
He feared Gu La might be a descendant of the Angel family who had strayed outside, as the Angel martial soul was the core inheritance of the sacred family. If so, the academy's efforts would be in vain.
Gu La "weakly" shook his head, following the prepared script: "Teacher Wang flatters me. My martial soul… initially just a variant of ordinary fire element, later in the depths of the Great Star Dou Forest, I coincidentally encountered a strange plant growing beside a lava lake, resembling something cast from gold, radiating a sun-like brilliance."
"I risked approaching it; it seemed to acknowledge me and actively merged with my martial soul… Afterward, my martial soul underwent a complete transformation, becoming the current 'Sun Angel.'"
As he spoke, a faint trace of exceptionally pure natural energy, imbued with eternal warmth, flickered briefly from his fingertips.
"Immortal herb! A Sun-related immortal herb!"
Wang Yan's eyes lit up in realization. Well-versed in theory, he naturally knew of the legends of heavenly treasures.
"So that's how it is, no wonder—it's an incredible stroke of luck! Not only did the immortal herb cause your martial soul to undergo a qualitative change, but it must have also greatly enhanced your foundation and potential." His doubts were instantly resolved.
Huo Yuhao listened with awe, his eyes full of envy. Immortal herb—legendary stuff. Other students also cast admiring and jealous glances.
Wang Yan felt reassured; if Gu La wasn't from the Angel family, things would be easier. He enthusiastically suggested:
"Gu La, I see your remarkable swordsmanship, clearly indicating your love for this path. On the top floor of the academy library, there are many cultivation insights and sword manuals left by numerous Titled Douluo specializing in swordsmanship."
"Though not core inheritances, they should greatly benefit you in broadening your horizons and verifying your own swordsmanship. If you're interested, I can help you apply for reading permissions."
Gu La's mind stirred. After reaching the Sword Soul realm, he mostly relied on talent and personal insight to explore, lacking systematic accumulation from predecessors.
Library sword manuals? This was an unexpected bonus. "Thank you, Teacher Wang. I'm very interested." He nodded in agreement.
Seeing Gu La accept his suggestion, Wang Yan was even more pleased and continued: "One more thing, regarding your martial soul. Looking at the Sun martial soul of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family, the sun is essentially an enormous ball of fire."
"But the sun gives more than just heat to all living things—it gives light! Light that dispels darkness and nurtures life! Your martial soul is named 'Sun Angel,' and angels themselves symbolize light and sanctity."
"Perhaps, beyond the path of Ultimate Fire, try to comprehend the 'light' element within the sun. That might be another route to higher realms."
Gu La pondered upon hearing this.
In reality, his martial soul lacked the light attribute. To evolve the Sun Angel into Ultimate Light, he'd need to further evolve his spirit soul. But since it had only evolved a few years ago, he planned to wait until the spirit soul stabilized its genes before considering further evolution.
"Thank you, Teacher Wang, for your guidance. I'll remember it." Gu La sincerely thanked him. Wang Yan genuinely wished to guide him well.
Wang Yan secretly sighed in relief, having finally provided some useful theoretical advice to this talented student. He announced the end of class.
As the crowd dispersed, the petite Xiao Xiao immediately bounced over to Gu La, her big eyes sparkling, her little face flushed with excitement:
"Gu La, when you used 'Angel Possession' just now, you looked so cool, glowing like a deity from mythology!"
Gu La looked at this appearance-focused little loli, finding it amusing yet somewhat helpless.
Not far away, Wang Dong witnessed the entire intense battle between Gu La and the Soul Master teacher, culminating in the teacher having to use a ten-thousand-year soul skill to barely win. Her thoughts of challenging him were utterly extinguished.
The gap was too vast! She huffed, arrogantly flicked her short pink-blue hair, turned, and walked away. Her back carried traces of reluctant loneliness and stubbornness.
Huo Yuhao silently calculated his grilled fish business, thinking of ways to earn more money to improve himself.
"Xiao Xiao, I'm going to the largest auction house in the city to check things out and buy some materials. Want to come along?"
Gu La proactively invited Xiao Xiao. To research the Nine Phoenix Dancing Flute martial soul, he needed to build rapport first. Being too abrupt might scare people off.
"Auction house? Sure, sure!" Xiao Xiao's eyes sparkled even more. Shopping, especially at a high-end auction house, was irresistible to any young girl, and she eagerly nodded like a little chicken pecking at grains.
Shrek City, Treasure Gathering Pavilion.
Backed by Shrek Academy but secretly controlled by the Sea God Pavilion, Treasure Gathering Pavilion was grand and bustling with people.
Displays of various rare treasures, soul-guidance devices, and rare metals dazzled the eyes.
Gu La's target was clear—rare metals!
In this era, soul-guidance technology was relatively backward. Many top-tier metal ores that would later activate sentience through Soul Refining and Heavenly Refining in the era of the Legend of the Dragon King, making them priceless.
Here, they were merely sold as "high-grade materials" containing special elemental energies, their prices far from reflecting their true potential.
This was a golden opportunity to pick up bargains!
However, when Gu La spotted several prime specimens of Starfall Secret Silver, Void Sinking Gold, and a fist-sized piece of Void Crystal Core emitting spatial fluctuations, he realized he didn't have enough gold soul coins on him.
He hadn't "legitimately" made a fortune in this lifetime. The funds from previous "robbing the rich to help the poor" were mere drops in the bucket compared to purchasing these top-tier materials.
"Tsk." Gu La slightly furrowed his brow.
"Gu La, what's wrong? Not enough money?" Xiao Xiao whispered, noticing the hefty price tags on the metals Gu La had set his sights on.
"Yes, quite a bit short." Gu La nodded, then casually pulled a jade box from his storage soul-guidance device.
Opening the box, a cold yet powerful soul power wave instantly spread. Inside lay a pitch-black, skull-shaped soul bone etched with dark purple patterns.
Head soul bone.
Although its energy fluctuations indicated only around three thousand years, and its soul power aura was muddled from multiple fusions, resulting in significant essence loss, the rarity of a head soul bone was undeniable.
"Whoa—" The beautiful female server attending them gasped, her eyes widening instantly.
Treasure Gathering Pavilion's manager was alerted and quickly ran over, treating Gu La and Xiao Xiao with nearly obsequious respect, ushering them to the VIP appraisal room on the second floor.
After a thorough and meticulous appraisal by several senior appraisers—mainly determining the soul bone's position, attributes, age, and energy depletion—they finally gave their evaluation:
"Respected guest, this three-thousand-year Shadow Panther head soul bone has minimal effect on soul power enhancement due to multiple fusions, but the attached soul skill 'Shadow Leap' is a rare displacement skill. Moreover, its value as a head soul bone remains intact. We suggest a starting bid of five hundred thousand gold soul coins. What do you think?"
"Fine." Gu La nonchalantly nodded. This soul bone was a spoil of war from when one of his clones wiped out a nest of evil soul masters during a routine mission. He had long forgotten who the original owner was, and it was just taking up space anyway.
The auction proceeded swiftly. The appearance of the head soul bone caused quite a stir. Despite its low age and diminished effects, the word "head" alone was enough to drive many soul masters stuck at bottlenecks to frantically bid.
Remember, in this era, without spirit souls, soul masters could only increase their spiritual power through natural growth. Even a low-age head soul bone was still a head soul bone.
Ultimately, the soul bone sold for a staggering one million eight hundred thousand gold soul coins.
With the crystal card in hand, Gu La turned back to the materials section without hesitation, waving his hand: "Everything I previously eyed—the Starfall Secret Silver, Void Sinking Gold, Spatial Void Crystal Core… and that piece of Crimson Flame Copper and Deep Sea Sinking Silver over there—pack them all!"
Under the dumbfounded stares of the manager and servers, and Xiao Xiao's starry-eyed gaze, Gu La splurged one million eight hundred thousand gold soul coins, sweeping clean Treasure Gathering Pavilion's inventory of severely undervalued but potentially limitless top-tier raw metal ores.
In contemporary soul mentors' hands, these metals might only forge Level Seven or Eight soul-guidance device cores.
But in Gu La's hands, after future Soul Refining and Heavenly Refining unleashed their hidden sentience, they would become key materials for researching ten-level, even eleven-level soul-guidance devices, and crafting god-level mecha!
"Successfully picked up a bargain."
Gu La looked at the mountain of rare metals piled in his storage soul-guidance device, a satisfied smirk finally forming on his lips.
The thrill of snagging deals rivaled the joy of breakthroughs. Gu La immediately decided to treat himself to a feast: "Xiao Xiao, let's go. I'll treat you to some local specialties here."
Still dizzy from the amount of gold soul coins Gu La had spent, Xiao Xiao let herself be dragged by Gu La to the top floor to enjoy a meal featuring soul beast ingredients.
In the Legend of the Dragon King era, encountering native soul beasts was rare, but in this timeline, they were bred and slaughtered freely. Gu La suppressed his reflections, his stomach like a melting furnace, digesting everything he ate.
The "spare change" Gu La had left after buying rare metals was spent entirely on this meal. Nonetheless, both Gu La and Xiao Xiao enjoyed it immensely, considering it worth every coin.
Watching Xiao Xiao's stuffed figure, Gu La chuckled: "The essence inside thousand-year soul beast meat contains much soul power. Go meditate once we get back—it'll save you days of hard practice."
"Mm-hmm." Xiao Xiao nodded, her eyes shining as she looked at Gu La. He was handsome and kind, practically glowing!
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