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The results of the combat assessment, the Test of Combat, were more or less in line with Ye Wen's expectations. The top three consisted of two nobles and one commoner.
Nobles, having received better education and grown up with abundant nutrition, naturally outperformed ordinary soul masters. However, that commoner soul master was also a promising talent.
"Lin Ping, martial soul: Blazing Flame Spear—a top-tier weapon-type martial soul, innate Level 7. The tip of the spear is wrapped in scorching flames, which can easily burn enemies upon contact. He also possesses a decent family-inherited spear technique.
When he's nearing graduation, I'll see if I can recruit him as a teacher for the academy. A genius like him will at least reach the Soul Sage level in the future."
Ye Wen kept his word, outlining the cultivation paths for the top three competitors and providing detailed guidance on their training.
Additionally, he granted them the privilege to train for a year in the core area of the Blue Silver Forest.
However, the ancient 85,000-year-old Blue Silver King was no longer at the heart of the forest.
During the academy's preparation period, Ye Wen and A Yin had discovered three ordinary Blue Silver Kings in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, all of which had surpassed 10,000 years of cultivation. These were all that remained in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Though these three Blue Silver Kings possessed considerable intelligence, they couldn't yet communicate verbally like the original Blue Silver King. They relied on A Yin for communication.
As for the original Blue Silver King, it now resided within Ye Wen's spirit space.
Why? Naturally, because Ye Wen was preparing to advance it into the 100,000-year Blue Silver Emperor. All it lacked was time and nourishment.
By planting it in the Ice and Fire Dual Eye, the Blue Silver King would likely evolve into the Blue Silver Emperor within a little over a century.
Moreover, with combat power comparable to a Title Douluo, the Blue Silver King could serve as a guardian to prevent outsiders from discovering that precious location.
At the very least, without Dugu Bo's guidance, no low-level troublemakers would be able to reach there. That place would truly become Ye Wen's private garden for cultivating talent.
With everything at the academy settled, the presence of Dugu Bo as acting principal and Lu Feng as director—both Soul Sage-level experts—along with Ye Wen's reputation, ensured that no strong individuals would dare to destroy Tian Xing Academy out of boredom.
During this time, Tang Yuehua also sought out Ye Wen to consult him about her martial soul's innate defect.
Tang Yuehua's martial soul was a mutated version of the Hao Tian Hammer, transformed into the Ruyi Ring. It was unclear how a hammer could mutate into a ring, but due to this mutation, Tang Yuehua was forever trapped below Level 9, unable to become a formal soul master.
Even so, she remained the cherished "little princess" of the Hao Tian Sect. Though her cultivation stagnated, she could still live a happy life as long as nothing untoward happened.
However, Tang Yuehua couldn't bear being labeled as the sole "failure" in a sect renowned as the strongest in the world. Even though everyone in the sect treated her kindly, she still felt deeply troubled by her situation.
After learning that Ye Wen had successfully guided Yu Xiaogang—who shared a similar reputation as a "failure"—Tang Yuehua felt enlightened. Her martial soul, too, was the result of a failed mutation.
Had it not failed, the Ruyi Ring might have been a weapon-type martial soul comparable to the Hao Tian Hammer. After all, her father was a Title Douluo, and her mother's cultivation was equally formidable. Moreover, her mother had died in childbirth, and even her childhood habit of overeating was identical to Yu Xiaogang's case.
However, Tang Yuehua's situation was arguably worse than Yu Xiaogang's. At least he could break through to Level 10 to obtain a soul ring, albeit in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, Tang Yuehua couldn't even surpass Level 9, making her a complete failure compared to him.
Still, every loss has its gain. Tang Yuehua's martial soul came with an innate domain that could aid soul masters in dispelling distractions during cultivation. This made her more valued in the sect than Yu Xiaogang.
Domains were rare in the world of soul masters, only attainable by those who reached the Title Douluo level. Ordinary soul masters had never even heard of such a concept. Only someone like Tang Yuehua, born into a top-tier faction, would know of it.
However, because of this difference, Tang Yuehua had no idea how to direct her martial soul's auxiliary abilities to overcome the limitations of her failed mutation. Thus, she took this opportunity to seek Ye Wen's guidance during the academy's opening.
Confidently, she believed that with the backing of the Hao Tian Sect, Ye Wen wouldn't refuse her.
Such was the arrogance of the Hao Tian Sect—they were the type who demanded obedience from anyone weaker than them.
The original work didn't specify Tang Yuehua's innate soul power level, but using Ye Wen's Soul Attribute Detector, he discovered that her martial soul possessed spatial attributes.
Hmm, just like his own initial awakening—her innate soul power should reach at least Level 5.
Tang Yuehua was, after all, Tang Hao's younger sister. Though her elegant beauty stirred men's desires, Ye Wen had no intention of getting entangled with her.
He briefly explained how to align her martial soul's attributes with her cultivation and advised her to seek out space-attribute spirit beasts. Bathing in their blood-infused medicinal baths could strengthen her body, giving her a chance to break through to becoming a soul master.
As for further cultivation, following Yu Xiaogang's methods would suffice.
Of course—all of this was nonsense. Yu Xiaogang's martial soul was beast-type, so how could it possibly align with Tang Yuehua's weapon-type martial soul?
It was merely a brush-off. Why? Because Tang Yuehua had come empty-handed, without even a token gift. How unlucky.
Such was the haughtiness of major sects—they showed no regard for basic etiquette.
Still, Tang Yuehua was relatively satisfied. At least she now knew her martial soul's attribute. Although Ye Wen's Soul Attribute Detector method had already spread across the continent, the addition of spatial attributes was something Ye Wen had recently incorporated after discovering a special metal sensitive to spatial properties.
Watching Tang Yuehua's graceful figure disappear into the distance, Ye Wen recalled a student from Douluo 2's Shrek Academy.
He couldn't remember the name, but that student's martial soul was a battlefield powerhouse. As their cultivation increased, the range of their martial soul's influence expanded exponentially.
It could provide stacking buffs to tens of thousands of soul masters.
Though the amplification wasn't significant, the sheer scale was enough to inspire awe. Moreover, the soul skill consumed very little energy for that soul master to use.
This could be considered a rule-based martial soul.
If Tang Yuehua's martial soul hadn't undergone a failed mutation, it might have possessed similar abilities. After all, even a poorly mutated version of the super martial soul Hao Tian Hammer wouldn't be entirely useless, especially with its innate domain.
If the mutation had succeeded, it would have been absolutely game-breaking!
The Hao Tian Sect—it was hard to say whether their fate was good or bad.
In any case, aiding them was out of the question. >3<
Because the Hao Tian Sect would recklessly court disaster in the near future, Ye Wen wanted to distance himself from them. Otherwise, even the slightest association could draw the ire of Elder Qian Daoliu, and that wouldn't end well.
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