Lin Xiuran, his pupils still fixed on the giant hammer, hadn't noticed at first. When he finally came to his senses, the hammer had not fallen.
He didn't have time to dwell on it. He took two steps back. His second red soul ring glowed, his eyes burning with fire, and the surrounding temperature surged.
His martial soul began to swirl behind him, gradually enveloped in crimson flames.
A bird's cry echoed, and the fiery red bird surged forward like a blazing fireball, seemingly intent on incinerating everything in its path.
Yet this time, the girl wielding the Clear Sky Hammer did not dodge. Instead, she slightly raised her head and smiled faintly at Lin Xiuran.
But soon, that smile vanished amidst the sea of flames.
Lin Xiuran was momentarily stunned. This time, he had clearly seen it—the girl had smiled at him. Not an automatic expression, but a smile directed solely at him.
Before he could ponder it further, a flash of light appeared, and Lin Xiuran was teleported away.
He was the first to emerge. Beside him, Wu Zhangkong's expression was grim as he operated the screen.
After a while, Wu Zhangkong stopped his movements, his brow still deeply furrowed.
Lin Xiuran naturally asked, "Teacher Wu, my—"
"It seems there was a system error," Wu Zhangkong said after thinking for a moment. "I designed the challenges to start at intermediate difficulty, but yours went straight to advanced. And the opponents you faced behaved… strangely."
Even Wu Zhangkong was puzzled. The characters' actions were too lifelike, as if they were real people, not virtual constructs.
"All right, it's fine. I'll notify them to fix it. For now, rest on the side."
Because of Lin Xiuran's unexpected advantage, he was the first to come out. Soon after, Xie Xie, Tang Wulin, and Gu Yue also emerged.
The four discussed what had just happened, clearly intrigued.
"Come here."
Wu Zhangkong called them over.
As the four approached him, the light suddenly brightened. They felt a strong spatial fluctuation and vanished from sight.
When the light faded, they appeared in a spacious office-like room—over 200 square meters. A massive desk sat toward the back, and white leather sofas were neatly arranged.
"Sit. There are matters I need to discuss with you," Wu Zhangkong said, gesturing to the sofas.
Lin Xiuran understood the topic but remained contemplative. Although the Tang Sect had a somewhat obscure reputation, joining now clearly had significant benefits.
"As for today's trial," Wu Zhangkong began, "you must have found it strange. During the assessment, your opponents were all of similar level. I need to tell you: the opponents you encountered in the Hero Hall are all soul masters who truly existed in the past. Because they are simulations, they only exhibit about 70% of their actual strength. Compared to them, how do you feel about your own abilities?"
Lin Xiuran reflected. Tang Wutong, for instance, was indeed powerful. Setting aside her strange behavior, if she were truly from thousands of years ago, he could never have matched her. The disparity was immense.
A dual martial soul, a thousand-year second soul, and the Clear Sky Hammer—even among levels twenty to thirty, she would have been the strongest of the original Shrek Seven Devils.
"There are two reasons I brought you here. First, your absorption limit on the Spirit Ascension Platform is almost reached. Soon, you won't be able to train there further. You need a place for practical combat experience. Hero Hall is more realistic because injuries directly affect your true body. Of course, if injuries reach a critical level, you'll be automatically teleported out, preventing mental trauma like on the Ascension Platform. You can think of Hero Hall as a more advanced Ascension Platform."
"Second, the assessment's purpose isn't the final exam. Your exam scores on the Riot Period Ascension Platform have already been assigned. This trial determines whether you can join here. Once accepted, you can accumulate merits and continue practical training in Hero Hall."
Xie Xie and Gu Yue looked at Wu Changkong with curiosity. Teacher Wu was part of an organization.
"Teacher Wu, what kind of organization is this?" Xie Xie asked. As a member of a major family, he couldn't join unknown groups lightly. Yet this one had a legitimate presence in the East Sea High-Tech Park.
Wu Zhangkong asked, "Have you heard of the Tang Sect?"
"The Tang Sect!" Tang Wulin reacted strongly. "You mean that Tang Sect?"
Wu Zhangkong nodded.
"Hadn't the Tang Sect vanished or relocated to other continents?" Tang Wulin still asked.
"No. The Tang Sect has never truly disappeared. Yes, it has branches on other continents, like the Spirit Pagoda. But on Douluo Continent, it has always existed, known to the Alliance. It just kept a low profile to avoid standing out. The Tang Sect's reputation was once too prominent. The place we're in now is a subsidiary company under the Tang Sect, called Xuanshi Tang Sect Technology Co., Ltd. Hero Hall is a training system developed by the Tang Sect. The opponents you faced were members of the historical Shrek Seven Devils."
Shrek Seven Devils!?
The other three were shocked, trying to recall which member they had faced.
Lin Xiuran knew his opponent—but he couldn't forget the girl's smile. It still puzzled him, likely a system error due to immature technology.
"Your duel with Tang Wutong was against the Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago, contemporaries of the Spirit Tower's founder, wielding the Three Lives Soul-Calming Cauldron and Nine Phoenix Harmony Flute—Feng Xiao Douluo, Xiao Xiao."
Wu Zhangkong turned to Xie Xie: "You faced Jiang Nan Nan, the Magic Rabbit Douluo of that generation of the Shrek Seven Devils."
Gu Yue, as a member of the Spirit Pagoda, immediately recognized it and said, slightly surprised, "Then the one who defeated me was Huo Yuhao, the Lingbing Douluo, founder of the Spirit Pagoda."
(Chapter End)