Since Arthur had already upgraded to the ten-thousand-year limit and returned to join the group, the next step was to lead them through the spirit ascension.
It didn't take much time.
After an easy slaughter, Arthur split the spirit energy released by the Spirit Beasts into several streams, which surged toward everyone.
Xie Xie, Wang Jinxi, and Zhang Yangzi couldn't help but cheer before sitting cross-legged to absorb it.
As time passed, the light from their two hundred-year spirit rings grew more intense, faintly on the verge of breaking through to the thousand-year level.
Yet, they could never quite reach it.
The three even felt their Meridians gradually swelling, as if they were about to be torn apart.
Seeing this, Arthur flicked his finger, injecting a stream of gentle Soul Power into their bodies to help stabilize their chaotic auras.
He had subconsciously overlooked this before; they currently couldn't withstand the burden brought by thousand-year spirit rings.
Tang Wulin, however, could endure it, and his spirit rings began to transform toward the thousand-year level.
Then there was Gu Yue; she only absorbed a little bit as a token gesture and then stopped.
Xu Xiaoyan stood timidly to the side, watching Arthur help Xie Xie and the others clear their Meridians, her small hand tightly clutching her Ice Staff.
Arthur noticed her gaze and waved a portion of spirit energy toward her: "This is yours. Be careful, don't force it."
Xu Xiaoyan nodded in surprise and hurriedly sat cross-legged to absorb it. But her cultivation was even more fragile; after just a moment, her cheeks turned red and she quickly stopped, whispering, "Thank you... I've reached my limit."
Arthur turned to look at Xu Xiaoyu. Seeing the other boy hesitating to come forward, he said indifferently, "They can't absorb the remaining spirit energy anyway. You come too."
Xu Xiaoyu's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly stepped forward.
This trip to the Spirit Ascension Platform was almost complete.
Among the group, Arthur broke through to the ten-thousand-year level. Tang Wulin broke through to the thousand-year level.
The others only increased their year limits slightly, without any major Breakthroughs.
This made Xie Xie and the others beat their chests in frustration. Looking at Tang Wulin's thousand-year spirit rings, their eyes turned red with envy and jealousy.
Na'er sat on the wings of the Sky-Rending Cry-Vulture, swinging her legs. Seeing their expressions, she curled her lip: "It's just because you guys are too weak."
With a casual wave, she summoned the excess spirit energy left over after the others finished absorbing. She easily absorbed the energy that would have been unbearable for Xie Xie and the others; the purple of her spirit rings only deepened slightly, as easy as drinking water.
In fact, Na'er could already withstand ten-thousand-year spirit rings because she had condensed them herself. However, she told the outside world that they were provided by her soul spirit, and under the premise of a soul spirit providing the spirit rings, her Spiritual Power was not yet sufficient.
So for now, she still had to pretend they were thousand-year rings.
Xie Xie and the others were on the verge of tears, going from great joy to great sorrow. They hated themselves for being useless; even with a powerhouse helping them, they couldn't handle it... The spirit ascension trip ended.
Wu Zhangkong's gaze swept over the Class Zero students before him, and he announced, "The first part of the final exam is considered passed."
He never intended to use the Spirit Ascension Platform to test the students; it was just a resource benefit for Class Zero.
The real test was the second part.
"Rest well today. The second part of the exam begins tomorrow."
Hearing this, the faces of the previously smiling group instantly changed. Xie Xie wailed miserably, "There's a second part?"
"I said from the beginning that the final exam has two parts." Wu Zhangkong's voice was icy. "Let's go, back to the academy first."
The second part of the exam... Arthur thought to himself. It should be the assessment at the Tang Sect... The next day, Wu Zhangkong took the Class Zero students on a Soul Guidance Bus straight to the suburbs.
It was Xie Xie again who spoke up first, curiously asking, "What are we testing this time?"
Wu Zhangkong didn't say much, only indicating it was similar to the Spirit Ascension Platform.
After the bus reached the suburbs, the surroundings became unfamiliar. Although there were still many buildings, it was clearly much more open.
Arthur looked around carefully. Despite having stayed in East Sea City for so long, he had never actually been to the suburbs.
His daily life basically consisted of running between the school, the Blacksmith Association, and the Spirit Conduction Tower.
They arrived at their destination.
After getting off the bus, everyone followed Wu Zhangkong into a campus.
At a glance, it was full of East Sea City's high-tech and large-scale enterprises, even including mecha factories.
After walking for half an hour, they reached a garden within the campus.
Wu Zhangkong stepped forward and pressed his right hand against the closed deep-blue glass door. A bright blue light flashed.
The next moment, a teasing voice came from inside the door: "Yo, look who it is! If it isn't little Changkong of Eastsea."
Wu Zhangkong's already cold face tightened further. He didn't waste words: "Open the door."
The person on the other side had long expected this; Wu Zhangkong was just that kind of person.
The glass doors then opened to both sides.
Entering the small building, the interior had white floors and deep-blue walls; the environment was clean and tidy.
In the empty room, a circular metal platform floated over. Several metal wristbands were placed on it, and Wu Zhangkong had them put them on.
"These wristbands have an identity recognition function, mainly used to avoid being attacked by the defense System."
Before they could marvel at it.
Wu Zhangkong led them further in. After passing through several glass doors and winding corridors, Wu Zhangkong suddenly disappeared as he walked through a certain area.
"Spatial technology." Arthur couldn't help but reflect. The technology tree of this era was truly strange. Many basic aspects were very crude, completely incomparable to the modern world of his previous life.
Yet, they were somehow able to develop spatial technology.
It was probably due to the miraculous Soul Power.
"Follow me."
At this time, Wu Zhangkong's voice came from all directions.
Everyone then stepped forward and was enveloped by a strange energy, instantly teleported to another space.
Here, the top and bottom were made of deep-blue crystals, and the walls were silver-white metal. The refraction of light was exceptionally strange.
Wu Zhangkong was up ahead. He seemed to be operating some device; a screen popped up, and he tapped the keyboard with lightning speed.
Soon, there was activity on the screen.
"Identity confirmed: Little Changkong of Eastsea."
"Test difficulty: Intermediate. Number of participants: Seven."
"Countdown starting..."
Only then did Wu Zhangkong explain, "This is the final exam. Do your best to defeat the Soul Masters inside."
Before they could respond, several blue lights descended from above, and the group instantly disappeared.
Arthur once again experienced the same sensation as the spatial teleportation earlier. With the sudden rush of weightlessness at the end, he subconsciously adjusted his posture and landed steadily.
This place, as far as the eye could see, was an endless white land with no sky.
An electronic voice sounded: "Welcome to the Hero Hall. First Trial: Intermediate difficulty. Name: Arthur, Age: Nine years old. First test: Persevere for thirty seconds."
A youth appeared not far in front of Arthur.
He was tall and slender, with short deep-blue hair that looked clean and sharp.
His face was handsome, giving off a refined and elegant feeling.
"Begin!" the electronic voice rang out.
Instantly, the youth shot forward. Every step left layers of afterimages, and his arm transformed into a Dragon Claw.
"Bei Bei?" Seeing that Dragon Claw, Arthur had a suspicion.
And this footwork... Without a hint of urgency, Arthur observed with interest: "Is this the Ghost Shadow Mystery Steps?"
Instant Light!
At the moment he was about to be touched by the Dragon Claw, Arthur turned into a flash of light and shadow, suddenly disappearing as he executed the "Instant Light" Movement Technique.
He was in no hurry to counter-attack. Instead, he engaged in a duel of Movement Techniques with the youth, their strange figures and illusory light shadows constantly interweaving on the white ground.
In truth, Arthur could have finished the opponent in one move, but he didn't. He was continuously learning.
The Ghost Shadow Mystery Steps used by "Bei Bei" was naturally not the original version from ten thousand years ago, but the latest version of this era, perfected by countless Tang Sect geniuses over the past ten millennia.
The Movement Technique created by Agravaine, a Super Douluo, naturally couldn't compare.
Therefore, Arthur was using his pure stats and powerful combat intuition to figure out the essence of the opponent's footwork.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 30 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"