In the second battle, Wu Zhangkong found that all his moves seemed to have been predicted by the seven children, rendering him unable to execute them effectively.
If he had not increased his strength to the fifth ring, he would likely have been in a very embarrassing situation.
However, he knew very well that no one else could have achieved this.
After the battle, he approached Huo Yuhao personally to experience the sharing of spiritual detection and realized that it was Huo Yuhao who had orchestrated the attacks.
The opponent's insight, basic combat skills, and vision were simply beyond what a three-ring soul master could possess.
Wu Zhangkong even doubted that if he suppressed his strength to the soul king level and faced Huo Yuhao alone, it would still take considerable effort to defeat him.
As for losing?
He remained confident in himself. With such a significant level difference, how could he possibly lose?
Wu Zhangkong observed the seven individuals scattered across the field, practicing with each other, and remarked, "But because he is too perfect, there is a gap between him and the others. Only Gu Yuena can keep up with him."
"At least someone can keep up, right? The truly strong ones who make it to the end often fight alone. They are fortunate to have an opponent who can match them," Luoyang Lu said with a smile, shaking his head.
Wu Zhangkong did not refute this but instead looked at Luoyang Lu seriously. "They are disciples of the master of the East Sea Spirit Pagoda, right?"
In the East Sea, only a Titled Douluo could teach such exceptional disciples.
Moreover, Joyful Doulou possessed a martial spirit of spiritual attributes, just like Huo Yuhao.
If a Super Douluo were teaching him combat skills, Wu Zhangkong could reluctantly accept the outcome of the battle... though he still found it hard to fully come to terms with it.
After all, his own teacher was also a Super Douluo.
"Not exactly," Luoyang Lu replied, glancing in the direction of Gu Yuena.
"Gu Yuena is Her Majesty Heavenly Phoenix's disciple. As for Yuhao... His Majesty Joyful intends to send Yuhao to the headquarters and does not accept him as a disciple."
"…"
Wu Zhangkong pursed his lips, temporarily dismissing some of his thoughts.
Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, the deputy pagoda master of the Spirit Pagoda, had inherited her position through her ancestors' legacy.
However, she was likely nearing the ninety-ninth level by now.
A disciple of a level 98 Super Douluo, and a child that even a level 95 Super Douluo dared not accept as a disciple... Wu Zhangkong decided to let go of some of his earlier ideas.
In the Spirit Pagoda, they already had a bright future.
…
After the battle, the students had lunch and were led by Luoyang Lu and Wu Zhangkong to the Spirit Pagoda.
"From today onward, you can go to the Spirit Ascension Platform for training every day," Luoyang Lu announced.
Xu Xiaoyan widened her eyes in excitement. "Is this true?"
Luoyang Lu smiled and nodded. Beside him, Wu Zhangkong raised his eyebrows, silently admiring the generosity of the Spirit Pagoda.
Xu Xiaoyan was pleasantly surprised to see Luoyang Lu nod in confirmation.
She knew very well what the Spirit Ascension Platform was.
Although soul contract feedback allows souls to be passed down through generations and improved step by step, the process is far from easy.
The leap from a ten-year soul to a hundred-year soul is manageable, but progressing from a hundred-year soul to a thousand-year soul is significantly more challenging.
For weaker soul master families, this requires considerable time and effort.
The transition from a thousand-year soul to a ten-thousand-year soul is already a significant challenge, but the monumental leap from a ten-thousand-year soul to a hundred-thousand-year soul is even more formidable.
It is precisely because of the emergence of the Spirit Ascension Platform that smaller families occasionally gain access to a spot, leading to an increase in the number of ten-thousand-year-level heirloom souls.
The benefits of entering the Spirit Ascension Platform are immense and self-evident.
As for a hundred-thousand-year heirloom soul… Xu Xiaoyan had never heard of such a thing existing in the East Sea.
It was likely that only other regions could possess heirloom souls of that caliber.
From what Huo Yuhao knew, even in large families, hundred-thousand-year souls were exceedingly rare.
For most Titled Douluo, the limit of their spiritual power realm is the Spirit Origin Realm, which can only accommodate a hundred-thousand-year soul or a ferocious beast soul.
In such cases, a Titled Douluo who possesses a hundred-thousand-year soul cannot and dares not upgrade their ten-thousand-year soul to the hundred-thousand-year level.
Instead, they must leave it for their descendants to inherit and upgrade, provided the descendants are sufficiently motivated.
Moreover, unlike the situation in the original work, with the existence of heirloom souls, everyone strives to upgrade their souls to a higher age, laying a stronger foundation for future generations.
However, achieving a hundred-thousand-year soul solely through contract feedback is incredibly difficult, which is why all major forces have turned their attention to the Spirit Ascension Platform.
Upgrading a soul to the hundred-thousand-year level requires an enormous amount of spiritual power from the Spirit Ascension Platform, and with so many powerful individuals vying for a turn, not everyone can secure an opportunity.
Due to these factors, even for some large families, a hundred-thousand-year heirloom soul represents the core foundation of a soul master family, and such souls are exceedingly rare.
The total number of hundred-thousand-year souls are impressive, far exceeding what was seen in the era of the original work.
As for ferocious beast souls, they are no longer achievable through spiritual ascension and contract feedback alone, making them exceptionally rare!
Ten thousand years later, in the Spirit Pagoda, artificial souls could reach the level of one hundred thousand years.
However, because they could not simulate the heavenly tribulation, they could not advance to the level of ferocious beasts. Today, the Spirit Pagoda faces a similar problem.
Will there ever be a soul that undergoes its own heavenly calamity?
There is no such example because these souls do not face heavenly tribulations at all.
The issue lies here. To become a heirloom soul, the soul has, in a sense, achieved a form of immortality and no longer needs to endure the trials of heavenly tribulation.
However, over time, it has become evident that all ferocious beasts must undergo various heavenly tribulations to reach that level.
Without heavenly tribulations, a 100,000-year-old soul cannot advance to the level of a ferocious beast soul.
Just as humans cannot break through to the next stage without spirit rings, souls also face a similar barrier, stuck at a boundary they cannot surpass.
This is the current challenge the Spirit Pagoda is grappling with.
Some have proposed ideas such as simulating artificial heavenly calamities or bypassing thunder tribulations, but these remain in the conceptual stage, with no concrete research breakthroughs yet.
If this aspect of the rules is also tied to the Dragon God, Huo Yuhao can only remark that the Dragon God is quite meticulous.
However, loopholes can still be found.
After all, there are examples around him.
Right? Brother Tianmeng, who didn't suffer a single heavenly tribulation, woke up from a long sleep and inexplicably became a million-year-old soul beast.
"Arrived."
Standing in front of the Spirit Pagoda, Xu Xiaoyan was the only one visibly excited, while the other students remained calm.
After all, they were all insiders of the Spirit Pagoda in some sense and were spiritually prepared.
Entering the first floor, the ground of the Spirit Pagoda was paved with dark golden stone, adorned with colorful natural patterns that flowed like a scroll painting.
Looking up, massive stone pillars rose from the ground, firmly supporting the dome tens of meters high.
The most striking feature was the vibrant and lifelike murals covering these stone pillars and the dome.
These murals were magnificent, depicting landscapes and figures as if narrating a story, exuding a profound sense of history.
Among the figures in the murals, one had a blurred face, a stunning woman in white stood beside him, and in front of him was a handsome man in a black robe.
Tang Wulin, already familiar with the scene, explained to the curious onlookers around him:
"This mural depicts the first-generation pagoda master, along with the two deputy pagoda masters, the Snow Empress of the Far North and Di Tian of the Star Dou Great Forest, signing a contract. It symbolizes the beginning of a new path for humans and soul beasts."
"However, this scene was not witnessed by anyone else. It was recreated based on the description provided by Deputy pagoda Master Di Tian."
Hearing this, Wang Jinxi thought of his own soul and gazed at the mural in silent reverence.
This scene marked the origin of the current prosperity of the Douluo Continent.
Zhang Yangzi said with a hint of longing, "I've heard that the masters of the Spirit Pagoda are the most powerful people on the continent. I wonder if we'll ever have the chance to meet them."
Tang Wulin smiled and replied, "That's not something we can expect right now. We'll need to demonstrate enough potential first."
"You know so much," Xie Xie glanced at Tang Wulin and whispered, "Have you also joined the Spirit Pagoda?"
"Yeah!" Tang Wulin nodded with a smile.
On the other side, Huo Yuhao gazed at the Snow Empress in the mural for a moment before looking away.
He is back. We'll meet again in the future.
Wu Zhangkong looked at the mural with a complex expression but still regarded it with respect.
Luoyang Lu chatted briefly with the receptionist, then smoothly led everyone along the path. They took an elevator to the basement and entered a testing room.
"Before entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, you'll first undergo tests for physical fitness and spiritual strength. This will give Teacher Wu and me a better understanding of your capabilities."