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After You Tianshang settled in, Li Luochen continued his cultivation. He had originally planned to use a God-Given Spirit Ring as his seventh spirit ring, but now it seemed unnecessary. He would directly go for the Titan Giant Ape.
At that time, Yanzi would be at level eighty with the Azure Heaven Python, and he would be at level seventy with the Titan Giant Ape—wasn't this perfect? Having an additional hundred-thousand-year spirit bone would also increase his chances of successfully absorbing the Golden Dragon torso bone.
Over the next few days, Shrek Academy gained a new "street loafer" who watched the students train. However, his interest was particularly piqued by Ma Hongjun.
"Little Li, how about you let me take Ma Hongjun? His Phoenix martial soul is exceptional—it belongs to my Xuan Niao Sect. I'll make him the true inheritor and core disciple of the Xuan Niao Sect."
You Tianshang looked at Li Luocheng with excitement. It had been a long time since he'd found such a talented youngster.
Among the geniuses he had recently recruited, only Bai Chenxiang, a girl from the Agile Clan, showed promise. Her innate spirit power was level nine, but unfortunately, her martial soul was the Sharp-Tailed Swallow, which lacked offensive capabilities. (In my opinion, Bai Chenxiang's cultivation level is quite normal—reaching level forty-eight at eighteen shows decent talent.)
"Uh... Ask him yourself. If he agrees, fine. But he still belongs to Shrek Academy, so don't even think about him leaving. Besides, didn't you just create the Xuan Niao Sect on a whim?
Why abandon being the eldest son of the Qing Luan family to start your own thing? I don't understand. If he agrees, his eighth spirit ring must be a hundred-thousand-year fire-attribute one. Can you handle that?"
Li Luochen thought there wouldn't be any issues. After all, Ma Hongjun was beyond what he could teach. He was an implement-type spirit master, while Ma Hongjun was a flying beast-type spirit master. Li Luochen could only suggest suitable soul beasts for Ma Hongjun to obtain.
If Ma Hongjun wanted to create his own spirit skills, Li Luocheng couldn't help with that—it was too difficult a question for him. He didn't know much about bird-type spirit masters or how beast martial souls were cultivated.
"Uh... Fine, I'll do it! Fire-attribute soul beasts aren't hard to find. There are plenty in the Undying Volcano. My great-uncle said there are at least seven, hundred-thousand-year soul beasts there.
Once I become a Title Douluo, I can break through to level ninety-five within a few years. With my strength, level ninety-five will be enough to rival level ninety-seven. A mere hundred-thousand-year soul beast? Easy!"
You TianShang patted his chest confidently.
As for why Li Luochen could guide Zhu Zhuqing, it was because he knew a certain monkey-like man in a yellow suit with a lewd appearance. That man had once said, "Speed equals weight. Have you ever been kicked at light speed?"
Following that lewd man's logic was definitely correct—"speed equals weight." It suited Zhu Zhuqing, an agility-attack-type spirit master perfectly.
While Li Luochen and You Tianshang were chatting, an unexpected yet anticipated person appeared.
This was the so-called "Master" Yu Xiaogang.
As a "friend," Flender naturally greeted him, but Li Luochen noticed a hint of disdain in Flender's eyes. Everything was just for show—there wasn't much genuine emotion.
Gang Zi, that fool, didn't react much. He was solely focused on his precious disciple, Tang San—the hope he pinned all his aspirations on, the tool to prove himself.
Tang San and Xiao Wu were delighted to see Gang Zi, but Oscar and the others didn't care. A mere twenty-nine-level Great Spirit Master? Calling himself a "master"?
Oscar glanced at Li Luocheng, who stood nearby with his arms crossed. The real "master" was right here. As for the so-called 'Ten Core Competencies of Spirit Martial Souls', Oscar had read it and sneered at its contents. It was all common sense—nothing groundbreaking. Could the author of this book really call himself a "master"?
And regarding the limits of spirit ring years, Oscar laughed after reading it. All of his spirit rings were absorbed beyond the limit, breaking all conventions. Had any twenty-nine-level Great Spirit Master ever absorbed a spirit ring over seventeen hundred years old?
Yu Xiaogang then looked at the members of Shrek Academy. He felt his chance had come. He had already received a letter from Tang San—they were all monster-level geniuses. Perhaps the next Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament would belong to Shrek Academy.
"Alright, everyone, disperse. Xiao Ao, Hongjun, pack your things—we're going somewhere else to train. Rongrong, Zhuqing, you too. There's a good show coming up."
Li Luochen didn't want to see this idiot basking in self-satisfaction, nor could he openly get rid of him, so he sent everyone away.
Li Luochen's sudden words snapped Yu Xiaogang out of his daydream. He immediately turned to look at Li Luochen, feeling irritated. How dare this young student be so rude?
"What's wrong with you, classmate? I haven't even dismissed you yet. Do you know how to respect your elders?"
Yu Xiaogang's words made the teachers present feel displeased. Flender's face darkened as well—Li Luochen was both the pride and benefactor of their academy.
"What are you? How dare you demand respect from our Director Li? What nonsense! Let me tell you, our Director Li is the strongest genius of the younger generation. Do you really think being the principal's friend gives you the right to act arrogantly?"
Ma Hongjun immediately exploded upon hearing this. He deeply respected Li Luochen—not only had he helped resolve his martial soul's flaws, but he had also guided his cultivation and paved the way for him. In the past few days, he had even arranged for Ma Hongjun to receive guidance from someone about to become a Title Douluo.
Ma Hongjun's feelings for Li Luocheng ran deep. Since childhood, Li Luochen had been his guiding figure.
"Ma Hongjun, this is my teacher! Don't you understand respecting your teacher and following the righteous path?"
Tang San lost his composure in an instant. He always placed respecting one's teacher above all else. To insult his teacher was to invite death.
"He's your teacher, not mine. A mere Great Spirit Master? Does he have the qualifications to be my teacher? Is he worthy? Can a Great Spirit Master really be called a 'master'? This 'master' title must've been self-proclaimed."
Ma Hongjun continued his verbal assault, but suddenly, a voice whispered in his ear: "Tang San is about to attack. He'll use hidden weapons, and they're poisoned. When he does, activate your third spirit skill, Rebirth of the Phoenix. He won't be able to harm you."
Tang San's eyes turned purple as he flicked several flying needles toward Ma Hongjun's throat, heart, and forehead.
The teachers present were all at least Soul Sage-level cultivators. How could they not sense Tang San's actions? They had watched Li Luochen and Ma Hongjun grow up, and now Tang San dared to act so ruthlessly!
"Third Spirit Skill, Rebirth of the Phoenix!"
Ma Hongjun was already prepared. His body ignited with blazing phoenix flames, instantly vaporizing the needles.
Ma Hongjun's spirit rings emerged—one yellow, two purple, one black—four in total. He was furious. How dare someone resort to lethal attacks during a verbal argument?
Ma Hongjun transformed into flames and attacked Tang San. Seeing the situation turn dire, Tang San immediately unleashed his Blue Silver Grass spirit skill.
"First Spirit Skill, Bind!"
The black Blue Silver Grass shot toward Ma Hongjun, but upon contact with his fiery aura, it burned to ashes.
"What?! Third Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Prison Cage!"
The black Blue Silver Grass formed a cage around Tang San, but Ma Hongjun broke through it without hesitation.
Just as Tang San was about to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to dodge, he suddenly felt dizzy, as if something had attacked him. He became disoriented.
That's right—this was Ma Hongjun's new head spirit bone skill, Spiritual Shock, which caused Tang San's mind to scatter.
However, Tang San had been cultivating the Purple Extreme Demon Eye, which helped enhance his spiritual power. At the micro-level, his spiritual power was decent. But Ma Hongjun was already a forty-four-level Soul Elder, nourished by a ten-thousand-year spirit ring and a head spirit bone.
His spiritual power far surpassed that of a Soul King and was comparable to a Soul Emperor. Though spiritual power wasn't his forte, it was more than enough to dominate Tang San.
In an instant, Ma Hongjun stomped on Tang San's face, pinning him to the ground, and spat on him.
"Pfft! What a joke! Such ruthless tactics—no wonder you and your trash teacher are a perfect match. How could you possibly think of bowing to such a useless teacher?
Can he even help you hunt for spirit rings? A mere Great Spirit Master dares to speak so arrogantly?"
Yu Xiaogang watched as Tang San was subdued. Just as he was about to intervene—
"Don't move..."
Before Yu Xiaogang could finish his sentence, a short sword made of white jade was pressed against his neck.
"Don't move! Or your life is forfeit!"
The speaker was none other than Oscar. In the instant Ma Hongjun attacked, Oscar had teleported to Yu Xiaogang's side and used his external spirit bone, the White Jade Arm Sword, to restrain him. He believed Yu Xiaogang was the root of all evil.
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong hadn't reacted in time. Meanwhile, Li Luochen summoned a chair, sat down, crossed his legs, and began snacking on sunflower seeds.
Zhu Zhuqing hadn't even noticed how Oscar had moved—it was incredibly fast and worth studying. Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, embraced her mischievous nature and reveled in the chaos.
Ning Rongrong snatched the sunflower seeds from Li Luochen and joined him in snacking.
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