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"Do you know what level his spiritual power is at?"
Facing Tang Wulin's confusion, Gu Yue countered with a question.
"What? Is his spiritual power really that strong?" Seeing the tense atmosphere, Xu Xiaoyan timidly asked in a small voice.
We were just casually commenting—why is Elder Sister Gu Yue reacting so strongly?
"His spiritual power has reached the Spirit Sea Realm," Gu Yue said after glancing at the three of them, her tone calm and indifferent.
"The Spirit Sea Realm?" Tang Wulin exclaimed in shock.
How was this possible!
He's only ten years old.
Although Zero Class placed a strong emphasis on practical combat, Wu Changkong's teachings consistently highlighted that true strength wasn't about raw soul power but rather the ability to utilize one's power effectively, along with combat techniques and strategy. However, Zero Class had never neglected testing and demanding high standards for foundational attributes.
In simple terms, while honing your ability to fully unleash your true potential, you couldn't afford to slack off on your base capabilities.
Within Zero Class, all four of them were considered geniuses, especially in the realm of spiritual power—they were prodigies. Very few among the younger generation of the Tianhai Alliance could compare with them.
Especially Gu Yue—her achievements even shattered the other three Zero Class members' understanding of spiritual talent.
Yet, Gu Yue herself only had slightly over 200 points of spiritual power.
She was still far from the 500-point threshold required to reach the Spirit Sea Realm, not to mention the bottleneck she would face.
"Do you think that because he has three purple soul rings and you also have at least one purple ring, the effects of your soul skills are roughly equivalent?" Gu Yue snorted coldly. "You're worlds apart!"
"I can sense it. The origin of soul rings comes from spirit souls, which carry traces of their presence. I've been cultivating a secret technique in the Spirit Pagoda that allows me to roughly gauge such things. His spirit soul is at least three thousand years old!"
Tang Wulin was utterly shocked.
Three thousand years?
Oh my goodness.
"Old Tang, Old Tang, will doubling my blood and qi really allow me to defeat him?" Tang Wulin's confidence faltered.
The physical conditioning required to withstand three thousand-year soul rings versus three three-thousand-year soul rings was an astronomical difference.
Old Tang remained silent for a long time.
"Just do your best in the battle."
Gu Yue held nothing back in expressing her thoughts, intending to fully convey her assessment.
"Moreover, I can sense that his affinity with the elements of heaven and earth is extremely high. He even seems to have some degree of interaction with the natural forces, indicating that he has mastered the power of momentum."
"His spiritual power is enough to completely overwhelm me. His elemental affinity might not be weaker than mine, and he may even have the assistance of natural forces. If I were to face him, all my abilities might be rendered useless."
"Therefore, I won't participate in this battle."
After delivering her words in a cold tone, Gu Yue turned and left without another glance.
By sharing her observations of Xu Yuan's abilities, she was clearly stating that she couldn't fight in this battle.
She possessed the pride of the Silver Dragon King, but she wasn't foolish.
To appear more "normal," she had sealed away too much of her power, resulting in such a vast gap in foundational strength compared to Xu Yuan at the age of ten. Knowing this, the wisest choice was to avoid the fight altogether.
If she were to engage in battle, it would only be after she gradually re-fused her powers and unleashed her true potential.
It wasn't that she couldn't accept a temporary loss.
What she couldn't accept was being suppressed in her control over the elements.
As the Silver Dragon King, losing dominion over the elements would be a disgrace beyond measure.
"Turns out, the limits of humans are this high. I could have exaggerated my talents a bit more…"
Due to the divergence from the original storyline, she truly hadn't begun unlocking her seals yet. Her Silver Dragon King bloodline, past spiritual power, and even her mastery over elemental cores were all still sealed.
Gu Yue turned and walked away.
Before leaving the room, she offered a final reminder.
"He's probably joining another team temporarily for the competition. You should check the match schedule and see if you can negotiate with him to have the battle take place at night. Perhaps Xu Xiaoyan's Absolute Establishment with her Starlight Staff will be your only chance."
Watching Gu Yue leave, Tang Wulin sighed helplessly.
Gu Yue had already explained everything clearly.
If she participated, she'd only be a burden.
"Perhaps, for someone as proud as Gu Yue, this would be considered humiliating," he thought to himself.
After Gu Yue left, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan sat in the room, exchanging awkward glances and remaining silent for a long time.
Finally, Tang Wulin broke the tension.
"Putting aside the issue of being countered, Gu Yue seems completely suppressed by Xu Yuan. If she were to fight, she might only be able to use half of her strength at most. So it's better if just the three of us go on stage," he coughed to ease the awkwardness.
He didn't say anything about Gu Yue being afraid—just that she was being suppressed.
In truth, Tang Wulin didn't think Gu Yue's decision was wrong at all. On the contrary, he felt it was a wise choice for her to step down.
If she forced herself to participate, they'd only end up in a worse position.
"Gu Yue's final suggestion makes a lot of sense. When Xu Xiaoyan's martial soul evolves into the Starlight Staff at night, it'll be at its peak. Moreover, her Absolute Establishment ability might be our only chance to defeat Xu Yuan," Xie Xie said.
"Right, Captain, do you have Xu Yuan's contact information?" Xu Xiaoyan asked weakly.
She didn't want to get on stage and get crushed.
So, Captain, swallow your pride a little, okay? ~~~
Xu Xiaoyan stared at Tang Wulin with wide, watery eyes.
Tang Wulin's eye twitched.
"Alright… let me ask."
He took out his soul-guided communicator, found Xu Lizhi's number, and sent a text message.
"Tang Wulin: Are you there?"
Xu Lizhi quickly replied.
"Xu Lizhi: Yep, what's up?"
Xie Xie sneakily peeked at their chat, amazed at how casual their conversation was.
"Tang Wulin: Can you ask Brother Xu Yuan if he's interested in joining a specific team for the competition?"
"Xu Lizhi: Does it matter? Don't worry, whichever team Xu Yuan joins, he'll guarantee a solo performance."
Tang Wulin's face darkened.
This was supposed to make me feel reassured?
"Tang Wulin: Can you ask him if he can choose a team that competes in the evening matches?"
"Xu Lizhi: Sure."
"Tang Wulin: ??? You haven't even asked yet!"
Instant reply?
Could it be that Brother Xu Yuan was standing right next to him, watching?
"Xu Lizhi: The outcome will always be his victory anyway. Fulfilling your extra requests isn't a problem. If it makes the battle more enjoyable for him, he'll definitely agree."
"This arrogant?" Xie Xie didn't expect the harmless-looking chubby boy to sound so bold in his messages.
It wasn't that Xu Lizhi was arrogant—it was just that when talking about Xu Yuan, his tone naturally carried such confidence.
"It just shows how deeply rooted Xu Yuan's overwhelming strength is in his mind," Tang Wulin thought, feeling even more pressure.
"Tang Wulin: Thanks for helping out."
"Xu Lizhi: OK (thumbs up emoji)."
"Let's discuss our tactics. While we'll need to adapt on the battlefield, we still need to align our strategies beforehand," Tang Wulin said seriously.
"First, Xiaoyan, your first soul skill is crucial. Controlling him might be our only chance—or perhaps our only opportunity."
Even with preparation, though her Absolute Establishment was powerful, there was always hope for a countermeasure.
If they wanted to turn the tide of battle with this move, they absolutely had to seize the first opportunity!
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