Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 196 Shrek Academy Entrance Examination
As Wu Changkong's slender fingers traced the soul-guiding runes on the inner wall of the private room, a pale blue light curtain spread across the wall like ripples on water.

The outside noise was instantly shut out, and even the auctioneer's impassioned voice turned into a hazy hum.

Tang Wulin could clearly hear the sound of his blood surging. He carefully took out the lotus seed with a flowing blue halo from the jade box, and its rich fragrance immediately spread in the enclosed space.

Gu Yue gently stroked the surface of the lotus seed with her fingertips, and the fine lines shone slightly when she touched them.

Beside her, Xu Xiaoyan couldn't wait to put the lotus seed in her mouth, and a pale blue halo instantly enveloped her face.

Seeing this, everyone closed their eyes and regulated their breathing. Only Wu Changkong waited a moment before consuming the lotus seeds to refine them.

Half an hour later, Gula was the first to finish digesting the lotus seeds and recover from the exhaustion of using the Tree Avatar Soul Skill, and slowly opened his eyes.

A short while later, Wu Changkong, Gu Yue, and Tang Wulin woke up one after another in order of the strength of their mental power.

Lotus seeds have little effect on those in the Spirit Sea Realm, and their efficacy is halved; at most, they can help stabilize one's foundation.

While refining the lotus seeds, Wu Changkong and Gu Yue mainly focused on organizing their mental energy. Over the next week, they will both be mentally alert and their cultivation efficiency will increase.

Gula examined the lotus seed sprouting from his palm. It had just been born, and the lotus sprout possessed only a weak soul power, yet it had already developed spiritual power. This was due to the special nature of the Six Senses Pure Lotus species, as well as the special nature of his clone soul skill.

When everyone woke up, no one spoke, and they savored the feeling of relaxation.

After a short while, Wu Changkong turned off the soundproofing device, and the amber lights unique to the auction house came into view again. An ice crystal cage had been raised on the exhibition stand.

The pure white dragon spirit swam in the cold mist, and with each swish of its tail, white frost flowers would condense in the air.

Before the auctioneer could even begin to introduce the items, a cacophony of bids erupted in the circular hall.

"Lot No. 108, a ten-thousand-year-old white ice dragon spirit from the deep sea, suitable for dragons and ice-attribute martial soul masters. The seller requests an ice-attribute spirit item in exchange. Interested parties please make a bid."

Tang Wulin and Xu Xiaoyan perked up upon hearing this. This spirit ring was undoubtedly very suitable for the two of them. Unfortunately, as a dragon-type spirit, the spirit item they were asked to offer quickly exceeded the value of one hundred million federal coins. They were speechless and could only put their minds at ease.

New items were gradually put up for auction, but unfortunately none of them were suitable for the group. After Tang Wulin won the Dragon Blood Grass, the group returned to the hotel.

At dawn the following day, Gula stood on the hotel's observation deck overlooking the entire Shrek City.

Tang Wulin occasionally stroked the silver ring soul tool on his chest, which contained materials to unseal the second layer of the seal. Since he had been accepted as a disciple by Zhuoshi, he didn't need to worry about failing the entrance exam, so he didn't risk unsealing the seal. Therefore, no one would be late this time, and naturally, no one would have to retake the exam.

As the first rays of sunlight pierced the clouds, Wu Changkong's snow-white figure appeared precisely at the revolving door of the lobby. He confirmed everyone was present, and his cool, aloof voice rang out:

"Set off."

Upon arriving at Shrek Academy, the magnificent bronze gate gleamed coldly in the sunlight. The nine gilded dragon reliefs coiled on the gate, spitting out clouds and mist, and the details of the dragon whiskers trembling in the wind seemed as if they could come to life at any moment.

Gula looked up at the academy's main building that pierced the clouds. Every brick on the granite exterior was engraved with intricate soul-guiding runes, giving it a hardness comparable to metal.

As his gaze swept over the shimmering patterns, his eyes narrowed slightly. The runes were clearly adjusting the soul energy field of the entire building in sync—the rich soul energy environment of Shrek Academy was not solely due to the Golden Tree.

As they walked through the corridor filled with statues of the original Shrek Seven Devils, Wu Changkong's introduction was unnecessary to explain further, and Gula and Gu Yue took it as a joke.

The moment they stepped into the assessment hall, the golden dragon eyes on the dome mural seemed to come alive, and the twenty-meter-high circular space was instantly filled with a suffocating dragon's might.

"Step forward and pass the first test before you can continue." Wu Changkong didn't approach, but watched the group from a distance.

"This mural..."

Xie Xie had just looked up when he staggered back half a step. The black dragon was coiled in the giant mural, each scale seemingly containing endless darkness, making one fall in love with it at first glance.

Xu Xiaoyan gripped the star-shaped necklace on her chest tightly, her knuckles turning white as she noticed that the dragon claws in the mural were taking on different gripping postures depending on the viewing angle, and her neck tightened.

Gula, however, narrowed his eyes with great interest. A blue-gold light flashed deep within his green-gold pupils, and the dragon scale patterns that ordinary people could not look at directly returned to their original state in his eyes.

The mural before us was carved with a drop of Emperor Tian's essence blood and contains astonishing dragon might. Ordinary people would be terrified at the sight of it, and only those with sufficient willpower and mental strength could endure it for ten seconds.

As the group approached the black iron wall engraved with the essence of Emperor Tian's blood, the air suddenly became as thick as glue.

Tang Wulin's temples throbbed, and a low roar from an ancient beast echoed deep within his bloodline. He then ignored the might of the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King.

Gula casually scratched the back of his head, blinked, and didn't seem to feel anything.

Gu Yue exhibited a similar demeanor, appearing even more relaxed than when he was taking a walk.

In comparison, Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan performed much worse; both of them were far inferior to Gula and the others in terms of willpower and mental strength.

As expected, the two will likely only score two or three points at most in the end.

Just as Xie Xie's forehead veins bulged and he was about to kneel down, Tang Wulin suddenly took half a step forward, his golden blood and energy erupting like lava.

He placed his palms on their shoulders to help them resist the dragon's might, and Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan were able to adjust.

"This is unfair! This is cheating!"

Some Soul Masters who were still undergoing the assessment couldn't help but report that they were just a little short of passing the assessment, but no one helped them.

Xu Xiaoyan's cheeks flushed slightly, while Xie Xie clenched his fists. If it weren't for Long Wei preventing him from speaking, he would have definitely snapped back.

"This is not cheating. Shrek Academy recognizes teamwork, but you must all be assessed together in subsequent evaluations."

A voice came from the high wall, announcing the results: "Gula, Gu Yue, and Tang Wulin have perfectly adapted to the pressure of the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, earning ten points. Xie Xie gets five points, and Xu Xiaoyan gets four points."

"The second level has begun."

Tang Wulin felt the voice was somewhat familiar. Before he could think about it, the scene in front of him changed, as if he had been teleported to another space by a teleportation array, and the bluestone slab under his feet suddenly turned into quicksand.

The surrounding scenery distorted into colorful blocks, and the feeling of weightlessness made him instinctively release his Blue Silver Grass martial soul. Blue vines crawled and grew on the ground, similar to Gula's domain tactics.

As his feet touched the ground again, icicles as thick as his forearm brushed past his ear and exploded into a shower of ice crystals on the rock wall behind him.

"Assessment objective: Kill the pack of Millennium Ice Wolves within ten minutes."

(End of this chapter)