Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 268 Losing control
"Those are stored starlight impurities, which are intercepted by the transparent light shield at the top and combined with soul power to condense into a solid state."

Li Zhilong explained, "They are violent and cannot be directly absorbed and utilized by Soul Masters. When exposed to sunlight during the day, they will slowly decompose and become mild, providing our students with additional power and a simulated training environment."

Bai Yuan squinted at the points of light, his throat bobbing involuntarily. Gu Yue keenly noticed his unusual behavior and quietly approached: "Hungry again?"

“No.” Bai Yuan’s voice was a little hoarse. “On the contrary, I think I know how to eat my fill.”

Just as the abyss devours other planes to grow stronger, Bai Yuan felt a yearning emanating from the source of his martial soul after seeing the impurities in the starlight.

Rooted in the abyss of darkness, it yearns to devour the stars, to make everything return to itself, and to plunge light into darkness.

Li Zhilong, unaware that a "glutton" had arrived at his place, had already walked to the center of the area and loudly announced:
"As is customary, the exchange match will be a seven-on-seven team battle. The Starry Sky Academy team will consist of seven outstanding students personally selected by me, all of whom are between the fourth and fifth ring levels. Considering that you have fewer people, you can choose to fight individually or in a six-person team battle."

“Team battle is fine.” Gula interrupted calmly. “We are a team of six, so all seven of you can go. Don’t disrupt the teamwork. We also want to see more of the Star Spirit Martial Souls.”

The students of Starry Sky Academy stirred upon hearing this, some revealing expressions of dissatisfaction. Six against seven? This was clearly an insult to them.

Li Zhilong was also somewhat surprised: "Are you sure? Although you are all elites from Shrek Academy, the difference in cultivation level, plus the disadvantage in numbers..."

Wu Siduo snorted coldly, her arrogance overflowing: "To deal with you, six people would be too many."

These words ignited the fury of the Starry Sky Academy students. A blue-haired youth suddenly stood up: "Director Li, please allow us to teach these elites a lesson!"

Li Zhilong hesitated for a moment, then looked at Gula. Gula simply nodded calmly: "Please begin."

"Alright." Li Zhilong knew Shrek Academy was arrogant, but it was a good thing to let the students know that there were always people better than them. He took a deep breath. "Both sides, take your positions, let the match begin!"

The seven students from Starry Sky Academy quickly deployed their formation—three offensive specialists in front, two control specialists in the middle, and two support specialists in the rear. A standard, conservative team formation, clearly indicating their intention to probe their opponents' strength first.

Gula, however, adopted a completely different strategy. Bai Yuan walked to the front alone, while the others did not even bother to release their martial spirits.

"What do you mean?" the blue-haired boy roared. "There's a limit to looking down on people!"

Bai Yuan tilted his head, a dangerous smile playing on his lips: "It's not that I look down on you, it's just that they let me have a good meal first."

Before he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly turned a deep black, and even the whites of his eyes disappeared.

A terrifying suction force erupted from his body, and the starlight impurities stored in the dome of the observatory began to tremble. Strands of yellow energy were forcibly pulled out and flowed toward Bai Yuan's outstretched hands.

"What kind of martial soul is this?!"

Li Zhilong watched this scene in shock. As the dean of students, he had seen countless strange martial spirits, but this was the first time he had ever seen one that could directly devour environmental energy.

Gula stood at the back, a hint of inquiry flashing in his eyes.

He knew how taboo Bai Yuan's martial spirit was, and now was not the time to fully reveal it. The previous "misunderstanding" was enough; it would be best to resolve the overt issues one time next time.

"Bai Yuan, control the amount," Gula whispered a reminder.

Bai Yuan seemed not to hear. He looked up at the starlight he had drawn down, a mesmerizing expression on his face.

The students of Starry Sky Academy finally snapped out of their shock. The blue-haired boy shouted, "Stop him! Third Soul Skill, Star Rain Arrow!" Dozens of arrows condensed from starlight shot towards Bai Yuan, but they strangely slowed down when they were about a meter away from his body, and were eventually absorbed as pure energy.

“Delicious…” Bai Yuan murmured in praise, his eyes growing even darker, “but not enough.”

He suddenly raised his right hand, his five fingers spread wide, pointing at the seven people from Starry Sky Academy. A crack appeared in his palm, like a mouth growing teeth, and a suction force ten times stronger than before erupted. The soul rings on the seven people's bodies began to flicker erratically, and their soul power uncontrollably leaked outwards!

"Xiao Ling!" The blue-haired youth's expression changed drastically, and he immediately released his fifth soul skill—his martial soul was called the Meteor Bow.

In his team was a girl whose martial soul was called Meteor. The two martial souls had a certain compatibility, so they could not use the martial soul fusion skill. However, she consciously fused with a soul that could cooperate with her in her second soul spirit.

Fifth Soul Skill: Meteor Arrow!
Fifth Soul Skill: Starfall!
The five guided the starlight to descend, and two of them cooperated with amazing tacit understanding. The trajectories of their two soul skills merged and became a powerful ultimate move!

The Hidden Arrow of Mars!
The dazzling starlight merged and then disappeared, the arrow drifted erratically, and a streak of sparks flew a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

Bai Yuan stood there, completely unguarded, his eyes filled with starlight.

Just then, Gu Yue flashed behind Bai Yuan and slapped him on the back: "Wake up! It's not time to be greedy yet."

Bai Yuan's body trembled, and the blackness in his eyes quickly faded. He blinked blankly, looking around: "What happened?"

Ignoring the avatar driven by its appetite, Gula raised its hand and conjured a longsword of rock. The red sword energy split into countless forms, shredding the area in front of it.

Arrows, ultimately capable of concealment and mental manipulation, cannot be made intangible. Under the onslaught of sword energy, they reveal their form and are gradually eroded and annihilated.

The seven students from Starry Sky Academy were slumped on the ground, their faces pale, clearly exhausted from excessive soul power. The essence of starlight within the entire observatory had thinned considerably, and the lights on the dome had dimmed considerably.

Li Zhilong walked over with a grim expression: "This... how about we end the fight here?"

Not only did it consume a lot of energy from the Star Gazing Platform, but he also felt that Bai Yuan's martial soul was somewhat strange. If he didn't know that Bai Yuan was a Shrek Academy student, his intoxicated appearance of devouring soul power would really make him look like an evil soul master.

Gula stepped forward and said apologetically, "We are very sorry, Bai Yuan's martial spirit is somewhat special and sometimes it can go out of control. We are willing to fully compensate the Star Gazing Platform for its losses."

Bai Yuan was now fully conscious. He looked at his hands, his brow furrowed. That feeling was back—that endless hunger, as if a black hole inside him was devouring his reason.

"Did I lose control again?" he asked Xu Xiaoyan in a low voice.

Xu Xiaoyan nodded, her eyes filled with fear: "You almost drained their soul power, your expression was terrifying."

Bai Yuan silently walked back to the group, no longer speaking. Wu Siduo had grown accustomed to Bai Yuan's abilities and stopped her sarcastic remarks, giving him a deep look: "He's truly a monster."

Na'er unexpectedly retorted, speaking up for Gula's avatar: "He didn't do it on purpose. It's just a characteristic of his martial soul, just like how your White Tiger martial soul can scare people."

Wu Siduo wanted to say something, but Gula stopped her with a look.

After checking on the students, Li Zhilong breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, it's just a matter of soul power being depleted. They'll recover after a few days of rest."

He turned to Gula, his tone serious, "However, the exchange competition will probably have to be postponed, and the observatory will need at least a week to recover the stored starlight essence."

(End of this chapter)