Douluo Continent: Conflict descends, gods are slain and gods ascend!

Although he could continue cultivating and accumulating soul power even without absorbing soul rings after reaching level 30, this would undoubtedly slow down his cultivation speed. However, he currently had no solution to this problem.

As for the Spirit Ascension Platform during the riot period, Yun Chen hadn't considered it yet. Not only was the riot period still a long way off, but even if it did begin, Yun Chen wasn't sure he could ascend the Bloodrage Lion Tiger's soul to a thousand years in one go.

"Ugh, what a shitty, messed-up world." Yun Chen exhaled a breath of stale air as he awoke from his meditation, then cursed fiercely.

"Hey, how could you say such nasty things? I'm going to tell Daddy and he'll punish you!" Xu Xiaoyan grinned mischievously as she approached.

"Get lost, you brat." Yun Chen flicked her forehead in annoyance. This girl was usually a sweet and gentle little sister, but her tendency to stab someone in the back when given the chance was really hard to handle.

Xu Xiaoyan covered her head and glared fiercely at Yun Chen, then coldly snorted and turned away, giving off the impression that she was very angry and needed to be appeased. However, she also felt that even if Yun Chen tried to appease her, he wouldn't succeed.

Yun Chen simply smiled helplessly at this, not taking Xu Xiaoyan's petty temper to heart. They had grown up together and knew each other too well. Xu Xiaoyan wouldn't stay like this for more than a few minutes before she turned her head away on her own.

"You seem troubled?" Just then, Gu Yue's voice suddenly rang out.

"Huh? You're still here?" Yun Chen looked at Gu Yue in surprise, then at the fifth-grade students who were still running laps.

Gu Yue's expression froze for a moment, then she got up without a word and left, heading towards Class 5.

"Hehe, you've made them leave in anger." Xu Xiaoyan's mocking voice rang out.

"Uh, I really didn't notice her." Yun Chen shrugged. For some reason, Gu Yue sitting next to him made Yun Chen feel completely unguarded.

"Could it be because she and Na'er were once one?" Yun Chen wondered to himself.

The morning passed quickly. After testing all the students in the class, Ye Yingluo returned to her office with satisfaction. She needed to properly arrange the team members who would be competing in the promotion tournament. After all, she had so many promising students in her class, and she needed to plan their development carefully.

"Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi grew up together and have a great teamwork. One is a strong attacker and the other is an agile attacker. Add Xu Xiaoyan, who is a control type, and you can form a good combination."

"Wei Xiaofeng and Zhang Yangzi's combination of agility and attack, plus Xu Xiaoyan's control ability, is also quite good. A burst of attacks might just end the battle."

"Yun Chen, an offensive character, combined with Xu Xiaoyan, a control character, and then paired with either Zhang Yangzi or Wei Xiaofeng, would also be a good choice."

A variety of combinations immediately came to mind for Ye Yingluo. However, what she didn't know was that Yun Chen and Wei Xiaofeng had already discussed the promotion competition in private, and Yun Chen was not planning to participate.

As for Xu Xiaoyan, whom Ye Yingluo considered a jack-of-all-trades, she had absolutely no interest in the promotion tournament. She might agree to play if Yun Chen were to participate, but getting her to team up with someone else was out of the question!

The afternoon classes returned to the classroom, and the lectures on theoretical knowledge made the students drowsy. But today, Ye Yingluo's lecture didn't have such a hypnotic effect. That's because today she was talking about how to choose soul skills for different types of martial souls.

After tens of thousands of years of development, the selection of soul skills by soul masters is now supported by scientific evidence. In addition, since soul rings now originate from soul spirits, soul masters no longer need to rely on luck to find soul beasts in the soul beast forest.

Many of today's scientifically sound combinations would have seemed incomprehensible tens of thousands of years ago. If they were put in Yu Xiaogang's time, that good-for-nothing might have even criticized them as misleading the youth.

The combination of soul skills is of paramount importance to a soul master. Although a soul spirit can be released, the resources consumed in cultivation and the cost of the soul spirit's ascension are not refunded after the release. Therefore, generally speaking, a soul master will never choose to break the contract with their soul spirit in their lifetime.

When school let out in the afternoon, Mu Xi went to Class 1, Grade 1. She found Yun Chen and said that a big shot from the Blacksmith Association would be coming today, and she hoped he would go with him to make an appearance.

Yun Chen, who had nothing planned for the evening, nodded in agreement and left Donghai Academy with Mu Xi. But as they waited for their ride at the school gate, they saw Tang Wulin rushing out of the school.

"Tang Wulin, why are you in such a hurry? Are you going to the Blacksmith Association too?" Mu Xi asked.

"Yes, are you one too, senior?" Tang Wulin had not yet been accepted as a disciple by Mu Chen, so he still addressed Mu Xi as "senior."

"Yes, since we've run into each other, let's go together," Mu Xi said.

Actually, when Mu Chen informed Mu Xi, she didn't ask Mu Xi to bring Yun Chen along; that was entirely her own decision. As for Tang Wulin, it was Cen Yue who informed him. He was only doing so out of consideration for their old friend, and he also felt that Tang Wulin had good talent and might even become a master blacksmith in the future.

When the three arrived at the Blacksmiths' Association, the so-called important figure had not yet arrived. Instead of waiting idly, the three went to Mu Xi's private forging room and began discussing forging techniques.

Mu Xi's understanding of forging theory far surpassed that of Yun Chen and Tang Wulin. So the discussion gradually turned into Mu Xi imparting her experience to the two of them, although most of this experience was taught to her by Mu Chen, but she herself had not yet fully grasped it.

But this content undoubtedly broadened the horizons of Yun Chen and Tang Wulin. Especially Yun Chen, when he heard a certain key point, he even picked up the forging hammer next to him and started clanging it on the anvil.

He wasn't using much force; he was simply experiencing firsthand the rhythm of forging that Mu Xi had just described. And the sound of him striking the anvil gradually became more melodious.

Tang Wulin, standing to the side, hadn't yet grasped the meaning; his previous forging had mostly relied on brute force to achieve miracles. However, his talent was indeed exceptional, and he gradually began to understand something from the melody Yun Chen was striking.

Just as he was about to realize the truth, the door to the forging room was suddenly opened, and Mu Chen walked in with a look of surprise.

Upon seeing the scene inside, Mu Chen's expression froze. He had initially assumed the melodious sound was from his daughter, but it turned out not to be! And now, his beloved daughter was standing beside Yun Chen with an envious look, seemingly about to cling to him! This felt like a bolt of lightning had struck his heart, causing him considerable pain.