The latecomer surpasses all.
When Tang Wulin first entered Shrek Academy, his soul power level was quite low, placing him in the lower-middle ranks, having just broken through to Soul Master.
At that time, Ye Xinglan was already nearing level 40.
Now, Ye Xinglan was at level 47, and so was Tang Wulin. Other classmates who initially had higher soul power levels than Tang Wulin had been far surpassed by him.
This was actually quite normal.
Anyone who received the same opportunities as Tang Wulin during this period would undoubtedly make such progress.
In the Dragon Valley, Tang Wulin absorbed a vast amount of dragon clouds and dragon souls, which alone guaranteed at least a one-level increase in his soul power. The energy from the Dragon God's soul could easily raise his soul power by another level.
These were merely the side effects of the overflow of energy nourishing his soul power after all the other enhancements he had received.
Moreover, Tang Wulin had absorbed three layers of the Golden Dragon King's seal. This was the most astonishing part—it caused his blood qi to surge to the level of a Soul Emperor.
If we disregard the True Body of a Soul Saint's martial soul, he might even be able to hold his own against one.
Such a massive improvement meant his soul power had gained at least two to three levels in return. Though it wasn't a huge leap, it undoubtedly made cultivation much easier for him.
Half a year had passed since the Dragon Valley expedition.
By this calculation, each of his advancements had followed the minimum standard according to Xu Yuan's calculations.
It was also clear that he was deliberately suppressing his levels.
Despite being behind in soul power, he was still holding back, clearly guided by someone with the surname Tang.
Everyone had made significant progress, including Gu Yue.
However, no one knew what Gu Yue's current soul power level or spiritual power level was.
During their interactions on the journey back, Gu Yue had subtly distanced herself from everyone else. Her soul power and spiritual power levels were no longer topics of discussion.
She had always been somewhat aloof from the group. During the Star Luo City tournament, she didn't participate in team battles but symbolically teamed up with Tang Wulin to complete the doubles match.
"Your performance during this journey has been excellent; you haven't let the academy down."
Although they hadn't fought as fiercely as in the original storyline, the Star Luo Continent Youth Soul Master Competition still held immense value.
Cai Yue'er had watched the entire event and was well aware of how monstrous Monster Academy's Heavenly King Team was. Defeating them was an achievement of great significance.
Additionally, this performance would serve as the basis for evaluating the new generation of Shrek's Seven Monsters.
Overall, Elder Cai could preliminarily confirm that they would determine the identities of the Seven Monsters this time.
Of course, there were nine people now, but only seven spots in the Seven Monsters.
Among them, Gu Yue was not very sociable and had already developed some distance from the academy. Naturally, she couldn't be one of the Seven Monsters. That left eight candidates.
Xu Yuan, Ye Xinglan, and Xu Lizhi had grown up in Shrek's Inner Court and were long considered fixed choices in the minds of many Pavilion Elders.
Aside from these three, five others remained.
Tang Wulin, Fang Yuan, Wu Siduo, Yuanen Yehui, and Le Zhengyu.
As her gaze swept over the five, Cai Yue'er felt a headache coming on.
Choosing four out of these five was difficult.
Tang Wulin, along with Gu Yue and Xie Xie from Eastsea Academy, formed a small group. However, his performance was commendable, making him the one who shouldn't be eliminated.
Wu Siduo and Yuanen Yehui were uncontroversial choices.
Le Zhengyu had performed well, but something seemed lacking.
As for Fang Yuan, he was somewhat behind in terms of version, but his martial soul was excellent, and his development of it was thorough. If he joined the Seven Monsters, he wouldn't fall behind later on.
However, his current performance wasn't particularly outstanding.
Cai Yue'er only pondered for a moment before pushing the problem aside.
A headache?
Let the other Pavilion Elders deal with it.
"As a reward, all nine of you will have the opportunity to train in the Sea God Pavilion once."
Upon hearing Cai Yue'er's words, Xu Yuan's expression remained the calmest—he had visited the Sea God Pavilion countless times.
Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi were thrilled because they had only been there once before, and the benefits they gained from that single visit had lasted until now. Hearing that they could enter the Sea God Pavilion again for training, it was impossible not to feel excited.
Wu Siduo, Yuanen Yehui, and Fang Yuan, however, were somewhat confused. They knew this was a significant reward, but they didn't fully understand its weight.
Le Zhengyu hadn't been there before, but he had learned about it from his family and looked on with longing.
Gu Yue, like Xu Yuan, remained completely calm.
She seemed detached, maintaining her indifferent demeanor.
After observing everyone's reactions, Cai Yue'er turned and led them toward the inner court.
"Class Leader, is there anything we should be mindful of when training in the Sea God Pavilion?" Wu Siduo seized the opportunity to approach Xu Yuan and ask.
"Just relax and train normally. You'll gradually feel it," Xu Yuan glanced at her, then looked toward Yuanen Yehui and Le Zhengyu, continuing, "To put it simply, after this training, the three of you should be able to break through your bottlenecks."
Upon hearing Xu Yuan's words, Wu Siduo immediately revealed a look of delight.
Breaking through the bottleneck?
Wouldn't that mean breaking through to level 50?
"Of course, this is just the most superficial benefit. Don't focus solely on absorbing energy to cultivate soul power," Xu Yuan cautioned. "Understanding is key. The actual breakthrough can wait until after this training session. What you truly need to focus on is finding your future direction."
The opportunity to train in the Sea God Pavilion didn't simply mean training within the pavilion itself. It referred to secluded cultivation in the secret chambers left behind by generations of Sea God Pavilion predecessors.
These chambers were carved from the most refined essence of the Golden Ancient Tree, closely aligned with the laws of the world, making them perfect for secluded cultivation and enlightenment.
Even the Pavilion Elders couldn't casually enter these chambers for cultivation.
As the others listened to Xu Yuan's words, they eagerly anticipated their upcoming gains.
---
Sea God Pavilion
Xu Yuan and the others had already entered the chambers suitable for themselves.
The Pavilion Elders waited in the meeting hall of the Sea God Pavilion.
Yun Ming's gaze shifted toward the depths, where two individuals were cultivating—one was Xu Yuan, and the other was Tang Wulin.
His gaze briefly lingered on the chamber his disciple had entered before focusing intently on another chamber.
Tang Wulin's chamber.
Yun Ming sensed the flow of heaven and earth energy, his eyes flickering.
Boom!
In less than fifteen minutes, an enormous surge of energy swept through the entire Sea God Pavilion.
The Pavilion Elders couldn't sit still.
Again?
Yes, again!
They had experienced this scene before.
The last time was when Xu Yuan gained enlightenment and obtained the fourth soul ring of the Celestial Primordial Five Elements Spear.
At that time, Xu Yuan directly absorbed ten percent of the nearly twenty thousand years of accumulated power from the Golden Ancient Tree!
This time, it was the same scenario—the power of the Golden Ancient Tree was diminishing once more.
Naturally, the Pavilion Elders first turned their attention toward Xu Yuan.
But soon they realized that the source of the disturbance wasn't Xu Yuan—it was Tang Wulin, not far away!
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