At the same time, he finally realized who the person before them was—Heavenly Phoenix Douluo!
With someone of such a towering status personally extending an invitation, it was honestly difficult to decline. Not to mention, she'd already promised access to top-tier resources and no interference with his studies at Shrek Academy. From any angle, it was an absolute win.
Aside from the two who chose to accept, the others politely declined.
"Very well, welcome to the Spirit Pagoda. As for her soul spirit, we'll waive the cost. But this little girl here still needs to settle the bill." Leng Yaozhu smiled gently, first nodding toward Yuanen Yehui, then pointing to Xu Xiaoyan.
"Settle the bill?"
Xu Xiaoyan blinked in confusion. "Senior, I thought we could absorb it directly after passing the trial?"
Leng Yaozhu's expression turned subtly strange. She cast a questioning look at Gu Yue, then as if catching on, she sighed lightly.
"Looks like this child Gu Yue fooled you all. Gaining soul spirits through the tower trial still requires purchase—just at half the usual price." She shook her head, clearly unsure of what her disciple was up to, deceiving these kids into thinking it was free.
"Gu Yue-jie…" Xu Xiaoyan glanced at Gu Yue in confusion.
Gu Yue looked a little awkward as she responded. "I just wanted to stall for time, to keep you calm until Gu You..."
The hall fell into a short, awkward silence.
Xu Xiaoyan could only accept the reality with a bitter smile. "Senior, then how much is my Ice Bear soul spirit?"
Leng Yaozhu's tone remained light. "Yours costs ten million federation coins. And that's after the discount. The Vajra Baboon that child absorbed earlier—hers was given free for joining the Spirit Pagoda. If you want to join, I can waive the cost for you as well."
But Xu Xiaoyan politely declined. She had already joined Tang Sect. There was no turning back now.
Hearing those numbers, Xie Xie couldn't help but swallow hard. Though he was from a wealthy family, that was still a full ten million. And that was half price! If even a top-tier thousand-year soul spirit cost this much, then soul spirits above ten thousand years… weren't those basically priceless?
Leng Yaozhu chuckled softly. "You think it's expensive? What you're selecting are the finest of the finest among thousand-year soul spirits. Every single soul spirit in the tower has been nurtured through generations of effort by the Spirit Pagoda. Replacing one means immense resource expenditure. The Soul Spirit Tower exists to form bonds with gifted soul masters like you. If you were simply buying on your own, the price would be far higher. But don't worry, just pay it back within a month."
"Thank you, Senior." Xu Xiaoyan bowed deeply. She hadn't brought any money, and even if she had, it probably wouldn't be enough. She'd have to write home for help.
What worried her more, though, was Gu You. He'd already absorbed so many ten-thousand-year soul beasts. That must've added up to over ten billion in value. Even if he had some wealth—and now had joined the Spirit Pagoda—he'd still have to pay it all back. And he wasn't done yet. He was going to challenge the hundred-thousand-year soul beasts. If he succeeded and started absorbing those...
That could shake the entire upper echelon of the Spirit Pagoda.
Those were nine hundred-thousand-year soul beasts! There might even be savage beasts among them. No one could imagine how much it cost to capture them, keep them alive, and raise them to the present.
A single one could easily be worth over a hundred billion.
Leng Yaozhu nodded slightly. "Yue'er, take them to rest for now." With that, she walked off toward the front of the hall, clearly intent on watching Gu You's tower climb in real time.
She had barely left when Le Zhengyu couldn't help but lean toward Gu Yue.
"Gu Yue, that senior just now—isn't she the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo?"
Gu Yue gave a soft nod.
"Heavenly Phoenix Douluo?" Xie Xie muttered. The name was familiar. A Douluo with a title meant a Titled Douluo—a peak existence among soul masters. Just the name was enough to inspire awe.
Le Zhengyu gulped. "She's... she's a four-word battle armor master."
All five of them were visibly stunned.
Four-word battle armor master—those words carried weight like thunder in their hearts. Since entering Shrek Academy, they had learned the basics of battle armor. They now understood just what this title meant.
A four-word battle armor master was more than a soul master—they were a deterrent-level existence for any major force. A cornerstone of strategy.
It wasn't exaggeration to call them humanity's absolute pinnacle.
Any one of them possessed the power to lay waste to nations.
Ever since humanity developed soul master cultivation, they had progressed at incredible speed over tens of thousands of years. There were several milestones. The first was the emergence of Titled Douluo—soul masters with power great enough to contend with soul beasts directly. That was when humanity stopped being prey and began its rise.
As human strength grew, so did their population. Through generations of struggle and innovation, humanity claimed dominance over the continent.
Among soul masters, even the title of Titled Douluo was just a beginning. Beyond rank ninety, each level was its own world.
At rank ninety-five, they became Super Douluo.
Super Douluo were once considered the apex.
But humanity kept climbing, eventually breaching the final limit—rank ninety-nine. At that level, one became an Ultimate Douluo.
Ultimate Douluo were beings who could truly rival even the most ancient savage soul beasts with cultivation of hundreds of thousands of years. Sometimes, it was hard to say who was stronger.
This was a milestone. Humanity had finally become equals with the strongest soul beasts. No longer oppressed, they became rulers.
Then came the greatest leap of all—a single legend who rewrote the heavens.
The Evil Sovereign of a Generation!
Recorded eternally in the annals of soul master history, the Tang Sect's founder—the Thousand-Hand Douluo Tang San—broke through the limits of Ultimate Douluo. With his dual martial souls and unmatched Tang Sect techniques, he climbed all the way into godhood, inheriting the divine position of the Sea God and vanishing into the God Realm.
And he wasn't the only one.
Many of his companions followed him into godhood. Some claimed that all seven members of the original Shrek Seven Monsters eventually became gods.
That legacy remained unsurpassed.
To this day, no generation of Shrek Seven Monsters had ever exceeded the original.
Another great milestone came thousands of years later, when the Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao revived the Tang Sect and founded the Spirit Pagoda.
(End of Chapter)
---
This Fanfiction Has Been Completed on Patreon.
Support me if you like this Fanfiction.
Patreon,com/Fallen_Archangel_
(Remove comma for dot.)
Leave a 5 star Review and a Power Stone.