Huo Yuhao picked up a Red Jade Shrimp, removed the shell and tail, and tasted it.
The meat was sweet and soft, giving a warm feeling when swallowed, as if his entire body was being nourished by energy. Huo Yuhao's skin took on a red tint, and the blood and energy vortex within him began to frantically rotate, digesting this greatly nourishing energy.
The energy from the blood and energy whirlpools slowly flowed into his meridians, cycling along specific paths. With each cycle, Huo Yuhao could feel his body becoming more tough and tough.
His muscles, bones, and internal organs were all strengthened under the nourishment of this energy. His skin gradually changed from its initial flush to a crystal clear state.
Eventually, after eating one entire shrimp, the blood and energy vortex expanded directly by a full circle. Only then did Huo Yuhao's skin return to normal.
"Having a blood and energy whirlpool makes a difference." Watching from the side, Mu Ye nodded inwardly.
Without a whirlpool of blood and energy, an ordinary spirit master would take about a year to absorb the energy of a Red Jade Shrimp. A lot of energy would be wasted, with a low utilization rate — simply impossible to compare with Yuhao.
Yes — as expected of the disciple he had far-sightedly taken on.
To recast the glory of the Body Sect, he, Mu Ye, would be obligatory!
Thinking this, Mu Ye looked toward Gu Yuena again. The smile on his face gradually disappeared, and several question marks appeared on his forehead. "???"
After eating her Red Jade Shrimp, only a faint blush had appeared on Gu Yuena's joy-filled face — and it quickly faded.
Could Gu Yuena also be a good seedling for cultivating blood and energy?
A strange look appeared in Mu Ye's eyes. He almost had the thought of poaching her from Zhen Hua and Tianfeng Douluo.
But two surprised voices interrupted his thoughts.
"What food? It smells so good!"
"The food in the dining car is usually pretty bad. Why is it so fragrant?"
It was a boy of about fourteen and a girl of the same age, walking in from another carriage.
The girl walked three steps as two, skipping all the way to the small table where Huo Yuhao and the others were sitting. Seeing what they were eating, her eyes widened. "Ice Crystal Eel, Starlight Rice, and... Red Jade Shrimp?"
As a member of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Yue had broad knowledge. She knew the value of these ingredients.
The first two were specialties of the Extreme North, only affordable by disciples of major powers, and were sometimes in short supply. Red Jade Shrimp required a Limit Douluo or a Four-Word Battle Armor Master to obtain. As the young lady of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, not to mention tasting one, this was her first time even seeing one.
This also showed that the people before her were not ordinary, making her resist the urge to order something from Mu Ye, who looked like a chef.
Compared to Ning Yue, who was focused on the food, the boy beside her turned his gaze to Huo Yuhao, frowning inwardly.
At this moment, Huo Yuhao was eating his second Red Jade Shrimp. The blood and energy waves from his entire body made him feel a sense of depression, as if his own martial soul was being suppressed.
But how was that possible?
His martial soul was the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Rex — a top-notch dragon-type martial soul. What martial soul could suppress him?
As one of the heirs of the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Rex family, the strongest student of Shrek's current first year, Yu Longheng was not particularly flamboyant, but he had his own pride.
The idea of his martial soul being suppressed by someone else made it hard for him to remain calm.
Seeing the two young ones enter, Mu Ye's expression didn't change. He turned his gaze to a corner.
A woman with a reluctant smile on her face walked out of the shadows. She looked about twenty-five or twenty-six, extremely beautiful. Strange white hair hung down behind her. In her dark green eyes, the auras of life and destruction alternately flickered.
After appearing, she performed a bow. "Greetings, Your Majesty! I am a teacher at Shrek, currently observing student assessments. I did not intend to disturb Your Majesty and your juniors' meal."
Shen Yi truly hadn't expected that, just on the second time riding a soul-powered train since the assessment began, she would encounter a Title Douluo.
She also recognized the Red Jade Shrimp. For those two children to be able to easily digest the energy within them was definitely not simple. And this middle-aged man, whom she couldn't read, might be a Four-Word Battle Armor Master... or even a Limit Douluo!
Her luck was... only slightly better than that of the teacher whose student had been thrown out by the Spirit Transmission Tower. At least Yu Longheng and the other were relatively steady and hadn't caused trouble.
"Shrek's?"
Mu Ye looked her up and down, his brow faintly furrowed. "It doesn't matter whether you disturb us or not. This is the dining car. Anyone can come here. We didn't reserve the whole place. Just don't let your assessment affects us."
Once upon a time, the Body Sect was a sect that could rival Shrek Academy. But a single war had changed everything.
Ten thousand years ago, Shrek Academy, as the pillar of the three Douluo nations, had been utterly routed when facing Silver Moon Douluo. Along the way, there had been the incident of the Death God Emissary, which would be remembered for ten thousand years. Eventually, due to various reasons, they had simply withdrawn from the battlefield.
And the Body Sect, as the guardian sect of the Heavenly Soul Empire, had fought to the very last moment. Over two-thirds of its disciples had been killed or wounded. Among its eleven Title Douluos, five had fallen, four had been severely injured, and the Sect Master had died — the sect had almost lost its legacy.
To this day, because Shrek Academy had produced the Sea God and had not suffered a heavy blow, they had been at their peak, flourishing until now, remembered by ten thousand.
The Body Sect had nearly lost its legacy. Now, only he, at Level 94, was holding things together, with no one caring.
The stark contrast made Mu Ye have no good feelings good feelings for Shrek Academy whatsoever. But he wouldn't take it out on a few juniors.
Seeing that Mu Ye had finished speaking and stopped paying attention to her group, Shen Yi breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She transmitted to the two students: "Don't disturb them."
Ning Yue nodded and, together with Yu Longheng, who had a faint frown on his brow, found a place to sit down.
Shen Yi then looked again in the direction of Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena and quietly hid herself.
"Longheng, what's wrong?" Seeing Yu Longheng still silently paying attention to Huo Yuhao, Ning Yue asked in a low voice.
"His martial soul..." Yu Longheng stopped mid-sentence, then shook his head. "Nothing. Let's get off at the next stop."
"But the next stop is Tianhun City," Ning Yue said, her brow faintly furrowed. "The final destination of the assessment is Tianhai City. It would be better to go directly to the Tianhai Alliance."
Yu Longheng: "We're cooperating in this assessment. We need to face more opponents. The quality of spirit masters in the Tianhai Alliance is not high. It's not easy to find opponents. Let's go to other cities to challenge first."
The academy's final exam was not very friendly to auxiliary system spirit masters. Even their Shrek auxiliary system had combat ability, but ultimately couldn't compare to battle spirit masters. They couldn't very well look for auxiliary system spirit masters five levels higher than them to fight, could they?
Hence, there was the option of collaborative assessments. Although the difficulty doubled, with his strength and Ning Yue's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, they had few rivals.
According to what some teachers and seniors had said, in the past, the final exam had even had Auxiliary system. The few students with the lowest exam scores would be expelled. students couldn't even form teams... Their year had it much better than before. They had been born at a good time.
Ning Yue thought for a moment, then still nodded. After all, she was relying on Yu Longheng, the strongest in their year. "Then let's go to Tianhun City. Where will we go after that to find opponents and improve our scores?"
The exam score was closely related to whether she could enter the inner courtyard. And once she entered the inner courtyard and registered with Tang Sect, becoming a disciple there, she would have the opportunity to go to the "Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well" and obtain the legendary immortal herbs.
Their Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's ancestor, Ning Rongrong, had transformed into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda because of an immortal herb, and eventually became a god. Her purpose in joining Shrek was the immortal herbs.
A glint of light flashed in Yu Longheng's eyes. "Go to spirit master academies or... outside the kilometer radius of the Spirit Transmission Tower. The greatest number of spirit masters pass through there. We can find opponents the fastest!"
The immortal herbs were also what he sought. Naturally, he would do his utmost to join the inner courtyard.
Shen Yi, hidden in the shadows, heard this. Thinking of the letter of complaint Shrek had received from the Spirit Transmission Tower earlier, her brow jumped sharply. But after thinking for a moment, she ultimately said nothing.
She had also experienced the academy's final exam. She understood the stress on the students.
The Tianhai Alliance was located in the east of the continent, while Shrek Academy was situated in the center of the continent. Even taking a high-speed soul-powered train without changing trains, it would take a full three days to arrive.
And the students had only fifteen days. After completing the assessment, they also had to return to Shrek Academy. The return trip would take at least six days. Moreover, they had to find people to take on the challenge in ten different cities. Time was limited.
Strategic planning—every facet of it was a test in itself.
As for whatever walls they ran into along the way... they had been warned. Don't pick fights with people above your weight. Every student owned the consequences of their own choices.
Longheng didn't forget the rule, Shen Yi reminded herself. Within a kilometer of the Spirit Transmission Tower, no spirit power, no soul tools—no fighting of any kind. So we're fine.
As for a brick wall along the way... they had warned them not to provoke people they couldn't afford to provoke. Everyone had to be responsible for their own actions.
"Longheng didn't forget the rule that within a kilometer radius of the Spirit Transmission Tower, one must not use spirit power to fight or use any soul tools. It's fine." Shen Yi thought to herself.
***
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