Douluo: Not enough blood? Use your brain

Wasn't he supposed to leave before me?

While Tang Wulin was wondering, he and Xu Yuan had already entered the elevator with Zhen Hua.

“What brings you two here?” Zhen Hua led them to his office and asked directly.

One might be a coincidence.

But Xu Yuan and Tang Wulin arriving together clearly wasn't an accident.

Even if it was Tang Wulin's first time here and his first time meeting his martial uncle, this logic still held.

“The academy arranged an assessment.” Xu Yuan explained the assessment requirements.

After listening, Zhen Hua was silent for a long while.

“You Shrek people are quite peculiar.”

“Alright, I'll arrange opponents for you and then send you off to the next stop as soon as possible.”

Zhen Hua was happy to help and quickly arranged opponents for them.

“Teacher Wu?”

After completing their assessment, they saw Wu Zhangkong and some other classmates at the entrance of the Blacksmiths' Association.

“Why are you all here?” Tang Wulin asked in surprise.

“There's going to be a change in this assessment. Recently, there have been appearances of evil soul masters, more than just one case. Just today, there were evil soul master incidents. The academy has compiled the reports, and there are a full five cases. For your safety, this assessment will no longer be conducted individually.”

“Does that mean we have to complete it as a team?”

Tang Wulin widened his eyes, looking somewhat pleasantly surprised.

Among his partners, Xu Xiaoyan and Xie Xie could pass easily, but it would be difficult for them to get high scores. If they could do the assessment together, he could help them a little.

Moreover, he felt safer fighting alongside his partners than being alone.

Behind Wu Zhangkong were Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie, Gu Yue, the Wu Siduo five-person group, plus Ye Xinglan, Xu Lizhi, and Fang Yuan.

Adding Tang Wulin and Xu Yuan, there were a total of thirteen people.

These were all students managed by Wu Zhangkong.

“It's not that you'll be doing it as a team. You still have to carry out your own tasks, but you will be moving together. I can't take care of thirteen people at the same time, so I can only gather you together and travel together.”

Xu Yuan revealed a puzzled expression.

Thirteen people?

Was Wu Zhangkong responsible for so many targets alone?

“Teacher, if you're responsible for grading all thirteen of us, how can you guarantee that you'll be able to perfectly watch our entire assessment?” Xu Yuan asked.

Wu Zhangkong naturally gave the answer.

“You are busy, but there are many fifth and sixth-grade seniors who have nothing to do.”

The corners of Xu Yuan's mouth twitched.

Okay, now I know the purpose of the fifth and sixth graders.

They're being used for their labor and as a source of resources, but at the same time, I guess they're also being used as strong arms to maintain the Outer Court's operations. Xu Yuan was accompanied by Wu Zhangkong the entire time, so he didn't notice any fifth or sixth-grade seniors.

“Have you all completed your tasks?” Xu Yuan looked at the eleven people behind Wu Zhangkong.

Gu Yue had a nonchalant expression, already having completed her task.

Wu Siduo and her group of five nodded. Zheng Yiran's family was in Tian Dou City, and her family helped arrange this assessment, so the other four got a free ride.

The senior who was following them at the time didn't stop them either, because these seniors also knew that Wu Siduo and the other four would shamelessly claim that they had found the strong opponents themselves.

Arranged by Zheng Yiran's family?

Then that can be considered my connections, right?

At worst, I can say that I saw the soul masters recruited by Zheng Yiran's family who happened to meet the conditions, and I intercepted and challenged them. What can you do?

The so-called assessment standards could only be strictly maintained while they were still in Shrek City before departure. Once they were outside, it was like letting the birds fly free and the fish leap in the sea.

They didn't care how you found the enemy as long as you challenged according to the regulations in each city.

Of course, the same 'loophole drilling' behavior could only be done once in each city.

This was the usual situation.

Now it was different.

With team challenges, this method of using one person's connections to create convenience for everyone was also allowed.

This meant that all the students in Class One of the first grade were actually much more relaxed in finding opponents. They could take advantage of the connections of some teammates and contribute in another city. With such cooperation, the scores would inevitably be higher than before.

Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie, Ye Xinglan, Xu Lizhi, and Fang Yuan all lowered their heads.

The five of them had not yet completed their tasks.

“Then let's do it here. I'll have my martial uncle arrange it for you.”

“Your martial uncle?” Wu Siduo and the others were puzzled.

Being brought by Xu Yuan to Zhen Hua's office and learning that Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua was Xu Yuan's martial uncle, Wu Siduo and the others were immediately petrified.

Especially Yang Nianxia, who kept muttering, “So that's why, no wonder,” and the like.

Zhen Hua, learning the reason for Xu Yuan's return, was also very happy to help his classmates find suitable opponents.

“The problem now is, how do we proceed next?” Xu Yuan looked at the others who had completed the assessment and said.

“Although we can help each other in finding opponents through team challenges, we have to take turns challenging, which will take even longer, so we can't waste any more time on the road.”

Xu Yuan looked at them and stated his plan.

“I'm planning to rent a few soul-guided cars, so we can drive ourselves, which will be more convenient.”

In Xu Yuan's opinion, if they drove themselves, they could be more flexible in their choice of cities.

They also wouldn't have to travel back and forth between the station and the destination.

“There are fourteen of us in total, so three cars should be enough.”

Chapter 173: Idle Chat in the Car, New Ideas

Following Xu Yuan's suggestion, they rented three soul-guided cars.

Wu Siduo's group of five took one car, Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan, and Wu Zhangkong took one car, and Xu Yuan, Ye Xinglan, Xu Lizhi, and Fang Yuan took one car.

In Xu Yuan's car, Xu Lizhi was too big and could only sit in the passenger seat, Xu Yuan drove, and Ye Xinglan and Fang Yuan sat in the back row.

“Brother Yuan, challenging an opponent five levels higher than yourself, wouldn't that mean you have to challenge a Soul King?” Xu Lizhi asked.

With nothing to do on the journey, they naturally started chatting to pass the time.

He had been surprised earlier but hadn't asked, feeling it unnecessary. Now, with nothing to do, he naturally brought it up.

Challenging Soul Kings in ten cities wasn't just about the difficulty of the challenge; the difficulty of simply finding them was immense.

Before, in Heaven Dou City, if not for Zhen Hua's help, it would have been very difficult for Xu Yuan to find a Soul King and convince them to fight him.

Some small cities might only have one or two Soul Kings, and their positions would inevitably be extraordinary, leaving them with no time to deal with you.

Therefore, Xu Yuan had to go to some medium-sized or even large cities to have a better chance of finding a Soul King with the time to fight him.

That was that.

In reality, Xu Yuan's soul power had already broken through level forty-nine.

Before the exchange competition with the third grade, Xu Yuan had already broken through level forty-six. Only three months had passed since then, but Xu Yuan had broken through three levels in a row.

The massive life force he absorbed at the time directly allowed him to break through two levels, reaching level forty-eight. Afterward, digesting two quasi-immortal herbs, although he used the Heaven Devouring Earth Eating Technique to maximize their medicinal effects on special effects and rarely used them to increase soul power, still allowed him to level up again.

Now, he had been stuck at level forty-nine for some time.

Xu Yuan could feel that this time, his soul power had increased by three levels out of thin air, reaching level forty-nine, without any hidden dangers. Even his bottleneck at level fifty would pass quickly.

Level forty-nine meant that this time, his assessment required him to find Soul Kings above level fifty-four to challenge.

Soul Kings at level fifty-four directly eliminated half of the Soul Kings.

"It's not a big problem. As long as we find the right direction, we can always find a suitable opponent. The academy won't allow us to continue exploiting the Forging Master Association's connections, so for the next city, we'll go to the Mecha Master Association."

The Forging Master Association wouldn't let Xu Yuan continue to exploit loopholes, mainly because Zhen Hua was too overpowered. His help could almost cover the entire continent, so the academy prohibited them from continuing to cheat like that.

Otherwise, relying entirely on Zhen Hua's arrangements, what was the point of this assessment?

Xu Yuan's current suggestion to go to the Mecha Master Association was another approach, without relying on a fixed powerhouse. Even Wu Zhangkong, after witnessing it once, couldn't easily prohibit them from continuing to do so in the future.

"Go to the Mecha Master Association?"

"That's right. Although the rules state that I can't use my mecha to prove anything, and it can't be used as proof of identity, we can directly use money."

"Money?"

"Mecha masters are the wealthiest group and the poorest group. Mechas often represent most of their efforts. If they can make money, they will definitely do it. If the money is exchanged for rare metals, especially well-refined rare metals, they will be even happier."

Xu Yuan took the opportunity to forge some thousand-refined metals when he was at the Forging Master Association headquarters in Heaven Dou City.

He couldn't easily achieve spirit refinement for the time being, but thousand-refinement and even first-grade thousand-refinement were no problem for him. When Ye Xinglan and the other four were being assessed by the opponents arranged by Zhen Hua, Xu Yuan took the opportunity to forge more than ten pieces of first-grade thousand-refined metal.

Tang Wulin also followed Xu Yuan's instructions and forged more than ten pieces of first-grade thousand-refined metal.

These twenty-plus pieces of first-grade thousand-refined metal were enough.

"Class monitor, why do you want to become a mecha master?" Fang Yuan asked.

Xu Yuan smiled as he drove, answering, "Because the upper limit for mecha masters is high."

High upper limit?

Ye Xinglan, Xu Lizhi, and Fang Yuan all looked blank.

Even Ye Xinglan and the other two, who had spent a long time with Xu Yuan, were confused.

This was the first time they had heard that the reason for choosing to be a mecha master was that the upper limit was higher.

"Don't say 'but'. Simply from a theoretical point of view, mecha masters use the crafting technology of battle armor, the materials of battle armor, and the core magic arrays and design level of battle armor. The mechas created will far exceed battle armor of the same level."

"As for whether these conditions can be met, I believe I can satisfy them myself."

Xu Yuan calmly explained the doubts in the three people's minds.

That's right!

The class monitor cultivated four auxiliary occupations simultaneously, and his talents were all astonishing. He could really satisfy these conditions at the same time.

As for heavenly refinement metal?

Did Xu Yuan's forging have a chance to set foot in that realm?

Yes, it did.

Even if they didn't understand forging, even if they knew the value of the continent's divine smiths, they had to admit that Xu Yuan and Tang Wulin both had such qualifications.

"Your sights are still limited to the present. If you're thinking about the future, you can't be bound by the standard framework."

Xu Yuan's words were washing their minds.

"Achieve Soul Master, then become a Battle Armor Master, and then what? Live a retirement life like those Soul Masters who have already become Battle Armor Masters?"

"Cultivation is endless. Even if limited by talent, you really can't go any further, haven't you ever wanted to see more scenery?"

"See more scenery, are you really satisfied with just the scenery on Douluo Star?"

"In a society ruled by law, it is because the order is too good that a lot of the fun and motivation of cultivation are lost."

"In fact, compared to cultivating steadily on Douluo Star, I prefer to venture out, such as into the universe."

"Have you ever understood what the situation is in the universe? Are there cultivators on other planets? Are the planets in the universe purely barren?"

The three fell silent, carefully pondering Xu Yuan's words.

Fang Yuan was the first to react.

"So, class monitor, do you mean you want to use mechas to explore the universe?"

"That's right. The development of mechas is very diverse. As long as breakthroughs are made in the soul guidance magic array direction, it is not impossible to make them into small spaceships that can help soul masters survive and explore in the universe."

Fang Yuan was thoughtful.