Chapter 257: Bloodline Soul Skill Golden Dragon Body
If Xu Xiaoyan's soul skill could restrain even an expert of Wu Zhangkong's level, it was pointless to even mention the Earth Demon Rhinoceros.
Despite her attack being ready, Gu Yue did not launch it. Instead, she recalled her soul power and soul rings.
After Xu Xiaoyan recovered from her initial surprise, she created an opening with her Starlight Shackles. Tang Wulin did not let this chance slip away and swiftly remounted the rhinoceros's head.
His resplendent golden dragon claw descended upon the rhinoceros's nape.
The rhinoceros's defenses were strong, and Tang Wulin didn't know if his claw could penetrate its skull. Since its neck was a significantly weaker in comparison, it was the next best target.
The moment his claw touched the beast's skin, the golden light clinging to his body converged on it, bathing it in a magnificent glow.
The crushing effect of his claw immediately activated and shattered the rhinoceros's outer armor of skin. He thrust his claw into the breach.
A moment later, the Earth Demon Rhinoceros collapsed with a loud rumble. Tang Wulin had severed its spine, seizing both its control over its body... and its life.
It's really strong. As Tang Wulin stared at his sparkling claw that lacked even the tiniest of bloodstains, he felt a flurry of emotions.
He had reaped many benefits from breaking the second seal.
First was this mysterious golden soul ring that seemed to appear when he unleashed his golden dragon claw. If Tang Wulin's Bluesilver Grass consumed his soul power, then this golden soul ring consumed his physical strength and blood essence.
His golden dragon claw no longer used up his soul power, but he could feel his blood essence drain away to sustain it. If he used up all of his blood essence, however... he would get hungry.
As a result of that change, Tang Wulin could now sustain his golden dragon claw for longer periods of time. It also became stronger, while the golden scales amplified Tang Wulin's strength even further. In addition to that, the scales now covered the entire right side of his body, greatly strengthening the parts they covered.
All of this was a substantial improvement. He wouldn't have been able to slaughter this Earth Demon Rhinoceros so easily without it.
In the back of Tang Wulin's mind, he vaguely knew that the name of the golden soul ring's soul skill was Golden Dragon Body.
Golden Dragon Body increased Tang Wulin's strength, speed, attack power, and defense as an all-around ability amplifier. However, it increased his strength the most. This was made clear by how he was able to go toe-to-toe against the Earth Demon Rhinoceros without backing down.
Of course, Xu Xiaoyan's Starlight Shackles played a huge role in his swift kill. Without its absolute restraining power, he wouldn't have had a chance to kill the rhinoceros in one attack while facing the many soul skills it possessed.
Just as he started reviewing the battle, the beast arena faded away, returning everything to darkness.
The stars in the sky warped, giving everyone a short bout of dizziness before their vision became clear again.
The four stood face to face with one another, hands joined together, just like before. It seemed as though everything they just experienced had been an illusion.
They had experienced fighting in an illusory world during their time in the spirit ascension platform, but that had only been possible through the usage of sophisticated technology! Yet this place was not like the spirit ascension platform. It felt different here... truly strange.
They couldn't fathom the magic behind it, but they were awestruck nonetheless!
Shen Yi reappeared before them, her expression stranger than ever.
The beast arena was the second trial of Shrek Academy's entrance exam.
The strength and number of soul beasts in the trial varied depending on the number of participants. Surviving for one minute was the minimum requirement for passing the trial, while harming the beasts awarded bonus points.
Shen Yi had purposefully neglected to tell them the minimum requirement to pass this trial, but she had never imagined that they would be so fierce.
They had faced an Earth Demon Rhinoceros after all! Even for her, it would've been annoying to kill one with over three thousand years of cultivation without her battle armor. The rhinoceros's defenses were simply too strong.
Yet these kids had slaughtered it! She wondered whether Tang Wulin's claw would still be able to penetrate the rhinoceros's defenses if it had been a bit stronger. Furthermore, there was the mystery of his golden soul ring. No matter how she looked at it, the boy had to have twin martial souls. But surely Wu Zhangkong would have mentioned such a thing to her.
"The results for second trial, the beast arena: Tang Wulin, ten points; Xie Xie, ten points; Gu Yue, eight points; Xu Xiaoyan, ten points."
"Wow, how did we score so high?" Xie Xie asked in surprise. He hadn't expected to score a full ten points.
Shen Yi nodded. "You scored highly because you killed the Earth Demon Rhinoceros together. The criteria for passing didn't involve killing it, so even Gu Yue, who didn't attack it, got a high score. We shall now continue. Follow me."
As she led the way, Shen Yi's heart welled with expectation. These kids really match Shrek's motto. They're like little monsters.
Their combat ability is high, and in addition to good teamwork, they are capable of remaining calm during battle.
Shen Yi was perceptive. She had seen that not a single one of the four had panicked during their battle against the Earth Demon Rhinoceros. Gu Yue was the calmest of them all, but the rest had excitement in their eyes!
Xie Xie had even spoken the Earth Demon Rhinceros's name out loud, meaning all of them knew how formidable the beast was. Even with that knowledge, they did not cower back. Confident in their strength, they rose to the challenge. It was clear they had faced tougher foes before.
Senior brother, it seems you've made sure to give them a lot of combat experience!
In contrast to Shen Yi's feelings of admiration, Tang Wulin furrowed his brow, overcome by confusion. He shot Gu Yue an inquisitive look, and she nodded in response.
Although they had scored well in the last two trials, Tang Wulin couldn't relax. Their exam would continue, all of it administered in one go without giving them time to rest.
With their current cultivation base, their soul power would be severely limited without any chances to meditate. They didn't know how many more trials there were, but at this rate, their soul power would definitely be exhausted.
Fortunately, Tang Wulin now wielded a powerful bloodline soul ring in addition to his martial soul. However, Xu Xiaoyan had used one-third of her soul power to restrain the Earth Demon Rhinoceros for a split second with her Starlight Shackles. If he had been any slower in finishing it off, even more of her soul power would have been consumed.
He had looked at Gu Yue to check on her condition, and her nod told him that she was alright.
After the last two trials, all four of them understood just what sort of entrance exam Shrek Academy had. Many more unknown trials awaited them. This was just the beginning.
Shen Yi pulled a sliding door open and brought them to a space between the stone buildings. This was the site of the third trial.
A series of gates sat in rows, one after another, with at least a hundred covering the area in total. The number of gates in each row varied.
These gates were called guillotine gates. Each gate had a gigantic, two-meter wide, one-meter tall, half-a-meter thick guillotine blade. With such an enormous blade, even a full-grown cow would instantly be split in half.
"The third trial tests your ability to adapt. Once I tell you to get ready, you will have one minute to prepare. Once I shout for you to begin, you will have to pass through all of the gates. If you finish within thirty seconds, you get six points. For every three seconds you finish early, you get an additional point. For every three seconds you're late, you will lose one point. There are two things you need to know about this trial. First, the closer you are to each gate, the faster its guillotine will fall. Since these are real guillotines, you will die if they strike you. Second, you can get a negative score for this trial. If you can't even pass this trial, then forget about taking the later trials. Raise the guillotines!"
When she finished speaking, she gestured to the side, and the clank of metal resounded as the guillotine blades began to rise.
The front-most gate's guillotine fell with a booming clang, sparks erupting from it as it thudded into the recess below. The sound struck terror into the students' hearts. Then, the blade rose back up and descended again...