The welcoming ceremony ended quickly.
---
Imperial Palace
Dai Tianling looked at Dai Yun'er with a stern expression.
"Yun'er, what kind of nonsense are you up to this time!"
Dai Yun'er put on an innocent and pitiful expression, stepping forward to grab Dai Tianling's right hand and shaking it vigorously.
"Father, it was all because I was ambushed by some villain."
"Nonsense!"
"Father, every word I say is true! It was that guy—he pulled me into an illusion, which is why I acted like that!" Dai Yun'er gritted her teeth, speaking with indignation.
Seeing her act as if she were telling the truth, Dai Tianling felt a flicker of doubt.
Really?
"You have the Spirit Eye martial soul. To pull you into an illusion, that person must have formidable spiritual power. How could such a powerful individual possibly fight with you?" Dai Tianling's face hardened again. "Yun'er, did you go and provoke some senior expert?"
He mentally listed the powerful individuals present at the scene—there were only a few.
"He should be from Shrek Academy," Dai Yun'er said with a still dissatisfied look.
"Shrek?" Dai Tianling was startled.
There were only eleven people from Shrek Academy.
To make someone with the Spirit Eye martial soul fall for an illusion, how strong must their spiritual power be? At that level of spiritual power, wouldn't it have to be Elder Cai?
Elder Cai was a power-type soul master—when did he become proficient in illusions?
At this moment, En Ci, the Imperial Tutor of the Star Luo Empire, spoke up.
"Your Majesty, I also sensed fluctuations at the time. It wasn't Elder Cai—it was a student."
This helped Dai Yun'er out of a tight spot.
Of course, what he said was also the truth.
"A student?"
"Yes, a student named Xu Yuan."
"Xu Yuan!"
Dai Tianling's heart trembled.
He had just received a report from the Minister of Foreign Affairs yesterday about Xu Yuan's existence and his monstrous combat strength.
Now, he was hearing that Xu Yuan's spiritual power was also formidable?
"Teacher, can you determine the level of his spiritual power?"
En Ci paused thoughtfully before replying uncertainly, "It should be at the Lingyuan Realm, and very likely at the mid-level of the Lingyuan Realm."
"Mid-level Lingyuan Realm!" Dai Yun'er exclaimed in shock.
Although she had personally experienced Xu Yuan's illusion, it had happened so subtly that she hadn't felt any spiritual pressure or intensity from him, so she couldn't judge it herself.
Even though she had some suspicions and knew Xu Yuan's spiritual power might be high, wasn't mid-level Lingyuan Realm a bit excessive?
My Spirit Eye martial soul isn't even that exaggerated!
Dai Yun'er was around the same age as Xu Yuan and others, and she was the youngest among the Eight Great Heavenly Kings of the Star Luo Empire. However, this title referred to the eight most outstanding young talents in the entire empire, so her inclusion spoke volumes about her talent.
She was already a four-ring Soul Ancestor. Moreover, her pure Spirit Eye martial soul had four soul rings, none of which were lacking. Her main martial soul, the Netherworld Spirit Cat, also had four soul rings.
This alone demonstrated the level of her spiritual power.
Dai Tianling was equally stunned.
He knew his daughter's situation best.
Inheriting the legendary Spirit Eye martial soul from Huo Yuhao, the founder of the Spirit Pagoda ten thousand years ago, Dai Yun'er's talent in spiritual power was terrifying. Even though her primary cultivation focused on the Netherworld Spirit Cat, she had never neglected training her Spirit Eye. In fact, she trained both martial souls with equal dedication.
Reaching forty-five levels of soul power by the age of fifteen while cultivating two martial souls simultaneously was undoubtedly a testament to her extraordinary talent.
Dai Yun'er's Spirit Eye martial soul had fused with two thousand-year soul spirits, which the Star Luo royal family had spent greatly to acquire from the Spirit Pagoda. These fusions granted her abilities similar to Huo Yuhao's: Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Interference, Soul Shock, and Group Weakening.
As for her main martial soul, the Netherworld Spirit Cat, it had a configuration of three purple soul rings and one black soul ring—one purple thousand-year soul spirit and a ten-thousand-year soul beast ring personally hunted for her by the Star Luo royal family.
(A/N: From the original text: Dai Yun'er's Netherworld Spirit Cat has three purple and one black soul ring, and her Spirit Eye also has four soul rings. Though their colors aren't mentioned, this martial soul shouldn't be inferior either. However, since the original text states she's near the Lingyuan Realm, we'll assume her Spirit Eye has four purple rings, and the black soul ring came from hunting.)
With such an extravagant setup, Dai Yun'er was only nearing the Lingyuan Realm, with her spiritual power barely reaching 4,500 points.
Yet, Xu Yuan had managed to reach the mid-level Lingyuan Realm at this age?
What kind of monstrous spiritual power talent was this?
Dai Tianling even subconsciously began doubting the strength of his family's inherited Spirit Eye martial soul.
However, he quickly dismissed the thought, reasoning that perhaps Yun'er hadn't fully inherited the essence of the Spirit Eye.
Maybe she didn't inherit enough of the Spirit Eye bloodline.
"His soul power should have reached the Soul King level as well." En Ci sighed. "This time, Long Yue will finally have a worthy opponent."
The youth soul master tournament of the Star Luo Continent had various formats. In the seven-on-seven team battles and two-person team battles, using mechs or other "external aids" was prohibited. Only the soul master's own abilities and battle armor were allowed.
However, in one-on-one individual battles, anything was permitted—it was a truly unrestricted competition. Mechs and weapons could be used, and participants even had to sign life-and-death waivers before fighting.
Thus, when En Ci said Long Yue would face a tough opponent, he meant that in individual battles, facing Xu Yuan at his peak state would be extremely challenging for Long Yue.
But in team battles, without the amplification of a mech, En Ci didn't think Xu Yuan could unleash Soul Sage-level power.
Dai Yun'er now wore a silent expression.
She was visibly upset.
This was the first time she had felt pressure.
Being mischievous was her nature, and under the indulgence of her father and elder brothers, she had grown somewhat unruly. But she also knew that she could act this way because of her talent.
Or rather, she felt justified in her behavior because of her confidence in her talent.
Upon learning about Xu Yuan's terrifying gifts, she felt a sense of defeat for the first time.
A complete crushing.
---
Star Luo Grand Hotel
"Xiao Yuan, why did you use an illusion on that little princess earlier?" Cai Yue'er frowned.
She had naturally noticed the interaction between Xu Yuan and Dai Yun'er at the time.
"She tried to attack me, so I retaliated. Who would've thought her spiritual power was so weak?" Xu Yuan shrugged, feigning helplessness.
Cai Yue'er's lips twitched slightly.
"Take Gu Yue, for example. Her spiritual power is already at the Lingyuan Realm, and my illusions aren't that advanced—they wouldn't work on her. But that little princess…"
The others listening nearby were shocked upon hearing this.
Out of the eleven people, eight pairs of astonished eyes turned toward Gu Yue.
Even Wu Zhangkong hadn't realized this.
"Gu Yue, you're at the Lingyuan Realm too?"
"Mm, I broke through not long ago," Gu Yue replied calmly.
Tang Wulin and the others' lips twitched.
Could you all stop acting so nonchalant?
The Lingyuan Realm—this is the level our teacher is at!
This is the foundation of true strength.
"Of course, using an illusion on that Dai Yun'er also allowed me to probe some information about the Monster Academy," Xu Yuan reflected for a moment before sharing the tiny bit of intelligence he had gathered through his "illusion technique" with his teammates.
"The Eight Great Heavenly Kings? Dragon King Long Yue?" Tang Wulin was naturally most interested in the self-proclaimed Dragon King, Long Yue.
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