Xu Yuan noticed Yuanen Yehui's reaction but didn't say anything further.
To be honest, he couldn't understand Yuanen Yehui's way of thinking. He didn't see why she would choose to shoulder this burden alone.
The Fallen Angel might one day open the gates to demons, allowing them to invade Douluo Continent and wreak havoc. But their strength was ultimately limited. Shouldn't they seek help to deal with such a crisis?
Why hide it just because it could bring disaster?
Elsewhere, perhaps, it might make sense—but Shrek Academy absolutely had the capability to handle such a crisis.
"Today, all of you have matches. Le Zhengyu and Wu Siduo, your doubles match is against Long Yue. Don't feel pressured—just maximize your performance."
Xu Yuan looked at Le Zhengyu and Wu Siduo.
The two appeared relatively relaxed.
They had long known about Long Yue's strength.
Upon learning the pairing results yesterday, they had already prepared themselves.
"Based on Long Yue's previous performances, his True Dragon bloodline must be top-tier. So far, none of his opponents have even been able to force out his martial soul. If we'd known his martial soul earlier, we could've made more targeted preparations," Tang Wulin said.
Xu Yuan turned his gaze toward him.
"I did some investigating over the past couple of days. His martial soul is the Mountain Dragon, and it's said that his bloodline concentration is extremely high. He's a disciple of En Ci, the Star Luo Empire's Imperial Tutor. Long Yue has the potential to surpass his teacher in terms of bloodline purity. You know who En Ci is, right? The strongest person in the Star Luo Empire—a Limit Douluo and four-word battle armor master."
"Big Brother Xu, you've been investigating again?" Tang Wulin muttered in mild complaint. "Where do you even get all this information?"
He admitted that he had also spent the past two days touring Star Luo City and tried to gather intelligence himself.
"A few days ago, I visited an elder who has been here for a long time and knows quite a bit," Xu Yuan replied nonchalantly.
Tang Wulin's lips twitched.
Alright, fine. So this is how it's going to be.
Xu Yuan turned his attention to Gu Yue, whose expression had shifted slightly upon hearing about the Mountain Dragon martial soul.
"Gu Yue, are you familiar with the Mountain Dragon martial soul?"
The others were also drawn into the conversation.
Even Tang Wulin stopped pressing Xu Yuan about the source of his information.
"Is the Mountain Dragon that powerful? Are there dragons like that among the True Dragons?" Tang Wulin racked his brain but found no memory of the Mountain Dragon.
Gu Yue hesitated as everyone's eyes turned to her, then offered a brief explanation.
"I once read about it in an ancient text from the Spirit Pagoda. The Mountain Dragon is a True Dragon martial soul—one of the most powerful among True Dragons. Its status is comparable to that of a Dragon King!"
"Among dragon-kind, aside from the Dragon God, the nine Great Dragon Kings hold the highest status. Among these nine, the Mountain Dragon King ranks first. However, the Mountain Dragon lineage is unique because when the Dragon God sought a habitat for the dragons, the land was submerged under the sea, leaving no mountains or continents. Thus, he created the ninth Great Dragon King—the Mountain Dragon King, who transformed into mountains and continents at great cost.
"The Mountain Dragon clan itself is extremely rare. Once they mature, they transform into mountains and continents to support the survival and reproduction of dragon-kind. Therefore, the Dragon God bestowed a decree upon the Mountain Dragon clan: 'The Mountain Dragon shall forever reign supreme.' Any Mountain Dragon that matures becomes part of the royal family.
"So if Long Yue's martial soul is the Mountain Dragon, it can also be said that his martial soul is the Mountain Dragon King. Among dragon-kind, this represents the pinnacle of bloodlines. Even top-tier True Dragons like the Holy Light Dragon are merely extensions of the Holy Light Dragon King's bloodline."
Gu Yue looked around at everyone and shared what she knew.
"There are multiple versions of the legends of the nine Great Dragon Kings. I've never heard the version you just described, Gu Yue," Xu Yuan commented online-like.
Gu Yue pursed her lips and didn't offer further explanation.
"If the Mountain Dragon is always considered royalty, then its rank should correspond to that of a Dragon King. I'm not sure what level the nine Great Dragon Kings are in legend, but in reality, we have the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King. Could we compare the Mountain Dragon King to him?"
Xu Yuan looked at Gu Yue.
Her gaze flickered, and she eventually nodded.
"Yes, you can make that comparison. The Mountain Dragon King and the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King are of the same level."
The Golden-Eyed Black Dragons form an entire race, while Di Tian is their Dragon King. His bloodline is stronger than that of individual Golden-Eyed Black Dragons by an entire tier, and the Mountain Dragon King is on par with him.
An individual Golden-Eyed Black Dragon can be compared to other top-tier True Dragons like the Holy Light Dragon.
"If his bloodline concentration is sufficient, calling his Mountain Dragon King martial soul one of the most powerful dragon-type martial souls isn't an exaggeration." Gu Yue concluded.
She herself was puzzled.
As someone with extensive knowledge of dragon-kind, she knew that the Mountain Dragon King martial soul shouldn't appear in humans.
How did Long Yue obtain the Mountain Dragon King bloodline?
"There's also some additional information I gathered about the other competitors. Let me share some details about Tiger King Dai Yueyan as well."
Xu Yuan proceeded to give everyone a more detailed rundown of the intel.
"Wulin, your opponents are Wolf King Hua Lantang and Pagoda King Ye Zhi. Hua Lantang's martial soul is the Dragon Wolf, which possesses both dragon bloodline traits and the bloodline of the Howling Moon Wolf King. Your martial soul should suppress his. However, his partner, Pagoda King Ye Zhi, has the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda martial soul."
Tang Wulin's previously excited expression immediately turned serious.
Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda?
"Ye Zhi is already a Soul King. Her amplification rate reaches sixty percent. With five soul skills, each amplified by sixty percent, she can nearly double—or even more—a person's overall combat power. Even the influence of bloodline suppression can be completely offset through these enhancements. Moreover, both of them are single-word battle armor masters."
Tang Wulin took a deep breath, feeling the immense pressure.
Gu Yue listened attentively to Xu Yuan's intelligence.
"Wulin, your soul power is still too low—only thirty-nine levels. That's two soul rings behind Hua Lantang."
Tang Wulin hadn't yet broken through to the Soul Ancestor rank—he was one level short.
When he entered the academy two years ago, he was at level thirty-one. After nearly two years, reaching level thirty-nine was already impressive.
Moreover, he had been stuck at level thirty-nine for quite some time. He broke through to level thirty-nine during the month-long voyage from Douluo Continent to Star Luo Continent and had been accumulating ever since.
"Before the finals, I'm confident I'll break through to level forty. By then, I should be able to handle the amplification from two more pieces of battle armor," Tang Wulin said.
"For now, I'll do my best against this Wolf King Hua Lantang," Tang Wulin added, though his tone carried a hint of strong confidence.
Not long ago, he had broken through the fifth seal of the Golden Dragon King. Although he hadn't obtained a third blood essence soul ring, his blood essence power had reached new heights. Additionally, he gained the Golden Dragon Claw on his left hand, marking a qualitative leap in his strength.
Xu Yuan nodded.
He had never doubted Tang Wulin and Gu Yue's abilities; he was merely reminding Tang Wulin that his soul power cultivation was progressing a bit slowly.
He turned his gaze to Fang Yuan and Ye Xinglan.
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