Chapter 124: Making Acquaintances

Zhou Heng thought for a moment, then stopped caring.

If he needed it in the future, he would just look for it then.

He could use the Black Tortoise as a reference, but it wasn't a necessity.

If they hadn't enrolled yet, they would enroll themselves in a few years.

If they had entered other academies, he would just pay a visit to learn from them when the time came.

As he walked, Zhou Heng continued to flip through the list in his hand.

The first page contained the team members already confirmed by Dugu Yan; starting from the second page was the list of reserve candidates. Without exception, the soul power levels of these candidates were all below level thirty, and the quality of their martial souls was uneven.

However, although the students at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy were mediocre, this place truly gathered the vast majority of the Heaven Dou Empire's excellent martial souls.

Zhou Heng only glanced at it a few times before seeing several martial souls that interested him.

They were either of extremely high quality or possessed special abilities.

Among them, the most special one that interested Zhou Heng the most was a special martial soul called the Baoyu Beast.

According to the list, the Baoyu Beast was a special gem-type martial soul.

Before obtaining their First Soul Ring, this martial soul performed almost exactly the same as an ordinary gem in every aspect.

The characteristic of gem-type martial souls was that they had no special inclination; the same martial soul could follow various different paths.

Only after obtaining the First Soul Ring would it show different inclinations based on that first ring.

The Baoyu Beast martial soul was special in that it would not only show a corresponding inclination based on the absorbed First Soul Ring, but its appearance would also lean toward the Spirit Beast.

Furthermore, the most special part of this martial soul lay in the word "Beast" in Baoyu Beast; before absorbing the First Soul Ring, the Baoyu Beast in its gem state was purely a Tool Spirit.

But after absorbing the soul ring of an animal-type Spirit Beast, this martial soul would gain traits similar to a Beast Spirit and could perform a Martial Soul Avatar.

If the absorbed Spirit Beast was a lion, the martial soul would become Baoyu Beast: Lion, and after the avatar, it would gain characteristics similar to a lion martial soul.

If subsequent soul rings continued to follow the standard configuration of a lion-type martial soul master, the martial soul would continue to strengthen in its Baoyu Beast: Lion state.

If it subsequently absorbed a soul ring that did not match the first Spirit Beast, the quality of the martial soul would decline.

The soul master who possessed this Baoyu Beast martial soul was named Ning Zhongze, female, her martial soul was Baoyu Beast: Bear, her soul ring configuration was two yellow rings, a level twenty-five Power-attack System Spirit Master, with one attack-type skill and one enhancement-type skill.

In the notes for this person, there was a small line of text marked by someone unknown, stating that this student had a background in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Her maternal grandfather was an Elder of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Chen Ming was currently very interested in these special martial souls.

The Baoyu Beast, this kind of special martial soul, drew Zhou Heng's utmost attention.

After putting away the list, Zhou Heng quickly headed toward the arena.

Before long, he arrived at his destination.

With a slight sweep of his spiritual power, Zhou Heng clarified the scene inside the arena.

Over a dozen students, around the level of Great Soul Master, were fighting in groups, while Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were discussing something with a few Soul Ancestor-level spirit masters who looked to be in their twenties.

A few Soul Elder-level spirit masters were watching the Great Soul Master students' battles, whispering to each other.

Beside the arena, several teachers at the Soul King to Soul Emperor level were observing the field.

Zhou Heng held his breath and quietly snuck up to Dugu Yan's side.

At this very moment, Dugu Yan was in a slightly recessed area, head down, looking at the list in her hand, muttering to herself, focused on studying tactics.

"In all previous Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournaments, the team with the most championships is the Spirit Hall Team from the Spirit Hall, followed by the Star Luo Empire Royal Academy, and only third is the Heaven Dou Empire Royal Academy.

The Spirit Hall Team's method is to build a team around several genius spirit masters, simultaneously possessing one or two deputies, mostly one Power-attack or one Control System, with at least one Agility-attack System and one Support System in the team. The team's characteristics are high soul power levels, excellent martial soul quality, strong combat power, excellent coordination, and no obvious weaknesses—isn't this just cheating?

The Star Luo Empire's team uses the Nether White Tiger as its core, configured..."

Watching Dugu Yan mutter, completely unaware of the extra person beside her, Zhou Heng couldn't help but release his concealment and reached out to poke Dugu Yan.

The moment Zhou Heng's finger poked Dugu Yan's arm, she immediately threw the thick notebook in her hand into the air, her slender arm twisting instinctively like a spirit snake, her five fingers joined into a cone shape, stabbing fiercely toward Zhou Heng's throat.

Although this move was swift, it was still too slow for Zhou Heng.

Shifting his feet slightly, Zhou Heng easily dodged Dugu Yan's thrust and the subsequent continuous attacks.

She had been fighting a bit too much lately, and because she was the captain, she spent most of her time thinking about her team members. So, Dugu Yan instinctively performed a combo for over a second before realizing that the person in front of her was Zhou Heng.

Dugu Yan took the notebook that Zhou Heng had caught during his dodging, then rolled her eyes at him.

"You, playing jokes the moment you get back. I've been thinking about selecting students this whole time.

It's one thing that you didn't come to help, but you actually played a joke on me."

"Cough, cough, wasn't that just a way to say hello?" Because he knew very well that reasoning with a woman was the most useless thing, Zhou Heng simply nodded and admitted his mistake.

At this moment, the group of people chatting in front finally noticed Dugu Yan and Zhou Heng standing beside her; Ye Lingling and a few Soul Ancestors in their twenties gathered around.

The leader of this group of Soul Ancestors was a sturdy male spirit master with a bald head without a single hair, and a huge scar on his left cheek.

His attire was clean and sharp, with a strap slung across his waist carrying several tools: a flint, a small knife, and a water canteen.

His entire temperament was hard and unyielding, like a soldier who had just walked out of a barracks, or a hunter who had spent a long time in the Spirit Beast Forest. In any case, he didn't look like a noble at all.

Although the spirit masters around him didn't appear as resolute, each of them unconsciously revealed a temperament different from that of noble children.

The group seemed completely out of place with the entire Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, like a group of intruding mercenaries.

If not for the honorary student badges on their chests, even Zhou Heng wouldn't have dared to confirm that they were actually students of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.

The bald spirit master leader looked at Dugu Yan, who was acting completely differently from usual, and then looked at Zhou Heng.

After being slightly confused, he revealed a thoughtful expression.

He stepped forward and politely extended his hand toward Zhou Heng, and Zhou Heng shook it politely. The interaction between the two sides was very harmonious, and no secret competition occurred.

"Hello, Junior, I am the captain of the previous Heaven Dou Imperial Academy competition team. My name is Xiong Xin, martial soul Violent Gold Bear, level forty-four Power-attack System Spirit Master. Please advise."

"Hello, Senior Xiong Xin, I am a third-year student at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, Zhou Heng, martial soul Element Spirit Tree, level fifty-four Control System Soul Elder. Please advise."