Lin Xiuran, his pupils filled with the giant hammer, naturally didn't notice it. Only when he came to his senses did he realize the hammer hadn't fallen.
But he couldn't worry about that now. Lin Xiuran took two steps back, his second red soul ring lit up, his eyes blazed with fire, and the surrounding temperature suddenly rose.
Lin Xiuran's martial soul danced behind him, then gradually enveloped in fiery red flames.
A bird's cry rang out, and the fiery red bird flew directly towards the girl, like a giant fireball, seemingly intent on burning everything.
But this time, the girl wielding the Clear Sky Hammer didn't dodge. Instead, she slightly raised her head and smiled at Lin Xiuran.
But quickly, that smile vanished amidst the fiery light.
Lin Xiuran was stunned for a moment. This time, he saw it clearly: the girl opposite him had definitely smiled at him. Not just any smile, but a smile directed specifically at him.
But before he could think further, a flash of light, and Lin Xiuran was teleported away.
Lin Xiuran was the first to emerge, and beside him, Wu Changkong was also intently operating the screen.
After a long while, Wu Changkong stopped, his brow still deeply furrowed.
Lin Xiuran was naturally puzzled: "Teacher Wu, this..."
"It must be a setting error," Wu Changkong thought for a moment. "I designed all of you to start at intermediate difficulty, but this is directly at advanced difficulty. And the character you're facing is also very strange."
This was something even Wu Changkong couldn't understand; the character's behavior was too odd. It was as if it were a real, living person, not a virtual one.
"Alright, it's nothing. I'll notify them to come and fix it. You can rest for a bit."
Because of the unexpected turn of events on Lin Xiuran's side, he didn't fight his way through, so he was the first to emerge, followed by Xie Xie, Tang Wulin, and Gu Yue.
The group was discussing what had just happened, clearly very interested.
"Come on over,"
Wu Changkong said, calling them all over.
But the four had barely stood before Wu Changkong, before they could say anything, when suddenly a bright light flashed, and they felt a strong spatial fluctuation; they vanished into thin air.
When the light flashed again, they found themselves in what appeared to be an office. The spacious room was easily over two hundred square meters, with a huge desk at the back and rows of white leather sofas neatly arranged.
"Sit down, I have some things to discuss with you," Wu Changkong said, gesturing to the sofas.
Lin Xiuran knew what Wu Changkong wanted to say, but he was still considering it. Although the Tang Clan was a small, insignificant organization, joining now would undoubtedly bring great benefits.
"You must be wondering about today's exam. You've all encountered opponents of similar strength. I must tell you that these opponents you faced in the Hall of Heroes were all real Soul Masters who actually existed. Because they were simulated, they could only unleash about 70% of their true power. How do you think your strength compares to theirs?"
As Wu Changkong finished speaking, Lin Xiuran also began to ponder.
Today's enemy, Tang Wutong, was indeed very strong. Putting aside her strange behavior, if she truly existed ten thousand years ago, he would have absolutely no chance against her; the difference in strength was too great.
Twin martial souls, the second strongest soul in a thousand years, and the Clear Sky Hammer—within the twenties or thirties, she would have been the strongest even among the Shrek Seven Devils back then.
"There are two reasons I brought you here. First, your absorption limits on the Spirit Ascension Platform are nearing their limit. After a few more times, you won't be able to continue training there. Therefore, you need another place for practical training. The Hero's Hall provides more realistic combat experience because the injuries are directly to your physical bodies. Of course, if your injuries reach a certain level, you'll be automatically teleported out, unlike on the Spirit Ascension Platform where physical destruction can cause mental shock. Relatively speaking, you can think of the Hero's Hall as a higher-level Spirit Ascension Platform." "
Second, the significance of this assessment isn't the final exam. You completed your final exams on the Spirit Ascension Platform during the riot, and I've already given you the scores. Passing this assessment means you can join this organization. If you decide to join, you can accumulate merit points to use for training in the Hero's Hall in the future."
Xie Xie and Gu Yue looked at Wu Changkong with curiosity. It turned out Teacher Wu was also part of an organization.
"Teacher Wu, what does this organization do?" Xie Xie asked. He was from a large family and couldn't just join an organization of unknown origin. But since this organization was located in the East China Sea High-Tech Park, its origins must be legitimate.
Wu Changkong asked, "Have you heard of the Tang Sect?"
"The Tang Sect!" Tang Wulin reacted most strongly, exclaiming in surprise, "You mean that Tang Sect?"
Wu Changkong nodded.
"Didn't the Tang Sect disappear, or perhaps relocate to one of the other two continents?" Tang Wulin couldn't help but ask.
Wu Changkong replied, "No. The Tang Sect has never truly disappeared. Yes, the Tang Sect does have a presence on the other two continents, like the Spirit Pagoda. But on the Douluo Continent, the Tang Sect has always existed, and the Alliance officials know this. It's just that the Tang Sect doesn't reveal too much to avoid standing out. After all, the Tang Sect's reputation was once incredibly resounding. The place we're currently in is a group company under the Tang Sect called Xuan Shi Tang Sect Technology Co., Ltd. The Hall of Heroes is a training system developed by the Tang Sect. The opponents you just fought were members of the Shrek Seven Devils from the Tang Sect's history." "
The Shrek Seven Devils!?"
The other three looked shocked, seemingly trying to figure out which member of the Shrek Seven Devils they were facing.
Lin Xiuran naturally knew his opponent, but then he remembered the girl's smile.
He still couldn't understand it, but ultimately could only attribute it to a system error, perhaps the technology wasn't mature enough.
"The one who fought Tang Wulin was Xiao Xiao, the Phoenix Flute Douluo, from the same generation as the Spirit Pagoda Master ten thousand years ago, possessing the Three Lives Soul-Suppressing Cauldron and the Nine Phoenix Arrival Flute."
Wu Changkong looked at Xie Xie and explained, "The one you fought was Jiang Nannan, the Demon Rabbit Douluo from that generation of the Shrek Seven Devils."
Gu Yue, as a member of the Spirit Pagoda, reacted immediately, saying with some surprise, "Then the one who defeated me was the founder of the Spirit Pagoda back then, the Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao."
(End of this chapter)