Chapter 547 - The Continent of Star Luo
The gazes of everyone present in the arena converged on Elder Cai, then she snorted and continued with her announcement, “The first and second grades displayed exceptional strength today. The Academy has decided to pick a group of students from the lower grades to send on an exchange trip to Star Luo in half a year, and it will last one year. You would all do well to earn a spot in this exchange.”
Star Luo? Tang Wulin stared at Elder Cai in astonishment. Star Luo was a whole different continent and a land he knew nothing about! He could only imagine what sort of marvels were there.
Tang Wulin was certain that he would be chosen for the delegation since he was the class president of the first grade. With that confidence, his mind wandered from planning how to earn a spot and to the incident at the Heaven Dou Blacksmith’s Association where a master and disciple had challenged Zhen Hua and him. So I’m going on an exchange to their homeland? I can’t believe it.
Although it was a wonderful opportunity to broaden his horizons, Tang Wulin wasn’t actually excited about it. He had been growing rapidly ever since entering Shrek Academy thanks to the wealth of resources available here, as well as the Tang Sect’s offering. By the time he moved to the second grade, he reckoned that with a bit of luck, he would already be a one-word battle armor master. By then, he would only be sixteen years old and one surely a famous figure in all of Shrek Academy. There would be no troubles entering the inner court for him, then slowly and steadily walking down the path to becoming almighty. However, this exchange trip to Star Luo threw a wrench in his plans. He had no idea what to expect from it.
It wasn’t just Tang Wulin who was at a loss, the companions at his side were also taken by surprise. They stared Elder Cai vacantly. All except for Gu Yue, who was deep in thought, and Yuanen Yehui, who furrowed her brow.
With the announcement over and the competition concluded, the audience began leaving in droves, each heading off to cultivate with renewed resolution. Then the competitors left as well.
Tang Wulin maintained a thoughtful silence all the way back to the working students dormitory before he spoke. “Yuanen, Zhengyu! Don’t go to your rooms just yet. We should discuss what Elder Cai said today.”
“Alright,” Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu answered together, stopping and turning to face Tang Wulin. They stared at him as quiet enveloped the dormitory.
“What do you guys know about Star Luo?” Tang Wulin asked.
Xie Xie perked up. “Oh! I know a bit! Tens of thousands of years ago, there were two great empires on Douluo. One was the Heaven Dou Empire and the other was the Star Luo Empire. There were a few small countries littered in the middle between them, but they were insignificant. Then about ten thousand years ago, the tectonic plates shifted and moved the Sun Moon continent toward us, slamming the two together so that they bordered each other. The Sun Moon continent was rich in resources and possessed soul technology. At that time, the Heaven Dou Empire had already split into two smaller nations. With those two factions bordering each other, war soon broke out between them.”
“That was the beginning of era the Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao lived in. In the end, the Sun Moon Empire won and annexed the two nations that once composed the Heaven Dou Empire. Then just as the Sun Moon Empire was preparing to attack the Star Luo Empire, Spirit Ice Huo Yuhao and Dragon Butterfly Tang Wutong led their comrades to defend the Star Luo Empire. What happened during that battle isn’t clear, but the Sun Moon Empire halted their assault and they were in a stalemate for many years.”
“Then the surviving members of the imperial family of Heaven Dou led their people to escape overseas and found a continent to occupy, which is what we now know today as the Heaven Dou continent. Meanwhile, the Sun Moon Empire was gaining strength on the Douluo continent, but Spirit Ice Huo Yuhao and Dragon Butterfly Tang Wutong had already ascended to godhood so they couldn’t intervene the politics of mortals. Without their help, the Star Luo Empire was put on the defensive, so they secretly sent out a fleet to explore the seas and found a new continent rich with resources. Then they began top secret plans to migrate their entire population there. When they were ready, all of their people left at once. From then on, the Sun Moon Empire had total control of the entire Douluo continent. As time passed, the Sun Moon Empire changed into the modern day Sun Moon Federation. So if you trace it that far back, both the Star Luo and Heaven Dou people were originally natives to Douluo and they have a deep grudge against the Federation. If we really do go on this exchange to Star Luo, I don’t think we’ll be received well. There'll be a lot of challenges.”
Yue Zhengyu nodded. “Yeah. Xie Xie’s got the gist of it. My understanding is about the same as his. If we go to Star Luo, there’ll definitely be lots of people who want to cause us trouble. But still, I find this opportunity very interesting. Exploring a foreign country sounds fun! The Academy will definitely ensure our safety anyway. And I heard that Star Luo is sending a group of students here on exchange too. In any case, we have no idea what the culture is like over there and there’s no harm in going, so I think it’s a good idea. I bet they’re not as advanced as us though.”
Tang Wulin glanced at Yuanen Yehui. “What are your thoughts on this?”
Yuanen Yehui had her lips pressed together tight, then after a moment, she nodded. “I’m accustomed to life here, so I don’t really want to go. We’re all making good progress on our cultivation too. We could accomplish a lot in one year.”
Tang Wulin put his hand to his chin and nodded. “I’m pretty sure you’re going to get picked for the exchange too. You’re the class president of the second grade after all. And since they’re having us go, I’m certain they Academy will do something to aid us in our cultivation as compensation.”
Yuanen Yehui shrugged. “Eh, if we’re going then we’re going. You think you’ll be able to forge enough spirit alloys in the next half-year?”
Tang Wulin scrunched his nose. “Huh? You’re that anxious to become a battle armor master? Well, I can definitely forge the metals, but there’s no way in hell I can craft the armor!”
Yuanen Yehui rolled her eyes at him. “Pft. Let’s at least create one full set by then. If all eight of us work together, it’s definitely possible.”
A light flickered into existence within Tang Wulin’s eyes. “What are you saying?”
“All you have to do is forge enough spirit alloys for the eight of us to make a complete set of armor. Focus on that and don’t worry about anything else. Then we’ll all work together and focus on completing a set for one person. Then during the year abroad in Star Luo, we’ll continue using the stockpile of metal to craft more pieces of battle armor. If we do this, our progress shouldn’t be impacted too much.”
Tang Wulin’s eyes flicked over to Ye Xinglan. She was the most talented armor crafter they had.
“I’m still just a fifth-rank mecha maker,” said Ye Xinglan. “I’ll need to reach the sixth rank before I can complete a full set. I’m not skilled enough to make some of the final core components yet. I guess I’ll just have to do my best to break through in the next half-year.”
Tang Wulin nodded, a grin forming on his face. “Great! Then we’ll be focusing on getting you a complete set of armor! Once you’ve got a full set, making the rest of our armors will go by much faster. Yuanen and Zhengyu, you two are fine with this?”
“Yeah. Sounds fine,” Yuanen Yehui said, slowly nodding.
“Same with me,” Yue Zhengyu said. “But I’m a mecha maker too. I have to craft my own armor. I’ll just take it slow I guess. I’m fine with investing resources into Xinglan.” He had just reached the fifth rank, so he had to agree with the plan to pour their resources into Ye Xinglan. It was the most efficient plan. Furthermore, he had been convinced of her strength after witnessing the battle earlier today. She had won honor even in defeat and paid a hefty price for the sake of their team’s final victory. If she hadn’t taken out Mo Jue from the team battle, then there was no way the third grade would have conceded with the might of a pair of one-word battle armor masters in the team battle. Their chances of winning would have been abysmal against such opponents.
“Then let’s work hard together for the next few months,” Tang Wulin said as he put his hand in the center of their circle for a cheer. Gu Yue quickly claimed the spot above his hand with her own, then the rest of the team piled their hands on and they cheered. Today was a day worthy of celebration. On this day, the working students united as one to work toward a common goal together.
The days that followed were bustling with activities. With Tang Wulin and his friends setting a prime example, a studious atmosphere enveloped the first grade was far more focused than any of the other grades. The entire first grade was burning with the desire to become strong and gain the acknowledgment of their peers at Shrek Academy.
Apart from Tang Wulin, every one of his teammates already possessed four soul rings. As such, he only had two objectives each day: cultivate soul power and forge spirit alloys.
The students selected for the exchange to Star Luo were soon revealed. Of the first grade, Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, Ye Xinglan, Xu Lizhi, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan were picked. For the second, Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu made it. To no one’s surprise, all eight working students were selected. Wu Zhangkong was assigned as the teacher in charge of them while Silver Moon Douluo Cai Yue’er would act as their leader.
Tang Wulin and his friends were happy that Wu Zhangkong was coming with them, but the fact that Elder Cai was coming as well gave them mixed feelings about the whole exchange. They still remembered how hard she had been on them during their entrance exam.
☀
Half a year flew by like the wind.
Na’er sat at a stone table on the side of Spirit Ice Plaza, swinging her legs gently in the air. She was dressed in a long dress that exposed the fair skin of the lower half of her legs. Her silver hair was draped over her back and gently swayed as a breeze passed by. As she looked up at a sky of painted twilight, she said, “Big Brother, when are you leaving?”