Douluo Dalu: The World Suppressing Douluo

The next morning, at dawn.

At the foot of the hill where the Pope's Palace stood, within a cluster of courtyards, one particular residence lay silent.

Inside the room, Lin Ye sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes closed, holding a golden longsword in his hands.

A faint golden glow emanated from his palms, and wisps of shimmering golden energy flowed continuously from his hands into the sword.

Suddenly, Lin Ye's eyes snapped open. He stared intently at the longsword in his hands and commanded in a low voice, "Move!"

The Xuanyuan Sword trembled slightly and began to levitate, but after hovering for a moment, it fell back into his hands.

"Still not working. The Xuanyuan Sword's quality is too high, and refining it is incredibly challenging. Looks like I'll need more time," Lin Ye murmured, shaking his head. He withdrew the Xuanyuan Sword Martial Spirit back into his body.

What Lin Ye had been doing was a process called refinement. Using a technique known as Divine Refinement, he was attempting to refine the Xuanyuan Sword Martial Spirit.

Once fully refined, Lin Ye would be able to control the Xuanyuan Sword as if it were an extension of his own body, capable of flying freely at his will. This was just the most basic application of the technique.

However, it was evident that the Xuanyuan Sword was far too powerful. The refinement process was far from complete.

Divine Refinement was a mystical art Lin Ye had obtained as a reward after breaking through the fourth restriction on his jade pendant upon reaching the Soul Elder realm. Unlike martial techniques, this was a form of supernatural ability.

Through Divine Refinement, objects could be refined to establish a deeper connection. Upon successful refinement, the user could manipulate the object at will, and in some cases, the refined item might even gain unique abilities.

Lin Ye had acquired this technique half a month ago.

Since then, he had been refining various items he often used, including his longsword, the Xuanyuan Sword Martial Spirit, and the external spirit bone, the Symbiotic Battle Armor.

For ordinary iron swords, the process was relatively simple. Lin Ye had already completed the refinement of one such sword, granting it the ability called Wind Veil. This ability created a thin layer of airflow around the wielder, silencing movements and masking scents.

However, refining the Xuanyuan Sword Martial Spirit and the Symbiotic Battle Armor was a different story. Despite half a month of effort, there had been little progress.

This was to be expected.

Compared to an ordinary iron sword, the Xuanyuan Sword and the Symbiotic Battle Armor were in an entirely different league. If they could be refined easily, Lin Ye would find it suspicious.

After his daily refinement routine, Lin Ye left his room and began practicing the Phoenix Dance Six Illusions and Dugu Nine Swords in the courtyard.

Before long, a knock came at the gate.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Hearing the sound, Lin Ye stopped his practice, turned, and walked to the gate.

With a creak, the gate opened to reveal Hu Liena standing outside.

"Lin Ye, hurry up! We're about to leave," Hu Liena urged.

Lin Ye suddenly remembered—today was the day of their year-end assessment.

"Wait a moment. Let me grab Tangyuan," Lin Ye replied.

He returned to his room and scooped up the drowsy little white dumpling from its nest by the bed. Placing the still-sleepy Tangyuan on his shoulder, Lin Ye left the courtyard and closed the gate behind him.

"Let's go. We'll grab breakfast first," he said.

---

After breakfast in the dining hall, Lin Ye and Hu Liena followed the academy's arrangements and left Spirit City. They arrived at an open field outside the city, where a group of students had already gathered.

These were all members of the elite class, over fifty students, each at least at the Soul Elder level.

Not far from the field, a luxurious convoy of about twenty carriages stood waiting.

"Greetings, Holy Son and Holy Daughter!"

The gathered students bowed respectfully as Lin Ye and Hu Liena arrived.

Lin Ye and Hu Liena nodded in acknowledgment before moving to the edge of the field near a grove, waiting for everyone to assemble.

Shortly after, two figures appeared in the distance. One was a young man with dark red hair dressed in silver, and the other had short crimson hair and wore black robes adorned with lava-like patterns.

"Senior Xie Yue!"

"Senior Yan!"

The students immediately bowed again upon seeing the two.

Although Xie Yue and Yan were not Holy Son and Holy Daughter, they were among the most powerful of Spirit Hall's younger generation. Both were Soul Ancestors and likely future members of the Spirit Hall's upper echelons.

"Lin Ye, Nanna!"

As they approached, Xie Yue greeted them warmly.

"Senior Xie Yue," Lin Ye replied with a nod.

"You two are early," Xie Yue remarked with a chuckle.

"Not really. The instructors did say to arrive early so we could set off on time. After all, it's a long journey to our destination," Lin Ye explained.

"By the way, Nanna, is it true what the Pope said? That our assessment involves eliminating evil spirit masters?" Xie Yue asked, his expression turning serious.

"Yes, it's true," Hu Liena confirmed. "But don't worry. The strongest evil spirit masters in that area have already been dealt with by Elder Chrysanthemum and Elder Ghost. What's left are only Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors. This mission is mainly to give us experience and prepare us for future encounters."

"That makes sense," Xie Yue agreed. "Our elite class students have top-tier martial spirits and optimal spirit ring configurations. If the enemies are only Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors, the danger is minimal. Plus, we have a Soul Sage instructor leading us, and there might even be stronger protectors in the shadows."

As they chatted, time passed, and soon, everyone had arrived.

With the convoy ready, the group embarked on their journey.

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