Douluo: Divine Dragon Pattern Staff

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Five years later, at Shrek Academy—

A youth stood practicing his self-created staff techniques. He was tall, about 175 centimeters, dressed in a sleek black outfit with a robust build. His black curly hair sported a wolf-tail style, and his handsome face carried an air of refinement.

This young man was none other than Li Luochen. Five years had passed, and he was now twelve years old.

After absorbing a soul ring beyond his level and obtaining a spirit bone at just over seven and a half years old, he had steadily advanced, breaking through one level roughly every four months.

By the time he was nine and a half, he had reached level 29. However, breaking through to level 30 was indeed a significant hurdle. Li Luochen had been stuck for about half a year before finally breaking through to level 30 at the age of ten, becoming a quasi-Spirit Elder. This achievement shattered the previous record held by Shrek Academy.

The previous record holder, Qin Ming, had broken through to Spirit Elder at the age of thirteen. Li Luochen surpassed him by three whole years.

After breaking through, Flender took Li Luochen to hunt for his third soul ring in a swamp within the Great Star Forest. The soul beast he hunted was an eight-thousand-year-old water-attribute sub-dragon. Its soul skill, Rippling Waves, created wave-like attacks centered around his Dragon Pattern Staff. These waves overlapped in layers, forming a wide-area attack.

There were two ways to release this skill. One was for Li Luochen to slam his Dragon Pattern Staff into the ground, creating a shockwave that spread outward from the point of impact. This method caused enemies to become immobilized or dizzy and dealt maximum damage. 

The other method involved simply releasing waves of energy centered around the staff, functioning more like a protective soul skill.

As for why he didn't worry about the incompatibility of water and fire causing his body to collapse—it was precisely because the energy of the Fiery Flame Dragon Wings balanced the energies of his second and third soul rings during absorption. Perfect balance during absorption was key; once the soul rings fully integrated into him, there was no risk of backlash. Additionally, the wind attribute of his first soul ring helped harmonize the water and fire attributes. It seemed his chosen path was correct, albeit challenging.

After absorbing the soul ring, Li Luochen's level rose to 33. Once he reached the Spirit Elder stage, his cultivation speed slowed significantly—about two levels per year. Currently, his spirit power was at the peak of level 37.

At this level, he was equivalent to Dai Mubai at fifteen years old. However, with Li Luochen's current strength, he could easily take on five Dai Mubais.

Li Luochen began participating in battles at the Suotuo Great Spirit Battle Arena at the age of eleven. By now, he had earned a Silver Spirit Battle Badge and was only a few consecutive victories away from earning a Gold Spirit Battle Badge. His record stood at 47 wins and 3 losses.

Victory: Each battle win awarded one point.

Defeat: Each loss deducted one point.

Win Streak Bonus: After achieving five consecutive wins, each additional win added ten points. After reaching ten consecutive wins, each additional win added one hundred points.

Advancement Requirements: To advance from Iron Spirit Battle to Bronze Spirit Battle required 100 points. Advancing from Bronze to Silver required 1,000 points.

In Bronze Spirit Battle matches, each win awarded ten points, while each loss deducted ten points.

Li Luochen was now very close to earning his Gold Spirit Battle Badge. Thanks to the gambling aspect of the arena, he was financially secure, with assets totaling one million gold spirit coins.

Whenever Li Luochen participated in battles, he wore a white robe and a mask to conceal his age. After all, his soul ring configuration—one yellow and two purple rings—was quite intimidating.

Currently, Oscar and Ma Hongjun were studying at Shrek Academy, with Li Luochen as their senior.

For Oscar, steady cultivation without slacking off was sufficient. At eight years old, his spirit power had already reached level 18. At this rate, he would likely reach level 30 by the age of twelve.

As for Ma Hongjun, his martial soul was the Evil Fire Phoenix, a mutated chicken with powerful flame attributes. Li Luochen advised him to absorb soul rings from beasts with phoenix bloodlines to purify his own phoenix lineage. For his first soul ring, Ma Hongjun absorbed a four-hundred-year-old Fire Phoenix, which granted him partial phoenix bloodline traits.

Ma Hongjun's martial soul side effects had stabilized significantly. Although his first soul skill was still Phoenix Fire Line, its power was now immense.

Li Luochen suggested to Flender that they find soul beasts with phoenix bloodlines or sacred flame attributes for Ma Hongjun, such as the Holy Flame Beast.

Currently, Shrek Academy had only three students: Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Li Luochen. The two older students from before had dropped out due to the pressure.

Now, Shrek Academy was financially stable and no longer resorted to gouging tuition fees. Every year, new students entered, but most were eventually eliminated. However, Flender had become more open-minded.

Even the eliminated students showed decent talent, so Flender sent them to Blue Tyrant Academy to continue their studies. The principal of Blue Hawk Academy, Liu Erlong, was Flender's close friend (and secret crush). Helping her expand her student base was something he gladly did as her elder brother.

The teachers of Shrek Academy had also made significant progress in their cultivation. Not long after Li Luochen obtained his second soul ring, Flender went into seclusion and broke through to level 70 in one go.

Later, all the teachers accompanied Flender to the Great Star Forest to help him obtain his seventh soul ring. Even Liu Erlong came to assist. A quasi-Spirit Sage and five Spirit Emperors worked together to hunt a fifty-two-thousand-year-old Golden Eagle King.

The beast also dropped a right arm bone. However, since everyone present was a close friend of Flender's, there was no conflict over the spirit bone. After absorbing the soul ring and spirit bone, Flender's spirit power reached level 73.

Currently, Flender's strength had risen to level 78—six years faster than in the original timeline.

Two years ago, Zhao Wuji also broke through to Spirit Sage. Flender had helped him hunt a forty-two-thousand-year-old Earth Bear.

Zhao Wuji's spirit power was now at level 73, Shao Xin's at 68, Lu Qibin's at 66, and Li Yusong's at 64.

Their rapid advancement wasn't solely due to Whale Glue. Li Luochen had also shared the Limitless Universe Technique with the teachers. Though incomplete, it was far more efficient than meditation.

Shrek Academy's teaching staff had grown much stronger. It was said that Flender would reach Spirit Douluo in another five years of cultivation. With such resources, there was no fear of Shrek Academy failing to thrive.

Thanks to Li Luochen, a transmigrant, many of Shrek Academy's rules had been revised. For instance, the old rule—"those who avoid trouble are mediocre talents"—had been changed after much debate between Li Luochen and Flender. The new rule stated that Shrek students should neither provoke trouble nor fear it, responding to provocations with overwhelming force.

However, Li Luochen added a small caveat: "A true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm. In major situations, act according to your heart."

He mentally patted himself on the back for his cleverness. Li Luochen had now lived at Shrek Academy for nine years. During this time, Qin Ming and Mo Yu had returned to visit. Qin Ming had finally broken free from the curse of being stuck at the fifth ring for a thousand years.

The last time Qin Ming visited, he was already a level 58 Spirit King. Mo Yu, at 56, had also come by. They were 28 and 27 years old, respectively. Together, they had ventured out and obtained a ten-thousand-year soul ring through teamwork. It was estimated that within four years, both would break through to Spirit Emperor, and within fifteen years, they would likely become Spirit Douluo-level powerhouses.

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