Chu Chen fell into silence. Perhaps he was too optimistic; the human predicament was even worse than he had imagined. The prosperity of the city seemed like a brilliant bubble, always on the verge of bursting.

Seeing this, Long Batian quickly changed the topic: "The predicament of humanity is not something you should worry about. Elder Liu has already reported to me in full about your performance in the Celestial Dragon Training Camp, and I am exceedingly satisfied. Since you have decided to walk a difficult path, I want to hear what plans you have next."

Upon hearing this, Chu Chen didn't think, but instead voiced all his previous thoughts.

"Indeed, the academy's environment is quite comfortable and not suitable for the path you've chosen, but I need to discuss this with the old principal, otherwise, he won't let you go."

Chu Chen, hearing this, confusedly asked, "Why is that?"

"Every year, the five major academies hold a college exchange competition to encourage students to cultivate diligently. Meanwhile, the rankings of the academies relate to the distribution of resources. In recent years, Cyan Dragon Academy has consistently ranked last among the five academies, which troubles the old principal. However, your enrollment has given him hope. Now, if you leave the academy, he won't let you go easily."

Chu Chen felt a bit speechless hearing this, and after a moment of thinking, he said in a deep voice, "I'm only a freshman. I'm afraid I can't compete in the college exchange competition."

Long Yunxiao waved his hand and said, "This you don't need to worry about. The college exchange competition limits participants to the peak of the Soul Master Level. With your strength, you are entirely eligible to participate."

Chu Chen frowned upon hearing this and said, "Even if I'm qualified to participate, it might be hard to achieve results satisfactory to the old principal."

"There are still three months to go before the college exchange competition. With the growth rate of Lei Yao and Nirvana, even if they can't reach the peak of the Soul Master Level, reaching the middle phase shouldn't be a big issue. With this level of strength, you should be able to achieve good results in the exchange competition," Long Batian said with a smile.

Chu Chen nodded helplessly after hearing this and said, "Everything is as the teacher arranges."

Long Batian said with a smile, "Don't have a resistant mindset. I will negotiate with the old principal to get you more benefits. Come find me at this time tomorrow, and I'll arrange your training plan for the next three months."

Chu Chen cupped his hands toward Long Batian and said, "Thank you for your effort, teacher. I will not continue to bother you."

After leaving Cyan Dragon Daoist School, Chu Chen did not return to Cyan Dragon Academy to rest but went to the Wu Family's auction house.

Before the service staff could inquire, Chu Chen took out a token and said in a deep voice, "I'm looking for Wu Yingxiong. Tell him my name is Chu Chen."

The service staff, upon receiving the token, immediately and respectfully invited Chu Chen to a third-floor VIP room, then quickly went to notify Wu Yingxiong.

The attitude of the other side being so respectful was naturally due to the token gifted by Wu Yingxiong and Chu Chen's tone while seeking someone.

By combining these two points, the service staff could confirm that the young man's origins were indeed remarkable, and he dared not offend him.

Chu Chen sat upright in the chair, sipping tea, showing no signs of impatience.

A moment later, the door was pushed open, and a hearty voice immediately came in.

"I'm sorry to keep Brother Chu waiting."

The person who came was Wu Yingxiong. He quickly sat down on a wooden chair beside him, but his gaze was examining Chu Chen.

But the next moment, he froze, abruptly stood up, and stared intently at Chu Chen.

He widened his eyes, full of disbelief, and even his voice couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"Brother Chu, have you reached the Soul Master Level?"

Chu Chen nodded in response and said, "I was fortunate to break through."

Hearing Chu Chen's confirmed answer, Wu Yingxiong couldn't help but take a sharp breath.

He remembers that five months ago, Chu Chen was just a Beast Master at the Fourth and Fifth Rank, but in just five short months, he had crossed two major realms consecutively and reached the Soul Master Level. This cultivation speed was something not only had he never seen but never even heard of.

Thinking of this, Wu Yingxiong couldn't help but regret that he shouldn't have listened to his father's decision at that time.

Now, all he could do was try to make up for it and quickly get the message to his father.

"Brother Chu, here's the weapon you asked me to forge before. See if it suits you." After saying that, he took out a metal stick about a foot long from the Spatial Ring.

Seeing this, Chu Chen quickly took the stick and carefully examined it in his hands.

The metal stick felt extremely heavy, weighing at least a thousand pounds. It was a reddish-gold color with many intricate runes engraved on its surface, and its overall design was quite ancient, more like a piece of art.

Wu Yingxiong pointed to the stick and said with a smile, "This stick is called the Ruyi Stick, weighing a thousand pounds, crafted by a famous craftsman. The materials needed for forging it included more than a hundred types, with half of them being metals of the Mystic Grade or higher. There are more than a dozen arrays engraved within it, including size change, gravity, durability..."

Listening to Wu Yingxiong's introduction, Chu Chen's eyes were filled with a look of astonishment.

Forging the Ruyi Stick, Wu Yingxiong had indeed put in a lot of effort, from the craftsmen to the materials, all requiring considerable thought.

"Brother Chu, please try out the Ruyi Stick to see if it suits you. As for the materials you previously asked me to collect, I've gathered about sixty percent of them, and I'll get them for you now," Wu Yingxiong said, standing up with a smile.

Chu Chen heard this and immediately showed a joyful expression, quickly standing up and cupping his hands, "Thank you, Brother Wu."

After Wu Yingxiong left the room, he waved to his subordinate beside him and said, "Go to the treasure vault and fetch the items on the list quickly." After saying this, he handed over a token and the list.

After the subordinate walked away, he went to a VIP room, locked the door, and immediately took out the Communication Bracelet.

"What did you say? He reached the Soul Master Level in five months? Are you sure there's no mistake?"

"I've already confirmed it."

"How is this possible? Could it be the handiwork of the pavilion master? But even if the pavilion master intervened, it wouldn't be possible. Could there be other opportunities he had? Stabilize him first, and provide all the materials he needs. I'll go investigate immediately."

Wu Yingxiong looked at the Communication Bracelet and couldn't help but shake his head. He sighed and muttered to himself, "Father is still too cautious. If he had listened to me back then, the future benefits would be unimaginable."

At this time, Chu Chen infused the Ruyi Stick with Soul Power, and over a dozen arrays glowed with a white light.

Chu Chen attempted to inject Soul Power into one of the arrays, and the originally foot-long Ruyi Stick rapidly expanded.

In just an instant, it expanded to a length of one zhang. Chu Chen did not stop but continued to infuse Soul Power into the array, wanting to see the limits of the Ruyi Stick.

One zhang, two zhang... ten zhang... fifteen zhang, and it still did not end.

However, Chu Chen immediately withdrew his Soul Power, as there was no need to continue testing beyond fifteen zhang; it was entirely sufficient for Lei Yao's form.

Chu Chen tested a few other arrays and found the Ruyi Stick's effects were better than he had imagined. It not only changed in size at will but also had tremendous power. If Lei Yao could fully unleash the Ruyi Stick's power, his strength would increase by at least thirty percent.

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