Chapter 449 - Star Evolution

Xu Xiaoyan raised her radiant Starwheel Ice Staff high into the air. Starlight burst out of it like fireworks, bathing the entire arena in its brilliance.

Under the starlight, the bamboo leaves dispersed into nothing, leaving the seven golden leaves to hover in the air. Xiao Tiantian, Ye Zishu, Han Yuchang, and Gu Tianming, who was tied up by Goldsong, glowed with a golden light, before collapsing to the ground completely drained of energy.

Suddenly, the world dyed gold.

Xu Xiaoyan slowly stood up straight, starlight shimmering brightly around her as if she was a descended goddess. Her forehead began to shine, then a mark similar to her starwheel appeared branded between her brows.

As soon as the mark appeared, the starlight settled into a gentle glow. They had found their master. All the circuits in the observatory flared, and the stars in the sky shined brighter. As starlight eagerly rushed to bestow their stellar energy on her, Xu Xiaoyan started to float into the air.

Tang Wulin straightened from his curled form and gaped at the scene before him. He was both amazed and sincerely happy for Xu Xiaoyan. Even in his wonder, he didn’t forget to finish restraining Xiao Tiantian, throwing a strand of bluesilver grass to catch the falling Ye Zishu as well.

Xie Xie separated from the falling Han Yuchang before they crashed into the ground and rolled upon landing to minimize any damage. He stood up and stared at Xu Xiaoyan, awed by the magical sight of her.

Everyone could tell from her aura that she was transforming on a fundamental level. This was a martial soul evolution! Only a soul evolution could produce such powerful energy fluctuations and display..

Li Zhilong stared in shock, utterly dumbfounded. He never imagined such a thing would happen.

In reality, even if Xu Xiaoyan hadn’t made a move, victory would have been theirs. Neither Xiao Tiantian’s attacks or Han Yuchang’s spiritual attacks posed a threat to Tang Wulin. Furthermore, after taking on Yuanen Yehui’s attack directly, Tang Wulin’s ability to take a beating was undoubtedly the best.

The Skyorder Star Ocean Academy team may be filled with excellent and powerful students with four soul rings, but they were nothing compared with Yuanen Yehui. The gap between them wasn’t something as small as a single level. If she were present, she would decimate the entire Skyorder team by herself.

The only reason why Tang Wulin was so cautious was because of the observatory. He never imagined that it would actually help them instead, even evolving Xu Xiaoyan’s martial soul.

Ye Xinglan reappeared in the air in a flash of light. A golden glow emanating from her as she basked in the starlight, her Stargod Sword shining brilliantly. She was absorbing the stellar energy as well. Compared to Xu Xiaoyan, however, she was absorbing far less.

She gently descended to the ground and immediately sat down cross-legged to begin meditating. Opportunity only knocks once, and as a student of Shrek Academy, she knew not to let opportunities slip out of her hands.

The golden aura of the Skyorder Star Ocean Academy students gradually dissipated and their abilities returned to normal. They all stared in shock at the scene before them. They all knew that there was no need to continue fighting. The victors had long since been determined.

Tang Wulin walked over to Li Zhilong with swift steps, and said in a hushed voice, “Senior, what do you think?”

Li Zhilong snapped out of his daze. “Does her martial soul have some connection with stars?”

Tang Wulin nodded.

Li Zhilong took in a deep breath to calm himself. “I have never seen anyone with such a strong affinity with stellar energy before. It’s really just…” He wanted to say that it would be fantastic if she joined his academy, but held his tongue. After all his years at Skyorder Star Ocean Academy, he had gained a profound understanding of the observatory. Xu Xiaoyan clearly would grow stronger by leaps and bounds thanks to this baptism of starlight. She couldn’t be anything but a genius! If she were one of his students, then Skyorder Star Ocean Academy could progress to the next level!

Unfortunately for him, she was from Shrek Academy.

“Senior, can I request that you don’t turn off the observatory? Xiaoyan, she’s...” Tang Wulin’s words trailed off as he glanced back at Xu Xiaoyan.

“Of course!” Li Zhilong interrupted. “She might not be a student of my academy, but what she’s experiencing right now is also valuable research data for us. We’ll record what’s happening for further research on how stellar energy can be used. Don’t worry, Stellar energy is infinite. There’s no harm in letting her absorb as much as she wants.”

He turned to his six students. “You guys better pay attention and focus on sensing what’s happening with the stellar energy. Do your best to understand its secrets.”

“Yes!” Xiao Tiantian answered in place of his teammates. After their defeat, they weren’t in the best condition.

As the geniuses of the next generation at Skyorder Star Ocean Academy, they were a proud bunch. They would definitely have six rings by the time they turned twenty, and three of them were expert control-types. They dominated all of the tournaments and competitions in the vicinity of Skyorder City. Xiao Tiantian in particular stood out the most with his mighty Demon King martial soul.

Yet today, they had lost to kids from Shrek Academy who didn’t have a single flying-type soul master and had weaker cultivation bases compared to them. It was a crushing defeat and had hit their pride deeply.

Xu Xiaoyan continued absorbing stellar energy for a little over an hour before she slowly descended to the ground. Her entire body was covered in specks of light. Tang Wulin counted them. There were 365 in total.

Xu Xiaoyan sat down cross-legged, circulating her soul power according to the Mysterious Heaven Method. The 365 twinkling specks of light faintly pulsed with life as her staff hovered upright in the air. It transformed from blue to gold, the starwheel on the tip of her staff morphing into a symbol similar to the stars. Simply looking at it felt like peering into the vast expanse of the starry heavens.

Her martial soul had evolved, strengthening her starwheel, and while her soul power hadn’t increased, it was much more purer than before. Her body had also been refined by the starlight and improved.

Xu Xiaoyan had always been the weakest member of her team, only able to contribute in a significant way at night with her Starwheel Shackles. Now, however, she was entirely different

The stars in the observatory gradually dimmed and returned to normal as Xu Xiaoyan finished absorbing the rest of the starlight lingering around her. Her pretty face now had an enchanting luster to it, almost to the point of sparkling.

Taking a deep breath in, she slowly opened her eyes. When everyone’s curious stares greeted her, she immediately blushed crimson.