Chapter 190: Starwheel Ice Staff

“That’s amazing! There are eighteen first-class cities in our federation and they’re divided into the five regions—the north, the east, the south, the west, and the center. Each region has a few major cities, but the center region only has two: Heaven Dou City and Shrek City. Even though that’s less than the other regions, these two cities make up for it with their influence. Our eastern region actually has five first-class coastal cities that form the Skysea Alliance. Eastsea City is ranked second among the five.

“The Skysea Alliance Tournament is held every three years to scout excellent geniuses and check out the strength and development of all the cities. Naturally, those who show the most talent are practically guaranteed to shine brilliantly in the future. The most outstanding people may even be chosen to represent the Skysea Alliance in the federation-wide tournament that’s held every five years! That’s a grand tournament that involves the entire continent! Have you seriously never heard of this before?”

Tang Wulin awkwardly scratched his head. He really hadn’t heard of this before! Who would even mention such a thing in a small town like Glorybound City? Even if someone had, he would have been too young to remember it.

“Isn’t the federal tournament usually held in Shrek City?” Xu Xiaoyan asked, staring at Tang Wulin in shock as he inhaled all of the gourmet food before him.

“That’s right! It’s held in Shrek City. Fortunately, Shrek Academy doesn’t participate in that tournament, otherwise, the results wouldn’t be suspenseful. It's been the number one academy on the continent for the past ten thousand years after all.”

Xu Xiaoyan grew excited. “Doesn’t that mean we have a chance, then?”

Her words made Xie Xie dispirited. “What chance? We’re still too young. I looked it up a long time ago. The federal tournament is being held next year, and we’ll only be eleven years old then. According to our age, we would be put into the ten-to-fifteen division. Considering that we’ll only be eleven years old, we would be at a severe disadvantage. We would be facing the continent’s greatest geniuses after all! And that’s assuming we even qualify to enter. In order to qualify, we would need to participate in this year’s Skysea Alliance Tournament and place in the top six of our age group. Next time the federal tournament is held, we’ll be sixteen years old and get bumped up to the fifteen-to-twenty division. It would be strange if we did well in that tournament. We really were born at the wrong time.”

Tang Wulin continued to gorge himself as he said, “Don’t worry about rankings. It’ll be fine as long as we gain some experience and knowledge. You don’t have to be so determined to win.”

Gu Yue said, “Who cares if we’ll be eleven? Who said that an eleven-year-old can’t be the champion? If you don’t have believe in yourself, who will believe in you? If you want to do it, then do it.”

Finishing her speech, Gu Yue stood up to put her tray away.

Xie Xie’s mouth curled in disdain as she left. “She’s talking as if we’re actually going to participate in the Skysea Alliance Tournament. Aren’t you the only one participating, Wulin?”

Tang Wulin couldn’t be bothered to speak anymore; today’s meal seemed more filling than usual.

That was some delicious seafood!

Tang Wulin had grown up on the coast, yet he had never eaten such amazing seafood. Aside from the mouth-watering flavor, an indescribable feeling of warmth spread throughout his body when the food entered his stomach.

After lunch, all of them gathered to discuss Wu Zhangkong’s strength and what tactics they could use to restrain him.

As for victory over Wu Zhangkong… they had never even considered it. Their only goal was to survive against him as long as possible.

Tang Wulin was confident about today’s combat training since his Bluesilver Grass had become so powerful after reaching the thousand-year level. Furthermore, Goldlight could finally play an active role in battle. If it hadn’t been for Goldlight, Tang Wulin would have been too focused on neutralizing Gu Yue’s explosive ball of fire and ice to defend against her follow up attack.

In his opinion, Gu Yue’s greatest strength lay in her control over the element of space. She could teleport all over the battlefield with it and employ a myriad of different battle tactics.

They eventually came to the simple conclusion that they could only prolong their survival by working together.

“Xiaoyan, you said you’re even stronger at night, so can you show us after dinner?” Tang Wulin wanted a thorough understanding of his new teammate to further develop their teamwork.

Xu Xiaoyan hesitated for a moment before saying, “Okay.”

In truth, her family had specifically warned her not to reveal her unusual power. However, now that she came face to face with the greatest geniuses of Eastsea City, she simply felt too powerless during the day. She knew that staying in class zero depended on whether or not she could obtain the approval of her new classmates.

For this reason, she only needed a moment of thought before agreeing.

If I don’t show my strength, how am I supposed to fit in with these geniuses? There’s no way I can match them with just observation skills and precise control!

☀

Night fell soon after they finished dinner.

The four classmates were walking toward a grove in the corner of the fields.

Regardless of whether it was Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, or Gu Yue, all of them were curious about what change Xu Xiaoyan would experience at night. Throughout the Douluo Continent, fantastical martial souls of every description could be found. If it was possible, then it likely existed. For example, Gu Yue’s martial soul allowed her to control six elements. This was something that had never been heard of before, so just how unique was Xu Xiaoyan’s martial soul?

Inside the gloomy grove, Gu Yue raised her hand and summoned a resplendent golden light, illuminating their surroundings.

Anticipation welled up in Xie Xie. It was only natural since they were quietly doing mysterious things in a forest at night.

Xu Xiaoyan stepped forward and looked toward the stars. This grove’s canopy was nowhere near as lush as the one in the spirit ascension platform, so starlight easily pierced through it.

Specks of starlight twinkled in the sky. She nodded once. “I’m starting.”

She raised a hand toward the sky while a yellow soul ring rose from beneath her feet and a slender ice staff appeared in her hand.

The golden light from Gu Yue’s hand struck the ice staff, giving it a holy aura with a golden glow.

Xu Xiaoyan’s expression turned grave. She raised the staff higher as light burst from her eyes.

“The stars in the heavens that shine forever tranquil, grant me strength! My starwheel!” Summoned by her gentle call, the tip of her staff suddenly began to shine, and a golden beam of light descended from the heavens!

An orb of light instantly appeared at the tip of the staff. It gradually changed to become a six-pointed star of golden light.

This is...

A variant martial soul?

This possibility instantly popped into Tang Wulin’s mind. Furthermore, it was a mutation that could be controlled!

Xu Xiaoyan’s aura transformed the moment the starwheel appeared, changing from weak and delicate to confident and bold. She seemed more refined and pure under the sparkling starlight.

Specks of starlight even found their way onto her soul ring, and a golden star adorned her forehead.

With a wave of her staff, the starwheel shot out and embedded itself at Xie Xie’s feet.

In that moment, Xie Xie felt his body seize up as a chill permeated his body, stealing away his mobility.

The starwheel grew bright, then exploded into icy shackles around his body.

Xie Xie quickly circulated his soul power in a bid to resist, but he was shocked to discover that there seemed to be some sort of mysterious seal on him that slowed his circulation.

This…

Xu Xiaoyan’s complexion paled and she looked toward Tang Wulin. “I can draw upon the starwheel’s strength at night, so my martial soul is called the Starwheel Ice Staff. It’s different from my big brother’s ice staff. The Starwheel Ice Staff is a special variant martial soul that has been passed down through my clan since ancient times. It's been several hundred years since someone last awakened it. The power of the starwheel will grow with me, so whatever spirit soul I fuse with will influence the starwheel. However, I can only display its full strength at night. I’m just an ordinary Soul Master with an ice staff during the day, but at night, I am blessed by starlight.

“The starwheel is separate from my ice attribute and is actually an astrological attribute that lets me draw power from the stars. The strongest aspect of the astrological attribute is how absolute it is. With my current strength, I can use the starwheel to seal one person for a minimum of one second, but it also depends on my target’s strength.”

How terrifyingly absolute.