Chapter 102: The Youth Prodigy Rankings? Just a Fool's List!
"The Youth Prodigy Rankings include all soul masters under eighteen from across the entire Douluo Planet—the Douluo Federation, the Star Luo Federation, the Heaven Dou Empire, and more—selecting and ranking the top thirty geniuses."
"Anyone who can make it onto that list is a true peerless prodigy!"
Off to the side, Wei Xiaofeng—who had been benched from the lineup by Gu Yue and was preparing to leave unnoticed—spoke up proudly and a little enviously. "You guys don't know? Teacher Wu himself was once ranked number one on the Youth Prodigy Rankings!"
As a die-hard Shrek Academy fan, Wei Xiaofeng had done his research thoroughly. He wouldn't miss even a whisper of news related to Shrek.
He'd even heard a few stories about Wu Zhangkong from his family contacts.
Everyone turned in surprise to stare at their teacher.
So Teacher Wu had been hiding such strength all along!
Wu Zhangkong coughed lightly. "That's all in the past. Not worth mentioning."
However, Xie Xie frowned. "Even though Teacher Wu's really strong, still… still…"
Wu Zhangkong knew exactly what he wanted to say. Though he didn't want to argue, being a Shrek Academy graduate and once a candidate for the Sea God Pavilion Master, he had to explain at least a little.
"In those days, I suffered an internal injury. I've been stuck at this level for many years—it's difficult to progress."
"For instance, my junior sister once ranked tenth on the Youth Prodigy Rankings. Now, she's already a Soul Saint at level seventy."
Everyone nodded in understanding. That seemed reasonable enough.
"Besides," Wu Zhangkong added with a wry smile as he glanced at Jiang Chen, "not everyone can be as monstrous as those three. In fact, even the continent's strongest man, the current Sea God Pavilion Master Yun Ming, wasn't much beyond this level at their age."
Everyone agreed—that sounded fair.
Those three were simply beyond human. Monsters like that couldn't possibly appear every generation.
Still…
Why did they have to appear in this one? It was almost hopeless!
Some people are inspired by great predecessors to surpass them; others are crushed by their brilliance.
Clearly, these three belonged to the second category—an unbridgeable existence. How could one not despair knowing they could never be surpassed?
"Oh, I almost forgot," Wu Zhangkong added. "In the sub-rankings connected to the Youth Prodigy Rankings, the top-ranked youth in the Forgemaster Prodigy list is none other than your teammate—Tang Wulin."
Tang Wulin blinked and pointed to himself in disbelief. "F-first? Me?"
Everyone: "Huh?"
Xie Xie shouted, "What kind of bogus ranking is that? How could Tang Wulin be first?"
"Ow!" Xie Xie yelped as he clutched his head, glaring viciously at Xu Xiaoyan—she had smacked him.
"Who told you to talk nonsense?" she sneered. "Sure, Wulin's soul power is lower than yours, but he's stronger than you overall. Not to mention, our Wulin has the talent of a Divine Craftsman. He just defeated a group of rank-four forgemasters to win the championship, becoming the youngest five-ring forgemaster in history—the real future Divine Craftsman!"
Tang Wulin scratched his head awkwardly. It was the first time a girl had praised him so openly.
How embarrassing.
The Youth Prodigy Rankings recorded the top thirty souls under eighteen, considering their talent, soul power, soul spirits, soul rings, and more.
Assuming they survived and didn't die young, their futures as Titled Douluos were practically guaranteed.
However, just hearing the name "Youth Prodigy Rankings" made Jiang Chen chuckle.
It was a list created by the Spirit Transmission Tower—and of course, it was manipulated by them.
Youthful pride and ambition ran hot; once a prodigy saw themselves ranked, it fueled both arrogance and drive.
Almost every top ten spot went to Shrek Academy students—as if shouting to the world: "All of Shrek are geniuses!"
Yet, in the inside information Jiang Chen knew, even the two cross-dressing Bai sisters from the Spirit Transmission Tower weren't weaker than Dai Lingyu—but they never appeared on the list.
For instance, that so-called strongest man on the continent, Yun Ming—was he truly the strongest?
How very amusing.
The Spirit Transmission Tower was cunning indeed—but Jiang Chen wasn't exactly a saint himself.
Now that the Tianhai Tournament was wrapping up, Tang Wulin had won first place in the adult forgemaster division, Gu Yue secured first in the youth division, and Huo Yun'er took second place.
As for mecha manufacturing, East Sea City clinched first as well—not surprising in the slightest.
Though East Sea City wasn't top in overall power, its economic strength came second only to Tianhai City. The mecha players there were all rich. Each year, the top spot alternated between East Sea and Tianhai.
Whoever spent more that year took the crown—and this year, East Sea outspent the rest.
In the dueling categories, Gu Yue had competed in the one-on-one matches, winning the youth championship effortlessly.
In the three-on-three battle, Jiang Chen and his two teammates defeated the Shrek Academy squad, also taking first in the youth bracket.
As for the adult group's champion team—well, their triumph had already become a laughing matter.
The seven-on-seven team battles were scheduled for the final day.
As expected, it would be East Sea City's Zero Class versus Shrek Academy once again.
Meanwhile, East Sea's adult division was swept aside before even facing Shrek—defeated by Tianhai Academy on the way.
After seeing the youth team achieve such success, they slipped away quietly, leaving behind the indifferent Mu Xi and her close friend Ouyang Zixin.
As for Xu Xiaoyu—the captain of East Sea Academy's adult team—she could only face her younger sister in silence, mutter a few words, and leave in shame.
All their hopes now rested on the younger generation.
That night, on the rooftop.
A shadowy figure emerged from the void.
A girl with an ordinary face and a high ponytail walked over to a stunning silver-haired girl sitting on the edge, gazing out at the sea breeze.
"You're here," Na'er said softly.
Leaning back on her hands, her body tilted slightly as the cool ocean wind brushed through her long lilac hair, scattering it beautifully in the moonlight.
"When do you plan to get rid of me?"
Na'er already knew she had lost. That meant her freedom would soon end.
Fate seemed to have already made its choice.
She only regretted one thing—that she wasn't the true self, but merely another persona split from the Silver Dragon King.
They said she was "the same person."
But having split apart and experienced a completely different life—how could they ever truly be the same person?
Gu Yue stuffed her hands into her pockets and said flatly, "That's it? What a waste of time."
She had thought it was something serious, but turned to leave immediately.
That damn Jiang Chen still refused to act as her spirit soul and no longer wanted to compete alongside her in the upcoming Spirit Soul Battles.
She had no choice but to use her privileges again to summon a spirit to fight for her.
As for obedience?
What a joke. What spirit beast would dare defy the Silver Dragon King? Certain death awaited any who tried.
Her championship was secured, though repeatedly relying on special privileges had left a blemish on her record—and that annoyed her to no end.
"That damned Jiang Chen—when the time comes, I'll make you lick my feet!"
(END CHAPTER)
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