Douluo Dalu: Path of Power

At the registration area of the Blazing Fire Academy's Junior Division, a scattered group of twenty to thirty children stood in line. Like Bei Xuan and Ma Hongjun, they had just awakened their martial souls. The number of applicants was not high—after all, fire-attribute martial souls were known for their powerful offensive capabilities, but not everyone was fortunate enough to possess one.

There were no strict requirements for registering in the Junior Division. As long as a child had a fire-attribute martial soul and paid the tuition fees, they could enroll. However, advancing to the Intermediate Division depended entirely on their own abilities.

At the Blazing Fire Academy, if a student had not reached at least one spirit ring by the age of twelve, they would be expelled. Moreover, they would not even be allowed to claim they had graduated from the academy—the school had its reputation to uphold.

Meanwhile, the registration areas for the Intermediate and Advanced Divisions were almost deserted. Only two students had applied for the Intermediate Division, while the Advanced Division had no applicants at all.

Handling the admissions for these two divisions was a male teacher, accompanied by a young man and woman. The teacher, however, was fast asleep, leaving all the work to the two youths.

These two looked to be around twelve or thirteen years old. Given their young age and their role in admissions, their status in the academy was likely significant.

Ma Hongjun was about to walk toward the Junior Division's registration area when Bei Xuan grabbed his arm.

"Wait, Hongjun. We're registering over there."

He pointed toward the Intermediate Division's registration area. The resources and specialized training grounds available to junior students were nowhere near as good as those provided to the Intermediate and Advanced Divisions. Since they had come all this way, they might as well aim higher.

"The Intermediate Division? But, Brother Xuan, what about our age?" Ma Hongjun hesitated. The registration criteria clearly stated that applicants needed to be between nine and twelve years old, with a spirit power level between ten and eighteen.

"Age doesn't matter—strength does. Hongjun, remember this: in the Douluo Continent, strength reigns supreme!" Bei Xuan said with confidence.

Considering their potential, as well as their connection to Yulin, a titled Douluo, he was certain the Blazing Fire Academy would make an exception for them.

Ma Hongjun never doubted Bei Xuan's words, so he followed him toward the Intermediate Division's registration area.

At that moment, the young man and woman in charge of admissions were in the middle of a conversation.

"Sigh, not a single applicant for the Advanced Division this year. Brother, how are we supposed to compete in the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament in a few years? Just the two of us? No matter how skilled we are, we won't be able to achieve good results on our own," the young woman said.

"Stop complaining, Huo Wu. There's nothing we can do about it. True geniuses are rare. The academy is currently undergoing reforms, and the results of the past few tournaments have already proven that both the extreme specialization and balanced development approaches are flawed. We need to follow the Spirit Hall's example and adopt the fusion development model. Many of our classmates are struggling to adapt to these new tactics, so we can only hope that some promising new students appear. Be patient," the young man advised.

"Huo Wu and her brother?" Bei Xuan's exceptional hearing picked up their hushed conversation.

These two were none other than the future captain and vice-captain of the Blazing Fire Academy's team in the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament eight years later—Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu.

So the Blazing Fire Academy had already begun analyzing the flaws of the extreme specialization and balanced development models.

The concepts of these two training approaches were simple:

The extreme specialization model focused on refining a spirit master's abilities to a singular, powerful trait—maximizing their potential in one specific area. The balanced development model aimed to create well-rounded spirit masters with equal proficiency in attack and defense.

The two great empires' academies primarily followed the balanced approach, while the Five Elemental Academies leaned toward extreme specialization. The Spirit Hall, however, combined both, ensuring individual specialization while maintaining overall team balance—a fusion model.

It was unlikely that the Blazing Fire Academy would achieve great results in the tournament three years from now, as they wouldn't have enough time to fully implement their new strategy.

However, by the time of the tournament eight years later, four of the Five Elemental Academies—excluding the Elephant Armored Academy, which focused entirely on defense—would have already adopted the fusion model. Their teams would have a balanced mix of control, offense, and agility, while their individual members, like Huo Wushuang (offense) and Huo Wu (control), would specialize in a single area.

Bei Xuan recalled that Grandmaster had once claimed this model was the result of his research. He couldn't help but scoff—was it really his discovery? The truth was that many academies had already been implementing similar reforms for years.

At that moment, the two applicants in front of Bei Xuan and Ma Hongjun stepped forward.

"Hello, we'd like to register," they said.

The siblings had been so absorbed in their conversation that they had completely overlooked the students waiting in line.

"Oh, my apologies!" Huo Wushuang quickly responded. "Please state your names and extend your hands."

"I'm Huo Yun."

"I'm Huo Yu."

The two boys looked identical, making it clear they were twin brothers.

Huo Wushuang reached out and pressed their hands, checking their bone age. Both were exactly twelve years old.

"Your ages are suitable. Now, state your spirit power level and specialization. Also, release your martial souls for us to see," Huo Wushuang instructed.

The brothers nodded and replied in unison, "Level eighteen, martial soul: Fire Crane, agility attack type."

Then, they activated their martial souls. Two sharp-beaked cranes, surrounded by blazing flames, materialized beside them. Both possessed yellow century-old spirit rings.

Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu's eyes lit up. These two were promising—twelve years old, level eighteen, with century-old spirit rings, and specializing in agility attacks. If they reached level nineteen, they would qualify for the Advanced Division.

Even Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu were only at levels twenty-two and twenty-three, respectively.

"Excellent. You're both accepted," Huo Wushuang said approvingly. With proper training, these brothers had the potential to become Spirit Ancestors by the time of the tournament.

Watching this unfold, Bei Xuan quickly deduced that these twins would eventually become the agility attackers for the Blazing Fire Team. They were decent, but in the grand scheme of things, they were merely minor characters. Compared to the future Shrek Seven Devils, their talent was far inferior.

The two brothers, relieved to be accepted, stepped aside.

Bei Xuan and Ma Hongjun then approached the registration table.

Huo Wushuang's expression shifted to one of surprise. Bei Xuan seemed normal, but Ma Hongjun looked far too young. Curious, he checked their bone ages—and was utterly stunned.

They were only six years old.

"Little ones, you're in the wrong place. The Junior Division's registration is over there," Huo Wushuang said gently, pointing to the group of children their age. "You should go stand in line with them and register properly, okay?"