Ye Lingtong's Gratitude

"I want to cry. What a terrible waste!"

Qian Lei felt much the same as when he had previously turned down Shrek Academy's early admission offer.

Liu Feng's expression did not look good either.

"I'd rather this thing had never appeared."

Having clearly obtained it, only to discover that they could not use it at all, was truly frustrating.

In the end, the soul bone was given to the Golden Silk Demon Ape.

The Golden Silk Demon Ape's gaze toward Nan Xuanyu and the other two became completely gentle.

The previous savagery and violence vanished in an instant.

Afterward, Nan Xuanyu and the other two stood guard for the Golden Silk Demon Ape and helped it fuse with that soul bone.

It had also consumed the Thousand-Year Purple Ganoderma earlier.

Then, the Golden Silk Demon Ape fell asleep.

The next morning, the Golden Silk Demon Ape had yet to awaken.

After setting up some protection for it, the three of them left.

Before they knew it, only three days remained in the assessment.

Earlier, as they traveled, they had killed quite a few Soul Beasts.

They had earned plenty of points.

"Hm? Fighting sounds!"

As the three walked through the Star Dou Great Forest, they suddenly heard the sounds of battle, along with human voices.

The next moment, a figure raced toward them with incredible speed.

It was actually Ye Lingtong.

She had originally been teamed with Lu Qianxun and Chang Jianyin, but now she was alone.

She looked utterly disheveled, with bloodstains on her body. She had clearly been injured.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three figures rushed wildly over from the distance, pursuing Ye Lingtong ahead of them.

They were extremely fast and wore uniforms of the same color. They clearly came from the same academy and were on the same team.

The leader was a tall, thin young man.

A faint yellow glow shimmered around him, and he rode a fierce tiger that moved at tremendous speed.

That tiger looked somewhat illusory and was likely a soul spirit.

Of the other two, one had wings on his back and was equally fast. He was the first to catch up behind Ye Lingtong.

The other moved like a ghost, his figure flickering in and out of sight as he carried a spear in his hand.

The word "Lingtian" was embroidered on the chests of their uniforms.

They were from Lingtian Academy.

Tianluo Star had two continents: Tianluo Continent and Lingtian Continent.

Lingtian Academy was the foremost academy on Lingtian Continent.

The three people chasing Ye Lingtong were a team of students from Lingtian Academy.

One Soul Grandmaster and two Soul Elders.

"Should we help?"

Qian Lei looked to Nan Xuanyu for his opinion.

They might be competitors, but Ye Lingtong was from their academy. They could not let students from another academy bully her.

"Help!"

Nan Xuanyu nodded without hesitation.

At that moment, the three pursuers had already caught up to Ye Lingtong.

Both sides began fighting.

Very quickly, Ye Lingtong fell into a disadvantage.

Her expression turned extremely ugly as she thought, It's over.

She could not beat the three of them. She would probably have to withdraw from the competition.

With three days still remaining, withdrawing now would mean certain elimination.

But just then, a figure turned into an afterimage and appeared at her side.

An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her aside.

They narrowly evaded the sharp strike that stabbed toward her from behind.

The one holding Ye Lingtong around the waist was none other than Nan Xuanyu.

As he pulled Ye Lingtong away, the Water Element Control around his body suddenly froze.

It transformed into an ice-blue longsword that shot forward fiercely.

The Lingtian Academy student who had previously split into two figures—

At that moment, the two identical figures rapidly merged into one.

His body suddenly became even more illusory, flickering amid flashes of lightning.

Pfft!

Accompanied by a soft sound and a scream.

That person staggered backward.

One of his arms had been directly pierced by the ice-blue longsword and severed.

Blood poured down.

Though this was a virtual world, it still hurt terribly.

Roar!

Amid a deep roar, the figure riding the fierce tiger had arrived as well.

He rushed to the side of his teammate whose wing had been broken.

A blinding white beam shot from his mouth and collided with the White Dragon Spear.

Both sides swiftly pulled apart.

The tiger-riding soul master was highly vigilant and had neutralized Liu Feng's attack.

The three from Lingtian Academy quickly gathered together and watched Nan Xuanyu's group warily.

They widened the distance between them.

"It's you!"

Only then did Ye Lingtong clearly see Nan Xuanyu.

Shock appeared in her beautiful eyes.

The instant she saw Nan Xuanyu, her nose stung, and she nearly burst into tears.

He had come just in time. She was so moved.

If he had come any later, she would have been eliminated.

"What happened? Where are your teammates?"

Nan Xuanyu turned to Ye Lingtong and asked.

"They're from Lingtian Academy.

Lu Qianxun and Chang Jianyin were already killed by them.

Since we were teammates, after they were killed, their points were transferred to me.

Only by killing me as well could they take half of all the points.

That's why they kept chasing me."

Ye Lingtong's beautiful eyes brimmed with tears, which were on the verge of falling. Her pretty face was filled with grievance.

She had the urge to throw her arms around Nan Xuanyu and cry her heart out.

But she held herself back.

Before Nan Xuanyu could ask further, Ye Lingtong said indignantly, "We encountered a Heavenly Wrath Demon Lion with around three thousand years of cultivation. We had worked so hard and were just about to kill it when they suddenly ambushed Qianxun.

Qianxun was severely wounded, then died beneath the Heavenly Wrath Demon Lion's claws and fangs.

Chang Jianyin tried to save me and control the battlefield, but they killed him too."

Nan Xuanyu nodded. So that was what had happened. These three were dangerous.

The tall, thin youth riding the Light Tiger smiled and waved at Nan Xuanyu's group.

"Allow me to introduce myself. Li Yaoming of Lingtian Academy!"

The pale-faced youth with the illusory figure glared at Nan Xuanyu.

"Shu Zixuan of Lingtian Academy."

Nan Xuanyu had just severed one of his arms. The piercing pain had nearly killed him.

The youth with one broken martial soul wing glared at Ye Lingtong.

"Xu Rongxin of Lingtian Academy."

Nan Xuanyu frowned. He had seen these three names before.

They were ranked fifth in the preliminary selection.

No wonder they were so powerful. They had managed to take down Lu Qianxun and Chang Jianyin.

"Nan Xuanyu, Qian Lei, and Liu Feng of Tianluo Academy."

Nan Xuanyu directly stated all three of their names.

At that moment, after launching his attack, Liu Feng had already concealed himself within the forest.

He was watching the movements of the three at all times.

The moment anything went wrong, he would strike immediately.

Upon hearing those three familiar names, the three from Lingtian Academy looked at one another, shock appearing on their faces.

They had not expected to encounter the preliminary selection's champion team.

Li Yaoming said calmly, "So you're the preliminary selection champions. I've heard much about you.

I believe you understand as well that if we clash, no matter which side wins, it will pay a painful price.

How about you hand this young lady over to us, and we go our separate ways?

I hope both our teams can advance!"

They did not want to fight the champion team.

"Attack!"

Yet Nan Xuanyu's reply consisted of two cold words.

The moment his words fell, Qian Lei instantly opened the Summoning Gate. A Purple Lightning Dragon with a hundred years of cultivation charged out.

A thick bolt of lightning split down at Li Yaoming's head.

Though it was only a hundred-year Soul Beast, as a pure-blooded Earth Dragon, its strength was no weaker than that of a thousand-year Soul Beast.

Li Yaoming's expression changed drastically as he hurriedly raised a defense.

A shield of light rose before him.

With a bang, the purple lightning slammed into it.

Amid the booming blast, white light scattered everywhere.