Soul Venerable

The New Student Assessment Knockout Tournament's round of thirty-two to sixteen officially began in the assessment area that afternoon. Compared to the morning, half of the competing teams had already been eliminated.

A raised platform had been set up north of the assessment area. After lunch, Ye Qingchen arrived outside the assessment area to draw lots. This time, his assigned area was Number Eight. When he reached the venue, the other team assigned to Area Eight had already arrived.

"Three girls? Easy on the eyes." Ye Qingchen stretched lazily as he looked over the team.

Spectator platform.

Zhou Yi stood silently on the platform, surveying the matches about to begin below. Of the teams from Class One that had survived the round of sixty-four to thirty-two, only five remained. Their advantage was no longer so obvious.

"Teacher Zhou, I just looked at the draw. What a coincidence—those two seed teams you picked happened to run into our class's seed team. Over there, Assessment Area Eight. Who do you think will win?" A female teacher around thirty said with a soft laugh.

Zhou Yi's gaze immediately sharpened. "Mu Jin, do you think your students have already won?"

Mu Jin smiled and shook her head. "Not necessarily. Nothing is absolute."

Zhou Yi's eyes turned cold. "Are you here to provoke me?"

The smile vanished from Mu Jin's face as well. "So what if I am? Isn't your Class One supposed to have excellent results? I'd like to see how many students you've taught can make it into the top eight."

Zhou Yi turned her gaze toward the arena and fixed it on Area Eight, where Ye Qingchen stood. "Want to make a bet?"

Mu Jin agreed without hesitation. "What are you betting with?"

"Do you dare bet a Soul Bone?" A trace of disdain curled at Zhou Yi's lips. "If you're scared, stay away from me."

A fierce light flashed through Mu Jin's eyes. "Fine, I'll bet with you. If I lose, I'll give you a Soul Bone. But if you lose, have Fan Yu forge a close-combat Soul Tool for me."

"Fine. I'll agree on her behalf." Fan Yu's deep voice rang out.

When she saw Fan Yu appear, Mu Jin's expression immediately changed. "The two of you are ganging up to bully me."

Fan Yu's expression remained calm, though his brows furrowed slightly. "You were the one making trouble first."

"Bet? Why wouldn't I? Just because I lost to her doesn't mean my students will lose to hers." Mu Jin abruptly turned around and gripped the platform railing tightly with both hands.

"Both sides, enter the field and state your names."

The four contestants walked into the spacious arena at the same time, taking their places on opposite sides.

The red-haired girl said proudly, "New Student Class Nine, Wu Feng. Level twenty-five Strong Attack System Battle Soul Grandmaster."

The girl with long light-green hair spoke in a gentle voice. "New Student Class Nine, Nanmen Yun'er. Level twenty-four Agility Attack System Battle Soul Grandmaster."

A calm voice came from behind the two girls. "New Student Class Nine, Ning Tian. Level thirty-one Support System Weapon Soul Venerable."

"New Student Class One, Ye Qingchen." Ye Qingchen truly didn't understand why they had to announce their names before fighting.

Just then, the proctor shouted, "Match begin!"

Wu Feng let out a sharp cry as well, her delicate body suddenly springing forward. A faint dragon roar rang out, and a layer of fine dragon scales covered her skin. The scales extended down from her neck, across her shoulder, and all the way down her left arm to her left hand.

Facing the incoming attack, Ye Qingchen had no intention of using a Soul Skill. He simply stood there without moving.

With a dull bang, Wu Feng's body slid backward. It was clear that she had drawn the short end of the stick in that first clash.

"Come again. Your strength isn't enough." Ye Qingchen activated his taunting skill.

At that moment, Nanmen Yun'er moved as well. With what seemed like a mere flash, she crossed several dozen meters and arrived before Ye Qingchen. Both her hands turned emerald green, as if carved from jade, and struck directly at him.

At the same time, Ning Tian, standing in the distance, raised her right hand and called out, "Seven Treasures Turn Out With Glazed Light."

On the spectator platform, Mu Jin turned to look at Zhou Yi and Fan Yu, only to see the shock in both their eyes. Zhou Yi cried out, "The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile School—the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda!"

"Seven Treasures have fame; first: speed."

Two dazzling rays of light shot from the pagoda, landing respectively on Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun'er. As the colored lights enveloped them, Nanmen Yun'er's palms, which were striking toward Ye Qingchen, suddenly accelerated, leaving a string of afterimages in the air.

Three Thousand Thunder Illusory Body

As Ye Qingchen watched the incoming palms, he instantly shifted backward. Their attack landed only on his afterimage.

The instant Nanmen Yun'er's strike missed, she charged forward again. In her view, with her absolute advantage in speed, she was confident she could end the battle before her in a very short time.

However, at the very instant she surged forward, a warning flared in her heart. She was indeed formidable; her charging body stopped abruptly, forcefully coming to a halt. Her first soul ring lit up, and brilliant green light burst from her hands. Faintly, a thin layer of green light could be seen extending from her palms up to her arms.

Ice Seal

A blue light appeared before Nanmen Yun'er. In an instant, icy air erupted outward, freezing her in place.

"Instant-cast Soul Skill!" Ning Tian called out again from afar. "Seven Treasures have fame; second: dispel."

Another ray of light fell upon Nanmen Yun'er, but this time, it had no effect whatsoever.

"Impossible! How can this be? The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's support effect has failed?" Ning Tian began to doubt herself.

"Your Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's support effect isn't enough to break my skill. My Ice Seal requires at least a level-thirty Strong Attack System Soul Master to break through it," Ye Qingchen said.

Mu Jin muttered to herself in disbelief, "Th-This is impossible! What are they doing? With the speed boost of a Soul Venerable-level Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, their speed should each increase by forty percent! That should at least put them on the level of Soul Venerables. How can they be unable to defeat their opponent?"

"Enough. This boring match should end early."

As Ye Qingchen spoke, silver-white dragon scales instantly covered his entire body, and dragon wings unfurled behind him. The pressure of his bloodline, accompanied by gravity, spread across the arena.

Roar—Roar—

Dragon roars echoed through the center of the arena, contained solely within the competition grounds. After all, Ye Qingchen still had no desire to expose himself to the Star Dou Great Forest's notice.

Wu Feng had originally intended to use the advantage of her Martial Soul to overpower Ye Qingchen, but upon seeing that he too possessed a dragon-type Martial Soul, she could no longer summon even a trace of fighting spirit. Her Red Dragon Martial Soul had been completely suppressed, and she even felt a hint of fear.

"It's over." Ye Qingchen dismissed his Martial Soul after speaking.

"The match is over. New Student Class One wins."

On the viewing platform, Mu Jin had long since gone completely blank. She could hardly believe her eyes. Two Great Soul Masters and one Soul Elder—including a Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Elder, known as the finest Weapon Martial Soul in the world—had actually lost to one person. Forget her; anyone who heard such a comparison of strength probably would not believe it. Yet the facts were right before them: Ning Tian and the other two had lost.

Fan Yu said to Zhou Yi, "Your student has truly surprised me. Especially Ye Qingchen. I never expected him to possess such an ability."

There was only gratification in Zhou Yi's eyes. "Let's go." As she spoke, she took the lead toward the steps of the platform. When she passed Mu Jin, she leaped down from the twenty-meter-high platform. Fan Yu did not even spare Mu Jin a glance. He too drifted down gracefully and followed Zhou Yi away.

(End of Chapter)