Top 16

Top 16

In just one day of competition, most of the new students had been eliminated. Those remaining to continue on the second day were the sixteen Top 16 teams of this year's New Student Assessment, totaling forty-six new students. Ye Qingchen, meanwhile, was a major bug in the New Student Assessment. Even though his strength was not even a fraction of what it had been at his peak, no one could beat him.

At the Drawing Ceremony for the Top 16, Ye Qingchen spotted someone familiar. Huang Chutian's team, which had lost to him during the group stage, had also made it into the Top 16.

There were far more people on the spectator platform today than yesterday. Before the matches had even begun, it was already packed.

Yet something was strange. In the center of the platform, an area of roughly three square meters had been left empty. A disheveled old man sat there, drinking from a purplish-red gourd.

Everyone qualified to watch from the platform was a teacher from Shrek Academy, yet not a single person approached the old man, much less questioned him.

"Xuan Zi, you're here." Wang Yan stepped up beside the old man and greeted him softly.

"Mm." The old man merely grunted.

Wang Yan pointed below the platform. "The two young people I mentioned are over there. Yesterday..."

Xuan Zi impatiently waved his chicken leg. "I'll see for myself."

"Yes." Wang Yan did not dare say anything more and withdrew to one side.

Once the drawing was over, the Top 16-to-Top 8 matches of the New Student Assessment Knockout Tournament officially began.

The competition area expanded once more, with matches beginning simultaneously on eight spacious fields. This time, Huo Yuhao's group faced Huang Chutian's team, whom Ye Qingchen had previously defeated. Ye Qingchen was not worried in the slightest that Huo Yuhao would lose. If he lost, Ye Qingchen might as well find a block of tofu and kill himself with it.

The moment Ye Qingchen's three opponents entered the field, they lined up side by side. The one in the middle was a fat, burly boy, while the other two looked downright slender in comparison.

"State your names. Prepare for the match," the proctor said gravely.

The mountain of flesh slapped his chest hard, making the fat all over his body tremble. "My name is Xie Huanyue, New Student Class Two."

"New Student Class Two, Luo Tianlong."

"New Student Class Two, Luo Tianba."

"New Student Class One, Ye Qingchen."

At the proctor's shout of "Begin," this Top 16-to-Top 8 match officially began.

Looks like my luck is as good as ever. I ran into several Soul Elders.

Xie Huanyue pounded his chest with both fists, producing two muffled booms as he strode toward Ye Qingchen. Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba did not summon their martial souls immediately. Instead, they flashed behind Xie Huanyue and concealed themselves behind his enormous body.

"Before absolute strength, schemes are useless. Gravity Field." Ye Qingchen raised his left hand and pointed toward the sky.

The suppression of gravity immediately slowed Xie Huanyue, along with the two people hiding behind him.

Xie Huanyue seemed unconcerned by the reduction in speed. He stomped his left foot heavily against the ground, but this time, the previous booming sound did not ring out again.

Xie Huanyue's body shot into the air like a Soul Tool cannonball. This leap sent him a full ten meters high. Then he curled himself into a ball and smashed down toward Ye Qingchen below.

Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba moved at the same time. Although their speed was restricted by the gravity, they were still extremely swift. Two yellow soul rings appeared on each of them, and enormous mantis blades extended from their forearms.

A protective barrier appeared around Ye Qingchen. As he raised both hands, the gravity on the field vanished in an instant. The three opponents felt their bodies lighten, and their speed rose once again. Yet when they were only half a meter from Ye Qingchen, no matter how they pushed forward, they could not advance another inch. Nor could they retreat, as though they had been firmly stuck in place.

"Captain, retreat!" Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba shouted together.

"We fell for it! This guy did it on purpose! Retreat!" Xie Huanyue cried urgently.

"Too late."

After absorbing the force of their attacks, the barrier around Ye Qingchen caved inward before rebounding rapidly, sending all three of them flying out of the arena.

After a loud splash, Ye Qingchen was the only one left on the field.

Xuan Zi took a bite of his chicken leg and muttered, "These chicken legs are a little salty today." As he spoke, he rose to his feet and slowly walked down from the spectator platform.

"I won." Ye Qingchen dusted off nonexistent dirt from his clothes.

"Yes, you won. New Student Class One's Ye Qingchen is the victor."

On the spectator platform, the teachers all fell silent. They had completely ignored the other matches that had already ended or were still underway.

"Ye Qingchen has used no more than three moves in every match!"

Du Weilun, the director of teaching for the Outer Courtyard Martial Soul Department, walked over to the somewhat stunned Zhou Yi. "Teacher Zhou, congratulations on teaching four outstanding students. Submit their names. I believe they are qualified to become Core Disciples of the Outer Courtyard."

Only then did Zhou Yi come back to her senses. Huo Yuhao's team had also won after Ye Qingchen's victory. "Yes."

Sea God Island. By the lakeside.

"Xuan Zi, what do you think?" Wang Yan stood beside Xuan Zi and asked quietly.

"Those little ones aren't bad."

Xuan Zi took a swig of wine, then stood up. One hand held his chicken wing while the other cradled the huge wine gourd. He staggered away, looking as though he could fall at any moment.

The New Student Assessment Knockout Tournament had reached its final stage. After the morning's battles, the top eight teams had emerged. Without question, they were all the finest teams. What no one had expected, however, was that both teams led by Soul Elder-level students had been eliminated.

Only the final eight teams remained in the Knockout Tournament. When Ye Qingchen, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong arrived at the competition grounds that afternoon, they immediately drew the intense attention of the other six teams.

(End of chapter)