"Selection Tournament: Battle for the Numbers"

After Xie Yue's explanation, Ye Qin had a rough understanding of the rules!

The forest before them had been artificially planted. It was divided into three layers: forest, swamp, and an abandoned city.

The contestants would be split into teams of three and enter the forest from different locations for a battle over numbers!

Across these three terrains were hidden metal spheres engraved with ten different numbers. Only by collecting all the numbers could one claim victory!

During this time, teams of three could freely attack other groups and seize the numbered spheres in their possession!

Moreover, teams of Soul Masters of unknown levels would ambush them throughout the three terrains!

Naturally, those Soul Masters also carried corresponding numbers!

Only the first three teams to collect all ten numbers would win this competition!

If anyone caused an opponent's death, they would immediately be disqualified and judged according to Spirit Hall's penalties!

Hearing this explanation, Ye Qin immediately became intrigued. He had originally thought the selection tournament would be nothing more than a simple combat match, but now it seemed rather interesting!

Moreover, the rules of this competition were somewhat similar to a survival game he had played in his previous life!

Very soon, everyone received their own Soul Tool: a small white metal ball engraved with a number!

The numbers received by Ye Qin's group of three were all the same: Number Three!

Immediately afterward, Ye Qin and the others began entering the forest from different locations.

"Little sister, what should we do?" Xie Yue asked Hu Liena.

"What we need to do now is find the four teams belonging to Pope Hall first. That way, our chances of winning will be much greater!" Hu Liena replied.

"Mm!" Xie Yue nodded. "Little sister, did His Holiness the Pope give you any instructions?"

"No!" Hu Liena shook her head. "Teacher isn't the kind of person who likes to cheat."

"We'll take it one step at a time, then!" Ye Qin shrugged helplessly.

He had considered borrowing Mina and Lucifer's strength, but he felt that Spirit Hall's elders and consecrated guardians would certainly be involved in such an important competition. If they noticed anything, Hu Liena would likely be disqualified immediately!

This forest was enormous. Ye Qin's group hurried along for half an hour without seeing its end, and they did not encounter a single team along the way!

Just then, when they reached an open clearing, Ye Qin sensed something through Observation Haki and shouted to Xie Yue and the other, "Careful, it's an ambush!"

Sure enough, five young men wearing Spirit Hall uniforms sprang out of the forest.

This was a team made up of one Soul Ancestor and four Soul Elders!

Their martial souls were identical: all of them wielded blue spears!

"Three esteemed ones, hand over the numbered balls in your possession!" the leading Soul Ancestor shouted.

"That depends on whether you have the ability!" Xie Yue replied coldly. Four soul rings surged beneath his feet, and two blood-colored curved blades gleaming with chilling light appeared in his hands!

In the next instant, he turned into a streak of crimson light and rushed before the leading Soul Ancestor, swinging his blood blade toward the man's abdomen!

The five of them were all startled when they saw Xie Yue's four soul rings!

However, the Soul Ancestor quickly reacted and thrust his blue spear against the blood blade!

The remaining four Soul Elders also brandished their spears, attacking Xie Yue from both sides like four swimming dragons!

Seeing this, Ye Qin and Hu Liena transformed into swift shadows and rushed to Xie Yue's sides, intercepting the four men's attacks!

Hu Liena and Xie Yue both possessed Soul Ancestor-level strength, while Ye Qin was comparable to a top-tier Soul Ancestor!

Under the attacks of the two of them, the four Soul Elders were swiftly sent flying!

At the same time, under Xie Yue's heavy strike, the Soul Ancestor was also overwhelmed and slammed hard onto the ground!

"We surrender!"

Having witnessed the trio's strength, the Soul Ancestor lying on the ground immediately shouted and handed over a purple sphere.

The four Soul Elders naturally did not dare resist any longer and each handed over a green sphere as well!

After receiving the five spheres, Ye Qin's group naturally stopped attacking them. The five men then fled into the forest!

"They're all Number Five!" Ye Qin and Hu Liena said in unison as they looked at the numbers on the spheres in their hands.

"Mine is Number Six!" Xie Yue said with a smile. "That gives us three numbers now. This doesn't look very difficult!"

"Brother, perhaps we can take the initiative and find these people to collect numbers!" Hu Liena said excitedly.

"Not a bad suggestion!" Xie Yue replied. "That way, we should collect them quickly!"

"Ye Qin, what do you think?" Xie Yue turned and asked Ye Qin.

Hearing this, Ye Qin curled his lips, seemingly mocking Xie Yue and Hu Liena for being too young.

In this kind of game, the most infuriating thing was collecting nine of the ten numbers, only to find that the last one was practically impossible to obtain!

"Ye Qin, what are you laughing at?" Hu Liena asked in confusion.

"Nothing..." Ye Qin hurriedly replied. "The forest is only the starting area, so there probably won't be very strong opponents here. I agree with you two!"

"Mm!" Xie Yue and Hu Liena answered in unison.

Over the next two hours, Ye Qin's group encountered several more official Spirit Hall teams in the forest!

Although these people had lower Soul Power Levels!

They had only collected three identical numbers: Five, Six, and Seven!

This result made the once-confident Xie Yue sigh. "It seems that there may only be the numbers Five, Six, and Seven in this forest! We need to search the inner swamp and ruins!"

"You mean the official personnel!" Ye Qin replied. "The contestants should have different numbers on them!"

"Mm, Ye Qin is right! But we don't seem to have encountered any contestants along the way." Hu Liena frowned slightly, deeply puzzled. "Our entry points were obviously quite close when we came in!"

"Maybe there's something strange going on, or perhaps our luck is just bad. This place is so huge, and there are only sixty-four teams!" Ye Qin answered.

"Boss, we've finally run into a contestant team!" At that moment, a rough voice rang out from behind Ye Qin's group!

Ye Qin and the others turned around and saw two extremely burly men and a woman around twenty years old standing there.

The woman was somewhat dark-skinned and not particularly striking in appearance, but her figure was extraordinary!

"You three, hurry up and hand over your numbers!" the two burly men shouted at Ye Qin's group in unison.

"Looks like our luck isn't bad!" Ye Qin said with a faint smile.

Before Ye Qin had even finished speaking, Hu Liena and Xie Yue had already bent low and lunged forward, attacking the two men and the woman!

"Martial Soul, Mystic Turtle Possession!" The two men shouted at the same time. Four soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple—lit up beneath their feet!

Armor resembling turtle shells formed over their nearly two-meter-tall bodies!

Boom! Hu Liena and Xie Yue's fists struck the turtle shells, yet they did not leave even the slightest crack!

Instead, the attacks rebounded and sent them back!

I've been writing in a very confused state, and very slowly. Many people have told me there are lots of typos. I'll revise more carefully in the future and strive to do my best!

Thank you all for your support!

I also hope everyone can give me some encouragement!