Knocking Down Five at Once

Although the Soul Light Ray was only a Level Two Soul Tool and lacked the power to directly eliminate a student, such dense attacks were not something ordinary people could withstand.

Wang Nan activated his First Soul Skill and accelerated out of the rays' range with the Soul Tool Thruster.

The other students also used every means at their disposal to evade continuously, and one figure among them drew particular attention.

That person was Dai Yueheng. As his Soul Power circulated, a barrier rose around him, blocking every ray aimed his way.

Wang Nan had assumed that a Soul Master with a Top-tier Martial Soul like Dai Yueheng would rarely use Soul Tools, but reality was exactly the opposite. Faced with the overwhelming barrage of Soul Light Rays, his first choice had actually been to deploy a Soul Tool Shield.

In truth, Dai Yueheng was different from the other students of the Martial Soul Department. He had followed Duke White Tiger onto the battlefield and witnessed firsthand the might of the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Engineer Corps. His acceptance of Soul Tools even surpassed that of some teachers in the Martial Soul Department.

After just one round of attacks, two weaker students had already been eliminated.

"Let's join forces to eliminate the others first. We can discuss the slots afterward."

The attack from the Soul Light Rays had just ended, and before anyone had time to catch their breath, someone in the crowd shouted those words.

The students reacted quickly as well, rapidly moving closer to people they knew and preparing to fight together.

Wang Nan gave Gongyang Mo, who was approaching him, a slight shake of his head. Then he glanced around before fixing his gaze on the five people who had already gathered ahead and to his right.

He brushed a hand over his wrist, and amid a series of metallic clanks, a pitch-black metal cannon barrel appeared over his arm.

The rear end of the barrel wrapped around Wang Nan's entire arm. From a distance, it looked as though a Soul Tool Cannon had grown directly out of his shoulder.

Since Wang Nan knew what the selection competition would entail, he naturally had come prepared. This Soul Tool Shock Cannon was meant for precisely this moment.

Unlike ordinary Soul Tool Cannons, the Soul Tool Shock Cannon did not injure Soul Masters through direct attacks. Instead, it fired extremely unstable shells condensed from Soul Power, using the shockwaves from their explosions to inflict area damage.

In a melee, groups joining forces were inevitable. Wang Nan had been waiting for the other students to gather together. Though this was not the ideal opportunity he had envisioned, taking out five people with one shot was still more than worthwhile.

He raised his arm and aimed forward as abundant Soul Power rapidly poured into the cannon. Yellow light continuously gathered at its muzzle.

Xuan Zi, watching from the side, raised an eyebrow. With a slight movement of his foot, he appeared beside Wang Nan.

The instant the yellow shell fired, Xuan Zi extended his right hand and caught it in his palm. With a gentle curl of his five fingers, both the shell itself and the shockwave it created vanished without a trace.

Xuan Zi lowered his head to glance at his right hand, briefly gauging the shot's power, then swiftly turned and carried the five people Wang Nan had targeted out of the arena.

Only then did Wang Nan put away the Soul Tool Shock Cannon and turn to charge toward Gongyang Mo.

With five people eliminated at once, the arena immediately became much emptier. On the other side, Dai Yueheng, as the owner of the Evil Eye White Tiger, a Top-tier Martial Soul, had almost no student capable of matching him. Combined with his military-style attacks, which were rather ruthless, he eliminated two more people in quick succession.

There had been fewer than twenty Core Disciples of suitable age across the third and fourth years to begin with. After all that, only nine people remained in the arena.

Dai Yueheng glanced at Wang Nan, then let out a tiger roar and pounced toward him.

By then, Wang Nan had already joined up with Gongyang Mo. Naturally unafraid of Dai Yueheng, he raised his Coiling Dragon Staff and prepared to meet him.

But before Dai Yueheng could approach, the temperature around them plummeted. An icy-blue halo appeared above his head, followed by falling blue light that trapped him within.

Wang Nan looked up and met Ling Luochen's gaze. He gave a slight nod, signaling his acceptance of her joining them.

Dai Yueheng could not break free for the moment. Seeing the Coiling Dragon Staff about to come down, he hurriedly spoke up.

"Junior Brother, let's join forces!"

Wang Nan halted his movement and considered it silently.

"Junior Brother, the selection competition only keeps five people. There are three of you, and even with me added in, there are enough slots. Besides, you and I are the strongest people left on the field. If we join forces, even if it's four against five, we'll have the better odds of winning."

Wang Nan looked toward the others. They seemed to be discussing joining forces as well, so he nodded in agreement. He believed Dai Yueheng alone would not be a match for the three of them, but he would not be easy to deal with either. If they were injured by Dai Yueheng's counterattack, the remaining five would become difficult to handle.

"You charge forward. I'll disrupt their formation."

Wang Nan gave a simple arrangement.

Since Dai Yueheng had taken the initiative to propose an alliance, he naturally had to prove himself. Once the ice prison dispersed, his Third Soul Ring immediately lit up. The muscles all over his body swelled, black horizontal stripes appeared across his skin, and he charged toward the other five.

Now that they had joined forces, Gongyang Mo did not begrudge his Soul Power either. Three halos descended onto Dai Yueheng.

Wang Nan repeated his earlier move, and the Soul Tool Shock Cannon reappeared in his hand.

Having seen five people eliminated by a single shot just moments ago, how could the opposing side dare remain together? They scattered in every direction to evade.

What remained was for Dai Yueheng to eliminate them one by one.

"Alright, the competition is over."

Just as Dai Yueheng had eliminated four people in succession and was preparing to chase down the final student, Xuan Zi entered the arena and stopped him.

"The rest of you can go back." Xuan Zi took a bite of his chicken leg and waved his hand casually.

Though the eliminated students were dissatisfied, they did not dare say anything.

"What, still unconvinced?"

Xuan Zi had presided over selection competitions many times, and he knew exactly what these Core Disciples were thinking. They merely felt that the rules had disadvantaged them, or that they had been eliminated before they could fully display their abilities.

"Don't think these rules were unfair to you, and don't think others won dishonorably. When you reach the battlefield in the future, the circumstances will be far more complicated than they are now."

"In this free-for-all, at the very least, every enemy was out in the open. But on a real battlefield, you might be defeated or killed before you even notice the enemy. Will you still complain about the rules then?"

"As outstanding Soul Masters, you should first learn to assess your environment swiftly and arrange your tactics reasonably. Only then should you bring your full strength into play. You are all Core Disciples. If you do not even possess this level of responsiveness, what right do you have to enter the Inner Courtyard?"

After those words, no one knew how much the students had taken to heart. Perhaps some were still dwelling on what had just happened, but at least none showed it on their faces. One after another, they silently left the Soul Fighting Zone.

"Alright, you few wait here for a moment. Two more people will be coming over shortly, and I'll explain everything at once."