Freshman Class One vs. Freshman Class Five (Seeking Investment! Seeking Monthly Ticket! Seeking Recommendation Ticket!)

"Hmph! Isn't that fellow Wu Zhangkong supposed to be so proud? I'd like to see what those cadets of his have that can defeat Class One!" Kong Hanwen, the homeroom teacher of Freshman Class Four, nodded to the homeroom teacher of Freshman Class Two beside him and snorted coldly.

But the moment he finished speaking, Wu Zhangkong arrived outside the arena with the cadets of Freshman Class Five, stirring up a commotion.

Under the pressure of Wu Zhangkong's icy aura, the cadets very consciously opened up a path. Kong Hanwen, the homeroom teacher of Class Four, also very tactfully shut his mouth, because no matter how strong or weak Freshman Class Five was, Wu Zhangkong's personal strength was beyond question. It probably would not be a problem for him to fight the other four homeroom teachers of First Year by himself.

Freshman Class Five took their places opposite Freshman Class One. Wu Zhangkong looked calmly toward Class One across from them, his gaze sweeping over the sisters Ye Yingluo and Ye Yingrong without the slightest change in emotion. Such an ordinary look, in Ye Yingluo's eyes, was naked disregard! Ye Yingluo exploded on the spot. She felt insulted, her pride dealt an enormous blow. Suppressing the anger and resentment in her heart, she said to Jing Shaoyu, "Shaoyu, don't hold back. Let them see what it means to be worlds apart!"

"Understood, Teacher Ye," Jing Shaoyu replied. A strange glint flashed through his eyes. To be honest, he was still looking forward to this match. This should count as his first formal contact with Tang Wulin, and he also very much wanted to figure out whether his Origin Spirit Martial Soul could suppress Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass martial soul, which possessed divine bloodline, just as it had with Ma Zhiyuan's Azure Vine martial soul.

Long Hengxu, the teaching director of the Intermediate Department, had already arrived on the competition stage. He asked Wu Zhangkong in a deep voice, "Teacher Wu, how many people will your class send out today?"

The number of participants would be decided by the challenging class. This was one of the rules of the Promotion Tournament.

"Our class will send out three people," Wu Zhangkong said expressionlessly. A three-person match was a classic Competition System among soul master battles.

With a wave of his hand, Gu Yue, Tang Wulin, and Xie Xie walked out from among the Class Five cadets.

"Teacher Ye, please have your Freshman Class One also send out three cadets to compete," Long Hengxu nodded, then said to Ye Yingluo.

Ye Yingluo raised her delicate head proudly and said with feigned calm, "Shaoyu, Yangzi, Jinxi, you're up!"

She thought to herself, Wu Zhangkong, I'll definitely make you experience the humiliation I suffered back then! Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi are both rank twenty-two Soul Grand Masters, and Jing Shaoyu's Soul Power has even reached rank twenty-eight. I'd like to see what those three sorry excuses for cadets of yours can do!

Jing Shaoyu, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi walked out from among the Class One cadets, causing quite a stir. The Class Five cadets whispered among themselves, and Xie Xie and Tang Wulin also muttered quietly.

"Wulin, isn't that guy from Class One the boy who's really close with Gu Yue?"

"It's him. I really didn't expect he'd be able to represent Class One in battle. He must be very strong, right?"

"Hehe, maybe when the match starts later, we can have Gu Yue use a honey trap. Maybe he'll throw the match."

Xie Xie teased in a low voice, but as soon as he finished speaking, he felt two icy gazes that instantly made his body stiffen. One came from Wu Zhangkong, and the other came from Gu Yue.

"Participating cadets from both sides, enter the stage now," Long Hengxu announced loudly.

Jing Shaoyu and the other two stepped onto the competition stage together, while Gu Yue entered one after another with Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, making it look as though Gu Yue was the leader of the three. Gu Yue's face was expressionless, but her eyes never left the area around Jing Shaoyu's body.

Both sides took their positions and arranged their formations. The two teams' formations could be said to be exactly alike: two in front, one behind. On Class One's side, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi stood in front, with Jing Shaoyu behind them. On Class Five's side, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie stood in front, with Gu Yue behind them.

"Both sides, prepare!" Long Hengxu raised one hand high, looking at the two teams with complicated eyes.

Speaking of which, today's situation had something to do with him, because whether it was Xie Xie or Gu Yue, he had been the one to permit them to enter Class Five. Yet he also felt deeply wronged, because he had simply acted completely according to the academy's rules and regulations. Who could have expected it to lead to a situation like this?

"Freshman Class One, Jing Shaoyu," Jing Shaoyu said clearly, his smile unchanged.

"Freshman Class One, Wang Jinxi."

"Freshman Class One, Zhang Yangzi."

Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi also followed Jing Shaoyu's lead and gave their names.

Tang Wulin looked at Jing Shaoyu with considerable curiosity and said seriously, "Freshman Class Five, Tang Wulin."

"Xie Xie." Compared to Tang Wulin's composure, Xie Xie seemed especially excited, his eyes flashing with eager light.

"Gu Yue." Last came Gu Yue's calm, indifferent voice.

After both sides finished giving their names, Long Hengxu emphasized, "This is a competition within the academy. Stop when the point is made, and only victory or defeat will be decided. You may not intentionally injure your opponent. Otherwise, the academy will issue the punishment you deserve!"

"Yes!" both sides answered in unison.

"Begin!" Long Hengxu wasted no more words. With a loud shout, this ultimate showdown of the new First Year finally began.

The four cadets standing in the front row charged out at the same time. As they advanced, each of their martial souls finished being released. Behind Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, and Xie Xie were uniformly two yellow Hundred-Year Soul Rings, while only Tang Wulin had a lone white soul ring hovering behind him, looking somewhat like it ruined the formation.

It had to be said that Tang Wulin's white soul ring was incomparably conspicuous at that moment. While it made his two opponents, Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi, stare in shock, it also made many of the cadets watching the match feel extremely disappointed. This was the final showdown of First Year, yet a white soul ring had actually been mixed in. It truly made people feel they had looked forward to it for nothing.

"A white soul ring?!"

"A ten-year soul ring?!"

"How did this little brother get onstage?"

"What the hell? Is this what I came to watch?"

The audience's clamor did not affect the contestants onstage. Gu Yue and Jing Shaoyu also released their martial souls at the same time as the four people in front. Two yellow soul rings appeared behind Gu Yue, slightly reducing the audience's noisy complaints. But as Jing Shaoyu's soul rings appeared, the atmosphere at the scene instantly reached a climax.

"Whoosh—" The sound of wings beating rang out as a pair of pure white wings appeared. Immediately afterward, an emerald jade ring radiating soft green light emerged. Jing Shaoyu's appearance underwent a tremendous change. A rich aura of life spread out, making the surrounding air turn incomparably fresh, as though everyone had been placed in a primeval forest filled with the scent of nature.

Purple! Purple! Two circles of noble purple soul rings appeared behind Jing Shaoyu, making him, already noble and elegant after Martial Soul Possession, look even more like a royal scion seated high in the ninth heaven, graceful, imposing, and indescribably distinguished.

Jing Shaoyu's eyes narrowed slightly. The aura of a rank twenty-eight Soul Grandmaster and the pressure of Thousand-Year Soul Rings immediately replaced the gentleness released by the Origin Spirit Martial Soul, causing Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, who stood opposite him, to instantly feel a heavy pressure.

The pressure brought by two Thousand-Year Soul Rings and Soul Power close to that of a Soul Elder made Tang Wulin, whose cultivation was only rank twelve, instantly turn pale, his eyes filled with astonishment and shock. Xie Xie, as a Soul Grandmaster, felt his movements grow sluggish and difficult, a little cold sweat seeping from his forehead as every step became hard.

How is that possible?! How is that possible? Two Thousand-Year Soul Rings! Xie Xie roared in disbelief in his heart. His pride was shattering bit by bit. Only at this moment did he realize that his pride in his Twin Martial Souls had blinded him for far too long.

Wu Zhangkong, who had always had a cold expression and was indifferent to everything, also had his pupils shrink violently when he saw the two purple soul rings drifting out behind Jing Shaoyu, and he stared fixedly at Jing Shaoyu. His loss of composure was naturally seen by Ye Yingluo, who had been watching him the entire time. This made Ye Yingluo feel extremely pleased, and she very much wanted to walk over and show off her presence in front of Wu Zhangkong.

However, Wu Zhangkong did not care about any of that at this moment. His entire focus was on Jing Shaoyu. Two Thousand-Year Soul Rings, cultivation close to Soul Elder at only nine years old, plus a top-tier martial soul that could trigger a small-scale disturbance in Heaven and Earth Essence Qi the moment it appeared—possessing any one of these would be enough to create a super genius, let alone all three gathered in one person!

He was deeply shaken. Talent like this, even in Shrek Academy with its ten-thousand-year heritage, was absolutely rare. In fact, perhaps only those stunningly brilliant Sea God Pavilion Masters in history could compare to him at the same age! A ripple appeared in Wu Zhangkong's heart, which had been frozen all year round, and past events flashed through his mind. If he could nurture this Jing Shaoyu and send him to Shrek Academy in the future, perhaps he could make up for the mistake he had committed back then.

Even Wu Zhangkong had been shocked, let alone the other people watching from around the arena. All of them cried out excitedly. The only ones at the scene who remained calm were the Class One cadets and the small number of people who knew Jing Shaoyu, such as Ouyang Zixin.

A new sapling of a book urgently needs care! Seeking Investment, Seeking Monthly Ticket, Seeking Recommendation Ticket! Many thanks to all the big shots!

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