Elimination Round II

At that very moment, the Luo brothers, Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba, who had been hiding behind Xie Huanyue, rode Xiao Xiao's Three-Life Soul Suppressing Cauldron as Xie Huanyue's second soul skill, Elephant Trunk, held it back. They crossed Xu Jie's group's defensive perimeter and charged straight at Xu Jie. Their goal was to take down this Soul Elder first.

Only then did Xu Jie's group see clearly that Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba's forearms had turned a gleaming white. Massive mantis blades had grown from them, their edges covered in densely packed tiny serrations.

Xu Jie's second soul ring lit up. Just as he had done in the battle at the start of the elimination round, he extended the index fingers and thumbs of both hands, aiming them respectively at the Luo brothers, Luo Tianba and Luo Tianlong. He softly shouted, "Bang!"

Smack!

In an instant, Luo Tianba and Luo Tianlong felt a blast of hot air strike their faces. Then they lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind swept past, and the Luo brothers were instantly carried out of the arena by the examination teacher.

As the Luo brothers fell, Xie Huan Yue, who was still entangled with Xiao Xiao's Three-Life Soul Suppressing Cauldron several meters away, lit up his first and third soul rings at the same time.

Xie Huanyue's body first expanded by another size, then purple light radiated from all over him. He knocked Xiao Xiao's Martial Soul aside and charged straight at Xu Jie's group like a massive purple ball.

"Not good, move!" Feeling the power of his opponent's soul skill, Xu Jie hurriedly shouted. The purple soul ring at his side lit up, and with a wave of his hand, flames of extreme heat formed a wall of fire before him.

With Spiritual Detection Sharing, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao naturally reacted quickly. Xiao Xiao immediately recalled the Three-Life Soul Suppressing Cauldron she had released, and an ancient dark-green flute appeared in her hand. Huo Yuhao reacted just as swiftly, wrapping an arm around Xiao Xiao's waist and pulling her aside as they ran.

Ooo—

A melodious, winding flute melody rose. Xie Huanyue's body stiffened for a moment, and his speed slowed as well.

BANG!!!

A tremendous explosion rang out. The purple ball tore through the wall of fire and sent Xu Jie flying. Perhaps affected by Xiao Xiao's Nine Phoenixes Auspicious Flute, Xie Huanyue was also blasted backward after striking Xu Jie.

Lying on the ground, Xie Huanyue's Martial Soul slowly faded and his body returned to normal. Xu Jie, meanwhile, sprang to his feet and looked at Xie Huanyue lying on the ground. His first soul ring lit up, and a volleyball-sized fireball appeared in his hand. He was considering whether to finish him off.

Just as Xu Jie was about to throw the fireball, the examination teacher at the side hurriedly announced, "Class One, Huo Yuhao's team wins."

Hearing that, Xu Jie raised his hand and dispersed the fireball. Together with Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao, he walked down from the examination area and looked toward the other three arenas.

The battles in the other three examination areas had also ended. The semifinalists had been decided.

Early the next morning, the four teams that had entered the semifinals waited in the preparation area of the newly rearranged examination grounds to draw lots. There were also more teachers watching than during the previous two days. Xu Jie looked toward the spectators' stands.

An unkempt old man sat in the stands, holding a chicken leg in one hand and a wine gourd in the other as he watched the students below. He was one of the old men who had occupied the seats of honor when Xu Jie had gone to Sea God Pavilion.

Xuan Zi took a bite from the chicken leg in his hand and swept his gaze over the twelve students below, his eyes filled with gratification. But when he saw Xu Jie, that gratification turned into regret.

Xu Jie did not notice Xuan Zi's gaze at all. He was already standing on the examination field with Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao. He turned to look at the indignant Xiao Xiao, then looked across at the pink-blue-haired youth.

Wang Dong and Ma Qingshuang. Leng Leng, the third member of their team, had been injured in the previous battle and was unable to take the field.

Two against three—they practically had no chance of winning. Setting aside Xu Jie's strange, disguised second soul skill, even in a straightforward contest of strength, Wang Dong's two-person team was no match for Xu Jie's group.

Therefore, in order to preserve the strength of Xu Jie and Wang Dong's teams, Wang Dong's team directly conceded under Zhou Yi's instruction.

The academy attached great importance to the final battle. The examination grounds were expanded again, and the number of teachers watching from around the arena doubled. Xu Jie and Huo Yuhao's group stood on the field, still maintaining their original formation. Xu Jie stood in front, with Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao behind him.

Xu Jie was not nervous about this battle at all. Since Wang Dong's team had forfeited the previous match, they had had ample time to recover. Their condition was far better than Ning Tian's team, which had endured Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's Martial Soul Fusion Skill head-on.

Even if the academy's healing Soul Masters had treated Ning Tian's team's injuries, the Soul Power they had expended in the previous battle was not so easily restored.

The team of Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Nanmen Yuner, who entered afterward, stood in the opposite formation from Xu Jie's group. Ning Tian was at the rear, while Wu Feng and Nanmen Yuner stood in front.

"State your names," the proctor said.

"New Student Class Nine, Wu Feng, level twenty-five Assault System Soul Grandmaster." At his words, the red-haired girl immediately stepped forward. Two yellow soul rings rose beneath her feet, and patches of dragon scales appeared on the left side of her face. The scales extended downward from her face, covering her entire right arm.

This looked rather similar to how Beibei appeared when summoning his Martial Soul, except Wu Feng's scales were red, and their shape was thinner and longer than Beibei's.

"New Student Class Nine, Nanmen Yuner, level twenty-four Agility Attack System Soul Grandmaster." The light-green-haired girl beside her seemed somewhat helpless, but she still introduced herself.

However, unlike Wu Feng, she did not immediately summon her Martial Soul.

"New Student Class Nine, Ning Tian, level thirty-one Auxiliary System Tool Soul Elder." The blonde girl shielded behind Wu Feng and Nanmen Yuner also spoke at the appropriate time, her voice calm.

"New Student Class One, Xu Jie, Assault System Soul Elder." After the other side finished their introductions, Xu Jie spoke as well. However, unlike them, he did not state his exact Soul Power rank.

"New Student Class One, Xiao Xiao, Control System Soul Grandmaster."

"New Student Class One, Huo Yuhao, Auxiliary System Soul Master."

Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao had originally been considering whether to state their Soul Power ranks like their opponents, but when they heard that Xu Jie had not done so, they left theirs unstated as well.

"Begin!" Seeing that both sides had introduced themselves, the proctor at the side shouted.

The Soul Masters on both sides who had not yet summoned their Martial Souls immediately did so. Yellow and purple soul rings rose across the field.

"Seven Treasures Revolving Glazed Tile." Ning Tian extended her right hand as she spoke. Brilliant seven-colored light rose around her, and when it faded, an exquisite treasure pagoda over a foot tall appeared in her hand.