That day, the sky stretched clear and blue, with bright sunshine and a gentle breeze.
A small outdoor Soul Fighting Arena at Shrek Academy's Outer Court had been commandeered by Xiao Jin and the first-year Class Two he led.
It was called a small Soul Fighting Arena, but it could still hold several thousand people. Shrek Academy was practically a city in its own right.
Lu Lin's class had only ninety-eight students, so with everyone gathered here, the place still felt quite spacious.
They were currently in the first stage of the competition, narrowing the field from ninety-eight to forty-nine.
Lu Lin stood off to the side, watching two classmates fight on the platform. A trace of gravity passed through his eyes.
Though both were only one-ring Soul Masters, their battle looked no different from two rookies pecking at each other in Lu Lin's eyes.
Still, at least they were evenly matched, and both had century-year Yellow Soul Rings. That was pretty impressive.
In the end, one contestant won the Soul Duel by a narrow margin.
Xiao Jin stood to the side, acting as both host and referee. Seeing that the fight was over, he said calmly,
"Group Twelve: Dai Xichen versus Ruan Yi."
As soon as Xiao Jin spoke, Dai Xichen slowly walked onto the platform. He had brown hair, handsome features, and an air of nobility about him.
Perhaps because of his family's inherited Martial Soul, Dai Xichen was already unusually tall and sturdy despite being not quite twelve years old. He looked almost like an adult.
His opponent, Ruan Yi, was much smaller and thinner.
Xiao Jin glanced at the two of them and said briefly, "Begin."
At Xiao Jin's command, Dai Xichen looked at Ruan Yi without expression. "Dai Xichen, twenty-eighth-level Attack-type Soul Grandmaster. Please advise me."
"Martial Soul Possession!"
As Dai Xichen spoke, the White Tiger Martial Soul possessed him.
His hair turned almost white, and his already tall frame grew even more imposing. More striking still were the two Soul Rings circling around him: one yellow and one purple.
Seeing Dai Xichen's Soul Rings, Ruan Yi's pupils contracted. He quickly turned to Xiao Jin and said seriously, "Teacher, I concede."
Xiao Jin was also taken aback by Dai Xichen's Soul Ring configuration. Hearing Ruan Yi, he raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "All right. You can leave."
Ruan Yi breathed a sigh of relief and jumped straight off the platform.
Qin He, standing beside Lu Lin, had watched the whole thing with shining eyes. So you could just concede?
Lu Lin's mouth twitched slightly. You idiot, what are you planning?
Sure enough, a few matches later, it was Qin He's turn. His opponent was a girl with just one Yellow Soul Ring.
But the moment she summoned her Martial Soul, Qin He hurriedly turned to Xiao Jin. "Teacher, I concede."
Xiao Jin gave a slight nod and replied with the same impassive expression, "All right. Next group."
At once, Qin He trotted briskly off the platform and happily returned to Lu Lin's side.
The girl was left standing alone on the platform, at a loss.
Lu Lin looked at Qin He with some pity. If his guess was right, this kid was going to be in trouble after this "selection" was over...
The matches progressed quickly. In the blink of an eye, they had reached the thirtieth-odd group.
"Group Thirty-Four: Lu Lin versus Zhou Rui."
Hearing his name, Lu Lin nodded and prepared to step onto the platform. But Qin He grabbed him and whispered,
"Lu Lin, why don't you concede too? It's nothing to be ashamed of."
In his eyes, Lu Lin's Green Lotus Martial Soul had no combat ability either, and his Soul Power was only level seventeen. He truly considered Lu Lin a friend, so he offered the warning.
Lu Lin smiled faintly and said mysteriously, "Just wait. I've got a surprise for you."
With that, Lu Lin stepped onto the platform.
Just as Qin He had said, Lu Lin's first Soul Skill was only a boosting skill, and at the Soul Master stage, it gave him no effective means of attack.
As for the Body Sect's Battle Skills, such as Mirage Thousand Illusions, Lu Lin's original body could use them too, but they were trump cards to be used only as a last resort.
Otherwise, if anyone deduced the relationship between his original body and his avatar, things would become a serious problem.
That was why Lu Lin had been trying to find a way to resolve this issue.
Zhou Rui was slightly taller than Lu Lin and had rather ordinary features, but he had to have some merit to earn a place at Shrek Academy.
At Xiao Jin's command, Zhou Rui was the first to release his Martial Soul. It was called the Heavenly Origin Hammer, a high-quality Tool Martial Soul.
More importantly, two Yellow Soul Rings appeared around him in succession. He was clearly a twentieth-level Soul Grandmaster.
Facing Zhou Rui with his Martial Soul activated, Lu Lin remained calm. He raised his right hand and summoned his Pure Fire Green Lotus.
A jade-green, translucent lotus appeared in Lu Lin's palm, its petal tips marked with faint red patterns. The air around them seemed to grow a little hotter.
At the same time, a Yellow Soul Ring appeared around him.
Seeing the Soul Ring, Xiao Jin raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. A Soul Ring beyond the usual limit—interesting. But how had this kid managed to absorb it?
A flash of yellow light passed over Lu Lin, and his first Soul Ring lit up.
"Blazing Lotus Domain!"
At Lu Lin's quiet call, the Green Lotus in his hand immediately changed shape, becoming a Crimson Fire Red Lotus. At the same time, a pale-red glow spread out from it, covering half the platform.
Blazing Lotus Domain was a boosting skill. After years of mastering it, Lu Lin could choose the size of the boosted area—or boost only himself, avoiding the awkward situation of increasing his opponent's attack power during a fight.
Lu Lin smiled as the red fire lotus slowly spun in his right palm, radiant and beautiful.
But only Lu Lin knew that within the area covered by Blazing Lotus Domain, the free-floating fire elements were gathering frantically into the lotus in his palm.
At the same time, Soul Power surged from his body into the lotus as if it cost nothing. As he spent his Soul Power, his body also entered a state of reverse recovery, replenishing it.
Xiao Jin watched with his heart pounding. What was this kid doing?
Zhou Rui lacked Xiao Jin's strength and insight, so he had no idea what Lu Lin was cobbling together.
Seeing Lu Lin standing still, he grew impatient. Yellow light flashed around him, and he gripped the Heavenly Origin Hammer before charging straight at Lu Lin.
Lu Lin had been ready. He shifted his footing and narrowly dodged Zhou Rui's attack.
Then the fire lotus drifted lightly out of his palm.
Xiao Jin frowned and instinctively prepared to intervene, but forced himself to stop—he realized the lotus wasn't flying toward Zhou Rui.
Of course Lu Lin wasn't going to smash the lotus into Zhou Rui. He wasn't trying to send him to the afterlife.
The lotus was heading for the spot where Zhou Rui had stood at the beginning.
The instant it touched down, Lu Lin immediately uttered a single word:
"Explode!"
Zhou Rui's attack had missed, and Lu Lin's fire lotus had landed nowhere near him. A trace of scorn crossed his mind. He can't hit me from this close? And what kind of power could a light, floating fire lotus possibly have?
Unfazed, Zhou Rui was about to use his second Soul Skill to attack Lu Lin again when a world-shaking explosion suddenly rang out behind him.
He whipped around, his pupils contracting as his expression changed dramatically.
From where he stood, more than half of the vast bluestone platform had been blown apart. Smoke billowed as shattered stone and fiery sparks flew everywhere.
The spot where he had stood moments before was now charred black.
Then Lu Lin said, one word at a time:
"Sorry, I missed!"
Before you continue