Eat My Great Wind Hand Seal!

Fortunately, the freshman elimination rounds were conducted separately with few spectators, so Lin Yuan and his two companions didn't attract much attention and successfully advanced to the top sixteen.

In just one day of competition, most of the freshmen had been eliminated. By the second day, the remaining teams formed the top sixteen of this year's freshman assessment, totaling forty-eight freshmen. They were undoubtedly the cream of the crop among the new students, considered among the most outstanding Soul Masters of their age on the continent. At the top sixteen draw ceremony, Lin Yuan and his companions encountered familiar faces. Huang Chu Tian's team, whom they had defeated in the previous group stage, had also successfully made it into the top sixteen.

Today, there were significantly more people watching from the elevated platform than yesterday. The competition hadn't even started, yet the platform was already crowded. Strangely, a roughly three-square-meter area in the center of the platform was left empty. An old man with messy hair and clothes torn in multiple places sat there, his bare feet dangling off the edge of the platform, holding a purplish-red gourd and drinking. Beside him on oiled paper lay several roasted chicken legs, one of which he held in his hand, enjoying his meal of wine and meat with gusto. Those who could watch from the platform were all teachers from Shrek Academy, yet none approached the old man, nor dared to question him.

After the draw, the top sixteen to top eight matches of the freshman assessment elimination round officially commenced. The competition area was expanded again, with eight spacious arenas starting simultaneously. Lin Yuan's opponents this time, unlike the three girls they faced on the second match yesterday, were three boys.

As the three opponents entered the arena, they lined up horizontally. Standing in the middle was a stout boy, at least 1.7 meters tall, more than a head taller than Lin Yuan and his companions. Even more exaggerated was his waistline, which was likely close to 1.7 meters, making him resemble a "gas tank." The two beside him appeared very thin in comparison, not only a head shorter but also somewhat emaciated, with only their arms being exceptionally long.

"State your names, prepare for battle," the proctor said in a deep voice.

The "gas tank" abruptly slapped his chest, his fat jiggling, "My name is Xie Huan Yue, from Class Two New Students."

"Class Two New Students, Luo Tian Long."

"Class Two New Students, Luo Tian Ba."

Lin Yuan and his companions also stated their names. As the proctor announced, "Begin the match," this top sixteen to top eight showdown officially kicked off.

Xie Huan Yue's body suddenly revealed two yellow and one purple soul rings. As the soul rings were released, his body expanded again, growing from 1.7 meters to 1.9 meters, his skin instantly turning dark. He pounded his chest with his fists, making dull "bang bang" sounds, and charged towards Lin Yuan and his companions with large strides.

Luo Tian Long and Luo Tian Ba did not release their Martial Souls immediately. Instead, they flashed and hid behind Xie Huan Yue, using his massive body as cover.

"Little Dong'er, leave those two hiding ones to you, I'll handle this 'gas tank'," Lin Yuan said, looking at Wang Dong, who had already released the Goddess of Light Butterfly. Under Huo Yu Hao's Spiritual Detection, those two couldn't hide at all.

"No problem!" Wang Dong flapped her wings, golden patterns flowing across her blue-purple wings. She shot out like an arrow from a bow, heading straight for Xie Huan Yue's back. Through Huo Yu Hao's spirit sharing, he had already locked onto the Luo brothers' positions. They were using Xie Huan Yue's size for cover, quietly gathering soul power, clearly preparing for a sneak attack.

Xie Huan Yue seemed unconcerned. He stomped his left foot on the ground, preparing to leap. At the same time, his first soul ring lit up. The next second, his massive body shot into the sky. After leaping ten meters high, he curled into a ball and plummeted towards Lin Yuan and Huo Yu Hao below.

Seeing this, Lin Yuan's lips curved into a cold smile. Facing Xie Huan Yue's mountain-crushing assault, he didn't retreat. Instead, silver-white patterns flashed under his feet, and his figure shot upwards.

"Good one!" Lin Yuan grunted, his right leg, wrapped in Nine-Colored Flowing Light, whipping fiercely like a steel cable towards the curled-up Xie Huan Yue.

Perhaps it was the fearlessness of the ignorant. Facing Lin Yuan's attack, Xie Huan Yue neither dodged nor used any Soul Skills, taking the kick head-on. The moment they collided, his first soul ring finally took effect. His already massive body expanded again, becoming round like an inflated balloon.

"Bang!"

The dull collision sound made the arena tremble slightly. Lin Yuan's foot landed squarely on Xie Huan Yue's round body. The expected scene of overwhelming destruction did not occur. Xie Huan Yue's body, like an inflated ball, had a layer of elastic, light gray halo on its surface, which forcefully absorbed most of the impact. Then, he fell straight down, aiming for Lin Yuan.

On the other side, Wang Dong was not falling behind. Although his two opponents were not weak, with the shared Spiritual Detection from Huo Yu Hao and the toughness and sharpness of his Winged Scythe, he held the upper hand even fighting two against one. However, the Luo brothers were fast and extremely cunning, constantly avoiding direct confrontation with Wang Dong, making it difficult to determine a victor for the time being.

Lin Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. The space under his feet rippled, and his figure instantly shifted several meters to the side, avoiding Xie Huan Yue's falling massive body. With a loud "boom," Xie Huan Yue slammed heavily onto the ground, sending gravel flying and dust billowing. The ground was smashed into a half-meter-deep pit.

"Interesting," Lin Yuan's lips curved into a cold arc. Green-gold soul power surged around him. He clenched his right fist, Nine-Colored Flowing Light coiling around his arm, his fist radiating a brilliant glow. He gave Xie Huan Yue no chance to recover, his figure darting forward like a phantom, punching directly at his chest.

"Boom!"

The fist wind, carrying the Nine-Colored Flowing Light, left afterimages in the air and accurately struck Xie Huan Yue's chest. The light gray elastic halo on his body vibrated violently, an indentation the shape of a fist appearing on it, still trying to absorb the force.

However, the next second, Xie Huan Yue suddenly let out a cry of pain. His massive body, as if struck by a giant hammer, was sent flying by this punch, soaring backward like a runaway ball and crashing heavily into the partition at the edge of the competition area.

Almost simultaneously, a cold glint flashed in Wang Dong's eyes. The wings on his back flashed in rapid succession, forcefully pushing back the Luo brothers. Then, his thousand-year second soul ring lit up, activating Butterfly God's Light. With the accurate prediction from Spiritual Detection, let alone the skill's inherent locking effect, even without it, Wang Dong's Soul Skill would never miss.

The Luo brothers naturally wouldn't stand idly by, but their reaction was half a beat too slow. By the time they began to use their second Soul Skills, Wang Dong's had already been completed. They activated their Martial Souls, conjuring dozens of mantis blade slashes in an attempt to block Butterfly God's Light, but it proved to be futile. In terms of soul power level, Martial Soul quality, or soul ring age, they were far inferior to Wang Dong.

With a flash of golden light, Butterfly God's Light displayed its full power, blasting the Luo brothers away. However, the moment their Soul Skills were broken, the proctor quickly entered the arena, pulling them out of the golden light before withdrawing from the competition area. Clearly, in his view, the Luo brothers would have been severely injured if they continued to endure the attack, which was why he intervened. This intervention also meant the Luo brothers were completely disqualified.

Just as Wang Dong secured his victory, Xie Huan Yue also recovered. He leaped up again, his second soul ring lighting up. His arm suddenly elongated, lashing out towards Lin Yuan and Huo Yu Hao.

Lin Yuan's figure flashed and vanished, and Huo Yu Hao also dodged to the side. Xie Huan Yue's long arm missed, smashing heavily onto the ground, sending gravel flying once more.

"Your speed isn't bad, but you think you can dodge like this?" Xie Huan Yue roared. This time, he didn't bounce up again. Instead, he rolled on the spot, chasing after Lin Yuan.

At this moment, Wang Dong had just defeated the Luo brothers. Xie Huan Yue felt the pressure. If he couldn't defeat the two in front of him first, he had no confidence fighting them alone.

He then activated the third soul ring on his obese body. Purple light instantly illuminated his surroundings, making Xie Huan Yue look like a giant purple ball. With a low roar, a circle of intense purple light erupted from him, instantly catching up to Lin Yuan.

"You picked the wrong opponent, Great Wind Hand Seal!"

Lin Yuan snorted coldly. Terrifying aura surged from within him, his soul power churning violently. He spread his right hand's five fingers and pressed forward forcefully.

Authority of Wind was instantly activated, and the wind elements in the world converged madly. A massive energy hand seal, nearly ten feet wide, suddenly appeared. Its palm lines were clearly visible, and it whistled as it tore through the air, slamming fiercely towards the purple halo erupting from Xie Huan Yue.

Seeing the giant hand seal, Xie Huan Yue was terrified. Even with his strong defense, he didn't believe he could withstand this attack.

The proctor didn't dare to hesitate. He flashed into the arena and grabbed Xie Huan Yue, only to be shocked to find that he couldn't pull him out of the attack's range. The massive cyan hand seal in front of him whistled forward, its immense pressure making even him, a Soul Emperor, feel suffocated.

"No way! A skill like this can be unleashed by a Soul Elder-level student?" The proctor almost cursed. He could clearly feel the terrifying power contained within the wind hand seal, far exceeding the limits of an ordinary Soul Elder!

Just then, a powerful suction force came from the sky. The cyan hand seal, just before hitting the proctor who stepped forward to block it, suddenly changed direction and flew towards the sky. In mid-air, a fiery red hand had appeared at some point. The next second, the two palms met.

"Boom!" A deafening collision sound swept across the entire arena. The cyan wind hand seal and the fiery red giant hand collided violently in mid-air.

The violent energy shockwave spread like a tsunami, instantly blowing away the partitions at the edge of the competition area, and the ground trembled with falling debris. The two forces stalemated for a moment before finally shattering simultaneously, dissipating into countless energy light points.

On the high platform, Elder Xuan put down his wine gourd. Beneath his disheveled hair, his cloudy old eyes suddenly lit up. He took a bite of a chicken leg and muttered, "Such powerful force, is it a self-created skill?"

Obviously, the red hand just now was casually conjured by Elder Xuan. He had been watching the show, and seeing the proctor in danger, he casually intervened to resolve the crisis. He hadn't expected Lin Yuan's attack to be so astonishingly powerful that even the soul power he hastily gathered was mostly scattered.

The proctor supported the pale-faced Xie Huan Yue, his chest heaving slightly from forcefully resisting the aftermath. His gaze towards Lin Yuan was filled with shock and lingering fear. After taking several deep breaths, he managed to stabilize his voice, "Xie Huan Yue's team has lost combat capability. Lin Yuan's team wins and advances to the top eight!"

On the viewing platform, the teachers were silent. They completely ignored the other concluded or ongoing matches. To be a teacher at Shrek Academy meant being at least a six-ringed Soul Emperor. That palm strike, they believed, they couldn't have handled so easily without releasing their Martial Souls and Soul Skills. An eleven-year-old, level thirty-nine Soul Elder, unleashing an attack close to the Soul Emperor level – this had surpassed the definition of genius, bordering on monstrous.