Second Match

Seeing Wu Changkong lead Class Five's cadets over, Ye Yingrong approached with a smile. "Hello, Teacher Wu. I'm Ye Yingrong, the homeroom teacher of Class Three."

Wu Changkong nodded and replied blandly, "Hello."

Ye Yingrong did not mind Wu Changkong's lukewarm attitude and gestured for the First Year Class Three cadets to come over.

Looking at her own cadets, she said, "Friendship first, competition second. You're all students of the same academy, so be careful later, understand? Don't injure the Class Five cadets."

"Yes." The Triplets answered in unison.

Just then, Long Hengxu, the director of academics, arrived at the competition grounds. He spotted the injured Xie Xie at a glance. "Teacher Wu, are you still sending three people onto the field?"

Wu Changkong nodded and said to An Ping, Gu Yuena, and Tang Wulin, "You three, go up."

The three walked toward the Arena and took up a triangular formation. Tang Wulin stood at the front, while An Ping and Gu Yuena stood behind him on either side.

Ye Yingrong glanced at the three Wu Changkong had sent out, then said to the Triplets, "You go too."

At their homeroom teacher's command, the Triplets stepped onto the Arena as well. They truly deserved to be called Triplets; even their identical walking motions showed how well-coordinated they were.

Once the three Class Three cadets stood side by side, Long Hengxu walked to the center of the Arena. After routinely asking whether both sides were ready, he announced, "Second match of the Promotion Tournament, First Year Class Five versus First Year Class Three. Begin."

As Long Hengxu retreated to the side after that command, the Class Three Triplets released their Martial Souls. Three pairs of Wings instantly spread open behind them.

Three white Soul Rings appeared beneath their feet. With a flap of their Wings, all three took off and climbed into the sky.

The three from Class Five also summoned their Martial Souls.

When she saw five Soul Rings appear, Ye Yingrong, Class Three's homeroom teacher, narrowed her eyes. "How is that possible? Two two-ringed Soul Masters, both with Hundred-year Soul Rings. How were they assigned to Class Five?"

Then she remembered that her own class had three flying Martial Souls, which reassured her that they might still have a chance. The Class Three cadets were equally incredulous, and discussions immediately broke out among them.

Long Hengxu's expression did not change much. He had assigned An Ping to Class Five himself, while Gu Yuena had been forcibly placed in Class Five at Wu Changkong's request. He knew all of this.

The three had already flown up, putting them at a distance beyond An Ping and Gu Yuena's casting range.

Tang Wulin looked at Gu Yuena behind him. "Gu Yuena, use the Wind Element to enhance me. I'm strong enough to throw An Ping up there, and An Ping can knock them down."

Gu Yuena shook her head. "Since they can fly, they'll naturally come down once they run out of Soul Power."

"I think we should take the initiative instead of just standing here waiting." Tang Wulin's tone was firm.

An Ping shook his head as well. "They have the advantage in the air. Why should we use our weakness to clash against their strength?"

Naturally, the Triplets would not keep flying in the air forever. After all, that consumed Soul Power as well.

Just then, the Triplets' Soul Rings flashed in midair, and they suddenly dove down. Their target was An Ping.

Since the three of them had ten-year white Spirit Souls, the skills they brought were not offensive Soul Skills, but Soul Skills that enhanced speed. With the First Soul Skill's enhancement and the momentum of diving from the sky toward the ground, their speed was extremely fast.

The reason they chose An Ping as their first target instead of Tang Wulin, whose Soul Power Level was obviously far lower, was because Tang Wulin's strength in the previous match had left them too shocked. An Ping, meanwhile, had not taken the field yesterday, so he was presumably just a substitute.

Seeing the target the Triplets had chosen, Ye Yingrong secretly nodded. Yet when she looked at Wu Changkong, she could not read anything from his face. Xie Xie, standing with Class Five, wore an expression of silent mourning.

"Be careful. One each," Tang Wulin said quickly.

Gu Yuena shook her head. "No need."

"But..." Even though Tang Wulin was not an Ice Attribute Soul Master, he could feel the intense Ice Element fluctuations in the air, which nearly disrupted his perception of the Soul Power within the air.

Ice Pillars rose one after another. After sweeping past the Triplets' heads, they rapidly changed shape and sealed off the top, forming an enormous icy birdcage that trapped all four of them inside. Then, just as the Triplets were about to reach him, Silver Light flashed, and An Ping used Blink Spell to escape.

Seeing what was before them, the Triplets exchanged glances and, without a word, attacked one of the Ice Pillars together. With a bang, the Ice Pillars did not budge. A trace of despair instantly appeared in their eyes.

"First Year Class Five wins." A hint of shock appeared in Long Hengxu's eyes. Can a two-ringed Soul Master really achieve this much?

Ye Yingrong was also stunned. She had not expected them to lose after just one exchange. Damn it, cadets like these had actually been assigned to Class Five.

Not wanting to lose her composure in front of her male idol, Ye Yingrong calmed herself and turned to Wu Changkong with what she believed was an appropriate smile. "Congratulations, Teacher Wu. From now on, you'll be Class Three."

Wu Changkong glanced at Ye Yingrong and said calmly, "That is not my goal. You let us win." With that, he turned and left.

Watching Wu Changkong walk toward the Dormitory Building, Ye Yingrong muttered softly, "Not his goal? Right. With two two-ringed Soul Masters, probably only Class One can defeat them."

Xie Xie moved closer to Tang Wulin, sounding slightly sour. "I really hope I recover soon. Even though I've already received treatment, I don't know when I'll be better or whether I'll get another chance to fight. I never expected An Ping to have reached this level already. He didn't give you any chance to show yourselves."

Tang Wulin looked toward the already distant Gu Yuena and An Ping and shook his head. "Yeah, we had no chance to show ourselves at all. We need to work even harder from now on."

Xie Xie patted Tang Wulin's shoulder. "All right, then let's work hard together."

"Let's work hard together."

The next day's match against Class Two drew quite a few more spectators after Class Five's two two-ringed Soul Masters had been exposed. Some came to verify whether the rumors were true, while others simply came to watch the excitement.

Since Class Two's strongest cadet had only a single Hundred-year Soul Ring, despite having a decent Martial Soul, there were no surprises. The match ended when Tang Wulin punched the last cadet off the Arena.

Perhaps because he wanted to prove himself in this battle, Tang Wulin was especially proactive. He took down two opponents by himself, including the Soul Master with the Hundred-year Soul Ring.

After the match ended, Tang Wulin called out to An Ping and Gu Yuena, who were about to leave. "An Ping, Gu Yuena, I have something to do at the Forging Room. I hope you can gather some information on Class One. We still know nothing about them."