Chess-Playing Girl

"District One, the sixty-four-to-thirty-two elimination round: Yue Hongchen's team wins."

Just as Yue Hongchen was about to step off the arena, Wang Yan announced the winner.

"Not bad, Student Yue. Your strength keeps improving, and you've made considerable progress in controlling it." Wang Yan adjusted his glasses, his eyes full of admiration for the talented student.

"Thank you for the praise, Teacher Wang." Yue Hongchen smiled. He had a good impression of Wang Yan, and had learned a great deal from him during the examinations these past few days.

Wang Yan was also pleased by Yue Hongchen's thirst for knowledge. He patiently answered every one of Yue Hongchen's questions.

After recording the advancing contestants from District One, Wang Yan put away his folder. "This morning's matches are over. You can spend the rest of the time watching the other districts."

Yue Hongchen nodded. Once Wang Yan had left, he headed toward District Seventeen.

Meng Hongchen and the others' match was still underway. Since the elimination round determined who would become a core disciple, the examining teachers carefully recorded every student's performance in each match.

So Meng Hongchen hadn't made a move yet. Instead, she had let Wu Feng fight their opponents while she stood in front of Ning Tian to protect her.

The examining teacher for District Seventeen was Mu Jin. When she saw Yue Hongchen approaching, she knew the battle in his district must have ended.

"Here to watch your little sister?" Mu Jin teased with a smile.

Yue Hongchen hadn't expected Mu Jin to suddenly say that. Somewhat embarrassed, he nodded.

Mu Jin didn't mind. She motioned for Yue Hongchen to stand beside her and watch. "Your little sister is very talented. She carried the earlier examinations all by herself, crushing her way through to the next round. Only now, in the elimination round, have Wu Feng and Ning Tian had a chance to show what they can do."

Yue Hongchen nodded and looked toward the arena. Meng's opponents were one three-ring Soul Master and two two-ring Soul Masters.

The three-ring Soul Master's Martial Soul was a Gale Wolf. Judging by the fluctuations in his Soul Power, he had only recently broken through to the third ring.

One of the other two Soul Masters had a Shadow Dagger Martial Soul and was an agility-type Soul Master. He could briefly disappear into the darkness, and while constantly harassing Wu Feng, he kept looking for a chance to attack Ning Tian.

The last one, standing at the back, was a girl whose Martial Soul was a chessboard. It floated before her as she pressed a round chess piece in her hand against it.

"That Martial Soul is pretty interesting." Yue Hongchen's eyes lit up. He decided he would get to know her afterward and try to recruit her to his side.

Her Martial Soul was practically priceless to a Soul Engineer.

The instant the piece landed on the board, the phantom of a red rook appeared over the Gale Wolf. Two yellow Soul Rings lit up behind the girl, and the Gale Wolf's aura began to rise as fierce winds whipped around him.

He sprinted toward Wu Feng, moving so fast that afterimages appeared. When his first Soul Ring lit up, his figure vanished from the arena. The next second, he appeared behind Wu Feng.

"First Soul Skill, Gale Claw!"

His right hand transformed into a wolf's claw, and he swung it without hesitation at Wu Feng's back. At the same time, to make sure the strike couldn't fail, the second yellow Soul Ring behind him lit up as well.

"Second Soul Skill, Wolf Bite!"

The phantom of a Gale Wolf appeared behind him. As the Gale Claw struck at Wu Feng, the phantom lunged at her too.

His second Soul Skill, Wolf Bite, was a mental attack. Even if Wu Feng blocked his first Soul Skill, there was no way she could withstand his second.

Seeing this, the Shadow Dagger stopped circling Wu Feng, turned, and vanished into the darkness again, rushing at Ning Tian.

"Our teamwork is unbeatable among our peers!" the Gale Wolf boasted. He and the Shadow Dagger had grown up together, and their teamwork had never failed.

They hadn't even bothered to investigate their opponents' abilities. Given the strength Meng had shown earlier, one would have expected them to be on their guard, but the Shadow Dagger clearly didn't know about Meng at all.

The girl in the back sighed. Of the three, she was the only one who had looked into the students who had stood out. Seeing the Shadow Dagger act as if Meng didn't exist, she knew the match would soon be over.

Still, she wanted to see the match through. She poured all her Soul Power into her Martial Soul. A red piece and two black pieces swiftly landed on the board, while the phantom of a white piece enveloped the Shadow Dagger and the black pieces covered the three girls on Meng Hongchen's team.

"Guess we were underestimated," Ning Tian sighed. The second Soul Ring behind her, which had never lit up before, now glowed.

"Seven Treasures Glazed Tile, Second: Giải!"

A ray of white light fell over Wu Feng, enveloping her. The instant the Gale Wolf phantom struck her, both it and the white light vanished.

At the same time, the first Soul Ring behind Wu Feng lit up.

"First Soul Skill, Dragon Might Shock!"

Wu Feng turned to face the Gale Wolf, her eyes transforming into dragon eyes. The instant their gazes met, the Gale Wolf felt Wu Feng vanish before him, replaced by a gigantic red dragon.

She could only control him for a brief second, but that was enough.

Fear threw the Gale Wolf's attack slightly off course. Wu Feng bent down and slipped beneath his right claw.

She kicked him in the back, using the momentum to put some distance between them.

The second yellow Soul Ring behind her lit up.

"Second Soul Skill, Blazing Breath!"

A stream of scorching flames shot from her mouth and engulfed the Gale Wolf.

Seeing that Mu Jin had no intention of intervening, Wu Feng didn't dare take any chances. She poured in more Soul Power, keeping the flames on the Gale Wolf.

A purple glow flickered faintly within the fire. A battered figure burst out of the flames. The Gale Wolf's school uniform was in tatters, and even his hair had been singed.

At the same time, when the Shadow Dagger reached Ning Tian's back, his second Soul Ring lit up. He slashed the pitch-black dagger toward her neck.

Meng Hongchen gave a cold snort. Her Martial Soul instantly possessed her, and two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring appeared behind her.

"Oh no!" the Shadow Dagger thought. He had assumed that since Meng Hongchen looked so fair and delicate and had stayed beside Ning Tian, she wouldn't be very strong. He hadn't expected her to be a Soul Elder.

Meng Hongchen's third Soul Ring lit up. A sheet of ice appeared beneath Ning Tian's feet, and before the astonished Shadow Dagger's eyes, Ning Tian was swallowed by the ice in an instant and reappeared behind Meng Hongchen.

Seeing this, the Shadow Dagger didn't hesitate for a moment. He forcibly changed the direction of his Soul Skill and lunged at Meng Hongchen.

Meng Hongchen's blood-red eyes fixed coldly on him, as if she were looking at a corpse.

Before the Shadow Dagger's attack could reach her, he suddenly felt the Soul Power inside him go haywire. It surged wildly through his meridians, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

His Martial Soul vanished in an instant, and he crashed heavily to the ground.

"What did she do?" The Gale Wolf stared dumbfounded at what had just happened. The Shadow Dagger had only met her gaze, and then...

At the thought, a wave of fear washed over the Gale Wolf. By sheer coincidence, just after Meng Hongchen dealt with the Shadow Dagger, she turned to look at him.

Under Meng Hongchen's blood-red gaze, every judgment he had made about her before the match vanished. Now, all he felt was fear.

"I... I surrender!" The Gale Wolf dropped to his knees with a thud. His Martial Soul vanished, and he no longer had even the slightest will to fight.

Seeing this, the chess-playing girl promptly withdrew her Martial Soul.

"District Seventeen, the sixty-four-to-thirty-two elimination round: Meng Hongchen's team wins!"

Only after Mu Jin announced the result did Meng Hongchen withdraw the poison from the Shadow Dagger's body. She turned and saw Yue Hongchen standing beside Mu Jin.