"Holy crap, this kid's actually got some real skill. He wasn't just blindly overconfident!"
The last Blazing Fire student was scared witless. This boy in front of him was just too—too strong!
"I—I give up!" The Blazing Fire student conceded without hesitation. He didn't want to end up like the others, sprawled on the ground and twitching.
"He w-won!"
"He actually won!"
"One against four students from our four academies, and he made it look so easy!!!"
"Isn't this guy a freak? No wonder Skywater Academy made an exception and admitted this male student!"
"He didn't even activate his Martial Soul!!"
Everyone in the crowd was stunned and dumbfounded, unable to believe Ye Wen had won so easily. And he'd made it look so effortless, too!
Everyone who had mocked Ye Wen fell silent. Huo Wu was just as dumbstruck.
Yu Tianxin, Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wushuang, and Hu Yanli—all the talented young standouts—couldn't help taking a few extra looks at Ye Wen.
They might have been able to take on four opponents at once, but definitely not on this stage. Everyone who made it up here was a genius of the same age!
"That kid is going to be a formidable rival in the future. And Evil Tiger and Xiao Bai are both outstanding, too. Skywater Academy will be incredible at the Soul Master Tournament!"
The other academies could already imagine just how formidable Skywater Academy would be at the future Soul Master Tournament.
"Thank you for going easy on me. Thank you." Ye Wen cupped his hands, then slowly left the stage under everyone's shocked and astonished gazes.
"Hehe, what do you think, everyone? Aren't these three Second Year students from our Skywater Academy pretty good?" The people from Skywater Academy were over the moon. Their students were amazing, and that made them feel great, too.
In this Second Year round, Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai each won all four of their matches, earning the full 12 points available. Skywater's total score now stood at 19.
Divine Wind earned 5 points in Second Year, bringing its total to 12.
Elephant Armor earned 5 points, bringing its total to 10.
Thunderclap earned 4 points, bringing its total to 10.
Blazing Fire earned 4 points, bringing its total to 9.
Skywater Academy was now far ahead, having opened up a clear lead over the other four academies.
Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai's winning streaks had played a crucial role, though they weren't decisive. To win the championship, they would have to see how the upper-year students performed in the later matches.
Soon, it was time for the Third Year matches. Skywater had no particularly outstanding students in Third Year. Across their three students' twelve matches, they won only four, earning just three points.
The Third Year matches ended after nightfall. The participants rested for the night, and the competition resumed the following day.
The Exchange Meeting continued on the second day.
Skywater was just as weak in Fourth Year, earning only 4 points.
Before long, the advantage Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai had built for Skywater in Second Year began to slip away.
The Fourth Year matches had just ended.
Skywater's total: 27 points.
Divine Wind's total: 27 points.
Thunder Academy: 23 points.
Blazing Fire Academy: 22 points.
Elephant Armor Academy: 21 points.
Next up were the Fifth Year matches. Skywater's Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er were both highly talented.
"Ice Seal!"
Bang!
"Aaah!"
Shui Bing'er punched her opponent to the ground.
With her overwhelming strength, Shui Bing'er won four matches in a row, defeating one student each from Divine Wind, Blazing Fire, Thunder, and Elephant Armor.
Shui Yue'er also performed well, winning three matches. Another student won one. That was enough for Skywater to pull further ahead of the other academies in the Fifth Year round.
The Fifth Year matches ended.
Skywater's total: 35 points.
Divine Wind's total: 33 points.
Thunder Academy: 28 points.
Blazing Fire Academy: 28 points.
Elephant Armor Academy: 26 points.
The scores among the five academies at the Exchange Meeting were still fairly close, with no enormous gaps. The Sixth Year and Advanced Class matches were still to come.
Soon, it was time for the Sixth Year matches.
Skywater's Sixth Year students included Shen Liuyu, Qiu Ruoshui, and Gu Qingbo, three future key members of the Soul Master Tournament team. This round would probably earn them the highest score again.
Just as expected, after the Sixth Year matches ended, Skywater added another 8 points, bringing its total to 43!
Divine Wind Academy, which had indeed won the championship three times in a row, was formidable as well, right on Skywater's heels with 41 points.
Thunder Academy: 34 points.
Blazing Fire Academy: 33 points.
Elephant Armor Academy: 29 points.
"Damn it! We're in last place again! What a bunch of useless idiots!" The Elephant Armor Vice Dean clenched his fists in frustration, his brow furrowed. He sighed now and then, fuming with anger.
"Hey, Bing'er, the Elephant Armor Vice Dean looks really upset. Is he really that bothered?" Ye Wen asked Shui Bing'er beside him.
Shui Bing'er murmured, "Elephant Armor has been dead last for three consecutive tournaments. What do you think?"
"Uh, heh heh. Is Elephant Armor really that bad?" Ye Wen gave an awkward laugh, immediately understanding. Coming in last once or twice wasn't a big deal, but if it happened all the time, it was embarrassing!
"Yeah, Elephant Armor really hasn't been doing well these past few years. They only have 29 points now. Even though a win in the Advanced Class matches is worth two points, they're so far behind that they probably can't take first place."
"And even though we're in the lead for now, can we keep it until the end?" Shui Bing'er stopped halfway through her sentence and sighed inwardly.
Ye Wen had already seen it coming. Skywater probably wouldn't take first place in the end.
That was because Skywater's Advanced Class wasn't as strong as Divine Wind Academy's. Divine Wind had two Soul Ancestors at level 41 in its Advanced Class, as well as Feng Xiaotian, a Soul Elder who could challenge opponents above his level.
And Feng Xiaotian might well be stronger than the other two level 41 students!
In the Advanced Class round, Divine Wind Academy would be unstoppable.
The third day.
The Exchange Meeting continued. This was the final day, and it would feature the last year group: the Advanced Class students.
"May the Advanced Class students from the Five Elemental Academies come up and draw lots."
Soon, the draw was over.
The first match was Hu Yanli, an Elephant Armor student at level 33, versus Zeng Sisi, a Skywater student at level 38.
Hu Yanli was only level 33, but he was the biological son of Hu Yanzhen, Sect Master of the Elephant Armor Sect, one of the Lower Four Sects among the Seven Great Sects. He was the Young Sect Master of the Elephant Armor Sect and its future heir.
There was no doubt that Hu Yanli was powerful, especially when it came to defense.
"A-Li, the Sect Master said we absolutely cannot come in last at this Exchange Meeting. Third place is the lowest we can accept! Do what we discussed last night. Understand?" The Elephant Armor Vice Dean reminded him.
"Understood!" Hu Yanli nodded and stepped onto the stage.
Elephant Armor Academy was actually an academy belonging to the Elephant Armor Sect, one of the Seven Great Sects. With one of the Seven Great Sects behind it, Elephant Armor had the strongest backing.
As soon as Hu Yanli stepped onto the stage, he launched a fierce assault. Every move was vicious, as if he meant to injure his opponent.
The Skywater students all frowned. The Exchange Meeting wasn't as intense as the Soul Master Tournament. It was meant to be a friendly contest and exchange, with matches that stopped once one side had gained the upper hand.
But Hu Yanli was going too far.
"Ha!"
Suddenly, a golden tusked helmet appeared over Hu Yanli's head. It was an eight-thousand-year-old Head Soul Bone!
Before you continue