Semifinals

"Really? How am I supposed to believe that?"

Lan Mengqin folded her arms, still finding the whole thing hard to believe. Her friend was so pretty, and going home with Chen Ming just like that was far too dangerous.

"I have none of those worldly desires."

"I don't believe you... You wouldn't happen to be..."

Chen Ming pressed his palms together, looking every bit like a monk. Lan Mengqin narrowed her eyes, still unconvinced. Under her gaze, Chen Ming spread his hands and said:

"Fine. Actually, I like mature older women. I'm not into little girls, and I really despise those guys. They ought to be shot!"

Chen Ming crossed his arms, looking like he'd come clean. Dong Qianqiu's eyes widened. Wait, you just said that out loud?

"No wonder you're not interested in Lan or Dong Qianqiu, Old Chen."

"Just like Old Chen, saying what he's into so easily."

"If it were me, I wouldn't even dare say what type I like."

Huo Tian, Lei Yuan, and Feng Rulang admired Chen Ming even more. Telling a girl you often hung out with that you actually liked a different type of woman—Old Chen really was a role model for them all.

"You scared me to death..."

Hearing this, Lan Mengqin patted her flat chest, looking relieved. Her reaction left everyone baffled once again.

"Sister Mengqin... what's with that reaction?"

Confusion flickered in Dong Qianqiu's eyes. This wasn't right. Given Lan Mengqin's personality, shouldn't she be calling him a pervert?

"I mean... When Chen Ming said he wasn't interested in you just now, I thought he didn't like girls. So it turns out he just likes mature women..."

Lan Mengqin explained, then sighed with a disappointed look. Chen Ming's voice immediately went shrill.

"What exactly are you disappointed about?!"

"Ehehe, nothing."

Lan Mengqin smiled at Chen Ming. He couldn't help feeling that her smile seemed a little lecherous.

Dong Qianqiu was still completely confused. What did she mean? If he just liked mature women, why was Lan Mengqin disappointed?

Chen Ming clenched his fists and glared at Lan Mengqin through gritted teeth. But in the end, his expression softened into a smile as he said warmly:

"Mengqin, I believe we're still in the middle of our final exams, right?"

"Yeah. Why...?"

Lan Mengqin froze. She was just wondering why he'd brought it up when she saw his chilling, unnerving smile and shivered.

"You... You're not going to play dirty during the match, are you...?"

Seeing the look of a knife hidden behind his smile, and remembering how easily he'd beaten her last time, Lan Mengqin knew exactly what Chen Ming was planning.

At her words, Chen Ming's smile grew even wider. He leaned both hands on the table and interlaced his fingers in front of his face, replying gently:

"Of course not. Matches are full of uncertainty. It's only natural if someone gets bumped or bruised by accident~"

Seeing that smile, Lan Mengqin got scared too. She ducked behind Dong Qianqiu and pointed at Chen Ming.

"Qianqiu, he's threatening me! Help me beat him up!"

"You two..."

Dong Qianqiu was speechless. How had those two started picking on each other? The problem was, she couldn't beat him either.

After lunch, everyone resumed the afternoon elimination matches. The competition soon reached its later rounds, and Chen Ming breezed through the top hundred.

His fishing rod remained impossible to counter, and it had reached an incredibly high level.

"One Cast Opens the Heavenly Gate!"

Chen Ming spun around and cast his hook. It shot out like a nimble little snake. His opponent tried to dodge, but Chen Ming controlled the rod for a second cast, snagged him, and flung him off the Soul Fighting Platform.

Even if you tried to grab the hook, its mechanics had already predetermined that it would catch you and drag you away. That was simply how the code was written.

In the top sixty-four, Chen Ming faced the person who had led Class One in ganging up on him earlier. The hook darted out like a spirit snake.

Chen Ming dragged his opponent along the ground for dozens of meters, then tossed him off the platform.

In the top thirty-two, his opponent tried to destroy the hook with his Martial Soul. But there was still a second hurdle, and Chen Ming flung him off the platform again.

In the top sixteen, Chen Ming snagged his opponent with the hook from fifty meters away and flung him off the platform once more.

In the quarterfinals and semifinals, Chen Ming faced Dong Qianqiu. The two met in the semifinals and exchanged few words.

To show his respect, Chen Ming raised a hand and summoned a wooden spear. It had been formed from the wood attribute wielded by the Life Tree, and its toughness was far beyond that of ordinary plants.

At the referee's signal, both of them advanced at the same time. Dong Qianqiu fired several ice cones. Just as they neared him, two blocks of earth suddenly appeared in front of Chen Ming, successfully blocking them before breaking apart and being withdrawn.

Dong Qianqiu spun her Ice Spear once, then swept it at him with a sharp whistle. Chen Ming raised his spear and struck with pinpoint accuracy.

Clang!

With a crisp sound, the Ice Spear shattered into Ice Crystals, scattering flecks of ice between them. Dong Qianqiu's pupils contracted sharply, her eyes filled with shock. Once she regained her senses, she twisted aside to dodge the thrust and retreated.

"Be careful."

Chen Ming warned her, then tossed the wooden spear. Seeing it fly toward her, Dong Qianqiu immediately summoned ice-elemental energy to form an Ice Spear and block it.

Boom!

The wooden spear broke through the ice wall and splintered, its fragments embedding themselves in the ground around Dong Qianqiu. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she'd blocked it, she saw a green light flicker in Chen Ming's eyes.

What shocked Dong Qianqiu was the purple Soul Ring circling beside Chen Ming. This was the first time he had revealed his Soul Ring.

The moment it appeared, the whole venue was stunned. A thousand-year first ring! He was the only new student with a thousand-year Soul Ring.

Everyone drew in a sharp breath, staring at the figure on the platform in shock. They were all stunned by his thousand-year first ring—and so was Dong Qianqiu.

"Don't get distracted, silly."

Chen Ming brought his hands together and said with a light laugh. Dong Qianqiu came back to her senses at his voice. In the next instant, the branches embedded around her sprang to life, growing into vines that wrapped around her.

Four small trees surrounded Dong Qianqiu. The trees binding her intertwined, restraining her tightly until she couldn't move at all. Even her little feet were suspended above the ground.

"Wood Release: Four-Directional Binding."

Chen Ming's calm voice rang out. He then walked over slowly. Dong Qianqiu struggled, only to realize that the trees were absorbing all the Soul Power she released. Her face turned pale, and she lost the ability to resist.

"I lost..." Dong Qianqiu said weakly.

The referee announced Chen Ming's advancement. Dong Qianqiu had lost to Chen Ming.

After Dong Qianqiu was released, she stumbled and nearly fell. Chen Ming caught her, then handed her a small porcelain bottle.

"Drink this. My first Soul Skill is for recovery."

Dong Qianqiu nodded slightly and opened it. A rush of Life energy filled the air. After drinking it, some of her Soul Power returned and her mind cleared a little. It seemed to restore not only her mental strength but even improve it somewhat.

P.S. The second update for February 27, bringing the total to 4,000 words.