Xiao Wu was the first to look disdainful. She had spent six years at Notting Academy and had yet to meet anyone her age who could match her strength.
"Is Shrek some kind of lousy academy? Even its entrance exam is this halfhearted?"
Ning Rongrong was even more blunt. Although she was a support Soul Master, she was confident that a backwater place like Shrek Academy could never compare to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, let alone produce geniuses of their age.
Every person present was a genius. And now this young man was actually hoping to challenge them all, one after another.
Even Zhu Zhuqing's eyes held a trace of disappointment. She felt she had been looked down on.
She had seen what happened during registration. The registration fees of every Soul Master who failed had been kept.
She naturally assumed this recruitment drive was nothing more than a money-making scheme organized by a bunch of Soul Saints and Soul Emperors, relying on their strength to fleece people.
Of everyone there, only Tang San remained silent. He gently stopped Xiao Wu from leaving and quietly watched the young man before them.
Seeing this, Xia Ran stopped wasting words and summoned his Martial Soul.
[Martial Soul Possession]
In the blink of an eye, a veil of black mist shrouded the white-robed young man.
When he emerged again, he had completely changed.
His hair was black, his eyes golden, and a pair of cat ears had appeared atop his head. His white robe had become a black fitted outfit, while a long, furry black tail swayed behind him.
He stood with his hands behind his back, four Soul Rings—one yellow and three purple—floating behind him. A terrifying aura of darkness radiated from his body.
The pressure of a Soul Ancestor instantly stunned everyone into silence. The noisy discussion died away.
Ning Rongrong covered her mouth in shock, her beautiful eyes wide.
"You're... a Soul Ancestor? How old are you?"
"Why is your second Soul Ring purple?!"
Xiao Wu was just as shocked. She had noticed Xia Ran's unusual Soul Ring configuration.
"Impossible! How could you absorb a thousand-year second Soul Ring?!"
Tang San was the most shocked of all. He had studied Yu Xiaogang's theories for years and could recite them by heart, treating them as absolute truth. Now reality had slapped him hard across the face.
"Why does his Martial Soul make me feel so close to him?"
Zhu Zhuqing still said nothing, but there was a hint of something unusual in her expression.
The instant the Mysterious Cat Martial Soul appeared, she clearly felt her Nether Civet Martial Soul stir. If she hadn't suppressed it, it might have manifested on its own.
"Silence!"
His shout, infused with Soul Power, cut off the chatter. Xia Ran looked at the group, their expressions varied, his own face utterly calm.
"I think you've misunderstood. This isn't a series of one-on-one fights. You'll face me together."
"You have ten minutes to discuss your tactics."
With that, he said no more. His figure flickered and vanished from the Trial Grounds.
"What a bizarre ability. I can't sense his presence at all now."
Tang San looked at the spot where the young man had disappeared, greed showing in his eyes.
"No Soul Ring lit up when he vanished, so it definitely wasn't a Soul Skill. If I could figure out how he used that ability..."
"Brother, what do we do now?"
Xiao Wu's interruption brought Tang San back to his senses. He realized he had let his composure slip.
"If the academy can produce a genius with such powerful abilities, then it must have something extraordinary about it. Teacher couldn't have been wrong."
"We'll take the test as usual. First, let's work out a strategy."
What followed was Tang San assigning everyone their roles. When the ten minutes were up, Xia Ran appeared right on time, holding a stick of incense.
"Are you ready?"
The group exchanged glances, their expressions resolute, then nodded together.
"Good! The test begins!"
Xia Ran lit the incense in his hand and stuck it into a nearby wooden post. In the briefest instant, he completed his Martial Soul Possession.
Before anyone could make a move, he launched the first attack.
[Darkness Domain]
Shadows gradually cloaked the entire arena. Seeing this, Tang San wrapped Blue Silver Grass around the women's waists.
Ning Rongrong quickly retreated, taking cover at the edge of the battlefield.
[Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, First: Strength]
[Second: Speed]
Unfortunately, no matter how quickly she retreated, she couldn't outrun the Domain. Wherever the shadows spread, Xia Ran could appear at will. This was the Talent Domain of his Martial Soul.
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing rushed forward. Just as they were about to strike Xia Ran, the figure before them suddenly vanished.
Ning Rongrong sensed a chill behind her. Before she could turn to look, Xia Ran struck the back of her neck with the edge of his hand, knocking her unconscious, then tossed her out of the arena.
The girl hit the ground with a dull thud. Only then did everyone notice Ning Rongrong was gone.
"So this is the tactic you discussed?"
"You lost your support Soul Master as soon as the fight began."
The women followed the Blue Silver Grass around their waists and looked at Tang San. His expression was awkward. He seemed to want to say something, but kept hesitating.
After a long pause, his face flushed as he finally managed to say, "Don't panic. Rongrong's support effects have already been applied to us, so it's not a big deal."
The others' expressions improved a little at that.
Tang San was furious. That damned guy had questioned his tactics in front of everyone. He deserved to die.
[First Soul Skill: Bind]
Dozens of strands of Blue Silver Grass appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around Xia Ran's ankles.
[Second Soul Skill: Parasite]
Another cloud of smoke followed, full of spores that clung to Xia Ran's legs.
"Got him! Xiao Wu! Zhu Zhuqing!"
[First Soul Skill: Waist Bow]
[First Soul Skill: Hell Stab]
The two women attacked at once, both relying on close combat.
This time, Xia Ran didn't choose to vanish. Instead, he prepared to meet them head-on.
[First Soul Skill: Shadow Armor]
A suit of black armor formed from Soul Power appeared at once, perfectly covering Xia Ran's entire body.
Dark energy gathered around him, making the armor look eerily sinister.
The golden eyes inside his helmet blazed. Xia Ran stretched out both hands and grabbed to either side.
Before Xiao Wu's Scorpion Tail Whip could wrap around his neck, it lost momentum, and he deftly neutralized her Waist Bow.
Xia Ran caught Zhu Zhuqing's outstretched cat paw in one hand and clamped down on her wrist. Just like that, he had both of them in his grasp.
"Why? I clearly had you under control..."
Ignoring Tang San's muttering, Xia Ran stared at him as if he were a monster.
"Who taught you to cultivate Blue Silver Grass like that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why does your Blue Silver Grass have a paralyzing property? And Bind is your Soul Skill? Isn't that something grass-type Martial Souls can do naturally?"
"What?"
Tang San's mind reeled. Grass-type Martial Souls could naturally bind their targets? Blue Silver Grass couldn't be given a poison attribute?
Ever since he had taken Yu Xiaogang as his teacher, he had treated everything Yu Xiaogang said as truth. He had trusted him from the very first moment they met.
Tell me, how many ordinary people could infer that they had Twin Martial Souls based on nothing but a single Martial Soul identification certificate?
At Notting Academy, no one could defeat him. That gave Tang San the mistaken impression that he was powerful, when in truth he was the frog at the bottom of a well.
"You took perfectly good Blue Silver Grass and cultivated it into something neither one thing nor the other. You've got plenty of Soul Power, but you don't know how to use it!"
Xia Ran's expression was calm. He left those words behind and turned to leave the arena.
"Wait! What gives you the right to question how I cultivate Blue Silver Grass?"
"If our Soul Power levels weren't so different, you'd already have been paralyzed by my poison."
Seeing that Tang San was like a stubborn dog turd—refusing to back down and even daring to challenge him—Xia Ran put on an exasperated expression.
"Enough. You came up with the strategy just now, didn't you?"
"Look at the situation for yourself. Why did you let your support Soul Master leave the protection of your group?"
"I don't know what you can do..."
Chapter 3: The System's Reward
"Heh. Hopeless."
He had been on Douluo Continent for quite some time, but had never met Tang San before.
Those memories from his past life had faded somewhat over time, but now that he was seeing Tang San in person, the memories he had buried came back to him.
[Ultimate Double-Standard Tang Buddha]
Xia Ran casually shattered the Blue Silver Grass with his Soul Power. His golden eyes met Tang San's, and the corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile.
"I pointed out the problems with your tactics, and you're making excuses to argue with me. Sigh..."
"Would an enemy on the battlefield tell you what he can do?"
Before you continue