Instant Kill

With a sigh, the golden-haired youth beat his six pairs of huge golden wings, and Xiang Yu descended to the ground.

Qian Renxue watched the battle end so suddenly and scratched her head. Hadn't that gone a little too smoothly? They hadn't even used the strategy they'd prepared for the later stages!

Still, she followed Xiang Yu down to the ground.

Dugu Yan, standing at the back of the team, stared at their victory in a daze.

They'd won just like that? Their opponents had four Soul Ancestors!

Feeling that he'd used up nearly a third of his Soul Power, Xiang Yu felt a little drained. His third Soul Skill for flight, followed by two consecutive attacks boosted by his first and second Soul Skills—had that really consumed so much?

He'd never thought it was a problem before. But now that he thought about Dongfang Jing, who had also used Soul Skills and a big move, yet still had full Soul Power, he couldn't help feeling a little disgruntled!

The Huyan Brothers, who had only needed to block one round of attacks to win the match, seemed quite composed.

The Elephant Armor Sect's style of fighting was all about defense: they forced opponents into less and less space, squeezing them off the stage bit by bit. They kept defending until they won.

As long as their defense held, they could win!

Arthur, who had been protected at the back while preparing to use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, felt a little disappointed. He'd already finished winding up, and stopping now felt awkward.

Qian Xunji stood on the high platform, watching the swift, decisive battle come to an end.

He turned to Shui Qing'er, the dean of Skywater Academy, beside him.

Her already cool demeanor had turned icy, and the pressure of a Soul Douluo radiated from her, making the lower-ranked Soul Masters nearby tremble slightly.

"Dean, Spirit Hall was fortunate to win this round. Shall we continue with the individual matches?" Qian Xunji asked with a smile. His voice was gentle and warm, the sort that should have put anyone at ease.

But Shui Qing'er was in no mood for pleasantries. No matter how nicely Qian Xunji spoke, his words grated on her ears.

Should they continue?

Having already lost once, Shui Qing'er no longer felt confident.

It was now a foregone conclusion that Skywater Academy had lost the team match to an eight-year-old.

If they lost the upcoming individual matches as well, there would be no explaining it away.

But if they won, they could chalk the team match defeat up to a mistake and salvage some of their reputation.

Shui Qing'er's beautiful face, both clear and elegant yet touched with a mature woman's allure, creased as she looked at Qian Xunji and nodded. "I need to discuss the upcoming matches with the academy's teachers. Please wait a moment."

With that, she left gracefully, her steps light and elegant.

Down below, Qian Renxue excitedly waved toward Qian Xunji. The metal collar of her Alchemy Amulet hung around her fair, delicate neck, and her hair was a little mussed from flying.

Qian Xunji looked down and gave a salute.

Qian Renxue and Dugu Yan, who had been greeting him alongside her, immediately understood and raised their hands in a salute toward him.

The Huyan Brothers behind them had no idea what it meant, but...

If the girls were doing it, they must have had their reasons. They didn't know what was going on, so they might as well follow along!

They imitated the two girls and saluted toward the high platform where Qian Xunji stood.

The Skywater Academy team members, who had just gotten to their feet and were receiving treatment, stared at them in bewilderment.

Was this some kind of special victory celebration?

They were immediately annoyed. That was far too arrogant.

But Xiang Yu and the other two, who knew what was really going on, only wanted to get as far away as possible from their teammates, who were indulging the Summoner's madness. It was embarrassing...

With their encouragement, the Summoner had gone so mad that he'd forgotten which way was up.

Now he was planning new uniforms and coming up with slogans that were more outrageous than the last.

Every time Xiang Yu and the others heard them, they got goosebumps and had to rack their brains to talk him out of it.

Then these "useless teammates" would pour fuel on the fire all over again. One child from Spirit Hall Academy had a tailor shop in his family and had volunteered to design their uniforms, while the other children kept coming up with all kinds of slogans...

Not long after,

Shui Qing'er returned. She seemed much more spirited than when she had left, and the confidence had returned to her eyes.

The teachers were right. The students had lost this match because they had underestimated their opponents and fallen into a trap, which was why they had been defeated so quickly.

The difference in Soul Power between the two teams was undeniable.

Skywater Academy's students were all either Soul Ancestors or Soul Elders, while the top fighters on the Spirit Hall team had lower Soul Power Levels than theirs. The opposing team even had two Soul Grandmasters.

With such an overwhelming advantage, how could Skywater Academy lose?

The team match had been a fluke. The individual matches were Skywater Academy's chance to turn things around and restore its reputation.

Shui Qing'er's eyes brightened at the thought. She said to Qian Xunji, "Of course we'll continue with the individual matches. It's just that..."

Her voice trailed off as she looked down at the students receiving treatment.

"Our team members still need time to recover. We may have to wait a little."

"Of course!" Qian Xunji readily agreed.

On the stands below sat a group of students: some from Skywater Academy, and others from the Four Element Academies who had come to observe the competition and learn about their opponents ahead of the upcoming tournament.

Among them were Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wu, and the other children, who had come to watch the matches.

The Four Element Academies had long been closely allied. The Feng, Shui, and Huo Clans had been on good terms for generations. (The Yu Clan, one of the Upper Three Sects, looked down on them.)

The children had come to watch the matches with their elders.

Feng Xiaotian stared blankly at the golden-haired girl on the competition stage. She wore a white gown with gold trim and wide sleeves, and raised her slender, flawless hand to celebrate her victory. Her presence was clear and pure, utterly untainted—like a perfect... angel!

Chapter 78: One-Hit Kill

Once the Healing Soul Masters had finished their work and Shui Qing'er confirmed that the Skywater Academy team had recovered enough to fight, she nodded and began the individual matches.

They were called individual matches, but in practice they were a series of one-on-one bouts. Each side sent one contestant onto the stage.

When a contestant lost, a teammate took their place. The winner stayed on to face the next challenger. The matches continued until all seven contestants on one side had lost; whoever remained on the stage belonged to the winning team.

But this format had one especially humiliating outcome: one person could defeat all seven opponents.

This kind of one-on-one series didn't allow anyone to use the strategy of pitting inferior horses against superior ones.

That was why teams usually saved their strongest contestant for last, letting their weaker teammates wear down the other side and pave the way for victory.

After their earlier defeat, the Skywater Academy team was clearly much more cautious.

They had personally felt the might of Xiang Yu's Soul Skills. Although he was only a thirty-eighth-level Soul Elder, his damage output was no weaker than a Soul Ancestor's.

The captain of the Skywater Academy team, Shui Lan, was a forty-third-level Agility Attack System Soul Master. Her Martial Soul was a Jade Dolphin.

She now watched Xiang Yu and Qian Renxue, the two Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul users, with intense wariness.

Skywater Academy had only one contestant who could fly: a thirty-ninth-level Agility Attack System Soul Master whose Martial Soul was the Ice Flower Snow Bird.

If a fight really broke out, she would have no way to deal with these two airborne Soul Masters.

On Douluo Continent, only Soul Saints could fly without a flying Soul Skill.

Low-ranked Soul Masters who could fly were highly sought after. They were extremely useful for scouting outdoors and had a major advantage in aerial combat.

But Shui Lan soon wouldn't need to worry about how to deal with Xiang Yu and Qian Renxue.

The match order had been announced.

Skywater Academy sent its contestants out in order of strength, from weakest to strongest.

The Spirit Hall Academy team did the exact opposite.

Dugu Yan was placed last.

The Huyan Brothers, Huyan Qian and Huyan Shan, were second-to-last and third-to-last.

Xiang Yu was fourth.

Qian Renxue was third.

Arthur was second.

Dongfang Jing was first.

To outsiders, Spirit Hall had put its weaker members at the very beginning and the very end, which seemed extremely odd.

But to Qian Xunji, who knew the truth, this meant they had placed their strongest fighters at the front.

The two people with Holy Grails were going first. There wouldn't be anything left for the rest of the team to do.

Especially Dongfang Jing.

She was faster than an Agility Attack System Soul Master, hit as hard as a Power Attack System Soul Master, and her big move also had a control effect. Even defensive Soul Masters couldn't withstand her attacks.

If her opponents were weak enough, Dongfang Jing could even control the range of Flying Thunder God, trap them in the middle of Mirror Space, and kick them around between herself and her mirror-image clone.

That's right, kick them around!

Her real self would kick them toward her mirror image. Then she'd use Flying Thunder God to switch places with the clone, kick them back, and repeat until the big move ended.

Dongfang Jing had nearly used this move on Qian Renxue once. Unfortunately, Qian Renxue had lost too quickly. That girl only cared about winning or losing.

Looking at the match order, Shui Lan was puzzled, but she could only grit her teeth and send out a teammate.

The first contestant was a thirty-ninth-level Defense System Soul Master. Seeing the golden-haired little girl preparing to enter the stage, Shui Lan knew how formidable she was.

But she also knew the girl's weakness: she was only at Soul Power Level 29, too low. No matter how strong she was, how many Soul Skills could she use?

With this Defense System Soul Master's defensive strength, she could wear the girl down, drain her Soul Power, and win the match.

That was what Shui Lan thought, and what she told her teammate.

"Got it, Captain. I'm a thirty-ninth-level Soul Ancestor. How could I possibly lose to a Soul Grandmaster?" The teammate waved her hand, not taking it very seriously. She was extremely confident in her defensive abilities.