Chapter Seventeen: "Twenty-Four"

"That makes sense, too." Ling Nan nodded, but then sighed. "Too bad I got a new shell without a new heart!"

"Hm? What do you mean, a new shell without a new heart?" Zheng Li didn't understand at first.

"I mean, they gave me a powerful Martial Soul but didn't give me the cultivation talent to match! My talent's only a little better than Dad's." Ling Nan complained a little.

(Ling Nan's father: Achoo! Who's talking behind my back? It's definitely that little brat complaining about his talent again. Damn it, if you don't want it, give it to me! If I had your talent, I'd probably already be a Soul Douluo!)

Su Yunqing glanced at him and scoffed. "You ungrateful cat. Be content! Remember, contentment brings happiness. Plenty of people would love to have your talent, but they don't."

"That's true." Ling Nan nodded, deeply agreeing with her.

Su Yunqing sighed. Some people really couldn't be praised.

Ten minutes was a generous amount of time. Zheng Li and the others took their time, reaching the Soul Fighting District in about five or six minutes.

Shen Lan had already been waiting there.

Once everyone had arrived, she said, "Follow me."

Everyone entered the Soul Fighting District together.

Two referees were standing in the octagonal arena.

After leading everyone onto the field, Shen Lan reached into her Soul Guidance Ring and took out a crude wooden box.

"There are a hundred slips of paper in this box, but only fifty different numbers, from one to fifty. The other fifty slips are duplicates. You'll each draw one. Whoever draws the same number will be opponents in this practical match!"

The Freshman Assessment had always been about practical combat, no matter how it changed.

Her, Mu Jin's, teaching method basically consisted of three things: theoretical knowledge, practical combat, and physical conditioning.

Chapter Seventeen: "Twenty-Four"

"Don't hold back, and don't worry about hurting each other. With me and the two referees here, you won't seriously injure one another. Any minor injuries will be treated by the healing teachers in the Soul Fighting District afterward."

She could have watched over them alone, but yesterday she'd won Gold Soul Coins from Zhou Yi, and she felt uncomfortable keeping them. She wanted to spend them as soon as possible.

What did you call that?

Winning your money, spending your money, and still feeling disgusted by it.

"Come up one by one and draw a number."

Starting with Dai Mubai, the students came forward one by one to draw.

Zheng Li wasn't in a hurry. He waited until almost everyone else had drawn before going up to pick a slip.

He glanced at it. It read "Twenty-Four."

Zheng Li frowned slightly. Twenty-four—"I'll die"? What an unlucky number!

Ling Nan, who had drawn his number earlier, came over and asked, "A Li, what number did you get?"

"Twenty-four."

"Twenty-four? I got thirteen. What a shame..." Ling Nan shook his head.

"What's a shame?" Zheng Li asked, puzzled.

"A shame we didn't get matched up."

"Hm? You want to fight me? What are you planning to do, beat me up?" Zheng Li's gaze sharpened slightly.

He didn't know why he felt that way, but he did.

Ling Nan: "...A Li, what are you thinking? I just thought that if we were matched up, we could put on a show and get it over with."

Do you think you're asking to get beaten up?

Ling Nan stared at Zheng Li's face and thought.

Zheng Li was speechless.

Just then, Su Yunqing raised a hand and said sheepishly, "Um... I got number twenty-four, too."

"Hm?!"

Zheng Li and Ling Nan both froze, then looked at the slip Su Yunqing had unfolded. It read "Twenty-Four."

A brief silence fell between the three of them.

A moment later, Ling Nan thought of the huge hammer in Su Yunqing's hands and patted Zheng Li on the shoulder sympathetically. "A Li, you're on your own!"

Zheng Li rubbed his temples.

He didn't know Su Yunqing's Soul Power Level, but it was definitely higher than his.

And with that dark blue hammer, why did he feel like he was about to get beaten up by a little girl?

"Yunqing, don't go easy on me later. Give it everything you've got. I want to see what I can do, too."

Su Yunqing tilted her head at Zheng Li's words. "I wasn't planning to go easy on you. Mom said it's rude to hold back or deliberately lose during a spar. Don't worry, Zheng Li. I'll give it my all!"

Su Yunqing smiled, showing off her adorable little tiger teeth.

Zheng Li: "..."

What the hell, "Mom said."

"Pfft..." Ling Nan tried to stifle a laugh beside them, looking like he was struggling.

He loved seeing Zheng Li get flustered.

At that moment, Shen Lan said, "Numbers one through five will go first, five pairs at a time. Those with numbers one through fifty will stay in the Soul Fighting District. Everyone else, go to the Spectator Stand."

The Soul Fighting District was quite large, about the size of Shrek Square. It could accommodate a hundred people fighting at once, though things might get a little chaotic.

Shen Lan's arrangement would make things much better.

With five pairs fighting at a time, there would be ten rounds in total. It wouldn't take very long.

Besides, the morning classes were much longer than the afternoon ones.

Soon, the first five pairs began fighting, dividing the arena into five sections. There was plenty of space between them, so they wouldn't interfere with one another.

None of the first five pairs included anyone Zheng Li knew. Judging by their Soul Rings, they were all Soul Masters.

Nothing particularly noteworthy happened in any of the five fights.

The referees were very conscientious. They stepped in as soon as anything looked wrong, and after the fights, anyone with minor injuries was taken away for treatment.

"Numbers six through ten." Shen Lan's expression remained calm.

Zheng Li had been watching attentively from the start, learning whatever he could.

Ling Nan looked bored.

He glanced at Su Yunqing, who seemed excited.

Zheng Li's mouth twitched slightly. He had a bad feeling about this!

Just then, a tiger's roar rang out from the arena, followed by a series of gasps from the other students.

Zheng Li looked over and saw Dai Huabin's body had swelled to twice its size. His head of golden hair had turned white, with a few black strands mixed in. His pupils had become a deep blue, and four faint markings had appeared on his forehead, forming a black "王" character.

Three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—slowly revolved at his feet.

The boy facing Dai Huabin stared blankly. After all, he was only an eighteenth-level Soul Master. The gap between them was...

Were they even playing the same "Soul Master game"?

Disdain flickered in Dai Huabin's eyes. Taking advantage of the boy's daze, he swung a tiger claw twice the size of his hand, sharp talons jutting from its tips, toward the boy's throat.

Dai Huabin was decisive and ruthless. He wasn't about to give the boy a chance to react; his first strike went straight for a vital spot.

The tiger claw was right in front of him before the boy finally reacted and hurriedly lit up his First Soul Ring. But it was already too late. Fortunately, the referee whisked him away in time, leaving Dai Huabin's attack to hit empty air.

The referee glanced at Dai Huabin and said flatly, "You win."

A hint of amazement appeared in Shen Lan's eyes as well.

"Numbers eleven through fifteen!"

"A Li, I'm going. Wish me luck!"

Ling Nan looked as if he were going off to his execution.

Zheng Li's mouth twitched at the sight. It wasn't as if he were going to die. What was with that face?

At the referee's announcement, the match began.

Ling Nan's opponent was a pretty girl.

Ling Nan looked completely different from how he had a moment ago. He was calm and collected. His body swayed, and he vanished from where he stood. As he moved, his cat ears, tail, and black, white, and gray wings unfurled in an instant. Then he flew into the air.

The girl's Martial Soul was some kind of plant: a brightly colored flower that looked like... a titan arum?

Zheng Li was a little surprised. Didn't it stink?

The girl reacted quickly, too. She spotted Ling Nan as soon as he took off. The only yellow Soul Ring on her body lit up, and a cloud of dark green vapor burst from the wide opening of what looked like a large-mouthed jar, swiftly enveloping her, Ling Nan, and most of the surrounding area.

"Smells nice..." Ling Nan said, but in reality, he only took one breath before holding it.

He didn't need to think twice to know there was something wrong with the vapor.

"I feel a little dizzy..." Ling Nan shook his head, relieved he hadn't breathed in much.

Then Ling Nan unleashed his First Soul Skill. Sharp Cat Claws, more than three inches long, sprang out, and the wings on his back beat hard, sweeping away a large swath of dark green vapor. When he appeared again, he had one Cat Claw resting against the girl's throat.

The girl hadn't had a chance to react.

His First Soul Skill was called Godspeed. It greatly increased his flying speed for three seconds, making it almost like "teleportation."

But... "three seconds" was far too short.

The "cold blade" at her throat frightened the girl. She had been holding her breath, but she gasped a few times, then her vision blurred and she collapsed to the ground.

"???"

Ling Nan was dumbfounded. How had she fainted?

When he realized what had happened, Ling Nan thought, I didn't expect that dark green vapor to affect both friend and foe!

Well, that Soul Skill was "wonderful"!

Come to think of it, the girl was pretty weak. Ling Nan figured he could breathe in a few more mouthfuls than she could!

Only then did the referee arrive. After checking the girl, he immediately declared Ling Nan the winner and used his immense Soul Power to blow away the dark green vapor.

"A Mutated Martial Soul? It can fly, and it's quite fast. It may even be as fast as the Hell Spirit Cat, but its Soul Power is a little lacking..." Shen Lan murmured.

After his victory, Ling Nan didn't return right away. Instead, he went to the Spectator Stand where the healing teacher was seated.

He needed to get the poison cleared, even if it was only a small amount.

After the healing teacher used a Soul Skill on him, Ling Nan looked thoroughly refreshed. Then he returned to the seat beside Zheng Li.

Su Yunqing gave Ling Nan a long look and said, "I can't hit you with my hammer!"

Ling Nan: "?!"

What did she mean, she couldn't hit him?

"If you can keep moving that fast, then I can't hit you with my hammer," Su Yunqing said calmly. "I knew the young master of a sect wouldn't be that useless."

"...I feel like you're insulting me!" Ling Nan was speechless. When had he ever said he was useless?

He was just keeping a low profile!

"No need to wonder. I am insulting you," Su Yunqing said flatly. "Got a problem with that? Fight me!"

Su Yunqing's final remark made Ling Nan swallow the words he'd been about to say.

Never mind. Ling Nan was magnanimous. He wouldn't hold it against her.

Zheng Li thought Ling Nan's performance had been pretty good. Just as Su Yunqing had said, he was, after all, the young master of a sect.

A little while later, the other five pairs finished fighting after Ling Nan's group.

Now it was the turn of the five pairs that included Zheng Li and Su Yunqing.

As they stepped into the arena, Zheng Li said, "Yunqing, don't hold back, okay~"

Su Yunqing answered with a rather adorable smile.