My Martial Soul is My Fiancée in Douluo

Ling Nan leaned in close to Zheng Li and whispered a question.

"If you're asking me, who am I supposed to ask?" Three months of spending time together had given him and Ling Nan a sense of tacit understanding; although Ling Nan hadn't said anything specific, he knew Ling Nan was asking about Cui Yajie.

"She couldn't have taken a liking to you, could she? Otherwise, why would she..."

"Shut up. Everything turns into you thinking someone likes me. I'm that charming, yet I don't even know it?" Zheng Li said, speechless.

"Hmm... that's just because you haven't realized it yourself."

"Go away, stop spouting nonsense here."

Zheng Li gave Ling Nan a shove.

"A Li, why do I feel like you really despise me?" Ling Nan said, looking pitiful.

"You don't need to feel it; I really do despise you." As Zheng Li said this, he even made a look of disgust.

"Why?"

"What do you think? You're a man, constantly crowding up against me all day long. Don't you think that's, you know?"

Ling Nan was confused: "What is 'that, you know'?"

Zheng Li glanced at Ling Nan. Why did he have to ask for such a clear explanation?

"Disgusting..."

Two men hugging and cuddling...

Ling Nan: "..."

"A Li, you're going too far. I wouldn't crowd up to anyone else."

"Oh." Zheng Li replied flatly.

Seeing Zheng Li like this, Ling Nan expressed that he was very sorrowful.

The examiner for District Eleven was named Jin Qiu.

After the six groups of students in District Eleven were all present, he stated some precautions and then began the competition.

The first match wasn't their group's. Two sides, six Spirit Masters in total, fought for a few minutes before one side was defeated—it was very quick.

The second match wasn't theirs either; it was also six people, all of whom were Spirit Masters.

It wasn't until the final match that it was their turn.

"First round, third match of the assessment: Freshman Class Five: Zheng Li, Ling Nan, Cui Yajie; Freshman Class Six: Feng Da, Ying Qinli, Lin Xin. You may enter the arena."

The other four groups that had finished competing didn't leave; they wanted to see the situation of other classes, to know themselves and their enemies, to understand their opponents better, and to increase their win rate.

Stepping onto the stage, Zheng Li and his team stood at one corner of the arena, and the others at the opposite, just as Mu Jin had instructed.

"The match begins." Jin Qiu glanced at them and shouted.

As the voice fell, both sides instantly released their Martial Souls and Spirit Rings.

At the same time, Ling Nan and Cui Yajie directly lit up their first Spirit Rings.

Cui Yajie, having released her Martial Soul, looked a few years older. Her long pink hair had grown even longer and developed large, wavy curls, her ears had become pointed, and her appearance was even more stunning. Behind her, two long, large tails had appeared, each about a meter long, with two yellow Spirit Rings circling the tips of the tails.

For the Nine-Tailed Fox Martial Soul, every additional Spirit Ring meant an additional tail.

Seeing these two yellow Spirit Rings, everyone outside the arena was shocked. The first thought in their minds was to hope they wouldn't encounter Class Five.

The people from Class Six on the opposite side also showed a momentary panic; all three of them were merely Spirit Masters.

The next moment, Ling Nan moved.

With his first Spirit Skill, Godspeed, activated, his speed was incredibly fast. The wings on his back flapped, leaving behind an afterimage as he flew toward the power-attack type student from Class Six, Feng Da.

Feng Da's Martial Soul was a Leaf-Cutter Power Ant, which possessed quite strong power, but in the end, he couldn't unleash it.

Cui Yajie's first Spirit Skill, Charm, caused Feng Da to lose focus.

At this moment, countless golden rays of light rushed toward the agility-attack type student from Class Six, Ying Qinli; these were Zheng Li's Spirit Skill, Light Sword.

A golden ring hovered in front of Zheng Li, and he immediately lit up his Spirit Ring.

The Light Swords surrounded Ying Qinli from multiple angles, and at the same time, a black, ghostly light slashed toward Feng Da's throat! It was Ling Nan's Cat Claw.

Having been hit by Charm and losing his focus, Feng Da had no possibility of defending himself.

Lin Xin, who was behind Feng Da and Ying Qinli, saw this situation and hurriedly lit up his first Spirit Skill. His Martial Soul was Letter Paper, and he possessed innate Spirit Power of level seven; he was a support-type.

A piece of yellow letter paper drifted toward Feng Da like a talisman; its effect was an agility boost.

The teacher of Class Six had seen that although Feng Da's power was strong, his speed was simply too slow, so he had assigned Lin Xin to their group—a rational distribution.

However, it was already too late. Not to mention Feng Da being dazed, Ling Nan's Cat Claw was already resting against Feng Da's neck.

A light prick from the sharp Cat Claw would be enough to slit Feng Da's throat.

The Light Swords arrived, and Ying Qinli was clearly unable to cope, her eyes filled with panic. At this moment, the examiner Jin Qiu moved. His vast Spirit Power at the Spirit Emperor level swept out, instantly shattering all the Light Swords.

The outcome was decided.

Lin Xin, being a support-type, had no strength to resist at all.

The four groups of students outside the arena were deathly silent.

What a naked gap in strength!

Forget it, there was no point in thinking about passing the assessment with the highest regional score anymore.

"Class Five, winner!"

Jin Qiu glanced at Zheng Li as he made the announcement. The rules of the competition forbade maiming or killing opponents; if he hadn't intervened, Ying Qinli might have died! But that was simply the nature of the boy's Martial Soul skill, and one couldn't exactly forbid him from using it.

The first round of matches concluded.

Zheng Li and his team left immediately.

The other four groups, including the still-dazed students from Class Six, followed suit one after another.

"That went very smoothly."

Walking back to the dorms, Cui Yajie said with a smile, clearly in a great mood.

The fact that they had cooperated so tacitly without any prior communication was all thanks to Mu Jin's practical combat training.

"It was indeed smooth."

Zheng Li nodded.

Cui Yajie felt a bit awkward, not knowing what else to say.

Zheng Li and Ling Nan both seemed to be poor at communication.

"Do you want to go grab a meal later? We could discuss the ranking matches?" Cui Yajie hesitated for a moment before suggesting.

"Sure, that works. Let's meet at the dormitory entrance when it's time for dinner." Zheng Li did not refuse, and Ling Nan gave his silent consent.

"Alright."

The next day, there were four rounds of matches in total, split between the morning and afternoon.

On the third day, there were five matches.

There were no surprises; Zheng Li and his team passed the assessment with the highest regional score.

Among the three eliminated groups was Class Six. They had originally had a high chance of passing, but after being soundly defeated by Zheng Li's team twice, the blow to their morale was immense, resulting in them finishing fourth in points and landing in the elimination bracket.

Out of the twenty-nine groups in Class Five, only twenty passed the assessment. According to information Ling Nan had gathered, one class even had only twelve groups pass, so their class's results were already quite good.

Next came the knockout stage, which only the top sixty-four teams by points could enter.

Since Zheng Li and his team had won every match in the assessment phase, they naturally made it into the top sixty-four.

Shen Lan was also filled with joy.

Out of one hundred and fifty groups, only seven had won every match in the assessment phase, and her Class Five accounted for two of them. Su Yunqing's group had lost one match; according to the young girl, there was a group in their region composed entirely of Great Soul Masters, though they still managed to make it into the top sixty-four.

Chapter 26: Self-Awareness

"Zheng Li!"

"Here."

In the assessment area, the Dean of Academic Affairs, Du Weilun, was taking roll call.

Zheng Li didn't quite understand why they needed to take roll call. Was it out of fear that someone wouldn't show up?

Come to think of it, there were indeed people who were late.

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong—judging by their appearance, they had likely just finished performing their Martial Soul Fusion.

Sigh~ The championship title is truly out of reach!

Zheng Li lamented in his heart.

The knockout stage naturally began with the round of sixty-four to thirty-two.

Opponents were decided by drawing lots, and thirty-two matches were held simultaneously across thirty-two zones.

During the draw.

"You go, A Li," Ling Nan said with a smile, giving Zheng Li a nudge.

"Mm, I agree too," Cui Yajie chimed in. Her sweet, charming smile caused some of the students who saw it to lose their focus.

There was an imperceptible, strange glint in her eyes.

This was not the first time she had heard the nickname "A Li" from Ling Nan, but every time she heard it, she couldn't help but suspect that the two of them were... gay.

"Mm."

Without refusing, Zheng Li gave a flat response and stepped forward to draw his lot.

This attitude, in particular, deepened Cui Yajie's suspicions. She was quite confident in her own appearance, yet Zheng Li remained as indifferent as ever.

The draw concluded.

"District Eleven, Class Three, huh..."

Ling Nan took the results from Zheng Li and looked them over.

Speaking of which... why is it District Eleven again?

Soon, the three of them arrived at District Eleven, where the examiner had naturally been replaced.

This time it was still a male teacher, looking to be in his thirties and appearing very mild-mannered.

Since there were only two teams in each area, there was no need for a roll call.

"State your names." The male teacher didn't waste any time and started the match directly.

"Class Five, Zheng Li (Ling Nan, Cui Yajie)."

"Class Three, Ji Xun (Xie Jinhua, Tan Ye)."

Ji Xun's eyes were very bright as he looked at Cui Yajie.

"Yajie, are you interested in grabbing a meal together after the match?"

"Get lost!" Cui Yajie's expression turned cold in an instant.

Zheng Li and Ling Nan had strange looks on their faces; was he hitting on Cui Yajie? Immediately, the way they looked at Ji Xun turned somewhat sympathetic.

Don't let the fact that Cui Yajie usually smiled sweetly in front of them fool you; she was a ruthless person!

May you be blessed with good fortune!

"Don't be so cold. How about this, Yajie? If we win, you go eat with me, and if we lose, I'll go eat with you. How about that?" Ji Xun didn't mind, saying it with a cheerful laugh.

Cui Yajie's expression grew even colder.

"Eat? I think you're looking for death!"

"Such harsh words, but Yajie, you'll have to defeat me first!" Ji Xun flashed a smile he thought was handsome.

He didn't notice that his teammates, Xie Jinhua and Tan Ye, were looking at him with disgust.