Nobody's Got Any Luck / Hiding

Then once Xiao Nai was won over by her, wouldn't that be that?

Just then.

"Wait!" Su Yunqing suddenly stopped and said.

"What's wrong, Yunqing?" Zheng Li asked.

"So Ling Nan and Ya Jie just thought I was your fiancée, Zheng Li?"

Zheng Li nodded with a peculiar expression. Though he was in a bad mood, this little one sure was slow on the uptake.

Once she got confirmation, Su Yunqing's expression turned fierce. She bared a pair of adorable little canines and reached out, summoning her Imperial War Hammer.

"Ling Nan! You're asking for a beating!"

Ling Nan had sensed trouble coming and ran at once.

Su Yunqing gave chase with her hammer raised. Ling Nan had nearly run out of Soul Power during the match, so he probably wouldn't get far before she caught him.

Sure enough, Ling Nan's indignant voice soon rang out from nearby.

"Are you kidding me? Why are you only hitting me? Ya Jie thought the same thing!"

"Then you must've put the idea in her head! Take another hit!"

"No, no, no! Another one and I'm done for!"

Cui Yajie: "..."

No One's Luck Was Any Good

"Are they always like that?"

Cui Yajie asked pointedly.

Zheng Li nodded. "More or less. That Gluttonous Cat can't keep her mouth shut."

"Oh, they seem to get along pretty well."

"Yeah, they're all right."

Cui Yajie ran her fingers through the hair falling over her shoulder, feeling... so awkward! She didn't know what to say.

It felt like an eternity away...

Her pink eyes went unfocused, her thoughts drifting somewhere else.

The next day, the semifinals began.

Xuan Zi was no longer in the stands, but two others had joined them: the white-clad elder Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo, a burly man in his fifties.

Qian Duoduo's face was free of wrinkles. His white hair stood like steel needles, lending him a somewhat weathered air. His tall, powerful frame looked as if it had been carved from granite, and his skin was bronze. He stood well over two meters tall.

If he stood beside Zheng Li, he'd look like a giant.

Today, Yan Shaozhe had replaced Du Weilun as the person drawing the lots.

The dean gave the students a few words of encouragement, then began drawing.

When it was Zheng Li's turn,

Yan Shaozhe narrowed his eyes and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Young man, you did well in the assessment. I hope you'll have another victory today."

"Thank you for the praise, Dean. My teammates and I will do our best." Zheng Li's expression didn't change as he replied.

"Good. Go on."

Yan Shaozhe smiled, though somehow the smile looked foxlike.

"A Li, who are we up against?" Ling Nan asked.

"I haven't looked yet. Let me check." Zheng Li opened the slip of paper in his hand and read the result.

"..."

Seeing Zheng Li's expression turn grim, Ling Nan asked, "A Li? What's wrong? Did we draw Dai Huabin and his team?"

Among the new students, only three teams had a Soul Elder. The only one that had made it this far was Dai Huabin's team.

The other two... had become stepping stones for Huo Yuhao's team.

"No. Sigh..." Zheng Li handed Ling Nan the slip and sighed.

"Class One. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao..." Ling Nan read it, then looked up in confusion. "Isn't that great? Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu might have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, which would make them tough to handle. Huo Yuhao's team should be easier by comparison."

"What's so great about it?"

"Didn't you hear the reports that Huo Yuhao's team took down two teams with Soul Elders?"

Zheng Li rolled his eyes at Ling Nan.

Ling Nan replied, "I did..."

He'd been completely shocked at the time!

"Anyway, keep this in mind. I know something that isn't widely known: Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong also have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and it's extremely powerful."

"Right, and it..." Zheng Li recalled, then continued, "It seals Martial Souls for a certain amount of time, stuns, dissolves, and disintegrates. Against Spirit Beasts, it strips away their souls."

The dissolving part seemed to affect Soul Power... Zheng Li couldn't quite remember.

Cui Yajie said, "Zheng Li, are you sure you aren't joking? Martial Soul Fusion Skills are extremely difficult to achieve. Even people with the same bloodline and the same Martial Soul aren't guaranteed to have one. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong... judging by their names, they're clearly from different families! And besides..."

She didn't finish. Besides, the Fusion Skill Zheng Li described sounded far too powerful.

"I'm sure!"

Zheng Li insisted. If he was wrong, he'd even run naked around Shrek!

"That makes things difficult." Ling Nan didn't doubt him. He figured Zheng Li must have had another glimpse of a possible future at some point.

Seeing Zheng Li's certainty, Cui Yajie couldn't help believing him.

"Then what should we do?"

"I have an idea."

"What idea?" Cui Yajie looked at Zheng Li.

An idea was good! If Zheng Li was right, their chances of winning were undeniably low.

"It's simple to say... but not easy to pull off. We take Huo Yuhao out first! That way, they can't use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"

Zheng Li lifted his head. No matter how he looked at it, Huo Yuhao was their likeliest target, and taking him out was the sensible choice.

Both Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Shock were troublesome Soul Skills!

One thing was in their favor: Huo Yuhao wasn't all that powerful in combat yet.

Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong wouldn't be easy to deal with.

"That could work. You two hold Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao off, and I'll take out Huo Yuhao." Ling Nan spoke confidently. As a Soul Master, he could handle it!

"You? Give it a rest." Zheng Li shook his head. Ling Nan was fast, but Huo Yuhao had the Purple Demon Eye. He could see his movements, then hit him with a Spiritual Shock. At best, Ling Nan would get a headache; at worst, he'd pass out.

"A Li, what do you mean? You think I can't beat that Huo Yuhao?"

"Maybe."

Ling Nan: "..."

"Ling Nan, let me ask you something. Can you use Godspeed while carrying someone?" Zheng Li asked after a moment's thought.

"Of course. Though we'd be slower," Ling Nan replied.

So, A Li, are you planning to take off?

"Then this might be easier. Let's hope it works. We'll do this..."

Zheng Li quietly went over their plan and explained the Golden Road in detail, just in case.

After hesitating, he also told Ling Nan and Cui Yajie about Spiritual Detection, not caring whether they believed him.

Cui Yajie was only half-convinced.

Ling Nan, on the other hand, looked as if he'd seen a ghost. He immediately agreed they should take Huo Yuhao out first!

"Both sides, state your names!"

The proctor had been replaced by a middle-aged man.

The semifinals were still being held simultaneously, and Zheng Li's team was still in "Area One."

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

"Class One, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao."

As they called out their names, Huo Yuhao glanced covertly at Zheng Li, wariness in his eyes.

It wasn't only because of Zheng Li's Soul Skills. It was also because of that hand yesterday; the three of them had just spent a long time guessing what it meant.

"Huo Yuhao, we meet again," Zheng Li said with a smile.

"Yes, hello, Zheng Li." As the saying went, you didn't slap a smiling face. Huo Yuhao nodded warmly too.

Wang Dong beside him didn't look very friendly.

He felt that Zheng Li's smiling face meant he couldn't be a good person.

After the two exchanged a few more words, the proctor announced the start of the match.

Once both sides summoned their Martial Souls, Ling Nan quickly flew into the air and used his first Soul Skill! Zheng Li leaped up and grabbed both his feet.

At the same time, a golden ring floated behind Zheng Li's head and drifted in front of him. Golden light rippled as he activated his Light Sword!

His target was Wang Dong, who had already flown low over the ground.

Then Zheng Li and Ling Nan charged forward!

Cui Yajie rushed at Xiao Xiao, her steps light, and used her second Soul Skill, Fox Tail Needle. Two furry tails lashed toward Xiao Xiao!

"Holy crap! Are they crazy?" Wang Dong was dumbfounded. They were using Soul Skills right from the start?

"Yuhao, watch out! They're after you! Hang on while I break through this damned Light Sword."

After a moment's thought, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao both understood Zheng Li's team's objective.

Though they couldn't understand why Zheng Li's team had targeted Yuhao first.

Huo Yuhao knew, of course. His pupils took on a purplish hue as he unleashed Spiritual Shock at Cui Yajie!

Xiao Xiao was currently using the first Soul Skill of her Nine Phoenix Flute, slowing Zheng Li and the others down.

Even so, Cui Yajie's tails were already in front of Xiao Xiao, who had just switched Martial Souls.

"Ah!"

Just as expected, Cui Yajie's head suddenly throbbed as if it had been pierced by a needle.

Her two furry tails went out of control and slammed into the ground. A thunderous crash shook the arena, leaving a sizable crater.

Xiao Xiao seized the chance to retreat and placed the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron in front of herself.

Hidden

The dazzling wings of Wang Dong's Light Goddess Butterfly were edged in gold. She was using her first Soul Skill, Wing Blade; the sharp, resilient wings were continuously chopping apart one Light Sword after another!

This was an attack from multiple angles, which showed just how quick Wang Dong's reactions were.

Just then, Zheng Li and Ling Nan flew level with Wang Dong.

"Remember, do your best to hold Wang Dong off. If you can't, fall back. Don't push yourself too far," Zheng Li reminded him.

Ling Nan was touched. "Don't worry. Wang Dong may be strong, but I'm no pushover!"

"When have you ever been a pushover?" Zheng Li said calmly, then released Ling Nan's feet.