Not the Same

Even the three of them were at a slight disadvantage against Dai Huabin.

"We can't drag this out any longer..." Zheng Li panted and muttered under his breath. Then he gave Cui Yajie a look and called out to Ling Nan.

The two of them immediately understood what Zheng Li meant.

"Meow!"

A sharp cat's cry rang out, and Ling Nan immediately lit her only Soul Ring, entering the state of Cat Void Step! Her bizarre speed burst forth once more, even surpassing Zhu Lu by quite a bit.

Zhu Lu gritted her teeth and used her second Soul Skill, Nether Hundred Claws. Her speed surged as well, and she once again reached a stalemate with Ling Nan.

But because she was on the ground, she was still at a disadvantage.

Zhu Lu wanted to swear.

Damn it! Why hadn't Ling Nan, that short little runt, been this terrifying during practical training?!

She'd been paired with Ling Nan during practical training, against the group led by Cui Yajie.

Her group had lost! Zhu Lu, like Cui Yajie, was a two-ring Soul Master, and she wasn't one to accept defeat easily.

Now that she thought about it...

So that bastard Ling Nan had been holding back!

Damn it!

Meanwhile, on Zheng Li's side.

Zheng Li withdrew from the fight, leaving Xiao Nai and Cui Yajie to hold Dai Huabin back.

Dai Huabin sensed that something was wrong.

As expected, Zheng Li lit his First Soul Ring. A golden ring floated in front of him, golden light gathering within it!

It was just like the giant Light Sword move described in the information he'd heard about at noon!

Dai Huabin let out a tiger's roar. His second Soul Ring shone as he dodged to the side, then a white ball of light shot toward Zheng Li.

"Class monitor, I won't let you get away with it!"

Cui Yajie quickly retreated and used Fox Tail Needle once more!

Xiao Nai used her Light Sword Soul Skill to keep Dai Huabin occupied. Golden light flashed repeatedly, preventing him from interfering with Cui Yajie. At the same time, blazing golden light shimmered in front of Zheng Li as shield after shield took shape.

That was Xiao Nai's doing, of course.

Fox Tail Needle intercepted White Tiger Intense Light Wave, and a roar rang out. Pink and white light rippled in front of Zheng Li. He didn't panic; he simply poured all his remaining Soul Power into the golden ring, making sure to leave enough to maintain his Platinum Combat Suit.

Dai Huabin, surrounded by Light Swords, looked on with disgust. That disgusting Soul Skill again!

He used White Tiger Protection Barrier once more and relied on the defensive power granted by White Tiger Vajra Transformation to withstand the Light Swords one after another! Of course, he also lashed out with his tiger claws to destroy them as quickly as he could!

Blood trickled from Cui Yajie's mouth, and her beautiful pink tails were in poor shape. Even with Xiao Nai's light shields and her Fox Tail Needle, a Soul Elder was still a Soul Elder. The shields and Fox Tail Needle alone weren't enough to cancel out White Tiger Intense Light Wave, so she used her own tails to block the attack's remaining force.

Fortunately, her injuries weren't too serious.

Just as the Light Swords were about to be destroyed, a giant Light Sword took shape.

Not the Same

A whistle split the air. The giant Light Sword, carrying a dense aura of light and an extremely sharp edge, locked onto Dai Huabin!

The giant Light Sword's aura was even stronger than it had been that morning.

That was only natural.

Zheng Li and Xiao Nai hadn't used their Soul Skills at the start, and they'd done their best to conserve their Soul Power. Even though Xiao Nai had released her Light Sword Soul Skill once at the end, Zheng Li still had plenty of Soul Power left.

And Zheng Li poured all of it into this attack.

If it didn't succeed, neither he nor Xiao Nai would have the strength to keep fighting.

It was do or die.

As for Dai Huabin, why didn't he use White Tiger Intense Light Wave to blast a huge hole in the ring of Light Swords around him?

Because he didn't have much Soul Power left.

Maintaining White Tiger Vajra Transformation took Soul Power. And just now, he'd fought three opponents at once without falling behind, even gaining the upper hand. He'd had to pour Soul Power into that, too, and it had taken a heavy toll.

That was part of Zheng Li's plan.

White Tiger Protection Barrier consumed less Soul Power and could still block the Light Swords. And even if Dai Huabin broke out, wouldn't those two "overprotective" tigresses still be waiting for him?

Xiao Nai, Cui Yajie: ...

Weren't you the tiger here?

It wouldn't be easy for him to break through the defenses of Cui Yajie and Xiao Nai.

Facing the giant Light Sword, Dai Huabin felt a sense of danger! He'd overestimated himself...

Was he going to lose?

Dai Huabin glanced at Zhu Lu, who was still tied up. Even if she broke free, what would it matter? They couldn't use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

"Ahhh! Damn Class Seven!" Dai Huabin shouted angrily.

Otherwise, how could he lose to the group led by Zheng Li, the very group he'd vowed to humiliate before the match?

The Class Seven students watching from the stands: "..."

Huang Chutian and the Lan sisters, in particular, were thinking: You're about to lose. What does that have to do with us?!

Shouldn't you be shouting about your own Class Five?

The Class Seven homeroom teacher was speechless, too.

"Shen Lan, your Class Five should thank me this time! If Chutian and the others hadn't crippled Dai Huabin's group's Martial Soul Fusion Skill, your class might not have taken first place!"

Shen Lan: ??

"Qing, you may have gotten one thing wrong. Dai Huabin's group is in my Class Five, too, so either group taking first place is fine by me."

The Class Seven homeroom teacher, Qing: "?!"

That was true!

How awkward.

On the ring, the giant Light Sword came down. Dai Huabin fought back, using White Tiger Protection Barrier and White Tiger Intense Light Wave once more!

But White Tiger Intense Light Wave was instantly scattered by the slash, while White Tiger Protection Barrier was now as flimsy as paper!

The middle-aged teacher intervened in time, striking the giant Light Sword apart with a palm and saving Dai Huabin before taking him away.

You again! Zheng Li glanced over. How many times had this teacher smashed apart his and Xiao Nai's Soul Skills?

"It worked..."

Zheng Li dropped to one knee, panting. His face was pale, and he looked utterly exhausted. His Platinum Combat Suit had grown very faint, too.

At the sight, most of the female students had already turned away...

Xiao Nai stepped forward and helped Zheng Li up.

Cui Yajie glanced over, then went to help Ling Nan. Ling Nan probably didn't have much Soul Power left either.

Under the two of them attacking together, Zhu Lu soon lost.

The middle-aged teacher announced the result.

"Class Five wins and takes the freshman elimination tournament championship!"

The stands fell completely silent...

Only the boys from Class Five applauded.

Zheng Li and the others felt a little awkward, then quickly left the ring.

Zheng Li went to get dressed. After that, they went out for a good meal to celebrate. The meal cost nearly seventy Gold Soul Coins.

Su Yunqing, the little one who'd gone with them, was badly startled when she saw how much they'd eaten in one sitting...

The next morning, Ling Nan woke Zheng Li.

"Ugh..." Zheng Li moved a little and felt his muscles ache. He'd pushed himself to the limit yesterday, nearly exhausting all his Soul Power, and hadn't cultivated during the night. He'd simply lain down and rested.

It wasn't too serious, though.

Today was the day they'd receive their rewards.

All the new students gathered at the assessment grounds once again.

Du Weilun held a folder in his hand. After smiling and looking over the new students, he said, "I'm sure everyone already knows that the freshman assessment elimination tournament has ended, and the top three teams have been decided. Now, I'll officially announce the results and the rewards they'll receive..."

The top three teams came forward one after another.

Huo Yuhao's team had naturally taken third place. Without their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Huang Chutian's team couldn't possibly have beaten Huo Yuhao's.

Huang Chutian's team had taken fourth.

After giving a few more rousing words of encouragement, Du Weilun moved on to the rewards.

Dai Huabin was distracted, repeatedly glancing toward Zheng Li and the others, his face full of resentment.

Zheng Li was helpless. Was Dai Huabin holding a grudge against him now?

Was Dai Huabin really a hurdle he'd have to overcome to take first place?

"Now, the rewards for the top three teams. When they need a Soul Ring, each student may make a request to the academy. The academy will help them obtain one that they can withstand and that suits them best."

There was no change; it was just as Zheng Li remembered.

Then came the special reward for first place among the new students—a Spirit Bone. That was what Zheng Li had been aiming for.

No matter how it was divided up, he'd have enough Gold Soul Coins to buy the Blade of Life.

Finally, there were the places for core disciples.

Zheng Li, Cui Yajie, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng.

Those temporarily granted core-disciple treatment—that is, provisional core disciples—were Ling Nan, Huang Chutian, Long Xiangyue, Nanmen Yun'er...

At the end, Du Weilun paused before announcing the final name. He also glanced at Zheng Li, seemingly without meaning to.

Zheng Li noticed.

"Su Yunqing."

If a provisional core disciple made a breakthrough by the time of next year's promotion assessment, she would be promoted to a full core disciple.

When Zheng Li heard that, his body trembled.

What the heck was going on? Huo Yuhao wasn't even a provisional core disciple?

Was it because his ranking had dropped? Or because he and Wang Dong hadn't used their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Golden Road?

That was right. Huo Yuhao's team hadn't needed to use Golden Road against Huang Chutian's team.

Zheng Li's mouth twitched. He glanced at Huo Yuhao and saw him clenching his fists, head bowed as he thought about something.

What could he say? He'd just wait and see the academy regret it!

He wasn't surprised that Ling Nan had become a provisional core disciple, but the little one...

Su Yunqing herself was stunned. Given her team's ranking, she'd actually become a core disciple? Even if she was only a provisional one?

There were plenty of Soul Grandmasters who hadn't made the cut.

From the look Du Weilun had given him just now, Zheng Li had already understood: the academy had made an exception for the little one because she was close to him.

That wasn't surprising.

After they were dismissed, Zheng Li and the others followed Du Weilun to the office building behind the higher-year classrooms.