The Tournament Was Near

The Tournament Was Near

"You don't think you're lucky enough?"

The transfer of power came to an end. Chi Qiu raised a hand and lightly brushed her forehead, and the blood-red Vertical Eye closed and vanished. Huo Yuhao slowly shut his own emerald Eye of Destiny as well. It was surprisingly difficult for him; his newly upgraded power was immense, and it took effort to rein it in.

Though Huo Yuhao's Soul Power was still below level thirty, the sheer breadth of his spiritual power was already comparable to that of some Mental-type Spirit Masters at levels fifty or sixty. Now he needed to familiarize himself with it, consolidate it, and master its use completely. That was what he would be working on during his daily meditation and cultivation.

"True." Huo Yuhao touched his forehead, then smiled. "Meeting you, Qiu'er, has already made me lucky enough."

Chi Qiu was taken aback. She quickly changed the subject. "All right, it's almost lunchtime. Let's go eat. How much money do you have left?"

"Well... I don't need to worry so much about money anymore. After Big Brother Xiao learned about my situation, he applied for a subsidy for me. Now I can earn a little by helping out in the lab for an hour each day, enough to get by. If you or Wang Dong run into trouble, you can talk to Big Brother Xiao, too. He can be a little arrogant, but he's a pretty good guy."

Huo Yuhao worried that Chi Qiu and Wang Dong might be influenced by the other students, so he casually put in a good word for Xiao Hongchen.

"Okay." Chi Qiu didn't seem to have much of an opinion on it; she simply nodded. "Then let's go eat now. We won't wait for Wang Dong. She'll probably be busy with her special training for a while yet."

"Are you really an Agility Attack System Soul Master, Wang Dong?"

Wang Dong gasped as she dodged two simulated Soul Guidance Rays, then heard Yu Rufeng ask her the question.

"More or less," she replied awkwardly, adjusting her position in midair.

Ever since she'd changed her cultivation approach, she'd considered herself an Agility Attack System Soul Master. But when faced with a true Agility Attack System Soul Saint, she was clearly out of her depth.

"Other than your third Soul Skill and your ability to fly, there's nothing about you that resembles an Agility Attack System Soul Master," Yu Rufeng remarked.

Since Wang Dong had chosen to cultivate as an Agility Attack System Soul Master, her third Soul Ring hadn't granted her Butterfly God Slash, a powerful frontal attack skill. Instead, she'd gained Blue Scale Feather Blade, a skill focused on speed and explosive destructive power.

When activated, the skill drew on her flight speed. Several blue-gold blades formed from feather dust would shoot from her Butterfly Wings. Each blade was tiny but sharp enough to slice through solid objects as easily as tofu. Even a Soul Saint would be left with a few bloody gashes if they didn't use their Martial Soul Avatar.

But the skill still had room to improve beyond the power Wang Dong was currently showing. The key was her own speed.

"Too slow." Yu Rufeng sighed. The Xuanbing Sparrow Martial Soul Avatar flashed, and he appeared directly behind Wang Dong. The chill at her back made her skin prickle, but she couldn't dodge in time. She immediately raised both hands. "I give up!"

The White Sparrow flickered, and Yu Rufeng's Martial Soul Avatar disappeared. "Be honest with me."

"I'm sorry, Teacher Yu. I actually only switched to the Agility Attack System halfway through," Wang Dong confessed. "When I took the entrance exam at my old school, each team was only allowed one Power Attack System Soul Master. I wanted to be on the same team as Miss Qiu, so I decided to change my cultivation path."

"That explains it." Yu Rufeng considered this. "Your first and second Soul Skills are both the kind of skills a Power Attack System Soul Master would normally acquire."

"Teacher Yu, I actually don't think the difference is that great." Wang Dong seized her chance to interject. "Speed is also power. My first Soul Skill, Wing Guillotine, is clearly more powerful at high speed than at low speed."

Yu Rufeng's eyes suddenly lit up. "Could your cultivation path be a combination of the two?"

"Yes, Teacher."

"How are you reacting to Soul Tools now?" he suddenly asked. Wang Dong paused.

"I don't have much trouble with support-type Soul Tools so far. I haven't faced any offensive ones lately, so I don't know how I'd react."

"Student Xiao asked me to hold onto a set of Soul Tools for him." As he spoke, Yu Rufeng pulled two small, hexagram-shaped Soul Tools from his Storage Soul Tool.

"He made these himself after hearing that you were an Agility Attack System Soul Master. They're level-five Soul Guidance Thrusters. From what he said, he seems to want to use you as a test subject and see how resistant you are to Soul Tools. The idea was too absurd, so I didn't agree at the time, for your safety."

"But if you don't have any problems with them, these Soul Guidance Thrusters could greatly improve your speed and help you get the most out of your cultivation approach. It depends on how you feel about it..."

"Teacher, give them to me." Wang Dong's reply was unexpectedly firm.

"...Your courage is admirable. But I still advise you not to gamble with your health." Yu Rufeng remained hesitant. "You should know that the Soul Fighting Tournament is less than three months away. Judging by the academy's plans, unless something unexpected happens, you and Yuhao will be competing as reserve team members."

"It's fine, Teacher. Give them to me," Wang Dong said. She had already folded away her Butterfly Wings and landed lightly on the ground.

At this point, Yu Rufeng said nothing more. "Spread your wings," he instructed. "I'll find a suitable spot to attach them so they'll give you the best boost."

Wang Dong nodded, and her dazzling Light Goddess Butterfly Wings unfurled behind her. Waves of light power rippled outward, making the two hexagram-shaped Soul Tools gleam.

Yu Rufeng examined her wings briefly, then placed the two hexagrams symmetrically near her shoulder blades. As they absorbed Wang Dong's Soul Power, the two stars settled lightly against her back. With a faint click, they fastened themselves securely in place.

Wang Dong didn't wait. She immediately channeled Soul Power into them and activated the thrusters. In the next instant, a streak of light flashed, and she was already more than ten meters away. Her pale face, illuminated by golden light, was full of astonishment.

"This speed..." she murmured. "It won't just improve my third Soul Skill. The other two will get a huge boost, too."

"How do you feel?" Yu Rufeng was clearly more concerned about her physical condition. He was confident that the Soul Tools Xiao Hongchen had made himself would be of good quality.

"I'm fine. Teacher, are these thrusters a gift for me?" Wang Dong sounded delighted.

"They were always meant for you. I just held onto them for a while."

"That's great!" Wang Dong said happily, spreading her wings. In the next moment, she had flown off somewhere again.

--In truth, her head had started aching faintly the moment the thrusters touched her body.

But she decided to ignore the feeling. So much for being allergic to Soul Tools, she thought. From this moment on, she'd treat it as desensitization training!

She had considered Teacher Yu's concerns, too. But the tournament was coming, and if she still couldn't use Soul Tools, the gap between her strength and that of Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu, who could use them, would only grow wider. She absolutely refused to be left behind.

That blurry figure in her dream... Whoever was trying to stop her from getting close to Soul Tools, she'd use them just to spite them!