Quarterfinals

As the firelight dispersed, Xie Huanyue, who had taken Wu Feng's Dragon's Fire head-on, gritted his teeth tightly, feeling as though his entire body were burning with pain.

A trace of shock flashed through his eyes. After witnessing Qin Yue withstand the combined attack of two Soul Grand Masters yesterday, Xie Huanyue had been drawn to that way of perfectly displaying one's strength. That was why he had wanted to imitate Qin Yue today.

Yesterday had been a combined attack from two people, and one of the attacks had even come from a Millennium Soul Ring. Today, there was only Wu Feng, and she had only used her First Soul Skill. No matter how Xie Huanyue thought about it, he could not figure out what was wrong with his approach. Yet who could have expected the intensity of Wu Feng's attack to far exceed his expectations?!

Knowing he could not continue like this, Xie Huanyue let out a roar. His Second Soul Ring suddenly lit up, and his originally short, thick left arm lashed out. To everyone's surprise, it abruptly lengthened and struck Wu Feng squarely.

Yet after taking such a heavy blow, Wu Feng merely took half a step back before stopping. She cast Xie Huanyue a disdainful glance as the flames around her surged again.

How was that possible? Xie Huanyue was stunned, but he did not ignore the flaming Dragon Claw rushing at him once more. He abruptly crouched and sprang upward, his enormous body shooting more than ten meters into the air!

The purple Millennium Soul Ring shone brightly. With a low roar from Xie Huanyue, the massive "rubber ball" in the sky suddenly smashed downward!

Realizing she did not have time to dodge, Wu Feng simply chose not to. She activated her First Soul Ring again, blazing fire coating her Dragon Claw as she blasted upward at Xie Huanyue.

Bang!!!

A violent explosion rang out at the center of the field. Ning Tian, who had been chatting with Qin Yue, suddenly turned serious. Her Second Soul Ring flashed. "Seven Treasures Famous, second: Release!"

A ray of light flew from the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda and shot straight into the smoke billowing up from the explosion.

The next instant, Wu Feng's furious roar sounded from within the smoke. Then, soaring flames erupted once more. The spectators saw only the phantom of a giant dragon formed from fire in the smoke. The dragon fiercely swung its claw, and a massive body rolled out of the smoke, only barely stopping at the edge of the Arena.

Xie Huanyue spat out a mouthful of blood. At this moment, there was not a patch of uninjured skin left on his body. He had been scorched all over by Wu Feng's flames, and less than one-tenth of his fighting strength remained.

But Wu Feng's condition was no better. Borrowing Ning Tian's power, she had only just regained clarity for a moment. After barely swinging out that claw, she collapsed to the ground, completely unable to continue fighting.

Qin Yue glanced at Wu Feng and confirmed that Little Dragon Maiden's injuries were not too serious. She had merely exhausted all her stamina.

Then he looked at Xie Huanyue, who had barely managed to prop himself up into a seated position. Though Qin Yue said nothing, he had already said everything.

Xie Huanyue took two heavy breaths, his heart filled with unwillingness. If the Rubber Elephant Martial Soul had not inherently been inferior to the Red Dragon, and if the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's effects had not been so overwhelming, how could he have ended up mutually injured with a mere Soul Grandmaster?!

But things had come to this. Understanding that he had no chance of winning at all, Xie Huanyue could not be bothered to struggle any longer. He leaned backward and fell off the stage with a "thud," beginning treatment from the Healing-type Soul Master who had long been waiting nearby.

Supported to her feet by Ning Tian, Wu Feng gave a "heh heh" laugh and basked in the cheers of the surrounding audience. At the same time, she did not forget to provoke Qin Yue. "See that?! I, Wu Feng, can beat a Soul Elder too! You'd better keep cultivating hard, or one day I'll make you pay for those two punches!"

Qin Yue laughed heartily. He did not point out that Xie Huanyue actually still had the strength to fight, but had chosen to concede after considering that Qin Yue and Ning Tian remained at full strength.

Although this little girl's injuries were not serious, she had endured that attack through the Red Dragon Martial Soul's sheer toughness and fought with everything she had to win back a match. Indulging her a little now was nothing.

Seeing that Qin Yue did not refute her, Wu Feng became even happier. She wrapped her arms around Ning Tian and took a deep sniff.

But the next moment, Wu Feng's body stiffened. Her neck slowly lifted as if it had rusted, while Ning Tian's puzzled and embarrassed voice sounded beside her ear. "Feng Mei, what are you doing? Do I smell strange?"

Qin Yue curled his lips as he watched Wu Feng accidentally expose her particular tastes. With a meaningful smile, he said, "Even if you do have a scent, Wu Feng definitely wouldn't dislike it. After all, you're her 'Feng Mei,' after all~"

Hearing the implication in Qin Yue's words, Wu Feng's blood rushed to her head, and even her ears turned red. She hurriedly lowered her head and hugged Ning Tian, mumbling, "I-I suddenly feel a little pain all over."

"Feng Mei, hold on a little longer. We'll be there soon!" Knowing that Wu Feng would not easily show weakness, Ning Tian was alarmed. She hugged Wu Feng and rushed toward the Healing-type Soul Master responsible for post-match treatment.

Qin Yue found it somewhat regrettable that Wu Feng had managed to muddle through the matter so easily. But there was plenty of time. As long as Wu Feng's thieving heart did not die, she would sooner or later let the cat out of the bag again. This entertainment was not going anywhere.

In the blink of an eye, afternoon arrived, and the drawing for the Quarterfinals ended.

Qin Yue and the others had terrible luck. They actually drew an internal match this round, with their opponents being three fellow students from Freshman Class Nine.

As classmates, they knew very well just how formidable Qin Yue's team was. But withdrawing would not look good either, so the three could only force themselves onto the stage. In the end, Wu Feng, boosted by Ning Tian, slaughtered them with ease and brought this Freshman Assessment to an end.

After the match, Ning Tian stopped Qin Yue, who had been planning to return to the dormitory alone to cultivate. "Qin Yue, don't be in such a hurry to leave. How about we go to that restaurant from last time for dinner tonight? We've made it into the Top Four, so it wouldn't be too much to celebrate a little, would it?"

Qin Yue did not believe for a second that they wanted to celebrate merely because they had entered the Top Four. But since he had already decided to build a close relationship with Ning Tian, he naturally would not refuse such a good opportunity to grow closer. "No problem. What time tonight?"

Ning Tian roughly calculated the time and smiled. "Since it's a celebration, Wu Feng and I will both need to wash up and dress properly. That won't be quick, so how about eight o'clock? That way, we'll have plenty of time, and we can have the chefs prepare some elaborate dishes in advance."

What kind of washing up and dressing took five hours? Were the two of them setting me up on a date? Qin Yue was somewhat baffled, but he would not refuse over such a trivial matter. He nodded at once. "No problem. Then I'll go back and cultivate first."

Ning Tian nodded and watched Qin Yue's retreating figure with a smile until he gradually disappeared into the crowd.

Wu Feng tugged at her sleeve, looking puzzled. "Young Master, are you really giving that thing to him? We've only known each other for a little over a week."

"Of course." Ning Tian nodded lightly. "As the saying goes, sending charcoal in the snow is worth more than adding flowers to brocade. Qin Yue's talent is far too astonishing. If we do not increase our investment before he grows stronger, I will regret it beyond measure one day."