It's in the Bag

What a small world. Even now, Huo Yuhao still admired the timing and skill behind her attack. She had caught him at the exact moment he let his guard down, and her ability and Martial Soul were special enough to leave him dizzy. Ordinary Mental Attacks no longer affected him.

Once bitten, twice shy. This time, he had to be careful of her control.

They exchanged no more words, and the match began soon after. Both sides released their Martial Souls. They had already fought once, and with so few skills at this stage, there was no way to pull off a miracle with some surprise move.

Xiao Xiao looked completely unharmed. She must have drawn an easy opponent in the first round and come through without injury. That put Huo Yuhao under a lot of pressure.

A Control System Soul Master in peak condition wasn't as unbeatable as one from the Power Attack or Defense System, but she was still a major obstacle. A Soul Master from the Agility Attack System would have been the best matchup. At this stage, Spiritual Detection completely countered high speed, so Xiao Xiao was a fairly average opponent for him.

Huo Yuhao could still give it a try. If he could catch her off guard and win, he would secure a place at Shrek Academy. With her performance and talent, Xiao Xiao had probably already earned enough points. The only difference a higher score would make was which class she entered. The top-scoring students were assigned to Class One, with the rest placed in order by rank and chosen specialization.

In practice, it didn't make much difference. At Shrek Academy, students did more than take written exams—they sparred, but not in one-on-one matches. That wasn't useful. They needed to find the teammates best suited to them, train together, and compete as a team. In the short term, they would only play three-on-three against other students in their year. It wasn't until fourth year, after advancing to the upper grades, that they would train in seven-on-seven matches. By then, they could find teammates from other years.

At most, the class could provide information and connections. The people you knew best were your neighbors and your battle partners.

The dorms at Shrek were single rooms, just like the temporary dormitory where Huo Yuhao was staying during admissions. The official students had much better accommodations, though. Once he enrolled, Huo Yuhao would see what a luxury dormitory really looked like.

But all of that was a long way off. Right now, Huo Yuhao was using Spiritual Detection at full power. As soon as the match began, Xiao Xiao had done everything she could to close the distance between them. Naturally, Huo Yuhao tried to run. The two chased each other around the ring, with Xiao Xiao still faster than him. After all, he was only a One-Ring Soul Master. His Martial Soul barely improved his physical abilities; nearly all its benefits went to his spiritual power. Beast Martial Souls improved the body the most, followed by Tool Martial Souls with special attributes. The various other Martial Souls offered little physical enhancement. Few improved the body as little as Huo Yuhao's.

Huo Yuhao's innate talent had been poor to begin with. He couldn't compare with these gifted youngsters. As he grew up, he had also lacked good food to replenish his energy, going short on both clothing and meals. He had only managed to replenish his energy over the last few days, and that would do no more than help him last a little longer.

The match looked like a miniature version of a cheetah chasing a gazelle across the grasslands. Every time Xiao Xiao was about to catch Huo Yuhao and bring him within attack range, he dodged at the last moment. Xiao Xiao turned with him, but Huo Yuhao kept slipping away by the narrowest margin. After he pulled the same trick several times, Xiao Xiao finally lost patience.

Her Second Soul Ring flared brightly. Cauldron Ripple! Unlike her first Soul Skill, which focused on control and had severe limitations—only reaching its full potential under certain conditions, as it had when she fought Huo Yuhao—the second was a purely offensive skill. It had fewer restrictions and greater power, but its strength faded with distance.

Xiao Xiao had thought this would be an easy match. She hadn't expected the Support System Soul Master she had defeated so easily to be such a nuisance. Her original plan had been to close in, pin Huo Yuhao down with her first Soul Skill, then attack him head-on with her second and knock him out. It was a simple but perfect combination of tactics and skills.

That was the biggest difference between a two-ring and a one-ring Soul Master. Setting talent aside, a two-ring Soul Master with some guidance could build a basic combination of Soul Rings, just like Xiao Xiao—and Huo Yuyao's first opponent had done the same. With one control skill and one offensive skill, Huo Yuhao wouldn't stand a chance once he was caught in Xiao Xiao's rhythm. With only one Soul Ring, his options were too limited. Even if his Soul Ring gave him four Soul Skills, that wouldn't help; he couldn't combine them into a coherent system.

Still, a divine skill was a divine skill. Even if it couldn't directly help Huo Yuhao defeat his opponent, it could keep him from being defeated. Xiao Xiao was getting impatient, but Huo Yuhao couldn't outlast her in a battle of Soul Power.

Huo Yuhao had managed to dodge all of Xiao Xiao's attacks thanks to Spiritual Detection, but the skill was draining him badly. Even detecting only Xiao Xiao along a straight line took a lot out of him, because the distance kept changing. The smallest drain came when his target stood still, but an opponent wouldn't give him that chance. Huo Yuhao had never faced such rapid changes in distance before. A match was the best place to discover your weaknesses; the battlefield was even better, of course, but if you failed there, you wouldn't get another chance to learn from your mistakes.

Xiao Xiao's attack finally gave Huo Yuhao a moment to breathe. If things kept going as they were, he would have been the first to collapse. The Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron split into three, and all three cauldrons began to vibrate. Visible ripples surged toward Huo Yuhao, and he hurriedly put more distance between them. No matter how fast he was, he couldn't outrun the speed of sound.

The sound waves slammed into Huo Yuhao, slowing him slightly. He quickly checked himself. He felt a little nauseated, but his mind was mostly unaffected. His body was rebelling, but he could handle it—and suppress the symptoms. Xiao Xiao was too far away for him to reach. Huo Yuhao felt proud, yet a little shaken, that he hadn't charged straight at her to fight hand-to-hand. If he had, he would have been knocked flat on the spot.

Xiao Xiao was starting to regret it, too. She shouldn't have used that Soul Skill; it cost far too much. How many times could a two-ring Soul Master use her Second Soul Skill?

But the arrow was already nocked. She had to see it through.

Second Soul Skill: Cauldron Ripple!

This time, Huo Yuhao knew what to expect and wasn't afraid. He simply put more distance between them and quickly moved away.

Seeing Huo Yuhao run, Xiao Xiao felt pleased. Her little trick was about to work. What an ignorant fool.

The three cauldrons began to spin. Each one contributed to the sound waves produced by the skill, and the waves stacked together. When their peaks aligned, they reached maximum strength. Xiao Xiao had to control this herself; no one else could keep up.

Huo Yuhao didn't realize the danger was closing in. Xiao Xiao directed the strongest sound wave straight at him. He immediately threw up the food he'd just eaten and nearly collapsed.

Unsure what had happened, Huo Yuhao quickly expanded the range of his Spiritual Detection to figure it out.

So that was it. Huo Yuhao understood. Spiritual Detection made the waves clearly visible to him. Now it was simple: he just had to find the weakest point in the sound waves and move there. Wherever Xiao Xiao moved, he moved too.

Xiao Xiao quickly ran out of Soul Power, and Huo Yuhao easily defeated her to claim victory.

Still, Huo Yuhao was puzzled. Her attack shouldn't have been that weak. That girl, who had been so good at picking the perfect moment, couldn't have been that foolish, could she?

As he left, Huo Yuhao saw Xiao Xiao suddenly smile at him, and he understood. Xiao Xiao had already earned enough points. There was no need to reveal her trump cards to a Support System Soul Master like him. Letting him advance could even earn her some goodwill. Fighting desperately to win this match would only damage her foundation, with no benefit at all. Why would she do it?