Teaming Up

The group gathered at the restaurant once again to review the battle. In truth, it had been a showdown between Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei, while Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao had been little more than accessories, playing minor roles in pushing the situation forward and providing support. The real stars had been those two. Tang Ya's problem really came down to her talent and Martial Soul. Without a top-tier Martial Soul, she simply couldn't get involved in high-level battles against peers her age.

There weren't many people in the whole world who could get involved in a fight between the two of them, but those people weren't standing among these geniuses like Tang Ya was. Out of sight, out of mind; the pressure was naturally much lighter. What weighed on her most was Bei Bei's intentions. Dating him was one thing, but Bei Bei was a genius all but guaranteed to join the Shrek Seven Devils, and he wanted to bring Tang Ya along too. There was nothing wrong with that idea, really.

The lineup was already taking shape: Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, and Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao's Soul Power might be low for now, but that wasn't a problem. Everyone had seen and experienced his strength. His abilities were extraordinarily powerful, and his potential was astonishing. His spiritual power alone was unprecedented, and it would be hard to imagine anyone surpassing it in the future. Anyone with a brain could see the strategic importance of Mental Attack: an absolute, unreasoning control that crossed time and space, and a powerful one-on-one spiritual contest.

Even if it couldn't take someone down directly, what about in the middle of a fight? Just as two people were about to clash, he could strike with a Mental Attack. The one who lost control would certainly lose. It was ridiculous for an ability like that to appear in a low-level Soul Ring, but no one asked where it had come from. That would have been impolite. So anyone with a little standing wouldn't underestimate Huo Yuhao.

Xu Sanshi would definitely bring someone in too, someone who could fill the gap in the agility-attack role. That would make four of them, with assault, defense, agility, and support covered. Only control would be missing, and that position had been deliberately left for Tang Ya. But were her abilities really good enough? In theory, it wouldn't be a big problem for the others to bring her along. The real question was whether Tang Ya could handle that kind of pressure.

Judging by how Tang Ya was acting now, she couldn't. She'd been gloomy throughout the entire meal and barely said a word. The others had noticed, and they were all trying to lighten the mood on the sly and get her to smile, but it wasn't working. Unless they addressed the core problem, things would stay this way. The best-case scenario was that Shrek Academy had no Control System student suited to their team, leaving Tang Ya to "reluctantly" take over the spot. It was an outcome everyone could accept.

But was that likely? Could the continent's top academy really have no qualified Control System students among its third-years? Even if Huo Yuhao didn't switch to the Control System to leave the spot open for Tang Ya, that was still impossible. In the end, the academy would inevitably step in to shape the team. Everyone knew the team was supposedly free from interference, but only a fool would believe that.

Still, Bei Bei had enough influence for there to be a real chance that the academy wouldn't interfere. That meant two conditions had to be met: they had to prove themselves, and everyone on the team had to agree. It couldn't be a four-to-three vote; all six of them had to approve. Even if the academy agreed not to interfere, that would only hold so long as there were no internal conflicts that hurt their results. Performance would always come first.

This was a display of strength, a ranking of the continent's powers. Its political significance was immense. The influence that came with it would shift, and so would the balance of power in the distribution of benefits. It was practically an election for a council: the strongest would be chosen to lead, preventing devastating, nation-level wars. That was why the continent had gone so long without one.

So there absolutely couldn't be any mistakes in this competition. That was the bottom line.

That was why Bei Bei had been approaching Jiang Nannan these past few days, sounding out each of them one by one. Tang Ya had nearly had a falling-out with him over it. On the surface, the reason was jealousy, but everyone knew the real reason: Tang Ya didn't want to join. She knew her own limitations. Bei Bei usually indulged her in everything, but this time he was unusually firm. No matter what Tang Ya said, he wouldn't change his mind.

Bei Bei had even made plans. He would approach Jiang Nannan to figure out what was going on between her and Xu Sanshi. From the way they acted, it was clear their conflict wasn't a matter of life and death. Anything short of that could be resolved. Bei Bei was willing to swallow his pride and try to settle it. If he succeeded, they would have four votes out of six.

Shrek could still find two Soul Masters from humble backgrounds who weren't part of any clique. They could also bring in a support Soul Master. Most people in that group came from ordinary backgrounds, so one of them was most likely to join their circle. Then there was the flex position. In a seven-person team, no more than two people should fill any one of its five roles. They could do without a Defense System Soul Master, and the agility role wasn't that important either. But they absolutely couldn't be short a Control System, support, or assault Soul Master. That was the framework of a team.

It would also be best to find these people among the second-years. They needed someone from every year in the end, or the team could still fall apart. They could get by with fewer first-years; the ideal arrangement was two, two, and three.

All of this depended on there being no outstanding Control System Soul Master. If one did appear, no one could take their place. But where there was a will, there was a way. They should do whatever they could.

Huo Yuhao was still too young to understand these details and unspoken motives. By the time he got back to the dormitory, the warmth in his body had made him incredibly sleepy. He wanted nothing more than to flop onto his bed and sleep. Every time he used Mental Attack, he got drowsy. This time, he forcibly resisted the urge and began cultivating. His Soul Power cultivation was a serious weakness. If it were a little stronger, he could have avoided Bei Bei's area attack.

The sunlight of a new day fell on Huo Yuhao once more, dispelling the morning chill and bringing a fresh sense of energy. He was about to begin another day of classes.

The classroom was already buzzing beyond control. Their homeroom teacher had announced the exam rules: they had to form pairs. Even though everyone had expected this, the students were still in an uproar. They were students, after all; even the smallest bit of news got them chattering. At a time like this, only the homeroom teacher or the dean could quiet them down.

But this time, Zhou Yi didn't stop them as she usually did. Instead, she went along with it and said, "Form your own pairs. When you're done, hand me the list. No duplicate names."

This two-on-two setup was actually good for students from ordinary backgrounds. The top families usually had a couple of followers who studied alongside their young masters. They couldn't bring too many, and those who could afford to bring more usually had little need to enter Shrek Academy. How could there be so many geniuses for others to use as background? That left an extra person who had to team up with someone else, and the other two would certainly find a team for that person. It set a positive cycle in motion.

It was a little hard for one person to ask someone else to team up, but once there were more people, it became much easier.

Just as Huo Yuhao was feeling troubled too, someone invited him to join a team.

"Hey, Huo, want to team up with me?" A beautiful girl had just asked Huo Yuhao to be her partner.

"Control System, Xiao Xiao."