"Dean... you?"
Dai Mubai asked cautiously, but Flender impatiently cut him off:
"Enough, enough. We'll talk about it later. First, head to the Soul Fighting Arena for class! All of you, stay close!"
With that, he actually used Martial Soul Possession and flew into the air. Dai Mubai and the others hurried after him, but even at full tilt, they could barely make out Flender's retreating figure.
"He's in a hurry to teach Ning Rongrong a lesson through practical action."
At that moment, only Feng Xinglie and Dai Mubai, with their higher Soul Power Levels, and Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San, relying on their Martial Souls' characteristics and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, could barely keep up. The others were struggling—not just Ning Rongrong and Oscar, but even Xiao Wu and Ma Hongjun. Seeing this, Feng Xinglie slowed down and came alongside Ning Rongrong, speaking quietly:
"Grab my clothes. It'll take some of the strain off you. Don't let them look down on you."
At his words, Ning Rongrong nodded, her little face flushed red, and reached out to grab the hem of Feng Xinglie's clothes. With someone else taking on some of the strain, the pressure eased a little. She couldn't help saying gratefully:
"Thank you!"
As she spoke, she extended the boost from her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to Feng Xinglie, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing—the "newcomers." As for the other students, she ignored them completely. Dai Mubai and the others had plenty to say about Ning Rongrong's behavior, but they were too out of breath to argue. With their feelings in a tangle, the group ran all the way to the Soto Great Soul Arena.
"This is one of the main places where you'll be training in the future. One of the requirements for graduating from Shrek Academy is earning a Silver Soul Badge. For the details, go read the notice board yourselves. In any case, tonight, each of you will take part in one solo and one doubles Soul Fighting match."
Once they arrived, Flender gave them a few brief instructions, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.
"He's probably off to bet on us winning. But Flender really is stingy. After hearing a couple of complaints, he won't even take us to a teahouse, and now he's making us read the rules ourselves."
After grumbling to himself, Feng Xinglie took the lead in explaining the Soul Fighting Arena's rules to everyone. In short, it was a ranking system: win and earn points, lose and have points deducted. Reach silver, and you were through. Once everyone understood, they began forming teams and preparing for their matches. The solo bouts were straightforward, but the doubles were a bit of a problem. Tang San and Xiao Wu formed the Three-Five Combination, while Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong stuck with the Seven Treasure Spirit Cat. Ma Hongjun and Oscar could make a pair, too. Only Feng Xinglie and Dai Mubai couldn't team up, since one was a Soul Elder and the other a Soul Ancestor. With no choice, they went to enter the solo competition first.
"Zhuqing, wait a moment."
Just as everyone was going their separate ways, Feng Xinglie suddenly called out to Zhu Zhuqing. He had just remembered something interesting. If he could give her a push, perhaps it would lead to an unexpected result.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Hearing Feng Xinglie call her, Zhu Zhuqing told Ning Rongrong to go register first, then walked over.
"It's nothing. We're about to have our first real fight, and there are a few things I'd like to tell you."
Feng Xinglie wore his usual warm smile and spoke as casually as if they were chatting:
"Zhuqing, I want you to understand that as an Agility Attack System Soul Master, speed is your greatest advantage. But on a ring where your movement is restricted and there are no obstacles, you're at a disadvantage. That makes your approach to the fight especially important. If the terrain were complex, you might be able to maneuver a little. But here, you'll only get three chances to strike."
Zhu Zhuqing frowned in confusion. Feng Xinglie continued:
"Like I said, speed is your greatest advantage. But strength and stamina are your weaknesses. So once the fight starts, you have to end it as quickly as possible. If you can't take down your opponent in three moves, that proves you can't win quickly. And once you're dragged into a drawn-out fight, your opponent will gradually adjust to your speed. By then, you won't stand a chance."
At last, Zhu Zhuqing understood what Feng Xinglie was getting at. Gratitude shone in her eyes as she said:
"I understand. Thank you for the advice."
Feng Xinglie smiled and waved his hand.
"It's nothing. Glad I could help. Good luck out there."
With that, he turned and went to sign up for his own solo match.
"Heh, according to the original plot, Zhu Zhuqing will run into Tang San in her solo match and get taken down in an instant. I wonder if this little warning will make the Child of Destiny struggle a bit?"
Mulling over his little scheme, Feng Xinglie was soon led onto the ring by a staff member.
"Thank you for waiting, everyone! On one side of tonight's match is a newly risen prodigy, Feng Xinglie, who reached Soul Ancestor at a young age. On the other is a veteran powerhouse with ten consecutive wins in the Soul Fighting Arena, the Eternal Night Azure Wolf: Lei Wu!"
As the host introduced them in a booming voice, Feng Xinglie and Lei Wu stepped into the center of the ring under the gaze of the crowd.
As soon as the match began, Lei Wu flexed his bulky muscles and looked down at Feng Xinglie, who didn't even reach his chest. A ferocious grin spread across his face.
"Heh, rookie. Bad luck running into me. In this fight, I'll show you why they call me the 'Eternal Night Azure Wolf'..."
Before he could finish, Feng Xinglie calmly stepped up and casually slapped Lei Wu in the face, as if swatting a mosquito.
Smack!
After one breath of pure oxygen, Lei Wu's eyes rolled back and he passed out, thumping to the ground.
"Hmm... Void Path really is useful. But come to think of it, why was this guy called the 'Eternal Night Azure Wolf' again?"
Looking at the burly man sprawled before him, Feng Xinglie scratched his head in confusion.
"Whatever. It's not that important. I'd better go watch Zhu Zhuqing's match."
He shook his head and walked off the ring amid the gasps of the crowd and the host. Before long, a staff member led Feng Xinglie to another ring. Zhu Zhuqing had already finished her doubles match with Ning Rongrong. Standing before her now was, just as in the original story, Tang San.
"I never thought we'd end up matched against each other. I won't go easy on you."
Zhu Zhuqing was unmoved by Tang San's warning. After all, without that spectacular display of Hidden Weapons, everyone still thought of Tang San as a Control System Soul Master much like herself.
"Come on. Let's see how this match turns out."
Feng Xinglie watched the two on the ring with great interest.
The match began.
Just as expected, Tang San summoned his Blue Silver Grass and spread it across the ground in a fan shape, steadily advancing to shrink the area where Zhu Zhuqing could move. Faced with an occupational disadvantage that practically countered her completely, Zhu Zhuqing could only keep retreating until the Blue Silver Grass forced her to the edge of the ring. Only then did she stop.
"Give up, Zhu Zhuqing. You're no match for me."
Seeing that the winner had already been decided, Tang San advised her to surrender.
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