Early the next morning.
After the Inner Court selection trials ended, the students participating in the tournament were officially decided. As expected, Ma Xiaotao would still lead the team.
Yu Daoyun got up early. After washing up as usual, he went to the cafeteria for breakfast.
He was going to pick the members of the Blue Lightning team today, so he had to eat his fill before heading out.
As he ate, he thought.
Who would make the best main team members?
He couldn't forget Ning Tian. She was his strongest support-type Soul Master. With Ning Tian boosting their strength by 30%, they could chase down a whole group and pound them. Even in a team battle, one person could take on several opponents.
Huo Yuhao and the Tang Princess were definitely out. He'd leave them for Ma Xiaotao to lead.
Maybe he should call Ling Luochеn over and tell her stories every day. That hateful ice woman had become a completely different person after getting the Snow Lotus.
That brainless idiot Wu Feng had to come along too, purely for the fun of it.
Xu Sanshi and Beibei were out. He'd already thoroughly offended both of them, and they were his rivals.
Then he might as well bring Tang Sect Master along. Her Devouring Blue Silver Grass was incredibly powerful; she'd simply never had the chance to discover it before. As long as Tang Ya could relax and cultivate, she could practically crush anyone. She could even reach four rings before the tournament began.
Since things had come to this, he might as well eat first.
Yu Daoyun had a hearty meal in the cafeteria, then was the first to arrive at Lake Heart Island to find Ling Luochеn.
At the time, the Ice Girl was still absorbed in meditation, her mind completely undistracted.
But Yu Daoyun's arrival startled her out of it.
Ling Luochеn opened her eyes and asked coolly, "What is it?"
Yu Daoyun got straight to the point. "Would you be willing to be the control-type Soul Master on my team?"
"I'll follow the academy's arrangements." Ling Luochеn refused.
She didn't want to get too close to Yu Daoyun. First there was Zhang Lexuan, then Ning Tian, and now Han Ruoruo.
Ling Luochеn didn't like boys who had girls flocking around them.
Yu Daoyun glanced at Ling Luochеn's frosty expression and silently took out a Snow Lotus. "Ah, since Senior Sister doesn't want to join, I'll just have to find someone else."
Ling Luochеn's lovely eyes lit up. She raised a hand and called, "Wait! When did I ever say I didn't want to? I said I'd follow the academy's arrangements. You misunderstood me."
Yu Daoyun took out another Snow Lotus and sighed. "I'd meant to give this to you, Senior Sister. Looks like I'll have to give it to someone else."
Ling Luochеn clenched her teeth. "It's not that I won't, but Ma Xiaotao is my best friend. I can't put her in a difficult position."
So he'd figured out how to play the fair-weather sister and the money-grubber to perfection.
Yu Daoyun grumbled to himself and took out another Snow Lotus.
Ling Luochеn immediately grabbed his hand. "I'll go! I'll compete with you, all right? Give me the Snow Lotus. Please, give it to me..."
If she'd known how to act cute, she would have tried that to get one.
If he'd taken out the Snow Lotus sooner, Ling Luochеn wouldn't even have bothered putting on airs.
Yu Daoyun was delighted. He took out several Snow Lotuses and tossed them to Ling Luochеn.
These things were treasures to ice-attribute Soul Masters, but they were of little use to him.
Still, Yu Daoyun was quite willing to use them to maintain his relationships with the girls.
Before he left, Snow Empress had given him plenty.
Ling Luochеn then cradled the Snow Lotuses and sashayed back to continue cultivating.
She was going to evolve her Martial Soul and become an Ultimate Ice Soul Master.
Keep it up!
Luochеn was working hard. She was the best.
Yu Daoyun soon arrived at the Outer Court, where he saw Ning Tian playing shuttlecock with Wu Feng.
The two girls kicked it back and forth, having the time of their lives.
When Ning Tian saw Instructor Brother arrive at the Outer Court, she acted just like a fair-weather sister. She abandoned Wu Feng on the spot and threw herself into her brother's arms, sweetly asking, "Did you miss me?"
Wu Feng stood rooted to the spot, grinding her teeth. She wanted to die together with that bastard who'd stolen Tian Jie from her.
Damn it!
Yu Daoyun didn't waste time chatting about romance. He went straight to the point. "Do you want to compete in the tournament? I can make you a main team member on the Second Team, since I'll be leading it."
Ning Tian's lovely eyes lit up, but then she remembered something and asked, "Doesn't the academy only have one team competing? When did we get a Second Team? Don't we still have to go through the selection trials?"
Yu Daoyun patiently explained, "We have a Second Team now, and I'll personally be its captain. You can skip the selection trials."
"Then I want to join!"
Ning Tian agreed without a second thought.
This was a tremendous opportunity for her. With her Soul Power Level, she normally wouldn't have made the team because her weakness was too great.
But Instructor Brother could take care of it, so there was nothing to worry about.
Ning Tian's admiration for Instructor Brother shot through the roof.
Yu Daoyun smiled in satisfaction, then turned to Wu Feng. "Bridesmaid, want to come too?"
Flames seemed to shoot from Wu Feng's head. She snapped, "Don't call me your bridesmaid. My name is Wu Feng."
The hot-tempered goddess in tiny leather shorts bristled, ready to hiss at Yu Daoyun.
Yu Daoyun smiled, raised a hand, and patted Wu Feng on the head. "All right, you can head off for now, bridesmaid. Remember to bring Nanmen Yun'er along."
After chatting with Ning Tian about the principles of life, he turned and headed to the first-year class, where he happened to run into Dai Huabin, Dai Yueheng's younger brother.
That ant had once clamored for a fight to the death. Now he'd learned to behave.
That was because Dai Huabin's older brother had warned him.
Dai Huabin couldn't defeat Yu Daoyun, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan wasn't someone the White Tiger Duke could afford to offend lightly. Both sides had powerful backing.
Dai Huabin lowered his head and said nothing, intending to leave.
"Don't go, you failure!"
Yu Daoyun turned and called after the retreating figure.
Dai Huabin stopped in his tracks and said coldly, "I told you, I'm not a failure. I'm the White Tiger Duke's son. I'm not a failure..."
His voice was icy, as if he wanted to kill someone.
Ever since losing the Freshman Tournament, Dai Huabin had been training relentlessly every day to grow stronger. How could he stand being called a failure now?
Yu Daoyun said calmly, "If you're not a failure, prove it to me. Show me you have what it takes to challenge me. I've always believed you're more capable than your older brother because you're ruthless enough. So I've decided to give you a chance."
"What chance?" Dai Huabin asked in a low voice.
"The Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament. Join my team. If you can prove you're not a failure, I'll think more highly of you," Yu Daoyun said.
At the words "Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament," Dai Huabin's breathing grew ragged.
He'd just learned yesterday that his eldest brother had been sent to the infirmary again. Only afterward had he found out that the Inner Court had held selection trials and that his brother had lost to the man standing before him.
But he hadn't expected the chance to compete as a main team member of the Second Team to fall to him.
Dai Huabin agreed without a second thought.
Yu Daoyun smiled faintly. "I look forward to seeing what you can do."
With that, he turned and headed toward the upper-year classes, intending to have a heart-to-heart with Tang Sect Master. Dai Huabin was left standing there alone, thinking.
Dai Huabin stared at the other man's back and clenched his fists.
His chance had come—the chance to compete in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament. Dai Huabin swore he would prove to his father who the most outstanding son in the family was.
Dai Yueheng... he was nothing but a stepping stone, someone who looked down on him, the second son, at every turn simply because he'd started cultivating a few years earlier.
Sooner or later, he would trample his older brother beneath his feet.
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