Soul Fighting Arena Candidate, First Academy Grand Competition Concludes

"Chao, you absolute fortress, today the two of us will settle who is superior. Eat my Second Soul Skill!"

The repairs within the academy were complete, and given that the students were eager to compete in the spirit fighting arena—or rather, the Suotuo Arena, as it should be called now—Chen An decided to host an internal tournament first. It would let these brats blow off some steam while simultaneously determining who was qualified to head to the arena.

The rules of the competition were simple: one-on-one, with the top six advancing.

Consequently, the field was currently chaotic, though the general style remained centered on exchanging moves using the martial arts taught at the academy.

Then, as the fighting intensified and they grew hot-headed, they would resort to their Soul Skills.

"Master, who do you think will emerge victorious in the end?"

At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing and Luo Xiaoshi were cracking melon seeds while accompanying Chen An to watch the matches. As for Ning Rongrong and Meng Yiran, they were currently in extra training.

After all, Rongrong and Meng were the latest to join, so they weren't ready for this sort of thing yet.

"They're all about the same; it comes down to their mindset."

Chen An was speaking the truth.

These disciples hadn't been at the academy long, and even those with decent talent had only just reached the entry level of the Eight Trigrams Staff or the Arhat Golden Body.

Coupled with the fact that their levels were similar—all just past level 20—even though it was a clash of novices, the fights were incredibly intense.

"What about this match, then?"

Zhu Zhuqing was referring to the bout currently underway: Eight Trigrams Staff versus Arhat Golden Body. Both were at the entry level, and their power levels were identical at level 26.

Of course, this level 26 was achieved through cultivation within the academy; after changing their internal cultivation methods, they were among the batch with the highest aptitude.

"The Eight Trigrams Staff should have the edge."

Luo Xiaoshi continued to watch the two fighting in the arena, feeling a bit restless. His opinion differed slightly from Chen An's.

Because these two were students he personally guided, and they were the ones whose martial arts most closely resembled his own.

"Teacher, I feel the Arhat Golden Body will have the edge."

This was based on his daily observations; the two of them had fought no small number of times under the guise of sparring.

Neither was willing to submit to the other.

"Then how about we make a wager?"

"Fine."

"If I lose, I'll prepare a special meal for you tonight. If you lose, you run ten laps around the academy. How about that?"

"Agreed. I have faith in myself."

Luo Xiaoshi had that look of someone who wouldn't turn back until he hit a brick wall; it was quite amusing.

On the field.

The Eight Trigrams Staff had already gained momentum, and the one wielding it with basic palm techniques was moving with a whistling wind.

"Ruan Feng, you have no hope. Give up."

The one using the Eight Trigrams Staff possessed the Bronze Script Staff martial soul, which was considered quite good. The one playing the Golden Body was the aforementioned Ruan Feng.

His martial soul was somewhat unsightly, for it was a Bald Turtle.

It had no advantages other than being hard and durable. Combined with the Arhat Golden Body, it was even more resilient.

Even the Eight Trigrams Staff, which had already gained momentum, could only barely break through his defense.

"Le Yan, stop talking nonsense. If you have the ability, break my turtle shell today."

There was a hint of self-deprecation in his tone, but others really couldn't say much; Ruan Feng's shell was indeed incredibly hard.

The two exchanged another dozen moves, still unable to do anything to each other.

Because while Ruan Feng was incredibly hard, he lacked other traits, and his offensive capability was severely lacking.

"Student Ruan is truly hard. Tell me, do you think Student Le can break his defense?"

The crowd below was rowdy, with students whispering among themselves.

"Have you forgotten how Brother Le thrashed us?"

The person next to him shivered, seemingly recalling some unpleasant memories. Once that was said, the one who had raised the question also shuddered; clearly, he had also suffered that torment.

Back on the field, there was still no significant gap, but as their stamina waned, both began to show signs of weakness.

The staff could break defenses, and basic palm techniques could also inflict damage.

"Good opportunity! Eat my palm!"

Seeing Ruan Feng strike out and inadvertently leave an opening, he was at his wit's end.

If he took this palm, he would surely lose, but he had a bit of Luo Xiaoshi's spirit—he wasn't afraid of trading injury for injury, and even at the final line, he felt no fear.

That indomitable momentum fused into his staff as he swung it over. Seeing the situation turn dire, Ruan Feng hurriedly defended.

"You... lost."

He pulled back his strength at the very last second; otherwise, Ruan Feng would have been bedridden for ten days or half a month. After all, who leaves such a massive opening?

"Indeed, you won."

Ruan Feng took Le Yan's hand, a bitter smile on his face, and was pulled to his feet.

"I announce that Le Yan is the winner of this match and has secured the final spot."

Teacher Lin Ran announced.

She had been dragged over by Chen An to act as the host; otherwise, she would be resting in the office right now, exhausted from just finishing the accounts.

"Uh, Teacher, I lost."

In the temporary spectator stand, Luo Xiaoshi said to Chen An.

He didn't quite understand; how could Ruan Feng have lost? It shouldn't have happened!

Chen An smiled. He hadn't interfered with the match, nor was he surprised, simply responding indifferently.

"The one who practices the Golden Body down there is named Ruan Feng, right? He has plenty of tenacity but lacks offensive drive. You should understand what that means.

If he had traded injury for injury in that final move, it would have ended in a double-knockout, a draw.

If he had dared to fight all-out from the final fifteen seconds, he would have won."

These were the conclusions Chen An had drawn after watching just a few moves.

Sometimes, that is how experts are; they can gauge the general outcome after seeing a few exchanges, let alone someone like Chen An, a principal who possesses Mastery of All Weapons and understands various arts.

"I have been taught."

Having witnessed the duel between the two, Luo Xiaoshi felt a sense of enlightenment, feeling that the two martial arts he had been stuck on for some time were beginning to loosen.

"I'll head down now."

On the field, the six victors had already gathered together.

"Congratulations on your victory."

Chen An congratulated them, and thus the first Academy Grand Tournament came to a close.

The only ones who could go to the Arena were the team they formed, supplemented by one self-selected support.

As for how they would choose, that was their own business.

Apart from them, other students had no qualifications to go to the Arena. What? Restricting personal freedom?

Sorry, but this was a new rule set by Chen An, which had already been announced before the Grand Tournament.

Therefore, one could hear several teachers saying as much during class the next day.

"You want to go to the Arena? With your strength, wouldn't you just be walking to your death? Go run three laps around the academy."

Why not ten laps? Because they couldn't finish them; did they really think everyone was Luo Xiaoshi?

After being trained by Chen An to run ten laps at a normal pace without slacking off, one could finish without even blushing, merely panting.

On the training ground, Chen An was lecturing the two teams for this session.

"Congratulations on advancing, but also congratulations on being able to enjoy my special training."

Chen An revealed a devilish smile. Luo Xiaoshi and Zhu Zhuqing showed expressions of fear, remembering the special training from a while back—not again! And with even higher intensity?

The content of the special training focused on coordination, with daily sparring between the two teams; strength improvement was just a side effect.

"Hello, we are here to join the special training."

During the special training period, Chen An took the opportunity to establish the Rocket Class, and naturally, he dragged the Rocket Class over for special training as well.

Training was training, regardless of who it was, and soon one could see fourteen people staring like wolves at lambs.

"Welcome, welcome."

At the same time, the special training over at Shrek was nearing its end, and they were preparing to sprint toward the Arena.

The restructuring of the Arena took quite a bit of time and required verification, so Yu Xiaogang also pulled his people back for full-hearted special training.

Should one call this the corrective nature of the world, or should one say that the world line has already gone astray?