For My Peanuts!!

After the debrief, Wu Zhangkong turned to Yun Xiao and said, "Your timing for activating your soul skill was good, but you shouldn't have let your guard down. Once a soul skill is triggered, you should immediately put some distance between you and your opponent."

"As a support soul master, since you are countered by agility-type soul masters, you must find ways to enhance your own survivability."

"Yes, thank you, teacher." Yun Xiao nodded.

Wu Zhangkong had already anticipated that the subsequent practical combat would be abysmal, but he hadn't expected it to exceed even his low expectations.

Out of the twenty students in the class, nearly half possessed no combat capability whatsoever.

In Wu Zhangkong's eyes, the only one worth looking at was Xie Xie.

"Second round begins. You, you, the two of you, fight."

Xie Xie was called out again, and this time, his opponent was a girl named Li Chushui, whose martial soul was a cat; like him, she was an agility-type.

"Begin!"

With a flourish of the Light Dragon Dagger in his left hand, Xie Xie nodded toward Li Chushui.

Facing a formidable opponent like Xie Xie, Li Chushui clearly looked somewhat nervous; it was only after seeing Xie Xie nod that she released her martial soul.

Part of Li Chushui's light blue short hair turned white, her eyes—originally both blue—shifted to green, and a white soul ring rose beneath her feet as a small, cute white cat appeared on her shoulder.

White fur sprouted on her palms, and sharp claws extended from her fingertips.

She crouched slightly, pouncing toward Xie Xie with agility.

Perhaps I really am a genius.

In Xie Xie's eyes, Li Chushui's movements seemed to have been slowed down; he could see them with perfect clarity.

As Li Chushui's claws swiped toward him, accompanied by a faint scent of curry, Xie Xie placed his right hand behind his head and performed a perfect Indian-style dodge on the spot.

A-ken-ku-ri-hu-ya-hu-fen~

The rest of the match was just like teasing a cat.

Li Chushui's mentality was truly on the verge of collapse, because every time she brushed past Xie Xie, she just couldn't catch him.

In the end, completely drained of stamina, Li Chushui slumped to the ground and waved her hand to signal her surrender.

"Xie Xie wins," Wu Zhangkong said indifferently.

Xie Xie was full of smug satisfaction: "Piece of cake~"

Watching Li Chushui slumped on the ground, Tang Wulin stepped forward and helped her up. "Are you alright?"

Li Chushui's small face turned slightly red.

Looking at Tang Wulin's large eyes so close to her own, she said timidly, "Thank you."

Tang Wulin smiled in return, and Li Chushui was stunned.

Xie Xie: ...Pfft! What a show-off!

In the subsequent matches, Xie Xie swept through his opponents, advancing to the finals without a single issue.

Tang Wulin also made it to the finals, but compared to Xie Xie, his matches lacked any real spectacle; his methods of resolution were always simple and brutal.

If a single punch couldn't solve it, then Tang Wulin still had his two hammers.

The most classic example was when Tang Wulin smashed through Han Lan's stone prison and walked out carrying his gleaming, polished hammers.

Even Wu Zhangkong felt a flicker of surprise in his eyes as he watched.

Seeing that only Tang Wulin and Xie Xie remained, Wu Zhangkong nodded, his expression still unchanged as he said, "Fourth round, second match..."

In the blink of an eye, Wu Zhangkong was already right in front of Xie Xie.

"Fourth round, second match, Xie Xie versus Wu Zhangkong."

The biting chill and overwhelming pressure that washed over him made Xie Xie shiver uncontrollably; he felt as if his entire body's soul power had been frozen, its circulation becoming sluggish.

Wu Zhangkong's gaze was cold, devoid of a single ripple. "Accept the challenge, or face the challenge."

Is there even a difference, you jerk?!

Although Xie Xie had mentally prepared himself, it was clear that his preparation had been insufficient. He braced himself and squeezed out a smile that looked worse than crying:

"Teacher Wu, can I... choose C?"

"You may."

Wu Zhangkong nodded.

Xie Xie's eyes lit up—he could actually choose C!

With a flick of Wu Zhangkong's wrist, a wooden sword appeared in his right hand.

"Choice C: we start fighting immediately."

Wu Zhangkong took a step forward, and the wooden sword in his hand thrust straight toward Xie Xie.

"Holy crap!!"

Seeing the wooden sword reach his face in a single breath, Xie Xie hurriedly poured all his soul power into his feet, his figure exploding backward to instantly create distance, his two Light Dragon Daggers immediately crossing to guard his chest.

However, facing a wooden sword with automatic target-locking, dodging was useless.

In a moment of desperation, Xie Xie summoned his Shadow Dragon Dagger.

With a flick of his wrist, the nearly transparent blade merged with the surrounding environment, silently stabbing toward Wu Zhangkong.

Wu Zhangkong raised an eyebrow slightly, giving her wooden sword a gentle vibration.

"Ding—"

With a crisp sound of clashing metal, the Shadow Dragon Dagger was sent flying, spinning past Wu Zhangkong's side, yet the wooden sword's momentum remained undiminished, still pointing straight at Xie Xie.

This time, however, Xie Xie did not dodge, allowing the wooden sword to draw ever closer.

A flicker of surprise crossed Wu Zhangkong's eyes.

But in the very next second, she suddenly turned, her wooden sword instantly shifting from a thrust to a block.

The students watching from the sidelines were shocked to discover that the Xie Xie standing motionless in place was merely an afterimage!

The real Xie Xie had emerged from a surge of black mist, appearing suddenly behind Wu Zhangkong, both Shadow Dragon Daggers slashing out simultaneously to strike precisely against the wooden sword she had moved to defend with just in time.

Ding—!

Another crisp sound of metal clashing rang out.

Though Xie Xie's strike had forced Wu Zhangkong to switch from offense to defense, appearing to give him the upper hand, only Xie Xie himself knew the true situation.

Facing the formidable Wu Zhangkong, the force he had poured into his strike was matched only by the terrifying magnitude of the recoil.

That rebounding force hit his arms like a freezing tidal wave.

He felt his arms go numb instantly, the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers threatening to tear, his blood surging in turmoil.

The stalemate lasted barely a second before Wu Zhangkong moved again.

She flicked her wrist, and the wooden sword followed through with a slap.

Xie Xie was sent flying sideways, hurtling straight toward a nearby tree.

"Bang—!"

With a dull, heavy thud, Xie Xie slammed headfirst into the trunk, splayed out against the bark for a long moment before sliding down in a disheveled heap, leaving a conspicuous mark on the wood.

Sliding down from the trunk, Xie Xie buried his face in the dirt, stuck his butt in the air, and tremblingly pulled out a small white flag.

K.O.!

Wu Zhangkong did not strike again.

"Ten minutes of rest, then the final match," she said, looking thoughtfully at the two small nicks on her wooden sword.

By this time, Tang Wulin had already succeeded in taking his secret photos.

Not only that, but the sight of Xie Xie sticking his butt in the air while waving the white flag had also been captured.

Looking at the pathetic and hilarious image of Xie Xie on the camera, Tang Wulin couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

It took Xie Xie a long time to crawl up from the ground, and he hurriedly sat cross-legged to meditate and recover his soul power and stamina.

Every day was truly busy enough; after fighting one overpowered monster, there was another one waiting.

Xie Xie felt aggrieved, but Xie Xie dared not speak...

Ten minutes passed quickly.

"The final match of the class tournament: Xie Xie versus Tang Wulin."

"Begin!"

Xie Xie flashed forward, followed by the Shadow Dragon Dagger, which had merged perfectly with the environment.

Having gone through the first two rounds of combat, Xie Xie had gradually discovered his own fighting style, and the initial awkwardness had long since vanished.

He refused to believe it; if he couldn't beat Wu Zhangkong, surely he could at least beat a Tang Wulin who didn't have the Golden Dragon King protecting his body?

Xie Xie: For my peanuts!!