Top Sixteen

Bloodlust boosted his attack by thirty percent, his strength by thirty percent, and his speed by thirty percent. With Bloodlust stacked on Tiger Roar, the double enhancement made Ao Wei's physical strength and movement speed no weaker than those of a Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder.

If Ao Wei became a Soul Elder and gained a suitable close-combat attack Soul Skill, stacking Tiger Roar and Bloodlust would bring about a qualitative change in his strength.

Unfortunately, twelve years and nine months old, Ao Wei had only reached Soul Power Level twenty-three. He lacked a suitable close-combat attack Soul Skill to make use of the advantages offered by his double enhancement.

Compared with the White Tiger Martial Soul passed down through the White Tiger Duke's family of the Star Luo Empire, the Saber-toothed Tiger Martial Soul was undoubtedly far inferior.

The White Tiger Martial Soul's First Soul Skill was the White Tiger Protection Barrier. It boosted its user's attack, defense, and strength by fifty percent each, while also providing a measure of protection.

The standard First Soul Skill for the White Tiger Martial Soul even provided a greater boost than Ao Wei's First and Second Soul Skills combined.

The gap in quality between the Saber-toothed Tiger Martial Soul and the White Tiger Martial Soul was considerable. In addition, the Soul Rings Ao Wei had obtained were not the best choices, so his attacks were still within Xiao Xiao's ability to withstand.

An ordinary Soul-Suppressing Cauldron Martial Soul was already superior to the Saber-toothed Tiger, let alone the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron.

Xiao Xiao cried out, "Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, Cauldron Shock!"

The three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons landed one after another. The shock waves roared, and Ao Wei was briefly stunned before quickly regaining his senses.

"Gi—"

Before Ao Wei could finish speaking, the second Soul-Suppressing Cauldron crashed to the ground. The shock wave hit, and Ao Wei was stunned for the second time.

"I—"

Ao Wei came to his senses in an instant, but the third Soul-Suppressing Cauldron slammed down with a roar. The shock wave swept over him, and Ao Wei was stunned for the third time.

Cauldron Shock's single burst of control had become a three-stage sequence. Xiao Xiao's choice to focus on control as her future cultivation path was no baseless decision.

"Break!"

Ao Wei roared. Grabbing two Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons, one in each hand, he clenched his muscles until they bulged. The two cauldrons began to shift slowly, revealing Xiao Xiao and Bai Cai.

"Get away!" Wang Dong's butterfly wings beat as she arrived just in time. Her First Soul Ring flashed, golden light spreading along the edges of her wings as the Wing Blades crossed and slashed toward Ao Wei.

How could Ao Wei dare to take those razor-sharp Wing Blades head-on? He let go of the two Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons and crossed his arms over his chest.

Blood streamed down his forearms as Ao Wei staggered back in disarray. "Cheng Xin!"

"Black Water Strangling!"

The Black Water Swamp created by Cheng Xin's First Soul Skill suddenly boiled. Viscous black mud surged like waves, sweeping toward Xiao Xiao, Bai Cai, and Wang Dong.

The enemy had not fallen into the Black Water Swamp, so Black Water Strangling was less effective. But their own agility-type Soul Master, Xiu Ya, was already lying flat outside the arena. Cheng Xin knew that if they lost Ao Wei, then even if the opponents accidentally fell into the swamp, he still wouldn't be able to handle all three of them.

"Psychic Lock." Ralts unleashed its Confusion, locking firmly onto Ao Wei. Even in his double-enhanced state, he suddenly lost his balance and crashed to the ground.

Cheng Xin was spending Soul Power without restraint to hold back the three opponents. Ao Wei caught his breath and tried to break free of Psychic Lock.

In his double-enhanced state, Ao Wei could barely break through Psychic Lock, but it would take at least ten breaths...

"Psychic Shield." Ralts quickly formed a Psychic Shield to block the viscous black mud. The three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons merged back into one, and Wang Dong slowly approached Ao Wei. Her First Soul Ring flashed again, and golden light spread along the edges of her butterfly wings once more.

"Don't come any closer! Stop!"

The situation was beyond saving. To spare himself a beating, Ao Wei shouted, "We concede! We give up!"

Hearing Ao Wei, the referee announced loudly, "Bai Cai Team wins!"

The golden light slowly faded. Wang Dong said coldly, "You're pretty lucky."

The Ao Wei Team had almost no Soul Skills that required sustained channeling. Cheng Xin's First Soul Skill, Black Water Swamp, as well as Ao Wei's First Soul Skill, Tiger Roar, and Second Soul Skill, Bloodlust, all consumed Soul Power in a single expenditure.

Most Soul Skills that boosted attributes by a fixed percentage consumed Soul Power in a single expenditure. Only one factor affected the strength and duration of the boost: the difference between the user's Soul Power Level and the target's.

Take the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, for example. When it supported a Soul Master more than thirty levels above its user, the Soul Power cost rose sharply and the Soul Skill's effect weakened accordingly. Each use of a Soul Skill counted as one expenditure of Soul Power.

The Ao Wei Team fought like a pack of reckless boars, every one of them a brawler. Against them, Psychic Lock and Psychic Shield were clearly more useful.

At present, Imprison's Confusion strength plummeted if it sealed more than two Soul Skills. If all three Battle Soul Masters on the Ao Wei Team charged in together, the outcome would still be uncertain.

However, Wang Dong wasn't lamenting that the Ao Wei Team's lineup and fighting style happened to counter Bai Cai's Imprison. It was a personal matter.

The handsome young man reined in his temper, turned around, and asked, "You're not hurt, are you?"

"N-no..."

Her cheeks flushed red. Xiao Xiao fidgeted and said, "Wang Dong, just as I thought..."

That afternoon, staff moved the partitions and divided the area into sixteen new arenas.

The size of each arena hadn't increased, but spectator stands had been erected around them, and Shrek's staff began selling tickets.

The homeroom teachers of the freshman classes, some of the academy's senior staff, and any freshmen with time to spare gradually filled the stands. Although homeroom teachers and senior staff entered for free, the Open Assessment Area was still raking in money.

Repairs to the Open Assessment Area were quite expensive: hardening the ground and clearing away the lingering effects of special Soul Skills. The academy's funding was a mere cup of water against a burning cart of firewood; ticket sales were the Open Assessment Area's main source of income.

After the draw, Bai Cai Team was assigned to Arena Fourteen.

In the second round of the knockout competition, Bai Cai Team's opponent turned out to be a team from their own class. After three months of physical training, all twenty-two teams from Freshman Class One had passed the assessment.

In fact, fourteen of the twenty-two teams ranked among the top sixty-four by their round-robin results, making up one-fifth of the top sixty-four.

Upon drawing Bai Cai Team, the team from their class quickly conceded.

First, Bai Cai Team's round-robin record spoke for itself. Second, Wang Dong was the strongest student in the class, while Xiao Xiao was a model defensive-type Soul Master—and Bai Cai's Martial Soul and Soul Skills were extraordinarily powerful.

They had no chance of winning. They might as well concede and help Bai Cai Team make a run for the top eight, or even the top four.

The champion, runner-up, and third-place finisher?

There were only three teams led by Soul Elders among this year's freshmen. The top three places were practically locked in already.

Ning Tian's team from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Xie Huanyue's team with the Rubber Elephant, and Dai Huabin's team from the White Tiger Duke's family—if Bai Cai Team ran into any one of them, their run would practically be over.

Their Soul Power Levels were inferior across the board, and the gap of two Soul Rings meant nobody believed Bai Cai Team could fight them.

In the round of sixteen, the chance that Bai Cai Team would face a Soul Elder team was one in five.

In the round of eight, the chance was three in seven.

In the semifinals, the chance of facing a Soul Elder team was one hundred percent.

Unless the three Soul Elder teams drew one another and both sides suffered heavy losses, Bai Cai Team's chances of placing in the top three were practically zero.