We made it to the finals. That was worth celebrating.
Anyway, we needed a reason to be happy.
The standard barbecue grill was set up once again.
Xu Sanshi followed the smell over.
"Heh, how can a little place like this smell of barbecue? I knew it was you guys as soon as I caught a whiff."
He wasn't the only one. Bei Bei and Tang Ya came over too.
Jiang Nannan hadn't come, presumably because she didn't want to be around Xu Sanshi.
"Last time, we agreed I'd bring you some wine. Heh heh, this time I brought some with a really low alcohol content."
Bei Bei took the bottle. "Twenty percent isn't low. It's fine for us at our age, but Siyuan and the others can't drink."
A Soul Master's body was definitely stronger than an ordinary person's.
A few strands of Blue Silver Grass reached out and wrapped around them. "If you two want to drink, don't hold us up."
"Bei Bei, look at your Tang Ya."
"Sigh, they really shouldn't be drinking. They're too young."
Ji Siyuan said, "Come on, I can mix drinks."
???
"Do you have any cups? I mean normal drinking cups, preferably sturdy ones." Ji Siyuan gestured in the air.
"We do!" Xu Sanshi immediately took one out. "It's specially made from tortoise shell by our Mysterious Underworld Sect! I use it for drinking water."
Ji Siyuan looked disgusted. "Fine, you can use that one yourself later. Yuhao, do you have any iron or other metal blocks?"
Huo Yuhao said, "I do." He took out several iron blocks from the Space Soul Tool Qian Duoduo had given him.
Ultimate Fire immediately melted them into molten iron. As the temperature dropped, the metal quickly took shape. "I added too much heat. Let me get it under control."
Before long, he had made several cups.
He took out a few fruits and some common drinks to mix up some cocktails.
Why did he have these? He'd prepared a few when he was selling drinks, and he'd brought some along to the Star Dou Great Forest too.
He set the cups out, warmed them over a low flame, and poured in the liquor Xu Sanshi had brought.
"Yi Shoots the Nine Suns is still too difficult. Let's do something simple."
The equipment on the field wasn't suited to pulling off Yi Shoots the Nine Suns, either.
He flipped the cups and shook them back and forth, occasionally squeezing in some fruit juice.
He poured the drinks into the cups. The aroma of liquor wafted through the air.
"Oh my god, Siyuan, you really know what you're doing?" Xu Sanshi took the drink Ji Siyuan handed him and savored it. It tasted far better than the liquor he'd brought.
Ji Siyuan said, "What did you expect? My dad does this for a living. He doesn't teach me, but that doesn't stop me from learning."
The main thing was that Ji Dong and Lie Yan didn't really raise their kid. At home, all they did was mix drinks and drink. Ji Siyuan had seen it so often that he'd picked it up by osmosis.
Huo Yuhao wanted to ask what Ji Siyuan's parents were like, but when he saw a flicker of sadness in Ji Siyuan's eyes, he knew not to pry.
Xu Sanshi said, "You can cook and mix drinks. Any girl who marries you will be lucky."
He'd said it without thinking, but his words had struck a chord with someone listening.
"Hey, Yuhao, why are you blushing? Did that little bit of alcohol go straight to your head?" Tang Ya reached for the cup in Huo Yuhao's hand, but he dodged her. "I'm fine, Teacher Xiao Ya."
His little face was bright red. He looked as if he were drunk.
Ji Siyuan handed Wang Dong'er a drink. "I mixed it with juice and soft drinks to lower the alcohol content. It's only a few percent, so you can drink it like a regular beverage. A little won't hurt anyone our age."
Wang Dong'er took a small sip. "It feels warm all over. It really tastes great."
Bei Bei took a sip of his drink. "Siyuan, weren't they holding the Freshman Assessment? The finals are tomorrow. Do you think you have a chance?"
"Of course. This year's format is a little different, so we'll probably have to face five teams. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu are on one team, and I forgot what the third person on their team does;
"Ning Tian's team has the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda and two Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters; there's also a team of sisters with someone who's almost a Soul Elder; then there's a team with a Soul Elder, plus a team with a Soul Master who has Twin Martial Souls. I don't think we have anything to worry about."
Wang Dong'er was furious. "Nothing to worry about? Don't go making me charge in alone again."
"I won't, I won't. There are so many of us. Since it's a melee, I'll definitely get in there and fight."
Xu Sanshi said, "It's good to be confident. What's there to be afraid of? Siyuan can roast me until I'm running all over the place. Why should we fear a few low-ranking Soul Elders? Let's keep eating and drinking."
While they were feasting, people elsewhere had already gathered to discuss their plans.
Ning Tian had summoned the other teams to join forces against Ji Siyuan's team.
Xiao Xiao's team hadn't been invited because they weren't strong enough.
Since his opponent was Ji Siyuan, Dai Huabin chose to join them too.
The four remaining teams came to an agreement.
They would take Ji Siyuan out first.
Before the finals, in the Soul Fight Arena.
The three of them sat together.
The others were discussing how to fight. These three were discussing what to eat that night after the match.
"We need to use little skewers. The big ones from before were too much."
"And we need more wine this time."
"Should we bring a pot? It'd be nice to make some soup. Ji Siyuan, you said yesterday you knew how. You're sure, right?"
The three of them talked with great enthusiasm.
Ning Tian's eyes never left Ji Siyuan. She took the boy who had defeated Dai Huabin despite their difference in rank very seriously.
But seeing the three of them so relaxed, she couldn't help but feel confident too. "An arrogant army is doomed to defeat!"
Du Weilun hovered in midair. It was his first time organizing a Freshman Assessment like this, so he'd specifically recruited a few extra teachers.
"All teams, enter the arena."
All six teams entered, each taking one point of the hexagram.
"The final match will be a six-team melee. The rankings will be determined by the order in which teams are eliminated. A team is eliminated when all its members are out; the rest will be ranked in order. You may fight with all your strength. The teachers will step in to rescue anyone in danger. Anyone rescued will be considered eliminated.
"There are no other rules!"
"Begin!"
At the announcement, all eighteen competitors summoned their Martial Souls.
Among the six Thousand-Year Soul Rings, Ji Siyuan's team drew the most attention. Three of them were on his team.
And none of them were the third Soul Ring of a Soul Elder. In particular, all of his own Soul Rings were purple.
Ning Tian was the first to act. "The Seven Treasures turn, revealing the Glazed Tile Pagoda! Seven Treasures Have Names: First, Speed!"
Unexpectedly, Ning Tian didn't use her Soul Skill on her own teammates, Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun'er. Instead, she gave it to Dai Huabin on the team beside them.
It was both part of their earlier agreement and a way of showing goodwill.
Dai Huabin used his Soul Skills as quickly as he could, releasing two enhancement skills at once. The White Tiger Protection Barrier and White Tiger Vajra Transformation greatly boosted his attack and defense.
He immediately charged at Ji Siyuan's team.
"Leave this to me." Unlike the last few times, Ji Siyuan didn't send Wang Dong'er in first. He knew that only he could handle two Soul Elders working together.
"First Soul Skill, Fire Demon Vortex!"
Two vortices of different colors shot toward Dai Huabin.
The White Tiger charged without hesitation toward the dimmer one. "Ning Tian!"
The second Soul Ring on Ning Tian's body lit up. "Seven Treasures Have Names: Second, Release!" It dispelled the control effect, allowing Dai Huabin to charge straight at Ji Siyuan.
This was their first attempt at the tactic.
They ignored Wang Dong'er and Huo Yuhao and went straight for the king. Take out the biggest threat first, then it would be a real melee.
Ji Siyuan's Martial Soul wasn't particularly powerful in close combat. If Dai Huabin could get right up close, he'd have a much greater advantage.
"Sigh. You still haven't learned your lesson."
Flames blazed around Ji Siyuan. Bright fire spun into a vortex around him.
It forced Dai Huabin, who had just gotten close, to retreat.
The vortices of two kinds of flame merged and shot out: the true Fire Demon Vortex.
Suddenly, the enhancement from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda changed.
"Seven Treasures Have Names: Third, Strength!"
The speed enhancement shifted to strength, allowing Dai Huabin to break through the vortex.
Ning Tian said, "Change of plan. Clip their wings! Then go for the king again!"