Xie Xie vs. Gu Yue

The entire arena fell into an instant, deathly silence. The freshmen of Grade 1 Class 5 looked at Tang Wuling as if seeing her for the first time; no one dared to underestimate her any longer.

"The first match is over. Tang Wuling wins."

Wu Changkong's cold, detached voice shattered the stillness.

A flicker of surprise crossed his ice-blue eyes.

He realized that Tang Wuling hadn't used any soul skills for that punch; it was pure physical strength.

Yet, this seemingly light blow had actually sent Zhao Gang, who was under the effect of a Strength Boost, flying three meters away!

One had to understand that although Zhao Gang only had a soul power of level twelve, his Black Bear martial soul was renowned for its raw power. His first soul skill, Strength Boost, could increase his power by thirty percent. Even a power-type soul master of the same level wouldn't dare claim they could send him flying with a single punch.

Tang Wuling retracted her Blue Silver Grass and hurried to the side of Cheng Duoyi.

"Brother Yi'er, I won!"

"Well done." Cheng Duoyi smiled and ruffled her hair.

Gu Yue stood to the side, watching their intimate interaction. Her lips curled slightly, and she felt a strange, sour sensation in her heart, though she said nothing. After all, Tang Wuling's strength had earned her respect.

Wu Changkong walked over and asked, "Tang Wuling, would you mind telling your teacher why your strength is so formidable?"

The surrounding students pricked up their ears, clearly wanting to know the answer to this question as well. Zhao Gang, who had been sprawled on the ground, stood up and looked at Tang Wuling, though his eyes were filled with anger and resentment.

Tang Wuling subconsciously glanced at Cheng Duoyi. Seeing him nod at her, she answered truthfully, "I've been learning forging from my teacher since I was six and a half. I have to swing a forging hammer for over ten hours every day. That might be why my strength is greater than others."

"Forging?" Wu Changkong raised an eyebrow, understanding dawning on him.

Forging was indeed the profession that best trained one's strength, but it also placed extremely high demands on one's physical constitution.

Even so, it shouldn't have been possible to reach this level.

There must be other reasons involved.

However, he did not press further. Everyone had their own secrets; as long as it didn't interfere with his teaching, he never meddled too much.

He turned to face the students, picked up the drawing bucket, and reached in to pull out two bamboo slips with a seemingly casual motion.

"Second match, Gu Yue versus Xie Xie."

As the words fell, Xie Xie immediately leaped out from the ranks. He shook his wrists, a confident smile plastered on his face, and looked at Gu Yue with eyes full of provocation.

"Hey, Gu Yue, don't go crying if you lose later." Xie Xie tilted his chin up. "I won't go easy on you just because you're a girl."

Xie Xie was level eighteen and possessed twin martial souls, the Light Dragon Dagger and the Shadow Dragon Dagger. Among all the freshmen in Grade 1, he believed that aside from Tang Wuling, no one was his match.

Although Gu Yue seemed to have some ability, she was only level fifteen. He was confident he could win!

Gu Yue cast a faint glance at him.

Her eyes remained completely calm, as if she were looking at a clown.

She walked slowly to the center of the playground and stood opposite Xie Xie. The air around her seemed to shift slightly with her movements.

"You talk too much," Gu Yue said flatly.

"You!" Xie Xie was extremely annoyed.

Not far away, Cheng Duoyi said softly, "Xie Xie is in for a rough time."

Leng Xue'er, standing beside him, nodded slightly at these words. "Gu Yue's spiritual power is very strong, and her control over elements far exceeds that of her peers. Although Xie Xie is fast, he won't gain any advantage against such absolute elemental control."

Tang Wuling nodded as if she understood, a strange sense of crisis rising in her heart.

She could feel that Gu Yue was far more powerful than she had imagined.

If she were to face her in battle, she feared her chances of winning would be slim.

"Brother Yi'er, who do you think will win?" Tang Wuling couldn't help but ask.

"Gu Yue, of course," Cheng Duoyi replied. "Xie Xie is too arrogant; he has no idea who he is facing."

Just then, Wu Changkong's voice rang out once more.

"The match begins!"

The moment the words left his lips, Xie Xie launched the first attack. A dazzling silver-white light erupted from his right palm, and an exquisitely crafted dagger appeared in his hand.

Xie Xie was indeed an agility-type battle soul master; his speed was immense. In the blink of an eye, he reached Gu Yue. He wasn't as reckless as his words suggested; when he first saw Gu Yue, he had witnessed her use teleportation, so he knew this would be a bitter fight.

His earlier taunts were merely to provoke her, but unfortunately, Gu Yue hadn't taken the bait. He hadn't used his soul skill immediately because he feared her teleportation—if he missed, wouldn't he be wasting his soul power for nothing?

"What is Gu Yue planning?"

Xie Xie had already charged to within three meters of Gu Yue. Seeing this, he stopped overthinking and struck out with his Light Dragon Dagger.

But just as Xie Xie was about to land his blow, a flash of silver light appeared on Gu Yue, and she teleported to his right, causing his attack to strike empty air.

When Xie Xie turned to look at her, he was met with three ice spikes and three fireballs. The six attacks came in rapid succession, leaving Xie Xie shocked and incredulous: "How did Gu Yue conjure three ice spikes and three fireballs so quickly?"

With no time to think, a yellow century-old soul ring rose slowly from beneath his feet.

"First soul skill, Light Dragon Blade!"

Silver-white light converged on the Light Dragon Dagger, forming a sharp blade of light. Accompanied by a faint dragon's roar, it instantly shattered the three ice spikes and one fireball. As for the remaining two fireballs, Xie Xie braced his hands on the ground and performed a backbend, dodging them by a hair's breadth.

Gu Yue's assault had only just begun. A yellow halo appeared around her, just as Xie Xie attempted to spring into action and perform a series of flips.

"What!"

Xie Xie was astonished to discover that his legs had sunk into the earth.

Following that, two ice orbs locked him in place, rendering him unable to move.

In this moment, he finally witnessed the true strength of Gu Yue.

Gu Yue's control over the elements was simply too powerful!

Furthermore, her grasp of timing was even better than he had imagined!

This was not an ability that someone of this age should possess at all!

Caught off guard, although Xie Xie could not break free immediately.

He did not panic, instead quickly looking toward Gu Yue.

To his surprise, he saw Gu Yue launch another three Ice Spikes and three fireballs, leaving Xie Xie in a miserable state.

"Are you kidding me?"

"What kind of person has such mastery over elemental control?"

"And don't you care about your soul power? You're just throwing it around!"

Xie Xie's gaze sharpened as he held his breath and focused, displaying the precision expected of an agility-type battle soul master. In his hands, he no longer held just the Light Dragon Dagger, but also the Shadow Dragon Dagger. With precision, the two daggers struck the cores of the Ice Spikes and fireballs, shattering them.

For a moment, it seemed as though the two were evenly matched.