The vast arena at Eastsea Academy buzzed with noise.
The Class Promotion Tournament was a major event at the academy, drawing crowds of students and teachers.
The atmosphere among the first-year students was especially lively, particularly when the star class, Class Five, made its entrance.
Wu Changkong still wore his usual ice-cold expression, standing at the front of the Class Five team with his arms folded.
Behind him, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue stood shoulder to shoulder.
Yao Chuan, meanwhile, leaned lazily against the railing by the competitors' seats, looking as if none of this had anything to do with him.
As a substitute, he had become the focus of everyone's attention.
Director Long Hengxu stood in the center of the arena, cleared his throat, and raised his voice above the din.
"Quiet!"
"The first match of the new academic year's Class Promotion Tournament: Grade One Class Five versus Grade One Class Four!"
"Both teams, get ready!"
At his words, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue from Class Five strode without hesitation onto the central platform.
Their steps were steady and powerful, their eyes sharp, and they radiated the lean, hardened air of students who had undergone special training.
Across from them, Teacher Kong Hanwen wore a grin he could barely contain.
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and looked at the three students from Class Five, his smile stretching almost from ear to ear.
Especially when he saw that Yao Chuan was still lounging in the competitors' seats, with no intention of joining the match, he felt his confidence return.
This was a gift from heaven!
He turned to his three team members and deliberately raised his voice so the opposing team could hear.
"See that?"
"Their strongest player, Yao Chuan, doesn't dare to step onto the field!"
"Looks like even Teacher Wu knows that putting him in would only bring humiliation."
"With those three pathetic excuses for fighters..."
He paused deliberately, sweeping a provocative glance over Tang Wulin and the others on the platform.
"Especially that useless guy with the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Heh..."
"Jialong, Lin Zunyuan, Mosi—oh, no..."
Kong Hanwen's gaze settled on the girl who had volunteered to take Mosi's place.
She had curly chestnut hair and a rather pretty face. At that moment, she was on tiptoe, craning her neck, her eyes fixed intently on Yao Chuan in Class Five's competitors' seats.
Her gaze brimmed with undisguised admiration—and disappointment.
"Now Musi will be taking Mosi's place."
"You three, get serious!"
"Remember what I told you!"
Kong Hanwen swept his hand out.
"Now go and crush them..."
"Absolutely flatten them!"
"Finish the fight in ten minutes!"
His voice rang with blind confidence, as though victory were already in the bag.
And yet...
The team he had pinned his hopes on didn't seem to have caught all of his fighting spirit.
On the platform, the three competitors from Class Four stood in a row.
Their main attacker, Jialong, was a burly young man whose Martial Soul was wolf-type. He frowned, clearly unimpressed by his homeroom teacher's "ten-minute" boast.
Lin Zunyuan, a support-type Soul Master, held a staff and looked somewhat nervous.
As for Musi, the girl who had volunteered to replace Mosi, her attention was nowhere near the match about to begin.
Her resentful gaze stretched across half the platform and clung fast to the lazy figure of the boy in the competitors' seats.
Yao Chuan seemed to sense the overly intense stare. He turned his head slightly and casually glanced toward the platform.
It was only a casual glance.
But Musi shivered as if struck by lightning. A wave of delight burst across her face, only to turn swiftly into deep disappointment.
She stamped her foot, pouted, and started complaining to the empty air beside her as if no one else were around.
Her voice was loud enough for both sides facing off on the platform to hear.
"Aaah!"
"I'm so mad!"
"Brother Yao Chuan really isn't competing?"
"What did I work so hard to get a spot on the team for?"
Musi grabbed her hair in frustration, looking as if all hope had drained out of her.
"If I'd known Brother Yao Chuan was only a substitute and wouldn't even fight..."
"I wouldn't have been so eager to volunteer!"
"What a complete waste of time!"
At last, she pulled her gaze away from Yao Chuan and gave the three waiting opponents a profoundly halfhearted glance.
The disdain and contempt in her eyes nearly spilled over.
"All this just to fight these... hmph!"
She pursed her lips. She didn't actually say "little weaklings," but her expression and tone made her meaning perfectly clear.
Her words made it obvious she didn't take the other members of Grade One Class Five seriously at all.
It was as if this Class Promotion Tournament were nothing more than an obligatory appearance she'd made for a "fan meet-and-greet."
Kong Hanwen's face turned green as he listened from below.
What nonsense was that idiot spouting?!
She was undermining the team's morale before the match!
He was so furious he nearly charged up to drag Musi off the platform.
On the other side of the platform, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie had naturally heard Musi's shameless complaints.
Tang Wulin furrowed his brow.
He was used to being looked down on, especially because of his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Still, the other girl's attitude—treating the match like a joke and showing no respect for her opponents—left anger burning inside him.
He clenched his fist without thinking.
The Golden Dragon King Bloodline that had just broken through its first seal seemed to respond to his anger, a searing sense of power stirring within him.
Faint golden lines along the roots of his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul began to flow.
Xie Xie reacted more bluntly.
"Damn!"
He swore under his breath.
"Is that girl's brain broken?"
"Are all the people in Class Four this arrogant?"
"Do they think we're invisible?"
Xie Xie was hopping mad. He was almost summoning the phantom of his Light Dragon Dagger.
"Wulin, leave that smart-mouthed girl to me!"
"I'll show her—"
Before he could finish, a sudden pressure, cold enough to seem almost tangible, cut him off.
It came from right beside them.
Gu Yue.
Only then did Tang Wulin notice that something was wrong with his teammate.
From the moment she heard Musi say "Brother Yao Chuan," the temperature around Gu Yue had started plummeting.
Now her exquisitely beautiful face was completely shrouded in frost.
Her already cool demeanor had turned as frigid as ancient ice.
Her gaze was locked on Musi.
That look...
It was as if she were staring at an eyesore that needed to be smashed to pieces.
Tang Wulin's heart skipped a beat.
He instantly calmed down and thought it through at lightning speed.
Musi's lovestruck remarks...
Her affectionate way of addressing Yao Chuan ("Brother Yao Chuan")...
And her undisguised attitude of treating everyone else as a "waste of time"...
Combined with Gu Yue's subtle attentiveness toward Yao Chuan lately, and the awkwardness she sometimes let slip...
There could only be one explanation!
This was a full-blown jealousy scene!
Musi's words and actions had hit Gu Yue's sore spot dead-on!
In Gu Yue's eyes, this foolish human girl had not only turned the sacred Class Promotion Tournament into Yao Chuan's "fan meet-and-greet," she was also a clear-cut potential rival in love.
She had to be completely eliminated!
In the cleanest, cruelest, most overwhelming way possible!
A cold glint flashed through Gu Yue's eyes. Her killing intent—er, her "fighting spirit"—instantly surged to its peak.
Kong Hanwen was still below, fuming over Musi's careless remarks.
Director Long Hengxu had already raised his right hand. His powerful voice boomed across the arena.
"Both teams, take your positions!"
"The first match of the Class Promotion Tournament!"
"Grade One Class Five: Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue!"
"Versus!"
"Grade One Class Four: Jialong, Lin Zunyuan, and Musi!"
"Begin..."
"Now!"
The final word still hung in the air.
The three from Class Four finally shed some of their slackness.
Jialong growled, "Martial Soul Possession!"
A white Ten-Year Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet.
His body visibly swelled, his muscles bulging and his nails lengthening into sharp claws. He radiated the ferocious aura of a wolf-type Beast Martial Soul.
Lin Zunyuan hurriedly raised his wooden staff. A white Soul Ring lit up as well, and a hazy red glow shone from the tip. A beam of enhancement shot toward Jialong.
"Strength Boost!"
Jialong felt his strength rise at once, and his confidence grew a little.
"Musi! Cover my flank!" Jialong roared, pushing off with both legs and preparing to charge Class Five's formation.
The chestnut-haired Musi seemed to drag herself out of her disappointment that Yao Chuan wasn't competing and spare the match a little attention.
A faint white Soul Ring appeared as she summoned her Martial Soul.
A pair of small metal gloves appeared in her hands.
Martial Soul: Gloves (agility attack type).
She looked distracted.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You're such a pain..." Musi grumbled, reluctantly assuming a fighting stance. She still couldn't help glancing toward the competitors' seats.
Just as the three from Class Four had released their Martial Souls, before their formation had fully settled and while their strategy still existed only in Jialong's head—
Something changed!
From Class Five's side—
A figure—
Moved!
It was Gu Yue!
She hadn't even waited for Tang Wulin and Xie Xie to move first, as she usually did!
The instant Long Hengxu shouted "Begin!"
The instant Jialong roared "Martial Soul Possession," Lin Zunyuan's staff lit up, Musi put on her gloves, and Kong Hanwen's heart stirred with a faint hope that they still had a chance—
Gu Yue moved!
No windup!
No probing attack!
Not even the telltale glow of a Soul Ring!
Her figure vanished from where she stood, as if she were a ghost.
No!
She hadn't vanished!
She was simply too fast!
So fast that ordinary eyes could barely follow her!
She became a streak of icy lightning, heading straight for the center of Class Four's formation—the lovestruck Musi!
"Wind!"
A cool, clear whisper sounded as if it had come from the depths of the netherworld.
A violent whirlwind erupted out of nowhere on the arena!
The wind didn't attack indiscriminately. It swept precisely toward Lin Zunyuan and the staff in his hand!
Lin Zunyuan felt an overwhelming force slam into his staff!
Crack!
A sharp snap!
The red beam empowering him instantly cut off!
A large chunk of the wooden staff was shredded by invisible blades of wind!
Lin Zunyuan himself was buffeted by the sudden storm, staggering and stumbling backward. Forget boosting his teammates—he was lucky just to stay on his feet.
"What?!"
The upheaval among his teammates abruptly stopped Jialong's charge. His face went pale with shock.
What was going on?
Elemental control?
Instant casting?
She hadn't even lit up a Soul Ring?
Wasn't this girl a support type?
His shock was only just beginning.
Gu Yue's attacks came like the tide, one wave rising before the last had receded.
"Ice!"
The second word left her lips, cold as ice.
Target: Jialong!
Crack-crack-crack—
The grating sound of freezing rang out.
The hard ground beneath Jialong's feet instantly became coated in a thick, incredibly smooth layer of ice!
And the ice spread at astonishing speed!
"Not good!"
Alarm bells blared in Jialong's mind. His battle instincts told him to jump away at once.
But his enhanced weight and the momentum of his charge had become his greatest obstacles.
Thud!
His foot slipped!
Jialong's massive body completely lost its balance. Like a runaway hill, he crashed onto the ice, sprawling flat on his back.
Utterly humiliated!
"Ah!"
The enormous crash finally jolted Musi back to her senses.
She stared in terror at the situation changing before her eyes.
Just moments ago, her two teammates had been brimming with confidence. Now one had a broken staff and was reeling, while the other had fallen hard and was completely dazed.
And that figure radiating a terrifying chill had already rushed in front of her, like the Grim Reaper coming to claim her soul!
Those icy eyes fixed on her!
There was no emotion in them, only a pure, bone-chilling cold.
Musi was scared out of her wits!
At last, she realized what kind of person she'd provoked!
"Y-you, don't come any closer!"
She shrieked, frantically raising her gloved arms to try to block the attack.
"Rock!"
Gu Yue uttered a third word.
This time, her target was clear—the ground beneath Musi!
Rumble!
A dull boom!
The arena floor beneath Musi suddenly heaved violently without warning!
It was as if a slumbering earth dragon had rolled over!
A huge, incredibly hard stone platform suddenly thrust upward!
"Ah—!"
Musi let out a shrill scream.
The immense force flung her into the air without the slightest resistance!
Like a ball struck by a powerful kick!
She flew three or four meters off the ground!
She completely lost control of her body!
In midair, she flailed her arms and legs, helpless and terrified.
And that wasn't all!
Gu Yue remained where she was, not even looking up at Musi as she screamed and fell.
She merely extended her long, slender, pale fingers and gave a gentle clench toward the panicked figure in the air.
"Crush!"
Boom!
The enormous stone platform that had lifted Musi up seemed to be controlled by an invisible giant hand at Gu Yue's single word!
It suddenly folded inward!
Like two enormous millstones!
It slammed shut around Musi just as she began to fall!
Bang!!!
A muffled crash that made everyone's heart skip a beat!
Stones flew!
Dust billowed!
Musi's shrill scream abruptly cut off!
The stone slabs had trapped her precisely, without crushing her fatally—Gu Yue had held back—but the massive impact and confinement left her gasping, seeing stars, and utterly unable to fight back.
Like a relief carved into a wall.
The whole process...
Had flowed like water!
Fast as lightning!
From the moment Long Hengxu shouted, "Begin," to Gu Yue unleashing an Elemental Storm that blew Lin Zunyuan away, freezing Jialong so he fell, and finally raising the rock to trap Musi...
It had all happened in one fluid motion!
Not a single pause!
Gu Yue had stayed right where she was, without moving her feet once!
Throughout the whole thing, she'd only moved her lips and fingers!
Her three opponents...
Power Attack System's Jialong: sprawled on the ground, stunned by his fall.
Support type Lin Zunyuan: blown around by the wind, completely disoriented.
Agility Attack System's Musi: trapped in midair by the rocks, eyes rolling back as she teetered on the verge of passing out.
The time...
Exactly ten seconds!
The entire arena fell into deathly silence.
You could hear a pin drop.
Everyone's mouths hung open, their eyes as wide as saucers.
Students and teachers alike.
Those who had thought Class Five was bound to lose, and those who had been eager to see how Class Five would do.
Every last one of them was dumbfounded.
What... what was that?
What had just happened?
Had their eyes deceived them?
That girl named Gu Yue...
What had she done?
How had she done it?
She hadn't even lit up a Soul Ring!
Were those three from Class Four made of paper? Or had they teamed up with Gu Yue to put on a farce?
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were still poised to launch their attack.
Their faces were a sight to behold.
Tang Wulin's fist was still clenched, his eyes wide as saucers.
The phantom of the Light Dragon Dagger in Xie Xie's hand had only just begun to form, and his mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.
They were both completely dumbfounded.
Was it... over already?
Had the two of us... come up here just to be background props?
Xie Xie turned stiffly toward Tang Wulin.
"W-Wulin..."
"Should we... cheer or something?"
Before you continue