Soon, Lin Feng arrived at Tang Ya's shop.
He pushed the door open, but saw only Huo Yuhao, busy behind the counter.
"Senior Brother, why are you the only one here? Where's Sister Xiao Ya?" Lin Feng looked around, but couldn't see Tang Ya anywhere.
"Teacher Xiao Ya went to watch the fourth-year finals for the Outer Court," Huo Yuhao explained, looking up. "They're short-handed here, so she asked me to come help keep an eye on the shop."
"I see. Thanks for your hard work." Lin Feng nodded.
"It's nothing, no trouble at all," Huo Yuhao said, turning to pour him some tea.
Before Huo Yuhao could bring the tea over, Lin Feng had already turned and strode out of the shop.
The fourth-year Outer Court final exam... He had to go see it.
Without slowing down, Lin Feng headed straight toward the academy's Soul Fighting Zone.
Note: The earlier incorrect plot in which Beibei was exceptionally admitted to sixth year has been removed. He is still in fourth year.
Not long after Lin Feng first enrolled, Tang Ya and Beibei had both passed their third-year final exams without a hitch.
Now, if the two of them wanted to advance from fourth year to fifth, they had to earn ten "Soul Fighting Points" in the Soul Fighting Zone.
The small tournament held at the end of each term was the main way to earn Soul Fighting Points. Each victory earned one precious point. The higher the grade, the more points students needed, all the way up to the Inner Court.
After asking his way around, Lin Feng finally found the venue for the fourth-year final.
He had just entered the noisy passage leading to the stands when Tang Ya, on the distant arena, seemed to sense him and turned to look.
Across the bobbing heads, their eyes met. She smiled and waved; Lin Feng returned the greeting with a smile. Beibei, standing opposite her, followed her gaze and spotted Lin Feng too. A flicker of anger seemed to rise in his face.
On the arena, the referee made his final announcement in a booming voice. "The rules have been read. Contestants, state your names."
"Tang Ya."
"Li Ru."
"Luo Yunyun."
Their three opponents introduced themselves in turn as well.
"Beibei."
"Cao Pinyuan."
"Rong Jingyu."
Lin Feng immediately paid the admission fee to an attendant by the arena. After registering his information, he found an empty seat in the back row of the stands.
The chatter around him centered mostly on Beibei.
"The Outer Court's number one attacker and his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul! This'll be a good one!"
"I heard Senior Brother Beibei deliberately stayed back a year to chase after a girl. Otherwise, he'd have advanced to fifth year, just like Senior Brother Xu Sanshi..."
"Exactly! Fifth year's great. Senior Sister Jiang Nannan, the Outer Court's number one beauty, is there. Senior Brother Beibei really took a loss on this one."
The referee stretched both arms out to the sides and declared solemnly, "Both sides, take your positions—begin!"
The instant the words fell, all six contestants released their Martial Souls, and their Soul Power surged.
Yellow and purple Soul Rings appeared one after another, dazzling the eye. Both teams had the typical fourth-year lineup: one Soul Ancestor and two Soul Elders.
In fourth year, students who had reached Soul Ancestor were already among the very best. Most were still hovering around the middle or late stages of Soul Elder.
"Xiao Ya," Beibei said, blue lightning crackling around him as he fixed his gaze on Tang Ya. "I'll show you that I'm every bit as good as that guy!"
"Don't bother." Tang Ya's expression was cool, her eyes utterly calm. "There's nothing between us anymore."
The battle erupted the next instant!
Beibei's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was among the very best in the Power Attack System. As soon as they clashed, his furious lightning surged forward with crushing force, driving Tang Ya's trio back again and again.
In the face of overwhelming speed and power, Blue Silver Grass's control proved a struggle.
"Bang! Bang!"
The clash was as swift as lightning. The muffled impacts of Soul Skills colliding and the sharp bursts of air rang out without pause.
After barely a dozen exchanges of attack and defense, the scales had already tipped decisively.
Beibei's team worked together seamlessly, and his own strength gave him the upper hand. He drove Tang Ya and her teammates back step by step, leaving them no choice but to struggle to hold on.
At this rate, the outcome seemed all but decided.
"Sister Xiao Ya..." Li Ru, the girl beside Tang Ya, clutched her arm, grazed by lightning. Her voice was choked with tears and frustration. "I don't mind losing... But you're only one point away from advancing to fifth year... I—I just can't accept this!"
The other girl, Luo Yunyun, was pale too. She gritted her teeth. "I can't accept it either... We'll have to wait until next term..."
All three were covered in wounds, and most of their Soul Power was spent. They had been forced to the edge of the arena.
Beibei halted his attack. Looking at Tang Ya's stubborn face, his expression turned complicated. In the end, he held out a hand, his voice hoarse.
"Give up, Xiao Ya. It's over."
"Get lost!"
Tang Ya jerked her head up, feeling insulted, and spat out the icy words.
But the next instant, the bloodstained corner of her mouth twitched. Her gaze passed over Beibei and the noisy arena, landing straight on someone in the stands.
Lin Feng was watching quietly.
The glance was brief, yet seemed to hold a thousand words.
There was shame, frustration, and a dependence buried deep within her. In the end, it all became a look of desperate resolve, as if she had burned her boats.
Dark, viscous Soul Power with an ominous aura began to seep uncontrollably from Tang Ya...
"W-what kind of Soul Power is that? Could it be..."
"An Evil Soul Master?! Impossible! How could an Evil Soul Master have gotten into Shrek and made it to fourth year?!"
The stands erupted in alarmed, fearful chatter.
This is bad!
Lin Feng's heart sank. He shot to his feet.
He hadn't expected the Darkness Power inside Tang Ya to remain. The purification last time hadn't fully worked.
Watching the black aura grow denser, Lin Feng clenched his fists and shot a glance toward the judges' stand, torn by indecision.
He was considering whether to intervene by force and stop the match immediately.
On the arena, the change had already begun.
Tang Ya's originally verdant Blue Silver Grass had now turned a deep, shadowy black.
The Blue Silver Grass vines grew and writhed wildly, like dark serpents endowed with life.
Then they shot out at astonishing speed, precisely dodging Beibei in front and wrapping around the two Soul Elder teammates behind him like lightning.
"Argh!"
"What the hell is that?!"
Caught off guard, the two Soul Elders were bound fast by the Dark Blue Silver Grass.
The Blue Silver Grass didn't merely restrain them. They felt the blood and Soul Power within their bodies start flowing outward against their will, then being devoured...
Their faces grew visibly paler by the second...
Lin Feng kept his eyes fixed on Tang Ya. Her gaze was savage, yet clear; it hadn't gone vacant, and she hadn't fallen into a frenzy, attacking everyone indiscriminately.
The Darkness Power hadn't completely robbed her of her senses.
He let out a slight breath of relief, though the tension in his heart did not ease completely.
The referee had clearly noticed something was wrong. But Tang Ya had chosen her targets and wasn't attacking indiscriminately. Though the dark Soul Power was sinister, it was still within the bounds of the rules.
After a moment's hesitation, he decided not to stop the match. His expression grave, he watched Tang Ya closely.
Beibei wasn't about to stand by, either. Lightning blazed around him as he abandoned his attack on Tang Ya and tried to save his teammates.
Tang Ya merely gave him a cold glance.
More Dark Blue Silver Grass surged from beneath her feet, easily blocking Beibei's fierce lightning charge.
By then, the two Soul Elders in the vines had already gone limp, most of their blood and Soul Power drained. The vines flung them off the arena, where they hit the ground hard, officially eliminating them from the match.
After devouring the blood and vitality of the two Soul Elders, the Dark Blue Silver Grass seemed to grow even darker.
Tang Ya's Soul Power was now brimming, her aura so powerful she seemed to have reached the level of a Soul King. She completely overwhelmed Beibei, whose face was twisted with shock and fury.
The situation on the arena had reversed in an instant!
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