Selection Tournament Ends

After He Caitou fell under the combined assault of the others and was carried out by Xuan Zi, the other students seized the chance to form teams with people they knew well.

Huo Yuhao briefly swept his gaze over the teams present. Since they had gone to join Ning Tian, the five of them were still quite a distance from Beibei's group of three.

Thus, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng formed a small group of five.

Meanwhile, the three fifth-year Soul Ancestors—Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan—had gathered together. The other second-, third-, and fourth-year students on the field had also formed their own teams and fought separately.

However, Huo Yuhao had no intention of forcing his way into a team with Beibei and the others. After all, the tallest tree catches the most wind. As the strongest three people on the field, Beibei's group would undoubtedly face the greatest pressure.

And since he did not intend to reveal Spiritual Detection Sharing, there was no need to force himself into a head-on battle with them. Watching from the edges would do just fine.

"Let's work together to deal with the fourth-ring seniors' team first! We can slowly decide the winners afterward!" a fourth-year Soul Elder shouted.

The others nodded one after another, their gazes converging in tacit understanding on Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan, who were the most conspicuous people on the field.

The four soul rings around the three of them were especially eye-catching amid the many two- and three-ring students.

At that moment, Wang Dong looked toward Huo Yuhao beside her. Huo Yuhao gestured for her to fall back, then led the group quietly toward the edge of the arena.

Huo Yuhao activated his Second Soul Skill. Under the effects of Spiritual Erosion, his Spiritual Power continuously radiated outward. Once the other students came into contact with those subtle spiritual fluctuations, they unconsciously overlooked Huo Yuhao's group.

Since it was not directed at any particular person, Spiritual Erosion was not as terrifying as it had been when used against the Mutated Mighty Ape. Still, it was enough for Huo Yuhao to bypass these students' Soul Power defenses and interfere with their minds.

Under the influence of wide-range Spiritual Erosion, Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Suggestion to make the other students unconsciously ignore the five of them. Even when they fought, they would not include them in the battle.

Seeing the teams from the other groups forming an encirclement, Beibei inwardly cried out in alarm. Though he was secretly complaining in his heart, he did not delay his actions.

He immediately joined forces with Xu Sanshi and clashed with the other students.

Three against eighteen—and most of them were Soul Elders. Even though Beibei's group were Soul Ancestors, they had no absolute confidence in defeating them.

But the arrow was already on the string; it had to be fired. No one wanted to admit defeat here.

On the left were the outstanding second-year students Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Xie Huanyue, and Huang Chutian. Along with four fourth-year Soul Elders, they charged toward Beibei's group.

At the same time, six third-year students approached from the right, surrounding them in concert. All six were Soul Elders, and their soul ring configurations naturally needed no further mention.

Moreover, because of their numbers, both teams had excellent soul master compositions: Assault Type, Defense Type, and Agility Assault Type.

Behind those two teams, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Zhou Sichen, and Cao Jinxuan were responsible for controlling, harassing, and supporting the main attackers against Beibei's group.

Xu Sanshi and Beibei exchanged a glance before advancing separately, one to the left and one to the right.

Xu Sanshi, the Defense Type soul master, was the first to meet the team on the left. The Darkwater Tortoise Shell Shield in his hand slammed into the ground, and a surge of black air swept toward the people before him.

The Third Soul Ring and First Soul Ring beneath Xu Sanshi's feet lit up simultaneously. Empowered by Darkwater Power, the shockwave of Darkwater Quake knocked the weaker Zhu Lu and Huang Chutian back a considerable distance, while also hindering the other students' advance.

But there were simply too many opponents. With eight people sharing the impact, Darkwater Quake had little power left.

After all, there were two Defense Type Soul Elders among those eight. Darkwater Quake could only hold them back for a brief moment.

Soon, they adjusted their formation and launched another attack on Xu Sanshi. Though Xu Sanshi's defensive ability ranked among the best even among Soul Ancestors, enough ants could still kill an elephant.

Besides, the gap between him and his opponents was hardly the difference between ants and an elephant. Surrounded by wolves, he could only hold out for a little longer. He fought as he retreated, delaying for as much time as possible and creating opportunities for Beibei and Jiang Nannan.

Beibei and Jiang Nannan, meanwhile, met the team on the right. In a flash, Jiang Nannan's agile figure darted past Beibei and charged toward the six people on the right.

Clearly, their strategy was to rely on Xu Sanshi to buy time while they defeated the weaker side first.

However, aside from those six Soul Elders, there was still the support squad of Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Zhou Sichen, and Cao Jinxuan at the rear of the battlefield. Though their Soul Power was only at the Soul Grandmaster level, they were still no small trouble.

Therefore, Jiang Nannan's target was those four. If she got close, her strength as a Soul Ancestor would be utterly crushing against them.

Seeing this, the six third-year Soul Elders wanted to return to help, but that was precisely what Beibei wanted.

The Third and Fourth Soul Rings beneath Beibei's feet flashed alternately.

It was the Third Soul Skill, Wrath of Thunder, and the Fourth Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Head. Accompanied by a resounding dragon's roar, lightning wrapped around the dragonized right half of Beibei's body. Then, a dragon head nearly a meter in diameter roared forth, rampaging through the crowd.

Boosted by the Third Soul Skill, Wrath of Thunder, Beibei's all-out strike possessed destructive power comparable to that of a Soul King.

Though the six Soul Elders had the advantage in numbers, blocking it was far from easy. Forced to choose, they could only prioritize protecting themselves, leaving them powerless to stop the agile Jiang Nannan.

After a few flashes, Jiang Nannan appeared before Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Zhou Sichen, and Cao Jinxuan. Naturally, the four of them would not sit and await death.

All kinds of soul skills were unleashed in succession, seeking only to delay Jiang Nannan for a moment or two. At the same time, the sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo embraced each other. Their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Heavenly Net and Earthly Web, appeared once more!

Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao observed the battle from the edge of the arena. Calculating through his Spiritual Power, he quickly directed Ning Tian beside him.

He had Ning Tian use her Second Soul Skill on several students caught in control effects, releasing them from their restraints and abnormal conditions.

"???" Wu Feng stood in front of Ning Tian. She did not understand what Huo Yuhao was trying to do, nor did she understand why they were not joining the battle first but instead watching from the edge. She understood even less why no one was actually coming after the five of them.

As Ning Tian followed Huo Yuhao's directions and used her soul skills, she began to notice something. The people Huo Yuhao had her free from control were all students in particularly critical positions in the battle.

For example, the Assault Type Soul Elder capable of injuring Xu Sanshi, or the lion martial soul Soul Elder acting as the main force against Beibei.

Huo Yuhao wanted to balance the battlefield. He wanted the others to suffer as much attrition as possible during the fighting.

From outside the arena, Xuan Zi occasionally carried heavily injured students out. At the same time, his cloudy old eyes watched Huo Yuhao's group of five observing from the edge of the Battle Soul Arena.

Naturally, he could tell that Huo Yuhao's group had not participated in the battle. It could even be said that the others had not regarded them as targets at all.

Is it some kind of spiritual ability? But that alone is hardly enough to justify Mu En's high regard for you.

Most of Xuan Zi's attention was focused on Huo Yuhao. Mu En had specifically instructed him earlier to keep an eye on this student named Huo Yuhao.

Body Martial Soul... it is not a promising cultivation target. Mu En, I hope you have not misjudged him.

The battle on the field grew increasingly intense.

Xu Sanshi was beginning to fail under the pressure. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had already gone all out and activated their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

He shouted at Beibei beside him, "I can't hold on anymore! Beibei, are you done yet?!"

At the rear of the battlefield, after charging through the enemy like a tiger among sheep, Jiang Nannan had already eliminated Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Zhou Sichen, and Cao Jinxuan.

However, the final eruption of the Lan sisters' Martial Soul Fusion Skill had drained her heavily as well. She was regulating her breathing and recovering, with no time yet to reinforce Beibei.

Beibei had also eliminated two students, but it would still take some time to finish the battle completely.

"Haha, hold on. A man can't say he can't do it!" Beibei laughed, speaking to the battered and wounded Xu Sanshi.

The bruised and swollen Xu Sanshi grew angrier the more he thought about it. He roared at Beibei, "Beibei, you bastard! Stop talking big—come try it yourself if you've got the guts!"

Then Xu Sanshi's Fourth Soul Ring flashed. It was his Fourth Soul Skill, Darkwater Displacement.

As Darkwater Displacement activated, Beibei, who had been fighting the remaining four Soul Elders, suddenly saw the world blur. A pair of enormous tiger paws came crashing toward his handsome face.

It was Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Hell White Tiger.

Beibei was not built as sturdily as Xu Sanshi. Struck by that powerful paw, he was immediately slammed to the ground.

The other students did not remain idle either. Though they were briefly stunned and failed to react in time, allowing Beibei to regain his footing, they quickly followed up by unleashing their soul skills against him in succession.

Beibei inwardly cried out in alarm. At that moment, he could only use his dragonized parts to protect the rest of his body as much as possible. At the same time, countless bolts of lightning erupted from him, trying to force back the students surrounding him.

Even so, Beibei understood that Xu Sanshi had probably not swapped him over just to mess with him. Xu Sanshi must truly have been unable to hold on any longer. The pressure from Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's Martial Soul Fusion Skill was simply too great.

Sure enough, Beibei soon felt the world blur again and found himself back before the four Soul Elders he had originally been facing.

Jiang Nannan had also begun fighting those four Soul Elders. With Beibei joining the battle, the four quickly showed signs of being unable to withstand them.

"Alright, it's time for us to act," Huo Yuhao said to the four people beside him, who were still in perfect condition.

The wide-range Spiritual Erosion was lifted. Immediately afterward, a compressed Mental Shock struck the Hell White Tiger, which was fiercely battling Xu Sanshi, forcibly knocking Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu out of their Martial Soul Fusion form.

In the instant before he lost consciousness, Dai Huabin cursed inwardly, Fuck.

That familiar feeling, that familiar moment—there was no need to say more. He knew who had acted. Yet even as he was eliminated, he still could not understand why he had overlooked Huo Yuhao's existence.

As the Hell White Tiger disintegrated, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu both lost consciousness and were carried off the field by Xuan Zi.

With the Hell White Tiger gone, the pressure on Xu Sanshi suddenly eased considerably.

Only then did everyone realize that while they had been fighting themselves half to death, there was actually still a team of students in perfect condition.

Beibei's eyes immediately lit up when he saw Huo Yuhao. He hurriedly called out, "Junior brother, quick! Go help Sanshi!"

Huo Yuhao nodded. Beside him, Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong rushed toward the battle around Xu Sanshi, but Wu Feng was even faster than them.

With the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's priority enhancement, Wu Feng's strength and speed increased considerably. But the bird that sticks its head out gets shot first—Wu Feng herself was only a Soul Grandmaster.

Huo Yuhao watched speechlessly as Wu Feng charged into close combat, was immediately knocked back, and was carried off the field by Xuan Zi.

He truly did not know why a Soul Grandmaster who could only fight at close range dared to jump into a battle among Soul Elders.

With Wu Feng as an example, Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong did not dare to rush in too quickly. They merely stayed behind Xu Sanshi, remotely controlling their martial souls and soul skills to reduce the pressure he faced from the other Soul Elders.

Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, occasionally launched surprise attacks and supported Beibei and Jiang Nannan. Soon, the four third-year Soul Elders were dealt with by the two of them.

At that point, the battle had more or less reached its end. Though Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan had expended enormous amounts of energy, they ultimately had the last laugh and became the final winners.

Huo Yuhao silently shook his head. I gave you the chance, but you couldn't make use of it. He had originally balanced the strength of the various sides in order to secure Wu Feng a spot on the Reserve Team as well.

After all, he had no particular bias. Giving his sponsor Ning Tian some face might even earn him a few more Gold Soul Coins. Who would have thought that Wu Feng, that reckless fool, would actually dare to charge in head-on?