A Prairie Fire Strike Peaks

The moment their gazes met, Su Qing's consciousness followed the opponent's spiritual power, invading Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea in reverse.

Electrolux was merely a gray phantom at this moment, but his tone betrayed deep confusion. This little fellow seemed to be aware of his existence; furthermore, while the quantity of the boy's spiritual power was not vast, its quality was exceptionally high, surpassing even that of a Necromancer like himself.

"We shall meet again."

Sensing Electrolux's confusion, Su Qing did not answer directly. After all, this was hardly the time for conversation; the two outside had already huddled together while he was momentarily stunned.

"Huo Yuhao's secret weapon is so powerful, it actually managed to control Su Qing!"

Seeing Su Qing frozen in place, Xiao Xiao was incredibly shocked. She had never seen Su Qing suffer a setback before. Thinking this, she turned her gaze toward the pair currently executing their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Success or failure hinged on this single moment; it all depended on whether Huo Yuhao could keep Su Qing pinned until the skill was fully unleashed.

"Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Withering in Brilliance—Golden Road!"

As the two finished speaking, the gorgeous butterfly phantom and the giant eye in the sky descended simultaneously, overlapping to form a golden track that surged toward Su Qing.

"That kid's spiritual attack is this strong? He can hard-control a Soul Elder two ranks above him for this long?"

Xuan Zi, watching from below, had briefly thought his eyes were deceiving him, but Su Qing's reaction quickly put his mind at ease.

Before the golden track could make contact, Su Qing's first soul ring lit up. He vanished from his spot instantly. A gust of wind passed, and he reappeared behind Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao. A scorching red soul power surged around him; as the crimson light flowed, several clusters of flame erupted and gathered before him.

"Elemental Tide, A Single Breath of Prairie Fire, Nine Heavens Falling Fire."

In an instant, the flames combined, erupting into a towering inferno that shot straight into the sky, piercing a massive hole through the clouds above. Immediately, a waterfall of scorching red liquid fire poured down across the entire arena. The surging sea of fire made the hearts of the onlookers tighten.

Du Weilun's eyes were practically popping out of his head, his gaze darting between Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe. If these two didn't intervene, the three on stage would likely be roasted alive! And what was up with Su Qing? Weren't they all good friends? This move looked like it was meant to take lives!

"Du Weilun, stop staring! Go stop him!"

At that moment, Yan Shaozhe's command left Du Weilun standing there in a daze. Wait, who is the one actually dazed here? Who was it that nearly dropped their jaw to the floor just a second ago? Not hard to guess!

But since he had received the order, the responsibility of protecting the students fell on him. To prevent any accidents, he flew onto the arena without delay, his Soul Douluo-level soul power instantly shielding the three youngsters while he used a soul skill to disperse the waterfall of fire.

"Huo Yuhao! We almost died! Your Brother Su is way too unreliable!"

Wang Dong, still shaken, breathed a sigh of relief as Du Weilun stepped in. It was a good thing Director Du arrived in time, or he would never see his Big Daddy or Second Daddy again! In truth, Su Qing hadn't actually intended to kill. Even if Du Weilun hadn't intervened, he wouldn't have let the flames harm Huo Yuhao and the others—after all, Xiao Xiao was there, and besides, this was just a competition.

"Wang Dong, Su Qing is incredibly skilled at controlling his flames. Even if the teacher hadn't come, we would have been fine. He definitely would have made the fire avoid us."

Having seen Su Qing help burn away Demon Flame from wounded people in the forest, Xiao Xiao was clearly not as frightened as the other two. If he didn't want to hurt anyone, even if he let the flames wash over them, they would be perfectly safe.

"Ah? Is that so?"

Wang Dong, feeling like he had just learned something new, was full of disbelief. He had never seen anyone who could manipulate elements with such divine mastery. Xiao Xiao couldn't be joking, could she?

"Of course! Let me tell you, back in the forest..."

Du Weilun felt his soul leaving his body. He had rushed onto the stage to save them out of fear for their lives, and not only were the people he saved not afraid, they were actually chatting right in front of him. What was this? Were they mocking him, the Grade Director?

"Director Du, since you've already come up to save us, does this mean I win?"

Looking at Du Weilun, whose expression was as sour as if he'd eaten something foul, Su Qing tilted his head and asked tentatively. Zhang Lexuan's kiss last night made him value the outcome of this match immensely. Just kidding—he had been completely passive last night, and winning this match would at least allow him to reclaim a bit of the initiative.

"You brat, you nearly roasted your classmates and you have the nerve to ask me about winning?"

Du Weilun was looking for a place to vent his frustration, and Su Qing's question had walked right into the line of fire. However, he didn't make things too difficult for Su Qing; he rolled his eyes at him before pulling out a soul-guided microphone to announce the results.

"The champions of the Freshman Assessment are the Freshman Class Nine team led by Su Qing!"

Although the other two teammates hadn't participated, the Freshman Assessment was registered by team, so this was technically correct.

"Yay! Su Qing is amazing!"

Xiao Xiao jumped up in excitement. As expected of Su Qing, that last move was just too cool!

"But, we were his opponents in the finals."

Wang Dong felt a bit helpless. Although Su Qing was their good friend, he couldn't bring himself to be happy about being used as a stepping stone. After all, from childhood to now, this was only the second time he had suffered a setback. As for the first time, that was obviously when he fought Huo Yuhao.

"Oh, come on, we're good friends! There's nothing wrong with being happy for a friend! Right, Huo Yuhao? Huo Yuhao? What's wrong, Huo Yuhao?"

Seeing Su Qing take the championship, the overjoyed Xiao Xiao turned to see Huo Yuhao standing there, stunned into a wooden statue. He looked completely dazed, his consciousness currently inside his spiritual sea with the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, both of them clinging to one of Electrolux's arms.

"The boy had no murderous intent, which is why I did not intervene."

Electrolux spoke helplessly. This human and silkworm were far too timid; it was truly impossible to stop worrying about them. Fortunately, his soul power was now sufficient that he no longer needed to sleep to maintain stability.

"Next time, you are not allowed to use such high-power moves against your classmates!"

After glaring at him, Du Weilun flew back to the viewing platform to discuss the power of that move with Yan Shaozhe. His own soul power barrier had taken the full brunt of the fire waterfall; without a doubt, it would have been enough to annihilate a Soul Ancestor below level forty-five.

Logically, after the competition ended, each team should have returned to their respective classes. However, considering that Su Qing's performance would surely catch the attention of the Dean, Mu Jin granted him the authority to stay out of class for a short time. Zhou Yi, however, was not so lenient, so Xiao Xiao and the others were dragged back to class by a livid Zhou Yi immediately after Du Weilun announced the results.

"Sister Lexuan!"

As the people on the field gradually dispersed, Su Qing's face lit up with a faint smile once more as he saw Zhang Lexuan walking toward him.