A mere Soul Elder, laughable!

Chatting as they walked, the group arrived at the testing grounds for the fourth stage.

"This fourth stage is a test of actual combat..."

Once Dai Mubai finished his introduction, Zhang Tianyu saw Zhao Wuji sitting squarely on a chair.

"Teacher Zhao, I've brought people here for the fourth stage assessment."

"Hm? Someone actually made it to the fourth stage this year? And there are five of you? Not bad, not bad," Zhao Wuji's gaze swept over the group. "I heard there's an incredible little guy this year, a Soul Elder at such a young age. Who is it?"

Swish!

Everyone's eyes immediately locked onto Zhang Tianyu.

Zhang Tianyu stepped forward: "It's me."

Zhao Wuji looked him up and down, his eyes gleaming: "Mm-hm! Not bad, not bad! A twelve-year-old Soul Elder, a super genius without precedent! Good! Very good!"

"This is the final stage, a live combat test. Since all five of you were exempted from the previous rounds, I'll play with you myself. As long as you can last one incense stick of time against me, you pass."

Dai Mubai was stunned: "Uh, Teacher Zhao, is that really appropriate?"

"What's wrong with it?" Zhao Wuji glared at him: "The Dean isn't here, and I'm the highest authority in the academy right now! Besides, if I don't step in, are you going to do it?"

This sentence instantly triggered Dai Mubai's DNA!

Dai Mubai blurted out: "A man can never say he can't!"

The next second, he immediately wilted: "Uh... but this time, I really can't... Teacher Zhao, you should handle it."

"That settles it then," Zhao Wuji chuckled. "Go tell them about my strength so they can prepare."

Dai Mubai called the others to the side, his expression heavy as he said: "Sigh, this is a bit troublesome. I didn't expect Teacher Zhao to step in personally."

"Is this teacher very strong? Is he a Soul Emperor like the teacher outside?" Xiao Wu asked.

Dai Mubai shook his head: "Not a Soul Emperor."

Xiao Wu smiled easily: "Then what's there to worry about? The few of us..."

Dai Mubai cut her off: "He is a Soul Saint."

Xiao Wu was struck dumb on the spot!

"Level 76 War Soul Saint, Martial Soul Vajra Bear, with almost no weaknesses... Originally, the fourth stage was supposed to be me facing you all, with Teacher Zhao supervising, but now..."

Xiao Wu was blunt: "No wonder you said you couldn't do it. You really can't; you've already lost to Tianyu."

Dai Mubai looked awkward, stealing a glance at Zhu Zhuqing, and said: "Ahem, I admit Tianyu's strength is quite impressive... so if you all attacked together, I certainly wouldn't be a match."

Just as Xiao Wu was about to speak, Zhang Tianyu interjected: "In that case, we need to formulate a proper battle plan to defeat Teacher Zhao."

Dai Mubai gave Zhang Tianyu a grateful look and said: "Mm, the rest is up to you all."

Xiao Wu and the others looked at Zhang Tianyu: "You're the strongest among the five of us, you decide."

Zhang Tianyu said: "Let's all do a quick self-introduction, stating our Martial Souls and specialties."

After everyone finished introducing themselves, Tang San looked at Ning Rongrong in surprise: "Your Martial Soul is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda? You're from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

Ning Rongrong stuck out her delicate tongue: "I snuck out from home. Don't look at me like that; I'm no different from anyone else..."

As she spoke, she glanced at Zhang Tianyu.

But when she noticed that Zhang Tianyu's expression remained calm, a flash of disappointment crossed her eyes.

Why doesn't he seem interested in my background?

Is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect not attractive to him? Or am I not attractive to him?

She didn't know that, The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect really wasn't attractive to Zhang Tianyu; what was attractive to Zhang Tianyu was, of course, Ning Rongrong.

To be precise, it was Ning Rongrong's sharp tongue.

Ah, here it refers to Ning Rongrong's eloquence, really!

Zhang Tianyu thought for a moment and said: "In this situation, we can only use the simplest tactics. I will lead the frontal assault, Tang San will try to control Teacher Zhao's movements, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing will attack from the flanks, and Ning Rongrong will stay in the back to provide support."

Xiao Wu was worried: "He's a Soul Saint, will you be okay leading the charge alone?"

"Don't worry," Zhang Tianyu said. "It won't be a problem."

The group nodded, and it was decided.

Seeing the five of them ready, Zhao Wuji stood up, his face full of fighting spirit.

The incense stick was lit.

Zhang Tianyu made the first move. With a swing of his sword, his first soul ring lit up, and three red fireballs whistled toward Zhao Wuji!

The first soul ring granted two soul skills: Hell Flying Flame and Scorching Whip.

But because he had disguised it as a hundred-year soul ring, Zhang Tianyu could only choose one skill to use.

[Hell Flying Flame] allowed him to release fireballs with tracking capabilities upon swinging his sword.

Once hit by the fireballs, the target would suffer soul-burning damage and be poisoned.

Scorching Whip allows the user to sprout whip-like tentacles from their back, with the number of tentacles corresponding to the number of soul rings possessed.

Since he currently only has three soul rings, he could only sprout three tentacles.

Tentacles didn't quite fit his current persona as a young sword-wielding hero, and their practicality couldn't compare to Hell Flying Flame, so he chose Hell Flying Flame.

Watching the incoming fireball, Zhao Wuji's gaze sharpened, and he immediately initiated Martial Soul Possession.

Zhang Tianyu was stunned.

Huh? You're done posturing? Not acting so tough anymore?

In the original plot, you were acting so arrogant at the start that you didn't even use your possession!

Why did you go straight to possession this time?

"Notification: Because he sensed that this soul skill was no simple matter. As expected of someone who spent his early years licking blood off the blade, even though this is a disguised hundred-thousand-year soul skill, he still detected its extraordinary power."

"Notification: Quest received [Greetings from Slav]. Quest objective: Defeat Zhao Wuji. No restrictions on methods, means, or consequences. Quest reward: +500 Reward Points."

Zhang Tianyu noticed one thing: although the reward points had increased, why weren't there any level-up rewards?

But this wasn't the time to dwell on that.

After completing Martial Soul Possession, Zhao Wuji's height surged from his original 1.6 meters to 2.5 meters, his entire body covered in coarse, tough bear fur—he was a complete Humanoid Giant Scar Bear!

However, The fireball still struck him.

When he realized he felt nothing where the fireball had hit, he laughed.

A mere Soul Elder, how laughable!

Even if you are a top-tier genius, you are still too young after all. Now, it's time for me to teach you all a lesson!

The next second, he froze.

The sky was filled with these red fireballs, appearing out of nowhere!

These fireballs whistled through the air, all charging toward him!

At the same time, a stinging sensation suddenly erupted from the spot where he had just been hit!

And what was bizarre was that it wasn't a physical sting;

It felt as if... the pain was coming from his very soul!

Zhao Wuji was dumbfounded!