"Seven Treasures turn and out comes the Glazed Pagoda. Seven Treasures Have Names: First, Power; Second, Speed."
The moment the test began, Ning Rongrong swiftly summoned a seven-colored pagoda in her hands. Six beams of colored light immediately shot out, landing in pairs on Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing.
It was clear that Ning Rongrong was very experienced. As for why she didn't boost Huo Yuhao, he had refused, saying that he was a support type himself.
"My duty is to provide support. There's no need to waste Soul Power on me. Saving it to boost our main fighters is what matters most."
Right after Ning Rongrong, Huo Yuhao's pupils turned gold, and a black ring quietly appeared around him.
His First Soul Ring lit up, drawing all four people present into Spirit Sharing. Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong immediately looked back at Huo Yuhao, their eyes full of amazement.
"This skill... is incredible."
Before everyone could take it in, Zhao Wuji sprang into action.
He bent his knees into a half-crouch, the veins bulging across his arms, then slammed both fists into the ground. The earth shuddered, and yellow-brown waves surged toward them.
But with Spirit Detection, everyone had already dodged the moment he moved.
Even the full extent of the attack had been predicted with perfect clarity. They only needed to move along with the warning. Tang San even pulled Ning Rongrong, who had little in the way of defenses, safely out of range with Entangle.
Zhao Wuji looked up at the group, who seemed able to see the future, and a flicker of shock crossed his eyes.
What was going on? If they'd simply run far away, he wouldn't have been so surprised.
But each of them had seemed to take up their positions in advance, right at the edge of his skill's range. It was downright absurd.
Before he could think it through, Xiao Wu was already charging at him. When she got close, she pushed off hard with both legs, leaped high into the air, and kicked at him.
Zhao Wuji saw her coming and curled his lips into a grin. He stood stock-still, not even trying to dodge. Seeing how casually he dismissed her, Xiao Wu's gaze turned fierce. She bent her leg and slammed her knee down toward Zhao Wuji's shoulder.
A dull thud rang out, but the man beneath her didn't even sway.
"Not quite enough, little girl."
His teasing voice came from below.
Xiao Wu gritted her teeth. "Hmph, you may be tough, but let's see whether you or the ground is tougher."
Her First Soul Ring lit up—Waist Bow! She tried to use his momentum to spin Zhao Wuji around and slam him onto the ground.
At the same time, Tang San made vines sprout beneath Zhao Wuji and thrust him sharply upward. The vines winding around his body tightened at once, working in tandem with their paralyzing poison.
Even Zhao Wuji, solid as a boulder, lost his footing. Xiao Wu succeeded in hooking her legs around his neck and flinging him into the air.
"Not bad, but that's all." Zhao Wuji's lazy voice rang out.
Then Xiao Wu felt as if she were clinging to a massive boulder. His weight surged, forcing her to straighten back up. Zhao Wuji shuddered, and the vines around him shattered.
Just as Zhao Wuji raised a hand to grab Xiao Wu, pain suddenly flared in his back.
His expression tightened. Only then did he realize Zhu Zhuqing had appeared behind him and launched a flurry of attacks.
Though she'd only grazed him, she'd still managed to injure Zhao Wuji.
"Where did she come from?!"
To Dai Mubai and Zhao Wuji, Zhu Zhuqing seemed to have appeared out of thin air. They hadn't seen her at all before that.
She had suddenly emerged behind Zhao Wuji and unleashed a rapid string of attacks.
Dai Mubai's gaze flickered toward Huo Yuhao. He seemed to be the only one there who could have done something like that. Was his eye Martial Soul capable of obscuring an enemy's vision?
He wasn't wrong. It was Huo Yuhao's Simulation Soul Skill, and he'd guessed its effects almost exactly.
After her successful ambush, Zhu Zhuqing looked at Huo Yuhao with excitement. This Soul Skill combined with her ability to conceal her presence was a perfect match.
He reached back and touched the wound. Zhao Wuji's voice rang out, furious.
"Good, good! You've really made me see you in a new light!"
He'd been injured by a bunch of kids. If word got out, he'd become a laughingstock. It seemed he'd have to show them what he could really do to win back some face.
His body suddenly swelled, growing almost a meter taller. Seven Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and three black—rose beneath him. At last, the Soul Saint activated his Martial Soul.
"Come on, let's go again!"
Once Zhao Wuji had activated Martial Soul Possession, he was more than any of them could handle.
Neither Xiao Wu nor Zhu Zhuqing could inflict the slightest injury, even after giving it everything they had. Zhu Zhuqing blurred and reappeared behind him. Her Second Soul Ring lit up, and Nether Hundred Claws struck him with a series of metallic clangs.
She stared at the faint white marks she'd left behind, her pupils shrinking. Zhao Wuji's defense after Martial Soul Possession was downright terrifying.
Huo Yuhao wasn't surprised by the result. It would've been laughable if a Soul Grandmaster had broken through the defenses of a Soul Saint who'd activated the Great Strength Vajra Bear Martial Soul.
A fifty-level gap wasn't something technique alone could bridge.
When Huo Yuhao saw a trace of impatience flash across Zhao Wuji's eyes, he tensed. It looked like Zhao Wuji was about to get serious.
Sure enough, as Zhao Wuji's First Soul Ring flashed, a burst of golden light spread from his body, and the battle quickly drew to a close.
Zhu Zhuqing, standing near him, had dodged based on Spirit Detection's prediction.
But the golden light came too fast. Unable to get fully out of its way, Zhu Zhuqing took a heavy blow, cried out, and flew backward. Huo Yuhao reached out and caught her.
Xiao Wu, who was a little farther away, was also shaken until her head spun, and she could barely keep her balance.
Tang San was mostly fine, though the destruction of his creations had caused him some backlash.
Seeing that all three fighters had been incapacitated to varying degrees, Ning Rongrong couldn't help feeling anxious.
If things continued like this, only Huo Yuhao and she, the two support types, would be left. They could basically declare the test a failure.
Tang San glanced at the incense, which still had a third left. Gritting his teeth, he was about to risk everything when Huo Yuhao spoke.
"Xiao San, that's enough. Leave the rest to me."
Tang San looked back at Huo Yuhao. He hesitated, then nodded. "Yuhao, be careful." He quietly stepped back.
Zhao Wuji didn't move. He simply watched it all unfold, then taunted Huo Yuhao.
"What's the matter, kid? Is this some kind of stalling tactic?"
"No, Teacher Zhao. I'm going to fight you again on my own. Could you please light another stick of incense?"
Huo Yuhao spoke calmly, but his words were astonishing. Even Dai Mubai was stunned.
He believed Huo Yuhao could hold out for the remaining time by himself, but he hadn't expected him to be so brazen.
Huo Yuhao had no idea what the others were thinking. Right now, his eyes were brimming with excitement.
He had finally found an opponent who could draw out his full strength. The years of pent-up restraint would be released in this fight.
"Oh? You're that confident?"
Zhao Wuji sized up the young man Dai Mubai had asked him to pay special attention to, intrigued.
"Of course, Teacher Zhao. I wouldn't gamble with my admission. Besides, I was the one who hid Zhu Zhuqing from view just now. You must feel pretty humiliated, right? Why don't you give me a beating to vent your frustration?"
As he spoke, Huo Yuhao grinned and showed off his Simulation Soul Skill.
Watching Huo Yuhao disappear and reappear, the veins on Zhao Wuji's forehead bulged.
"You little brat, you're good at goading people—but I fall for it every time! Just as you wish!"
Once Zhao Wuji agreed, Huo Yuhao turned and placed Zhu Zhuqing in Xiao Wu's arms.
"Yuhao..."
Tang San and Xiao Wu were worried. Zhu Zhuqing lay in Xiao Wu's arms, breathing faintly as she gazed at the young man before her, her expression complicated.
Even Ning Rongrong, standing off to the side, was a little nervous. She'd thought losing wouldn't matter; they could always go to another academy.
Now, though, she found herself hoping that this young man would win.
Huo Yuhao smiled gently. "Don't worry. I'll get us all admitted."
He turned.
Step by step, he walked toward Zhao Wuji, the two yellow and one purple Soul Rings at his feet slowly emerging.
Zhao Wuji held a stick of incense between his fingers and looked at the young man with the unusual eyes, his heart tightening. "Ready?"
Huo Yuhao nodded. Zhao Wuji rolled the incense between his fingers, then tossed it down. The burning stick landed upright in the ground.
"Then let's begin!"