When the examiner announced that the match had begun, Zhou Sichen summoned his Treasure Book Martial Soul and instantly unleashed his first and second Soul Skills, summoning an Earth Violent Bear and a Blazing Tiger.
At the same time, he looked toward Song Mu and the other two, hoping to see what their Martial Souls were.
Ning Tian and Wu Feng's Martial Souls were so distinctive that he recognized them at once. But the two blue-and-white balls in Song Mu's hands left him puzzled.
Then an unbelievable sight unfolded before him. The two balls Song Mu threw out actually summoned two Soul Beasts!
"Old Zhou, that's the same type of Martial Soul as yours!" Cao Jinxuan exclaimed in surprise.
Although Zhou Sichen was shocked that Song Mu could summon Soul Beasts too, he believed his own Martial Soul was stronger.
The same type of Martial Soul? Then let's see whose comes out on top!
Zhou Sichen sent the Earth Violent Bear and Blazing Lion charging toward Song Mu's Soul Beasts.
But when his Soul Beasts met Song Mu's, they couldn't even withstand a single blow before being scattered.
Seeing this, Zhou Sichen froze in disbelief. How was this possible? How could the gap between them be so huge?
While he stood there stunned, Wu Feng and the two Soul Beasts charged at them, sending all three of them flying off the stage.
The examiner announced, "The winners are Song Mu's team!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, lively discussion erupted below the stage.
Cao Jinxuan's team was made up entirely of Soul Grandmasters! Some teams didn't even have a single Soul Grandmaster, yet this team had been defeated so quickly!
Of course, that was also because Song Mu's team was simply too strong.
Song Mu's team not only had a Soul Elder with the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, hailed as the strongest support-type Martial Soul, but also a captain who could summon Soul Beasts. With strength like that, they were all but certain to become champions, weren't they?
On the stage, Song Mu recalled his two Soul Beasts.
He'd originally thought their opponents wouldn't be very strong, so he'd planned to have his two Soul Beasts charge in with Wu Feng and knock the other team off the stage right away.
He hadn't expected to face Cao Jinxuan's team in the very first match—the team that had reached the semifinals in the original story. But with Ning Tian, a Soul Elder, boosting Wu Feng and the two Soul Beasts, they were the equivalent of three Power Attack System Soul Elders. Cao Jinxuan and his teammates had no chance of holding them back.
Song Mu had only one match that day. After leaving Area Twenty-Three, he parted ways with Ning Tian and Wu Feng.
In the matches over the next few days, every opponent who faced them surrendered outright. They swept through the knockout rounds as well, until at last, in the semifinals, they encountered a team that could put up a fight.
The semifinal was taking place in the Assessment Zone.
The four teams that had reached the semifinals were Song Mu's team, Dai Huabin's team, Huo Yuhao's team, and Zhou Sichen's team.
According to the draw, Song Mu's team would face Huo Yuhao's team, while Dai Huabin's team would face Zhou Sichen's.
The four teams were already standing on the Soul Fighting stage, waiting for the match to begin.
There were no students watching this match, but the teachers who didn't have classes, along with Dean of Studies Du Weilun, were seated in the stands.
Zhou Yi, the head teacher of Freshman Class One, looked at Song Mu and the others and realized that they were the seeded team from Mu Jin's class, her longtime rival.
An idea came to her. She walked over to Mu Jin and shot her a provocative look.
Years ago, Mu Jin had lost to Zhou Yi in her pursuit of Fan Yu, and she'd already disliked Zhou Yi ever since. Seeing her challenging gaze now only fueled her anger.
"Teacher Zhou Yi, how about a wager?"
Seeing that Mu Jin had taken the bait, Zhou Yi sneered inwardly. She acted nonchalant and asked, "Oh? What are we betting on?"
"I bet my class's seeded team will beat yours. If you lose, Fan Yu will custom-make a set of Soul Tools for me. If I lose, I'll give you a Soul Bone."
Zhou Yi replied disdainfully, "If you're asking for trouble, I'll be happy to oblige."
Mu Jin snorted. "Your team doesn't even have a Soul Elder. Let's see how you expect them to beat mine."
Zhou Yi almost burst out laughing. Mu Jin, you have no idea, do you? My team has a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with a one-hundred-percent compatibility rate. So what if yours has a Soul Elder? I'll gladly take that Soul Bone off your hands.
"Begin!" the referee at the edge of the Soul Fighting stage announced.
At the announcement, Huo Yuhao released his Spirit Eye Martial Soul and instantly activated Spiritual Detection, sharing it with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.
His Detection Skill could cover more than half the stage. He could clearly see the blond boy across from them conjure two blue-and-white balls out of thin air. The boy tossed them onto the ground, and where they landed, two Soul Beasts appeared: a pig clad in rocky armor and a wolf wreathed in flames.
Summoning Soul Beasts to fight—what a miraculous Martial Soul!
The red-haired girl across from them also activated Martial Soul Possession and charged in alongside the two Soul Beasts.
"Wang Dong, handle that girl and one of the Soul Beasts. Xiao Xiao, use your Soul-Suppressing Cauldron to hold the other one back."
Huo Yuhao looked at Wang Dong, who nodded in reply.
Ever since Wang Dong had helped him dodge an attack by the Sea God Lake, Huo Yuhao's feelings toward his roommate had grown warmer and warmer.
It wasn't just because of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Wang Dong had also been much nicer to him since then. Whenever Huo Yuhao invited Wang Dong to cultivate together, Wang Dong never refused.
Boom—
On the front line, Wang Dong was already fighting Wu Feng and the Mountain-Ramming Pig. Xiao Xiao's Soul-Suppressing Cauldron had also temporarily restrained the Blazing Swift Wolf.
But they couldn't keep this up for long.
The girl and the two Soul Beasts were all too powerful. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.
They had to focus their attacks on one opponent first if they wanted a chance at victory.
Huo Yuhao's gaze fell on the blond boy across from them, and an idea came to him.
He used Spiritual Sharing to send his instructions. "Wang Dong, unleash your second Soul Skill and attack that girl with everything you've got."
After receiving the message, Wang Dong locked onto Wu Feng and immediately unleashed his second Soul Skill.
"Second Soul Skill: Butterfly Goddess Light!"
At the same time, Huo Yuhao unleashed Spirit Shock, stunning Song Mu.
It worked! Just as he'd planned, Song Mu was temporarily unable to control his Soul Beasts. Wang Dong could get around the highly defensive Mountain-Ramming Pig and defeat Wu Feng directly.
Butterfly Goddess Light blasted toward Wu Feng, kicking up a cloud of dust.
As the dust cleared, Huo Yuhao saw the Mountain-Ramming Pig standing in front of Wu Feng. Its rocky armor had shattered, and it had suffered a few injuries, but Wu Feng behind it hadn't been hit at all.
How was this possible? Hadn't I stunned him?
"Yuhao, I can't hold them back much longer!" Xiao Xiao's voice rang out beside him.
Hearing her, Huo Yuhao decided it was time to use their trump card. They'd originally planned to save it for the final, but if they didn't use it now, they would lose.
"Wang Dong! Use that move!"
Wang Dong, who had been holding Wu Feng at bay, immediately flew back and embraced Huo Yuhao.
The phantom images of a butterfly and an eye formed above their heads. The two phantoms slowly drew closer, merged, and formed an even larger phantom eye.
"Brilliance gives way to decay—Golden Road!"
A beam of blue, purple, and gold light shot out from the phantom eye, passing through Wu Feng and Song Mu and turning them both into golden statues.
Ning Tian had been standing too far away to get hit, but she was a support-type Soul Master and had no combat ability.
A smile spread across Huo Yuhao's face as he and Wang Dong hugged Xiao Xiao and cheered.
They'd won!
"The match isn't over yet. It's too early to celebrate."
Huo Yuhao looked toward the speaker and saw that it was Ning Tian, the support-type Soul Master.
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