"What was that move you just used to enlarge your arm called? Is it your newly acquired fifth Soul Skill?"
Meng Hongchen moved closer to Xiao Hongchen and asked.
"I haven't thought of a name yet... Hmm, let's call it Idle Death Gamble."
Xiao Hongchen's move let him enlarge any part of his body through metal, changing its shape in the process. It reminded him of a certain infamous cursed spirit. The mechanics were completely different, but the effect was somewhat similar.
"Idle Death Gamble? It sounds kind of profound."
Meng Hongchen was about to ask something else when a voice interrupted her.
"Next, Meng Hongchen."
As a fifth-year student second only to Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen naturally went second.
Her opponent was Chen An, a student in the graduating class.
Chen An's Martial Soul was Flash Bird, a kind of extremely fast bird. He specialized in close combat and was a speed-type Level Five Soul Engineer.
At the words "The match begins," Chen An became a streak of silver light and hurtled straight toward Meng Hongchen.
The pair of lightning short swords in his hands were both Level 6 Soul Tools. The left sword was fast and inflicted paralysis; the right sword had high attack power and pierced armor. If he got close, he could very likely finish her off with a string of attacks.
In truth, without the use of a Soul Tool Shield, no Soul Master of the same level could withstand Meng Hongchen's Ice Toad Poison for even a minute. If they couldn't take her down within that minute, defeat was inevitable.
And Chen An intended to seize that minute.
But, sadly for him, Meng Hongchen's third Soul Skill, Ice Refraction, completely shattered his hopes.
Meng Hongchen created a sheet of ice about four meters in diameter beneath her feet. By refracting light and shadow, she could reach any spot on its surface.
Chen An's fierce attack struck nothing but empty air.
"Why don't you look behind you?"
A cool voice came from behind him.
But Chen An had no chance to turn around. A rapier was already resting against his neck.
The match was over.
Chen An really was unlucky. If his older brother Chen Fei had been the one to fight, he could have given Meng Hongchen a little trouble. Chen Fei was a speed-type long-range attacker, and at the very least, he could have blanketed the entire sheet of ice with a large-scale barrage.
Ye Guyi's next opponent in the assessment was Li Yan, a student from Class Two, Year Five. His Martial Soul was an impure fire element: Separation Fire.
He was also a Level 47 Soul Master, with a good chance of becoming a Soul King within a year and joining the Sun Moon Team's Main Selection Team.
But since he could only use one Soul Tool, the advantage of his Martial Soul was magnified to the limit.
After Ye Guyi's Holy Spirit Slash blasted apart the several Level 5 high-explosive shells Li Yan fired, each imbued with his Separation Fire, he had no attacks left that could threaten her. In the end, Ye Guyi closed in and took him down.
The remaining assessments were hardly worth mentioning...
"The assessment is over."
As Lin Jiayi finished speaking, the surrounding noise immediately grew louder. At last, they could go on vacation. After spending several months at the academy, who wouldn't want to go home and let loose?
Besides, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy didn't have a last-place elimination system. Everyone who made it to fifth year was a Level 4 Soul Engineer. Assessment results only affected each month's quota of rare metals. Tying the results directly to their own interests was what drove the students to keep improving.
Just as everyone thought vacation was about to begin, an announcement rang throughout the entire academy.
"All students and teachers, please gather in front of the plaza."
It was the voice of the dean, Jing Hongchen.
"It's finally starting?"
Standing among the crowd, Xiao Hongchen spoke in a voice so low that only he could hear.
At the plaza.
Several thousand students streamed in from every direction, chatting and murmuring among themselves. Most wore puzzled expressions.
They hadn't even had a chance to enjoy the thought of vacation before an announcement threw everything into confusion.
Jing Hongchen walked in from the main gate, followed by several teachers. His pace was unhurried and his expression unchanged, as though he had come only to announce something routine.
Jing Hongchen stepped onto the platform, surveyed the plaza, and began speaking in an even voice. The Amplifying Soul Tool carried his words across the entire plaza:
"I have gathered you all here today because there is something that needs to be dealt with in front of everyone."
The hubbub in the plaza gradually died down.
"After several months of investigation, the academy has discovered a group of people whose identities are in question. Starting today, we will be conducting a thorough investigation."
As soon as he finished speaking, the silence in the plaza broke. Little ripples of commotion spread through the crowd.
Then the operation began.
Almost at the same moment, the teachers drew in from the edges of the crowd. Their movements were unhurried, yet they swiftly and precisely identified their targets.
One, two, three...
The people taken away came from all walks of life. Some wore ordinary student uniforms, others wore staff badges. They looked no different from anyone standing beside them.
The people around them had no idea what was happening. The ones being taken away did.
One of them moved a hand, as if trying to reach for something. A teacher beside him calmly clamped a restraint around his wrist. It was a Level 6 restraint Soul Tool. Even a Soul Emperor couldn't use their Martial Soul once shackled by it.
The only way to break free was to avoid being shackled in the first place or have a Level 7 Soul Tool or higher.
At some point, Meng Hongchen had moved up beside him. Confusion colored her voice.
"Brother, who are these people?"
"Nothing to do with us."
Xiao Hongchen looked away, his expression lazy, as though he were watching something that had nothing to do with him.
"They're just people who ought to leave. It's good that they're gone."
Meng Hongchen glanced at him, then at the figures being led away across the plaza. She furrowed her brow thoughtfully but didn't ask anything else.
Ye Guyi stood off to one side, her expression calm and revealing nothing.
But Xiao Hongchen turned his head and let his gaze linger in that direction for a moment.
Guyi, you still don't know.
But once all these people are gone, this place will finally be clean.
On the plaza, the last person was led away from the line.
Jing Hongchen stood on the platform, his expression unchanged from beginning to end, as if he had just taken care of an entirely routine matter.
He gave the plaza one last glance and spoke:
"The investigation is over. Enjoy your vacation."
Then he turned and walked down from the platform.
The plaza erupted into noise again, this time in earnest. Nobody had figured out what had just happened. They speculated and talked over one another, the din swelling in wave after wave.
Just then, Xiao Hongchen's keen eyes spotted the girl at the very back of the group being led away.
The girl had long, pale pink hair and healthy-looking wheat-colored skin. She looked no more than thirteen, yet stood over 1.7 meters tall. At that moment, her deep blue eyes were filled with panic.
Was that Ghost Nana?
Xiao Hongchen silently repeated the name to himself.
Of course he knew who she was. Her Martial Soul was Ghost. Her mother had been controlled by an Evil Soul Master, killed her husband, and then taken her own life. Afterward, the Holy Spirit Cult enslaved both her parents' souls, and she could only enter Sun Moon Academy to study under the cult's arrangements.
Someone with the same tragic fate as Ye Guyi shouldn't be treated as an Evil Soul Master.
Before you continue