The Finals

Ten in the morning.

Long Hengxu, the first-year director of studies, announced that the first-year Class Promotion Tournament finals would be held that day. This year, first-years would not be allowed to challenge the classes above them, though he did not explain why.

However, many people understood the reason: this year's first-years were simply too ridiculously strong. Class One had three two-ring Soul Masters, and none of them had only just reached the second ring. Class Five, which had won match after match on its way to the finals, was not to be underestimated either.

To put it bluntly, this rule was meant to save face for the second- and third-years. After all, plenty of students in those grades had yet to advance to the second ring.

Almost every first-year showed up for the match.

Tang Wulin and his two teammates stepped onto the platform first. Only then did the three students from Class One follow.

At the front of Class One's gathering below the platform stood a woman who looked only seventeen or eighteen. She had striking features, a shapely figure, and wore a sexy red dress.

She was Ye Yingluo, Class One's homeroom teacher.

Many upper-year students knew her. Back when Wu Zhangkong was still teaching the upper years, Ye Yingluo had confessed her feelings to him. Naturally, he had coldly rejected her.

There was nothing unusual about that. There were more female teachers Wu Zhangkong had rejected than anyone could count. But Ye Yingluo believed that, with so many admirers at the academy, she had put her pride aside to confess to him, only to be rejected so coldly. She thought he looked down on her, and from then on she held a grudge against him.

When she learned that Wu Zhangkong had been demoted to teaching the lower years, she felt they were now on equal footing. She began acting all kinds of ways in the lower-year teachers' office, even trying to smear Wu Zhangkong's name.

But Wu Zhangkong still paid her no mind. He simply focused on teaching his own class.

"Wu Zhangkong! Today I'll show you the difference between your students and mine!" Ye Yingluo stood in front of Class One, staring at Wu Zhangkong, who had his eyes closed across from her. Her teeth ground together.

"First-year Class Promotion Tournament finals: Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue of First-Year Class Five versus Wei Xiaofeng, Zhang Yangzi, and Wang Jinxi of First-Year Class One. Both teams, retreat fifty meters."

Long Hengxu stood in the middle of the platform. Once both teams had moved back fifty meters, he said seriously, "I'll say this again: the Class Promotion Tournament is an internal academy competition. You're classmates, so show restraint and stop when you've made your point. Under no circumstances are you to deliberately harm the other side. Anyone who does will be expelled if the offense is serious."

The three students on each team nodded in agreement.

"Good! Begin!" Long Hengxu shouted, then moved to the far corner of the platform.

Xie Xie, the agility-type Soul Master on Tang Wulin's team, moved first. He gripped the Light Dragon Dagger in a reverse hold and shot forward like a ghost, his two Yellow Soul Rings leaving afterimages.

Wei Xiaofeng moved on the other side and went straight to meet Xie Xie. He was an agility-type Soul Master too, with Soul Power at level 23. But Xie Xie had twin Martial Souls, so their actual Soul Power was not far apart.

Wei Xiaofeng's Martial Soul was the Green Shadow Snake. Even more astonishingly, his Soul Spirit was also green and shadowy; the compatibility between his Martial Soul and Soul Spirit was nearly one hundred percent.

Wei Xiaofeng wasn't as fast as Xie Xie and could barely keep up with him, but his figure seemed almost illusory, his movements unpredictable.

But Xie Xie wasn't foolish. The three of them had already discussed their plan before the match. Their side had only one two-ring Soul Master, while the other side had three. If the fight dragged on, they would certainly be at a disadvantage.

So they had planned from the start to focus their attacks on one opponent.

That opponent was Zhang Yangzi.

As he moved at high speed, Xie Xie made an almost right-angled turn, dodged Wei Xiaofeng's pursuit, and charged straight at Zhang Yangzi.

Meanwhile, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue had already made their moves.

Gu Yue's First Soul Ring lit up at once. Her Elemental Tide Soul Skill could strengthen her control over the six elements.

The airflow around Zhang Yangzi began to grow chaotic. Her control of the wind element restricted his movements to some extent.

On the other side, Tang Wulin pushed off hard with both feet. The tremendous burst of power raised his speed to a respectable level, and a mass of Blue Silver Grass appeared beside Zhang Yangzi.

Zhang Yangzi hadn't expected them to try to eliminate him right from the start. Seeing that the situation was turning against him, he immediately activated his Soul Ring.

Then, to everyone's shock, a pair of black wings sprouted from his back.

Zhang Yangzi was a flying-type Soul Master!

Zhang Yangzi was about to leave the ground, but Gu Yue had been watching the battlefield closely. The moment his wings spread, she had already thought of a way to stop him.

That's right—she used the same trick again. A pool of swamp appeared beneath Zhang Yangzi, followed by a burst of ice-element control that froze it solid.

"How is that possible? Since the match began, that girl has already shown control over wind, earth, and ice. What kind of Martial Soul does she have?" On the platform, Ye Yingluo bit her lip as she stared at Gu Yue's back. She simply couldn't understand why a Soul Master who controlled so many elements would be in Class Five.

Zhang Yangzi broke free almost instantly, but that instant was all Xie Xie needed. His Light Dragon Slash was already right in front of him.

At the same time, Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass thrust toward him, along with a pair of iron hammers wrapped in Blue Silver Grass that had appeared from who knew where.

All of it happened so quickly that the outcome seemed certain.

But Ye Yingluo, watching from below, smiled instead. She knew very well that Zhang Yangzi and the other two hadn't teamed up at the last minute. The three of them had entered the East Sea Spirit Master Academy together and came from the same place. They had grown up together. How could they possibly have failed to coordinate when Zhang Yangzi was targeted from the outset?

There was only one answer: this was deliberate!

"You're going down!" Xie Xie shouted. The Light Dragon Dagger was only inches from Zhang Yangzi.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Yangzi's mouth.

"Pathetic!"

Suddenly, a huge black hand appeared in front of Zhang Yangzi. Xie Xie's attack struck it and was blocked outright, without even causing any real damage.

When Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass touched the black aura radiating from the hand, it went limp. Even his Thousand-Refined Sinking Silver Hammer failed to inflict any damage.

"It's Wang Jinxi!"

The First Soul Ring beneath Wang Jinxi's feet had already lit up. This was his Soul Skill.

"A darkness-type Martial Soul!" Xie Xie realized immediately. His Light Dragon Dagger belonged to the light element, yet Wang Jinxi's Martial Soul was suppressing it. By rights, light should suppress darkness. There could only be one explanation: Wang Jinxi's darkness-type Martial Soul was of a higher quality than Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger.

"Xie Xie, get back!" Tang Wulin shouted at once.

Xie Xie tried to retreat, but it was already too late. Or rather, the reason Zhang Yangzi had let the three of them attack him was precisely to capture Xie Xie.