Wang Dong'er, standing nearby, looked enlightened, but Huo Yu'er gazed at Lin Shuo with a curious expression.
"Big Brother Lin, what's the Soul Fighting Tournament?"
Lin Shuo looked at Huo Yu'er's curious face and explained, "The Soul Fighting Tournament here is the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament. It dates back as far as ten thousand years, and nowadays it's held every five years, rotating among the Star Luo Empire, Sun Moon Empire, Dou Ling Empire, and Heaven Dou Empire. The tournament limits participants to students under twenty, so this selection is mainly for choosing the reserve team."
Hearing this, Wang Yan gave Lin Shuo an approving look. "That's right. The selected students will compete as the Shrek Seven Devils. From the first generation of the Shrek Seven Devils to the present, the academy has never lost the Soul Fighting Tournament." He paused, then added with a wry, helpless smile, "But with Lin Shuo here, all you need to do in this selection is hold on until he eliminates everyone else."
In ten thousand years, even Shrek Academy had never seen such a vast gap in strength!
After all, Lin Shuo had been able to shatter the Martial Soul Fusion Skill of three-ring Dai Huabin and two-ring Zhu Lu with a single strike, without using a Soul Ring! And now Lin Shuo was already at four rings, the highest cultivation level in the Outer Court.
Huo Yu'er and Wang Dong'er both looked excited. Although they were only reserve team members, getting to represent the academy and see the geniuses from other academies across the continent would be a unique experience for them!
"Now that you understand, you can head back." Wang Yan handed Lin Shuo a roster. "This is the list of core students taking part in the selection. Think about your teammate choices in advance."
Lin Shuo took it and immediately put it into his storage ring.
"All right, Teacher Wang. We'll be off, then."
The three left the teaching building and followed the tree-lined path to the edge of Sea God Lake. A breeze swept over from the water, cool with moisture and carrying the fresh fragrance of the plants along the shore. Lin Shuo sat down on a flat stone beside the lake and took out the roster.
"Do you two have any thoughts?"
Wang Dong'er leaned over to glance at the names on the roster, then shook her head. "You decide. But I can't believe you really have the highest cultivation among the core students."
After all, the fourth- and fifth-year core students were two or three years older than Lin Shuo, yet their cultivation levels were still a little lower than his.
Huo Yu'er nodded gently, too. "Big Brother Lin, you can decide."
Seeing that neither of them had any objections, Lin Shuo looked back at the roster in his hands.
"Xu Sanshi, level forty-three, Martial Soul: Black Tortoise Shield."
"Bei Bei, level forty-two, Martial Soul: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon."
"Jiang Nannan, level forty-one, Martial Soul: Soft Bone Rabbit."
"He Caitou, Level 4 Soul Engineer, core student of the Soul Guidance Department."
"And me, level forty-four." Lin Shuo picked out the Soul Ancestors among the core students and read them aloud to the two girls.
"These are the higher-year students with fairly good cultivation levels, but..." Lin Shuo crossed He Caitou's name off the list.
"Shrek Academy's main rival is the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. Everyone knows the gap between Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy when it comes to Soul Tools."
"But we're still one person short. Should we choose someone from our year?" Wang Dong'er asked curiously. After all, the three of them didn't know the other core students in the higher years at all.
Lin Shuo scanned the names on the roster and spotted Xiao Xiao, whom he had met before.
"Then let's add Xiao Xiao. She has Twin Martial Souls."
Seeing that the other two agreed, Lin Shuo put the roster away.
"Then let's split up and get the team settled tonight." Lin Shuo turned to Huo Yu'er. "Yu'er, go get in touch with Bei Bei and ask him to find Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan. Dong'er and I will go find Xiao Xiao. We'll meet back here afterward."
Huo Yu'er answered and turned to leave. Lin Shuo and Wang Dong'er walked along the path beside the lake toward the dormitory buildings.
"Come to think of it, I remember Xiao Xiao often sneaking glances at you in class," Wang Dong'er said, walking briskly with her hands clasped behind her back. "I wonder what she'll look like when she finds out you chose her. Do you think she has a crush on you?" After saying that, she nervously touched the hair by her ear, winding the strand of pink-blue hair around her fingertip twice. Her gaze drifted away, as if she were waiting for Lin Shuo's answer but didn't quite dare look at his expression.
Lin Shuo stopped and glanced sideways at her with a faintly amused smile.
"Are there any girls in class who don't sneak glances at me?"
Wang Dong'er choked on the remark and opened her mouth as if to say something. The tips of her ears visibly flushed pink. She stammered for a long while, then finally lowered her head and muttered in a voice barely audible even to herself,
"Who's sneaking glances at you..."
Lin Shuo walked past Wang Dong'er and continued ahead at an unhurried pace without looking back. His voice drifted lazily from in front of her.
"I didn't say who."
"Lin Shuo, you jerk!"
Wang Dong'er's pink-blue hair swayed lightly, and the blush spread all the way to her ears. In the end, she could only stomp her foot and hurry after him.
The two arrived at the dormitory building. Wang Dong'er told Lin Shuo to wait downstairs while she went up to knock on Xiao Xiao's door. A short while later, she came back down with Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao wore a simple, elegant, pale-green outfit that made her look even more petite. A few loose strands of hair lifted in the evening breeze, making her delicate features seem all the more gentle.
Xiao Xiao followed behind Wang Dong'er. When she saw Lin Shuo outside the dormitory building, her steps faltered slightly. Sunlight traced the boy's tall, slender silhouette, and his silver-white fitted clothes glimmered faintly.
"Student Lin Shuo, Student Dong'er said you wanted to see me?" Xiao Xiao looked at Lin Shuo shyly.
Lin Shuo skipped the small talk and got straight to the point. "I wanted to ask you a few things about the selection match in three days. We've also arranged to meet some upper-year students. Do you have time?"
Xiao Xiao was clearly taken aback. She lifted her head, and a flicker of surprise crossed her usually quiet, reserved eyes. Teacher Wang Yan had just kept the three of them behind, and now Lin Shuo and Wang Dong'er had come to find her. It seemed the three of them knew something about what was going on.
"I have time, but where are we going?"
"By Sea God Lake. Come with us."
With that, Lin Shuo turned and walked ahead. Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao followed behind, chatting quietly.
When the three returned to the lakeside, Huo Yu'er was already waiting there with three others.
Bei Bei still wore his gentle expression. Seeing the three from afar, he smiled and cupped his fists. "Brother Lin, Yu'er said you wanted to discuss something with us about the selection match. I brought Xu Sanshi and Nannan along."
Xu Sanshi stood behind Bei Bei with his arms folded. When he saw Lin Shuo, the corner of his mouth twitched, but he didn't back away. Jiang Nannan stood beside Huo Yu'er and gave Lin Shuo a slight nod in greeting.