Before they knew it, the day of the Junior Spirit Master Academy scrimmage had arrived. The principals of three nearby schools brought their students.
They were all very polite as they exchanged pleasantries with the principal, and they chatted for more than half an hour.
"Teacher Zhao, what are the rules for today's scrimmage?"
"Group free-for-all, or one-on-one?"
Qin Qi stood beside Teacher Zhao and quietly asked.
"One-on-one."
Teacher Zhao answered in a low voice. Then she added, "Our principal suggested it."
"Old fox!"
Qin Qi watched their own principal chat with the other academy principals, a smile on his face, and thought to himself.
If it were a free-for-all, the other side might actually be able to defeat them through sheer numbers.
But in a one-on-one, the difference between having a Spirit Ring and not having one was simply too great.
As Qin Qi spoke with Teacher Zhao, the principals finished their pleasantries and began introducing their students to one another.
The three academy heads had each brought three students. There were both boys and girls, and most of them were around ten years old.
First, they introduced their Martial Souls, then their Soul Power levels, and finally gave the students a chance to get to know one another.
"Winning comes second; friendship comes first. The main purpose of this scrimmage is for the students to learn from each other."
"Exactly. You're all classmates, not enemies."
"Even though you'll be fighting once you're on the arena, you'll still be good friends when you're off it."
The three principals each said a few words. Their speeches were full of harmony, and their faces wore warm smiles.
"Exactly, winning comes second; friendship comes first."
"Let me introduce our student, Qin Qi."
The principal of Notting Academy also smiled, then began introducing his students.
"Isn't this child a little too young?"
"Looks like he's only in third grade."
"But since they've sent him to compete, he must be a little genius."
The three principals looked at Qin Qi with kind smiles and spoke.
Since Qin Qi had been tempering his body and taking pills lately, he had developed quite well. At first glance, he looked like a third-grade student.
"Don't be nervous, child."
"Winning or losing isn't important. What matters is the process of learning."
"Exactly. Don't be nervous. Just do your best."
The three principals offered their encouragement.
"Mm."
Qin Qi nodded obediently, his face wearing the honest, guileless smile unique to a country boy.
"By the way, what's this child's Martial Soul? What level is he?"
One of the principals asked.
"His Martial Soul is a venomous snake, called the Qi Poison Datura Snake."
"His Soul Power isn't very high, only level fifteen."
The principal of Nuoding City waved his hand as he spoke, as though it were nothing special.
After the principal of Nuoding City finished introducing him, Qin Qi also revealed his Yellow Soul Ring, a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
"..."
The three principals stared at the Yellow Soul Ring behind Qin Qi and fell silent.
"Let me introduce you to another student. This is Xiao Wu, a first-year at our academy."
"Her Martial Soul is the Soft Bone Rabbit. Her Soul Power isn't very high either, only level twelve."
The principal continued his introductions.
Xiao Wu stepped forward and revealed her Yellow Soul Ring, a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
"..."
The three principals' faces looked as if they'd been constipated for over ten days.
"And... our first-year student, Tang San. His Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, and his Soul Power is level thirteen."
"He's a genius. It's just a shame his Martial Soul is a little weak."
The principal spoke with a deeply regretful expression.
Tang San stepped forward too, but his expression wasn't very pleasant. Fine, introduce me if you want, but why the sigh?
What had my Blue Silver Grass ever done to you? Believe it or not, I'll take you out with one Blue Silver Entanglement!
"Children, go play over there for a while and get to know each other."
The principals looked at Tang San's Yellow Soul Ring, then at Qin Qi and Xiao Wu, and smiled.
Then they sent Qin Qi and the others off to play for a while. Once they were far away...
"Where's your damn shame?"
"Three six-year-old Spirit Masters, and every one of them has a Hundred-Year Soul Ring!"
"You brought a bunch of Spirit Scholars to fight them! Where's your damn shame?"
As soon as the children were gone, the principals lost it and started cursing out the principal of Notting Academy.
"Was it really worth it for that tiny bit of prize money?"
"You're this old and you still don't have a shred of shame!"
"I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to hold a scrimmage. So you were setting us up!"
"I swear, I want to break your legs!"
The three principals surrounded the principal of Notting Academy, gritting their teeth. They wanted nothing more than to gang up on the shameless old man and break his legs right then and there.
"You can't blame me. We agreed that students from first through fifth grade could participate."
"You never set a limit on their Soul Power, either."
The principal of Notting Academy put on an utterly innocent expression, spreading his hands before his chest as he spoke.
"You... Just shut up! If you say another word, we'll really beat you up!"
The three principals stared at the shameless principal of Notting Academy. They were fired up—fists clenched and ready!
"Sigh, we've already come all this way. We can't just leave."
"If we leave without even fighting, who knows what this shameless bastard will say?"
"We have to fight, but we need to change the rules!"
After cursing him out, the three principals began discussing what to do. There was no way they could simply refuse to fight.
They'd already come all this way. If they left without even fighting, it would be humiliating. What about their academies' reputations?
"First, it'll still be one-on-one, but now we'll draw lots to decide the matchups."
"The twelve students will be divided into six pairs and fight one-on-one at the same time. As soon as one match ends, the next pair will start."
"We'll finish all the matches today!"
After discussing it, the three principals came up with new rules.
"This..."
The principal of Notting Academy hesitated.
"What do you mean, 'this'? You don't have the right to negotiate with us anymore. Either agree, or we turn around and leave."
"Afterward, we'll spread the word that Notting Academy is arrogant and deliberately made rules to target us!"
"Exactly, and we'll add that you're shameless, too!"
The three principals weren't pushovers. They immediately surrounded the principal of Notting Academy and glared at him as they spoke.
"Th-then fine."
The principal of Notting Academy looked as though his scheme had backfired, but inside, he was overjoyed.
"My dear old friends, no matter how clever and adaptable you are, I'm still one step ahead!"
"You think taking turns in one-on-one matches and wearing down my students will give you a chance to win?"
"Keep dreaming! Our genius Qin Qi isn't just high in Soul Power—he's also great at actual combat!"
As the principal of Notting Academy turned away, a sly smile appeared on his face. The scene of Qin Qi taking on more than a dozen opponents was still vivid in his mind!
After a while, the principals settled on the plan. Everyone drew lots, and the six matches began at the same time.
Qin Qi's opponent was a little girl of eight or nine. She was talented, too.
She was level eleven with a White Soul Ring. If Qin Qi and the others hadn't been here, she would definitely have ranked near the top in this academy scrimmage.
But alas, the little girl's principal was sly, and Qin Qi and the others' principal was even slyer!