Qin Qi and the little girl stepped onto the arena. Following the rules for Spirit Masters, they displayed their Spirit Rings and Martial Souls to each other.
"Hmph!"
"Don't think you can beat me just because you have a Hundred-Year Soul Ring!"
"Being a Spirit Master isn't just about Soul Power and Spirit Rings. You also need to have real combat ability!"
"I started building my foundation when I was three. When I was six, my dad found three masters to teach me martial arts."
"Now I'm eight, and nobody my age can beat me!"
The little girl looked at Qin Qi and gave a haughty snort, her eyes full of hostility and resentment.
She wasn't a Work-Study Student. She was a Formal Student, and the leader of the Formal Students at her academy.
She was used to being fawned over. Now that someone had suddenly outshone her, she was deeply displeased.
"..."
Qin Qi said nothing. He simply took out the Qi Poison Snake. In an instant, the Qi Poison Snake shot forward!
The next second, it touched the little girl. In a flash, she collapsed to the ground, her whole body convulsing.
As Qin Qi's cultivation improved, the power of his Qi Poison became more concentrated.
"What are you chattering on about? I never asked you."
"And real combat ability is important, sure, but you can't beat me at that either."
Qin Qi shook his head and walked straight off the arena. He had another match to fight.
He wanted to finish quickly, collect his scholarship, and buy the medicinal ingredients he needed for cultivation.
"Clap, clap, clap, clap!"
"What a thrilling battle!"
Principal of Notting immediately rose to his feet and applauded, his face alight with excitement.
He looked as if he'd just witnessed an unbelievably spectacular battle.
"..."
Meanwhile, the dean of the academy the little girl belonged to looked as livid as a pig's liver.
He silently got up and walked behind the dean of Notting Academy, then kicked him without a word.
"Thrilling, my foot! My student got taken out in one move!"
"And you're calling it thrilling? Don't hold me back! I'm breaking that shameless bastard's legs today, no matter what!"
"Let go of me!"
The dean kicked wildly, completely beside himself. Losing wasn't embarrassing, but he couldn't put up with this mockery.
"Calm down, calm down!"
"The children are here. Watch your image!"
"Hold it in, hold it in. If you're going to fight, wait until there's no one around."
The deans of the other two academies held the furious dean back tightly, trying to talk him down.
After taking his shot at mocking the man, the dean of Notting Academy slipped away. He really couldn't beat the furious dean.
In the blink of an eye, the first round of matches was over. Six contestants remained, including Qin Qi, Xiao Wu, and Tang San.
They drew lots to continue to the next round, and by some strange coincidence, Qin Qi drew Tang San.
"Good!"
Seeing this, the furious dean couldn't help leaping to his feet and cheering loudly.
"Ah, that's all right. At least he didn't draw Xiao Wu."
Principal of Notting sighed at the sight, though he wasn't too worried. This wasn't the worst-case scenario.
After all, Tang San only had a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
"Tang San, huh? That kid won't be easy to deal with."
Qin Qi thought for a moment and stepped onto the arena. Even if Tang San wouldn't be easy to handle, he still had to fight. That glittering scholarship was too tempting.
"So my opponent this time is Qin Qi."
Tang San watched Qin Qi step onto the arena, a flame of fighting spirit burning in his eyes.
He'd spent this whole time watching Qin Qi steal the spotlight, and he couldn't help feeling jealous!
This was a great opportunity. He would defeat Qin Qi and prove that Blue Silver Grass wasn't a Trash Martial Soul!
He would prove he wasn't useless!
"Xiao San, do your best!"
"I know you can do it. There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Spirit Masters!"
Yu Xiaogang had come to watch from his wheelchair. He looked at Qin Qi on the arena.
The humiliation he'd suffered in the dining hall that day still echoed in his mind, and fury burned in his eyes!
He would teach this disrespectful little brat a lesson. He'd show that boy he was nothing but a loach trapped in shallow water!
He would also show the academy's teachers that Yu Xiaogang wasn't useless, and wasn't a clown!
His student was the strongest, and he, the one who could teach such a student, was a Grandmaster beyond question!
"Mm."
Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang, disgust showing in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.
"Xiao San, if you need to, you can use your other Martial Soul."
Grandmaster spoke to Tang San quietly.
Tang San didn't answer. His Clear Sky Hammer might be a powerful Martial Soul.
But he didn't have a single Spirit Ring yet, so the power he could draw from it was limited.
He felt that Yu Xiaogang had been blinded by his desire to win. How could he say something so foolish?
Tang San stepped onto the arena. Meanwhile, the students of Notting Academy had started discussing the match.
"Who's stronger, Tang San or Qin Qi?"
"Why are you all looking at me? I don't know! When I fought Qin Qi, he knocked me down in one move!"
Wang Sheng hurriedly spoke up as he noticed everyone's eyes gathering on him.
Across the arena, Xiao Wu also looked over, curiosity in her eyes.
When they'd competed to become dorm leader, Qin Qi had swiped the money and left, only coming back that evening.
Xiao Wu and Qin Qi had missed each other. After that, they hadn't had time to spar either; Qin Qi was either studying or working.
He'd return to the dorm and collapse straight into bed. Xiao Wu had never had a chance to spar with him, and now she was curious about how strong he was.
Qin Qi and Tang San stood on the arena facing each other. Tang San's expression was grave.
All right. His Soul Power is higher than mine, and his Martial Soul is better than mine, but I won't lose!
I also have the Tang Sect's techniques: Mysterious Jade Hand, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Purple Demon Eye, and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon!
Our combat experience isn't even on the same level!
Thinking this, Tang San began using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. In an instant, his figure became as hard to pin down as a ghost!
"This—this is a Soul Skill!"
"No, I can't sense any fluctuation in Soul Power!"
"With such unusual footwork, this boy may have a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, but he's not to be underestimated!"
"This kid was hiding this move?"
Several deans looked shocked. Tang San had never demonstrated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track before.
That mysterious footwork had opened the eyes of the native deans.
But in Qin Qi's eyes—
"What's he doing? Dancing?"
Qin Qi watched Tang San hopping around like a clown and looked puzzled.
The most important thing about the Tang Sect's techniques was catching the enemy off guard. The key was to strike a lethal blow with the smallest possible movement.
What kind of assassin started hopping around wildly before making an attempt on someone's life? Wasn't the best way to confuse someone to hide your intentions?
If you started jumping all over the place, how could you hide your intentions?
Qin Qi said nothing. He completely drew in his presence, becoming like a piece of deadwood.
Then he simply walked toward Tang San, every muscle in his body fully relaxed.