Yours Is Mine

In the stands, Du Weilun stood to one side with Yan Shaozhe, watching the situation in the assessment area.

Now that they had reached the semifinals, the clash between two Soul Elder teams naturally drew far more attention than Dai Huabin's match.

"Is that the little fellow you mentioned who crushed Dai Huabin?"

"Yes, Dean. Not only did he defeat Dai Huabin with ease, but his soul ring configuration is also yellow, purple, purple—soul rings beyond the normal age limit. He enrolled through the standard admissions process as well. I investigated beforehand. He is from Maple Leaf City, and the recommendation letter he submitted was also from Maple Leaf City. It has been verified; there are no issues with the letter."

"Furthermore, it was personally written by the Lord of Maple Leaf City. We can be certain that Jiang Yue's background is very clean. At present, aside from those two students from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, no one else has made contact with him."

Du Weilun took a slightly wrinkled letter of recommendation from his pocket and handed it to Yan Shaozhe. Yan Shaozhe picked it up, gave it a casual glance, then raised a ball of flame in his hand and reduced the letter to ashes.

"It doesn't matter whether it was genuine. If that little fellow was capable of forging a recommendation letter, that would be his ability too. Still, it's better that there are no problems."

"His talent is excellent. If I recall correctly, Weilun, you said that little fellow's martial soul has a spiritual attribute?"

"Yes, that's right. It is indeed a spiritual attribute. Although there aren't many soul beasts with that attribute, I believe Jiang Yue's talent is absolutely worth nurturing. But this isn't something I, as the Director of Studies, can decide alone. Dean, please make the decision."

"Tsk. A spiritual-attribute soul master... that really is a bit troublesome."

Yan Shaozhe stroked his chin as he weighed the pros and cons. Given the current situation, Jiang Yue had practically already secured the championship of this year's freshman assessment. As a student who had become a Soul Elder before enrollment, Shrek Academy had long since designated Jiang Yue as a core disciple.

In other words, core disciple status was something Jiang Yue had already obtained, so it could not be used as a reward for winning the freshman assessment.

What truly gave Yan Shaozhe a headache was not what reward to give Jiang Yue, but how to handle the soul ring hunting reward traditionally awarded to the top three teams of every freshman assessment.

Following precedent, every member of the top three freshman assessment teams could submit an application to Shrek Academy whenever they needed a soul ring. Shrek would then obtain a soul ring at the maximum age their body could withstand, one most suited to their martial soul's attributes.

Generally speaking, this reward would be used when the students next reached a bottleneck. Most previous students used this privilege on their third soul ring, while only the rare students who were already Soul Elders during the freshman assessment would use it on their fourth.

In the past, the greatest demand had only been for soul rings four or five thousand years old. Some soul beasts could even be found in Shrek Academy's beast enclosure.

Jiang Yue was different. His soul ring configuration exceeded the normal age limits, and he was also a spiritual-attribute soul master. The greatest obstacle ordinary soul masters faced when absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring as their fourth ring was basically no obstacle at all to him.

In other words, if Shrek Academy agreed to hunt a soul ring for Jiang Yue, they would most likely have to help him obtain a spiritual-attribute soul beast more than ten thousand years old.

Not to mention how rare spiritual attributes were, even ten-thousand-year soul beasts were something Shrek Academy would only organize teachers to hunt once students had become inner court disciples and needed soul rings.

That was why Yan Shaozhe was so conflicted. He did not know whether to grant Jiang Yue this privilege. If he did, there was a high chance that an expert above the rank of Soul Douluo would need to take action in the end.

"Old Yan! What are you frowning over? Tell me about it. Maybe I can offer some advice."

A deep, booming voice rang out behind them. Yan Shaozhe could not even be bothered to spare the owner of the voice a glance, continuing to ponder what he had just been considering. Du Weilun, meanwhile, turned toward the tall, burly man.

This man looked at least fifty years old. His white hair stood upright like steel needles, his shoulders broad and his back thick. His bronze-colored body constantly emitted a peculiar metallic aura.

The newcomer was none other than Qian Duoduo, Vice Dean of Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department and a Rank 94 Titled Douluo, the Black Dragon Douluo.

"Hey, Old Yan, don't just stand there without saying anything. What's with that miserable expression?"

"What is a guy like you, who never gets up without profit, doing here in our Martial Soul Department instead of staying in your Soul Tool Department? Are you trying to poach people from our Martial Soul Department? Go back and wash up before bed. According to the rules, students can only choose whether to continue studying in the Martial Soul Department or transfer to the Soul Tool Department after their third year."

"Old Yan, that's not right. Before they choose their department in their third year, they do not entirely count as people from your Martial Soul Department. Besides, if a student likes soul tools and insists on joining the Soul Tool Department, are you, as dean, going to shamelessly stop them? Surely not? Surely the renowned Bright Phoenix Douluo wouldn't do something like that?"

"Enough! Enough! Tell me why you came here today!"

"It's nothing much. I just came to see an old friend like you. I happened to hear that the academy had a freshman with a spiritual attribute. Old Yan, you know the Soul Tool Department's situation and the Ultimate Soldier Plan. Spiritual-attribute soul masters are the best choice."

"Hah! You really dare to dream. You want a core disciple of our Martial Soul Department to join your Soul Tool Department? Has water gotten into your brain?"

Yan Shaozhe's expression darkened. He had not expected Qian Duoduo to set his sights on Jiang Yue. Jiang Yue was indeed a spiritual-attribute soul master, but whether he had talent or interest in soul tools was another matter entirely. What he had displayed so far was exceptional talent in martial soul cultivation.

Yan Shaozhe had been considering whether to invest in Jiang Yue before he had even truly joined Shrek Academy, but no matter what, he could not allow Jiang Yue—already a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department—to run off to the Soul Tool Department.

"What? A core disciple?"

Qian Duoduo glanced toward Fan Yu behind him, his eyes full of confusion. Fan Yu had never told him about this. Hadn't he said it was only a little fellow at around Rank 10? How had he become a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department?

Fan Yu's eyes were equally filled with bewilderment. He was certain that, based on the talent Huo Yuhao had displayed in the Martial Soul Department, he absolutely did not qualify to become a core disciple. Even if he truly had become one, Zhou Yi, Huo Yuhao's homeroom teacher, would have told him long ago.

Seeing that Fan Yu's eyes were also full of confusion, Qian Duoduo did not know what to do for a moment. Faced with Yan Shaozhe's guarded expression, he could only force himself to speak.

"Old Yan, is there some misunderstanding here? Didn't I hear about a spiritual-attribute freshman whose martial soul is an eye? And he's only Rank 15. How could he possibly become a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department? Is there some misunderstanding?"

"Hm? A freshman whose martial soul is an eye?"

"Dean, there is indeed such a freshman. His name is Huo Yuhao. He is a specially recruited student from the Tang Sect this year. When he enrolled, he did not even meet the admission standards. His current rank is at most just past Rank 15."

"Oh? Someone from the Tang Sect?"

As a disciple of Dragon God Douluo Mu En, Yan Shaozhe naturally knew that his teacher's junior, Bei Bei, had joined the Tang Sect and become its senior disciple.

With the Tang Sect's hidden weapons currently unable to keep pace with the times, the Tang Sect could only rely on developing soul tools if it wished to revive.

Unfortunately, neither Bei Bei nor Tang Ya had much talent in soul tools, nor did they have much time to devote to studying them. As a result, although the two had taken soul tool courses, after all that time their ranks had only increased by one or two levels. They were practically just fooling around.

Yan Shaozhe believed that Huo Yuhao had been given a Tang Sect special recruitment slot because Bei Bei and Tang Ya had noticed that he was a spiritual-attribute soul master and wanted him to head for the Soul Tool Department.

Thinking he had guessed Bei Bei and Tang Ya's intentions, Yan Shaozhe felt that the two had a good idea. In the Tang Sect's current state, what kind of people could it attract? It was not as if some fool would voluntarily ask to join the Tang Sect just for its hidden weapons.

"So, Old Yan? Do me a favor. I'll treat you to a meal next time. Just give me that freshman whose martial soul is an eye, all right? You know how rare spiritual-attribute soul masters are. They're something you can only encounter by chance."

"Yes, they are indeed rare. But I refuse!"

"You people from the Soul Tool Department can forget about taking even a single person from our Martial Soul Department! Unless the Sea God Pavilion speaks, it doesn't matter whether it's you, Qian Duoduo, or even Xian Lin'er herself!"

"Yan Shaozhe! Don't push your luck!"

"So what? If you've got the guts, let's go outside and fight!"

The atmosphere between Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo grew incomparably tense, while Jiang Yue, standing in the assessment area, appeared exceptionally relaxed—a stark contrast to everyone else on the field.

Jiang Yue might have needed to be more cautious against other teams to avoid unnecessary injuries or being caught off guard by some unusual soul skill, but with an auxiliary like Ning Tian on the opposing side, he truly had nothing to fear.

"Match begin!"

At the proctor's command, Jiang Yue lightly tapped the arena with his toes and shot straight toward Ning Tian's group of three, seemingly intending to immediately take out Ning Tian, the auxiliary-type soul master.

Seeing Jiang Yue's posture, everyone thought the same. After all, among soul masters on the continent, it was common knowledge that whenever there was an opponent with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, they had to be dealt with first.

Wu Feng hurried forward. The flames rising from her body burned her school uniform to ashes, leaving only a specially made rubber bodysuit covering her body.

At some point, a pair of wings had appeared behind Nanmen Yun'er, greatly increasing her speed.

Wu Feng swept past Jiang Yue at her fastest speed, intending to use Ning Tian's boosts to take out Zuo Fan and Lu Bei as quickly as possible. That way, they could focus entirely on dealing with Jiang Yue alone.

Just as they had planned, Nanmen Yun'er unleashed all of her soul skills. Her arms, already jade-green, became blade-like as they slashed toward Jiang Yue.

Just as Nanmen Yun'er's arms were about to collide with the Passionate Sword and Wu Feng had already passed Jiang Yue, an inexplicable red gleam appeared in both their eyes. Their breathing visibly quickened, and their cheeks flushed crimson.

Anger. Their originally delicate faces were almost simultaneously twisted with fury. Nanmen Yun'er's aura grew noticeably sharper as she savagely grabbed at Jiang Yue with both arms.

Clang!

The Passionate Sword slashed at Nanmen Yun'er's arm while Jiang Yue reached out with his right hand and grabbed her other arm. At that moment, Jiang Yue's back was completely undefended.

Wu Feng could not possibly let such an opportunity pass, especially while she was enraged by Jiang Yue. Someone already prone to anger could practically be described as having lost all reason under such circumstances.

In this state, Wu Feng no longer cared about any plan. She only wanted to give this guy, who had made her so angry, a thorough beating.

Facing the charging Wu Feng, Jiang Yue put a little force into his arm. To Nanmen Yun'er's astonishment, he actually flung her entire body away and sent her crashing toward Wu Feng.

Ning Tian, whose mind remained clear in the distance, naturally noticed what had happened to her two teammates. Combined with the information she had gathered earlier about Jiang Yue being a spiritual-attribute soul master, she understood that this scene was Jiang Yue's handiwork.

"Seven Treasures have names, second: Release!"

Two beams of light shot from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda held in Ning Tian's hands toward Nanmen Yun'er and Wu Feng. Yet the scene she expected, of the two returning to normal, did not occur. Ning Tian could not help wondering whether there was something wrong with her soul skill.

Bang!

"Hiss—!"

The intense pain brought Wu Feng, whose mind had been clouded by rage, slightly back to her senses. Then she saw Nanmen Yun'er lying on top of her.

After helping her teammate up, the two exchanged a glance and immediately decided to change their plan. The two soul rings on Wu Feng's body flashed in succession as she used both Dragon's Fire and Dragon's Fury, swinging her dragon claws at Jiang Yue.

Meanwhile, relying on her speed, Nanmen Yun'er immediately planned to temporarily hold off Lu Bei and Zuo Fan by herself. Her cultivation was already above theirs, and with Ning Tian's support, she might even be able to eliminate both of them outright.

Seeing her teammates return to normal, Ning Tian sighed in relief and hurriedly activated her first and third soul skills, applying boosts to them.

At the same time, Wu Feng immediately smiled when she saw Ning Tian activate her soul skills. Once she received the boosts and defeated Jiang Yue, she would definitely humiliate him properly!

However, at that very moment, Jiang Yue's third soul ring flashed with a noble purple light before everyone for the first time, instantly making Wu Feng's expression turn somewhat ugly.

A normal Soul Elder's third soul ring was only around a thousand years old, but Jiang Yue's second soul ring was already a millennium ring. Judging from the color of this third ring, it was at least an exceptionally high-level four-thousand-year ring. Perhaps Jiang Yue's third soul ring alone had a total age greater than all the soul rings of the three of them combined.

The power of the flames around Wu Feng visibly declined, while Ning Tian's boosting light abruptly changed direction in midair before finally sinking directly into Jiang Yue's body.

It was not only Ning Tian's boosts. The enhancement soul skills Wu Feng had activated also vanished into thin air, yet their soul power continued to be consumed normally. Even when they instinctively tried to cancel their soul skills, they discovered that the skills were no longer under their control.

It was not that the skills could not be canceled, but doing so required even greater concentration. But they were in the middle of a match! They could hardly ask Jiang Yue to stop and wait for them to deactivate their skills, could they?

"Don't worry. What's yours is mine. I'll definitely make good use of your strength!"

What a buff-stealer!

This sudden development caught them completely off guard.

A smile did not disappear; it merely moved elsewhere. Wu Feng's earlier smile had now transferred to Jiang Yue's face. With Ning Tian's dual boosts to strength and speed, along with Wu Feng's Dragon's Fury soul skill, Jiang Yue—already a high-level Soul Elder—had now completely reached the level of a quasi-Soul Ancestor.

Shing—!

The dazzling sword light reflected across the faces of everyone in the arena, exposing the pale expressions of Ning Tian's group of three.

With a sword-finger gesture, the Passionate Sword turned into a streak of light under the control of his spiritual power. Wu Feng instinctively defended herself, but the Passionate Sword was not headed for her. By the time she realized it, Jiang Yue had already arrived before her and struck out with his palm.

Even though Wu Feng hurriedly mobilized her soul power, there was no suspense in the result. The palm wind, wrapped in soul power, sent her entire body flying. Nanmen Yun'er, who had been attacking Lu Bei and Zuo Fan, had already stopped moving. Trembling, she looked at the Passionate Sword held against her neck, less than a couple of centimeters from her throat.

Ning Tian's eyes held shock and confusion, but in the end, she calmly accepted everything that had happened before her. Seeing Ning Tian raise her hand to surrender to the proctor, Jiang Yue finally withdrew the hand poised before her lower abdomen, ready to strike again at any moment.

"You let me win. Don't worry, I'll take your share and win the championship too. Sorry about using your soul skills to eliminate your teammates just now. How about this? This afternoon, I'll beat Dai Huabin a little more brutally. What do you think?"

"That is a matter between you and Dai Huabin, Jiang Yue. What does it have to do with me?"

"Don't tell me you didn't want to beat him up after seeing that ugly face of his last time."

"Jiang Yue, don't talk nonsense. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the White Tiger Duke's Manor have shared a friendship lasting tens of thousands of years. How could I possibly harbor such dangerous thoughts over such a trivial matter?"

"Really not?"

"Absolutely not."

While the people below cheered, Jiang Yue and Ning Tian simply looked at each other. In the end, they both smiled knowingly.