Practical Combat Class

Han Bing arrived in the classroom. A new male teacher was there, tall and imposing, with a distinctive scar across his face. Once everyone had gathered, he said:

"We have a new student, so I'll introduce myself. My name is Li Gang. Teacher Gao and I will be in charge of this afternoon's practical combat class. Now that everyone's here, let's head to the Soul Fighting Arena."

Everyone followed the two teachers, Gao Lan and Li Gang.

Along the way, Teacher Gao said:

"Han Bing, since this is your first day, we're gathering in the classroom now. From now on, you can go straight to practical combat class in the afternoon. You won't need to gather in the classroom first."

Han Bing nodded.

They passed through the teaching building and came to the Soul Fighting Arena next door.

It was a standalone arena, a huge circular platform like those in the Roman colosseum, with many smaller Soul Fighting Arenas in the middle.

It was used by the academy's students for combat practice.

When they arrived, they saw that the other classes were already there, each occupying one of the other two arenas. The teachers of the two classes exchanged a brief greeting, then went to their respective arenas to teach their students.

Gao Lan led everyone to the No. 1 Great Soul Arena. She pressed a button in the spectator area, and in an instant, the No. 1 Great Soul Arena split into six smaller arenas.

A large screen hung overhead. Gao Lan operated it briefly, added Han Bing's name, and said:

"We'll start with one-on-one matches. The system will draw lots to determine the matchups."

"Han Bing, even though your Soul Power is only level twelve, you've joined the advanced academy, so you'll be treated like everyone else. If anyone draws Han Bing, don't hold back. The greatest respect you can show an opponent is to give it your all."

"Han Bing, do you have any objections?"

Han Bing immediately replied, "No!"

"Good!"

Gao Lan spoke with authority. At first, the students had been a little worried. Han Bing was only a One-Ring Soul Master, so they hadn't wanted to hurt him if they drew him. After all, behind him stood the Fifth Elder, Guang Ling Douluo.

But after hearing Teacher Gao's words, they exchanged smiles.

Gao Lan had only said this because Guang Ling Douluo had given permission. Otherwise, who would dare offend the Fifth Elder's personal disciple?

Guang Ling Douluo was absolutely confident in Han Bing. Ever since he'd watched Han Bing kill four four-hundred-year Soul Beasts by himself, he'd known Han Bing was more than capable of attending the advanced academy.

"Good. I'll explain the rules. There are six Soul Fighting Arenas above, and eleven of you. One person will sit out and fight Teacher Li Gang instead."

"Ah!"

Everyone stared in disbelief. Teacher Li Gang was a Six-Ring Soul Emperor. Wasn't that like a grown man beating up a child?

"What are you saying 'ah' for? Teacher Li Gang knows how to control himself. Don't worry."

"Each match will last ten minutes. If you fall and can't keep fighting, you lose. You also lose if you're knocked out of the arena. If neither side wins within ten minutes, the one who's less injured wins!"

"Six arenas will produce six winners. Then there'll be three more matches. The three winners will draw lots and fight again. Whoever sits out will wait for the winner, then fight to determine the champion. The loser will fight the previous loser to determine second and third place."

"The top three are exempt from punishment. Everyone else who loses will run fifty laps around the track. If you don't finish, you don't go home!"

"If an auxiliary-type Soul Master draws an attack-type Soul Master, the auxiliary Soul Master only needs to hold on for three minutes to win. If an attack-type Soul Master can't beat an auxiliary Soul Master within three minutes, then get out of here. Don't stay. I can't afford to be embarrassed like that."

Gao Lan adjusted her glasses and spoke with swagger.

"Everyone understand?"

The rules were naturally explained for the benefit of the new student, Han Bing. He seemed to be the only auxiliary-type Soul Master present, but he had Twin Martial Souls, so he couldn't be classified as purely auxiliary, could he?

He took a deep breath. Whatever happened, he didn't mind. This was his first time fighting a Soul Master, and it was the perfect chance to test his idea: elementalization.

Then Teacher Gao began drawing lots.

She pressed a button on the main control screen, and the screen above began to scroll.

"Stop!"

At Teacher Gao's command, the first student was selected: Xie Yue.

He was assigned to the No. 1 smaller arena, and the screen scrolled again to pick his opponent.

"Stop!"

His opponent was the tall, dark-skinned, well-built student from that morning. His name was Wu Tian. Clearly, he was disappointed to have drawn Xie Yue.

They would fight in the No. 1 Soul Fighting Arena.

The lots were drawn one after another, and soon they were all done:

Xie Yue vs. Wu Tian (No. 1 Soul Fighting Arena)

Hu Liena vs. Zhang Yuan (No. 2 Soul Fighting Arena)

Yan vs. Liu Mingyue (No. 3 Soul Fighting Arena)

Han Bing vs. Sun Haoran (No. 4 Soul Fighting Arena)

Lin Yuetian vs. Zhao Feng (No. 5 Soul Fighting Arena)

Wang Dan sat out and would have a sparring match with Teacher Li Gang.

Wang Dan froze. "My luck is way too bad. Oh, heavens!"

Then he looked at Sun Haoran with envy.

Sun Haoran, meanwhile, felt fortunate. He thought he was lucky to have drawn Han Bing, a One-Ring Soul Master. Wasn't this a guaranteed win?

Han Bing, however, remained calm. He looked at Sun Haoran's profile, which listed his Martial Soul as the Gale Leopard and classified him as an agility-attack type Soul Master.

His Soul Power was level twenty-one, and he was fifteen years old.

Now that Han Bing's Twin Martial Souls were listed, he felt even more confident. His First Martial Soul, Candy, was an auxiliary-type Food-type Martial Soul, and it was the one he'd cultivated first.

His second Martial Soul, Six-Pointed Ice Star, was one he'd never heard of before. The screen listed it as a control-type Martial Soul.

Han Bing had seen that too. In every display so far, it had frozen someone, so it certainly seemed like a control-type Martial Soul.

But the Six-Pointed Ice Star was capable of far more. To be precise, it was incredibly versatile: strong attack, control, speed, and even support for ice-type Martial Souls.

Everyone had also seen Han Bing's Twin Martial Souls.

"Candy? What an interesting Martial Soul. I like candy!"

Hu Liena rested her chin on her hand and spoke casually.

"Six-Pointed Ice Star? What kind of Martial Soul is that? I've never heard of it!"

The others joined in the discussion.

Seeing this, Sun Haoran asked Teacher Gao:

"Teacher Gao, does Han Bing count as an auxiliary-type or a control-type? Do we go by three minutes or ten?"

Teacher Gao replied:

"You're a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster at level twenty-one, facing a One-Ring Soul Master at level twelve. Do you really have the nerve to ask that?"

Sun Haoran's expression stiffened. He lowered his head and said nothing.

"Everyone, get into position. Sun Haoran, if you don't end the fight within two minutes, you lose!"

Sun Haoran nodded. According to the information, the Six-Pointed Ice Star hadn't obtained a Soul Ring yet. That made Han Bing no different from a Soul Scholar.

Two minutes? One would be enough.

Thinking this, Sun Haoran stepped into the No. 4 Soul Fighting Arena with Han Bing.

Seeing that everyone was in position, Gao Lan gave the order:

"Begin!"