The Tournament Ends, Preparing to Take Leave

On the Soul Arena's field, Huo Yuhao's and Dai Huabin's two Martial Soul Fusion Skills collided, unleashing an unparalleled aura.

I don't believe it! The Hell White Tiger will lose to you!

Filled with fury, Dai Huabin poured all his strength into the Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

Boom—

The Hell White Tiger collided with the Golden Road, and that little white cat was directly turned into a little golden kitty.

The outcome had already been decided. Compared to their evenly matched battle during the Freshman Tournament, the Hell White Tiger suffered a crushing defeat in this Selection Tournament.

Watching Dai Huabin, whom he had turned into a golden statue, Huo Yuhao felt no ripples in his heart.

Whether in spiritual power or Soul Power, he was no longer someone his former self could compare to.

After enduring the torment of Ice Empress's fusion will, Huo Yuhao had gained more than just a Soul Bone and a Soul Ring. That unyielding will had further strengthened his spirit, energy, and resolve.

"Should we head down too?"

Xie Huanyue looked at Dai Huabin, frozen into a golden statue ahead of them, then at Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, who were rampaging through the battlefield in the distance, and couldn't help swallowing.

Bei Bei's lightning-fast fists and kicks, along with Xu Sanshi sending opponent after opponent flying with his shield, utterly killed Xie Huanyue's desire to fight.

Xie Huanyue had wanted to leave long ago, so he wouldn't get beaten black and blue by those two. But Jiang Bai had kept him pinned down, leaving him no way to escape.

"Go."

Jiang Bai released Xie Huanyue from his restraints. Just as the two were preparing to leave, the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron came crashing down from afar.

"Wait, why is Xiao Xiao attacking us too?"

Xie Huanyue's eyes widened. The black cauldron was charging at them with terrifying momentum, clearly aimed at them.

Without time to think, Xie Huanyue instantly possessed his Martial Soul. His body swelled by a full circle as he thrust both hands forward and forcibly collided with the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron.

"So heavy."

Xie Huanyue gritted his teeth. His arms went numb, and his palms ached fiercely. The black cauldron was far heavier than he had expected, nearly crushing him into serious injury.

Why had Xiao Xiao suddenly become so powerful?

However, borrowing the force of the impact, Xie Huanyue retreated with the momentum and took Jiang Bai out of the battle zone, landing steadily in the safe area outside the field.

Xiao Xiao: "..."

Standing where she was, Xiao Xiao watched the two leave. Her mouth opened, then closed again.

She wasn't even attacking him, so why had he blocked it?!

The battle ended without any suspense. The final ones remaining were Huo Yuhao's group of seven.

As for the unrelated people, Xuan Zi had already persuaded them to leave.

Of course, some were unwilling to accept it, but Xuan Zi was a Rank 98 Titled Douluo. The slightest release of his pressure was enough to silence everyone.

Jiang Bai also blended into the crowd and left together with Xie Huanyue.

"By the way, what do you think the reward is?"

While on the way back, Xie Huanyue looked at Jiang Bai beside him and asked curiously.

Jiang Bai shook his head at the question. This wasn't something minor students like them could know.

"No idea, but it probably has nothing to do with us anyway."

"True."

Inside a lounge in the Soul Arena.

The seven stood in a row, still carrying a touch of unfamiliar awkwardness between them. Elder Xuan sat in a chair with one leg crossed over the other, holding a wine gourd and taking a swig from it from time to time.

"So, you will become the academy's reserve team."

Below him, the seven exchanged looks. A reserve team?! Them?

"You are not to tell anyone else that you've become the reserve team. This is confidential. Anyone who reveals it will be stripped of their qualification!"

Xuan Zi took a drink and spoke sternly.

"Alright. For the next month, you'll train with me once a week. You may leave now."

With a wave of his hand, Xuan Zi left, leaving the seven behind.

Normally, the seven could have left freely now. But since they would be teammates in the future, they still needed to get to know one another.

Yet among the seven, the only outsider was...

"Ning Tian, Rank 34. Martial Soul: Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda. Auxiliary-system Tool Soul Elder." Ning Tian introduced herself, while nervously watching the six people before her.

The intelligence said that Jiang Bai, Yuhao, and the other three had a close relationship with Senior Bei Bei. If they disliked her, life in the team would be difficult for her in the future.

"There's no need to be nervous."

Bei Bei, who looked the most like a parent among them, spoke gently. Although he didn't know why Jiang Bai had made a deal with Ning Tian, since Jiang Bai was willing, they had nothing to say about it.

"Yeah. We'll be teammates from now on, Ning Tian. Please take care of us," Huo Yuhao said.

"Mm, thank you, everyone."

Seeing that no one rejected her, Ning Tian relaxed. It seemed there wouldn't be any problems.

Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan were fine with it, and so was Wang Dong. That only left one person.

Xiao Xiao: "..."

At the entrance to the dormitory building.

Mu En was still lying in that rattan chair, his eyes half-closed as if he were dozing. As Jiang Bai passed by him, the old man's slow voice drifted over.

"What did the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect give you? You gave up a place in the top seven?"

Mu En opened his eyes into slits, his gaze lingering on Jiang Bai for a moment. He had just received word that Jiang Bai seemed to have made some sort of deal with Ning Tian and helped her secure a top-seven position in the Selection Tournament.

"Some good things."

Jiang Bai replied. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might not rival Shrek in overall value, but it still possessed more rare items than Shrek in certain respects.

After all, the owners of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul had a talent for finding overlooked treasures.

"Won't you regret it? The reward might be quite generous."

Mu En spoke, since no one yet knew what the reward was.

"It doesn't matter."

Mu En didn't reply. He sensed that Jiang Bai had some purpose, but he couldn't guess what it was.

"What a strange kid."

A day passed, but Huo Yuhao and the other two hadn't returned. They had probably gone to hold a gathering for the seven of them.

That night, Ning Tian prepared the things Jiang Bai needed inside a storage Soul Tool. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she left.

"Things with life force really are rare."

Holding a crystal flower that contained the power of life, Jiang Bai swallowed it in one bite.

That pure life force was directly absorbed by Jiang Bai and fused into a crown within his body.

Seven Boss Evolutions should be safe enough, right?

Jiang Bai had fed all the treasures he collected to the crown for the sake of completing the Boss Evolution.

After the Boss Evolution, Jiang Bai could reach the combat strength of a Soul Saint. An Ultimate Ice Soul Saint was something even ordinary Titled Douluo couldn't withstand.

There was also the life essence Mu En had promised him. Bei Bei had already stabilized his bloodline awakening. Once he reached Soul Saint and awakened his Martial Soul Avatar, he could truly become a Bright Sacred Dragon.

After that, he should be able to obtain enough energy for two more Boss Evolutions.

Once he had sufficient strength in the future, he could go claim that Golden Tortoiseshell. As for the Life Blade, it was better left for Yuhao to awaken Electrolux.

But why was Yuhao using Spiritual Detection to come over here?

Jiang Bai raised his head and looked toward a spot ahead. Huo Yuhao's spiritual fluctuations were coming from there.

"Eek, eek, eek!"

Xue Ying in his arms seemed to have discovered something and waved her ears toward the front.

Buzz—

With a humming sound, an enormous black shadow flew over from the distance.

A sneak attack?

Jiang Bai raised a hand to block the black cauldron's strike, deflecting its force with minimal effort. His fingers tightly gripped the cauldron's rim.

"Xiao Xiao, I don't think I've offended you, have I?"

He released the black cauldron, which transformed into a dark streak of light and flew away.

"Because you never tell me anything."

Xiao Xiao approached from nearby with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, a trace of anger on her face.

It was one thing when he had secretly left last time—that had been Huo Yuhao's issue. But this time, he had secretly told Huo Yuhao again. That was too much.

Wasn't she his friend too?

"This was a last-minute decision. I hadn't figured it out at first either."

Jiang Bai answered. Mainly, he felt there was no need to tell Xiao Xiao. The plan chiefly depended on Huo Yuhao anyway.

"Did she force you?"

Xiao Xiao asked. Her only concern now was whether Ning Tian had used the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's influence to pressure Jiang Bai.

"No. It's really nothing. She proposed the deal, and I agreed." Jiang Bai explained.

"That's good." Xiao Xiao studied Jiang Bai and saw that nothing seemed wrong with him.

The group returned to the dormitory building.

Xiao Xiao glanced into the distance. Mu En was still there.

"Teacher."

Xiao Xiao ran over to Mu En and called out, though her expression became somewhat hesitant.

Seemingly seeing through Xiao Xiao's thoughts, Mu En said, "Everyone has their own ideas."

"But..."

Although Mu En was right, Xiao Xiao still wanted to bring Jiang Bai along. At the very least, she wanted to try.

"Go ask him tomorrow whether he's willing. If he is, this old bag of bones will help you ask whether one more person can be added."

As if recalling something, Mu En said this. If Jiang Bai truly wanted to go, it seemed possible. One more or one less wouldn't matter anyway, and he found Jiang Bai rather agreeable.

"Thank you, Teacher."

Hearing that Mu En was willing to help, Xiao Xiao hurriedly thanked him. After asking a few cultivation questions, she left.

"Still not coming out? This old man is going back to sleep."

Mu En looked toward the dark tree shade ahead, and Jiang Bai walked out from there.

"I really didn't expect Xiao Xiao would come to you, old man."

Jiang Bai truly hadn't expected that Xiao Xiao would risk breaking the secrecy requirement just to try to pull him in.

"Do you know where they're going?" Mu En asked.

"Seven people. Where else could they be going besides the Soul Master Tournament?" Jiang Bai said indifferently. In his view, selecting this number of people at this time made the purpose far too obvious.

Others might not necessarily figure it out, though. The way information spread across the Douluo Continent was simply too limited.

"So, are you going?"

Mu En wasn't surprised that Jiang Bai had guessed it. Jiang Bai was quite smart, after all.

"I don't have the time."

Jiang Bai shook his head. He didn't have that kind of time. He would go later, but not together with the other seven.

"Mm."

"Old man, I want to take leave. Help me out?"

"Go find your teacher."

Hearing that Jiang Bai wanted him to help request leave, Mu En answered with a smile.

If he wanted to take leave, he should go find his teacher. Why come to an old man like him? This old man wasn't of much use anyway.