After receiving Ning Rongrong's support, Zhu Zhuqing charged straight out.
Pale green wind energy enveloped her, making her astonishingly fast.
The Hell White Tiger formed by Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun swiped a paw at her, but she dodged it with ease.
Then Zhu Zhuqing leaped above the Hell White Tiger's head and slashed down viciously with Gale Claw.
The blow made even the Hell White Tiger cry out in pain.
Of course, it also thoroughly enraged the Hell White Tiger. Its eyes blazed as it fixed its gaze on Zhu Zhuqing, let out another roar, and lunged at her.
But the gap in their speed was too great. Zhu Zhuqing easily dodged every one of the Hell White Tiger's attacks.
The other Botanical Academy members were not standing idle either. Besides Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun, Star Luo Royal Academy still had five other members.
Those five were out of luck. The Botanical Academy members gave them a thorough beating and tossed them off the platform.
When the Hell White Tiger was the only one left on the platform from Star Luo Royal Academy, Ning Rongrong said, "Girls, let's give Zhu Zhuqing a hand."
"Right! Everyone, let's tie this big tiger up nice and tight."
Naturally, everyone from Botanical Academy had a plant Martial Soul, and plant Martial Souls mostly relied on vines to attack.
Just as the Hell White Tiger was about to pounce on Zhu Zhuqing again, something suddenly tugged at its hind legs, making it stumble.
Before the Hell White Tiger could tear through the vines around its hind legs, more appeared and bound all four of its limbs tightly.
The Hell White Tiger struggled desperately. Although it snapped a vine or two, still more appeared, binding its torso as well.
"Fourth Spirit Ability: Cross Wind-Rifting Claw!"
Zhu Zhuqing unleashed her Fourth Spirit Ability straight at the Hell Spirit Cat's head.
The cross-shaped slash, wrapped in raging winds, overwhelmed Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun outright, breaking their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
"Zhu Zhuqing, you..."
Thud! Without giving Dai Weisi a chance to spout any nonsense, Zhu Zhuqing kicked him in the stomach, instantly doubling him over.
"Dai Weisi, you still want to drag me back? How laughable. You'd need to be capable of it first. You should be glad we're at the Soul Master Tournament. Otherwise, you might end up missing a few parts."
Zhu Zhuyun looked shocked as well. She could hardly believe those words had come from her own younger sister.
Then Zhu Zhuqing delivered another kick, sending Dai Weisi straight off the platform.
"Zhu Zhuqing, I..."
Zhu Zhuyun wanted to say something more, but Zhu Zhuqing showed her elder sister no consideration either.
She kicked her off the platform too, and it was no light kick. Just like Dai Weisi, Zhu Zhuyun doubled over, clutching her stomach and groaning.
"Zhu Zhuqing, you're ruthless. You didn't even go easy on your own sister."
"Hmph. She never went easy on me when she bullied me."
Perhaps Zhu Zhuyun really did have her reasons, but the bullying Zhu Zhuqing had suffered at her sister's hands over the years was no less real.
Naturally, she intended to pay her back. For now, she was merely collecting a little interest.
With every member of Star Luo Royal Academy eliminated, the referee immediately declared Botanical Academy the winner, advancing them to the next round.
The next round would narrow the field from six teams to three. As soon as the results of the current round were in, the draw for the matchups began.
The final pairings granted Huo Wu her wish: New Gale Academy drew Botanical Academy.
After learning the result of the draw, I even made a special trip over to Botanical Academy.
"Will you be competing in the next match?"
Hearing Huo Wu's question, Lan Yu shook his head. "No. I'll only compete in the final."
"Hmph. Aren't you afraid something unexpected might happen and they'll lose?"
"That's impossible. Even with Blazing Flame Academy and Godwind Academy joining forces, you're no threat to them."
"Then... do you have any more Green Mushrooms? I can pay for them."
"Haha, so that's what you really came for?"
Huo Wu blushed but did not deny it.
"No problem. Just say, 'Praise the Sage Lord of Fungi, praise Lord Bifulong,' and you'll get what you want."
"Really? All right, then. Praise the Sage Lord of Fungi, praise Lord Bifulong."
"The Sage Lord rewards every believer."
Lan Yu spread his hands, looking every bit the charlatan.
A ring of Green Mushrooms promptly sprouted at Huo Wu's feet.
"Huh? They really grew! How did you do that? I didn't see you use your Martial Soul or any Soul Skills!"
"I told you, this is a blessing from the Sage Lord of Fungi. Please thank the Sage Lord once more."
"Oh. Thank you for your blessing, Sage Lord."
With that, Huo Wu ran off with an armful of Green Mushrooms.
Bifulong popped out just then. "Not bad. A young lady with taste."
"Thinking your mushrooms are delicious means she has taste?"
"Of course. Only people with no taste would think my mushrooms aren't delicious."
"Speaking of which, where have you been lately?"
As the Mycelium Network spread farther and farther, Bifulong enjoyed ever greater freedom. His consciousness could travel anywhere the Mycelium Network reached.
"Remember the place where you first went to school?"
"Notting College? What about it?"
"The Mycelium Network has been expanding rapidly on its own over there. A strange soul was drawn into it, so I went over to take a look and made her my believer while I was at it."
The more Lan Yu heard, the more something seemed off.
"Wait. Near Notting City, a strange soul that could be drawn into the Mycelium Network... could it be..."
Lan Yu found a secluded spot and used Fungification, summoning the strange soul Bifulong had mentioned from the Mycelium Network in the form of a Fungus Beast.
Sure enough, this time he summoned a humanoid Fungus Beast.
She was beautiful, dressed in a blue dress, with blue hair as well.
But she was now only half a person's height, and she had many mushroom features. The hat on her head, for instance, was a mushroom cap.
A closer look at her clothes revealed that they were actually woven from fungal threads.
"It really is her. Tang San's mother, Ah Yin. Bifulong, how did you make her your believer? Did you brainwash her by force?"
The half-height Ah Yin blinked her clear eyes at Lan Yu, utterly different from the beautiful, mature woman he remembered.
"Her soul was already incomplete when I found her. I even went out of my way to repair it.
"Since I helped repair her soul, she naturally became my believer."
"So that's it. Parts of her soul were missing, and so were her memories. No wonder her eyes are so innocent."
"Treat her well. One day, she'll become one of my most capable subordinates."
"Just let her stay in the Mycelium Network."
"No. She needs to study hard and work for me. There'll surely be plenty of occasions that require my presence in the future. How exhausting would that be!
"That's why having another stand-in to do the work is important."
Before you continue