A sudden sense of malice settled over Xiang Jun, as though something unclean had fixed its gaze on him.
In the end, they settled on the shore of Sea God Lake. It was spacious enough, and no outsiders would disturb them there.
“Xiang Jun, if you don't mind, why not be our sparring partner? You're taking the Freshman Assessment alone anyway, so it won't make a difference.”
Tang Wutong's words caught Xiang Jun off guard. He turned to look at her and met her mischievous smile.
What's that supposed to mean? You want to elbow me?
You've gotten pretty bold, haven't you!
At that thought, Xiang Jun put on a "kind and friendly" smile. "Sure. I've got nothing better to do."
You little butterfly, you've been getting full of yourself lately. Just watch me put you in your place!
Xiang Jun's hands itched. He wanted a fight.
"But first, no Seagod's Trident or Golden Thirteen Halberds," Tang Wutong added hurriedly, as though she had just remembered them.
Xiang Jun nodded. Before Poseidon reclaimed Seagod's Trident, Xiang Jun had carved his own path through the ocean one elbow strike at a time!
Fight Big Brother Xiang Jun?
Huo Yuxi looked uneasy. She wanted no part of it.
Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, was eager to try. Besides being a hopeless admirer of good looks, she was fiercely competitive.
"All right, let's go!"
An unusual flush rose to Tang Wutong's cheeks. This might be an ordinary sparring match, but to her it mattered enormously. It might even decide which of them would be on top someday...
Xiang Jun eyed the three-person team before him, his expression turning strange.
Wasn't this Huo Yuhao's team from the original story?
Except Wang Dong had become the original, unaltered Tang Wutong, and even the child of destiny had become a daughter of destiny...
Only Xiao Xiao was the same as ever... a lovestruck fool.
"Martial Souls, out!"
At Tang Wutong's command, Xiang Jun stayed where he was. He looked up at the cloudless sky, then slowly closed his eyes.
What was he doing?
Xiao Xiao frowned. Xiang Jun seemed wide open, yet she had the feeling that if she attacked first, she would be flattened on the spot...
With no other choice, she looked to Tang Wutong.
"What are you looking at me for? Elbow him!"
Tang Wutong moved first. Her butterfly wings beat behind her as she swept toward Xiang Jun.
But just as she was about to reach him, she noticed a faint ripple of Soul Power around his hands.
Wait. Were those... a pair of gauntlets?!
Tang Wutong's eye twitched. A bad feeling rose in her heart.
Xiang Jun prayed to heaven, and the Way of Confucius answered him.
Armor, combine!
A pair of enormous gauntlets appeared around Xiang Jun's hands, each bearing a huge character for "Virtue."
"Little butterfly, this next blow is going to be wild!" Xiang Jun grinned mercilessly and vanished from where he stood.
Tang Wutong's pupils shrank. By the time she came to her senses, it was too late.
A massive gauntlet was hurtling straight toward her face.
Oh no!
With his Qi-Lu class change, Xiang Jun fought as though the gods were helping him. His elbows whipped through the air, and now and then he threw in a savage punch laden with Virtue!
Under his furious barrage of seventy or eighty elbow strikes a second, Tang Wutong and the others soon fell to defeat. They begged for mercy, crying that he was too fast for them to take...
"No more, no more! I surrender! If we keep going, I'm really going to break..."
Tang Wutong lay limp on the grass, staring at the cloudless blue sky as she began to question her existence.
Who am I?
Where am I?
Compared with Tang Wutong, Huo Yuxi and Xiao Xiao were in much better shape. They were both slender and delicate; if Xiang Jun had truly gone all out, they might have died on the spot.
Even so, the two sat off to one side, panting hard.
"I'm done, I'm done! Class monitor, you're way too strong!" Xiao Xiao still sounded shaken. She had seen Xiang Jun send her Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron flying several meters with a single elbow strike...
Huo Yuxi said nothing. She sat quietly to one side, an unusual flush still on her cheeks.
"Your Highness, weren't you feeling brave a moment ago? Giving up already?" Xiang Jun looked down at Tang Wutong, his voice full of teasing.
"I... Right! I just ate too much at lunch, so I'm not in top form. I'm not usually like this!" Tang Wutong protested, her face burning.
Xiang Jun blinked. He felt as though he had heard that line somewhere before.
"Hey, hurry up and carry this princess back to the Dormitory to rest! Honestly, you don't know the first thing about treating a lady gently." Tang Wutong sounded faintly reproachful. Then, to everyone's surprise, she slowly held out her fair arm.
Carry you back to the Dormitory?
How could I let that happen!
Xiao Xiao grew anxious. Xiang Jun and Tang Wutong had always been close, but they were still only good friends. If they actually got together, Xiao Xiao would have no chance at all!
At that thought, Xiao Xiao blinked her large eyes and started to rise, intending to help Tang Wutong up before Xiang Jun could.
But before she could move, Tang Wutong seemed to sense her intentions and fixed her with a deadly glare.
Xiao Xiao: ...
Time passed like a white colt flashing through a gap. Half a month went by in the blink of an eye.
With Xiang Jun as their sparring partner, Tang Wutong and the others grew more coordinated over those two weeks. After days of battles that were painful yet exhilarating, the Freshman Assessment was upon them.
There were 311 freshman teams in the Freshman Assessment. The first stage, a round-robin, lasted three days. That meant each team had to fight ten full matches in three days—no small challenge.
Only the top 150 teams would be allowed to continue their studies at Shrek Academy. All the rest would be eliminated.
And only the top 64 teams would advance to the elimination rounds.
Several figures had already gathered in the highest spectator stands. Among them was Yan Shaozhe, head of the Martial Soul Department.
Yan Shaozhe looked down at the bustling Soul Fighting Area and nodded in satisfaction.
That scene of vigorous life, of everything surging forward, was right before his eyes!
"Yan Shaozhe, how is your investigation going? Have you found anything useful?" Cai Mei'er, deputy head of the Martial Soul Department, asked softly beside him.
The smile on Yan Shaozhe's face froze. His gaze drifted to the blue figure below, who was talking with Tang Wutong.
"Still the same." Yan Shaozhe sighed, his face full of worry.
Cai Mei'er was stunned. For a peerless talent like Xiang Jun, there should have been at least some useful information to find on the continent. Instead, the search had yielded nothing.
Before you continue