"Resign from Shrek Academy?"
Zhou Yi's pupils contracted.
She had never imagined Mu Jin would raise the stakes so high.
Both of them had graduated from Shrek Academy's outer court, then passed one grueling assessment after another before finally securing teaching posts at the academy. Naturally, they knew just how precious this prestigious, respectable job was.
After all, the end of the universe was a secure institutional job, and on the continent today, what organization's positions could possibly carry more weight than those at Shrek Academy?
Seeing Zhou Yi hesitate, Mu Jin sneered:
"Don't tell me you're scared. Or do you have no confidence at all in your seeded team?"
Before Zhou Yi could answer, a man's voice rang out first:
"Mu Jin, there's a limit to how much you can fool around. Is this something you can just casually throw out?"
The next instant, a tall, broad-shouldered middle-aged man suddenly appeared beside Zhou Yi. His steady, weighty gaze carried tremendous authority; a simple look was enough to make Mu Jin involuntarily retreat a step.
Recovering his composure, Mu Jin said gravely:
"Fan Yu, this is a matter for our Martial Soul Department. Your Soul Tool Department has no right to interfere."
"Do you know what you're saying?"
Fan Yu knitted his brows, finding this rather hard to adjust to.
Mu Jin had always been timid in front of him before. Since when had he become this defiant?
Mu Jin merely gave a cold laugh before continuing:
"I know what I'm saying, and I know what I'm doing. Don't think I don't know who suppressed the complaints from the families of the students Zhou Yi expelled. Fan Yu, sooner or later, you'll face retribution for this."
Fan Yu's expression darkened abruptly. He was about to reprimand him when Zhou Yi cut him off.
"Mu Jin, stop putting on that hypocritical show of righteousness. Students are supposed to obey their teachers unconditionally. If they can't even do what they're supposed to, then they deserve to be expelled by me."
"As for your wager, I accept. Whoever loses gets the hell out of the academy."
As she spoke, Zhou Yi turned to Fan Yu.
"Fan Yu, you be our witness."
Fan Yu listened with deeply furrowed brows, an inexplicable trace of worry creeping into his heart.
But the wager had already been struck. He sighed inwardly and could only nod helplessly.
With that settled, Zhou Yi and Mu Jin both snorted coldly, their gazes fixed unwaveringly on Zone Eight.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere within Zone Eight was far more tense, with swords drawn and bows bent, than it was in the stands.
The instant Ning Tian and Wu Feng saw Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, both their expressions changed. Their eyes immediately filled with delight and icy coldness, two seemingly opposite emotions.
On the other side, once Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong saw their opponents for this match, both their expressions froze.
Wang Dong, in particular, looked as though she had accidentally eaten shit.
The scene of her boldly mouthing off at Jiang Yu's trio without bothering to learn the facts was still fresh in her mind. When she later learned the truth, she had been utterly dumbfounded. After all, who could have known Huo Yuhao had done something like that to save both their lives?
But the wood had already been made into a boat. She couldn't blame Huo Yuhao for it, yet she couldn't swallow her pride and apologize to Jiang Yu's trio either.
Who would have thought they would encounter Ning Tian and Wu Feng in the crucial Round of 32? Remembering the formidable strength their opponents had displayed, which was no weaker than Bei Bei's, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong suddenly felt the pressure of advancing weigh on them like a mountain. One careless move, and their opponents might even use the match to "settle private grudges under an official pretext."
Was this Heaven's punishment for them?
Meanwhile, once Ning Tian and Wu Feng recovered, the delight in their eyes gradually gave way entirely to icy coldness.
Ning Tian exchanged a look with Wu Feng, then spoke first:
"Ning Tian, New Student Class Nine. Level thirty-four Support System Tool Soul Elder."
Level thirty-four? Support System?
The pupils of Huo Yuhao and his two teammates sharply contracted.
Support System Soul Masters had always cultivated more slowly than Battle Soul Masters. This was an acknowledged fact in the Soul Master World.
For Ning Tian to possess level thirty-four soul power as a Support System Soul Master while still no older than twelve, her aptitude had already surpassed what the word genius could describe.
With a cold, proud expression, Wu Feng followed by announcing another number that sent a shudder through all three of them.
"Wu Feng, New Student Class Nine. Level thirty-two Power Attack Battle Soul Elder."
Two Soul Elders, one support and one power attacker?
Now, not only were Huo Yuhao and his teammates rooted to the spot in shock, even Zhou Yi and the others in the stands found it hard to believe.
Since when had freshman Soul Elders become so cheap?
Even Nanmen Yun'er's level twenty-four soul power, announced last, was quite impressive among the freshmen. After all, aside from the level-seventeen Huo Yuhao, his team consisted of Xiao Xiao with level twenty-two soul power and Wang Dong, whose level twenty-four soul power was the highest.
Judging solely by soul power levels, number of soul skills, and their various other qualities, Ning Tian's team undoubtedly crushed Huo Yuhao's team across the board.
As the referee announced the start of the match, Huo Yuhao and his teammates felt the terrifying aura of soul power and undisguised killing intent wash over them. Their hearts tightened, and they swiftly entered a combat-ready state.
But just as Huo Yuhao released his spirit ring and prepared to use Spiritual Detection Sharing as usual, a flash of silver suddenly crossed Ning Tian's eyes.
The next instant, Huo Yuhao discovered to his astonishment that the Spiritual Detection Sharing he had just established had been disrupted by a powerful force, rendering it useless.
In an instant, all three of them realized things had gone terribly wrong.
Spiritual Detection Sharing had always been their weapon against their previous opponents, allowing them to accurately predict enemy movements and even discern the flow of soul power within their opponents' bodies.
It was precisely because of this miraculous support skill, practically a real-time 3D battlefield map, that their battles had always gone so smoothly.
But without Spiritual Detection Sharing, they truly would have to rely on themselves to fight.
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao immediately turned to look at the grim-faced Huo Yuhao.
Under their gazes, Huo Yuhao drove his spiritual power with all his might. Yet the space around them seemed to have been cut off from the boundless world by an invisible force. The moment he released his spiritual power, it vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea.
On the other side, noticing their reactions, Ning Tian wore an expression that said she had expected exactly this.
She hesitated no longer. As she recited an incantation, seven-colored light flashed, and a radiant Glazed Tile Pagoda appeared in her right palm.
Yellow and purple light flickered alternately over the seven-colored pagoda. Six streaks of light shot out, entering Nanmen Yun'er and Wu Feng, who had long since been rubbing her fists in anticipation.
"Go, Wu Feng, Yun'er. If I'm not mistaken, Huo Yuhao shouldn't be able to use his ability again for a while."
At Ning Tian's command, Wu Feng, who could hardly wait to tear Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to pieces, let out an angry roar. Throwing all caution aside, she immediately lit up her first two hundred-year soul rings.
Dragon's Fire and Dragon's Wrath, two soul skills that greatly enhanced her own abilities, erupted. Combined with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's forty-percent boosts to three attributes, Wu Feng's aura instantly soared to a level that made even the referee cast her a sidelong glance.
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