After lunch, Jiang Yu and the others headed to the Soul Fighting Zone again.
Since the students all had classes to attend, only teachers watched the drawing of lots that day. But the person standing in the place of honor on the raised platform was no longer Du Weilun. He had been replaced by Yan Shaozhe, dressed in white and carrying himself with refined elegance.
Even Xuan Zi, who had occasionally appeared in a corner of the stands over the past few days, eating chicken and drinking wine, was nowhere to be seen. No one knew whether he had returned to Sea God Island or was hiding somewhere to watch the show.
During the draw, Yan Shaozhe gave Jiang Yu a somewhat peculiar look.
There was no other reason: he had heard about the incident in the cafeteria at noon. Jiang Yu had knocked Zhu Lu of the Star Luo Zhu Family unconscious with a single slap. Although treatment from a Healing-Type Soul Master had quickly brought her around afterward, her right cheek was still badly swollen, with a clear imprint of five fingers across it.
As for whether Jiang Yu and the others were too good at stirring up trouble...
Yan Shaozhe did not care.
After all, Shrek Academy's motto was that those who did not dare stir up trouble were mediocrities.
Geniuses ought to have a genius's pride and their own unconventional way of doing things. Could someone who cowered and nodded along really count as a genius?
Once the results were out, Jiang Yu smiled and waved the number-one lot in his hand at Ning Tian and Wu Feng nearby.
That was right. In the first semifinal, his team would face Dai Huabin's team.
Meanwhile, Ning Tian's trio had drawn Zhou Sichen's team from Freshman Class Ten. That team consisted of three Soul Grandmasters and was reasonably strong, but there was still an enormous gap between them and Ning Tian's team.
It was safe to say that Ning Tian's trio already had their place in the finals secured.
Early the following morning, the semifinals began.
Quite a few people had gathered in the stands, most of them teachers. The most conspicuous were Yan Shaozhe in his white clothes and the tall, burly middle-aged man beside him.
As the referee announced the rules, Yan Shaozhe tilted his head slightly and asked with a smile:
"Old Qian, which side do you favor?"
Qian Duoduo rubbed his chin, his gaze leisurely sweeping over the arena, before saying:
"Judging purely by their lineup, Dai Huabin's side is undoubtedly more complete. But even I can't see through that boy from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"When it comes to the actual fight, I'd put my money on Jiang Yu."
Yan Shaozhe was somewhat surprised.
"Since when did your eye become so sharp, Old Qian? I thought you'd favor Dai Huabin's side at first glance."
Qian Duoduo rolled his eyes. His gaze swept over the three Spirit Rings beneath Jiang Yu-yellow, purple, and purple-and a note of wonder entered his voice.
"Old Yan, do you take me for a fool? Not only does this boy have a thousand-year second ring, but at his current cultivation speed, he's certain to become a Soul Ancestor before he turns eleven. That pace is even more frightening than Mu... than that senior who graduated with seven rings back then."
"And don't think I don't know that he stayed in the Sea God Pavilion for seven or eight days recently and even wheedled a premium Soul Bone out of the academy. Dai Huabin is certainly good, but there's bound to be a gap between him and a Little Monster like this."
Yan Shaozhe kept smiling, but he could not help feeling a little regretful.
He had originally hoped to take advantage of the difference in what they knew to con Qian Duoduo, only for Qian Duoduo to have wised up this time.
What a pity.
Beside Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo, however, Du Weilun and Fan Yu were nowhere near as calm after hearing those words.
Become a Soul Ancestor before eleven? Stay in the Sea God Pavilion for seven or eight days as an outer court disciple, and even wheedle a premium Soul Bone out of the academy?
Was he human?
He had to be a monster.
Remembering that he had previously given Jiang Yu a major demerit, Du Weilun's mouth twitched violently. He felt he would have to make amends promptly once the freshman assessment ended. Otherwise, if Jiang Yu happened to hold grudges, would he not have to spend every day worrying about retaliation from a genius whose talent bordered on monstrous?
Just thinking about living like that was unbearable.
While Du Weilun considered how to ease his relationship with Jiang Yu, the battle in the arena reached fever pitch as soon as it began.
The little twin girls, Tang Xingxing and Tang Yueyue, understood their role as support tools perfectly. After granting Jiang Yu the greatest boosts they could, they called for the referee and voluntarily left the arena, allowing Jiang Yu to fight without any concerns.
Wreathed in Light Flame, the crystalline yellow Light Dragon Blade turned a clear gold. Every thrust and slash left brilliant trails of flame in the air.
On Dai Huabin's team, Zhu Lu's Hell Spirit Cat was inherently countered by Light Flame. On top of that, yesterday's incident had filled her with resentment, leaving her intent on defeating Jiang Yu for revenge. This severely compromised her reason and judgment in combat. The moment the battle began, she could not wait to attack, only to fail to threaten Jiang Yu at all and instead receive a cut across her abdomen from the Light Dragon Dagger.
Had she not promptly taken a pill and summoned her Soul Power to suppress it, the light purification power seeping into her body alone would have made her wish for death within moments.
Cui Yajie's Nine-Tailed Fox lay somewhere between the spiritual system and the Power Attack System. In terms of spiritual control, her spiritual power fell far short of Jiang Yu's. Her First Soul Skill, Allure, also required her to look directly into her opponent's eyes to take effect, making it utterly useless in this battle.
As for frontal attacks, her speed was nowhere near Jiang Yu's, naturally leaving her Second Soul Skill, Fox Tail Needles, with no opportunity to be of use either.
Dai Huabin, the only one of the three capable of posing a threat to Jiang Yu, grew more alarmed the longer they fought.
His White Tiger Martial Soul was undoubtedly a top-tier beast martial soul, and one that excelled at close-quarters combat. Its strength was even slightly greater than that of the red dragon.
He could not name Jiang Yu's Martial Soul, but it was definitely a dagger-type tool martial soul. As the saying went, an extra inch of length meant an extra inch of strength. Daggers were far shorter than sabers, spears, swords, and halberds, so very few Soul Masters with such Martial Souls pursued the Power Attack System. Most followed the agility-attack assassin route instead.
He had already witnessed Jiang Yu's astonishing speed yesterday, but today he discovered that speed was far from the only astonishing thing about him.
What kind of dagger-wielding Soul Master had a stronger physique than him, a Soul Elder with a powerful beast martial soul and a soul power level of thirty-three?
Was this some kind of joke?
What Dai Huabin found hardest to accept was that even in a three-on-one fight, Jiang Yu's expression carried a hint of effortless ease from beginning to end.
Dai Huabin had been born and raised in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, where the capable rose to the top. That environment had shaped his proud, arrogant personality. He had always believed he was no weaker than anyone else, nor did he believe anyone could stand above him.
Before he met Jiang Yu, his life had indeed borne that out.
But in today's battle, he truly had nowhere to put that conviction to use.
Against Jiang Yu, Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie were less useful than a banana peel. Without teammates to restrain Jiang Yu or slow his movements, Dai Huabin could not withstand his flexible, ever-changing, and viciously ruthless fighting style.
After Jiang Yu's Second Soul Skill, Light Dragon Chain Slash, forced him back, Dai Huabin realized that if this drawn-out struggle continued, even if their Soul Power did not run dry, Jiang Yu would still run them to death.
He turned his head and shouted at Zhu Lu:
"Zhu Lu, Martial Soul Fusion!"
At his words, Zhu Lu stopped worrying about the wound in her abdomen, which had begun gushing blood again from her overly forceful movements. Activating Hell Stab, she spread her arms and lunged straight toward Dai Huabin, who was charging toward her as well.
Intense white and black light burst from their bodies, and a deafening tiger's roar erupted from Dai Huabin's mouth. His gaze remained icy, but Zhu Lu's eyes as she merged with him were as tender as water.
At that moment, the auras of the White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat fused completely.
It was a wondrous sensation, as though the White Tiger had devoured the Hell Spirit Cat. Powerful Soul Power fluctuations erupted from their fused body like a gushing well. Amid the spreading golden halo, the black and white light merged completely into one, giving a profound sense of sublimation.
In the stands, the expressions of Yan Shaozhe and the others abruptly changed.
It had finally arrived: the Martial Soul Fusion Skill passed down for ten thousand years by the White Tiger Duke's Mansion and the Star Luo Zhu Family.
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