Arena Battle

Brady rose to his feet, smoothed the wrinkles from his clothes, and said to the two teachers ahead of him:

"It seems this class can't continue. Everyone is more or less interested in those younger students who want to join our class. Besides, Vidal's promotion has stirred up quite a few thoughts...

"Since that's the case, let's all go to the training grounds. Let's take a look at my challenger, and at those three newcomers who want to advance straight to the third year as soon as they enroll."

The teacher in black shook his head helplessly and said to Yu Xinxue:

"Teacher Yu, this is hardly taking up a few minutes... You've taken up my entire class."

Yu Xinxue smiled, her eyes curving with amusement:

"Sorry, sorry, Teacher Tian. How about I give you two classes in return?"

That way, I can slack off openly... she thought.

"That won't be necessary. I happen to be quite interested as well." Tian Honghai, dressed in black, shook his head. "Then let's all go to the training grounds. This class will be changed to practical combat instruction."

The training grounds consisted of circular arenas over ten meters high and more than thirty meters in diameter. Their specifications matched those of the preliminary arenas for the Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academies.

In fact, Northland Academy's entire third year revolved around the Soul Master Tournament. Familiarizing themselves with similar venues ahead of time would allow the students to perform better in actual competition.

Amon sat on the edge of the arena, his legs dangling naturally, his eyes closed as though he were asleep.

Yan Jin and Lei Yin sat to either side of him, idly looking around.

Vidal stood behind them. Seeing a group approaching in the distance, he reminded them, "They're here."

Amon opened his eyes, lightly brushed the edge of his glasses with his right hand, and chuckled. "Quite a grand turnout."

Vidal clicked his tongue. "An entire class came."

Before they could approach, Amon braced one hand against the arena floor and jumped down.

Lei Yin copied him, using the same motion to leap down.

Yan Jin, meanwhile, kicked off the arena wall and spun two and a half times in the air before landing steadily.

As the crowd drew near, Brady and Vidal's gazes collided in midair, and the air seemed filled with the scent of gunpowder.

Both of them had their sights set on the Soul Master Tournament and were working to form their own teams.

There were quite a few noble students in the academy who wanted to build their own teams. Since the Soul Master Tournament was primarily based on team battles, a single team could not accommodate too many noble students with the same role, so competition between them was inevitable.

To win the academy's internal selection tournament, every team leader employed their own methods, offering resources or promising benefits to recruit talented students from less affluent families.

Because of this competitive system, captains at Northland Academy were often students with wealth and deep backgrounds.

Although Vidal had not previously advanced to the third year, he had been preparing for it. He and Brady had once clashed over recruiting a particularly gifted student.

Brady regarded Class One as his foundation. In his eyes, the students here were all potential future teammates, so he met Vidal, this intruder, with vigilance and hostility.

Their standoff drew everyone's attention, and the students seemed to have forgotten why they had come here in the first place.

"Now isn't the time. I'll wait for you. Two years from now, at the selection tournament, I'll crush you completely." Brady spoke in a condescending tone.

The Elite Tournament of Advanced Soul Master Academies would begin in three years, but Northland Academy's internal selection tournament would take place in two.

During the remaining year, the academy would concentrate all its resources on nurturing the teams that emerged victorious from the selection tournament.

"Though the situation has changed somewhat, since you've said that, how could I possibly avoid it? The one who loses will definitely be you." Vidal glanced at Amon and wore a confident smile.

Brady was indeed powerful. Vidal did not have much chance of winning against him now, but Brady was not yet beyond challenge.

But Amon had defeated him effortlessly in their earlier battle. The gap in their strength was enough to drive one to despair.

Amon quietly watched the scene and murmured, "Interesting."

Yu Xinxue felt that things had drifted a little off topic. She gave a light cough and said:

"Alright, you can talk among yourselves later if you have something to discuss. Let's begin the assessment now... Who's first?"

Niu Shaopeng sprang onto the arena and looked down at Amon and the others. "Any one of you."

His gaze settled on Amon. Clearly, this was the opponent he wanted. He did not want to fight the other two little kids.

Winning would be expected. Losing would be humiliating.

A flash of lightning flickered, and Lei Yin appeared several steps away from him. "I'll do it."

Niu Shaopeng's expression tightened slightly. Judging by the speed Lei Yin had displayed when taking the arena, he knew this was no simple opponent.

Yu Xinxue leaped onto a stone pillar taller than the arena on the other side. That was the referee's position.

The others climbed onto neighboring arenas. The spectator stands were too far away to watch conveniently, and everyone present was a Soul Master anyway, so there was no need to worry about accidental injuries.

"Lei Yin, go for it! Smash him!" Yan Jin shouted excitedly.

"Niu Shaopeng, level thirty-two Defense-System Battle Soul Elder." Niu Shaopeng announced his name, level, and combat specialization.

"Lei Yin, level twenty-three Agility-Attack-System Battle Soul Master." Lei Yin returned the courtesy.

When he had first left Frostleaf City, he had been level twenty-two. He had not slacked off during this period either, and his Soul Power had risen by one level.

"Agility-attack against defense? How long is this going to take?" A casually dressed student in black and white yawned, sounding utterly uninterested.

Then he shouted at the two of them:

"Hurry it up. I want to watch the little girls beat each other up. I want to see them pulling hair and tearing clothes. Stop dragging your feet."

"Hm?" Two unfriendly gazes landed on him at once.

Yan Jin waved a fist at him.

Bing Lan said, "Bateman, after the assessment, you and I will have a match."

The carefree Bateman whistled. "Want to teach me a lesson? You're still not good enough."

Bing Lan fell silent for a moment, then said, "Then fight me next month. I'll be level thirty."

Bateman froze, then followed his heart and said:

"You're about to advance to Soul Elder? Ahahaha, I was just joking. Don't take it to heart. Fighting and all that, how awful... Classmates should care for one another."

On the arena, Niu Shaopeng had already summoned his Martial Soul: the Green-Veined Water Buffalo, a thick-skinned Soul Beast said to possess a trace of Sky Azure Bull Python bloodline.

After Martial Soul Possession, a pair of horns grew from his head, his face distorted somewhat, and his body became even more burly.

Moo...

He snorted two streams of hot air from his nostrils, his eyes shining brightly.

On the other side, thunder exploded and electric light coiled through the air. Lei Yin was shrouded in silver-white lightning.

With a wave of his hand, a bolt of lightning shot at Niu Shaopeng with blinding speed.

The latter did not dare let his guard down. At the same moment Lei Yin waved his hand, he had already activated his First Soul Skill.

Niu Shaopeng's skin became as wrinkled as tree bark, covered in a hazy green glow.