The next morning, when Qi Xuan returned banknotes worth four thousand Gold Soul Coins to Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao right on time, both girls were stunned.
"You didn't actually rob the Great Soul Arena, did you?" Wang Dong asked in disbelief.
Qi Xuan grimaced. "Relax, this money's perfectly clean. I got half my life beaten out of me earning it."
That was a lie.
In last night's fight, Qi Xuan had almost completely dominated Shi Meng, but there was still a thirteen-level gap between their soul power levels.
Qi Xuan had looked as leisurely as someone strolling through a courtyard as he relentlessly pressed his attack, but in reality, the fight had been fraught with danger.
A defensive Soul Master like Shi Meng excelled at defending and counterattacking. The instant Qi Xuan failed to chain his attacks together and left an opening, Shi Meng would have his chance to strike back.
Unfortunately, that chance never came, even by the time he lost.
A gulf in talent was not something levels alone could bridge.
At least, not yet.
The first match of the freshman assessment.
"Team Qi Xuan, Area One." The teacher responsible for the freshman assessment began announcing the matchups.
Qi Xuan, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao stepped forward.
After three months of grueling cultivation, Huo Yuhao had finally pushed his level up to eighteen. To his past self, that pace would have been unimaginable.
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had been frightened by Huo Yuhao's relentless drive to outwork everyone. They had buckled down and cultivated diligently for a while too, each gaining a level.
As for Qi Xuan... he had been stuck at level thirty for quite some time. With his monstrous talent, even breathing counted as cultivation; he simply had not gone to obtain his third Soul Ring yet.
When they formed their team, the other three unanimously elected Qi Xuan captain-he did have the highest level, after all.
Besides, Qi Xuan's Soul Skills and Soul Rings were far too conspicuous to hide, so their basic strategy this time was exceedingly simple-
Let Qi Xuan wreck the opposing team single-handedly while keeping Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao hidden as secret weapons.
The four opponents wore pained expressions, as though confronting a formidable enemy.
After all, only four freshmen in the entire intake had reached soul power level thirty. How had they managed to run into one of them?
One ring, one ring, two rings, two rings.
Wang Dong folded her arms and watched from behind. "If you can take them down within ten seconds, I'll treat everyone to a feast tonight."
Qi Xuan's eyes lit up. "You'd better keep your word. No backing out."
"Begin!"
At the referee teacher's command, the assessment officially began.
The four opponents immediately unleashed their Martial Souls and attacked.
"Ten." Wang Dong began counting down. Purple light blazed in Huo Yuhao's eyes as Spiritual Detection Sharing connected to Qi Xuan's mind, instantly laying bare all four opponents' movements and the circulation of their soul power.
"Nine." Lightning wreathed Qi Xuan's body as his second Soul Skill, Three Thousand Thunderclaps, stood poised to launch.
"Eight." Almost instantaneously, Qi Xuan appeared beside the foremost opposing Soul Master, forcibly halting his charge. Crimson Palace Thunder roared in his palm, and a single blow sent the boy flying.
"Seven." The other Power Attack System Soul Master charging alongside his teammate immediately activated both his Soul Skills, hoping to inflict some damage while Qi Xuan was occupied.
"Six." Qi Xuan did not even turn his head. Driving the motion from his waist, he spun a full 180 degrees, his right foot carrying the momentum into a side kick that sent the boy reeling before he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Five." Another opponent was an agility-type Soul Master. Though he had only one ring, he was extremely fast, and had already circled around Qi Xuan to rush the three behind him.
Unfortunately, there was nowhere to hide within Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection.
"Four." A flash of golden light crossed Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes. Soul Impact!
"Three." The agility-type Soul Master felt as though a hammer had smashed into his brain. His legs went weak, and his movement stalled.
"Two." A streak of lightning shot from Qi Xuan's fingertip straight toward the boy's back. Left dazed and disoriented by Huo Yuhao, he naturally had no strength to dodge Qi Xuan's attack and was knocked out of the fight.
"One." The remaining support-type Soul Master, a young girl, nearly burst into tears when she saw Qi Xuan bearing down on her. "I... I surrender!"
Qi Xuan's fist stopped precisely in front of her face.
"Zero." The instant Wang Dong finished counting down, Qi Xuan used Three Thousand Thunderclaps to return to his team's formation.
"Not a second off. What do you say?"
Wang Dong applauded. "Brilliant, but you nearly scared that poor girl into tears. Not a shred of gentlemanly grace."
Qi Xuan rolled his eyes. Weren't you the one who demanded ten seconds? Why are you playing the nice person now?
Although Huo Yuhao had been supporting Qi Xuan throughout, to everyone else, Qi Xuan had simply fought four opponents alone.
He had wiped out the opposing team within ten seconds.
Not only the surrounding freshmen, but even the teachers watching were dumbstruck.
Shrek Academy's freshmen were no ordinary students, yet they had not lasted ten seconds against Qi Xuan. Just where had this Little Monster come from?
The schedule called for one match every half day, over a total of four days.
In theory, that meant they still had an afternoon match, but their afternoon opponents announced their surrender as soon as they stepped up.
They had no obligation to face an enemy they could not possibly defeat. It was a round-robin tournament anyway; better to concede and get on to the next match.
If they got injured, who would make up for the nutrition they lost?
Xiao Xiao looked thoughtful. It seemed she could coast into the knockout rounds without lifting a finger.
In the matches that followed, most teams surrendered the moment they saw them, afraid that a second's hesitation would leave Qi Xuan flying straight into their faces.
Only in the final round-robin match did a team decide to try wearing Qi Xuan down. Two of its members had defensive Martial Souls, while the other two provided support and healing, and all four had two rings.
Naturally, the answer was no.
Once again, it was a single, straightforward punch from the front.
With one punch, Qi Xuan broke through their painstakingly assembled shield formation, striking the two defensive Soul Masters at the front so hard that they coughed up blood. Their teammates did not even have time to heal them.
What did it mean to empty someone's health bar in a single move?
Full health was already within execution range!
Naturally, Team Qi Xuan advanced with eight wins in eight matches, a perfect record.
Even more outrageous was the fact that, from beginning to end, Qi Xuan had been the only one visibly attacking, and every fight had lasted less than a minute.
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were getting bored standing at the back. Both girls were fiercely competitive, and watching Qi Xuan have all the fun fighting up front every day left their hands itching for action. Still, to avoid exposing their strength, they had to endure it a little longer.
For a time, predictions that their team would win the championship surged.
Naturally, quite a few people also began looking forward to one thing:
Would anyone be able to stop them?
On the fifth day, the top sixteen teams were determined, and the knockout rounds officially began.
This match drew the most attention. Everyone wanted to know whether Team Qi Xuan could maintain its undefeated record against equally powerful opponents.
After all, among the sixty-four Soul Masters who had advanced, Huo Yuhao was now the only one left with a single ring.
The knockout arena and spectator stands were much larger than before. Many classmates who had failed to advance came to watch, and even some senior students joined the crowd.
On the platform with the best view, a scruffy old man was guzzling from a wine gourd, a greasy chicken drumstick clutched in his other hand.
Wang Yan stood respectfully beside him.
The referee teacher had already directed both teams into position.
"First match of the knockout rounds: Team Qi Xuan versus Team Huang Chutian. Begin!"
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