Class Seven's classroom.
The entire class sat neatly in their seats, quietly waiting for their teacher to begin the lesson.
Teacher Mu Jin walked into the classroom, his cool gaze slowly sweeping over the class.
"Today, we'll start with a practical combat assessment," Teacher Mu Jin said gravely. "Everyone will be randomly assigned to teams of three to fight one another. I want to see your true abilities."
Just as he finished speaking, the classroom's back door was shoved open with a bang.
Chen Jie rushed inside and stood at the doorway, panting heavily, beads of sweat covering his forehead. He was unmistakably late for class.
Every student turned toward the door in unison.
Teacher Mu Jin's brows immediately knitted together. He stared at the breathless Chen Jie, his voice thick with displeasure:
"You again! Class has already started, and only now do you come rushing in. Even if you're the class monitor, you can't keep ignoring the rules. Come to my office after class!"
Chen Jie panicked inwardly and hurriedly came up with an excuse, speaking with a perfectly straight face:
"Teacher, I didn't mean to be late. I met a young married woman on the way who wasn't feeling well, so I helped treat her condition. It took some time, and that's why I'm late."
A burst of barely suppressed laughter rippled through the classroom, and everyone gave him peculiar looks.
Teacher Mu Jin's expression darkened further. He didn't believe a word of that story and couldn't be bothered to argue. "Stop making ridiculous excuses. You must come see me after class!" he said coldly.
Chen Jie could only nod, then hurry back to his seat, still panting.
Soon, the random team assignments were announced.
As luck would have it, Chen Jie was placed on the same team as the twins, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo.
Meanwhile, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Nanmen Yun'er, three of the stronger students in the class, were assigned to one team.
Next, they drew lots to determine their opponents, and the two formidable teams happened to draw each other.
A quiet stir immediately swept through the classroom. Everyone understood that this match would be the highlight of today's assessment.
Teacher Mu Jin looked over the students and gave his instructions. "The classroom is too small for you to unleash your Martial Souls and fight freely. Everyone, stand up and follow me to the Training Arena for the assessment."
Everyone rose in turn, formed orderly lines, and followed Teacher Mu Jin toward the Training Arena in a large procession.
Before long, they arrived at the open Training Arena.
The grounds were spacious and level, with protective barriers surrounding them, giving everyone ample room to fight with their Martial Souls at full strength.
Teacher Mu Jin stood in the center and raised a hand toward the two teams. "Before you begin, you have five minutes to discuss your tactics."
Chen Jie immediately walked over to Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo. The three huddled together and discussed their strategy in lowered voices.
Looking serious, Lan Susu voiced her concerns first. "Ning Tian has the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, which specializes in buffing teammates. Once she finishes boosting Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun'er, their strength will soar. The longer this drags on, the worse off we'll be. We should find a chance to end it quickly."
Lan Luoluo nodded in agreement. "We sisters can only bind and control people. We have no buffing abilities, so a drawn-out fight will leave us on the back foot."
Chen Jie remained composed and reassured them softly:
"Don't worry about their buffs."
He offered no further explanation, simply activating his Soul Skill in silence.
Invisible spiritual power quietly spread outward, firmly connecting to the sisters' senses as he activated Spiritual Detection Sharing.
In an instant, everything in Lan Susu's and Lan Luoluo's minds became incredibly clear.
Every movement of their three opponents, the flow of their Soul Power, and even where they would move next appeared clearly before them, giving them constant predictive vision.
Both sisters froze in surprise, then immediately understood the source of Chen Jie's confidence. Delight lit up their eyes.
Making use of the remaining strategy time, the sisters held nothing back and carefully explained all their abilities to Chen Jie.
"Our Martial Souls are Hair Martial Souls," Lan Susu said. "Our first Soul Skill is called Hair Net. We can weave large amounts of long blue hair into a huge net to intercept enemies over a wide area and block their routes."
Lan Luoluo added, "Our second Soul Skill is Hair Binding. It precisely coils around a single person, binding their body, restricting their movements, and disrupting the circulation of their Soul Power."
"Also, as twins, our Martial Souls are extremely compatible. We can use the Martial Soul Fusion Skill Heavenly Net, spreading a vast expanse of blue hair throughout an entire area. Its range is enormous."
After hearing them out, Chen Jie had already settled on a complete battle plan.
He reflected inwardly that he had been so busy since school began that he had never really paid attention to these twins.
Now that he examined them up close, he saw that the sisters looked exactly alike, with delicate, gentle features and clean, long, pale-blue hair that was particularly eye-catching.
Their neatly worn school uniforms highlighted their quiet, well-behaved air. They looked soft and delicate, and were honestly rather cute.
The five minutes of strategy time soon ended.
Teacher Mu Jin announced loudly:
"The assessment match officially begins!"
All six combatants activated their Soul Power at once, and their Martial Souls appeared.
Soul Power rose from Ning Tian's palm as the exquisite, translucent Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda slowly floated into the air, each tier crystal clear.
Waves of heat surged around Wu Feng, a scarlet fire dragon's phantom coiling around her body as searing air washed outward.
A flash of spiritual light appeared over Nanmen Yun'er's shoulder, and an agate-colored firebird phantom spread its wings and circled, lively and nimble.
On the other side, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo activated their Martial Souls together. Their long, pale-blue hair billowed without wind, each strand extending continuously, supple yet strong and radiating a powerful binding aura.
Chen Jie slowly raised his hand, and dense Soul Power surged forth. The ancient, massive Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron hovered before him, its markings sharply defined as its crushing pressure enveloped the entire arena.
The two sides' auras clashed, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense as the battle truly began.
The moment combat started, Ning Tian made the first move.
Three Soul Rings rose from beneath her feet-yellow, yellow, and purple-lighting up one after another as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda suddenly shone brighter.
In a steady voice, Ning Tian recited her Soul Skills:
"First: Strength, Second: Speed, Third: Soul!"
Three rays of soft, glazed light landed precisely on Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun'er.
The boosts to strength, speed, and Soul Power took effect simultaneously. Both women's auras surged, their overall strength rising an entire level.
The watching students could see it clearly. This was the advantage of a support Soul Master: as long as those two protected Ning Tian, their chances of winning were very high.
But Chen Jie had already anticipated the entire situation. Through Spiritual Detection Sharing, he took in every movement their opponents made.
In a team fight, take out the carry first. It's the simplest, most brutal approach-and the most reliable.
Before their opponents could launch a counterattack with their buffs, Soul Power erupted beneath Chen Jie's feet. The Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron before him trembled slightly, its immense suppressive power fully primed.
He completely ignored Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun'er on the front line and charged straight toward Ning Tian in the rear, who had no means of protecting herself!
Everyone watching was shocked. No one had expected such a ferocious opening assault, aimed straight at the opposing team's core!
At the same moment, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo moved in perfect sync.
Relying on the advance predictions provided by Spiritual Sharing, the blue hair filling the air instantly transformed into countless supple ribbons. They crisscrossed to seal off the path ahead, precisely wrapping around Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun'er as they tried to fall back and protect their teammate.
The hair was extraordinarily tough and wound tightly around them, locking down their bodies and movement. No matter how fiercely the two women channeled their Soul Power to struggle and batter against it, they could not break free in the slightest in such a short time.
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