Victory

Afternoon.

The number of participants in the assessment had dwindled further and further. By now, only eight teams remained, twenty-four people in all.

When Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong arrived, most eyes turned toward them. Whatever the circumstances, anyone who could eliminate two teams with Soul Elders was someone the others had to watch out for, even if only two members remained.

Meanwhile, Jiang Hai and his two teammates, who had coasted into the top eight by picking up easy wins, had become the soft persimmons everyone thought they could squeeze. Only those who had lost to them knew how terrifying this team was.

Soon, it was time to draw lots. Luck would not keep smiling on anyone forever.

Jiang Hai drew number four. Their opponents were a team from Freshman Class Seven, the Huang Chutian Team, composed of a Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster with the Great Strength Divine Ape martial soul and twin sisters whose martial souls were hair.

Huo Yuhao also drew a team composed of three Soul Grandmasters, though they were considerably weaker than the Huang Chutian Team. Neither side encountered the remaining team with a Soul Elder.

Arena Four.

Both sides took their positions, and the referee said, "Introduce yourselves."

"My name is Huang Chutian, a level twenty-four Power Attack System Battle Soul Master. My martial soul is the Great Strength Divine Ape." Huang Chutian spoke first. Tall and powerfully built, he had fixed his gaze on Chen Yong the moment he stepped onto the arena. He had watched Chen Yong's matches and knew that strength was his specialty too.

Soon, however, his gaze began moving between Jiang Hai and Sun Yunhai. Sun Yunhai needed no explanation, but Jiang Hai gave him a sense of mystery. They had also heard vague rumors that the Ning Tian Team, which had a Soul Elder, had lost once during the round-robin stage, and it had been to the team before them. Sun Yunhai and Chen Yong alone could never have defeated the Ning Tian Team, so there was only one explanation: this mysterious boy was hiding his true strength.

He longed for a battle against an evenly matched opponent, but he was his team's captain. His responsibility was to keep leading them to victory.

"Lan Susu (Lan Luoluo), level twenty-one Control System Battle Soul Master. Martial soul: hair!" the sisters said in unison.

Opposite them, Jiang Hai and his teammates also introduced themselves. There was nothing worth concealing. Sun Yunhai was level twenty-four, Chen Yong level twenty-three, and Jiang Hai level twenty. Their overall soul power was even slightly higher than their opponents', but Sun Yunhai, who had the highest soul power on their side, was a Support System Soul Master, while his counterpart was a Power Attack System Soul Master.

Their martial souls were released.

"Begin!"

As the referee's voice fell, everyone except Jiang Hai unleashed their first soul skills with perfect coordination. Waves of cloud gathered, and a black-iron gleam flashed over Chen Yong as he charged at Huang Chutian.

Earth-yellow light also gathered around Huang Chutian's fists, doubling their size. He was the first to collide with Chen Yong.

There were no flashy tricks, only a contest of pure strength. Their fists met, and with a crash, both retreated a step. In this clash of strength, neither had gained the upper hand.

The Great Strength Divine Ape was indeed famed for its indestructible body and boundless strength, but Chen Yong's Brown Bear martial soul was no meek herbivore either. Its strength scarcely fell short of the Great Strength Divine Ape's.

After that first probing clash, both had gained some understanding of the other's abilities. They knew that sheer strength alone would not defeat their opponent quickly.

A gleam flashed through Huang Chutian's eyes. He began darting and dodging like a nimble ape. The Great Strength Divine Ape possessed boundless strength, but it was still an ape-type martial soul, and its agility was no less impressive.

Understanding Huang Chutian's intentions, Chen Yong steadily concentrated his mind. He stood unmoving as a mountain, doing his best to track Huang Chutian's movements with his eyes and meet a thousand changes with steadfastness.

Both had strength-type martial souls, but the Great Strength Divine Ape balanced its immense power with defense and speed. Chen Yong's Brown Bear martial soul was slow, yet its strength and defense were even greater. The two sets of attributes were close to evenly balanced, and strictly speaking, it was hard to say who would win.

Although the difference in their soul power had tipped that balance slightly, it was nowhere near enough to overturn it completely.

While Chen Yong and Huang Chutian were locked in combat, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were not idle either. Blue hair strands spread out, blotting out the sky, then split into two streams. One restricted Sun Yunhai, while the other wound toward Chen Yong. Their tactics instinctively left Jiang Hai alone.

Since Jiang Hai wanted to conceal his strength, they might as well ignore him for now, deal with the other two first, then challenge him together.

As the hair wound around him, Chen Yong, still engaged with Huang Chutian, discovered how troublesome it was. Those seemingly soft strands were as impervious to blades and spears as steel wire, extraordinarily tough. Once they entangled him, his already sluggish movements became slower still.

Just as the hair closing in on Sun Yunhai reached him, his second soul ring lit up. His body instantly split into nine, drawing the hair into nine separate streams as they battled relentlessly.

The hair was powerful, but Sun Yunhai's Cloud Clone also possessed some fighting ability. Once the hair's strength had been divided into nine streams, resisting it became considerably easier.

However, as Sun Yunhai struggled against the hair, the glow of his first soul ring gradually faded. He appeared utterly focused on countering Lan Susu's attack.

"Power Cannon Hammer!" Huang Chutian suddenly roared. His second soul ring lit up, and dense earth-yellow energy immediately wreathed his fists. A mass of light brimming with explosive power appeared as he swung a fist fiercely at the hair-bound Chen Yong.

His second soul skill could be released at range, launched outward in a concentrated burst, but his true killing move was to keep Power Cannon Hammer wrapped around his fists.

Chen Yong's second soul ring also lit up. A furious roar erupted from his mouth, sending a terrifying wave of pressure crashing outward. Huang Chutian's charging body involuntarily stiffened for an instant, but a moment later, his fist still thundered down.

The referee flashed into view and caught Huang Chutian's fist with one hand. He grunted, unable to stop himself from retreating half a step as he dispersed its power, then said expressionlessly, "Chen Yong, eliminated."

Although the referee had blocked his punch, Huang Chutian showed no disappointment. Instead, he was delighted. He steadied his soul power before charging toward Jiang Hai.

Lan Luoluo and Lan Susu were equally delighted. Their hair surged toward Sun Yunhai together. Before long, Sun Yunhai collapsed under the assault and was bound in the middle of the strands like an enormous cocoon.

Huang Chutian also reached Jiang Hai, his expression guarded. Yet when they actually clashed, he discovered that Jiang Hai's strength seemed pitifully weaker than he had imagined. Jiang Hai crumpled directly beneath his fists.

Huang Chutian could not understand it, but the unmistakable sensation of his punches striking flesh convinced him that the person before him was no illusion. He was a real, living person.

Unable to figure it out, Huang Chutian stopped trying. With a low roar, he unleashed his strength and punched at Jiang Hai.

At that moment, the referee appeared again, caught his fist, and said mildly, "Jiang Hai, eliminated."

Then he glanced toward Sun Yunhai, who was wrapped in hair, and announced again, "Sun Yunhai is also eliminated. The Huang Chutian Team wins!"

We won?

Huang Chutian still felt a sense of unreality. The opponents they had treated as a formidable threat before the match-was that all they had?

Lan Luoluo and Lan Susu exchanged a glance, each seeing the delighted surprise in the other's eyes. They had won. They had reached the final four, and they had not even used their greatest trump card, their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. After looking at the other matches, which were still ongoing, the sisters stepped off the arena together.

As Huang Chutian walked toward the edge of the arena, he looked at the dejected Jiang Hai, Chen Yong, and Sun Yunhai. He kept feeling that something was wrong.

As he pondered it, he had already reached the arena's edge, still muttering to himself, "No, something has to be wrong. There's no way they could have lost just like that, is there?"

But the referee had already announced the end of the match. That meant they had won.

The referee could not be wrong.

"The referee, the referee..." Huang Chutian seemed to have grasped something crucial. He clutched his head, but still could not work it out.

"If you can't figure it out, stop thinking about it. Hurry down!" The referee's voice suddenly sounded beside his ear. At some point, the referee had walked up beside him.

"The voice! Right, the voice..." Huang Chutian's eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Oh no! We've been tricked!"

But in the next instant, the referee beside him displayed a smile steeped in worldly cunning. Then a wicked foot appeared behind him and kicked him squarely in the backside. With the sensation of soaring through clouds and riding the mist, he flew straight off the arena.

"Huang Chutian, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo voluntarily left the arena. The Jiang Hai Team wins!" an impartial voice announced. At the center of the arena, the referee stared at the person by the edge who looked exactly like him, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

At that voice, the smiles froze on Lan Susu's and Lan Luoluo's faces. Huang Chutian climbed up from the ground and glared furiously at the culprit who had kicked him off the arena.

"Why? That's not fair! They were the ones who lost!" Lan Luoluo protested loudly.

On the raised platform, the watching teachers' mouths kept twitching.

The cloud and mist dispersed completely, and the referee who had just announced Jiang Hai's defeat revealed his true appearance. Astonishingly, he looked like Jiang Hai. Then that face shifted as well, becoming Sun Yunhai's.

At the sight, Lan Luoluo and Lan Susu both stared blankly. They would have been fools not to understand by now.

"I won't accept this! You cheated! Who impersonates a referee..." Lan Luoluo was so anxious and angry, so aggrieved, that she was on the verge of tears.

In the stands, Chen Kun, the homeroom teacher of Freshman Class Six, turned to Director of Studies Du Weilun and said, "Director Du, wouldn't you say this violates the rules...?"

Du Weilun rubbed his stiff face and said, "The Freshman Assessment rules only specify defeat when someone leaves the arena, surrenders, or the referee determines that their life is in danger. There is no rule saying that impersonating the referee is forbidden."

"But..."

Chen Kun wanted to say more, but Du Weilun interrupted him. "There are no buts. If you agree to the wager, you must accept the loss. Strategy is part of strength too. Jiang Hai and his teammates used their own martial soul abilities to impersonate the referee, and the assessment rules do not prohibit it. Your students lost because they lacked composure and failed to observe carefully enough. There is nothing for them to resent about this defeat."