"Boss, your luck's been good your whole life. Why did it fail you at the very last moment? Three teams, two soft persimmons ripe for the picking, and you just had to draw the toughest one!" Chen Yong teased with a laugh.
Jiang Hai laughed. "What? Don't you like fighting pretty girls? I picked out two mature beauties for you, and you're still not happy?"
Aside from Dai Huabin himself, everyone on his team was a girl. Although they were only twelve, their development certainly hadn't been slow. The black-haired girl, Zhu Lu, in particular, was no less well-endowed than her ancestor, while the girl with long pink hair had an alluring face and a distinctive charm.
Chen Yong retorted irritably, "Boss, doesn't your conscience hurt when you say that? Have you asked all those girls you eliminated? Do you know they've nicknamed you the Butt-Kicking Maniac?"
"Get lost. Give it everything you've got today. No holding back!" Jiang Hai kicked Chen Yong, sounding exasperated.
Rather than getting angry, Chen Yong grew excited. "Boss, are you finally going all out? What if that rank thirty-one Soul Elder isn't enough of a challenge for you?"
Looking at Chen Yong's expression, which showed genuine concern that their opponent wouldn't put up enough of a fight, Jiang Hai shook his head speechlessly. If Dai Huabin knew what Chen Yong thought of him, he would probably be furious enough to die!
Jiang Hai said, "Enough nonsense. I'll deal with Dai Huabin. Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie are yours. Don't get hurt. If you can't handle them, surrender!"
In the stands.
A middle-aged teacher walked over to Zhou Yi and said with a smile, "Teacher Zhou, it looks like your teams haven't had much luck today. Will there be no one from Freshman Class One in the finals? If Huo Yuhao's team had faced the Jiang Hai Team, at least you could have secured one place in the finals, couldn't you?"
"Liu Cheng!"
Zhou Yi glanced at Liu Cheng, the homeroom teacher of Freshman Class Five, and said coolly, "The matches haven't even started, and you're already so certain your students will win? Perhaps this afternoon's final will be an internal battle between my Class One teams!"
On the other side, the homeroom teacher of Freshman Class Ten couldn't help laughing either. "Teacher Zhou, aren't you being a little too confident?"
Zhou Yi said calmly, "In that case, do you dare make a wager with me?"
"A wager on what?" Liu Cheng gave Zhou Yi a puzzled look. Was she really that confident?
Zhou Yi said, "If we're going to wager, we should make it a big one. How about a Soul Bone? If this afternoon's final is between two Freshman Class One teams, you each owe me a Soul Bone. If it isn't, I'll give you each one. How about it?"
A gleam flashed through the Class Ten homeroom teacher's eyes. "Teacher Zhou, do we need such high stakes? A small wager is enough to keep things entertaining!"
Liu Cheng, however, answered immediately, "Fine, I'll take that wager. But do you have two Soul Bones?"
There were two matches. As long as they won one, they would get a Soul Bone.
Of Zhou Yi's two teams, one had already suffered losses, while the other was facing his team, which even had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Where did she get her confidence?
Still, that wouldn't stop him from making a tidy profit. This was a Soul Bone, after all.
"You don't need to worry about that," Zhou Yi said.
Just then, another voice rang out. "If she doesn't have one, I do. Why don't I join in? Two Soul Bones, one from me and one from Zhou Yi."
"Mu Jin, it's you!" When Zhou Yi saw who had spoken, surprise appeared on her face.
Mu Jin gave Zhou Yi a smug look. "Zhou Yi, don't forget that Jiang Hai and the other two are all Support System Soul Masters. Once the classes are reassigned after the Freshman Assessment, they'll all be students of Class Three. And my former student was the only Support System Soul Elder. I've already applied to be Class Three's homeroom teacher. Those three will all be my students from now on..."
A smile blossomed across Mu Jin's face. He looked utterly pleased with himself, as though poaching Zhou Yi's students made him very happy.
Zhou Yi said coolly, "I'm just afraid you'll lead them astray!"
"You..."
Mu Jin bristled, but soon smiled again. "Are you angry? Haha, I just love seeing you angry!"
"Lunatic!" Zhou Yi muttered.
"Well? Teacher Liu, Teacher Zhao, are you taking the wager?" Mu Jin asked.
"Yes!" Liu Cheng said with a cold laugh.
Teacher Zhao added, "Then I'll join in too!"
Four Soul Bones. This was an earth-shaking wager. The other teachers who overheard it couldn't help paling. A lifetime of savings for a teacher amounted to little more than a single Soul Bone. They were gambling their entire fortunes.
Du Weilun felt a headache coming on as well. Zhou Yi being crazy was one thing, but why was Mu Jin joining her? Where did he get his confidence? Was it simply because Huo Yuhao and Jiang Hai had both defeated his students? Du Weilun was curious too.
Without the eleven students on the platforms knowing a thing, an earth-shaking wager had been placed on them.
By tacit agreement, none of the four teachers said anything more. Putting too much pressure on their shoulders wasn't necessarily a good thing.
All eleven students had stepped onto the platforms and were looking at their opponents.
"Both sides, state your names!"
"Jiang Hai."
"Chen Yong."
"Sun Yunhai."
Dai Huabin's side also announced their names.
"Dai Huabin."
"Zhu Lu."
"Cui Yajie."
The referee raised his hand, then swiftly brought it down. "Begin."
With that, he rapidly retreated to the edge of the platform.
The semifinal platforms were noticeably larger. The two sides stood a full hundred meters apart, giving both teams ample time to release their martial souls once the signal sounded.
With a low growl, while the four Beast Martial Soul users were still completing their Martial Soul Possession, Jiang Hai shot forward with a whoosh.
Dai Huabin's martial soul was the White Tiger Martial Soul, while Zhu Lu's was the Hell Spirit Cat.
There was no need to elaborate on these supreme martial souls, passed down through the Star Luo Empire's ancient lineages.
Cui Yajie's martial soul was also a top-tier beast martial soul, the Nine-Tailed Fox.
She now looked like an adult, with pronounced curves. Her long pink hair grew even longer, falling in waves behind her. She was enchanting and captivating, exuding allure and a hint of wildness, though that wildness did nothing to diminish her extraordinary beauty.
Two large, glossy tails unfurled behind her, making anyone want to reach out and touch them.
At that moment, however, surprise flashed through all three opponents' eyes.
"So fast!"
It was hard to imagine that a Tool Soul Master could reach such speed without using a single soul skill or even his martial soul.
Cui Yajie gave a sharp cry, her glistening pink eyes instantly locking onto Jiang Hai. She smiled sweetly as her first soul ring silently lit up.
Jiang Hai grunted as he advanced, but his speed didn't diminish at all. Instead, Cui Yajie took a step back, intense disbelief flashing through her eyes.
Her first soul skill was Charm, but when it met Jiang Hai, a vast, sacred aura rushed toward her, instantly shattering her skill.
The bronze coffin suppressed evil. It could subdue even Ma Xiaotao's phoenix evil fire, let alone a mere power of charm.
After suppressing the evil fire within Ma Xiaotao, the increase in his intelligence had imbued Jiang Hai's soul aura with a powerful evil-suppressing quality. Although he couldn't wield it directly, it gave him tremendous resistance to abnormal spiritual effects. Whether it was Cui Yajie's Charm or Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Shock, their effect on him was very limited.
The three Beast Martial Soul Masters charged forward as well. Zhu Lu was the fastest. Her Hell Spirit Cat was among the very finest Agility Attack System martial souls. As she advanced, three afterimages trailed behind her, and her figure became elusive and unpredictable, her speed pushed to the limit.
Dai Huabin wasn't much slower. Even if the White Tiger Martial Soul didn't excel at speed, he was still a rank thirty-one Soul Elder.
On Jiang Hai's side, white clouds continuously gathered around Sun Yunhai until he vanished into them entirely. The clouds also clung to Chen Yong, but Chen Yong wasn't fast, and Jiang Hai had already pulled far ahead.
Seeing this, a cold sneer flashed through Dai Huabin's eyes. Jiang Hai had become separated from his team. He was simply courting death.
"Netherworld Assault!" Zhu Lu's second soul ring lit up, and her speed surged dramatically. Strings of afterimages trailed behind her, making her movements impossible to track with the naked eye.
Jiang Hai's speed was nowhere near hers.
"Coffin, come!"
Jiang Hai gave a low shout. A yellow soul ring rose from beneath his feet, and with a thunderous boom, the Bronze Coffin descended from the sky, appearing beside him at precisely the right moment.
Screeech...
A piercing scraping sound rang out.
The next instant, Jiang Hai struck the face of the Bronze Coffin with his palm. The coffin shuddered violently, and Zhu Lu was sent flying by the shock.
Was that coincidence, or did he predict her movements? In the stands, a gleam flickered in Du Weilun's eyes. The scene felt strangely familiar, though he had seen it more often from another boy. That boy's predictions weren't especially reliable, however, and the opponents he faced hadn't been anywhere near as frighteningly fast as Zhu Lu.
"White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!" A tiger's roar rang out. The white light surrounding Dai Huabin rapidly gathered toward his head. He opened his mouth and spat out a ball of white light, sending it flying toward Jiang Hai.
Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao.
The Bronze Coffin's tremors had sent the blood and energy within Zhu Lu churning. If Jiang Hai pressed his advantage, she would very likely be eliminated.
"Black Iron Body." Chen Yong growled. His first soul ring lit up, and black light flickered over him. His tall, burly body instinctively moved to rush in front of Jiang Hai and block the ball of white light for him.
"Out of the way!" Jiang Hai snapped irritably, kicking Chen Yong in the backside. A deft burst of force sent him flying, depositing him right beside Zhu Lu.
Chen Yong's expression brightened. He opened his mouth, and his second soul ring abruptly lit up. A deafening sound wave erupted from his mouth, accompanied by an overwhelming surge of intimidation.
Second soul skill, Bear Dominates the World.
Zhu Lu felt her hearing cut out. In pain, she instinctively wanted to cover her ears with both hands, forgetting about Chen Yong, who had already charged right up to her.
Pink light flashed, and Chen Yong's body stalled for an instant. A moment later, Cui Yajie appeared beside Zhu Lu and dragged her into a swift retreat.
Chen Yong's eyes instantly cleared, and he threw a punch. Cui Yajie's expression turned bitter. Why did she keep encountering opponents who countered her Charm? While using Bear Dominates the World, Chen Yong also possessed extremely strong resistance to it.
Cui Yajie clenched her delicate fist and met Chen Yong's punch with one of her own, then rapidly retreated.
Meanwhile, Jiang Hai gripped the rim of the Bronze Coffin with one hand. Veins bulged along his arm, and that seemingly unremarkable arm lifted the coffin straight up, bringing it in front of him just in time to block the white ball of light.
Boom!
After a deafening explosion, the Bronze Coffin trembled, but soon grew still again.
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