"Slots for Joint Training?"
Shi Can nodded with a smile. "That's right. Each of the four universities has three slots for Joint Training. Want to try for one?"
Ye Buyu took a bite of chocolate. "No way. I can't get a slot at Four Symbols Academy. Everyone's really strong. I can't beat them."
She had a very clear understanding of her own limits.
Besides, why would she, a healing type, go around picking fights?
"That's a shame," Shi Can said regretfully. "I was hoping to train a support who could both fight and heal. That way, if Bajiao came knocking again, you'd have some way to deal with her."
Ye Buyu paused. Remembering the look Bajiao had given her before leaving, as though she were garbage, she felt a surge of anger with nowhere to go.
Not only did she target me, she thought I was trash, too!
Meow damn it, how was that fair?
"If I remember correctly, you awakened later than the others, didn't you, Ye Buyu? After finally managing to awaken, don't you want to give it a try?"
Shi Can glanced sideways at Ye Buyu, smiling as she fanned the flames.
Fine, I'd give it a try.
Ye Buyu rallied herself. If she had heard those words yesterday, she would definitely have chickened out a little longer.
But now, her anger at having just been utterly thrashed by Bajiao still hadn't faded. How could she pretend nothing had happened and happily take it easy?
Even after losing an argument, you had to go over what went wrong. How could anyone get pinned down and beaten, then cheerfully accept it with a smile?
Ye Buyu raised a middle finger in her mind. Screw you, Bajiao. Screw you, Void Cultists.
"I'm not done with them!"
Shi Can raised her hands and clapped. "That's the spirit. I'll look forward to seeing how you do, then. You definitely won't make it in the first month, but I'll be waiting for you in the second."
"Not necessarily."
An abrupt voice beside them interrupted their chat.
The male teacher wearing a face mask pointed at Mu Bingge in the arena.
"She might not have to wait until the second month. Kou Ying just gave Ye Buyu some points. Added to the points she earned herself, they're already enough to put her near the top.
"Don't forget, she still has a teammate out there. And that teammate is Mu Bingge, number one on the Genius Rankings."
They looked where he was pointing. Amid the dizzying array of abilities in the arena, only a handful of contestants still remained, each displaying their own brilliance.
The eliminated students took their places in the stands, filling the empty seats as the atmosphere grew increasingly fervent and charged.
One student shouted at the top of their lungs, "Blast him back! Xiao Shuo, don't just stand there! Blow that bastard away!"
"Ruan Yinke, hold Meng He with your [Dream of Notes], and you'll win! You've got this!"
"Meng He, hit Ruan Yinke with [Mind Hypnosis]!"
The hoarse shouting drew sidelong looks from the nearby students.
"Hey, aren't both those abilities psychic? If those two fight, won't they just be feeding each other sleeping pills?"
Sure enough, the two psychic abilities collided, and Meng He and Ruan Yinke fell to the ground at the same time.
The students who had been shouting fell silent. Had they... lulled each other to sleep?
"Look over there! Su Wuwei and Wan Lan are fighting! Wow, now this is worth watching!"
In the arena, Su Wuwei's smile cracked as he twisted aside to dodge an arrow that tore through a wall of fire.
"Do we really need to fight? Shouldn't you be going after Lou Guanshan and Mu Bingge?"
Wan Lan raised an eyebrow. "I just realized you've been hiding quite a lot. How about showing me more of your strength and fighting me?"
"How about no? I don't want to fight."
An arrow skimmed past his meticulously styled hair. Wan Lan sized him up, excitement flashing in her eyes.
"You're handling this pretty comfortably, Su Wuwei. You haven't lost so much as a strand of hair this whole match."
Su Wuwei flipped aside to dodge. "I've just been ridiculously lucky. Mu Bingge's almost done over there. Are you really not going?"
Wan Lan glanced at the two figures in the distance, then turned back and continued aiming at Su Wuwei.
"Let them fight this time. Today, I'm fighting you."
Su Wuwei could only lament his plight. "You could go after Kou Ying, too! Chu Lie and Wei Changming, Yu Qin and Guan Xiaomei-none of them are weak!"
Guan Xiaomei, who was in the middle of fighting, heard him and laughed in anger.
"You're trying to set the whole mountain on fire! Getting yourself burned wasn't enough, so now you want to drag us into it? You're up to no good. Wan Lan, beat him up for me!"
Another arrow of flowing wind shot toward him. Su Wuwei's foot slipped, and he stumbled out of the way.
He turned back and gave the ill-fated Kou Ying an apologetic smile. "Sorry."
Kou Ying hurried to dodge, only to be tripped by some material that had rolled over from who knew where, slamming face-first into the ground with a thud.
Wan Lan and Su Wuwei both paused for a second, unable to bear the sight.
That was just too unlucky.
Kou Ying lifted his face, a trickle of blood running from his nose.
He silently looked at Su Wuwei. "Was that deliberate or an accident?"
Su Wuwei laughed. "A deliberate accident, of course."
That answer was remarkably forthright.
Kou Ying slowly got up and wiped away his nosebleed. He slammed one hand against the ground, sending a shadow as thin as steel wire racing toward Su Wuwei.
"You deliberately led Wan Lan over here to use me as a shield! Did you really think I wouldn't get mad?"
The instant the shadow reached Su Wuwei, Wan Lan's eyes lit up. Flowing wind gathered at her fingertips, then burst forth.
Su Wuwei naturally noticed both attacks as he fled. With a slight shift of his steps, fierce flames sprang up beneath his feet to burn away the shadow, while his hand traced a golden flame through the air.
The movement was as fluid as an autumn breeze painting across a fan, free and unrestrained, casually blocking the arrow hurtling toward him.
"You handled that pretty easily."
The bright voice sounded beside his ear. Su Wuwei's smile stiffened. He caught Wan Lan's flying kick out of the corner of his eye and barely had time to raise both arms.
The tremendous force lifted both his feet off the ground and sent him flying several meters. He staggered back several more steps before regaining his balance.
He shook out his numb arms and sighed inwardly. Wan Lan certainly lived up to her reputation. That kick had nearly broken his bones.
Despite how effortless he had made it look, he had actually been fighting at full strength.
"I'm done, I'm done. I surrender."
"Tch." Wan Lan clicked her tongue in irritation. "Even that isn't enough to make you go all out?"
"I did. I was already giving it everything I had."
As Su Wuwei stood there helplessly, a bolt of lightning shot past from the side and slammed straight into the protective barrier.
Chu Lie had been beaten until he had no fight left in him. "Watch out for those two over there. They've gone completely wild."
They all saw Lou Guanshan and Mu Bingge relentlessly trading blasts, clearing the arena as they fought.
Wan Lan thought for a second, then decided what to do next.
She flashed a smile at Su Wuwei and the others.
"Time to clear the arena."
Kou Ying covered his nose and headed out. "I'll leave on my own. No need to bother."
Chu Lie coughed and rolled his eyes, decisively pressing the button to withdraw. "You can fight. Count me out."
The two left one after the other. Su Wuwei blinked as an icy wind swept against the back of his head, making his scalp sting.
"I can leave on my own, too. I'll just-"
"Too late!"
Boom!
Wan Lan unleashed an arrow charged with power. The storm struck Su Wuwei and blasted him into the protective barrier.
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