"Hmph, Lu Yu, I never expected you to be my opponent in the first round of the Elimination Tournament."
The moment Wang Dong saw Lu Yu, she swaggered over. At the thought of the spectacular show she was about to put on, she almost couldn't help humming aloud.
"Strange, why is it just you and Huo Yutong? Where's that little shorty?"
"Bastard, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you... no... be magnanimous... be tolerant." After a series of deep breaths, Xiao Xiao committed Wang Dong's behavior to memory.
She decided that from now on, she would record everyone who mocked her height in a book. Every taunt would earn a mark, and every act of revenge would cross one off, until no one dared mock her height again.
The future Dwarf Douluo began recording her own book of grudges. Unfortunately, even at the very end, not all the names in it had been crossed out, because she couldn't reach the book of grudges.
"All contestants, enter the arena."
"Freshman Class One: Lu Yu, Huo Yutong, Xiao Xiao. Freshman Class Two: Wang Dong, Tai Long, Shangguan Chentian."
As soon as the six classmates entered the arena, Xiao Xiao glared fiercely at Wang Dong. She could hardly wait to begin her revenge.
"Grandmaster Lu, leave that blue-haired pervert to me."
"Hmph, who are you calling a pervert? A little shorty like you thinks she can be my opponent?"
"True, a loser I defeated in one hit really isn't qualified to be my opponent. Small fry~"
That single "small fry~" left Wang Dong red-faced with fury.
"Hmph, that was then, this is now. In a moment, I'll show you who's really the small fry."
The atmosphere in the arena was tense, one spark away from erupting.
"Begin!"
"Command Drum! War Command! Execution Command!"
At the referee's command, Shangguan Chentian summoned his great drum and struck it twice. Two rays of light fell upon Wang Dong and Tai Long.
War Hammer: increased the group's strength by 30%.
Execution Hammer: increased the group's attack power by 30%.
With the buffs applied, Tai Long bent forward, sharp claws growing from his hands, and charged at Lu Yu with two yellow Soul Rings.
Beside him, two Soul Rings, one yellow and one purple, appeared behind Wang Dong. Blue butterfly wings sprouted from her body, and she flew straight toward Xiao Xiao.
"A support-type Command Drum. Its values are fixed: a 30% increase to a single attribute at the hundred-year level. Not bad for the Outer Court, but its Martial Soul quality falls short of the Inner Court's standards."
"An Agility Attack System high-ranking Martial Soul, the Velociraptor. Mediocre quality, and he's only rank 22 now. Even graduating may be a concern."
"A purple thousand-year second ring! Is that the Light Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul wielder who likes dressing as a boy to sneak into the boys' dormitory? Unfortunately, she's from the Clear Sky Sect. We still have to give the Clear Sky Sect face. Whatever the result, she has to receive Outer Court core disciple status."
In the stands, Du Weilun, the Martial Soul Department's director of studies, assessed the match below. He had to award core disciple status based on future potential and whether the students could be loyal to Shrek.
In previous years, there were usually only around six core disciples per year, but this year there were rather too many people with connections: the two from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion and the Zhu Family, the young mistress of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and her guard, the young mistress of the Clear Sky Sect, the shorty with a thousand-year second ring, plus Cao Jinxuan, who had little background but possessed a time-type Martial Soul. That meant at least seven places would have to be given out at once.
He had barely submitted the list before Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Martial Soul Department, gave him a dressing-down.
"Well done, Du Weilun. In previous years, there were only seven places in total, including the champions and runners-up! Now the Elimination Tournament hasn't even begun, and you've already come up with at least six core disciples!"
"The Soul Tool Department has already taken more than half of this year's funding, and now we have to give even more resources to core disciples! Do you think the Martial Soul Department has too much money? Whatever happens, you'll get at most three more places this year. If you want more, cut them from the champions and runners-up!"
Du Weilun wiped away his sweat. Yan Shaozhe, that iron rooster-it was only a little money for meals. Even if each core disciple's meal cost around thirty Gold Coins, enough for a commoner's wages for a year, this was about cultivating their own people. Shrek City was a state within a state; surely it could afford even this much money.
In the arena, Xiao Xiao wanted to duel Wang Dong, and Lu Yu naturally had no intention of interfering. It worked out perfectly: power attack against power attack, control against agility attack.
Facing Tai Long's lone charge, Lu Yu extended one hand. Countless strands of Blue Silver Grass emerged from his palm and surged toward Tai Long!
"Is that Blue Silver Grass? Are we sure he hasn't used a Soul Skill?"
The teachers in the stands leaned forward slightly. They had all seen Blue Silver Grass before. Tang Ya, the fourth-year student whose strength had recently soared, used a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
But they had seen Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass too. Usually, it was only five or six vines. It was nothing like Lu Yu's, where a casual wave of his hand produced an unbroken tidal wave.
"Damn it!"
Tai Long's Second Soul Ring lit up.
Sprint: increased speed by fifty percent.
His speed suddenly rose a notch, but there was simply no way around the densely packed Blue Silver Grass. Just as he was wondering whether to join Wang Dong in attacking Xiao Xiao first, he looked back and saw that dense Blue Silver Grass had sprouted from the ground behind him too.
After merging with the Hair Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass could become as fine as a strand of hair. He only needed to slip a single strand behind his opponent before pouring in large amounts of Soul Power to mass-produce Blue Silver Grass all around them.
In the game, the Blue Silver Grass First Soul Skill Lu Yu commonly used was meant to quickly cover the field so he could unleash the other supporting skills afterward. Now that Blue Silver Grass had merged with hair, as long as he disregarded strength entirely, he could fling out tens of thousands of fine strands with a lift of his hand. It consumed little Soul Power, too. It was practically a divine field-covering skill.
"It's just Blue Silver Grass! Watch me tear it apart."
The First Soul Skill lit up behind Tai Long.
Rending Claw. He swung both hands, instantly slicing countless strands of Blue Silver Grass to pieces.
"Blue Silver Grass really is all show. Other than having more of it, it's no different from weeds by the roadside."
As he cut more and more, Tai Long realized there was simply no end to the Blue Silver Grass. Countless strands had already wound around his body, and they gradually thickened into ropes. Little by little, he was bundled up like a rice dumpling, unable to move.
I never expected Martial Soul Synthesis to give me inferior versions of Blue Silver Grass's field-covering skill and Splitting Skill. Now I only need to supply the Soul Skills from two Second Soul Rings, and I can have a blast playing Blue Silver Grass.
Prison Blue, all that talk about abandoning you was just a joke. We've always been good partners fighting side by side.
Lu Yu smiled. Had what he played before even been Blue Silver Grass? He had always relied on the Soft Bone Rabbit's Waist Bow plus gravity control to play as a Power Attack System fighter. Now he was finally back in the control system's comfort zone.
Now his First Soul Ring had Hair Net and Spirit Eyes' four skills, while his Second Soul Ring had Hair Thorn and Blue Silver Parasite Thorn.
"Very unusual Blue Silver Grass. It seems to be a Mutated Martial Soul."
In the spectator seats, Du Weilun was pleasantly surprised to see Lu Yu end the fight in an instant. Finishing a battle so cleanly was not something an ordinary Soul Master could do. Unfortunately, Blue Silver Grass was still Blue Silver Grass. No matter how it mutated, it was destined to have no value worth cultivating.
Did you think everyone's Blue Silver Grass could turn into the Blue Silver Emperor?
Still, if Lu Yu could demonstrate his potential by cultivating to rank 45 in his sixth year, he could be given a chance to join the Inner Court.
Before you continue