Flying Martial Souls

By then, Director of Education Long Hengxu had already arrived on the Competition Platform.

"For the second match of the Class Promotion Tournament, First-Year Class Five, are you still sending four contestants?"

Wu Changkong nodded. Hu Fangyuan, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue filed onto the platform and walked toward its center.

Ye Yingrong smiled faintly. "You should go up too."

The identical Gu Brothers also stepped onto the Competition Platform.

The three brothers shared a distinctive trait: they all looked rather thin and frail, but their eyes were exceptionally sharp. The triplets' rapport made even their movements look identical as they walked.

Only Su Xiaoyu followed timidly behind. She was small, her head lowered and her fingers clutching the hem of her clothes. Standing behind the Gu Brothers, she was like a little tail with barely any presence.

Long Hengxu walked to the center of the arena and glanced at both sides.

"Second match of the Class Promotion Tournament: First-Year Class Five versus First-Year Class Three. Both sides, confirm your contestants."

Wu Changkong gave a slight, indifferent nod. Ye Yingrong also smiled faintly. "Our side is ready."

"Good. I declare the match begun!"

Long Hengxu swept his arm.

The instant his words fell.

Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue turned in unison and retreated, reaching the edge of the arena in a few steps before leaping off.

Their movements were so coordinated that they looked as though they had rehearsed countless times.

Standing at the referee's station, Long Hengxu's mouth twitched repeatedly.

This routine again?!

They had pulled this against Class Four yesterday-four people went up, three jumped down, and Hu Fangyuan was left alone.

Now they were doing it against Class Three too?

He had yet to recover.

Something even more dumbfounding followed.

On Class Three's side, Su Xiaoyu stepped half a pace forward.

She brought her hands together, a light green glow rising from her palms.

"Wind Movement Technique!"

She murmured the words softly.

The green light instantly spread over the Gu Brothers. A pale green halo appeared around each of them, and their movements grew lighter.

With that done, Su Xiaoyu also backed away, trotted to the edge of the arena, and followed their example by jumping off.

With a patter, she landed steadily beside Ye Yingluo.

Everyone froze.

So First-Year Class Three was using the same routine? Their support cast one soul skill and ran?

In an instant, only Hu Fangyuan remained on the arena, facing the three Gu Brothers.

Hu Fangyuan looked expressionlessly at the Gu Brothers.

Sure enough.

The Gu Brothers released their martial souls almost simultaneously.

Three pairs of drab gray wings spread from their backs. The wings were not large, but they fluttered briskly. A white soul ring lit up beneath each brother's feet, its glow faint but steady.

Whoosh-

All three beat their wings at once and climbed into the air.

They flew higher and higher, soon reaching a position forty or fifty feet above Hu Fangyuan's head.

With Su Xiaoyu's Wind Movement Technique enhancing them, the three flew swiftly and steadily, hovering in midair as they looked down at Hu Fangyuan.

This was Class Three's tactic. Relying on the Gu Brothers' flying martial souls and Su Xiaoyu's support soul skill, they took the battle straight into the sky. However formidable you were on the ground, if you could not reach them in the air, they naturally could not be defeated.

By dragging things out until his soul power was exhausted, they could win no matter what.

When Ye Yingluo first saw all four members of First-Year Class Five step onto the arena, she really had been startled. After all, she had heard about Hu Fangyuan fighting four opponents alone yesterday.

But when she saw that Wu Changkong was still being so overconfident, letting Hu Fangyuan face the match alone, she immediately regained her composure.

The Gu Brothers possessed flying martial souls, and as triplets, they understood one another's thoughts and worked together seamlessly.

After they enrolled, she had focused her training on these three brothers, honing their aerial combat and coordination.

Three against four might still have left some uncertainty.

But now, Ye Yingluo only wanted to say: How could I possibly lose?!

However you look at it, the fighting strength is three against one. The advantage is mine!

In the air, Gu Tianri held the foremost position. Looking down at Hu Fangyuan, he curled his lips in disdain. No matter how strong someone on the ground was, could he reach the sky?

"Second Brother, Third Brother, let's circle him and wear him to death!" Gu Tianri said quietly.

Gu Tianyue and Gu Tianming nodded.

The three beat their wings and began circling above Hu Fangyuan. They moved faster and faster, forming a triangular encirclement. From their commanding height, they could dive to attack at any moment.

Hu Fangyuan stood where he was, looking up at the Gu Brothers circling overhead, accelerated by the green light.

His already foul mood grew even worse.

What the hell? Why was everyone using aerial tactics?

Did they think he could do nothing to them just because they could fly?

Hu Fangyuan's gaze turned cold.

With a thought.

The Heaven Refining Furnace emerged from his body and hovered before him. Water streamed from its mouth.

First, Hu Fangyuan gathered a ball of water beneath each foot, forming two downward-facing nozzles.

Immediately afterward, the power of fire-refined scarlet force surged from his soles.

Flames instantly enveloped the balls of water.

Hiss-

The water instantly heated into high-pressure steam.

Steam blasted violently downward from beneath his feet.

Bang!

Two white columns of steam suddenly shot downward.

The recoil instantly thrust Hu Fangyuan's entire body upward.

He slowly rose into the air, ten feet above the ground, twenty feet, thirty feet...

He hovered steadily in midair, at roughly the same height as the Gu Brothers.

"Holy shit! Hu Fangyuan's flying?!"

Below the platform, Xie Xie stared with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open, speaking in disbelief.

Thump!

Without hesitation, Wu Changkong rewarded Xie Xie with a sharp rap on the head.

"No swearing!"

Clutching his head, Xie Xie shut his mouth aggrievedly.

Yet undeniably, even the widely experienced Wu Changkong's eyes showed admiration for Hu Fangyuan.

Choosing to sponsor this student was absolutely the best decision he had ever made!

In his hands, water and fire always produced tricks ordinary people could never imagine!

Using the recoil of steam to rise into the air-what an idea for him to come up with.

Above the arena.

The Gu Brothers were dumbstruck too.

What was going on? How had this kid started flying too?!

Wasn't his a tool martial soul? How could he fly?

Their circling movements faltered for half a beat.

In that very half-beat.

Hu Fangyuan stared darkly at the three surrounding him.

He swept both hands.

Boiling water gushed from the Heaven Refining Furnace.

The streams instantly stretched through the air, becoming several long water whips.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The water whips tore through the air, lashing wildly at the three brothers.

The boiling water was scalding, the tips trailing heat as a succession of explosive cracks rang out in midair.

Faced with this situation of "I've surrounded all three of you by myself," the Gu Brothers had absolutely no answer.

They could not dodge the scalding whips of boiling water quickly enough.

"Scatter!" Gu Tianri shouted.

The three hurriedly beat their wings and dodged in different directions.

The Wind Movement Technique Su Xiaoyu had cast before jumping off the arena really did work, boosting their speed considerably.

But Hu Fangyuan had even more water whips.

He raised his left hand, sending several more water whips sweeping across. Their tricky angles sealed off every escape route.

Crack!

A sharp sound rang out.

Gu Tianri took a solid lash across his shoulder.

Boiling water splashed over his clothes, instantly scalding through the fabric as intense pain shot through his flesh.