That said, Lin Xi certainly could not join Xu Sanshi in his drunken antics.
He was only twelve this year, and habits from his previous life made him instinctively reluctant to touch alcohol.
Xu Sanshi, on the other hand, drank to his heart's content. In the end, Lin Xi and Huo Yutong had to take him back to his dorm.
The next day arrived, and, as expected, Lin Xi's team faced Huang Chutian's team.
Huang Chutian laughed heartily.
"My name is Huang Chutian. The girl on the left is Lan Susu, and the one on the right is Lan Luoluo. Please give us your guidance."
Lin Xi nodded lightly.
"Lin Xi, Huo Yutong, Wang Dong. Please give us your guidance."
Seeing that both sides had finished their pre-match introductions, the teacher nodded.
"Begin the match!"
As his voice fell, Huang Chutian let out a furious roar and pounded his chest with both fists. All his exposed skin turned iron-black, and two yellow Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
Then, without pausing for even a moment, he charged at Wang Dong.
Having watched yesterday's match, he understood that Wang Dong was probably the strongest member of this team.
That being the case, he, as his own team's strongest member, had to keep her in check.
Otherwise, Wang Dong would easily speedrun the Lan sisters by herself.
Wang Dong showed no fear either, flying toward Huang Chutian without the slightest hesitation.
Yesterday's battle had made her feel like a genius for the first time in ages. She was riding high right now-how could she possibly back down?
Yet when butterfly wings clashed with iron fists, Wang Dong was the one who lost.
The tremendous force sent her flying a full two or three meters backward before she stopped.
Strangely, Huang Chutian did not press his advantage and advance.
Instead, he stood where he was, his face filled with dejection.
Huo Yutong gave a smug little huff.
Stupid Wang Dong. In the end, I still have to save the day.
Lin Xi silently shook his head.
Wang Dong is still far too careless.
How could someone with an elemental Martial Soul trade blows with a pure-strength type without using a Soul Skill?
Especially when their levels were more or less the same.
If Huo Yutong had not interfered with Huang Chutian in time using Emotion Control, that exchange might even have decided the match.
Looks like I'll have to give her a proper scolding after the match.
Wang Dong caught her breath, then suddenly felt a chill rise in her heart. She hastily turned back and gave Lin Xi an apologetic smile.
"I just wanted to test him out. It was only a slipup."
Then she hurriedly took flight again, ready to fly toward Huang Chutian.
Just then, however, Huo Yutong's voice suddenly sounded in her mind.
"Wang Dong, you go deal with those twin beauties. I'll handle this guy."
"Huh?"
Wang Dong froze for a moment, but obediently changed direction and flew toward the twin sisters, who were weaving a hair net.
Seeing that things were going badly, Huang Chutian forced himself to rally and tried to stop Wang Dong.
Just then, a pleasant voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Your opponent is me."
He looked toward the voice and saw a little girl charging at him with an ordinary iron sword.
Her name was Huo Yutong, wasn't it?
Boring. I'm not interested in bullying a little girl with one ring.
Huang Chutian was about to ignore her and chase after Wang Dong when a powerful urge inexplicably welled up inside him.
I have to defeat this girl called Huo Yutong... I have to fight her!
He did not know why he thought this way, or why he wanted to fight her so badly. His reason clearly told him he must not, but his emotions slapped his reason hard across the face.
He cried out in a breakdown and lunged at Huo Yutong.
Lin Xi watched all of this, and an involuntary chill rose in his heart.
The Mental System really is disgusting.
Formless and intangible-you don't even know whether you've been interfered with.
It's definitely the attribute best suited to wrecking people's mental game.
Seeing Huang Chutian inexplicably go after Huo Yutong, panic flashed in Lan Susu's and Lan Luoluo's eyes. They hurriedly spread their hair nets together, trying to wrap Wang Dong up.
Two against one. Surely we can hold her back for a while?
But they had still overestimated themselves.
Wang Dong's yellow Soul Ring lit up, and her Butterfly Wing Guillotine gleamed with a keen edge, cleaving through the incoming hair nets as easily as slicing melons and chopping vegetables.
Even together, the two of them simply could not stop Wang Dong's advance.
Meanwhile, Huang Chutian had also unexpectedly fallen into a bitter struggle.
He had thought that two rings against one, and an Assault System against a Control System at that, should have been an utterly one-sided match.
Yet the situation was the exact opposite of what he had imagined.
Dizziness, blurred vision, loss of direction, nausea... Ever since he had faced Huo Yutong, all kinds of discomfort had surged up like an endlessly rolling river, leaving him unable to bring out even a tenth of his strength.
And this girl called Huo Yutong happened to be quite capable in a fight, with excellent swordsmanship.
With one side weakening as the other gained ground, he was actually on the verge of defeat after a single exchange!
How could he accept that? He roared, clasped his fists together, and prepared to use Cannon Hammer of Strength.
So what if I can't beat you in close combat? Watch me use a Soul Skill!
Little girl, witness the gap between a Soul Master and a Soul Grandmaster!
He was already prepared for Huo Yutong to desperately try to stop him. He was determined to finish her off with this Soul Skill.
To his surprise, however, Huo Yutong did not stop him.
A faint glimmer merely flashed in her eyes as she released Mental Interference. Huang Chutian felt a wave of dizziness, and the lock-on he had already established lost its direction. His Cannon Hammer of Strength blasted off in a completely wrong direction.
Staring blankly at his second Soul Skill as it missed, Huang Chutian suddenly felt an extremely powerful sense of loss and emptiness.
It made him feel that nothing mattered anymore.
And so, even faster than Wang Dong, Huo Yutong finished her fight.
The result left everyone present dumbstruck.
From their perspective, Huang Chutian had gained the advantage at the start, only to fail to press it. Then, for some inexplicable reason, instead of protecting his own Control System teammates, he had gone to tussle with a one-ring opponent. That alone was bad enough, but the one-ring girl had then thrashed him. Finally, he had unleashed his second Soul Skill in humiliated rage, only to show no accuracy whatsoever. After missing, he had simply tilted and allowed Huo Yutong to knock him out of the arena.
This boy Huang Chutian has decent raw strength, but his combat experience is lacking, the spectating teacher thought.
He had completely failed to identify Huo Yutong's Martial Soul.
That was normal, though. Given the caliber of these Shrek teachers, even Wang Yan, whose theoretical knowledge was supposedly top-notch in the original story, could not identify Huo Yutong's Martial Soul, let alone the ordinary teacher watching now.
The situation in the arena had reversed in an instant. Huang Chutian's team, which had been surging forward with rainbow-like momentum just moments ago, was suddenly teetering on the brink.
Lan Luoluo and Lan Susu exchanged a glance and made up their minds.
We have to use it. If we don't use our Martial Soul Fusion Skill now, it'll be too late.
They withdrew their Soul Rings and embraced, terrifying fluctuations of Soul Power beginning to pour from their bodies.
They were going to use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill to turn defeat into victory!
Their calculations were sound. Unfortunately, Huo Yutong, who had already received Lin Xi's warning, naturally would not let them have their way.
With two muffled grunts, the Soul Power surging around the Lan sisters instantly subsided, and both girls collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Since she could not defeat a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, she simply had to prevent it from coming into existence.
Just as yesterday, everyone watching fell silent.
But unlike yesterday, when they had simply been stunned by Wang Dong's strength, today they felt more bewilderment.
There had been far too many inexplicable things about this battle. They felt they could not understand what had happened at all.
They did not know that the one who had single-handedly brought about this situation was precisely Huo Yutong, whom they looked down on the most.
She had taken all three heads herself. It would be no exaggeration to call this match a one-versus-three sweep.