At the start of their second year at the academy, the Control System organized an internal tournament.
Though called internal, it also allowed first-year students from other systems to watch. By the time Feng Lingtian arrived, a ring of spectators had already formed around the training ground. Afternoon sunlight slanted through the windows, casting a bright square of light in the center of the arena. A faint smell of sweat and dust hung in the air, mingling with the excited whispers of the surrounding students.
Feng Lingtian did not squeeze toward the front. He leaned against a pillar at the edge of the arena. His gaze swept over the competitors and, somehow, settled on Su Mei'er. He did not take a close look at any of the other five.
Su Mei'er stood in the center of the arena, her smooth black hair falling to her waist, its ends curling slightly. Her face was a perfect oval, with a pointed chin and fair, rosy skin like a freshly peeled egg. Her slender brows had a natural arch without needing to be drawn in. The outer corners of her almond-shaped eyes tilted slightly upward, and her pupils were dark and bright, as though holding pools of water. Her lips were small and full, their corners naturally curved upward a little, making her look as if she were smiling even when she was not.
At that moment, Su Mei'er had her head turned as she spoke to her teammate, her shifting gaze carrying a charm beyond her years. She wore an aqua-blue dress with a hem that just reached her knees, cinched at her slender waist with a matching sash. A ring of tiny white flowers was embroidered around the neckline, making her neck look even more delicate and fair.
Feng Lingtian withdrew his gaze, and a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind: Why did she always make people want to steal another look?
Even Feng Lingtian found it strange. He had come to observe his opponents, yet of the six people in the arena, his eyes kept drifting toward Su Mei'er. He shook his head, casting the thought aside. He told himself, I'm here to screen future teammates, not to look at people.
Feng Lingtian returned his attention to the arena. These six had spent almost a month together, so presumably everyone already knew who was strongest. He glanced at the situation in the arena. Sure enough, when the other four took their positions, they all edged toward Su Mei'er, whether consciously or not.
The match began. Without communicating, the other two pairs joined forces and attacked Su Mei'er's pair.
Su Mei'er's teammate was a boy whose Martial Soul was a Wind Vine. It had a considerable control range, but his reactions were rather slow. All four opponents struck at once. The ring-and-rope pair moved to entangle Su Mei'er from either side, while the net-and-blade pair directed all their attacks at the boy. Before he could deploy his Martial Soul, wind blades forced him back several steps. A wind net then caught him firmly and dragged him straight beyond the arena boundary.
Less than thirty breaths into the match, Su Mei'er was the only one left on her side.
One against four.
Scattered laughter rose from the sidelines. Someone called out, "Give up. Don't waste time."
"Exactly. How are you supposed to fight one against four?" someone beside them agreed.
"Su Mei'er usually looks pretty impressive, but she's done for now."
Feng Lingtian unconsciously leaned slightly forward from the pillar.
Su Mei'er did not surrender.
Su Mei'er fully released her Wind-Winged Spirit Fox Martial Soul, and the faint phantoms of nine pale-blue fox tails appeared behind her. Rather than retreating, she walked toward her four opponents.
The ring-and-rope pair moved first. The student wielding the wind rope swept in from the left, while the one wielding the wind ring brought it down from the right to snare her. Su Mei'er turned, her phantom fox tails deftly brushing the wind rope aside. She angled her body slightly, and the wind ring swept past her shoulder. She did not stop. Instead, her steps quickened.
Feng Lingtian narrowed his eyes slightly. Su Mei'er was not moving in a straight line. Her steps followed a certain curve, as though she were walking along the wind's flow.
The net-and-blade pair attacked immediately afterward. The student wielding the wind net released it, spreading it across the sky as it descended, trying to seal off Su Mei'er's room to maneuver. The student with the wind ring circled around her flank to get behind her, preparing a pincer attack.
Feng Lingtian tapped the pillar lightly with a fingertip.
Su Mei'er suddenly accelerated. The phantom fox tails whirled around her, pale-blue wind-attribute Soul Power forming a thin vortex. The instant the wind net touched the vortex, it was diverted, barely grazing her shoulder without catching her.
The wind-ring student circling behind her had already closed in. Without even looking back, Su Mei'er swept her right hand behind her, and a Wind Lightning Chain shot from her palm, wrapping precisely around the student's ankle. Tiny sparks danced along its edges. Before the wind-ring student could react, the pull knocked them off balance. Their body stiffened for an instant, and they stumbled into their wind-rope teammate. The ring-and-rope pair fell in a heap.
The laughter at the sidelines stopped. The student who had just said, "How are you supposed to fight one against four?" stood with their mouth slightly open, unable to close it for quite some time.
"How... is that possible?" someone murmured.
The corners of Feng Lingtian's mouth lifted slightly. By the time he noticed, that faint curve had already vanished. He paused, then frowned. What am I smiling about? What does Su Mei'er's victory have to do with me?
Feng Lingtian cast that thought aside too and kept watching.
The net-and-blade pair had only one person left: the student wielding the wind blades, who was also the strongest of the four. Rather than rushing to attack, the student waited until Su Mei'er had dealt with the ring-and-rope pair. In the instant before she regained her footing, three wind blades shot toward her in a triangular formation.
The timing of that strike was precise.
Su Mei'er's figure suddenly blurred. The Wind-Winged Spirit Fox's nine phantom tails spread at once, interweaving into a pale-blue curtain of light before her. The three wind blades struck it. Instead of bouncing off, they stuck to the curtain, abruptly slowing as though they had sunk into a mire. Su Mei'er clenched her right hand, and the three wind blades burst apart along with the curtain, dissipating in a gust of turbulent wind.
Feng Lingtian silently remarked to himself. She didn't block them head-on. She used the phantom fox tails to disrupt the wind blades' airflow. That wasn't a Soul Skill, just pure perception and manipulation of wind.
The final opponent froze.
Su Mei'er gave the student no chance to strike again. Her figure flashed, closing the distance in an instant. The Wind Lightning Chain in her right hand wrapped around the student's wrist, while her left simultaneously condensed a mass of compressed wind-attribute Soul Power and pressed it against the student's chest.
"You lost," Su Mei'er said.
The entire arena fell silent for two seconds, then erupted into noisy discussion. One against four, and she had won.
Feng Lingtian did not join the discussion. He leaned against the pillar, his gaze still resting on Su Mei'er. She dusted off her hands in the arena as though she had just finished something trivial, then turned toward the sidelines. As she passed the student whom her Wind Lightning Chain had pulled down and sent crashing into their teammate, she curved her lips and said something. The student's face flushed crimson, and they could not muster a single word in reply.
Feng Lingtian could tell. Su Mei'er was enjoying the process. Not winning, but the sight of her opponents being helpless against her.
After the crowd dispersed, Feng Lingtian headed toward the dormitories. Su Mei'er caught up from behind and walked beside him.
"You watched the whole match. Nothing to say?" Su Mei'er turned her face toward Feng Lingtian.
"Your way of controlling people is unusual," Feng Lingtian said. "It isn't hard control. It's guidance. You made them follow your rhythm without expending much effort yourself."
Su Mei'er's steps paused briefly before she smiled. "You certainly watched closely."
"Of the Wind-Winged Spirit Fox's nine phantom tails, you used four to maintain the vortex, two to catch the wind blades, and kept the remaining three beneath your feet." Feng Lingtian's tone was even. "You were setting things up from beginning to end, not reacting on the fly."
Su Mei'er stared at Feng Lingtian for several seconds, then her eyes curved.
"You're rather interesting."
Feng Lingtian did not reply.
"Will you come watch the next tournament?"
"Depends."
Su Mei'er smiled and did not press him further. She quickened her pace and walked away.
Feng Lingtian walked behind her, watching her light-footed figure. He thought to himself that Su Mei'er had not used a Self-Created Soul Skill. A six-year-old Control System Soul Master had not reached that level yet. She had broken apart her sole Wind Lightning Chain to use its pieces, turning "restraint" into "traction." Rather than locking her opponents down, she only changed their direction. Even the phantom fox tails had been separated for different uses: four maintained the vortex, two caught the wind blades, and three cushioned her feet to accelerate her. This was not a Soul Skill, but an utmost understanding of her Martial Soul.
This was harder than releasing a complete Soul Skill. Only a sufficiently deep understanding of both one's Martial Soul and Soul Skills allowed someone to break them apart so freely.
And Su Mei'er was enjoying herself. She enjoyed having her opponents led along by her rhythm, enjoyed every gaze in the arena following her. Others learned control to win. Su Mei'er learned control because it was fun.
Feng Lingtian suddenly felt that this was the most frightening part. Someone who treated control as a game would never tire of it, nor ever grow bored.
Control System, Wind-Winged Spirit Fox. Not merely control, but mastery over the rhythm. Su Mei'er's control did not lock people down. It made them follow her lead.
Facing Su Mei'er as an opponent would be a headache. Having her as a teammate should be reassuring.
Feng Lingtian made a mental note. If he really formed a team in the future, Su Mei'er would definitely be his first choice for the Control System position. Not because she was the strongest, but because her method of control was the most flexible. She did not control with Soul Skills, but with her brain.
As for the faint red glow shimmering along the edges of that Wind Lightning Chain, Feng Lingtian had noticed it too. It was not purely wind-attribute; it also carried a hint of dry heat. Aside from the wind attribute, Su Mei'er's Martial Soul seemed to possess something else, but that was something to learn about later.