Xu Tianyi nodded emphatically. His eyes, which had held little hope before, brightened somewhat, because Kong Xuan had not rejected him outright.
But Kong Xuan's next words sent Xu Tianyi's spirits sinking again.
"Actually, I wasn't planning on forming a team."
After Kong Xuan said this, not only Xu Tianyi but even Xu Wei and Kong Ling beside him froze for a moment.
Kong Ling immediately asked, "Brother, what do you mean by that? You're not teaming up with me either?"
Kong Xuan smiled. "The purpose of forming teams this time is to prepare for next semester's tournament, as well as to develop teamwork."
"But the most important objective is still to improve the strength of the Soul Master class's students through this tournament."
"If I team up with you, should I fight when the time comes or not?"
Seeing the lingering confusion in their eyes, Kong Xuan shook his head inwardly. They still had not understood what he meant.
He continued, "If I don't fight, that leaves two teammates facing other teams of three."
"If I do fight, there won't be any suspense left in the matches, and my two teammates won't get any training out of it!"
Kong Xuan spoke with absolute confidence, as though he would certainly win the matches with ease as long as he took action.
None of them voiced the slightest objection to his words, because they knew Kong Xuan had that kind of strength.
After hearing Kong Xuan's explanation, they finally understood his thinking, as well as what he meant by not planning to form a team.
Looking at the somewhat silent group, Kong Xuan added, "I actually think the three of you would make a pretty good team."
At his words, all three almost instantly raised their heads to look at Kong Xuan, then exchanged glances.
After giving it serious thought, they all felt it was quite a good suggestion.
Xu Wei analyzed aloud to himself, "Aside from Brother Xuan, we're all among the strongest in the class. I specialize in agility attack, Brother Xu in power attack, and Sister Ling in power attack and control..."
As he spoke, he looked up at the other two, his eyes lighting up. "I think this lineup could work!"
Unable to team up with her brother, Kong Ling felt a little down and answered casually, "Anything's fine with me."
Xu Wei turned to his "Brother Xu" again, and Xu Tianyi responded with an icy, expressionless face.
He swept his gaze around the classroom before finally looking at Xu Wei and nodding.
At this, Xu Wei pumped his fist and turned to Kong Xuan. "Brother Xuan, our three-person team is officially formed. Consider our roster submitted to you!"
Kong Xuan nodded, then looked at his sister, whose head was lowered. "There are twenty-five people in our class. With three to a team, there'll be one person left over no matter what, so I'll count as our team's substitute."
Kong Ling abruptly raised her head at his words. Her formerly downcast eyes instantly glittered with starlight, as though she had revived with full health.
"That's fantastic!" Xu Wei exclaimed excitedly. "With that, our team will definitely take the final victory!"
Afterward, the other students in the class also came to Kong Xuan one after another to report their team arrangements.
The next day, after the morning classes ended, Kong Xuan handed the team roster he had organized to their homeroom teacher, Ren Jun.
Ren Jun glanced over the team arrangements. When he saw that Kong Xuan's name was marked as the sole substitute, he could not help asking, "You don't want to compete?"
Kong Xuan smiled and answered honestly, "Matches like these won't do much to improve my strength. I'll just be a substitute and make sure our class takes first place."
"Otherwise, if we lost, it wouldn't look good for you, Teacher. After all, you came from Shrek Academy. You can't lose to the other teachers when it comes to teaching ability."
Ren Jun could not help chuckling at his words. "You..."
From the very first day, Ren Jun had noticed how mature Kong Xuan was. He was nothing like an eight-year-old child and seemed to have none of a youngster's desire to compete and fight.
But perhaps it was precisely because of this that Kong Xuan had attained such strength at his current age!
Ren Jun put away the roster, his eyes flickering as though he were thinking about something.
Then he looked at Kong Xuan and sighed. "I really don't know how you've cultivated at such a young age. I'll say this even if it makes you proud: even at Shrek Academy, I never saw a genius like you."
Faced with his teacher's heartfelt praise, Kong Xuan could not help feeling a surge of pride. This was also proof that his efforts over the past two years had not been wasted.
Kong Xuan smiled. "Teacher, I'm a one-in-tens-of-millions genius. It's only natural for me to be a little impressive!"
In response to this declaration, Ren Jun did not tell Kong Xuan to rein in his pride, because he deserved that assessment.
And it was only at this moment that Ren Jun felt Kong Xuan was like a youngster.
"I have a Beast Martial Soul, so there's nothing more I can guide you on in cultivation."
"Just keep following your own path. Your future is destined to be a smooth road!"
"Of course, you can still come to me with anything you don't understand. After all, your teacher's dozen-plus years at Shrek Academy weren't spent for nothing."
Only after watching Kong Xuan nod earnestly did Ren Jun smile and walk out of the teaching building.
With the teams finalized, most of their subsequent training took place in groups.
After all, besides improving their individual strength, they also needed to build an understanding between teammates so they could unleash greater fighting strength through cooperation.
For the team of Kong Ling, Xu Wei, and Xu Tianyi, however, their substitute Kong Xuan was the most important link.
Kong Xuan did not practice teamwork with them. Instead, he served as their whetstone.
Over those days, Kong Xuan had given the three of them no shortage of beatings.
Without using his spear intent, relying entirely on head-on combat, he had truly come close to beating all three into shutting themselves away.
In the blink of an eye, the semester was nearing its end.
Kong Xuan and Xu Wei walked out of the dormitory building. After they waited briefly by the road opposite it, Kong Ling arrived as well.
They had agreed to go to the Soul Fighting Arena together at this time, but Xu Tianyi still had not shown up.
Although he usually wore a cold, haughty look that kept strangers at bay, he did not have many of the bad habits common among nobles.
As such, Xu Tianyi had always been punctual. In all the time since they had formed their team, this was his first time being late.
Xu Wei ran into the dormitory building himself and returned shortly afterward, shaking his head. "He's not in the dorm."
Kong Ling murmured to herself, "If he's not in the dorm, where could he have gone? Could he have gone to the Soul Fighting Arena by himself?"
Xu Wei did not think so. "Even if he went to the Soul Fighting Arena ahead of us, he should've let us know beforehand."
Then his expression changed. "Could something have happened to him?"
Xu Tianyi and Xu Wei, who had initially found each other disagreeable, now actually got along quite well.
To Kong Xuan, it even felt a little like the "bonds" in anime.
"No!" Kong Xuan glanced at Xu Wei. "What could possibly happen inside the academy?"
Just as Kong Xuan finished speaking, he saw someone racing toward them from the distance at tremendous speed.
The person was actually maintaining Martial Soul Possession on the academy's main road; otherwise, he would not have been so fast.
With Kong Xuan's eyesight, he had long since recognized the approaching person as Wang Xiao from their class.
And unless he had judged incorrectly, Wang Xiao was running straight toward them.
Sure enough, a moment later, Wang Xiao stopped in front of them.
He panted, "Class monitor, hurry to the Soul Fighting Arena! Xu Tianyi's about to be beaten to death!"