The Meaning of the Exchange Tournament

That night, there was quite a commotion in the courtyards occupied by Godwind Academy and Skywater Academy, and Godwind Academy in particular did not quiet down until very late.

Feng Xiaotian sparred with each of the other eleven students from the academy who were present.

Over the course of four hours, they fought hand to hand, then moved on to using Soul Power and Soul Skills.

It gave Feng Xiaotian, who had only just arrived in this world, a chance to indulge himself to his heart's content.

That kind of power, and the feeling of flying with his third Soul Skill, were things he could only have dreamed of in his previous life. Every chuunibyou teenager had dreamed of soaring through the skies like a martial hero.

Feng Xiaotian barely rested during those four hours. Each of the other eleven fought him for at least fifteen minutes.

Thanks to his advantage in Soul Power and some items he had quietly exchanged for in the system to restore his stamina and Soul Power, Feng Xiaotian managed to keep going for a full four hours!

Such a long stretch of fighting left his teammates' jaws dropping!

At first, everyone had thought that, since they were all Soul Elders too, their captain Feng Xiaotian's Soul Power and stamina would give out after he fought five or six of them in succession at most.

Who would have thought that Feng Xiaotian would grow braver the longer he fought? At the beginning, their captain had also seemed like a different person.

Although his fighting style was much the same as before, he was noticeably more out of practice.

At first, that had let them gain some advantage, but as the fights went on, Feng Xiaotian seemed to grow stronger and stronger, and they came to appreciate his somewhat terrifying endurance in battle.

Was this really their damn captain?

He might have been taking drugs, but who knew?

Feng Xiatou also gained a great deal from the four hours of fighting. After this battle, Feng Xiaotian had more or less adapted to the fighting style of the Douluo World and the use of Soul Skills and Soul Power.

It also gave Feng Xiaotian a more direct understanding of each of his other teammates.

After all, inherited memories were still different from experiencing things firsthand.

Of his eleven teammates, two were at level thirty-four, one at level thirty-three, three at level thirty-two, and five at level thirty-one.

These were all of Godwind Academy's students above level thirty. According to Feng Xiaotian's memories, Godwind Academy had a total of three Soul Ancestors at the finals, himself included.

There were a little over four years left until the finals. Two of them should become Soul Ancestors, and those two might come from the three who were at levels thirty-three and thirty-four.

But it was also possible that someone else would rise unexpectedly to prominence. Still, there were no real geniuses among them. The youngest was fifteen years old, and his Soul Power had only just reached level thirty-one!

By comparison, Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er had already been three Soul Power levels ahead at the same age, and both seemed to have reached level forty-three by the time of the Advanced Soul Master Tournament.

Even so, this showed how difficult cultivation really was for Soul Masters of ordinary potential.

When he had read novels and watched anime before, he had always felt that cultivation was not all that difficult for the protagonists. But once he actually came to this world, he discovered that only a tiny minority of people cultivated quickly.

The next morning!

The service at Blazing Fire Academy was excellent. They brought over tasty, nutritious food early in the morning.

After breakfast, as everyone prepared to leave, Cheng Cheng came before them and said, "Feng He, take them to the exchange tournament. I won't be going."

Feng He nodded and said, "Yes, Dean."

Everyone knew about Vice Dean Cheng Cheng's health, and they all understood!

Although Cheng Cheng, a Soul Saint, would not be going, they still had Teacher Feng He to uphold Godwind Academy's reputation.

After all, Feng He was considered one of the stronger teachers at Godwind Academy.

His Martial Soul was the same as his name, a Wind Crane. He was tall and thin, with something of an immortal's bearing.

He looked fairly young, around thirty, but he was actually forty-five.

He was one year younger than Feng Xiaotian's father, Feng Qingyang, and his Soul Power had reached level sixty-five. He had been Feng Qingyang's teammate when they were students at Godwind Academy.

Now he was the instructor for Feng Xiaotian's advanced class, as well as the leader of Godwind Academy's team.

Cheng nodded, then looked at Feng Xiaotian and the others. "Do your best. I'll be waiting for your good news."

Everyone nodded and said, "Don't worry, we'll do our utmost to take first place."

As soon as the words were out, Feng He put on a stern face and said, "You should do your best, but this is only an exchange tournament. Everyone must take care to conceal their strength. We can't expose all our trump cards."

Feng Xiaotian immediately asked, "Teacher Feng He, how should we conceal them?"

He knew this, of course, but someone needed to give Feng He an opening to continue.

Feng He said with a serious expression, "Every one of you must conceal a Soul Skill that the people from the other academies don't know about. Ideally, it should be your strongest Soul Skill."

"Hide our strongest Soul Skill? Then how are we supposed to win?" asked a member of the team named Feng Hu.

Apart from Feng Xiaotian, Feng Hu was the strongest on the team. His Martial Soul was the Storm Tiger, he was eighteen years old, and his Soul Power was at level thirty-four!

Feng He immediately explained, "Our goal is indeed to strive for first place in this exchange tournament, but we can't expose our trump cards either. I think the other academies will do the same! They won't reveal all their strength, either. After all, in the Advanced Soul Master Tournament, we'll all be opponents trying to eliminate one another. The more trump cards we have, the better our chances of winning. Even if we lose today, we can't reveal them!"

"The Five Elemental Academies hold an exchange tournament twice every five years."

"The first is held one year after the previous Advanced Soul Master Tournament ends, when each academy has just formed its team. It gives everyone a chance to exchange pointers and improve."

"The second exchange tournament is held one year before the Advanced Soul Master Tournament. You could call it a rehearsal for the Soul Master Tournament. Your captain, Feng Xiaotian, took part in an exchange tournament two years ago. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask him. Xiaotian, you're the captain, so you can share your thoughts too."

That brought to mind the exchange tournament Feng Xiaotian had attended at Skywater Academy two years ago.

Feng Xiaotian had been there as little more than a spectator the whole time and had never taken the field. He had spent most of his time trailing after Huo Wu. Feng He felt somewhat helpless whenever he thought about it.

Coming to Blazing Fire this time, he had actually prepared himself for it. After all, Feng Xiaotian was the captain, and he would have to stop Feng Xiaotian when necessary.

But who could have known that Feng Xiaotian would take a fancy to Shui Bing'er of Skywater Academy this time, and that his attitude toward Huo Wu would change completely?

Fortunately, Feng Xiaotian's behavior this time had been just about normal, unlike two years ago, when he had been utterly embarrassing.

When Feng He asked Feng Xiaotian, he knew that Feng He was testing him.

Feng Xiaotian thought for a moment and said, "Not all of us will take the field this time. Feng Hu, for instance, and some others. We need to keep the strength of two or three of us unknown to them, so everyone should be prepared for that. Next, I'll tell each of you which Soul Skill you need to hide."

"If you take the field, Feng Hu, you need to hide your third Soul Skill. Feng Lingyu, hide your second Soul Skill. Luo Xin, you need to hide your second Soul Skill too. Qin Lan, yours is the third. Feng Ming, you need to hide your third Soul Skill..."

In one breath, Feng Xiaotian listed the Soul Skills each team member needed to conceal.

Feng He listened and nodded in satisfaction. "Well said. It seems you know your teammates very well, Xiaotian. Then we'll do as your captain says."