Chapter 177

Don't be fooled by the fact that Wend and Zhao Xiaolong's Soul Ring are white; in fact, this is the normal range. Over 80% of the First Soul Ring on the entire continent are white, with the remaining 10% being yellow.

Don't be fooled by the fact that all the Soul Master participating in the Soul Master Tournament have yellow, purple, and black configurations; in fact, they represent the highest standard in the entire Douluo Continent.

The standard Soul Ring for ordinary people are usually white, yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and black, or white, yellow, purple, purple, purple, and black. Those with the best Soul Ring ratio of yellow, yellow, purple, purple, and black are considered to be at the very top of the pyramid.

Next came Qingming, Qingming revealed his Martial Soul: flames and the Yellow Soul Ring on Martial Soul.

Qingming: "My First Soul Skill is Flame Bullet, which can cause impact and explosive damage to enemies. It can be fired in multiples or singles. In multiples, a maximum of five Flame Bullet can be fired at the same time, and a single Soul Power can be powered by seven Flame Bullet."

After Qingming finished speaking, everyone looked at Su Xiaoxi. Actually, Qingming was also quite curious. Her surname was Su, her Martial Soul was water, she was eleven years old, her level was nineteen, her Martial Soul awakened at the age of six, and her Soul Power increased by at least nine levels in just five years.

Is Innate Full Soul Power?

Impossible, there's no such thing as Innate Full Soul Power that slows down.

Her Innate Soul Power should be around level seven. In five years, it will reach level twelve, which is about the right level for Innate talent of level seven.

So, which family does she belong to?

His surname is Su, Martial Soul is water.

The clothes were of very good quality; judging from her outfit, it must have cost dozens of Gold Soul Coin. It was a pity that there were no signs indicating her identity.

They must be from noble families or clans; as for commoners, that's impossible.

Normally, even if someone from an ordinary family awakens Innate Soul Power, it's difficult for them to exceed level three, unless their Martial Soul Mutation, and even then, it has to be in a positive direction, which makes the chances even lower.

Moreover, ordinary families can't afford such nice clothes.

Su Xiaoxi was a little nervous under the gazes of the four people during Qingming Festival, and she immediately revealed her Martial Soul, with a yellow Soul Ring appearing as well.

Su Xiaoxi: "My First Soul Skill is Water Wave Strike, which can summon a water column to impact the enemy. If it hits, it can stun the opponent for one second. Only one water column can be summoned at a time, and my Soul Power can summon a total of seven attacks."

Wright: "Very good, now let's discuss the tactics."

Wright: "I'll be in charge of the main attack, Zhao Xiaolong will be the secondary attacker. The two of us will fight the examiners head-on. Xiaoxi, Wend, and Qingming, the three of you will stand behind and provide long-range support. Be careful with your positioning to avoid the examiners' attacks. The examiners are likely to attack the three of you first, because your close combat abilities are relatively weak."

Wright: "So, that's the general strategy. Do you have anything to add?"

Su Xiaoxi: "No problem."

Wend: "Agreed."

Zhao Xiaolong: "Okay."

Qingming, somewhat shyly, said, "Perhaps we could use a tactical feint."

The four of them stared blankly at Qingming, puzzled, indicating that they didn't understand what tactical deception was.

Qingming patiently explained, "People have a tendency to think inertia. We can maintain a certain level of attack first, and then suddenly increase our offensive once the opponent is familiar with the intensity and frequency of our attacks. This way, we can easily achieve unexpected results."

Wright four men exchanged winks, as if asking each other, "Do you understand?"

I don't understand, but it seems pretty impressive.

/╲/(•̀ω•́)/\╱\

Qingming sighed and continued, "Wend has five attack abilities, I have seven, and Xiaoxi also has seven. We can have the first three attacks in the order of me, then Xiaoxi, and then Wend. Xiaoxi, you especially need to remember that our attributes conflict. If we release our Soul Skill at the same time, it will weaken our damage, so we should attack first and then you."

Su Xiaoxi asked in confusion, "Why must we do it in order? If we attack simultaneously without any sequence, won't it be harder for the teacher to handle us?"

Qingming: "Let me finish speaking first."

"As I said, people have habits. If the first three attacks are predictable and follow a set order, then when the fourth attack comes, the teacher will habitually assume that the fourth attack will also follow the same order. At that point, if we suddenly change our attack method, we can definitely catch him off guard. Besides, can we really beat the teacher? The teacher's Soul Power Level is 38. If it were a real life-or-death battle, we probably wouldn't even last a minute. This so-called test is just to demonstrate our Soul Power, Soul Skill, and combat prowess to the teacher. The better we perform, the better our grade will be. Do you understand?"

"Mmm, mmm"

The four little heads nodded obediently.

Seeing them nod Qingming brought me a sense of relief; my life had been so difficult.

┌(.Д.)┐

"Xiaoxi, you attack first during the fourth wave of attacks. Make sure to stun the teacher. So, Captain and Xiaolong, please cooperate with us during the fourth attack and keep the teacher occupied. After the teacher is stunned, Wend, you and I will attack simultaneously. With the wind fueling the fire, our combined attack in the same direction will cause even greater damage and definitely give the teacher a lot of trouble."

"Next, after the fifth wave of attacks, we changed the attack order again. By the way, after the fourth attack, Wend immediately withdrew from the battle and went to a safe place, pretending that he had run out of Soul Power and could no longer fight. So, for the fifth and sixth waves of attacks, it was just Xiaoxi and me. The order was Xiaoxi first, then me."

"After the sixth wave of attacks, I withdrew from the battle and, like Wend, pretended that my Soul Power was exhausted and I had no fighting ability left. Xiaoxi maintained a fighting stance to provide support at any time. The opportunity for the seventh wave was to wait until the captain and Xiaolong were about to be defeated or the defense line was breached by the teacher. At that time, Xiaoxi would launch the first attack, and Wend and I would follow up with the final attack at the same time."

"Xiaoxi, after the final wave of attacks, you remained in the battle circle, maintaining a posture ready to attack at any moment. Your attacks are the most threatening. As long as you are standing, your teacher will feel pressured and dare not be distracted in dealing with your upcoming attacks."

After explaining his tactics, Qingming asked, "What do you think of my tactic of deception?"

The four of them noticed a change in the way I looked at Qingming.

Are you really the same sunny and warm-hearted boy you used to be? Your smile was so gentle and sincere before. Now you've come up with such a despicable and dirty tactic. Did you really say that?

Even though Qingming was used to pretending, he still felt a little guilty under the scrutiny of the four of them.

"Cough cough."

To divert attention, Qingming continued, "Of course, the premise of my tactic is that the teacher isn't fighting us seriously. If the two front-line units are taken out at the beginning, or if the teacher directly cuts off the backline, then all the previous tactics are useless, and we'll have to adapt to the situation afterward."

Wright Teshan said in a serious tone, "I think your method is really good."

Wright's inner thoughts: I really am a clown. An eleven-year-old super genius, a tactical mastermind with maxed-out skills, what am I supposed to do with being a squad leader? If I get sold out one day, I might even be helping the person who sold me out count the money.

ヽ(`д´)ノ

Dad, you lied to me. Didn't you say I was about to become the king of the kids? There couldn't possibly be more than three people in the entire school who were better than me, but it feels like I've already met two?

Is it really just a coincidence? Did they all happen to be in the same group as me?

Wright:┌(┌､ﾝ､)┐

Teacher: "Time's up. The practical assessment will now begin."

The five nodded and Qingming according to their previous plan.

Wright and Xiaolong summoned their Martial Soul and charged towards the teacher, one in white and one in yellow, wielding a spear and two claws wildly in front of the examiner.

Wright was the tallest of the five. He became even stronger and taller after Martial Soul Possession, but he was still a head shorter than the examiner. Although Wright was well-developed, he was still too young.

Everyone here is only twelve years old. Their physical development is still far from complete. Even though early maturity is common in the Douluo Continent, the legal age of adulthood is fifteen. No matter how much they develop, they can't compete with a real adult.

The examiner looked to be in his thirties or forties, at the peak of his strength, stamina, and explosive power.

Even without activating his Martial Soul, he still completely overwhelmed Wright, the strongest of the five, in every aspect of his physical abilities.

Wright took the lead in the attack, his pair of Soul-Dispersing Iron Claws flashing coldly in front of the teacher. Even the teacher had to retreat without activating his Martial Soul. Zhao Xiaolong summoned a Spear Shadow, one spear and two shadows, specifically for sneak attacks, targeting the teacher's lower body. For a moment, the teacher was in a state of panic.

The teacher was initially quite overwhelmed by the attacks from Wright and Xiaolong, but he quickly regained his composure. However, this could be considered as blocking the teacher's advance.

Everyone thought to themselves.

Next, Qingming and his two companions began their attack, unleashing Flame Bullet, Water Wave Strike, and Wind Blade at the examiner.

At this moment, a solemn expression appeared on the teacher's face. He activated his Martial Soul and Soul Ring, one white, one yellow, and one purple. With the Red Bull Martial Soul entering his body, the examiner's physical fitness underwent a significant improvement.

Previously, the teacher could only dodge the attacks of the five people, but now he can withstand them and even repel them.

As the battle progressed, Qingming and his group of five breathed a sigh of relief, as everything was proceeding according to Qingming's plan.

Although temporary team leaders Wright and Zhao Xiaolong struggled to withstand the examiners' attacks, the examiners were unable to bypass them and directly attack Qingming and his two companions.

Furthermore, after three rounds of attacks by Qingming and his two companions, the examiners greatly reduced their vigilance towards Qingming and increased the intensity of their frontal assault. As a result, Wright and Xiaolong's defenses became increasingly shaky.

Far from panicking at this, the five were even more delighted; their teacher had indeed fallen for their trap.

As Xiaoxi unleashed her Water Wave Strike, Xiaolong and Wright were startled, and they both increased their attack power simultaneously. The examiner was also taken aback, his face showing surprise.

Why has the order changed?

Unfortunately, at that moment, Xiaolong and Wright increased the intensity of their Soul Power attacks, making it impossible for the examiners to dodge the Water Wave Strike attack.

Of course, even if it hits, the examiner doesn't think they can be injured by these kids. Besides, the Soul Power fluctuation of the Water Wave Strike isn't strong, so this attack won't hurt them. Of course, they'll inevitably end up looking disheveled.

What a lovely bunch of little guys!

The examiner thought to himself.

However, what surprised the examiners even more was yet to come.

After being Water Wave Strike, the examiner was immediately stunned for a second, and that one second was enough time for Qingming and Wend to launch an attack simultaneously.

The examiner had just recovered from his dizziness when he was immediately met with Wend's Wind Blade and Qingming's fireballs.

There's no way to dodge it; you can only take it.

The wind fanned the flames, and although the two were far from Martial Soul Fusion Skill, they far exceeded the power of Soul Skill itself.

Faced with both Qingming and Wend's Soul Skill, the examiner actually felt threatened at this moment. Although it wasn't a big threat, it was a real sense of impending death.

You absolutely cannot try to withstand it, otherwise you will definitely get injured.

In this situation, the examiner finally resorted to his Soul Skill.

"First Soul Skill, Hardening."

As the Wind Blade and fireballs exploded on the teacher, the teacher's figure began to appear.

His clothes were mostly charred, revealing his muscular chest and body, interspersed with some small wounds.

This is the result of Qingming and Wend's battle. It can't be said that there was no harm involved, but the insult was truly strong.

At this moment, even the assessor was a little angry. A small practical assessment had almost resulted in serious injury?

Qingming course, the five children are still students; they're just a group of kids. As a teacher, I certainly can't hurt them. But they're just naughty kids, so giving them a good spanking once in a while is understandable.

The examiner looked at Qingming and the other four with a blank expression and said, "You guys are very good, very good. Now, I'm going to get serious."

The teacher practically spat out the last sentence through gritted teeth, word by word.

Faced with such an examiner, Qingming and his friends felt a chill run down their spines, secretly groaning that they had gone too far with their joke. They weren't sure they would die or get injured, but a beating was definitely in order.

Hardening was the First Soul Skill tested on the teacher, and its effect was to reduce damage by 20% for two minutes. With this ability, the teacher could basically ignore the attacks of Qingming and the other five, and the following battle proved this point.

The teacher basically ignored the attacks of Qingming and the other five. On the contrary, Xiaolong and Wright's defenses were on the verge of being broken, or rather, they had already been broken, under the teacher's attacks. The reason why Wright and the other two were able to hold on was not because of their strength, but more because of the teacher's revenge on the five of them, purely to vent their anger.

Under the fierce attack of the examiner, Xiaolong and Wright were beaten half to death. Although they were not seriously injured, they both looked quite miserable, especially Wright, who was almost beaten into a pig's head by the teacher. The miserable state Qingming that it made my eyelids twitch.

Soon, Qingming's six attacks came to an end, and without long-range support, Wright and his companion could no longer hold out. Wright was the first to give in, as he was the main force and suffered the most damage.