Chapter 51 – Match
Peng!
Zhou Zhangxi staggered backward continuously. He finally couldn’t stabilize himself from the force and landed on his butt.
However, Tang Wulin stood grounded just like before, though his upper body swayed a bit.
‘How could this be?’ Zhou Zhangxi was at a loss. If one could say he’d been defeated during the match that day due to being careless, what about today? He’d released his martial soul and even utilized his soul skill, Power Amplification, yet Tang Wulin’s strength still crushed his. It was simply unrivaled and had even forced him on his butt.
“Stop!” Wu Zhangkong commanded icily and pointed at Zhou Zhangxi. “You. Out.”
If a Power System Battle Soul Master lost to their opponent in strength during a match, then there was no longer a need to continue the match.
“Why didn’t you use your martial soul?” Wu Zhangkong eyed Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin answered, “He wanted to compete against me in strength.”
Wu Zhangkong’s expression turned frosty. “If he told you to eat shit, would you? Take on every match as if it were a battle. Winning that battle is your sole objective. Even a lion has to give its all to catch a rabbit. You can’t allow even the slightest chance for your opponent to defeat you. You advance, wait for the next match.”
Losers were kicked out and winners were reprimanded. The stress level of the students multiplied rapidly.
“Next match.”
The second pair were Yun Xiao and Xie Xie, the two whom had stood closest to Tang Wulin and Zhou Zhangxi.
Yun Xiao, with a bitter face, begged Xie Xie to be easy with his actions. “Please be lenient with me! I’m just a support-type soul master. I can’t endure much.”
Xie Xie commented, “To each their own.”
“Start!”
As soon as Wu Zhangkong announced this, Xie Xie dodged to the side. A yellow ring of light shone beneath his feet at almost the same time. His speed was unimaginably fast. His Light Dragon dagger had a bright golden glow coming from it and it neared Yun Xiao within a short span of time.
Right at that moment, a miracle appeared. The white glow flashed from Yun Xiao’s body, making the students feel as if there were a flower of light before them. When Xie Xie ambitiously struck, his dagger met nothing but air.
Tang Wulin had fought twice with Xie Xie, and agreed to a third battle. Thus, he was focusing hard on this match. He realised that Yun Xiao had been holding something glimmering when Xie Xie had rushed towards him. In the blink of an eye, their positions swapped, and Xie Xie’s attack failed.
However, Xie Xie’s response was quick. When he realized that his opponent disappeared, he’d already shifted his Light Dragon Dagger backwards. It appeared that his arm had moved into an unbelievable position as if he were jointless. Light and shadow came together as if to protect his back.
Yun Xiao was quick enough to only use his soul skill once, but it was soon shrouded by Xie Xie’s Light Dragon Dagger. In addition, Yun Xiao’s soul skill didn’t allow for continuous use.
Just as Yun Xiao was about to be sliced apart by the Light Dragon Dagger, a huge palm appeared and dragged him to the side.
“Stop!”
Xie Xie turned around with the dagger at his chest. Though his actions were swift, there was no trace of panic. His small, handsome face was full of ice, causing the eyes of the girls in their class to shine.
“Not bad. You advance.” Wu Zhangkong nodded towards Xie Xie before turning towards Yun Xiao. “You activated your soul skill at the precise time. However, you had underestimated the abilities of your opponent. You should have distanced yourself from him after activating your soul skill. When an Auxiliary System Battle Soul Master is restrained by an Agility System Battle Soul Master, you should find ways to strengthen your chances of survival.”
“Yes. Thank you, teacher.” Yun Xiao held a round disc in his hand which seemed to have many intricate lines on its surface. He had listened to Wu Zhangkong’s words, but Yun Xiao still thought, ‘How did Tang Wulin manage to give Xie Xie, whose skills are unrivaled, those swollen cheeks?’
Facts have proven that the Eastsea Academy’s teachers had a unique vision when determining how the classes were sorted. After almost every match, the participants would be berated by Wu Zhangkong.
Of the 20 students, eight of them were Tool Soul Masters and were not equipped with any battle skills. Their capacity for assisting abilities were hopeless as well. Of all the Battle Soul Masters in class, three of them were close to the level of the trash martial soul, Bluesilver Grass.
Within these matches, there were even two Tool Soul Masters with no battle skills at all. They were merely pushing at each other within the duration of the match.
Although Wu Zhangkong had guessed that the caliber of the class as a whole was bad, he hadn’t expected that it would be to this extent. If not for the free compulsory education, it would have been meaningless for the students within this class to continue their training. Reaching the rank 20 would be next to impossible.
From the current situation, only Xie Xie had caught Wu Zhangkong’s eye within the mass of students.
“Second round starts. You and you. Both of you shall compete.” Wu Zhangkong, with a severe-looking expression, pointed at Tang Wulin and a female student.
The female student whom Wu Zhangkong pointed to was petite. She looked cute with her short light blue hair and big eyes. A glance at her direction reminded Tang Wulin of Na’er. He faintly remembered that Li Chushui was her name and that her martial soul was a cat.
“Start!”
Li Chushui gave off an impression of shyness. She bowed towards Tang Wulin before releasing her martial soul.
Half of her light blue hair turned white, and one of her blue eyes turned green. A white soul ring rose beneath her feet and a cute little white cat appeared on her shoulder.
White fur grew over her palms and claws sprang out from her fingertips. She crouched slightly and sprang agilely towards Tang Wulin’s direction.
Her actions were lithe and her speed was fast; it was her speed that had won her the previous match. Like Xie Xie, she was an Agility System Battle Soul Master.
Keeping in mind Wu Zhangkong’s remark about his previous match, Tang Wulin brought out his martial soul as well. Blades of Bluesilver Grass appeared from his palms, and a little grass snake appeared, twirling around his wrist.
After continuously using his soul skill, Bind, continuously these past few days, he was exceptionally familiar with it. He released his vine-like Bluesilver Grass, but the blades didn’t flow towards his opponent. Instead, they appeared around him. They weaved into a big, asymmetrical web that stood near his body.
If Li Chushui were to continue at her original speed towards Tang Wulin, she would’ve knocked into and been trapped by this web.
She seemed intimidated and halted abruptly, then got to the ground on all fours without a sound. Shifting her body to the side, it seemed as if she were about to attack Tang Wulin from his side.
Tang Wulin had tasted what it was like with Xie Xie when they were up close. He was clear that when being near an Agility System Battle Soul Master, with his own speed, he had practically no defense against such an attack so closely. Therefore, he quickly turned his Bluesilver Grass towards Li Chushui’s direction and continued to maintain his web of defense, waiting for the opponent to collide with his web.
Li Chushui changed positions continuously as she tried to find gaps. Tang Wulin’s gaze was nailed to her without hesitation as he waited for her move. Though his opponent’s martial soul was released at the same time as his, his opponent had been moving at high speed, so he could just wait and consume less energy than her.
With his insufficient knowledge of controlling Bluesilver Grass, it was best to stay in one place when dealing with the immense movements of his opponent.
While his opponent constantly changed directions, Tang Wulin continued to adjust his Bluesilver Grass web, fixing the blades so they looked more orderly, finding and mending any gaps or holes that may appear.
The blades of the Bluesilver Grass gave off a sparkling luster. As Tang Wulin checked his web, he found thin golden lines at the roots of the Bluesilver Grass in his palm. They were just barely visible.