Chapter 104: A Year and a Half Later
A year and a half later, the First Training Ground of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
"Third Soul skills, Leopard Shadow Clone."
The third Thousand Year Soul Ring suddenly burst with purple light, and Oslo instantly split into two figures, attacking the blade-wielding young girl in the center of the arena together.
After their brief exchange just now, he no longer dared to underestimate this young girl at all, even though she was from the support system.
But Oslo still had a curse word stuck in his throat that he just had to spit out:
Is this fucking support system?!
Shouldn't soft girls from the support system be hiding behind everyone, then swoosh-swoosh-swooshing their Martial Soul Abilities?
But this one was different; what was the meaning of her charging up with a blade and slashing away?
The most ridiculous thing was, he actually couldn't beat her.
He, an agility-attack system Soul Elder, actually couldn't beat a support system Soul Elder. If word of this got out, people would laugh their heads off.
Yet this bizarre scene was currently happening right before his eyes.
Just then, countless petals drifted past Oslo's eyes, and his nose seemed to catch a whiff of a faint fragrance.
But instead of relaxing him, this only made Oslo's expression grow even more solemn.
The pale purple long blade in Ye Lingling's hand burst with a ray of light, and arc-shaped slashes cascaded from her blade's edge.
Centering on her body, they rapidly expanded in all directions!
The trajectories of these blade flashes interwove and bloomed in the air, ultimately forming a spherical barrier condensed from countless plum blossom petals.
Breath of Flower, Third Form: Deflecting Plum Blossom!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The continuous attacks from the two Clones and Oslo's main body had just touched the petal barrier when they felt as if they had struck a steel plate, producing crisp metallic clangs.
If one looked closely, in the brief moments of Oslo's attacks, Ye Lingling's long blade would parry his strikes with extreme speed and precision.
Only in this way did it create the illusion of an impenetrable wall.
To achieve such a level required incredibly precise judgment and reaction speed.
However, to Ye Lingling, who often practiced with Lin Yang, this... was merely the most basic of basics.
Clang—!
After the long blade deflected Oslo's attack once more, taking advantage of his momentary Divided Soul, Ye Lingling accurately seized the opportunity, shifted her blade stance, and swiftly slashed out.
Not good!
By the time Oslo reacted, that pale purple, somewhat narrow long blade had already lightly rested against his neck.
The sharp Qi of the long blade made Oslo's body stiffen.
The long blade in Ye Lingling's hand was a weapon personally forged by Divine Craftsman Lou Gao of Gengxin City, using the claw blades of a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear paired with rare metals.
Not only did it perfectly suit Ye Lingling's usage habits, but its weight was also just right, not to mention its extreme sharpness.
Although it couldn't be considered a Divine Artifact, easily slicing through the defense of an agility-attack system Soul Elder was a breeze.
Oslo raised his hand somewhat dejectedly, "I lose!"
Ye Lingling nodded slightly, twirled her blade with a flick of her wrist, sheathed it, and then turned to step back as if nothing had happened.
"Lingling, you were amazing!"
Dugu Yan whispered in her ear.
Although Ye Lingling didn't speak, the slight curl of her lips clearly showed that she was in a very good mood.
Although she had only defeated an agility-attack system Soul Master with lower Soul Power than her, it was enough to justify her arduous cultivation over the past year or so.
Who said those from the support system couldn't hack people to death?
At this moment, Qin Ming also stepped forward, cleared his throat, and said, "Alright, now that you've witnessed the strength of the reserve team members, is there anyone who is still unconvinced?"
The four of them, including Oslo, shook their heads. A support system member had just taken down an agility-attack system member; what else could they possibly say?
"Very well, welcome to the official reserve of the Emperor Fighting Team." Qin Ming said with a smile, then added, "The usual rules: introduce yourselves first to get to know each other."
Hearing this, the most stout pair of twins stepped forward first, "Shimo (Shimo), Martial Soul Black Tortoise, Rank thirty-four defense system Battle Soul Master."
Following right after was Oslo, who had just fought, "Oslo, Martial Soul Ghost Leopard, Rank thirty-three agility-attack system Battle Soul Master."
The last to appear was a rather lean but very handsome young man.
"Yufeng, Martial Soul Wind Chime Bird, Rank thirty-three agility-attack system Battle Soul Master."
On this side, Lin Yang and the others also stepped forward one by one.
"Lin Yang, Martial Soul Nichirin Blade, Rank forty-seven attack system Battle Soul Sect."
Rank forty-seven? Soul Sect?
The breathing of the four opposite them hitched. There was an expert of this caliber?
And he seemed to be extremely young.
However, this was only the beginning.
"Xiao Wu, Martial Soul Soft Bones Rabbit, Rank forty-two attack system Battle Soul Sect."
Another Soul Sect?
"Dugu Yan, Martial Soul Azure Phosphorus Poison Flood Dragon, Rank forty-two control system Battle Soul Sect."
The four of them were completely numb.
"Ye Lingling, Martial Soul Nine-Heart Begonia, Rank thirty-nine support system Tool Spirit Elder."
Whew—!
All four of them let out a collective sigh of relief.
Thankfully, if they were all Soul Sects, it would make these 'Geniuses' look incredibly useless.
Though their current situation wasn't much better anyway.
The eight people standing here now were all the members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team's reserve.
The four, including Oslo, were also students meticulously selected by Qin Ming. Whether in terms of Martial Soul, talent, or cultivation, they were the best of the best.
As for Yu Tianheng, the Young Lord of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, because he felt there was no hope of winning over Dugu Bo, coupled with the immense pressure, he had already left Heaven Dou Royal Academy a year ago.
At that time, Qin Ming had tried his best to persuade him to stay, but the other party was determined to leave, so he could only helplessly agree.
Where Yu Tianheng went afterward, Lin Yang and the others did not know, nor did they care.
Now there were a total of eight people in the reserve team, while the official team had only seven members, so there would inevitably be one substitute.
However, they didn't need to be so particular about it just yet.
This session of the 'Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament' was still half a month away from starting.
The Elite Tournament was initiated by the two great Empires of Heaven Dou and Star Luo, assisted by Spirit Hall, and jointly organized by these three major powers.
Held once every five years, the age of the participants must not exceed twenty-five.
The qualifiers and promotion matches were similar every year, but the location of the finals was rotated among the three organizers.
Last time it was in Star Luo City of the Star Luo Empire, and the time before that was in Spirit City of Spirit Hall.
This time, the location of the finals was naturally in Heaven Dou City.
Although the tournament had not yet begun, the venue for the finals had already been prepared long ago.
Recently, discussions regarding it in Heaven Dou City had also begun to increase.
Now, the two teams of Heaven Dou Royal Academy not only represented the academy's reputation but also the face of the imperial family.
It was said that Emperor Xue Ye attached great importance to this tournament, and had even generously taken out a ten-thousand-year Spirit Bone as the reward for the finals.
However, both its age and quality were quite average.
In Lin Yang's eyes, it was of the sort that was tasteless to eat yet a pity to discard.
Even Lin Yang couldn't help but complain about how petty it was. One had to know that in the next session, Spirit Hall would directly bring out three Soul Bones, each of which completely crushed this session's reward.
Of course, no one else was aware of this.
Only after this session of the tournament ended would they be promoted from the reserve to the main team.
And the next tournament would be the main battlefield where they would truly show their skills.
Although Lin Yang, Xiao Wu, and the others were also qualified to participate in this session's Elite Tournament.
But whether it was Qin Ming or the three members of the Faculty Committee, they had unanimously decided not to deploy them in this session.
Aside from Lin Yang, the Soul Power Ranks of Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan were not considered top-tier among the numerous teams.
Appearing now would only expose their strength too early.
Age was their true advantage.
By the next session, even if the two of them didn't reach the Soul King level, they would still find no match at the Soul Sect level.
Therefore, they would rather play it safe to ensure they won the championship in the next session.
As for this session, although Emperor Xue Ye held great expectations, the three members of the Faculty Committee were not optimistic.
This wasn't about boosting others' morale while dampening their own, but rather a sober realization of reality.
But who could help it when he was the Emperor? In any case, the Soul Bone wasn't coming out of the academy's pocket, so if he wanted to give it away, so be it
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