Chapter 40: Quarterfinals, Defeat the Elephant Pipi.
Dean Yan Shaozhe of the Martial Soul Department sat upright in the center, his gray hair neatly combed.
To his left was Vice Dean Cai Meier, dressed in a long purple dress, with a striking appearance.
To his right was Du Weilun, the head of the teaching department, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.
Several other positions were even more noteworthy.
The Dean of the Soul Guidance Department, Xian Lin'er, also arrived, with the Vice Dean, Qian Duoduo, sitting next to her.
In the far corner sat an old man whose face was obscured, but who was holding a wine jug and a chicken leg.
Elder Xuan of the Sea God Pavilion.
This Chicken Leg Douluo rarely appeared in public at the academy. His presence today indicated that the academy's leadership attached extraordinary importance to this year's freshmen.
Yan Shaozhe scanned the four examination areas below, his gaze finally settling on the first examination room.
"Dai Huabin and Xie Huanyue are together?"
Du Weilun nodded: "Yes, the first match of the quarterfinals."
Cai Meier crossed her legs, her tone tinged with amusement:
"A level 34 White Tiger Soul Master is leading a level 27 Netherworld Cat Great Soul Master in a two-against-three battle. On the other side, there's a level 32 Pipi Elephant. This match is interesting."
Yan Shaozhe stroked his chin:
"I'd rather see if they actually use the Martial Soul Fusion Technique."
Du Weilun's lips twitched as he recalled Dai Huabin's self-righteous attitude when he applied for a single dormitory room.
"Given that kid's personality, he won't use anything unless absolutely necessary. He's very shrewd and will never reveal his hand unless absolutely necessary."
First examination room.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu stood side by side at the south end of the venue.
Opposite him, Xie Huanyue stood in the center, his physique robust, at least two sizes larger than his peers.
On his left and right stood two muscular young men with almost identical faces: Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba.
The twins of the Mantis Blade martial spirit.
The referee walked to the center of the field, and after confirming that both sides were ready, raised his hand to signal.
"First examination room, quarterfinals! Class 9 Dai Huabin's team versus Class 2 Xie Huanyue's team. Both sides, prepare!"
Xie Huanyue stretched his thick neck, and his joints made a cracking sound.
He glanced at Dai Huabin and grinned.
"The eldest son of the White Tiger Duke, I wanted to fight you during the round-robin tournament. The two of you dared to sign up for the assessment, you've got guts."
Dai Huabin took off his school uniform jacket and casually threw it to the sidelines.
He was wearing a close-fitting black outfit that accentuated the boy's lean yet muscular physique.
"Whether you're brave or not, you'll know after you've fought."
"Start!"
The referee's arm fell.
Xie Huanyue reacted extremely quickly.
Three spirit rings suddenly lit up on his body, two yellow and one purple.
His first soul skill, "Elephant Body," was activated instantly. His body swelled rapidly, his skin turned dark brown, and he became like a moving wall of flesh.
At the same time, Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba both released their martial spirits, and silver-white mantis blades extended from their arms. The two slender figures spread out to the left and right flanks respectively, preparing to encircle the enemy.
Standard tactics, just as expected.
Dai Huabin slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
"Lulu, I'm leaving them to you."
Zhu Lu didn't give any further response; her body was already moving.
The Netherworld Cat's martial soul possession was completed in an instant. A semi-transparent soul power claw shot out from her fingertips, and her entire body transformed into a gray-black afterimage, rushing straight towards Luo Tianlong on the left flank.
Luo Tianlong was startled. He hadn't expected that the other party would ignore Xie Huanyue's frontal attack and come straight at him.
"Big Brother!" Luo Tianba immediately changed direction, flanking Zhu Lu from the right flank, attempting to form a pincer attack.
The twins' coordination was indeed excellent; they raised their mantis blades almost simultaneously and attacked Zhu Lu from the left and right.
But Zhu Lu was too fast.
She stopped abruptly in front of Luo Tianlong, her body sinking down to barely avoid the mantis blade slashing down from above, and then swiftly swung her right claw upwards.
The armor-piercing effect of the Nether Thrust produced a violent metallic scraping sound when it came into contact with Luo Tianlong's Mantis Blade.
Luo Tianlong's arm went numb from the shock, and he felt a sharp pain in his hand, almost dropping the mantis blade.
Luo Tianba arrived from the side and slashed down with both blades at the same time.
Zhu Lu didn't even turn around to look at him. Her body spun half a circle on the spot, and she released her second soul skill, "Netherworld Hundred Claws."
Dense claw shadows exploded within a meter radius around her, each claw shadow carrying precise soul power penetration.
Luo Tianba was struck three times in the face by claws, and he staggered back four or five steps, his school uniform on his arm torn in several places.
On the other side, Dai Huabin and Xie Huanyue clashed head-on.
The impact of Xie Huanyue in its "Elephant Body" state was extremely terrifying.
With his head down, he charged towards Dai Huabin like a runaway chariot.
Dai Huabin did not take the hit head-on.
He dodged to the side, avoiding Xie Huanyue's head-on collision, and unleashed a white tiger-shaped beam of light from his mouth, striking Xie Huanyue's side at close range.
The light wave exploded, and the massive body of Xie Huanyue swayed, but did not fall.
Only a faint white mark remained on his dark brown skin.
That's it?
Xie Huanyue turned around, his smile widening.
"White Tiger's Blazing Light Wave? Is that just tickling?"
Dai Huabin's mind raced with calculations.
The White Tiger's Blazing Light Wave was not powerful enough.
In its elephant form, Xie Huanyue's defensive capabilities were at least doubled.
Trying to wear down his defenses with long-range attacks would take too long.
Then let's try a different approach.
Dai Huabin's third spirit ring lit up.
The third soul skill was the White Tiger Vajra Transformation.
His body rapidly expanded, his muscle lines became more defined, and his fingernails transformed into sharp tiger claws.
With all attributes boosted by 100%, his strength and speed reached a whole new level.
Xie Huanyue's expression finally turned serious.
A level 34 White Tiger Soul Master, with the White Tiger Vajra Transformation, doubling all attributes.
This information was terrifying.
Dai Huabin gave him no time to think. The instant the White Tiger Vajra Transformation was completed, he had already pounced on him.
Xie Huanyue subconsciously activated his second soul skill, "Elephant Trunk," and his right arm suddenly extended several meters, wrapping around Dai Huabin.
Dai Huabin dodged the elephant's trunk's first entanglement by sidestepping it. His tiger claws slashed through the air, the sharp tips tearing a bloody gash in Xie Huanyue's outstretched arm.
Xie Huanyue groaned and withdrew his arm.
Although the elephant's body had strong defense, the tiger claws enhanced by the White Tiger Vajra Transformation had already exceeded his defense threshold.
"Pretty!"
On the high platform, Cai Meier leaned forward slightly.
"The White Tiger Vajra Transformation's attack power is already capable of breaking through the Pipi Elephant's defense. This Dai Huabin has very sophisticated combat awareness."
Yan Shaozhe did not comment on Dai Huabin; instead, his attention was focused on the other side.
"Look at that girl."
On the other side of the field, Zhu Lu was suppressing the Luo brothers one against two.
The twins, Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba, had reached a very high level of skill in their teamwork.
The two attacked from the left and right, using their mantis blades in alternating attacks, leaving almost no openings.
But Zhu Lu was faster than them.
The agility of the Netherworld Cat was brought to its fullest potential during the attack from both of them.
Her figure weaved between the two mantis blades, each dodge perfectly timed, avoiding the blades just right.
Then she retaliated with a sharp claw strike.
Luo Tianlong's shoulder was grabbed, and a tear was torn in his soul power protective layer.
Luo Tianba's thigh was also hit by a claw, causing him to stumble a beat.
"The two children's cooperation…" Du Weilun sat up straight, "is a meeting of minds."
Yan Shaozhe nodded:
"It's not just about perfect teamwork. If you look closely, every time Zhu Lu makes a move, it's precisely at the moment when Dai Huabin is distracting Xie Huanyue."
She was using the battlefield rhythm created by Dai Huabin to fight her own battle.
Conversely, every time Dai Huabin approached Xie Huanyue, it coincided precisely with Zhu Lu suppressing the Luo brothers.
"This level of teamwork is beyond what training can achieve."
From the corner, Elder Xuan finally spoke, his voice hoarse.
"The degree of resonance between their martial spirits is probably far beyond our expectations."
Inside the arena, the battle situation was gradually becoming clear.
Zhu Lu's fourth Netherworld Thrust finally struck Luo Tianlong in the back.
This time she didn't hold back.
The armor-piercing effect penetrated Luo Tianlong's soul power protection, and a huge paralyzing sensation spread from his spine to his limbs.
Luo Tianlong's body froze instantly.
"Big brother!"
Luo Tianba shouted, and in that moment of distraction, Zhu Lu appeared in front of him.
Second Soul Skill: Netherworld Hundred Claws.
A dense barrage of claw-like shadows rained down on him.
Luo Tianba raised his twin blades to desperately block, but his soul power was several levels lower than Zhu Lu's, and he couldn't withstand such a dense attack at all.
Three seconds later, Luo Tianba's mantis blade was slapped away, and he was pushed out of the arena by the residual force of the claw shadow.
"Luo Tianba from Class Two is out!" the referee announced immediately.
Immediately afterwards, Luo Tianlong, who had not yet recovered from the paralysis, was also pushed out of the boundary by Zhu Lu with a gentle push.
"Luo Tianlong from Class 2 is out!"
Xie Huanyue's expression changed completely.
He was still locked in combat with Dai Huabin, and his body already bore several wounds from tiger claws.
After transforming into the White Tiger Vajra Transformation, Dai Huabin attacked at an absurdly high frequency, giving him no chance to breathe.
Now the Luo brothers were both out of the game.
He was now alone on the field, facing both Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu.
"Admit defeat." Dai Huabin stopped attacking and stood five meters away. "Your teammates are gone. You can't handle two opponents at once."
Xie Huanyue was panting heavily, his fists clenched tightly.
He was unwilling to accept it.
He was the strongest freshman in Class Two, a Soul Master of level thirty-two.
However, neither of the two people opposite them used a Martial Soul Fusion Technique from beginning to end.
"You haven't used your Martial Soul Fusion Technique even once?"
Dai Huabin nodded.
Xie Huanyue remained silent for three seconds before finally raising his right hand.
"I concede."
"In the first examination room, Dai Huabin's team from Class 9 has won! They have advanced to the semi-finals!"
The moment the referee announced the result, the students watching erupted into a noisy discussion.
Two people were fighting against three, and the opposing team also had a level 32 defensive Soul Master.
They didn't use any martial soul fusion techniques from beginning to end, and they completely dismantled the core tactics of Xie Huanyue's team.
On the high platform, Yan Shaozhe's attention had already shifted to the second examination room next door.
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[end of the chapter]