Chapter 266 - To Battle

The opponents class zero would face had only joined the academy a grade before them, so there wasn’t much of a gap between everyone’s ages. However, they were all geniuses who passed Shrek’s entrance exam and had been educated by Shrek Academy.

This was a trial of true combat, a battle between two soul masters.

An air of indifference in her words, Shen Yi said, “You may begin selecting your opponents. Once you’ve made your choice, you may no longer change your mind—all selections are final. This trial’s only rule is that you are not permitted to use soul devices during battle. You have ten minutes to choose.”

Tang Wulin nodded to Shen Yi then gathered his teammates.

Tang Wulin lowered his voice. “I have already put together an order for us to go in. I’ll be the first, second will be Xie Xie, and Gu Yue will follow afterwards. Xiaoyan, you’ll go last. Xie Xie, Gu Yue, you two need to drag out your battles for as long as possible. Especially you, Xie Xie. It should be easy for you since you’re an agility-type soul master. We need to stall for nightfall so that Xiaoyan can use her Starwheel Ice Staff.”

Xu Xiaoyan’s eyes sparkled as she nodded. Gu Yue also gave a slight nod.

Tang Wulin continued, “As for selecting your opponents… Just pick whoever you feel is best.”

The four eyed the ten possible opponents.

Generally, a soul master’s outward appearance reflected the qualities of their martial soul. Power-type soul masters would have robust bodies while range or spiritual-type soul masters would have more delicate physiques.

After inspecting his options, Xie Xie’s gaze settled on a strong-looking student. Just as he was about to announce his choice, Tang Wulin grabbed his arm.

He then said in a hushed voice, “Let me remind you all that this is Shrek Academy, the legendary Monster Academy. I’m sure you’re aware of the school’s motto: they only accept monsters, not ordinary people. That means we can’t judge our opponents as we normally would. Looking at them from the opposite perspective might even prove more accurate.”

Xie Xie felt as if he was struck by lightning. He gave Tang Wulin a big thumbs up before once more examining the ten students lined up in a row.

Attribute compatibility between soul masters was crucial at lower levels. If Xie Xie faced a control-type soul master, then he would be thoroughly subdued. On the other hand, power-type soul masters feared range-type soul masters due to their ability to keep the former at a distance while also attacking them. All things considered, it was crucial to pick opponents they would do well against. Despite Tang Wulin’s confidence in their ability, he was aware that the world had no shortage of geniuses, especially here, in the continent’s number one academy.

Xie Xie pointed. “I choose number two as my opponent.”

The student he pointed at had a slender figure that was almost certainly of an agility-type soul master.

Xu Xiaoyan picked the sturdy man Xie Xie had nearly picked beforehand. He was number six.

Gu Yue said, “Number one.” The first student had the most ordinary appearance of the ten. He lacked any unique traits whatsoever.

The last one to pick was Tang Wulin. His eyes wandered for a moment before finally settling on one student. “I choose number ten.” His legs were already taking him to the arena as he spoke.

Student number ten was a tall, slender girl whose eyes displayed a trace of arrogance. Her looks were above average, but still a whole notch below Xu Xiaoyan’s. She was at about the same level as Gu Yue.

Shen Yi said, “I will be supervising this match. You must listen to my commands during the match and you must stop the moment I tell you to. Understood?” Her words were clearly directed at Tang Wulin.

“Yes,” Tang Wulin said in deference.

“Good. Get ready… Begin!”

Without any superfluous words, the match began. Student number ten’s eyes lit up as she instantly shot forward. Like a cheetah, she pounced on Tang Wulin with lightning speed.

Xie Xie gaped at her speed. He had always been confident in his speed, but he couldn’t even compare with her!

Three soul rings appeared around the girl, two of them yellow and one purple.

Her ears twitched as silver streaks appeared in her hair and her pupils squished into vertical slits.

A beast martial soul. The Snow Leopard? Tang Wulin identified it instantly.

He didn’t have much of an impression of the Snow Leopard martial soul. All he could recall was it being a rarely seen beast from cold climates that possessed both speed and ice-attribute attacks.

A smile blossomed on Tang Wulin’s lips. What agility-type soul masters feared most were control-type soul masters! As a control-type himself, he already held the advantage! Moreover, he possessed the Purple Demon Eyes.

He may be nowhere near as fast as her, but his eyes could still keep up with her.

Two purple soul rings appeared beneath him while strands of Bluesilver Grass shot out like a giant net.

An agility-type soul master being bound by a control-type essentially signaled the end of the battle.

The very next moment, however, a startling scene unfolded.

Student number ten suddenly halted in the air, snowflakes exploding out of her body as her first soul ring lit up.

Snow whirled around her body which sent the temperature within the arena into a plummet. Popping noises blanketed the air as streams of snow collided with the swarm of Bluesilver Grass.

The Bluesilver Grass turned sluggish under the snow’s influence. Had it not evolved several times already, perhaps the grass would have shattered on the spot.

Isn’t she an agility-type soul master? These snowflakes seem to come from a control or assault-type! She’s so quick, yet she isn’t approaching like an agility-type? Shrek Academy really is filled with a bunch of deceptive freaks.

As the two martial souls clashed, the blizzard grew in density. Tang Wulin amassed his Bluesilver Grass, but it still couldn’t penetrate the wall of snow as it drifted around his grass and toward his body.

Tang Wulin turned tail without any hesitation. Behind him, Bluesilver Grass spun like a blender, whipping away all the snowflakes nearing him.

“Coward.” His opponent coldly snorted, the air hissing as she willed the snow to pursue him.

She soon vanished amidst the blizzard while the snow itself gathered into the form of a leopard that leapt into pursuit.

The students had a different assignment from that of the examinees. They were tasked with ending their battles as quickly as possible. The faster they were, the better they would be rewarded.

The girl’s second soul ring lit up. The appearance of her leopard had triggered a second drop in temperature inside the arena which served to lower the speed of Tang Wulin’s grass even further. The leopard instantly broke through the sluggish grass and and rushed Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin’s appearance was unsightly as he madly fled in a winding path. Bluesilver Grass continuously whipped at the leopard chasing him in an attempt to slow it down as much as possible. He cut quite the sorry figure.

The girl held her spot in the center of the arena, commanding her leopard to continue its pursuit. Trying to stall for time? Then let’s see just how quick you are!

After running for a while, Tang Wulin could feel that something was amiss. There was something off about the temperature.