Chapter 610 - The Art of Agility

Hot pain rapidly spread throughout the bear soul master’s whole body and he went stiff.

In the eyes of the spectators, the exchange had happened in the blink of an eye. Only those who had been keenly watching were in awe by how artful Xie Xie’s technique was. He was like a wisp of smoke dancing in the wind as he slid about, repositioning multiple times within a second to misdirect the bear soul master and stab him from where he least expected. He was like a ghost with how he weaved in and out.

The instant Xie Xie’s dagger stabbed into the bear soul master’s ribs, he jumped overhead and slashed at the nape.

The Light Dragon Dagger lightly brushed against the bear soul master’s neck, then he collapsed onto the floor. His central nervous system had been pricked, instantly depriving him of control over his body.

The tailed soul master was far too slow to react to any of this. Her first soul skill was Spirit Disturbance. It wasn’t a particularly powerful control skill, but it had always been effective when cooperating with her brother. She had never expected Xie Xie to overcome it so easily.

Xie Xie had learned the Purple Demon Eyes and possessed strong spiritual power as a result. So when faced with spiritual attacks, he only needed a split second to recover. Furthermore, he possessed swift reaction times as an agility-type.

A boom thundered in the air as Yuanen Yehui used her second soul skill, Air Cannon, without even transforming. A blast of air exploded toward the tailed soul master.

The tailed soul master flicked its tail and light blossomed to greet the air blasts.

But Yuanen Yehui’s Air Cannon was not so weak as to be blocked by merely that and easily penetrated the impromptu defense. The fist-sized blasts of air exploded, sending the tailed soul master flying through the air. She had instantly fainted.

Although much had happened during the battle, it had concluded in a mere ten or so seconds! They were all four-ringed soul masters, yet Yuanen Yehui and Xie Xie dominated the battle.

Countless officials of the Star Luo Empire were paying close attention now. The general audience may not know of these two’s background, but the officials did.

“Your Majesty, those two students from Shrek Academy are extraordinary!” exclaimed one of the elders by the emperor’s side.

Dai Tianling slowly nodded. “How do you think they compare with our students at Monster Academy?”

The elder furrowed his brow, hesitant. “If they’re the same age, then it’d be hard to say.”

Dai Tianling glanced at him. He knew this elder well, and if he spoke with such caution, then that certainly wasn’t a good sign.

The elder continued, “But the competition is restricted to those twenty years old or younger. We shouldn’t have a problem defeating them. We’ll need to keep a close eye on them though. From what I saw earlier, that agility-type should be the stronger of the pair. His speed, explosive power, battlefield control, and even his spiritual power are impressive. If they didn’t lie about his age on the registration form, then he’s only fifteen years old. He’s definitely a genius. But apart from those aspects, he lacks the ability of an assault-type to be a star team member. We need to watch out for if his martial soul has any unique abilities.”

Dai Tianling smiled. “We invited Shrek Academy to the tournament this year to make things more exciting. If our youngsters can defeat them, then we’ll need to make a big press release about it. Just imagine if they defeat Douluo’s legendary Shrek Academy. And if we don’t manage to beat them, make sure to suppress and downplay news of our defeat. We need to avoid discouraging our youngsters.”

“Understood.”

☀

Meanwhile, Xie Xie and Yuanen Yehui left the stage and left for the waiting area for competitors. Xie Xie’s serious expression was gone now, replaced by a proud smile as he puffed out his chest.

“If you keep strutting around like that, I’m going to beat your ass,” Yuanen Yehui said, taking a few steps to distance herself from him.

Xie Xie snickered. “Aren’t I awesome? Come on. Tell me. I’m awesome, right? I was leading that guy around by his nose! He didn’t even see me coming!”

“Shut up.”

“What? Are you saying I wasn’t great? Did you see my moves? I was so cool—OW!”

Yuanen Yehui suddenly turned around and punched him in the stomach, silencing his boasting. Then she hastened back to the waiting area.

A thin smile formed on Xie XIe’s lips. He had grown stronger.

There were countless soul screens littered around the area, and they were all showing replays of the previous battle. When the two returned to the waiting area, the other competitors looked at them differently than before. As the first set of fifteen matches for the preliminaries proceeded, they were the first ones to win.

Xie Xie’s skill in close quarters combat was shocking. He hadn’t used a single soul skill during the battle, yet he easily took down an assault-type soul master of the same ring level! Anyone with a decent eye could tell that the Ironback Bear soul master hadn’t been able to bring out his full strength, but Xie Xie still dominated artful techniques on par with soul skills!

Tang Wulin high-fived Xie Xie and Yuanen Yehui as they returned, but he didn’t make a big show of celebration. His expression was wooden, completely unreadable.

Tang Wulin glanced at the listings for the next set of matches. He and Gu Yue were up next. He nudged her with his elbow. “What do I do? I’m getting a bit nervous. Are you nervous?”

Gu Yue’s cheek twitched. “Stop joking.”

“What? I really am nervous! What if we get a super powerful opponent?” As Tang Wulin spoke, he put on a facade of a nervous sheep.

Gu Yue pinched him on the butt. “Why don’t you act like a proper captain for us?”

Tang Wulin smirked. “Well, are you nervous then?”

“If you keep acting so smug, I’ll team up with our opponents to beat you up later. Three on one,” Gu Yue said indifferently.

“Eh… You can’t do that. The rules won’t allow it! You can’t treat me like that,” Tang Wulin said meekly.

“Captain, I can’t watch this any longer!” Xu Xiaoyan said, the corner of her mouth twitching.

Yue Zhengyu chimed in from the side, “Yeah. Be serious.”

Tang Wulin smirked. “You know, chances are, we’re going to be matched against each other later on.”

“Eh…” Yue ZHengyu feigned anger. “Are you threatening me? I’m going to tell Teacher Wu!”

“Go on then.”

Combined with their light banter and Xie Xie and Yuanen Yehui’s amazing performance, countless people had now taken notice of their group.

The other competitors had seen them all arrive together, and since neither Xie Xie nor Yuanen Yehui seemed to be the leader of the group, they could only wonder how strong the other team members were. A few recognized Tang Wulin, and so word of his stunning victory over a one-word battle armor master quickly spread.

The matches passed by quickly, even faster than the duels of the previous days. It usually only took a single all-out clash for the battles to be decided.

Soon, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue’s match came.

The two of them walked through the long corridor leading to the competition grounds together, and when they passed through, they were enveloped in an electric air of excitement. Tang Wulin turned to Gu Yue and said, “The crowds here in Star Luo are really energetic. It’s a lot more fun compared to how serious things are taken back home. Sometimes, you gotta let out all your passion for battle!”

Gu Yue grunted her acknowledgment.

“When the battle starts, I’ll charge them and you just back me up, okay? I’ve got this,” Tang Wulin said, smiling.