Chapter 24 Semifinals.
The next morning, the semifinal assessment area was much quieter than the day before.
Of course, only teachers came to watch; the students continued their classes. However, the disheveled old man who had appeared on the platform yesterday did not reappear.
All twelve freshmen who had advanced to the semifinals stood together, but today the person in charge of drawing lots was no longer Du Weilun, the head of the outer academy's martial spirit department.
An old man in white had taken his place.
"Hello, young people. I am Yan Shaozhe, the 261st dean of Shrek Academy," the white-robed old man said with a smile. His demeanor was very gentle, giving the impression of an ordinary old man.
The dean of Shrek Academy was undoubtedly a Super Douluo-level powerhouse! A truly top-tier existence on the Douluo Continent.
The dean's personal appearance here was something none of the freshmen had expected.
"I know you're all curious about why I'm here. It's true, generally speaking, even in the final stages of the freshman assessment, the presence of a vice-dean is enough to show the academy's high regard for you. But I must say, I'm very satisfied with the performance of this year's freshmen. They are the most talented freshmen in nearly a century. I'm very interested in you, so I'm here. And I will watch all your matches today. I hope you can surprise me. Alright, let's begin the draw."
The dean couldn't personally conduct the draw, so Du Weilun quickly took over the task, but Dean Yan insisted on personally holding the draw box for the freshmen.
Du Weilun understood and stepped forward, loudly announcing, "Freshman Class Nine, Wu Xuan's team, come forward to draw lots."
Wu Xuan, hearing this, strode confidently onto the stage.
"Young man, I hope you and your team can demonstrate your true strength in today's assessment," Yan Shaozhe smiled.
After drawing a lot, Wu Xuan bowed to Yan Shaozhe, then handed the lot to Du Weilun and stepped down.
At this moment, Du Weilun's voice rang out again.
"Class 9, Wu Xuan's team, draw number one."
Number one means they will compete in the first arena in the semi-finals. There are only four numbers in the box: two number one and two number two.
"Class 10, Cao Jinxuan's team, come forward to draw lots."
After some encouragement, Du Weilun announced their draw number.
"Class 10, Cao Jinxuan's team, draw number one!"
The format for the four teams is now clear.
The draw is over, and the first arena is set!
Opposite Wu Xuan are three dashing male students, three Great Soul Masters with strange martial souls.
"Both sides announce their names. Prepare for the match." The proctor said in a deep voice.
"Class 10, Zhou Sichen, a Power Attack-type Battle Soul Master."
"Class 10, Long Xiangyue, an Agility Attack-type Battle Soul Master."
"Class 10, Cao Jinxuan, a Control-type Battle Soul Master."
Their powerful voices demonstrated their confidence. Regardless of whether they can win or not, they still need to show their spirit.
On the other side, Wu Xuan and his two teammates also announced their names.
"Class 9, Wu Xuan, Control-type Battle Soul Master."
"Class 9, Qian Guming, Power-type Battle Soul Master."
"Class 9, Nanmen Yun'er, Agility-type Battle Soul Master."
Zhou Sichen couldn't help but mutter to Cao Jinxuan beside him, "Jinxuan, what kind of luck do you have? Of the three teams, you had to draw the strongest one."
"Exactly! The speed boost Wu Xuan gave the other two made me, an agility-type Soul Master, practically retire on the spot. How am I supposed to fight?" Long Xiangyue chimed in.
The pressure from Wu Xuan and his two companions yesterday afternoon was overwhelming. Huo Yuhao and his two companions were completely crushed.
Cao Jinxuan rolled his eyes at the two of them, annoyed. "It's no use complaining. Now we can only give it our all. I'll reduce their speed boosts, and then it's up to you guys."
"Let's give it our all! Let's give it our all!"
The three of them exchanged glances and nodded solemnly.
"The match begins!" the referee shouted.
"Second Soul Skill, Light Breeze!"
"Wu Xuan's second purple spirit ring instantly shone brightly. With the wisps of breeze clinging to it, the Eternal Light and Nanmen Yun'er's speed surged, charging straight towards the three.
Long Xiangyue, the agility-type battle spirit master, didn't rush forward but quickly dodged behind Zhou Sichen, the power-type battle spirit master. Cao Jinxuan, the control-type, did the same. The three maintained a straight line.
Their unique martial spirits appeared at the same moment.
Zhou Sichen, the power-type, had a white light surging in his hand, and a book appeared. His two hundred-year spirit rings shone simultaneously, the pages turned, and two beams of light shot out one after the other, lingering in front of him.
This was Zhou Sichen's special weapon martial spirit, a treasure manual.
Generally speaking, most book-type martial spirits are useless martial spirits, and very few can be cultivated. But Zhou Sichen was an exception. His treasure manual martial spirit..." The Soul Stone granted him innate level seven Soul Power.
When his Soul Power reached its bottleneck, he could directly absorb the Soul Rings of the Soul Beasts he had killed and transform them into his own abilities. Its greatest characteristic was the lack of attribute restrictions; he could absorb and use the abilities of any Soul Beast. In other words, he could potentially use an Ice Soul Skill one moment and a Fire Soul Skill the next. It was a very unique weapon-type Martial Soul.
At this moment, the two Soul Skills he released transformed into a giant bear shimmering with yellow light and a fierce tiger engulfed in flames, respectively.
After obtaining the Treasure Manual Martial Soul, Zhou Sichen set his goal of becoming a power-attack type Battle Soul Master. Therefore, although he could choose any Soul Beast to attach Soul Rings to, for his dream of becoming a power-attack type, he naturally focused on power-attack type Soul Skills.
The bear and tiger swiftly blocked the three, roaring at Qian Guming and Nanmen Yun'er.
"First Soul Skill, Blazing Inferno!"
Qian Guming shouted, his flaming staff slamming down on the giant bear.
"First Soul Skill, Jade Blade!"
Nanmen Yun'er's hands transformed into jade-colored wind blades, piercing the fiery tiger's belly.
At this moment, a beautifully crafted bell quietly rose above Cao Jinxuan's head.
The bell was shaped like a city gate, round at the top and square at the bottom, its white body about half a meter high. The inner dial was circular, with a gently swaying pendulum engraved with golden patterns below. After the bell appeared, Cao Jinxuan's two hundred-year-old soul rings seemed to have become part of his body, incorporating it as they moved up and down.
"Second Soul Skill, Fleeting Moments!"
A peculiar fluctuation spread from the bell above Cao Jinxuan's head. The first soul skills of Qian Guming and Nanmen Yun'er, along with the speed boost from Wu Xuan, ended abruptly within seconds under this fluctuation.
"What?" Qian Guming and Nanmen Yun'er's soul skill amplification disappeared, and they were instantly suppressed and forced to retreat under the relentless counterattack of the giant bear and tiger.
Zhou Sichen's treasure manual martial soul was already rare, and Cao Jinxuan's clock martial soul was even rarer. His martial soul was called the Time-Fleeting Clock, and its rarity among weapon martial souls was no less than that of the Goddess of Light Butterfly possessed by Wang Dong among beast martial souls.
As the two retreated, Long Xiangyue, as an agility-type battle soul master, naturally wouldn't let them have their way. With the release of his martial soul, a huge boomerang appeared in his hand. This boomerang was over a foot long on one side, and it looked quite unbalanced in the hands of Long Xiangyue, who was not yet twelve years old.
After the boomerang appeared in his hand, he paused slightly, then turned his body halfway backward, and then suddenly turned back, throwing the boomerang out. At the moment of the attack, both of his soul rings lit up.
"Third Soul Skill, Jade Wind!"
"Condense!"
A jade-colored breeze gathered, and Wu Xuan lightly clenched his hands, two short spears shimmering with jade luster appearing in his hands.
With a sudden throw of the spears, the pursuing giant bear and tiger were directly struck and pierced to death.
"Second Soul Skill, Azure Blade Slash!"
Nanmen Yun'er stopped in her tracks, her yellow hundred-year soul rings gleaming. As the boomerang flew towards her, her hands were already clasped above her head, and a crescent-shaped blade of light condensed above her head, slashing straight at the boomerang.
"Clang!" The crescent-shaped blade shattered, and the boomerang returned.
Zhou Sichen smiled slightly, and the two yellow soul rings in his tome flashed in succession. A bear and a tiger roared out again, charging towards Wu Xuan and the other two.
Wu Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly: "Since you can't kill them, then stay where you are!"
*Snap!*
Wu Xuan clasped his hands together, and the jade-green wind instantly solidified, covering the bodies of the bear and tiger in a few breaths, turning them into two sharply defined jade crystals.
"Crowd control?!" The teachers from the outer academy in the stands exclaimed in surprise.
Crowd control was a skill that many control-type soul masters rarely possessed even at level fifty.
"First Soul Skill, Gathering Spirit Wind!"
A gentle breeze blew, and instantly Qian Gu Ming and Nanmen Yun'er's auras surged, launching a counterattack.
"Second Soul Skill, Crimson Flame Strike!"
Qian Gu Ming leaped forward, his body leaning forward, and a blazing flame staff was hurled directly at Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan.
Although the Treasure Book Martial Soul was powerful, and its soul skills were not restricted by attributes, it had a major drawback: a soul skill could only be used once at a time. Like the Earth Bear he summoned using his first soul skill, only one could exist at a time, and it couldn't be summoned endlessly. Only after the summoned one dies can it be released again.
At this moment, the two light shadows summoned by Zhou Sichen were trapped by Wu Xuan and had no means to counter them.
Cao Jinxuan had accelerated the operation time of his amplified soul skill, directly breaking Wu Xuan's speed amplification and the amplification of Qian Guming and Nanmen Yun'er's first soul skill. At this moment, his soul power was too exhausted and he was already at his limit.
As the Crimson Flame Staff approached, the referee decisively intervened and pulled the two out of Qian Guming's attack range.
Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sichen were eliminated.
Nanmen Yun'er then transformed into a green afterimage and attacked Long Xiangyue.
The two were already at a disadvantage, and under the amplification of Wu Xuan's first soul skill, Long Xiangyue was quickly pushed into a disadvantageous position.
"Second Soul Skill, Azure Blade Slash!"
Nanmen Yun'er seized the opening, put her hands together above her head, and the green light condensed into a crescent-shaped light blade above her head, slashing straight at Long Xiangyue.
Agility-type Soul Masters are renowned for their speed and attack power, so the power of this strike was unimaginable. The emerald green blade of light traced a beautiful arc in the air.
This attack had a lock-on effect, making it impossible to dodge.
The referee intervened again, saving Long Xiangyue.
"The match is over! Team Wu Xuan wins!" The proctor announced the result immediately after rescuing Long Xiangyue.
The teachers in the stands exchanged glances and nodded repeatedly. Wu Xuan's abilities were too comprehensive—amplification, control, offense—he was flawless in every aspect!
On the other side of the Soul Arena, Dai Huabin, who had defeated his opponent, couldn't help but doubt himself. Could his tiger claws really block the short spear thrown by Wu Xuan with all his might?
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(End of Chapter)