Skysea Alliance Tournament, Part 14

"Three, two, one, begin!" This marked the start of class zero's first match in the round-robin tournament.

The captain of Skysea Academy's secondary team raised his right hand, an ashen light surging out to form a shield. Meanwhile, his soul rings rose from beneath his feet.

One ring, two rings, three rings! He wielded three yellow soul rings! The captain of Skysea Academy's secondary team was actually a three-ringed Soul Elder.

Following their leader, the other four released their martial souls, each of them sporting a pair of yellow soul rings.

A three-ringed Soul Elder, and 4 two-ringed Soul Grandmasters. Compared to class zero's earlier opposition, Skysea's B-team was an ambush of tigers.

In one of the member's hands rested a giant shield one meter in length and half a meter wide. Wave-like patterns cascaded down the top, making the surface seem thick yet stagnant. He held it in front of him as if it was an impassable wall.

The moment he summoned his martial soul, he charged Tang Wulin like a bull. The rest trailed behind him, maintaining their trapezoid-formation.

Class zero, however, chose to abandon their positioning. Xie Xie summoned his Light Dragon Dagger before dashing off to the side. On the other hand, Tang Wulin stood steadfast, creating a web of Bluesilver Grass in front of the other 3.

At the same time, multiple small daggers flew accross the arena at Skysea's B team, accurately weaving through the Bluesilver Grass.

As the daggers and grass approached, the captain's first soul ring lit up. His body swelled with power while cobalt and violet tendrils of electricity danced about his form. His arms lengthened and grew more muscular, razor-sharp claws sprouting from his fingertips.

Martial soul: Thunder Wolf!

As he rushed forward, he expected to easily tear through the grass and knock away the daggers with his claws. However, he unfortunately miscalculated, as Tang Wulin's martial soul was strengthened by his bloodline and Gloxinia was already stronger than those at the same level.

This led to a situation where he was tied up and cut all over, failing to slash through even one rope of grass.

Three of his teammates behind him also met the same fate, being tied up and cut.

As for the one who managed to escape narrowly, they were taken down by Xie Xie's daggers.

"Stop!"

The referee's voice was Skysea Academy's saving grace.

"The match is finished. It's the victory of Eastsea Academy's class zero."

Recalling Basquias, Gloxinia flew down to the ground and recalled his wings aswell, high fiving the nearby Xie Xie.

After recalling his Bluesilver Grass and letting his hand return to normal, Tang Wulin similarly high fived Xie Xie, as well as Gloxinia.

Round-robin tournament's first round: victory.

---------------------------

In box seven.

"They're pretty good." It was Shen Yi's first time watching class zero battle. She had specially enlarged their match on the screen.

Tang Wulin's display of being able to restrict a soul elder with only one ring left a deep impression on her.

"Is his durable martial soul the bloodline mutation you spoke of?" Shen Yi asked Wu Zhangkong.

Wu Zhangkong shook his head but didn't explain.

A slight smile appeared on Shen Yi's lips. "He's really not simple at all. In my opinion, he doesn't just have a bloodline mutation, his talent is good too. He's suited for leading."

Wu Zhangkong nodded once more.

Shen Yi continued on. "HIs first soul ring is purple and his physique is excellent. Did you raise him to be like this? If he has three rings by the time he's fifteen, his body will likely transform again. You have an eye for disciples."

Wu Zhangkong said, "If you have time you can continue watching their matches. I'm going for now." He stood up to depart, his white robes fluttering along his strides.

Shen Yi watched as he left, blinking a few times. A pensive look settled on her face as she lost herself in contemplation.

--------------------------

Gloxinia and his teammates were in high spirits when they descended from the arena. In today's match, Tang Wulin had been able to display his might in controlling, becoming the 'main character' in the fight this time rather than Gloxinia.

However, after reviewing the battles from the last few days, he discovered one problem that seemed to plague the entire junior division: the participants had no combat experience! The majority of them weren't able to showcase their true strength in battle. It had been the same in both the individual and team competitions.

While the members of Skysea Academy's secondary team were able to use their soul skills during the match, they had performed mechanically without any finesse. Not to mention Wu Zhangkong's level of skill, they couldn't even match Xie Xie's soul skill proficiency. They could pulverize them with a lower overall cultivation because they were too green.

"They were so weak! It looks like soul power isn't that important after all." Xie Xie came to the same conclusion and was now bursting with confidence.

Gu Yue had a pensive expression. "It's not that they were weak, but that our combat experience outweighed theirs."

Xu Xiaoyan said, "That's right! Teacher Wu doesn't teach us the same way as conventional soul master academies do. They focus on imparting knowledge. Even if the schools host combat practice, they do it in the safest way possible. The students just stand there using their soul skills against each other. It's completely different from our real battles!"

After joining class zero, Xu Xiaoyan discovered quickly how far the original trio exceeded her in combat prowess. Because she had yet to train in the spirit ascension platform, she had been unable to comprehend the source of their strength. As such, she strived to catch up with them. Coupled with the spars against Wu Zhangkong, she began to understand what made class zero so strong.

Wu Zhangkong did not go easy on them during combat training. It was normal to finish each session covered in bruises and cuts. His training regimen was incomparable with a normal class's curriculum. Although the growth rate of their soul power settled, their combat strength soared.

Xie Xie immersed himself in thought. "The Skysea Alliance has always been inferior to the central and western regions in terms of soul master ability. This might be because of different teaching methods and history. Mechas exist now. Normally, anyone with four rings or less is no match for a mecha. Most people choose to take the easy way out. As long as their soul power grows to a sufficient level, they can become a mecha pilot. It's a pretty good occupation too. This is also why the majority of students entering an advanced academy choose to join the mecha department to become mecha pilots."

--------------------------------

Words: 1179

Author's Note: I just got back from my hotel that I stayed at for a competition.. I'm legit so tired so im gonna nap for a while. Next chapter comes out today at 6 pm CST.

Thank you for so many collections and powerstones!