While Beibei was handling the two Soul Grandmaster, Xu Sanshi wasn't standing idle either. Though he was a defense-type soul master, his martial soul—Xuanming Turtle Shield—still had a fair amount of offensive capabilities. His first soul skill, Xuanming Shock, had a powerful knockback effect. Facing a single-ring agility-type soul master, he directly sent the opponent flying. After finishing his part, Xu Sanshi even smugly raised his brows at Beibei in a rather provoking manner.
Just like that, Beibei effortlessly defeated two Soul Grandmasters using only his first and second soul skills—Thunderclap Dragon Claw and Thunderous Might. Xu Sanshi, on his end, used only his first skill, Xuanming Shock, to knock out the last soul master. The whole process was straightforward, relying entirely on sheer strength with no need for tactics or skill.
This left Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya a bit disappointed—they hadn't been able to observe Xue Weiwei's soul skills. Both of them were somewhat annoyed, though Zhu Ziyang looked completely unfazed.
He was confident enough in his strength. Even if Beibei and Xu Sanshi were both Soul Elders, he still believed he could defeat them.
"Xiao Ya, Ziyang, Nannan, you three finished so quickly again!" Beibei and his group came down from the stage and immediately spotted Zhu Ziyang's team. His face bore a look of amused familiarity.
"Hehe! Of course we did!" Tang Ya cheerfully walked over and grabbed Beibei's arm. "You guys were pretty fast too!"
"Naturally!" Xu Sanshi chimed in confidently, very familiar with both Beibei and Tang Ya. "With me and Beibei teamed up, we're undefeated in the entire first year!"
"Tch! Bragging again. Ziyang, you just gonna let him talk like that?" Tang Ya pouted and called over to Zhu Ziyang.
"Haha, it's fine. We'll find out in the finals whether it's true or not." Zhu Ziyang chuckled, unconcerned.
"Look at that, Zhu Ziyang has a good eye. I've been wanting to face off against you—the strongest in our year. Don't let me down in the finals!" Xu Sanshi looked excited, already itching for a fight.
"Same here." Beibei nodded with a smile.
It was clear from their words that both sides were already confident they'd meet in the final round.
"Then we'll see you in the finals," Zhu Ziyang said with a bright, confident smile that made others naturally like him.
"You better pray we don't meet you before the finals, or we'll definitely knock you out!" Tang Ya raised a little fist at Xu Sanshi, her tone full of mock threat.
Zhu Ziyang and his team returned to the classroom. Morning classes weren't over yet.
"Why are you three back already? Isn't it still match time?" The teacher currently lecturing on the History of Soul Master Development was stunned, his expression a mix of confusion and curiosity.
"Hehe! Of course we're back because we already finished. Don't you know how strong we are?" Tang Ya grinned proudly.
"I see. Then come in." The teacher finally smiled in understanding and let them return to their seats. "Tang Ya, since you're so cheerful, do you think you've got what it takes to win the championship?"
"Hehe, Teacher Li, even if you don't believe me, you should believe in Zhu Ziyang, right?" Tang Ya replied playfully.
The trio returned to their seats, and the classmates all looked at them with admiration and awe, whispering amongst themselves.
"The class monitor is amazing!"
"Of course! He's the only Soul Elder in the whole freshman assessment! I heard he's the first in five years to reach the Soul Elder stage in the first year!"
"Exactly! How does he even cultivate?"
"What else could it be? Besides insane talent, I can't think of another explanation!"
"Mhm! Definitely true!"
"…"
——
In the next rounds—the thirty-two to sixteen, and sixteen to eight—Zhu Ziyang's team ended up facing other teams from their own class. Internal class battles, what rotten luck.
It was a misfortune for the class and even more so for the teams that faced them.
Their thirty-two-to-sixteen opponent basically gave up, only releasing their martial souls for formality's sake before being swiftly knocked out by Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya.
The sixteen-to-eight opponent was Lin Ziwei's team. Despite knowing they were facing the class monitor and Sister Nannan, they still fought with all their strength. Zhu Ziyang respected such opponents and classmates. And then... there was nothing more to say. The opponent gave their best, but they still won easily.
Zhu Ziyang's team advanced smoothly into the top eight.
Next up was the fight for the top four.
Among the final eight teams, Class Four had only Zhu Ziyang's team. The remaining seven included three teams from Class One, one each from Classes Two, Three, Five, and Six.
Although Zhu Ziyang didn't fully agree with Class One teacher Zhou Yi's extreme teaching methods, he had to admit—those methods produced undeniably strong students.
That Class One had eighteen teams in the top sixty-four was proof of that.
——
The third day of the elimination rounds, morning.
The quarterfinals were about to begin. Starting today, higher-ups from the academy would come to observe the matches. Before the match draw, Xia Yu had specifically reminded Zhu Ziyang's team to display as much strength as possible. Even if they could win easily, they should not hold back—this was their chance to leave a deep impression on the academy's leadership.
Since there were only four matches, the assessment grounds were divided into two rows and two columns—four zones total. Each zone was a square field measuring 2,500 square meters. For first-year students, this scale was definitely a test, and the importance of tactics would be felt even more.
Field One was located in the front-left quadrant—one of the two zones closest to the northern platform where the academy leaders sat.
Zhu Ziyang's team stood in the southeast corner of the field. Their opponents—three students from Class One—stood in the northwest corner, forming a diagonal formation.
All three from Class One were strong. Making it to the top eight, none of them were there by luck.
Their team captain was a tall and expressionless boy. Zhu Ziyang was already among the tallest of his peers, yet this boy was even taller, exceeding 1.8 meters. His exposed arms were packed with muscle. His name was Zhou Tianhe, a level 27 power-attack type Soul Grandmaster with the martial soul Savage Giant Ape.
To his left was a girl with long purple hair, gentle features, and a soft smile that gave off a girl-next-door vibe. Her name was Su Li, a level 24 control-type Soul Grandmaster with the martial soul Spirit Fox.
On Zhou Tianhe's right was another girl, petite and cute with large, pure black eyes that made her seem harmless. Her name was Yang Yumeng, a level 23 defense-type Soul Grandmaster with the martial soul Reversal Cauldron.
"Freshmen Class One: Zhou Tianhe, Su Li, Yang Yumeng versus Freshmen Class Four: Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya. Both sides, prepare." Their proctor was no longer Liu Xue, but a middle-aged man around forty. Seeing both teams ready, he raised his voice and declared, "Begin!"
Midnight tonight marks the official release. Brothers, let's charge forward!
(End of Chapter)
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