Chapter 198: The First Battle of the Promotion Tournament
The match for the Huangdou Second Team was scheduled for the second slot in the afternoon. Since it was the first day of the tournament, no one returned to the hotel to rest; instead, they stayed at the venue to watch other teams compete.
By coincidence, the second match in the morning was between Shrek Academy and another team from the Star Luo Empire.
It had to be said—though the Shrek students' personalities left much to be desired, their strength was still impressive. They were able to carve out a path to victory against young soul masters who, on average, were five to eight years older than them.
When it was their turn to fight, Dai Mubai was the first to step up. The lecherous tiger easily pulled off a one-versus-three, and when the opponent's fourth Soul Sect came out, he even took him down in a mutual defeat. By himself, he managed to exhaust four members of the other team.
When the battle ended, Dai Mubai, panting heavily, walked toward the rest area. As he passed the Huangdou Second Team's section, he cast a deeply affectionate glance at the little kitten, as if his eyes were saying, "Did you see the effort I put in for you?"
That greasy look made the kitten's fur stand on end. She wished she could immediately give him a face-scraping session right there, but due to the setting, she could only let out a cold snort and turn her head away.
In the lecherous tiger's eyes, however, this only made him think she was shy, which stoked his passion even more. Even his steps leaving the stage became lighter.
"No wonder he's called the Great Pervert—his methods really work."
Next, Ma Hongjun, Jing Ling, and Tai Long took turns in the arena, securing Shrek Academy's victory in the first round of the promotion tournament. Tang San, the final member, let out a small sigh of relief.
The less he had to reveal about his soul ring configuration, the less mockery he would attract.
After Yu Xiaogang reviewed the match with his students, he led them up to the stands to watch the following matches.
The morning matches didn't produce any particularly eye-catching opponents, and Ning Bei was starting to doze off in his seat.
That was until he felt a complicated gaze fall upon him. He slowly opened his heavy eyelids and looked over.
The gaze came from the high platform—standing beside the Pope was a golden-haired beauty. It was none other than Hu Liena, whom he had met once before. Ning Bei chuckled softly and nodded at her. The little fox quickly averted her eyes, no one knew what she was thinking.
As Ning Bei turned his head in thought, a sudden pain shot from his waist, followed by the gritted-teeth voice of Dugu Yan in his ear.
"Stop flirting around! That woman screams trouble from a mile away—don't look at her!"
Ning Bei stared at his woman in surprise. Your instincts are spot-on.
After the morning matches ended and the group had lunch, it was time for the afternoon battles.
The Huangdou Second Team's match was in the second slot, and the stands were already packed with spectators who had heard of the powerhouse team, eager to witness the championship favorites in action.
The little rabbit looked at the two teams currently fighting in the arena with a face full of exasperation, thinking, Can these rookies pecking at each other hurry it up?
That's right—her hands had been itching for a fight for a while now, so she chose to be the first to go when their match came. Her teammates didn't argue; there would be plenty of matches later on.
Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, couldn't care less. This promotion tournament had nothing to do with her anyway—it's not like they'd send her up there to bash people with her pagoda!
Finally, their turn came. As the Huangdou Second Team took the stage, the audience from Heaven Dou City erupted in thunderous cheers.
They had witnessed this team's terrifying strength before.
"Miss Black Cat, scratch them to death!"
"Cleaver Bro, chop them up!"
"Piano Bro, keep playing, keep dancing!"
…
These strange nicknames made the younger members blush, but then again—anything was better than being called 'Fart King.'
The little rabbit stepped onto the stage first, eyes full of excitement.
But before three seconds had passed, her good mood was ruined by her opponent—a burly man in his early twenties from an unknown Star Luo Empire team. Upon seeing his opponent was a cute and soft-looking girl, he grinned mockingly.
"Hey, doesn't your Heaven Dou Empire have anyone else? You're sending a little girl like you to fight?"
Xiao Wu's face instantly darkened. She glared at him, already planning how she'd deal with him in a moment.
Completely oblivious to her expression, the man kept courting disaster.
"Sweetheart, do you need big brother to go easy on you later?"
The little rabbit's eyes flickered, and she immediately put on a sweet, fawning smile.
"Really? Big brother, you're so nice—you'd better go easy on me later."
She even tapped her lips with one finger and threw him a flirtatious glance.
The man's mind instantly wandered. He didn't even hear the referee announce the start of the match, too busy thinking about how he would 'go easy' on her.
The little rabbit didn't care about any of that. Activating her martial spirit, she shot toward him like a rabbit darting away, her five soul rings—one yellow, two purple, and two black—appearing in sequence.
The audience, most of whom had no idea about the team's soul ring configurations, were instantly blinded by the sight, gasping and pointing at the little rabbit.
"Good heavens—a Soul King!"
"And that ring configuration is terrifying!"
On the high platform, Bibi Dong, who had been sitting straight, immediately leaned forward, her eyes wide in shock at the sight of the little rabbit. Then she turned a displeased glare toward Ning Bei.
Ning Bei felt the burning gaze but kept his eyes fixed on the stage.
If I don't look at you, then you're not looking at me.
Bibi Dong bit her lip and leaned back into her seat again, though her expression made it clear she was far from pleased.
Hu Liena, stunned for several seconds, clenched her teeth and returned to her teacher's side.
"Teacher, don't worry. Even if she's also a Soul King, we won't lose."
At those words, Bibi Dong's smile returned, and she looked at the little fox with warmth.
"Nana, teacher believes in you."
The burly man facing the little rabbit didn't know whether it was her soul ring configuration or her beauty that stunned him, but by the time she reached him, he still hadn't made a move.
Xiao Wu didn't hesitate. The corners of her lips curled upward as she launched her attack.
"Eight-Stage Throw!"
A rabbit kick sent the man flying upward, followed by a dazzling flurry of spinning kicks.
After being treated like a ball in the air several times, the man crashed outside the ring, unconscious.
The other academy's members finally snapped out of their shock and rushed to carry their teammate away, casting complicated glances at the calm-faced little rabbit.
Now they understood why the Huangdou Second Team was called championship favorites—if the first person up was already a high-level Soul King, the rest of her teammates surely weren't far behind in strength.
Still, they weren't fated to see the other members' abilities this time.
The little rabbit easily completed a one-versus-seven, using her Eight-Stage Throw on everyone she faced. Against the opposing captain, she simply added a teleport before delivering the throw.
Her long legs left the unknown team completely disoriented. With all seven members unconscious, they slunk away from the arena in defeat.
The audience erupted in cheers for the little rabbit.
"Across the lands, Xiao Wu's the fairest!"
"Miss Rabbit is too strong—win again tomorrow!"
"Ah! Miss Xiao Wu, please kick me too!"
The little rabbit waved to the stands, happily returning to her team with all her earlier frustration gone.
(END CHAPTER)
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