Chapter 85 Soul Tool Auction House.
The round-robin tournament was played every other day. In Group 1, where Shrek Academy was located, each team had to play seven matches. To advance, they needed to defeat at least five opponents. Winning six matches was the only guarantee of qualification.
The first round of the round-robin tournament concluded in the next two days. Compared to the knockout stage, the round-robin was much more peaceful. Teams adjusted their tactics, making each match more technically demanding than before. However, the desperate struggle of the knockout stage was absent.
The first round of the knockout stage still affected the round-robin; teams with injured key players adjusted their tactics, making each match more technically demanding, but lacking the do-or-die intensity of the knockout stage.
However, it was clear to everyone that the intensity of the matches would increase dramatically in the later rounds of the round-robin, as many teams couldn't afford to lose.
Night.
"Teacher Wang Yan, where are we going?" Bei Bei asked Wang Yan, puzzled.
A day had passed since the first round ended, and tomorrow they would begin the second round of the round-robin. However, after dinner, Wang Yan led the seven reserve team members out of the Star Emperor Hotel.
This was the liveliest place in the entire Star Luo City, and they were immediately engulfed by the bustling crowds.
Wang Yan smiled slightly and said, "I'm taking you somewhere. Just follow me. Lately, we've been busy with surveillance missions and competitions, so everyone's been constantly on edge. This can't go on forever. I'm taking you out to relax; it'll be good for your upcoming competitions."
Relax?
The expressions on everyone's faces became somewhat strange, but they didn't ask any further questions and continued to follow Wang Yan.
After passing through several streets, the group stopped in front of a pointed-roof building. The building wasn't particularly conspicuous; compared to the surrounding tall buildings, although it wasn't small, it wasn't particularly outstanding. Above the main entrance hung a sign with a hammer image. Below the hammer appeared to be a golden tabletop pattern.
Seeing the sign, Huo Yuhao asked in surprise, "What is this place?"
Wang Dong replied, "This is an auction house. Look at the design on the sign; that exquisitely carved hammer is the style of an auction."
Wang Yan turned to the crowd and said, "After these few days of competition, I've noticed that this year's All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament is quite different from previous years. The difference is that there are very few purely Soul Master academies anymore. All academies are developing towards a fusion between Soul Masters and Soul Advisors."
"Fusion?" Bei Bei frowned slightly. "Teacher Wang, how does fusion work?"
Wang Yan explained, "There are many ways to fuse. For some ordinary academies, the simplest approach is to diligently cultivate their own Soul Masters and then purchase Soul Tools to equip them with. They only need to know how to operate the Soul Tools. Even if their operation of the Soul Tools isn't as refined as that of Soul Masters, it can still enhance their combat power. Pure Soul Masters are becoming increasingly rare."
"Almost every participating student from a Soul Master academy is equipped with a Soul Tool. This is especially true for some of the stronger academies. They have even established their own Soul Tool departments, not only equipping their teams with Soul Tool instructors but also customizing Soul Tools for other Soul Master students, greatly enhancing their overall strength."
"Let me give you a simple example. For instance, what would happen if a power-attack type Soul Master like Wang Dong were equipped with a speed-enhancing Soul Tool, allowing her to use it freely? Furthermore, considering her weakness in defense, wouldn't equipping her with some defensive Soul Tools to protect her life allow her to unleash her full potential without any worries?"
"That's why I wanted to bring you to this small auction; I wanted to equip you with some Soul Tools."
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this, seemingly still somewhat resistant to Soul Tools. Wang Dong's face flushed red; Wang Yan had practically put him on the spot, practically stating that he was utterly useless in the team competition.
"Sure, Teacher Wang, but offensive soul tools aren't very useful for us. If we could equip ourselves with some defensive soul tools, our tactics on the field could be much bolder," Wu Xuan said casually, stroking his chin.
Hearing Wu Xuan's words, everyone's interest was clearly piqued. They were averse to offensive soul tools, even harboring a deep-seated aversion to them. But they could accept defensive soul tools! In the successive matches, they had naturally witnessed other academy disciples using soul tools, and defensive soul tools often had unexpected uses.
Seeing Wu Xuan, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao nod in unison, Wang Yan shifted his gaze to Wang Dong and Jiang Nannan.
Jiang Nannan hesitated slightly before saying, "But, buying soul tools will cost money in the future, right? And soul tools seem very expensive."
Hearing her somewhat peculiar statement, everyone was taken aback.
Xu Sanshi almost instinctively said, "I'll buy it for you!"
Jiang Nannan seemed to remember something, her eyebrows immediately furrowing, and she angrily said, "Get out!"
"Uh..." Xu Sanshi seemed to have also realized something, and under the angry rebuke, he obediently lowered his head.
Wang Yan said gently, "Nannan, you don't need to worry about this. The academy will take care of the funding. At least until you graduate from the academy, you don't need to worry about this aspect. You are already a core disciple, and if you can enter the inner academy in the future, the academy will also give you a generous living allowance. There are even bonuses for carrying out surveillance missions. Our Shrek Academy students have never been troubled by money."
Jiang Nannan's eyes lit up, and she immediately said, "Then I have no problem either."
Seeing that the situation was settled, Wang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, "That's for the best. Wang Dong, what about you? You're okay with that too, right? Let's go in and attend the auction."
To everyone's surprise, Wang Dong, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with determination, and resolutely said, "No, I have a problem. I don't want to use a soul tool. I'm disgusted by soul tools. You guys go ahead! I'm going back first." With that, he turned and left, striding towards the Star Emperor Hotel.
Wang Dong's sudden change in mood startled everyone. No one expected that after Wang Yan had analyzed the pros and cons for him in detail, he would still object.
This was blatant dissent.
Huo Yuhao quickly followed, and after a brief conversation, watching Wang Dong leave, Huo Yuhao sighed and returned.
Huo Yuhao returned to the group and explained, "He's fine, he just doesn't really like soul tools. Teacher Wang, let's go."
Wang Yan nodded and smiled, "It's alright. Everyone has their own ambitions. I didn't expect all of you to agree with me anyway. I'm already very satisfied that the six of you are willing to try. Let's go, the auction is about to begin."
Wu Xuan lowered his eyes. Based on his limited memories from his previous life, he remembered that this auction would be auctioning a soul tool carving knife made of living gold. Since he was here, he was determined to get his hands on it. However, he needed to think carefully about how to deal with the curse.
Read 50+ Advanced Chapters At Pat Reon
[email protected]/FicToric
(End of Chapter)