Chapter 67 The Regular Team and the Reserve Team.
Under the watchful eyes of Wu Xuan and his companion, a giant vertical eye silently shone from the other end.
A brilliant golden light burst forth the instant the giant Goddess of Light Butterfly merged with the vertical eye.
A three-colored beam of light shot straight out, and a strange scene unfolded: wherever the golden light passed, eight core disciples, including Dai Huabin, were instantly transformed into golden statues.
"Is this Huo Yuhao and his companion's Martial Soul Fusion Technique?" Wu Xuan chuckled and shook his head, commenting, "The power is decent, but its limitations are too great."
A shocked Elder Xuan descended from the sky, his right hand waving repeatedly, beams of pure white light enveloping each student who had been turned into a statue. Those students illuminated by the white light collapsed to the ground, staring in disbelief at the two who had unleashed this attack.
Elder Xuan appeared in the Soul Battle Zone and said, "Alright, those who were eliminated, go back. You seven stay."
He then looked at the seven remaining in the Soul Battle Zone: Wu Xuan, Xiao Xiao, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong.
The many eliminated third and fourth-year core disciples glanced resentfully at Wu Xuan, then dejectedly followed their respective homeroom teachers away.
Dai Huabin and the others, though unwilling, had no choice but to leave.
Huo Yuhao, though somewhat weak, looked intently at Wu Xuan, his gaze seeming to say, "I did it! I defeated him fair and square."
Wu Xuan suddenly felt like laughing; he hadn't expected Huo Yuhao to take his previous reprimand so seriously and be so determined to prove himself. Wu Xuan walked over and said helplessly, "Alright! Stop looking at me. You're stronger than Dai Huabin; he's not as good as you, okay?" Huo Yuhao's expression brightened upon hearing this, as if he had received a tremendous affirmation.
"Gather, kids." Elder Xuan looked at the seven people who had gathered and said in a deep voice, "You should have heard of the title 'Shrek Seven Devils,' right?"
Upon hearing this, the seven people standing in a row nodded without hesitation, and Huo Yuhao was even more excited and could hardly contain himself.
"Every five years, the academy will select a new Shrek Seven Devils. And they will represent the academy in the five-yearly All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament." Elder Xuan paused for a moment and continued.
"The former Elite Tournament was changed to the Soul Battle Tournament precisely because of the emergence of Soul Guidance Devices. In this tournament, we only have one opponent, and that is the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy."
Upon hearing the words "Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy," Xu Sanshi finally couldn't help but ask, "Elder Xuan, do you mean we're going to represent the academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Battle Tournament?"
Elder Xuan snorted, "Do you think you have the ability to go? The age requirement for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Battle Tournament is under twenty years old. You'll still be eligible to participate in the next tournament. Today's selection match is for the reserve team, the reason being to make you substitutes for the main participants. Although the possibility of you playing is extremely slim, only as substitutes will you have the qualification to go and watch the competition. This will be an extremely valuable experience for you."
"Although you are currently in the reserve team, it doesn't mean that in five years, you will all become regular members of the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament. In the next five years, you will undergo multiple assessments. Only those with sufficient strength will ultimately be able to represent the academy."
Elder Xuan's expression was somewhat serious. "The last and most important point is that the news of your becoming part of the reserve team is an academy secret. No one is allowed to divulge it. Otherwise, you will be disqualified. That's all I have to say. Alright, disperse!"
"Yes, Elder Xuan!"
After leaving the arena, Wu Xuan didn't linger and left directly with Xiao Xiao.
Although Elder Xuan mentioned many restrictions, Wu Xuan didn't really absorb much of it. Representing Shrek Academy and becoming the leader of the new generation of Shrek Seven Devils was what he wanted most; he wasn't interested in how the seven were ranked.
After several days of practice, everyone gathered again at the arena. When Wu Xuan and Xiao Xiao arrived, Elder Xuan was already there. Two groups of people stood on either side of him.
Standing on the left were Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and Wang Dong Huo Yuhao. Of the seven people standing on the other side, Wu Xuan was only somewhat familiar with Ma Xiaotao.
Today, Ma Xiaotao had her long, fiery red hair neatly combed into a ponytail, looking clean and efficient. However, the look in her eyes as she gazed at Wu Xuan held a strange glint.
Like Ma Xiaotao, the other six people beside her were all wearing the blood-red school uniforms symbolizing their inner academy status.
The other six students beside Ma Xiaotao were four boys and two girls. They all appeared to be around her age. Bei Bei and the others stood there respectfully. When they occasionally glanced at these red-robed inner academy disciples, their gazes held not only envy but also admiration and respect.
Elder Xuan nodded and said, "Everyone's here. The new Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament will begin in ten days. I believe you can guess each other's identities. That's right, you are the regular and reserve players for this competition. You are also the new and old generations of the Shrek Seven Devils. Today, I'm having you meet, partly to get to know each other, and partly to let you familiarize yourselves with each other's abilities."
"Alright, everyone, introduce yourselves and get to know each other. Let's start with the reserve team." As soon as Elder Xuan finished speaking, Bei Bei, who had arrived first, stepped forward. "My name is Bei Bei, fifth year of the Outer Academy, level 42 Power Attack Soul Master."
Xu Sanshi was second, "Xu Sanshi, fifth year of the Outer Academy, level 43 Defense Soul Master." In terms of soul power, he was slightly superior to Bei Bei.
The third was Jiang Nannan, "My name is Jiang Nannan, fifth year of the Outer Academy, level 41 Agility Attack Soul Master."
Seeing her emerge, the eyes of several male students from the inner courtyard lit up. Jiang Nannan was indeed extremely beautiful; among the girls present, she was undoubtedly the most beautiful in terms of looks alone. Ma Xiaotao had the best figure. As for Xiao Xiao, she was slightly inferior to the other two mainly because of her young age.
Xu Sanshi immediately tensed up, his gaze fixed unfriendly on the inner courtyard seniors opposite him.
The fourth to arrive was Wu Xuan. "Wu Xuan. Second year of the outer courtyard, level 47, a powerful attack-type Soul Master."
Second year of the outer courtyard? Level 47?!
As soon as Wu Xuan finished speaking, apart from Ma Xiaotao, who knew some inside information, all the other inner courtyard disciples showed astonishment. Second year, meaning less than two years after entering the academy, yet possessing a Soul Power cultivation level of 47—such a cultivation speed was simply unbelievable.
Huo Yuhao and the others were also shocked, their mouths agape. If it weren't for Elder Xuan's presence, they probably would have already eagerly asked questions.
Xiao Xiao was the first to recover, stepping forward to introduce himself: "My name is Xiao Xiao, also a second-year student in the outer academy, a level 29 Control-type Battle Soul Master." The inner academy disciples, who had just been quite shocked by Wu Xuan, finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing "normal" cultivation level. Level 29! That's considered normal soul power cultivation for a second-year student.
After Xiao Xiao came Huo Yuhao, who also stepped forward respectfully: "Greetings, seniors. My name is Huo Yuhao, a second-year student in the outer academy, a level 26 Control-type Battle Soul Master."
Level 26? The inner academy disciples' expressions became somewhat strange; the gap between this year's freshmen was too great. However, those who had become inner academy disciples were all very composed. Although surprised, their expressions didn't change much.
Finally, it was Wang Dong's turn. He stepped forward with a look of existential doubt, saying, "Wang Dong, a second-year student in the outer academy, a level 31 Power Attack-type Battle Soul Venerable."
Elder Xuan nodded, pointing towards the inner academy, and said, "Your turn."
The first one from the inner academy stepped forward. It was none other than Ma Xiaotao. Compared to her usual fiery temper, she appeared much calmer.
"Inner Court, Ma Xiaotao. Level 68, Power Attack Type Battle Soul Emperor."
Ma Xiaotao's soul power had broken through another level, naturally thanks to Wu Xuan. Wu Xuan had dispelled her evil fire, ensuring she wouldn't suffer from it for at least two months, thus naturally boosting her soul power cultivation.
Wu Xuan, Xu Sanshi, and Bei Bei, who were somewhat familiar with Ma Xiaotao, remained relatively calm, but the others couldn't help but gasp when they heard her say "level 68."
Following Ma Xiaotao, a male student stepped forward. He was very tall, with a composed demeanor and sharp eyes. He said in a deep voice, "Inner Court, Dai Yueheng, Level 64, Power Attack Type Battle Soul Emperor."
Huo Yuhao, standing nearby, visibly trembled upon hearing Dai Yueheng's name.
After Dai Yueheng, another male student stepped forward. He wasn't as robust as Dai Yueheng, but he was still tall and slender, with a warm smile on his face. He said, "Inner Academy, Chen Zifeng, Level 57 Power Attack Type Battle Soul King."
Despite the presence of the two Soul Emperors before him, a Soul King under the age of twenty was still incredibly impressive! To stand out from the Inner Academy and represent Shrek Academy in the competition showed just how outstanding each of them was.
The fourth to introduce herself was a short-haired female student. Her appearance was quite ordinary, even her voice was surprisingly ordinary.
"Inner Academy, Xixi, Level 56 Agility Attack Type Battle Soul King." Her introduction was equally simple, but she gave off a feeling of being difficult to remember. As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to dim, completely overshadowed by the brilliance of the previous few.
The fifth person was also a female student. Compared to Xixi, she was much more beautiful. She possessed a cool, aloof beauty, unlike Ma Xiaotao's fiery charm or Jiang Nannan's gentle grace—a cool, aloof beauty. Her skin was very fair, and she walked as if weightless.
"Inner Court, Ling Luochen, Level 55, Control-type Battle Soul King."
The sixth person was a slender male student, only about 1.6 meters tall, with a delicate build, much shorter than Ling Luochen beside him, but his eyes were bright and piercing.
"Inner Court, Yao Haoxuan, Level 55, Control-Support-type Battle Soul King."
The last Inner Court disciple, although a male student, possessed extremely handsome features. "Inner Court, Gongyang Mo, Level 59, Support-type Battle Soul King."
As a support-type Soul Master, his cultivation was only below that of Soul Emperors Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng.
Elder Xuan nodded slightly and said, "Alright, you've all gotten to know each other briefly. To help you remember each other better, today's training task is a friendly match. Only through combat can you better familiarize yourselves with each other's abilities. You won't necessarily only cooperate with your own teammates; I may make substitutions at any time during the match to ensure we can win the final championship."
"Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, you will each lead a team. Ma Xiaotao, you can only bring two regular players for the first time, but you will have priority in choosing the regular and reserve players. Dai Yueheng, you will lead three regular players and four reserve players."
Compared to Wu Xuan's composure and the inner court disciples' familiarity with the process, Huo Yuhao and his group of six were still somewhat bewildered, clearly unfamiliar with Elder Xuan's method.
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