Chapter 82: Can Team Formation Create a Shura Field Too? Repeated Rejections!
Aside from Ning Rongrong and Oscar, the two support-type Soul Masters, everyone else had already finished their individual soul battles.
Flender announced the next training activity: two-person team soul battles.
"Pair up in groups of two. Choose freely."
Standing in the center of the rest area, his gaze swept across the eight of them.
"This is a good opportunity to train your coordination."
"Remember — in real combat, teamwork between partners is often more important than individual strength."
The moment his words fell, the atmosphere in the rest area changed instantly.
If everyone had still managed to maintain surface harmony during the individual matches…
Now, an absurd "team-formation shura field" officially began.
Tang San was the first to move.
Clenching his fists, he quickly walked over to Xiao Wu, his tone carrying a trace of barely concealed urgency.
"Xiao Wu, let's team up."
"With our cooperation, we'll definitely win."
But Xiao Wu shook her head without even thinking.
"I don't want to!"
Her rejection was crisp and decisive.
She turned and ran straight to Lin Qingmo's side, wrapping her arm around him while sticking out her tongue at Tang San.
"I want to team up with Ah Qing. We're the couple combo!"
"!"
Tang San's expression darkened instantly.
Behind his mask, his eyes locked onto Xiao Wu's arm wrapped around Lin Qingmo.
Again.
Every single time!
He was the one who met Xiao Wu first.
But ever since Lin Qingmo appeared, everything had changed.
Xiao Wu's smile had never once bloomed for him.
Why?!
The surrounding gazes had already turned toward him.
Dai Mubai crossed his arms, smiling faintly.
Ma Hongjun wiggled his eyebrows, clearly enjoying the show.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing didn't speak, but the meaning in their eyes was obvious.
It was a mixture of disdain and ridicule.
Tang San understood those looks.
They've already publicly declared themselves a couple, and you're still trying to push in — isn't that just asking for humiliation?
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging emotions before turning away.
But the thorn in his heart sank even deeper.
On the other side, Dai Mubai was also preparing himself mentally.
He inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled.
Trying to adjust his expression to look gentler, he walked toward Zhu Zhuqing.
"Zhuqing."
Dai Mubai tried to keep his voice calm.
"We're engaged. In the future, we still need to work on cultivating the Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Team soul battles are the most suitable training method; they will allow us to practice our coordination in advance."
The words sounded dignified and reasonable.
But Zhu Zhuqing didn't even lift her eyelids.
She glanced at Dai Mubai coldly, the disgust in her gaze nearly overflowing.
"No need."
Her voice was icy.
"I'm not interested in teaming up with you or in martial soul fusion skill."
After speaking, she turned and walked toward Lin Qingmo.
Although she didn't wrap her arm around him like Xiao Wu, her posture beside Lin Qingmo made her intention perfectly clear.
She wanted to join Lin Qingmo's team.
"…"
Dai Mubai's face shifted between green and white, his chest rising violently.
Anger, unwillingness, humiliation — emotions surged like a volcano ready to erupt.
But he didn't dare to explode.
He could only stare at Zhu Zhuqing's back, fists clenched until they cracked.
Why?
Why was she like this, too?
Was it because of what happened at the Rose Hotel that day?
But that had just been an accident!
Dai Mubai wanted to explain, but swallowed the words before they left his mouth.
He knew nothing he said now would matter.
Zhu Zhuqing's disgust toward him had already taken root too deeply to be resolved with a few sentences.
He could only endure.
The most miserable one was Oscar.
The guy took several deep breaths, psyching himself up repeatedly.
Finally gathering the courage, he ran over to Ning Rongrong, holding a freshly produced Recovery Sausage.
He adjusted his expression, trying to look affectionate.
"Rongrong."
Oscar spoke gently, presenting the sausage with both hands.
"Let's team up. My sausages can provide you with the strongest support — restoring stamina, healing injuries, it's fully functional. If we work together, we'll definitely win!"
After speaking, he even winked, trying to be charming.
Ning Rongrong looked at him and suddenly laughed.
"Pfft!"
The mockery in her laughter was undisguised, and she looked at him as if he were mentally unstable.
"Are you okay?"
She asked bluntly.
"The two of us — one food-type support soul master and one tool support soul master — neither of us has any attack soul skills. Wouldn't that combination just embarrass us on stage?"
"Uh…"
Oscar froze.
Only then did he realize.
Right, what would two pure support-type Soul Masters even do? Become live targets for the opponent?
He had been so focused on getting closer to Ning Rongrong that he completely forgot this detail!
Ning Rongrong crossed her arms and looked down at him like a proud young lady.
"Sorry, Oscar."
"I might be a towering tree you can't climb. You should go protect your forest instead~."
The sarcasm was clearly a response to Oscar's outrageous "forest theory" from the other day.
After speaking, she skipped over to Lin Qingmo.
"Ah Qing!"
She blinked her big eyes, her voice sweet enough to be cloying.
"Let's team up!"
"I'll support you — my Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda is super useful. I guarantee you'll dominate the battlefield~."
"!!!"
A bolt from the blue.
Oscar's mind buzzed as his entire body froze.
The sausage in his hand fell to the ground with a plop, rolling a few times and getting covered in dust.
He had never imagined that the heartfelt invitation he finally gathered the courage to make would result in such humiliation.
"Hahaha!"
Ma Hongjun burst into laughter nearby, clutching his stomach.
"Oscar, Oscar, you really thought a toad could eat swan meat?"
"Do you know who Ning Rongrong is? The young lady of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect! Someone we commoner Soul Masters could never reach."
He patted Oscar's shoulder and said earnestly:
"Wake up, brother. Be realistic."
Oscar's face turned deathly pale. His lips trembled, but no words came out.
For a moment, Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Oscar all turned their gazes toward Lin Qingmo at the same time.
If looks could kill, Lin Qingmo would have died eight hundred times already.
Jealousy, resentment, anger — all kinds of negative emotions intertwined, almost solidifying in the air.
Feeling the three murderous gazes, Lin Qingmo was speechless.
What the hell does this have to do with me?
He complained internally.
Xiao Wu was his girlfriend — teaming up with him was only natural.
As for Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, they came over on their own. He hadn't even said a word.
"Uh…"
Seeing the chaotic scene, Flender helplessly rubbed his forehead.
He never expected something as simple as team soul battles to turn into this.
The relationships among these eight kids were more complicated than the structural diagram of the most complex soul tool.
"Alright, alright! That's enough!"
Finally unable to watch any longer, Flender interrupted the farce.
"Hurry up and form teams. The soul battles are about to begin. If you keep dragging this out, nobody's going on stage today!"
Only then did everyone calm down slightly.
"In that case,"
Lin Qingmo cleared his throat.
"I'll team up with Zhuqing. Rongrong can team up with Xiao Wu."
"As for Tang San, Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, and Oscar — the four of you can pair up among yourselves."
—
End of Chapter