Chapter 70: The Decisive Selection Tournament

A blinding light suddenly flared up; a purple Spherical Soul Tool flashed with a piercing white radiance, and the Soul Guidance Device on Xuan Ziwen's back emitted a powerful thrust, allowing him to quickly depart from the arena.

"Ji Juechen, it is not too late for you to concede now."

Following the activation of the Soul Guidance Device, Xuan Ziwen's figure had already appeared at the edge of the arena.

"I will not concede, because you have already lost..."

Ji Juechen withdrew the long sword in his hand, and one could see that the Spherical Soul Tool had instantly split into two halves, the cut as smooth as a mirror, as if it had originally been two halves joined together.

The moment he stepped out of the arena, the Soul Guidance Device on Xuan Ziwen's body instantly exploded, and his entire set of Seventh-level Soul Guidance Devices was reduced to scrap metal.

"By the way, you broke my Soul Guidance Device; remember to compensate me with materials."

Gazing at Ji Juechen's dull, lusterless eyes, Xuan Ziwen only felt that he could not seem to withstand the will contained within those eyes.

The incoming Sword Intent made even Xuan Ziwen feel fear; he could sense that this Sword Intent possessed a will that he himself could not face directly.

After saying this, Ji Juechen vanished from Xuan Ziwen's field of vision.

Looking at the ground that resembled ruins, Xuan Ziwen could not help but let out a long sigh; although he was not a combat-type Soul Engineer in the absolute sense, an Eight-level Soul Engineer losing to a Six-Ring Soul Emperor could not be said to be because he, the Eight-level Soul Engineer, was overrated, but rather that Ji Juechen's strength was simply too terrifying.

The door to the Third Laboratory suddenly emitted a shrill alarm, and then the sturdy door was instantly sliced into two halves as if it were tofu.

"Who is Ju Zi?"

The four people in the laboratory stared at Ji Juechen, dumbfounded, not daring to move a muscle.

"I am..." Ju Zi was so frightened that the Engraving Knife in her hand fell to the ground, and she raised her hand tremblingly.

Looking at the girl who had raised her hand, Ji Juechen handed the severely damaged Soul Guidance Device to Ju Zi, "Just tell me what materials you need; you help me fix it."

"I understand, can you put your sword away..."

Looking at Ji Juechen's emotionless, icy face, even in the somewhat sweltering laboratory, the four of them felt waves of coldness.

After saying this, Ji Juechen did not linger, turning around to leave directly, but his cold voice still echoed in the laboratory: "Make a list of the materials you need and give it to me; I will come to collect it tomorrow and bring you the materials."

After Ji Juechen left, everyone leaned weakly against their chairs, gasping for air.

"Sister Ju Zi, when did you get to know Ji Juechen?" Keke, who was to the side, looked at the disheveled Ju Zi in surprise.

Wang Shaojie and Zi Mu also looked at Ju Zi in astonishment; in their memories, the only person who had any interaction with Ji Juechen was Luo Yu, so when did Ju Zi come into contact with Ji Juechen?

"I, I don't know either..."

Ju Zi had no idea what had happened, but when she looked at the Soul Guidance Device Ji Juechen had placed in front of her, everything became clear.

"Luo Yu..."

Muttering this name in her heart, Ju Zi could not help but think of the Soul Guidance Device Luo Yu had entrusted her to help make before he took leave.

…………

After class, Ju Zi placed the Soul Guidance Device on the laboratory table and began to dismantle it, only to discover as she dismantled it that this Soul Guidance Device seemed somewhat different from the one she had made.

"Retractable claws, driven by a Soul Guidance Array; this claw doesn't seem to be removable—it breaks as soon as you try to take it apart?"

"No, this technique seems to be Luo Yu's handiwork; I remember he seemed to have made something similar back then..."

After carefully dismantling the Flying Hook Claw, Ju Zi discovered that for some reason, this Flying Soul Guidance Device had been operating under complete overload, and was ultimately completely scrapped after being hit by a Soul Guidance Ray.

"Who on earth destroyed this Soul Guidance Device from Ji Juechen's hands? I remember I gave this Soul Guidance Device to Luo Yu, so how did it end up in Ji Juechen's hands? No, I must ask clearly."

It took an entire afternoon for Ju Zi to list the materials needed for the Soul Guidance Device, and just to be safe, she added twenty percent on top of the original requirements.

The next day, when Ji Juechen took the list, Ju Zi gathered her courage and asked, "How did the Soul Guidance Device I made for Luo Yu end up in your hands?"

Looking down at the somewhat airheaded girl before him, Ji Juechen said indifferently, "This was prepared for me by Luo Yu, which is why I came to find you."

After saying this, Ji Juechen took the list and turned to leave.

Bang!

Little did she know, Ji Juechen did not have a single one of these materials, but Xuan Ziwen did...

…………

Shrek Academy, Soul Guidance Department.

He Cai Tou put away the Engraving Knife in his hand and said, "Su Yu, all Core Disciples must participate in the academy's selection tournament this time; what do you plan to do?"

"Brother He, actually you know, I really don't want to participate in this assessment selection tournament, but I have no choice. I can only try my best not to be eliminated when the time comes." Looking at the honest and kind He Cai Tou beside him, Su Yu knew there were some things he could not avoid.

"But Teacher Fan Yu seems to insist that you must participate in this assessment; you can't hide from it." He Cai Tou gave an honest smile.

Su Yu knew that this selection tournament had been arranged specifically; according to custom, it should have been Xu Sanshi and his grade being assessed, so wouldn't it be too much of a coincidence for the second-year students to be required to participate all of a sudden?

Some things, once there are too many coincidences, become a bit suspicious...

Participate then, but I don't want to go with you all to be some Shrek Supervisory Team.

However, Su, who had planned to slack off and find an opportunity to slip away and not return, was caught red-handed that very night by the Dean of the Soul Guidance Department, Xian Lin'er, and dragged straight back from Shrek City.

"Greetings, Dean Xian." Thrown onto the ground, Su acted like a well-behaved child and politely greeted Xian Lin'er.

"I didn't come to find you for anything else today; you must make it into the top seven in tomorrow's assessment selection tournament, otherwise..."

Bang!

Sea God Lake instantly stirred up monstrous waves; the violent explosion made Su's heart tremble. Damn it, you are really stubborn about saving face, aren't you?

"No problem!"

Su immediately promised righteously; if he didn't promise, he would probably be skinned alive even if he didn't die. Look at this—is this even something a human would do?

Dean Xian, a forced melon is not sweet...

Wait, a forced melon is not sweet, but it is fragrant.

What the hell, what kind of nonsense am I thinking about?

Su looked at Xian Lin'er standing atop the monstrous waves and fell into a state of disarray; to force him, a fine young man who just wanted to lie flat, she was truly using every means possible.

Although he didn't know if Yan Shaozhe would do the same, at least the intent was about the same.

Sure enough, it was only after Su said all the nice things he could and promised to achieve a good ranking that he was let go by Xian Lin'er. However, things did not end there; when Su returned to the Soul Guidance Department, Fan Yu brought him a message: "Dean Yan wants you to achieve a good ranking; I believe Dean Xian has already made it clear to you, so Dean Yan will not repeat it."

Damn it, why don't you go urge Huo Yuhao instead? Staring at me every single day, get lost!

If it weren't for the fact that my strength is inferior to others and I must rely on Shrek Academy, do you think I would obediently listen?

That being said, it seems there is still one more match left, the competition to claim I am a pig...

The participants from the Soul Guidance Department were also strictly controlled, leaving only He Cai Tou and Su Yu.

The Martial Soul Department likely has those twenty-six people, but who to kick out of the original Shrek Seven Devils has become a problem.

It is impossible for me, Su, to be one of the Shrek Seven Devils; I am not going to be part of that weird Shrek Seven Devils, if you want to play, go do it yourselves.

Either all eight of us advance, or I forfeit; let's see how you choose.

After class the next day, Wang Yan organized his lesson plan and said, "All Core Disciples stay behind; follow me to the Soul Fighting District in a moment."

All the Core Disciples were invigorated; they knew the selection tournament was about to begin. However, unlike what they had originally imagined, the assessment did not take up their class time, but was conducted after school in the afternoon.

Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao, and Xiao Xiao were quite excited. The number of Core Disciples in Huo Yuhao's grade was extremely high, more than in any previous year. In their class alone, including him, there were eight people. Adding Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, Zhu Lu, and Wu Feng from Class Two, and Ning Tian from Class Three, that made twelve people. This was extremely rare in the Outer Court of Shrek Academy.

So many people marched toward the Soul Fighting Arena in a grand procession. The only thing that made Wang Dong gnash his teeth was that Su Yu, for some reason, refused to come to the Martial Soul Department for class.

Even when Wang Dong wanted to take action to drag Su Yu over, Su Yu still managed to escape all the way using a Flying Soul Guidance Device.

Soon, Wang Dong and the others arrived at the Soul Fighting Arena, along with Core Disciples from other grades.

Looking into the distance, one could even see Master Bei Bei waving at Huo Yuhao.

Master Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan appeared in their line of sight one after another; they were all fifth-grade Core Disciples. The most eye-catching remained the twin stars, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.

Rather than calling them twin stars, it would be better to call them a pair of unscrupulous best friends...

Among the fifth-grade students, there were of course more than just these three Core Disciples. But they were the only three who had not yet reached their fifteenth birthday. Undoubtedly, they were also the strongest in cultivation among all the Core Disciples in the Outer Court.

The three of them had already reached the Four-Ring level. Although Su, who was also a Core Disciple, only had a soul power of level twenty-eight, Su was already capable of being invincible under the Four-Ring level.

If Su reached the Three-Ring level, he could completely be invincible under the Five-Ring level, and even contend with ordinary Five-Ring soul masters; although he hadn't tried it, Su had this confidence.

"Su Yu, over here..." Wang Dong waved at Su Yu.

As he spoke, a group of second-grade Core Disciples looked in the direction of Su Yu in unison.

As everyone knows, there are two people in the second grade who cannot be provoked: the first is Su, known as the ceiling of combat power, and the second is Su's roommate, Wang Dong.

Actually, it's not that Wang Dong's strength is as monstrous as Su Yu's, but once Wang Dong accepts someone's challenge, Su must invite him to the Soul Fighting Arena for a round a day in advance.

Because of this, no one has dared to touch Wang Dong's position as Class Monitor to this day, because the last one has been lying in the infirmary for several days wrapped in bandages...

Just then, in the distance, a swaying body slowly walked over; looking at the way he wobbled with every step, it seemed as if he could fall at any moment.

Seeing him, others were all looking blank, but Su Yu was no stranger to him; wasn't this old man who came Xuan Lao?

Although most of his face was covered by messy hair, the iconic action of a wine gourd in his left hand and a chicken leg in his right immediately revealed his identity.

In Shrek Academy, apart from him, there was no one else who looked like this.

Xuan Lao swayed over to the group of students and said with blurry, drunken eyes, "Little Wang."

"Xuan Lao." Wang Yan hurriedly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Are everyone here?" Xuan Lao asked.

Wang Yan said, "Everyone is here. There are twenty-six Core Disciples from the Martial Soul Department from the second to the fifth grade, and only two people came from the Soul Guidance Department."

"Hmm. Then let's go in." While speaking, Xuan Lao turned and swayed into the Soul Fighting District.

Everything in the Soul Fighting District remained the same, but today there seemed to be no teachers present, and no students had come here to fight.

Xuan Lao walked all the way to the center of the Soul Fighting District before stopping, and the Core Disciples also stood still under the guidance of their teachers.

Xuan Lao said in a muffled voice, "You little guys, listen up. The content of the Core Disciple assessment you are about to receive is very simple. I call it a Collective Melee. Within the scope of this Soul Fighting District, you can attack at will, fight however you want. There are no rules. Those who admit defeat or are rescued are considered eliminated. The last seven people remaining are the winners. Alright, teachers, all go out. When I shout start, you can begin fighting."

The following scene was incredibly familiar; Xuan Lao spoke in the blink of an eye.

The original crowd instantly fell into chaos; a melee, how to fight?

"Wang Dong, Yu Hao, Xiao Xiao, come here!"

Su Yu beckoned to the three little ones and nodded to He Cai Tou beside him; in an instant, dense soul guidance cannon barrels were rapidly assembled on He Cai Tou's body.

"Master, come over together!" Just as everyone was still choosing their respective camps, Su Yu had already gathered everyone together.

Looking at the group about to unite on Su Yu's side, someone said, don't let the seniors gather together, which instantly made Su Yu and the others the target of public criticism.

"Damn it, ruining my good deed, you wait, don't let me find out who you are!"

Su glared fiercely at the person who spoke; that was a fourth-grade senior, a Three-Ring Assault System Soul Elder.

Following his words, everyone instantly had a choice: they must eliminate the biggest threat, otherwise they would have no chance.

"Brother He, aim at the one who just spoke, hit him until he's dead!" Su Yu directly unleashed his Second Soul Skill, Phantom Shadow.

Two Su Yus carried four soul guidance cannons of astonishing caliber and, without mercy, launched a round of Soul Guidance Cannonball attacks at the person who had just spoken, together with He Cai Tou.

"Scatter quickly!"

"Run, don't get hit by them, or you'll be eliminated!"

…………

The originally loose alliance instantly collapsed; the unlucky kid who had just spoken was instantly carried away by He Cai Tou and Su Yu; if it weren't for Xuan Lao taking action, he would have been blasted into nothingness by now.

Originally an eight-versus-twenty situation, in one encounter, five were directly carried away.

Now it was eight versus fifteen, and all three Four-Ring soul masters were on Su Yu's side.

As the first round of fire suppression dissipated, no one dared to rush forward rashly; once they rushed over, they would inevitably face He Cai Tou's dense Soul Guidance Rays and the greetings of Su Yu's four Energy Gathering Soul Guidance Cannons.

A faint golden light lit up in the depths of Huo Yuhao's eyes, and Spirit Detection Sharing instantly enveloped everyone on Su Yu's side.

However, Xu Sanshi's expression also became strange.

"Bei Bei, did you rely on this skill of Yu Hao's when you won my Mysterious Water Pill back then? I was wondering how you suddenly became so fierce; you cheated."

…………

Xu Sanshi was indeed unlucky; not only was he tricked by Bei Bei once, but later he was also severely disgusted by the Qiankun Wenqing Valley.

Everyone was not a fool; although they did not dare to rush forward rashly, they knew how to gather together to deal with the strong. Only by brushing Su Yu and the others out would they have the qualifications to compete for the final victory.

"What are you still standing there for, do it!"

Su Yu held a long sword, following Wang Dong and Bei Bei as they charged into the enemy formation.

He had expected to face Dai Huabin, but Dai Huabin did not appear in the center. A pair of brilliant wings unfurled; a red light flickered on Wang Dong's left arm as his Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone skill activated, though it was merely a support-type amplification soul skill.

However, coordinated with Huo Yuhao's Spirit Detection Sharing, it struck with pinpoint accuracy directly onto a Great Soul Master whose cultivation was only at the Second Ring.

The first one out, fourteen more to go!

"Come, Dai Huabin, today I'll give you a chance!"

Su Yu held his heavy sword, surrounded by a Fragment Storm, and killed his way toward where Dai Huabin was located.

It was not that Su Yu was reckless, but among these people, the only ones who could threaten Su Yu were Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's Nether White Tiger.

With Huo Yuhao's support, Su Yu found the fighting incredibly easy, moving through the crowd as if there were no one there; under Su Yu's terrifying Fragment Storm, soul masters below the Three-Ring level had no ability to resist at all.

Every time someone tried to ambush Su Yu, Xu Sanshi, that tool, would accurately come to take the initiative to defend for Su.

He Cai Tou's target was very clear: Zhu Lu.

Before Su Yu launched his attack, he had specifically instructed that those two people should be given special attention, so the two Soul Guidance Cannons on He Cai Tou's shoulders focused on this young couple.

Jiang Nannan was not idle either; she leaped up silently. Her speed was so fast that even her own teammates could not see her clearly.

The timing she chose could be described as perfect with the help of Huo Yuhao's Spirit Detection Sharing. Just as that lion soul master's body flew horizontally, his neck was clamped by Jiang Nannan's legs, and she activated Waist Bow, throwing him flying away directly.

Xu Sanshi was responsible for blocking the opponent's attacks, and Bei Bei was responsible for full-force attacks; in just a brief encounter, he was shaken away by Su Yu's sword. As for Zhu Lu, under the focus of Su Yu's clone and He Cai Tou, she was also sent off the field.

Wang Dong's Butterfly Goddess Light, Huo Yuhao's Eternal Frozen Domain, and Su Yu's Fragment Storm were absolute weapons of mass destruction for team combat.

Xiao Xiao's Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron was constantly harassing these people's movements; even though they occupied an absolute numerical advantage, they were still being continuously harvested by Su Yu and his team in an absolute crushing posture.

Ning Tian, who was using amplification, was hit by a shot from Su Yu's clone's Energy Gathering Soul Guidance Cannon, and the second shell hit Xie Huanyue, who was helping Ning Tian block.

Ning Tian was eliminated and Xie Huanyue was injured, but the good show was not over yet. Su Yu's clone and main body shared the same consciousness, and the clone told He Cai Tou not to worry about soul power consumption and to attack with full force.

Before the crowd could organize a new formation and effective defense, He Cai Tou's second outburst once again disrupted everyone's movements.

That Defense System Soul Elder was also specifically targeted by this outburst, leaving him absolutely no chance to defend for others.

"Vice Class Monitor, can you go a little easier..."

Across from them, Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sichen looked in pain at Su Yu, who was already holding dual swords and had killed his way to them.

"Sure..."

Next came two more screams; the two, who had been affected by Huo Yuhao's Spirit Interference, were kicked off one by one by Su Yu in an instant.

They had expected a grueling battle, but with the addition of Su Yu, Huo Yuhao, and He Cai Tou, and under Su Yu's command, the opponents were completely suppressed and beaten by them.

In just ten minutes, only the eight of them, Su Yu and his team, remained on the field!

But the competition was not over yet, because Xuan Lao had said only seven people could remain, but the performance of these eight people was incomparably outstanding; Xu Sanshi's Absolute Defense allowed Su Yu and the others to attack crazily without any worries.

Every attack from Jiang Nannan, an Agility Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor, was a threat, and the opponents couldn't even touch a hair on her.

Huo Yuhao's support and his Eternal Frozen Domain both affected a large area of the opponents.

Xiao Xiao's support and control, He Cai Tou's firepower suppression, and the fierce attacks from Bei Bei, Su Yu, and Wang Dong left the referee dumbfounded.

Especially Su Yu, who was only at the Second Ring, suppressing a whole group of people on the other side, while his clone was still in the distance carrying an Energy Gathering Soul Guidance Cannon and bombing crazily...

"The competition is over. You eight stay, the rest go back."

Xuan Lao looked at the eight people staring at each other on the field and spoke.

"Didn't you say only seven people could remain? There are still eight here," Su Yu asked tentatively, but Wang Dong, standing beside him, pinched the soft flesh on his waist hard, signaling him not to speak anymore.

Those who lost hesitated, but they looked at Xuan Lao and did not leave.

"I said seven people to select a suitable team. Now that eight remain, no matter who is missing, it is destined to be impossible to complete such a perfect team battle. As for those who lost the competition, you have no right to say you are unconvinced."

Xuan Lao took a sip of wine. He did not talk as much nonsense as in the original work; he just threw them a Crystal Ball and let them observe the details of this battle themselves.

Sometimes, preaching does not have much effect; the only useful thing is to let them reflect on their own and let them discover their own shortcomings.

Xuan Lao is also a person worthy of respect, whether in the original work or now.

Back then, when Xuan Lao led the team, twelve Inner Court disciples encountered a 100,000-year Soul Beast, and in the end, eight of the twelve died in battle; that was also the most tragic time in the history of Shrek Academy.

He was to blame, and it was precisely from that time on that he began to drink heavily and began to give up on himself. The former number one genius of Shrek Academy eventually fell; originally, after that time, he should have succeeded to the positions of Dean of the Martial Soul Department and Sea God Pavilion Master.

But it was precisely because of that time that he sank, and the Sea God Pavilion still had to be led by Mu Lao.

Although many years had passed, that pain was always deeply buried in the bottom of his heart.

No one blamed him, but the inner condemnation had never disappeared.

If that incident had not happened, Xuan Lao would definitely not be in such a sloppy state today. The former

Xuan Lao, the number one genius of Shrek, would definitely be countless times stronger than this sloppy drunkard appearance today!

And precisely because of this, Xuan Lao never married or had children in his life, because he could not let go of the guilt in his heart...

When they finished watching the images recorded by the Crystal Ball that Xuan Lao threw to them, Xuan Lao gave them a lesson that left an incomparably deep impression.

Looking at that sloppy back, Su Yu knew that Xuan Lao's heart was twisting in pain; he would never be able to let go of the eight students who died in battle in his life...

It is just a pity that such a vivid character as Xuan Lao was eventually ruined by that certain person's writing.