"You guys…" Wang Dong looked at everyone in shock as he placed Huo Yuhao on the roof.
Bei Bei put the telescopic soul tool down and replied, "Teacher Wang may be unmatched when it comes to researching martial souls, however he's very inexperienced when it comes to concealing his emotions. "
"Then why didn't you guys call us?" Wang Dong said resentfully.
"That's because junior brother clearly saw through it! You guys have to remember not to be too expressive. Otherwise, anyone with a shred of intelligence would be able to discern your thoughts. " said Bei Bei.
Wang Dong felt gloomy as he said, "Aren't you only implying that I'm dumber than you guys?"
Xiao Xiao weakly raised her hand and said, "Me too. Senior brother told me there's a good show going on and brought me up here."
Those who could be a part of the Shrek's Seven Monsters were prodigies in their own right. Huo Yuhao wasn't the only one who recognised Wang Yan's problem. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi and He Caitou were also aware of it. Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao were the only ones that had been called up.
"Nannan, can I take a look?" Xu Sanshi inched over to Jiang Nannan's side, fawning all over her. Where had the powerful aura he had possessed during the tournament gone to?
He Caitou had brought two telescopic soul tools along with him. He'd given one to Bei Bei and handed the other over to Xu Sanshi. For appearance's sake, Xu Sanshi had immediately handed it to Jiang Nannan.
Jiang Nannan ignored him and said, "The tournament's starting."
The Grand Imperial Star Hotel and Star Luo Plaza were separated by a few kilometers, which was extremely far for the eye to see. From this distance, the massive tournament plaza was but a very small square. It was more or less impossible for one to observe the ongoings clearly. Even He Caitou with the telescopic soul tool couldn't see what was going on too clearly.
Huo Yuhao said, "Senior brother, let me test out that telescopic soul tool."
Bei Bei handed the telescopic soul tool that looked like a metal box over to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao took the telescopic soul tool and peered through the transparent convex-shaped crystal, looking into the distance through the enlargement device installed within. One only had to pour a bit of their soul power into the telescopic soul tool to use it. It was a very simple auxiliary soul tool. Since there weren't many soul tool masters willing to put much effort into this aspect, they were only Rank 1 soul tools. Naturally, it couldn't enlarge the image in the distance by a large amount.
However, Huo Yuhao's eyesight was exceptionally shocking. His eyes were his martial soul, and he'd also been cultivating the Purple Demon Eyes all along. Naturally, everything would be much clearer to Bei Bei if he could use the Purple Demon Eyes too. Even without the help of this telescopic soul tool, he would only need to use a bit of soul power if he wanted to clearly see what was going on a few kilometers away on a good day.
Huo Yuhao expanded his Spiritual Sharing as he watched what was going on on the tournament stage. It wasn't that he couldn't use his Spiritual Sharing only when he used his Spiritual Detection. He could use it on a normal basis too, just like what he was doing now. Huo Yuhao shared what he could see with his friends through his Spiritual Sharing. The four soul skills the Skydream Iceworm gave him didn't seem to be very powerful at first glance, but all of them were incomparably mystical in their own right.
The reserve team of Shrek's Seven Monsters only had to close their eyes for the scenes Huo Yuhao saw to appear in their minds.
The match held in Star Luo Plaza wasn't the first match held since they left, but rather a 1-vs-1 showdown.
He'd just clearly seen what was happening on the tournament stage when a shiver ran down Huo Yuhao's spine. The others also trembled once they became aware of what was happening on the stage under the conditions of his Spiritual Sharing. They atmosphere suddenly became very tense.
The reason for this was because the two individuals currently competing actually had five soul rings each. Moreover, they were a combination of two yellow soul rings and three purple soul rings. Even if these two Soul Kings didn't have the best ratio of ten-thousand-year soul rings between them, the words 'Soul King' pressed heavily like mountains in everyone's hearts.
Soul Kings had actually appeared after their match.
The two Soul Kings were both soul masters who didn't use any soul tools either. Their battle was extremely intense, causing strong rays of light to explode from the tournament stage from time to time. Since they were very far from the plaza, it was impossible for Huo Yuhao to see every minute detail regardless of how good his eyesight was.
Moreover, he couldn't clearly see the specific details on the stage when the rays of light flickered from the intense soul power.
"It looks like Teacher Wang was right. He really was afraid of cracking down on our confidence in the tournament." Bei Bei said with slight difficulty.
Xu Sanshi snorted and said, "So what if they're Soul Kings? Bei Bei, you're disheartened just like that?"
After the scene she saw through Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sharing, Jiang Nannan put the telescopic soul tool down. She seldom spoke, but now she continued with, "It's normal for Soul Kings to appear in the earlier parts of the knockout tournament. The academies that can pass the first cycle of the knockout tournament can't be especially weak in any way. Perhaps the Cloud Luo Advanced Soul Engineering Academy we faced off against today was the one with the weakest constitution. Even though these two academies sent out Soul Kings for the present match, it might very well stem from the reasoning of letting the Soul Kings emerge victorious in a few matches to deplete the opponent's strength as best as they can."
"Even though you put it that way, what do you think is implied with them having Soul Kings as their commanding officers?" Bei Bei asked.
Huo Yuhao subconsciously answered, "It means there's a very high possibility that their team is made up entirely of Soul Ancestors."
Bei Bei nodded and said, "Junior brother is right. I'm afraid we have an arduous battle ahead of us from now on. We also definitely have to reveal our true strength. With team members composed of Soul Ancestors with a Soul King as their leader, their strength surpasses ours completely as a whole. We definitely can't duplicate what happened in the first match. Everyone must be mentally prepared. Our victory in the first two matches was due to our opponents being weak along with a small bit of luck. The latter matches will be more difficult. I'm afraid Teacher Wang only lied to us a little. There really are quite a number of twenty-year-old Soul Kings this time around."
Xu Sanshi shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter, Bei Bei. After all, we can have Soul Kings in our team in the next two matches. Senior Sister Ling is a Control-type Soul King. With her deployed in battle, we won't have a problem anymore."
Bei Bei glared at him and said, "Stop talking nonsense! Don't think I don't know what you're hiding. We're competing in this tournament, which means that we're representing Shrek Academy's honor. At the very least, we're enjoying the treatment of being core disciples in the academy. Now it's time for us to protect the academy's honor. Even if we use the last shred of our energy, I will not permit myself to lose on stage. Xu Sanshi, you better get your act together. We must definitely win the next two matches. We have to give it everything we've got before our senior brothers and sisters return."
Bei Bei hit the nail on the head with this one, exuding a mighty power that he'd never had before along with his words.
His martial soul was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. By nature, he had the tyrannnical aura of a king but the only difference was that he normally hid it extremely well. Unless it was under the conditions of a fight, no one could feel that aura around him.
This was the first time Huo Yuhao had seen Bei Bei look so serious. He immediately felt a shiver run down his spine.
Xu Sanshi frowned. "Bei Bei, isn't it too early? You ought to know that this tournament doesn't actually belong to us. If we reveal our true abilities too early, our opponents are sure to pursue countermeasures against us in five years."
Bei Bei lowered his voice and said, "But we can't wait. Sanshi, do you have such little faith in what's to come in five years? Five years is a very long time to us."
Xu Sanshi gazed deeply at Bei Bei and said, "If you want to go all in, I'll go along with you."
Bei Bei said in an unhappy tone, "Can you not say it in such a sexual way? I don't have the slightest bit of interest in you at all. I understand your concerns. Our abilities are basically fixed. Once we reveal our true strength, our foundations won't change, although they'll continue to increase over the next five years. But you've forgotten something. Even though our abilities are fixed, Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao are at the stage where their abilities haven't been fixed yet. Yuhao in particular. His Imitation ability is very effective at confusing his opponents. We need to support the team now. Also, they are the true core disciples come five years' time."
"Wait a moment. Senior brother, Senior Xu, are you guys saying that you've always been hiding your strength all this while?" Huo Yuhao interrupted.
"Uh… You can put it that way." Bei Bei gave a slight nod as he replied.
The other five exchanged glances with puzzled looks on their faces.
Bei Bei looked at Xu Sanshi, who immediately had a look on his face that said "It's none of my business". The meaning behind his look was very clear – if you bring up a topic, you'll naturally have to resolve any question that arise along with it.
Bei Bei felt helpless as he looked at the curiosity in their eyes. "The truth is… Well, since you guys are now part of the reserve team, it's no big deal if we tell you guys. Not long after Sanshi and I entered the academy, we became core disciples like you guys. As our cultivation increased, we gradually gained the approval of the academy. We then unofficially got chosen to be the next generation of Shrek's Seven Monsters. We were the only two who got chosen from the outer courtyard. To put it simply, we are slightly more valuable compared to the core disciples. The academy is slightly more biased towards us in terms of nurturing us and providing us with the necessary resources. However, that was on the precondition that we would have to sit for the inner courtyard examination after we graduated from the outer courtyard. Furthermore, we have to become Shrek Guardians for at least five years."
"Generally speaking, unofficially declaring someone to be a part of Shrek's Seven Monsters is a very rare occurrence. For example, no one was unofficially declared as a member of Shrek's Seven Monsters in Senior sister Ma's generation. The academy only thinks highly of us because Sanshi and I have rather unusual abilities. Naturally, there's someone amongst you guys who also has that qualification, and that is Yuhao. This matter has been delayed because the tournament came too soon, and also because Yuhao is now cultivating in both the Martial Soul Department and Soul Tool Department. However, both departments are nurturing him to the best of their abilities, making his treatment equal to ours."
"We're still young, so the academy mainly wanted us to participate in the next tournament. Because of that, they asked us not to use all our strength under normal circumstances. But for the sake of the academy's honor, I feel that we can no longer continue to hide. During the following two matches, it'll be very hard for us to win if we have to face any Soul Kings."
Everyone couldn't help but look at each other after hearing his words. Sure enough, the fact that he had been chosen by the academy meant that he wasn't someone easily dealt with!
Wang Dong looked towards Xu Sanshi, "Senior Xu, can I ask a question? During our match today, how much strength did you use?"
Xu Sanshi thought about it for a moment. "About thirty or forty percent. In reality, Teacher Wang's estimations were wrong. I only can release my full strength when I work together with Bei Bei. We were a couple in the first place."
"Don't be so full of air when you speak," Bei Bei said gloomily, "Who's a couple with you? We're partners. Explain it clearly."
"Che…" Xu Sanshi curled his lips, "Could it be that you don't know who I like? This brother's orientations are perfectly normal." With that, his gaze immediately landed on Jiang Nannan's body.
However, Jiang Nannan didn't even spare him a glance. She thoughtlessly walked over to Xiao Xiao's side, and with a flick of the wrist, the pair of scissors that had previously appeared during the match once again appeared.
Thirty to forty percent of his strength? They were all four-ringed soul masters, but just how strong was Xu Sanshi? Furthermore, there was also Bei Bei, who had similarly hidden his strength.
Suddenly, Huo Yuhao felt as if the preparatory team he was in wasn't as weak as they seemed on the surface!
Huo Yuhao asked, "Senior Bei, does Teacher Wang know that you have been unofficially declared a member of Shrek's Seven Monsters?"
Bei Bei shook his head. "Teacher Wang doesn't know. This is a high-level secret in the academy. Only the two Deans of the Martial Soul Department and the elders of the Sea God's Pavilion know of it. The Sea God's Pavilion is the highest level of command that our academy has, and it's based on Sea God's Island. According to the stories, the master of the Sea God's Pavilion is the true number one expert our academy has. Only, he keeps watch from Sea God's Island, and even we have never seen what he looks like."
"He's even stronger than Elder Xuan?" Huo Yuhao asked astonishedly. From his recollections, Elder Xuan was already a near-omnipotent super-expert due to the terrifying speed at which he'd flown alongside them, and the catastrophic level of strength that he'd released when he'd flown into a rage.
Bei Bei shrugged. "Hasn't Elder Xuan already said it before? He's the vice-captain of our Shrek Guardians. Since there's a vice-captain, there's naturally a captain. Our captain is the master of the Sea God's Pavilion. Only, nobody has ever seen him make a move."
After listening to Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao finally understood everything. Their understanding of the academy was simply too lacking. Unexpectedly, there was even a place like Sea God's Island within the inner courtyard. Furthermore, from what Bei Bei said, this Sea God's Island had a much greater level of influence even when compared to the Deans.
Bei Bei said, "There's no need for you guys to think too much over it. Although we've hidden some of our strength, we didn't hide too much. After all, we're still at the Soul Ancestor level of strength. You'll see it during the tournament. Let's just follow Teacher Wang Yan's tactics and arrangements. However, if we get put into a 2-2-3 match, there's a high chance that Sanshi and I will be put into a team to fight against their strongest experts. On the other hand, there may be changes in the other teams. Nannan, what would happen if you were placed with Caitou?"
Without any hesitation at all, Jiang Nannan replied, "Other than a certain person, I'm fine with pairing up with anybody else."
Xu Sanshi immediately interrupted her, "I know, you're not willing to be together with a serious-looking person like Bei Bei. Bei Bei, I think it's still better for me to work together with Nannan. You can just work with somebody else."
Jiang Nannan flew into a rage. "Stop playing dumb. The certain person I'm talking about is you. Stay away from me, otherwise don't blame me for being impolite to you." As she spoke, she waved the scissors in her hand through the air.
Xu Sanshi immediately fell silent. Clearly, he was acting as though he had fallen silent out of fear, and everybody could see that he nearly couldn't help but fly into uproarious laughter.
Bei Bei said, "Then, we'll temporarily put you with Caitou. Yuhao, we'll leave your partners as Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. If we can't deal with our enemies during the first two matches, you won't have to try too excessively during the last match. You should do your best to hide your secrets. Preferably, it'd be better for you to lose rather than reveal some of your secrets. Understand? After all, we can still win even if we lose a single match in the round-robin tournament. Furthermore, it's impossible for us to be put into a 2-2-3 fight every round."
"Yes." Huo Yuhao replied immediately. He had nothing but utmost trust for his senior brother.
A light flickered across Bei Bei's eyes. "Fine. Everybody, go back. We don't have to stay here anymore. Teacher Wang Yan will definitely make a few arrangements for us based on our opponent's strengths. Everybody, go get a good rest and maintain your conditions."
After returning to their hotel room, Huo Yuhao called Wang Dong to his room to cultivate.
Wang Dong closed the door and said, "I didn't think that senior brother and Xu Sanshi would've hidden the fact that they were unofficial members of Shrek's Seven Devils. We should have a fighting chance now."
Huo Yuhao said, "It's hard to tell. If we're in a 1v1 elimination round or a team fight, our seniors will be able to utilise their strengths optimally. However, if we really do get into a 2-2-3 match like senior brother said, we'll be in a bit of trouble. After all, the only strong teammates we have are the two of them."
Wang Dong was somewhat unresigned. "You're underestimating us too much. Do we not have enough strength to win a single battle? Don't forget, we can now use our Golden Road again."
Huo Yuhao smiled bitterly. "Out of everyone who can participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Duelling Tournament, tell me, who isn't a real elite? Since we've already used the Golden Road once, our opponents will be cautious of it. Its greatest flaw is the fact that it's an attack that only targets a single direction. As long as our opponents make a few preparations against it, our chances of succeeding will be much lower. Out of the three of us, two of us have two rings, while you have three rings. If all of our opponents are Soul Ancestors, we practically have no chance of winning."
Wang Dong fell silent, as though he were pondering something.
Huo Yuhao patted his shoulder. "Come, let's go cultivate. Every single little bit counts. No matter what, we should do our best. We absolutely cannot let the glory of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect be tarnished because of us."
"Right."
The matches of the round-robin tournament were held on alternate days. For example, every team in Group A would have to undergo seven matches. If a team wanted to qualify, they would have to beat five teams at the very least to stand a chance. Only by winning six matches would a team be able to guarantee themselves a spot in the next round.
After two days passed, the first round of the round-robin tournament ended. When compared to the elimination round, the round-robin tournament was much more peaceful. Every single team continuously revised their battle tactics, and the strategies used in every single round of the tournament were more detailed than the last. However, it wasn't as crazy as the elimination round.
The first round of the elimination round was still affecting the round-robin tournament; the teams whose main forces had been injured were using the first round of the round-robin tournament to adjust their team's condition. Because of that, the first round wasn't overly exciting. It wasn't yet time for everyone to bring out their strongest powers.
However, a perspecious person could tell that the first round of the round-robin tournament was the calm before the storm. Many of the teams couldn't afford to lose the coming matches anymore.
Night.
"Teacher Wang Yan, where are we going?" Bei Bei asked, puzzled.
One day had passed since the first round of the tournament, and they would be starting the second round of the round-robin tournament tomorrow. However, Wang Yan was bringing the seven from the preparatory team out of the Grand Imperial Star Hotel after dinner.
In the first place, this was the most bustling part of Star Luo City. The moment they stepped out the door, they were engulfed by a large and chaotic number of people.
Wang Yan smiled slightly. "I'm bringing you to a place. Just follow me. Recently, we'd just finished our Guardian assignment before participating in this tournament. Your minds have been strained the whole time. It won't be good if you're like this the whole time. I'm bringing you to a place where you can relax. Relaxation will have some benefits for your future matches."
Relaxing?
Their faces became somewhat strange. They were already aware of how strong their imminent opponents were, but Teacher Wang was actually taking them out to help them relax? Could anyone even believe him? However, Teacher Wang's concealment skills were much better than last time, at the very least. Nobody questioned him, because everyone knew that wherever he was going to take them was definitely for the sake of obtaining better results in the tournament.
Since the start of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament, the vast Star Luo City had become extremely congested. It was very hard to maintain one's speed within the crowd, especially on the streets near Star Luo Plaza, which were permanently congested.
During the past few days, Wang Yan seemed to have understood the general outlines of their surroundings. After bringing them through a crowded part of the road, they broke through the masses; there were now much fewer people around them.
After passing through another few streets, they finally stopped at a pointed-looking building.
This building wasn't too conspicuous, and although it wasn't too big compared to the other tall buildings surrounding it, it could be considered prominent. A sign with the design of a hammer was placed above its door, and the image of a golden, veined tabletop was under the hammer.
Of the members of the preparatory team, only Huo Yuhao revealed a blank look at seeing this sign; the others all had a sudden flash of enlightenment.
Huo Yuhao whispered to Wang Dong, "What is this place?"
Wang Dong said, "This is an auction. See the design of that sign? That elaborately carved hammer is the symbol of an auction. Only auctions and blacksmiths use a hammer as a sign, but the hammer of a blacksmith tends to be much rougher and larger. As long as it's not too late, you should be able to hear the sounds of hammering near a blacksmith."
"So that's the case." Huo Yuhao felt ashamed. He was truly clueless in certain areas. As the saying went, reading ten thousand books is not as useful as travelling ten thousand miles. Naturally, he wouldn't change. After all, the most important thing he had to do was increase his cultivation.
The companions, seniors, opponents, and even the teachers who taught him, every single one of these people gave him the pressure and drive that made him continue an unending journey. During this journey, the only way he could have peace of mind was by exhausting all of his strength.
This was also an advantage of Shrek Academy. In an environment like this, Huo Yuhao and the other students would absolutely be stimulated into an all-out struggle as long as they were motivated. This was all done so they could release the potential hidden within their bodies.
This was also the reason why Shrek Academy not only had talents, but also a group of talents who came forth in large numbers.
Just what is Teacher Wang bringing us to an auction for? A few traces of doubt rose in Huo Yuhao's heart.
At the same time, Wang Yan gave them an explanation as he turned towards the others, "Although you haven't seen the other academies compete, I have to tell you all that this time's tournament is very different than the previous ones. The difference lies in the fact that there are now very few pure soul master academies left. All of the other academies have been growing in the direction of a fusion between soul engineers and soul masters."
"A fusion?" Bei Bei furrowed his brows slightly, "Teacher Wang, what do you mean by 'a fusion'?"
Wang Yan said, "There are many types of fusion for some ordinary academies. The simplest way they can do this is by diligently training the soul masters they have, then equipping them with soul tools. As long as their students learn how to use these soul tools, they're fine. Even if their ways of using soul tools aren't as refined as a soul engineer's methods, a soul tool can still increase their fighting power. Pure soul masters are becoming rarer and rarer."
"It's just like what we saw during the first round of the elimination round, when Yuhao and Wang Dong activated their Golden Road. Our opponents had a few defensive-type soul tools. Were it not for them, they could've been seriously injured. However, situations like this are commonplace during this year's tournament. Practically every student from a soul academy has a soul tool, and some of the stronger academies have even set up their own independent Soul Tool Departments. Not only does this train their own soul engineers, but it also allows them to custom-make soul tools for their other soul masters to give them a dramatic increase in overall strength. You'll understand once I give you an example. Let's say we give a speed-increasing soul tool to an agility-type soul master like Nannan. If she can use it freely, what do you think will happen? At the same time, say we give her a few lifesaving defensive-type soul tool to guard against her weakness in defense. Wouldn't that be enough to let her use all of her strength without any worry at all?"
"I never thought that this tournament would change this much after five years. Actually, it's more accurate to say that this started several decades ago. Only, an overwhelmingly large number of academies were proud of the fact that they were soul academies at that time. Just like us, they felt that using soul tools would lower their reputations. However, the times change whether we like it or not. During the last few tournaments, academies who used soul tools have been obtaining better and better results. This unending change has changed the other soul academies' way of thinking . Only, I didn't think that they'd fully explode during this year's tournament. From what I've seen during the first round of the elimination round, over 80% of the participating academies have prepared soul tools. Furthermore, with this experience, I'm afraid that every single academy will have equipped their students with soul tools by the next tournament."
Xu Sanshi furrowed his brows. "They've forgotten the honor of being a soul master. Aren't battles between soul masters meant to be pure? The most reliable tool we have at our disposal is the strength we've cultivated, and it's our most trustworthy tool. After all, a soul tool is a foreign object."
"You're not wrong," Wang Yan said in a low voice, "Also, I can guarantee you guys that Sanshi's way of thinking is practically identical to that of the upper echelon of a large majority of academies. It's this precise reason that has constrained the development of the Soul Tool Department. After my observations during this year's tournament, however, I have to say that we've reached an irreversible point in time. Furthermore, this has to be acted upon immediately. Once we return to the academy after the tournament, I will immediately point this out to the academy."
"Soul tools will become the weapons of us soul masters. This is a byproduct of the times. If we don't keep up with the passage of time, there will be a time when we ourselves are washed away. It's true that our Shrek Academy has a deep background, but how long will this deep background let us be extravagant? You guys are the next generation of Shrek's Seven Monsters, and I hope that we can cause a change with you taking the lead. I've brought you here for that reason. It just so happens that there's a soul tool auction in this auction house today, and I hope that you guys will be able to lead the academy with your example. Naturally, I won't force you, nor do I have the capability to do so. If anyone here isn't willing to enter, you can return now." With that, Wang Yan's gaze turned somewhat apprehensive. He naturally understood that the deep-rooted Soul Tool Department of Shrek Academy had already been established for many years, but had always been completely suppressed by the Martial Soul department. As a result, it had simply been unable to truly grow.
The inner courtyard disciples of the Martial Soul Department were elites among elites, but what about the Soul Tool Department? The Soul Tool Department also had inner courtyard disciples, but those exact disciples were only mediocre after graduating, and even now weren't able to create any sort of reputation for Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department. This was because of the pressure of tradition! The pressure of tradition had become the currently restrained Shrek Academy's greatest barrier.
The seven of them all fell silent, and each and every one of them was pondering inwardly.
The only thing that Wang Yan could guarantee was that there would be two people who would agree with him–that was, the two people who belonged to the Soul Tool Department, He Caitou and Huo Yuhao.
But what about the other five? They were all core disciples of the Martial Soul Department; their elites. If they chose to use soul tools during the tournament, this would be equivalent to them making their decisions. Although these kids weren't too old, they were able to stand steadily within Shrek Academy. Were any of them not outstanding geniuses? Wang Yan absolutely couldn't predict their way of thinking by comparing them to their peers.
However, Wang Yan didn't regret bringing them to this auction house at all. This was his first time trying to convince them to use soul tools, but it would definitely not be his last. The more profound his research in the field of martial souls became, the more keenly he sensed the problems that would stunt the future growth of soul masters.
"Let's just stand the side first." Wang Yan brought them to a corner of the auction house so as to not block the other guests who were attending the auction.
Wang Yan took a deep breath as he looked at the people around him. "I know. All of you are thinking different things, but a large number of you are against this. Let me say this again. Why did we fall into our current predicament during this year's tournament? It was due to a mistake we made during our mission. The death and injuries of the official team resulted in the preparatory team being forced to take part in the tournament. But, haven't you thought about this before? What if the official team had soul tools with them? What would've happened then?"
"The seven members of the official team were all Soul Kings, or stronger. In other words, they could've equipped Class 5, or even Class 6 soul tools. Let me bring up an extreme example. What if all of them had defensive soul tools on them? After all, every single one of them was already sufficiently strong in terms of combat strength. The thing they needed most was a way to protect themselves. Caitou, you're a student of great ability from the Soul Tool Department, and also Fan Yu's disciple. Tell everyone this: during that corpse explosion, what if they had had defensive soul tools? Would the situation have changed?"
He Caitou seemed to reply without any hesitation at all, "It would've definitely gone differently. I can guarantee that that corpse explosion wouldn't have broken through a Class 6 defensive soul tool. Moreover, a Class 5 soul tool would have ensured that they wouldn't have been rendered unfit for combat at the very least. Their injuries would've been reduced by more than 60% as well."
Once he spoke, everyone else was stirred emotionally. Right! If they had had defensive soul tools, that tragedy might not have occurred. If that had been the case, would they have been in such a predicament during the tournament?
Wang Yan took a deep breath and said, "Children. With my age, I think I can use this to refer to you all. I have to say that each and every one of you are the academy's most precious treasures. At the same time, you are your respective families' most precious geniuses. However, the fall of a genius is much, much easier than nurturing one. Weren't Yao Haoxuan and the rest geniuses as well? They all were. Yao Haoxuan even had a swallowing skill that could allow him to instantly swallow an opponent one rank above him, rendering them powerless for a certain amount of time. He could even be said to be a genius within the Control System. At the same time, they were the current iteration of Shrek's Seven Monsters! However, what happened in the end? No matter how talented they were, they couldn't prevent an accident from occurring. However, the existence of a soul tool can dramatically reduce the possibility of an accident."
"You've already seen the uses of a soul tool. What about those flying-type soul tools? Without them, would you have been able to come here after completing your Guardian mission within such a short period of time? For the sake of achieving his maximum speed, even our academy's Elder Xuan, who is a person who resides at the top of the pyramid, borrowed the use of a flying-type soul tool. I can tell you that the flying-type soul tool that Elder Xuan used was only a Class 8 one. That is also the strongest soul tool within our academy's reserves right now. Then, what about Class 9 and 10 soul tools?"