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The day after the preliminary qualifiers ended, Shui Wuya arrived at the classroom early in the morning.
"Everyone, the preliminary qualifiers are over, and now it's time for the elimination matches. Unfortunately, I have to inform you all that out of our class's fifteen students, none have passed the assessment," the teacher announced as soon as entering the classroom, causing silence to envelop the students.
Shui Wuya, too, was affected by the atmosphere, but he understood that this was an inevitable ordeal. Even if he weren't exceptionally strong, he could have been among those eliminated.
He also thought about the situation in the first class; according to the original, the first class should have had all its members pass the assessment.
Naturally, the cost was that more students from other classes failed to pass.
Was this Zhou Yi's teaching method good? Not necessarily.
More so, it was influenced by Huo Yuhao.
"Either be eliminated by others or eliminate others yourself. If your skills are not as good as theirs, what's there to be sad about?" Shui Wuya's voice broke the classroom's silence.
Seeing that it was Shui Wuya who spoke, some held back their words.
During this month, Shui Wuya immersed himself in the library every day, and he dominated every minor assessment.
He was not only a genius but also extremely hardworking.
If these words had come from Dai Huabin, they might have stirred some discontent among the others.
But when Shui Wuya said them, it instead evoked a sense of shame in those who had been eliminated.
"Alright, I have some good news here," the teacher clapped his hands. "Congratulations to Shui Wuya's team for achieving a perfect record, becoming one of the six undefeated teams in the academy."
After class, the teacher detained Shui Wuya.
"Entering the elimination matches, I know you might feel it's a waste of time, but it's best if you participate. If you rely solely on Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu..." the teacher paused.
The unspoken words clearly showed a lack of confidence in Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu.
"After the elimination matches, the opponents will be strong. Teams with martial soul fusion skills like Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu are not alone."
"In previous assessments, most of them didn't reveal such trump cards, but when facing you, they will definitely throw everything out to win."
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, although powerful, were evidently not enough for the battles ahead.
In the subsequent matches, only a small fraction of opponents would be Soul Masters below level twenty.
From sixty-four to thirty-two, then to sixteen.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu could maintain their advantage in the first two matches.
But once they faced teams of full-fledged Soul Masters, like the Wang Lan team that was wiped out by Shui Wuya in the first match, winning wouldn't be guaranteed.
"Martial soul fusion skills have cooldown times. If they're forced to use them in the earlier stages without you, they'll lack a high-impact card in the later championship battles."
The teacher worriedly explained to Shui Wuya.
"Alright, I understand," Shui Wuya waved his hand. "I'll be there for the matches. Just don't blame me if they end too quickly, teacher."
The fights ended too swiftly, making it impossible to gauge the opponents' potential.
With that, Shui Wuya left when there was nothing else for the teacher.
The teacher's words did indeed make Shui Wuya pay more attention.
That's about it. By now, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong should be studying martial soul fusion skills.
Shui Wuya calculated in his mind.
In the end, it would surely be his team against Huo Yuhao's team for the championship.
Facing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's martial soul fusion skills, his current abilities might not be enough to withstand them.
Therefore, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had to maintain their peak condition in the preceding battles.
Then, in the final showdown, they would confront Huo Yuhao's team head-on.
After a day of rest, the assessment venue was also rearranged.
The arena became larger than before.
Shui Wuya's match remained the first.
When the three of them appeared on the arena, their opponents were already on high alert.
"The first match, Shui Wuya's team versus Team Fengling. Let the match begin."
Team Fengling consisted of three girls, with Fengling, a control-type Great Soul Master, as their captain, while the other two members were both at the Second Ring.
The teacher had barely announced the start when the three girls swiftly moved away from their original positions.
As they moved, each of them completed their soul fusion.
Shui Wuya felt a slight disappointment.
If their reactions had been just a bit slower, he would have simply used his Ice Seal Soul Skill to quickly freeze all three of them and end the fight swiftly.
"Xiaoyue, Amplify," Fengling shouted, her body enveloped in a greenish aura.
She possessed an exceptionally rare elemental martial soul, with wind attributes.
Within her team, there was an auxiliary member capable of slowing down the movement of enemies.
As she finished speaking, Shui Wuya felt a force acting upon his body. Every movement, whether raising his hand or making any action, became significantly slower.
Though his thoughts remained unaffected, the disparity between his thought speed and his physical movements greatly hindered his actions.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were similarly affected.
"Let's deal with their captain first." The auxiliary girl ran to the back, while the other two girls in their team headed straight for Shui Wuya.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu rushed to intercept them, but due to their slowed movements, only Zhu Lu, with her agility, could barely keep up with one of the girls.
Fengling, who could control wind attributes, was even faster than Zhu Lu, an agility-based Soul Master of the same level. In almost an instant, she arrived beside Shui Wuya.
"Let me eliminate you first," Fengling said resolutely, a dagger already gripped in her hand.
Weapons were allowed in the match.
Crack!
Her dagger struck a narrow and thin ice wall.
Though the ice wall was narrow and thin, it perfectly blocked her dagger.
"You shouldn't have chosen to engage me in close combat," Shui Wuya shook his head, and ice spread from the wall onto Fengling's body.
"Ice Seal."
In an instant, Fengling was turned into an ice sculpture.
With Fengling taken care of, the remaining two opponents became much easier to deal with.
Shui Wuya simply stepped into the range of his Ice Seal Soul Skill and swiftly dealt with the auxiliary girl.
Similarly, Zhu Lu quickly dispatched her opponent.
"What terrifying control ability," the teacher watching the match was astonished.
He was already prepared to intervene when the dagger approached Shui Wuya.
If the ice wall had appeared just a bit slower, he wouldn't have been able to hold back.
The fact that the ice wall remained undamaged showed just how confident Shui Wuya was in this regard.
(End of Chapter)