While Yu Beibei was taking down the two Grandmasters, Xu Sanshi wasn't idle either. Although he was a defense-type Soul Master, his martial soul—the Black Tortoise Shield—also had decent offensive capabilities. His first soul skill, Black Tortoise Shock, delivered a powerful knockback effect. When facing a one-ring agility-type Soul Master, he sent them flying effortlessly. Afterward, Xu Sanshi even raised his brows at Beibei in a smug and playful gesture—a bit punch-worthy, to be honest.
Just like that, Beibei had used only two skills—Thunderclap Dragon Claw and Lightning Fury—to easily defeat two Grandmasters, while Xu Sanshi used only one skill to finish off the last opponent. There was no suspense, no tactics, only absolute domination through raw power.
This completely dashed Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya's hopes of scouting Xue Weiwei's soul skills. Both were a little frustrated, while Zhu Ziyang didn't seem to care at all.
He was confident enough in his own strength that even if Beibei and Xu Sanshi had reached Soul Ancestor level, he'd still be able to beat them.
"Xiao Ya, Ziyang, Nannan—you three are as fast as ever!" Beibei said as he and his teammates walked off the field and spotted Zhu Ziyang's trio nearby. He looked pleasantly surprised but not shocked.
"Hehe, of course!" Tang Ya grinned and walked up, wrapping her arms around Beibei's. "You guys were pretty fast yourselves!"
"Of course!" Xu Sanshi chimed in confidently. "With me and Beibei on the same team, we're invincible in the first year!"
"Pfft! Braggart! Ziyang, can you believe this?" Tang Ya pouted and looked to Zhu Ziyang.
"Hehe, doesn't matter. We'll see the truth in the finals," Zhu Ziyang said calmly with a small smile.
"See? Ziyang has vision," Xu Sanshi said with a competitive gleam in his eyes. "I've been wanting to test myself against the strongest of the first years. Don't disappoint me in the finals!"
"I feel the same," Beibei added, nodding with a smile.
From their words and tone, it was obvious they all assumed they'd be facing each other in the final match.
"Then we'll see you in the finals," Zhu Ziyang replied with a confident, warm smile that left a positive impression on everyone.
"You'd better hope you don't face us before the finals," Tang Ya added with a teasing punch toward Xu Sanshi. "Otherwise, we'll knock you right out!"
Zhu Ziyang's trio returned to the classroom. Classes were still in session.
"Why are you back already? Isn't it still competition time?" the teacher, who was in the middle of a lecture on Soul Master history, looked at them in surprise.
"Hehe! We finished our match, of course! Don't you know how strong we are?" Tang Ya boasted as she strolled in happily.
"I see. Alright, take your seats," the teacher said, understanding. "Tang Ya, since you're so cheerful—are you confident about taking the championship?"
"Hehe, Mr. Li, even if you don't believe in me, you have to believe in Zhu Ziyang, right?" she said with a wide grin.
The three walked to their seats as their classmates watched them with expressions of admiration and awe.
"Class rep is amazing!"
"No kidding! He's the only Soul Elder in the entire freshman class!"
"Actually, he's the only first-year Soul Elder in five years!"
"How did he cultivate so fast?"
"What else? Besides talent, I can't think of any other reason."
"Exactly!"
The round of 32-to-16, and then 16-to-8, turned out to be unexpectedly unfortunate for Zhu Ziyang's team.
In both rounds, they ended up facing teams from their own class—Class Four. Internal battles are the worst kind—emotionally and practically.
In the first match (32-to-16), their opponents gave up quickly. They barely summoned their martial souls before Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya knocked them out of the arena with ease.
In the next round (16-to-8), they faced Lin Ziwei's team. While Lin Ziwei and his teammates gave it their all—especially since they were up against their class rep and Jiang Nannan—they still lost without much suspense. Zhu Ziyang expressed his respect for their fighting spirit, but that was that.
Zhu Ziyang's team advanced easily to the quarterfinals.
Now, it was time to compete for a spot in the final four.
Of the eight remaining teams, only Zhu Ziyang's team remained from Class Four. The others were:
Three teams from Class One
One from Class Two
One from Class Three
One from Class Five
One from Class Six
Though Class One's teacher, Zhou Yi, had an infamously brutal teaching style that Zhu Ziyang didn't particularly approve of, even he had to admit that her students were stronger than those from other classes.
Eighteen of the top 64 teams had been from Class One alone—that was the proof.
Morning, third day of the elimination round.
The quarterfinals were about to begin.
Starting today, high-level officials from the academy would be observing the matches. Before the draw, Xia Yu specially reminded Zhu Ziyang and his team to show their strength as much as possible, even if they could win easily. Making an impression on the academy's leadership could change their futures.
There were only four matches in this round. The assessment area was divided into four zones, each a 50×50 meter square (2,500 square meters)—the largest fields yet. For first-year students, this was a real test, where tactics and spatial awareness became far more important.
In Arena 1, located closest to the judges' platform on the north end, Zhu Ziyang's team stood at the southeast corner. Their opponents—three Class One students—stood at the northwest corner, diagonally across.
As one of the final eight teams, Class One's trio was predictably strong—not here by luck.
Their team leader was a tall, stoic boy. Even though Zhu Ziyang was already among the tallest in their grade, this boy was taller—over 1.8 meters, with muscular arms and a powerful presence.
Name: Zhou Tianhe
Power Attack-type Grandmaster, level 27
Martial Soul: Savage Giant Ape
To his left stood a beautiful girl with long purple hair, a gentle smile, and a sweet, approachable demeanor.
Name: Su Li
Control-type Grandmaster, level 24
Martial Soul: Spiritfox of the Heart
On his right was a petite, adorable girl with big, pure black eyes—harmless on the outside.
Name: Yang Yumeng
Defense-type Grandmaster, level 23
Martial Soul: Restoration Cauldron
"Class One: Zhou Tianhe, Su Li, Yang Yumeng… versus Class Four: Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya. Both teams, prepare for battle," announced a new referee—a man in his forties, not Liu Xue.
Seeing both teams ready, he declared loudly:
"Match, begin!"