Chapter 89 Freshman Ranking Tournament
Just thinking about the ten-thousand-year soul bone and that thousand-year Pure Moon Flower he had given away made Yan Shaozhe's heart ache so much his liver trembled.
Making empty promises and painting grand visions might work on others, but with Lin Yun it was completely useless. Yan Shaozhe knew this well.
The moment he showed the slightest intent of trying to get something for nothing, Lin Yun immediately prepared to withdraw with Xiao Xiao. That forced him to hand over real treasures to appease Lin Yun.
Later, if he wanted Lin Yun's help to suppress Ma Xiaotao's evil fire, it would not be as simple as summoning Xu Sanshi at will. Without bleeding resources, there was almost no chance.
Yan Shaozhe was already wondering how many more times his private stash could handle Lin Yun's demands.
(Lin Yun: Old man, gold coins, you get it?)
But looking at it another way, persuading Lin Yun to act wasn't all that difficult.
"Remember this. Next time there's another loss of control from the evil fire, you must stop cultivating immediately and inform me. Do not ever let this happen again." Yan Shaozhe instructed.
"Yes, teacher." Ma Xiaotao nodded sheepishly.
Seeing the pained look on her teacher's face, Ma Xiaotao knew full well that because of her mishap, that outer court student had likely extorted quite a bit from Yan Shaozhe.
In such a situation, how could she dare talk back?
What a pity though. That outer court student seemed to have an extraordinary identity. Otherwise, if she could just snatch—no, trade for—the Ice Jade Scorpion in his possession, she might never have to worry about her evil fire again.
A shame indeed~
…
Lin Yun had no idea he had just been targeted by that crazy woman Ma Xiaotao. Even if he did know, he likely wouldn't care. The next time she came looking for trouble, he wouldn't bring out Qing'er like yesterday.
Some people might appear calm on the surface, but behind the scenes they had already mapped out a silky-smooth combo to finish their opponent in seconds.
Today was the first day of the freshman ranking tournament—the battles to cut sixty-four down to thirty-two. Today's draw was interesting, as Lin Yun and his group once again ran into old acquaintances.
Stepping onto the stage, he saw Huang Chutian's bitter melon face and the twin sisters behind him, nearly identical in appearance. Lin Yun suddenly grinned.
"What a coincidence. How is it you again?" Lin Yun chuckled darkly.
This lord Soul Yun has come to claim your souls!
"Yeah, I don't even know what bad luck we've run into to end up facing you, the star of calamity, again…" Huang Chutian put on the mask of pain.
One of the sisters—whether Lan Susu or Lan Luoluo—poked Huang Chutian's arm, signaling him to notice Lin Yun. Only then did Huang Chutian realize he had accidentally spoken his mind aloud.
Seeing the dangerous smile on Lin Yun's face, a large bead of cold sweat rolled down Huang Chutian's forehead. "Big brother, can you pretend you didn't hear what I just said?"
"What do you think?" Lin Yun's grin did not fade.
"Just… don't hit the face!" Huang Chutian was nearly in tears. Those three bold words were his last bit of dignity!
"Match begin!" The referee fled the scene at lightning speed.
On the stage—
"Huang Chutian, right? Have you eaten yet?" Lin Yun asked with feigned kindness.
"Huh?" Huang Chutian was utterly dumbfounded.
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't eat? Then eat my fist!"
Lin Yun stomped on the arena floor, cracking the solid platform with jagged fissures. Using the rebound, his body shot forward like golden lightning toward Huang Chutian.
The bewildered Huang Chutian could only watch as Lin Yun's fist, the size of a sandbag, grew larger and larger before his eyes.
Then—
Boom!!
Smack!
Clang! Bang bang!!
"Ahhh…!"
Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo cowered in the corner of the stage, covering their eyes with small hands while peeking through their fingers at Huang Chutian being pinned down and brutally pummeled by Lin Yun. The scene was savage and bloody, yet neither sister made a move to help.
What a joke…
Taking a beating was their thick-skinned captain's job. They were delicate, beautiful girls. How could girls like them possibly get hit?
"I… ah! Surrender!!" Huang Chutian stammered the three words before collapsing unconscious.
Looking at Huang Chutian's face, once decently square but now beaten so badly even his mother might not recognize him, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo shuddered. Seeing Lin Yun's predatory gaze shift to them, they forced nervous smiles.
"H-hi…?"
"Oh? You two aren't going to step down yet?" Lin Yun advanced step by step, cracking his knuckles loudly, pressure filling the air.
"We're down! We're stepping down right now!"
"Don't hit us—we surrender! Wuwuwu…"
The sisters, crying like frightened kittens, hastily tied up the unrecognizable Huang Chutian with their hair and bolted off the stage without looking back.
The referee cast Lin Yun a strange glance. In all his years as a teacher, he had never seen such an eccentric student.
Asking if the opponent had eaten before beating them senseless?
Still, Huang Chutian must have eaten plenty today—the sound of fist on flesh was so satisfying even the referee felt the urge to cheer.
Truly breathtaking!
On the first day, Lin Yun's team once again defeated Huang Chutian's group and advanced into the top thirty-two.
On the second day, Lin Yun crushed a throwaway trio, blasting them off the stage with overwhelming force, and advanced into the top sixteen.
On the third day, Lin Yun's team faced classmates from Class Eight. Out of respect for friendly sparring, Lin Yun refrained from acting and let Xiao Xiao challenge the three one by one.
In the end, Xiao Xiao defeated two, but lost her strength by the third. The last opponent conceded directly.
Lin Yun's team advanced to the top eight.
Among the top eight, the four Soul Elder teams were all present—none eliminated early.
Interestingly, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's team also advanced, something Lin Yun hadn't expected. But after considering Wang Dong's presence, the result was understandable.
After all, she was Tang San's daughter. If they couldn't even reach the top eight, that would have been absurd.
Still, without their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, entering the top four was uncertain.
In the quarterfinals, Lin Yun drew a team briefly mentioned in the original story. One member was Zhou Sicheng, whose martial soul was a book capable of summoning soul beast spirits. Another was Cao Jinxuan, with a martial soul called the Time-Passing Clock, able to slightly manipulate time.
Facing Zhou Sicheng, who could summon soul beasts to fight, Lin Yun revealed his specialty once again.
Reaching into his robe, he slowly drew out a jade-green scorpion, exquisite as a work of art…
(End of chapter)
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