Chapter 79: Choosing an Opponent
"Tch, idiot."
Li Si simply couldn't understand how people like that thought. In his mind, the optimal strategy was straightforward—defeat those nepotism-protected candidates and secure one of the team member slots.
In truth, even among those three "connected" candidates, he had already chosen the weakest one—Yu Quan. If he were allowed to choose freely, he would unquestionably pick him.
There was no way he would waste time on things like "challenger spirit" or "glory despite defeat." All of that was pointless nonsense to him.
Leaving the training grounds, Lin Beiya glanced at the pale-faced Yu Quan and Si Min, fully understanding their current mood.
After all, everyone who had passed the preliminary assessment today was Soul Ancestor-level experts—two major stages above the two of them.
In the world of soul masters, such a difference was essentially an unbridgeable gulf. Even with the assistance of Gold Cloth, they had no confidence in defeating those senior students.
"All right, I never asked you two to win in the first place."
"Even if you lose this time—if you can defeat them within the next three years—you can still participate."
Lin Beiya's reassurance had an immediate effect. Both of their expressions visibly relaxed.
"I understand, Boss."
"I can't guarantee victory this time, but even if I lose, I'll work hard over the next three years to win it back."
Yu Quan clenched his fists with determination. Si Min, who seldom spoke, didn't reply, but her expression clearly conveyed the same resolve. Compared to Yu Quan, the Elite Soul Master Tournament was the greatest opportunity for someone like her—a civilian soul master—and she absolutely did not want to miss it.
"Good. That's what I want to hear."
...
The next day, when Lin Beiya arrived at the training grounds, he found far fewer students than the day before. Only about one-tenth of yesterday's participants had come.
After all, most people recognized they had no chance of passing and chose to withdraw, which he completely understood.
Among those who did come, many were clearly just here to watch the show. After all, Wei Xu hadn't bothered hiding his intention to challenge Lin Beiya yesterday. They were eager to see whether the grandson of the Academy Dean could shatter Lin Beiya's undefeated reputation.
The assessment began, and Lin Beiya once again set up a crystal wall at the edge of the arena—this time infused with even more Cosmo than yesterday.
After all, the team had already designated Mo Xue as the assistant participant. Lin Beiya had already reviewed the files of all the academy's other notable auxiliary soul masters—and frankly, he didn't expect much from them.
This round of assessment was mostly to silence the academy's endless gossip.
As pairs of participants stepped forward, the crystal wall repeatedly burst with dazzling light, sending each combatant flying one after another.
After half a day, every participant had failed.
The defeated figures walking away in silence stood in stark contrast to their confident swagger when they had arrived.
Meanwhile, Wei Xu—standing on the stage—shot Lin Beiya a meaningful glance. As the one who had shattered yesterday's crystal wall, he could clearly tell that today's wall was significantly stronger.
The discovery made Wei Xu, who was about to challenge Lin Beiya, even more excited. Only a truly powerful opponent could ignite his fighting spirit.
Lin Beiya didn't chase away the spectators. After announcing the end of the second round of assessment, he turned his gaze toward the four students who had passed the first round.
That's right—before coming today, Lin Beiya had even gone to the Douluo Hall to call Lei Ying over. She was now standing beside the other three challengers, eyes closed, sharpening her senses. She would be facing the students' challenges alongside Shi Nuo and the others.
"Next is the challenge round. Your opponents will be the four people standing before you—including me."
"If you defeat me, the position of captain of the Spirit Hall Team will be yours."
Li Si, who possessed a spider martial soul, froze for a moment. But moments later, he regained his composure. He still had no intention of challenging Lin Beiya. The four people behind Lin Beiya all looked far easier to bully.
The reason Li Si thought Lei Ying was also an easy target was twofold. First, she was noticeably younger than they were.
Second, because she was focusing on cultivating her five senses, she did not leak even the slightest bit of aura. At least to Li Si, she appeared completely unreadable.
Originally, his targets had been either Yu Quan or Si Min. But after yesterday's events—where both had been exposed by Lin Beiya and no longer cared much about winning or losing today—their expressions looked unusually relaxed, with a faint hint of confidence in their eyes.
And this confidence didn't come from believing they could defeat today's opponents. It came from believing they could reclaim a team position within the next three years.
The more confident those two appeared, the more uneasy Li Si felt. And Lei Ying—who couldn't even meet his gaze—became his new target.
'There's definitely something strange about those two brats. No way they'd be that confident otherwise. Better to just pick that blonde girl.'
In his mind, at worst, she was probably a Soul Elder. With his Pit Demon Spider martial soul, he didn't consider that a threat.
Decision made, Li Si turned toward Lin Beiya and pointed at Lei Ying.
"I'll challenge her."
The moment the words left his mouth, Shi Nuo and the other two stared at him in shock. They had already mentally prepared themselves to be chosen, yet this guy suddenly shifted his aim toward the strongest person in the lineup aside from Lin Beiya. It was baffling.
Lin Beiya glanced at Lei Ying, who appeared to be resting with her eyes closed, and instantly understood what this supposedly clever senior was thinking.
He almost burst out laughing.
"Senior Sister Lei Ying, someone's challenging you."
"Got it. Let him come."
With someone already choosing their opponent, the others—Qian Yu with his Silverback Gorilla martial soul and Qiu Tete with her Demon-Breaking Bow—also stepped forward to pick theirs.
Qian Yu and Shi Nuo exchanged a look.
Realizing instantly that they were the same type of soul master, the two smiled at each other and naturally formed a matchup.
Meanwhile, the loli-like Qiu Tete let her gaze sweep over Si Min and Yu Quan before showing a sweet smile to Si Min.
"Women shouldn't make things hard for each other. So I'll pick this skinny monkey."
Hearing her words, Yu Quan's face immediately collapsed.
As someone who loved gathering all sorts of intel, he naturally knew who the four seniors were. And honestly, the one he least wanted to face was Qiu Tete, who looked harmless but definitely wasn't.
Against other opponents, Yu Quan still had the advantage of flight from his martial soul, enough to stall or maneuver.
But against Qiu Tete, who excelled in long-range attacks, that advantage would be completely nullified.
Of course—what he feared came true.
Because of such a ridiculous reason, he ended up matched with his natural predator. Si Min let out a sigh of relief inwardly but also silently mourned for her junior.
As someone who also possessed a flying martial soul, she understood Yu Quan's suffering all too well.
And as expected, once everyone had chosen their opponents, Wei Xu didn't even glance at the curvy Si Min.
He walked straight toward Lin Beiya.
"Junior!"
"I know, Senior. Our fight will be saved for last."
"Good."
As Lin Beiya announced the start of the challenge matches, Li Si—the first to choose his opponent—and Lei Ying, the challenged party, both remained in the arena.
Everyone else stepped back, giving them space.
Lei Ying's five senses had not yet been trained enough for actual combat, and upon hearing Lin Beiya's reminder, she opened her eyes.
The sharp aura bursting forth instantly made the previously smug Li Si freeze in shock. Then, as the roar of a mighty lion sounded behind her—and two yellow, two purple soul rings rose at her feet—this "clever" senior felt his heart drop straight to the bottom of the abyss.
Pitch-black despair perfectly described the expression on his face.
—
End of Chapter