Chapter 36: Elbow Strike!
Piao Haolong's already bright eyes suddenly erupted with dazzling, blinding brilliance, like two small suns exploding in their sockets!
The strong light did not shoot out as beams, but spread in a bizarre ripple pattern, instantly covering a small section of the arena.
Dugu Qing and Wu Feng, standing behind Lin Xuan, were caught in the peripheral light and immediately felt dizzy and nauseous, having to squint their eyes.
This Soul skills could actually interfere with senses and mind across a large area!
Lin Xuan, who was directly in front, merely narrowed his eyes slightly.
At the exact moment the strong light erupted, Jiang Ma moved.
"Neigh—!"
Amidst a neigh that sounded not quite like a horse, the muscles in his legs bulged, and his figure transformed into a blurry gray streak, moving at astonishing speed!
However, when he rushed within a few meters of Lin Xuan, instead of the expected claw swipe or charge, he suddenly opened his large mouth.
"Pfft!"
A cloud of thick, dark green mist spewed out, carrying a pungent, fishy-sweet scent, and rapidly spread!
Lin Xuan frowned slightly.
The Second Soul skills activated.
"Shadow Substitute."
The purple Soul Ring beneath his feet flashed almost imperceptibly, and his figure vanished from where he stood.
Ten meters away, a fluffy white Tu Tu appeared out of thin air in Lin Xuan's original position.
"Hiss..."
The green mist enveloped the Tu Tu.
The next moment, a bizarre transformation occurred.
The docile rabbit's eyes instantly turned scarlet, letting out an unusually sharp shriek. Its normally soft fur stood on end, its muscles swelled unnaturally, and it became violent and bloodthirsty, frantically snapping at the air!
Poison? No... a special toxin capable of inducing violent mutation in living creatures? Lin Xuan's gaze sharpened.
He hadn't realized that Jiang Ma's Martial Soul was a poison-based attack; and judging by the power, it wasn't weak.
By now, he had roughly figured out the characteristics of the Martial Souls of the two opponents.
One used mental interference, and the other, poison attacks.
Lin Xuan's gaze finally landed on Zhou Si, who had yet to make a move.
This seemingly timid captain finally moved at the moment his two teammates created an opportunity.
He lowered his head, his shoulders slightly slumped, maintaining that cowardly appearance.
But when he raised his head, there was no hesitation or timidity left in his eyes, only an icy stare.
"Roar—!!"
The phantom of a gigantic beast roared toward the sky behind him, and a palpable pressure instantly spread!
Zhou Si took a step forward, and the ground trembled slightly.
He made a grasping motion with both hands in front of him, and the phantom claws of the giant beast solidified, becoming larger than door panels. Carrying a brutal aura capable of crushing everything, they swept fiercely toward Lin Xuan's location, one from the left and one from the right!
Before the claws arrived, the sharp gale had already made breathing difficult. The air seemed to be compressed into solid walls, sealing off all space for evasion.
A Strength-Type Assault Spirit Master, possessing astonishing field control capabilities.
At this point, the characteristics of all three were clearly laid out in Lin Xuan's mind.
Mental interference to control the battlefield, poison system for restriction and creating chaos, and strength assault for the decisive blow.
They had excellent coordination and a clear strategy. Had they not encountered him, they would certainly be a formidable combination among the freshmen.
Facing the sweeping storm of giant claws, Lin Xuan's expression remained calm. He formed a simple hand seal in front of him.
"Trap."
He softly uttered a single word.
Zhou Si's confident smile froze on his face.
He was horrified to find that the ordinary shadow beneath his feet suddenly became viscous and deep, like a living black swamp.
A feeling of weightlessness struck him, and his forward momentum was abruptly checked. His immense power was like a clay ox entering the sea, and his legs were sinking into the bizarre shadow at an alarming rate!
"What the hell is this?!"
In the momentary delay caused by his struggle, Lin Xuan moved.
He exerted force with his feet, leaping up like a leopard, avoiding the phantom giant claw that was still sweeping due to inertia, and instantly closed in on Zhou Si's left side.
His right arm bent, the elbow joint drawn back to its limit like a war hammer, and his Soul Power was instantly compressed to a single point.
Then, reflected in Zhou Si's enlarged, terrified pupils—
A fierce Elbow Strike!
"Bang!!!"
A dull, teeth-grinding impact sound exploded.
Zhou Si felt as if his left cheek had been struck head-on by a meteorite. His protective Soul Power instantly disintegrated, and his bones let out a cry of unbearable strain.
His entire body flew out diagonally like a kite with a broken string, smashing heavily into the metal partition several meters away with a loud clang, before softly sliding down, knocked out on the ground.
Only ten seconds had passed since the assessment began, and the strongest captain among the trio was already defeated.
"Youth is great, you just fall over and sleep."
Lin Xuan landed lightly and smiled, then turned his gaze to the remaining two: Piao Haolong and Jiang Ma, whose smiles had long since frozen on their faces.
He looked back and forth between the two, and said softly with a playful smile,
"So... who should I elbow next?"
"Wait! I surrender! I quit! I surrender!"
Piao Haolong, locked onto by Lin Xuan's gaze, shuddered. He immediately raised both hands without a word, shouting clearly and decisively, terrified that the terrifying Elbow Strike would land on his face if he delayed for even a second.
Lin Xuan was speechless watching the other party surrender so cleanly and without hesitation.
But on second thought, although it looked bad, it was indeed the wisest choice.
Conserving Soul Power and condition for the subsequent assessments—this person wasn't too stupid.
"Sigh, if only I were a bit stronger, maybe I could have won this assessment..." Jiang Ma said with a look of disappointment, then also raised his right hand toward the Female Teacher.
"I surrender too."
On the sidelines, the still-charming Female Teacher watched everything in the arena begin like lightning and end so abruptly, her eye twitching several times.
From the moment she shouted "Start" until now, had twenty seconds passed? Excluding the time for talking and surrendering, the actual combat process probably lasted less than ten seconds!
Good heavens, even spinning a top isn't this violent, right?
After a moment of silence, the Female Teacher finally recorded the result on the document in her hand.
"Freshman Class Nine, Lin Xuan, Dugu Qing, and Wu Feng win. Win count: one."
Hearing this announcement, all the students in the adjacent assessment areas displayed expressions that said, "Are you kidding me?"
What kind of joke is this? We're still facing off and observing our opponents, and you guys are already finished?
But when they saw that the person standing in the arena was Lin Xuan, they all found it reasonable again, and simultaneously mourned for three seconds in their hearts for the other students in Area 18.
"Awesome, Lin Xuan!" Dugu Qing looked at Lin Xuan walking back, his face full of excitement.
"I really don't understand how you train; your physical strength is outrageous! I can't even imagine what it feels like to be beaten up by you..."
As soon as he said this, Wu Feng, who was about to say something herself, instantly darkened her expression. Her left cheek seemed to throb faintly as a conditioned reflex.
She glared fiercely at Dugu Qing.
"That's enough," Lin Xuan quickly interrupted Dugu Qing's dangerous topic, lest a certain person become enraged out of shame.
"I'm only fighting this one match. For the subsequent assessments, unless you encounter an opponent you absolutely cannot handle, I won't step in again."
"Don't worry, before the top sixteen round, there shouldn't be any major issues," Dugu Qing said confidently.
Lin Xuan quickly resolving the first match established deterrence and advantage. Subsequent matches would be led by Dugu Qing and Wu Feng unless absolutely necessary.
This was exactly the strategy the three of them had decided upon yesterday.
Although winning the championship would be easy with the strength of the three of them, being designated a "Core Disciple" by the academy depended not only on team victory but also on the individual talent, strength, and potential demonstrated during the assessment.
Therefore, while ensuring advancement, giving Dugu Qing and Wu Feng ample opportunity to showcase themselves was undoubtedly the best option.
As for Lin Xuan himself? He was happy to take it easy; after all, crushing these ordinary freshmen wasn't very interesting.
"Let's go back." Lin Xuan said, walking toward the stage exit.
"Lin Xuan," Wu Feng suddenly called out, pointing toward the fierce battles around them.
"Shouldn't we watch the assessment situation of the other teams? At least to understand the strong teams from each class..."
Lin Xuan didn't stop walking, leaving only three words without looking back.
"They're all the same."
"..."
"So cool."
The other students below the stage couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
What a "They're all the same." It was as if, in his eyes, all students other than himself were indistinguishable—they would only lose, the only variable being how quickly they fell.
Dugu Qing shrugged helplessly and quickly followed. Wu Feng was silent for a moment, gazed at Lin Xuan's retreating figure, and finally pursed her lips and quietly followed suit.
Just as the three passed Assessment Area 33, they heard another teacher announcing the results.
"Freshman Class One, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao win. Win count: one."
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