Skysea Alliance Tournament, Part 13

The Skysea Alliance Tournament had gone on for a few days now, and the support competitions were now over.

The winners for them were all insignificant side characters except for the one who won the blacksmith competition, Mu Xi, the daughter of an eigth-rank blacksmith and student of Eastsea Academy. This event also gave Eastsea some more prestige.

Of course, soul master events were the most popular. Whether it was the individual or team competitions, it was a feast for the eyes that came once every three years.

Among the soul master events, the finals for the seven-man, five-man, and three-man team competitions received the highest ratings. The junior division's ratings, however, paled in comparison with the adult's, since the former's average cultivation level wavered around two rings.

Thus, the five-man team competition was scheduled for the afternoon while the seven-man was scheduled for the night. This was prime time, when viewership would be at its peak. Those with deep pockets could be found in the spectator stands while those without would watch it at home on their soul TV.

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Skysea Stadium, box seven.

This seating belonged to the VIPs in attendance. A towering glass screen faced the stadium, allowing those within a clear view of the battles. The glass screen also doubled as a soul screen that let the occupants select any match to watch. It didn't matter if those battles were in progress or had ended.

Currently, two people stood in front of the screen. One was a man with long hair, icy blue strands drifting in the wind and blending in with his pure white attire—Wu Zhangkong.

Standing beside him was a lady about twenty-six years old. She was extremely pretty with a head of exotic long white hair. She was clad in dark green sportswear. Her viridian eyes twinkled with both vitality and ferocity.

Her white hair and Wu Zhangkong's white robes seemed perfectly coordinated.

"I only let her stir things up because they're your disciples, you know? Aren't you the least bit worried?" The pale-haired lady cracked a wry smile.

Wu Zhangkong asked indifferently, "Why would I be worried?"

She raised a brow. "It seems you're quite confident in your disciples? Do you think your teaching skills already surpass the academy's?"

Wu Zhangkong shook his head. "I've long since stopped caring about victory or defeat. I didn't have them compete with aims of victory."

"How's the kid from before doing? He has a variant martial soul right?" The white-haired lady asked.

He shot her a look. "If I told you that I'm not sure what's going on with his body either, would you believe me?"

The woman was stunned. "I'll believe you. When has Sky Ice Wu Zhangkong ever told a lie? But really? Even you don't know? That's really strange then."

Wu Zhangkong said, "He is in a special situation, I doubt anyone in this world would be able to figure it out."

"Do you want to bring him back to the academy? We can ask some of the elders to examine him. Your other disciples can come too, a couple of them looks talented." the white-haired lady said, her words pleasing to the ear.

Wu Zhangkong's expression grew stern, but he soon shook his head with resolution. "No. If they're going to attend the academy, then it will be through their own ability and nothing else."

A gentle sigh escaped from the woman's lips. "Are you still mad at them? Actually, the situation back then—"

"Don't say anymore. I don't hold any grudges against them. If I did, then it's only toward myself. I'm just a dead man walking now. I wouldn't mind dying if I wasn't still looking for a way to revive her." Pain flashed through his eyes, sharp and blinding.

"You're so stubborn," the lady sighed in exasperation.

Wu Zhangkong's expression flickered back into a frigid tone, the remnants of sorrow all but a dream.. "If I wasn't, then would I still be me?"

The lady laughed. "That's right! If you weren't like this, you wouldn't be the man in white who brandishes a blue sword and is as cold as the frozen heavens. You wouldn't be the man that Long Bing loved."

Wu Zhangkong watched the matches silently, but his eyes were glazed over. In the deepest depths of his mind, countless memories played back.

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Due to the strict schedules of the round-robin, the five students of class zero arrived at the stadium early. Each group had its own program. With nine teams per group, there would be one bye each day.

Class zero wasn't fortunate enough to have a bye in the first round. Their opponent was Skysea Academy's B-team. For cities as large as Skysea City or Eastsea City, it was normal to send up to three teams to compete in one division. Gloxinia's team was also one of several teams Eastsea Academy dispatched, the youngest among them.

"Adapt to the situation as you see fit, but we'll battle according to the plan," Tang Wulin declared in near whisper.

They had already watched several of their opponent's matches during the knockout competition. Regardless of combat ability or cultivation, their opponents stood out in their age group.

Their plan was relatively simple, they would stop sending out Gloxinia solo and act as a team instead.

Gloxinia, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue ascended onto the stage, taking their go-to illuminati formation.

Their opponents had climbed onto the stage as well—five youngsters about fourteen years old.

The opposing five were dressed in Skysea Academy uniforms. Their bearing was different from that of Gloxinia's first opponents; they carried themselves calmly without any signs of contempt toward class zero's age.

The five youths also arranged themselves in a trapezoid-formation. Their leader towered over Gloxinia by at least 2 full heads. He had wide shoulders and his demeanor tranquil beyond his years.

"Three, two, one, begin!" This marked the start of class zero's first match in the round-robin tournament.

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Words: 1136

Author's Note: I have a competition tomorrow for a club and will be gone all day. So, I will post 2 chapters on Sunday instead of tomorrow.

Thank you for so many collections and powerstones!