Chapter 380: Su Ming's Surprise – Tianshui and Blazing Fire Academies Forfeit

After bidding Ning Rongrong farewell, Su Ming made his way to the Great Spirit Arena alone, curious about who Thunderclap Academy would face today.

If it were Tianshui or Blazing Fire Academy, he thought it might be wise to give them a bit of a heads-up. Tianshui would be easy to approach since he knew Shui Bing'er and her team, but Blazing Fire Academy, particularly Huo Wu, was a different matter since he hadn't had much contact with them.

His reasoning for warning these two teams was straightforward: Su Ming was interested in the three sisters of Tianshui and Blazing Fire's Huo Wu. Of course, he would only suggest caution, leaving it up to them whether they believed him or not.

System: "Oh, they'll believe you for sure, hehehe!"

Given Tang San's cautious nature, Su Ming figured he would only absorb minimal power from his opponents during the competition, so their talents wouldn't suffer much from a single match—hardly noticeable.

Today's Thunderclap opponent turned out to be the second team from Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and Su Ming shook his head in pity. The second team was about to face a harsh defeat!

He briefly considered advising them to forfeit but realized that wouldn't go over well, as both teams represented the Empire's honor. There was no way they'd willingly give up.

As expected, Thunderclap Academy finished their match within one or two minutes. It ended so quickly that most other matches had barely begun by the time they were done.

Meanwhile, Tianshui Academy was set to face off against Blazing Fire Academy, but just before their match, an announcement was made: both teams had forfeited! This drew loud boos from the crowd, who had been looking forward to an intense showdown between these two elemental powerhouses. However, the teams had simply walked away.

Su Ming found this strange. Tianshui and Blazing Fire were notorious rivals; you'd think they'd relish the chance to battle ice against fire. Especially considering Huo Wu's fiery temperament, her choosing to forfeit seemed out of character.

Perhaps they forfeited to conserve strength for tomorrow's battle against Thunderclap?

Seeing as they would likely leave the arena soon, Su Ming waited by the entrance. After a few minutes, the teams exited together.

Spotting Su Ming, Shui Bing'er quickly figured out he must have been waiting for them on purpose. She stepped forward and asked, "Su Ming, were you waiting for us here?"

Su Ming nodded, glancing at her teammates. Picking up on his hint, Shui Bing'er turned to them, "You all go ahead back to the hotel to train."

Not to miss the chance to meet Su Ming, Huo Wu dismissed her own teammates, staying behind to stand with Shui Bing'er. They had mutually agreed to forfeit today's match. Facing Thunderclap soon, they both wanted to avoid revealing any tactics in advance, so each team had made the choice to forfeit without consulting their teachers. This decision had confused their mentors, but with both captains highly respected, they accepted it as long as they continued advancing through the qualifiers.

Su Ming was surprised to see Huo Wu had stayed behind, as they hadn't officially met yet. She stepped up and introduced herself, "You're Su Ming, captain of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's first team, right? I'm Huo Wu, vice-captain of Blazing Fire Academy. I hear you're only around fourteen and already a Soul King. I look forward to seeing you go all out if we meet in the finals!"

Huo Wu's words were straightforward, simple, and forceful—characteristic of the fiery personalities like hers in the Douluo world.

In the original series, both Huo Wu and Liu Erlong shared fierce, determined personalities. However, Su Ming found himself favoring Huo Wu more; she was just as fearless but knew her limits, refraining from reckless aggression. It was that very sense of self-restraint that appealed to him more.

It was a shame, though, that such a striking, bold woman ultimately ended up with Feng Xiaotian.

Now, Su Ming's thoughts drifted to Feng Xiaotian and some others like Oscar and Flender. Three big "admirers," but only Flender didn't "win" his prize. Quite a pity! But then again, he could only blame himself. Flender's poor looks never compared to the likes of Oscar and Feng Xiaotian, who were quite handsome.

Smiling, Su Ming replied, "You're rather confident, Huo Wu. As a Soul King, I'd say you're a bit overambitious if you think you can beat me."

Huo Wu was well aware of Su Ming's strength, but her spirit wouldn't allow her to admit defeat so easily. Her strong desire to spar with him was evident, even though his diary had already indicated his considerable skill.

Unwilling to back down, Huo Wu said, "How can you be so sure I can't beat you? From what I've heard, your martial spirit is wood-based. That means I might stand a chance!"

Having recently received two upgrades from the system, Huo Wu felt confident in her strength. Her mastery over fire significantly boosted the power of her spirit abilities, and her complete control over her spirit rings allowed her to unleash her full potential without worry.

With her refined mastery, combined with her 47th-level spirit power, Huo Wu felt she could easily overpower most low-level Soul Kings. And with the support of her team's two auxiliary spirit masters, she was confident even a higher-tier Soul King would struggle against her full-strength attack!

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