The field immediately transformed into a situation where Furina was facing off against Huo Yuhao and the other six.
On the platform, Elder Mu leaned back in his wheelchair and spoke leisurely, "Shaozhe, and Xuan Zi, you two guess, who will win?"
Yan Shaozhe thought for a moment and replied respectfully, "Elder Mu, I feel that no matter how strong Furina is, it's impossible for her to fight seven alone. Although Huo Yuhao and the others just went through a chaotic battle, on the surface, their Soul Power consumption isn't high. What's more, Huo Yuhao's freakish First Soul Skill is still active, and his Second Soul Skill and Third Soul Skill haven't been used much."
He paused and continued his analysis, "As for Furina, although she is the Pope of the Water God Cult and has a Spirit King level cultivation at such a young age, along with that strange Soul Bone Skill, she is, in the end, still a Food-type Support Soul Master."
"The defensive power of her Fifth Soul Skill's shield is indeed ridiculously strong, but it has a time limit; once the time is up, it's gone. Her other Spirit Abilitys are all supportive in nature; there are very few that can actually fight."
Yan Shaozhe felt his analysis was quite spot on; after all, up until now, the strength Furina had displayed was indeed as such.
But he suddenly remembered something, and his voice trailed off.
Not long ago, Furina had asked him for the Cultivation method of an Ultimate Martial Soul.
Also, during the New Student Assessment, she alone suppressed Ma Xiaotao at the Spirit Emperor level while she was in a berserk state.
Yan Shaozhe's expression changed, and he quickly added, "Wait... Furina might have a Second Martial Soul, and it's an Ultimate Martial Soul."
Before Elder Xuan could speak, Elder Mu laughed.
"You've said so much, but unfortunately, the match below has already ended."
Elder Xuan and Yan Shaozhe were stunned, both looking down at the Soul Fighting Area at the same time.
Furina was not on the stage.
Below the stage, she was standing there, dusting off her hands. On the stage, aside from the pits and hollows left by the previous chaotic battle, there were no new traces of combat.
It was as if they hadn't fought at all.
Yan Shaozhe was dazed, "This... what happened?"
Elder Mu stroked his beard and said leisurely, "They didn't fight at all. That little girl withdrew on her own."
Elder Xuan took a bite of a chicken leg and asked indistinctly, "Didn't she just say the last seven would fight her? How did she stop fighting in the blink of an eye?"
Elder Mu smiled, "Too lazy."
"..."
...
Just as Elder Mu said, Furina indeed found it to be too much trouble.
It was originally just a casual remark; she wasn't going to compete for any Shrek Seven Devils title, so why put in the effort?
While Elder Mu and the others were discussing, Furina walked up to Huo Yuhao and the others, clapped her hands, and said with a beaming smile, "Not bad, not bad, I saw everyone's performance! I knew you could take on a hundred alone."
Wang Dong rolled his eyes and snorted, "If you hadn't reminded them, we could have ended the battle faster and more easily."
Clearly, he still had a bit of an attitude about Furina speaking up for Dai Huabin's side just now.
Furina stuck out her tongue and said giggling, "Hahaha, isn't it because I believe in your strength? I was just adding a bit of difficulty for you. You won't blame me, right?"
Wang Dong took a step forward and beckoned Furina with a finger, "Fine, now you're the only one left. Come on, the seven of us against you!"
He turned his head to glare at Huo Yuhao, his tone sharpening, "Huo Yuhao, no holding back!"
During the New Student Assessment, Furina had deliberately forfeited midway to create a chance for Huo Yuhao to get revenge, which prevented him from fighting Furina. This time he finally caught an opportunity; he definitely wanted to see exactly how strong Furina was.
Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly and nodded, "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll definitely go all out."
As a result, Furina turned around directly, walked a few steps to the edge of the arena, and leaped down.
"Sorry, I forfeit! You guys win!"
Standing below the stage, she waved at Wang Dong, stuck out her tongue, and said, "Just take that previous sentence as a joke. I have no interest in the top seven; you guys enjoy your hard-won victory. Let's fight next time there's a chance."
After speaking, she put her hands behind her back, took a few steps back, and turned to leave.
As a result, she didn't notice her footing, tripped over a stone, and stumbled forward a couple of steps, nearly falling.
"Pfft—" Wang Dong, who was originally huffy, burst out laughing at this scene, "Hahahaha! Furina, even you have a day like this!"
Furina's face turned red as she steadied herself, muttering, "Dammit, I was careless... I overdid the act..."
Everyone else on the field also burst into laughter. It was a rare sight to see Furina suffer a setback like this.
...
Elder Xuan took a bite of a chicken leg and waved to the teachers at the edge of the field, "Those who were eliminated or surrendered on their own can go back. You seven stay."
Furina wasn't in a hurry to leave; she found a step to sit on, propping her chin up to watch the show.
The eliminated students stood in place without moving, their eyes falling on Elder Xuan. Many had dissatisfaction written on their faces; they felt they hadn't even displayed their true strength before being eliminated, which was too unfair.
Elder Xuan took another bite of the chicken leg, chewed it, and gave a cold snort.
"Not convinced?"
He scanned the crowd, his gaze a bit fierce, "In the future, if you aren't convinced, I hope you can show it through your strength, not write it on your faces."
"Think my selection method is unfair? Think you lost without being able to show your strength and it's a grievance?"
The Core Disciples didn't speak, answering him with silence.
Elder Xuan curled his lip, "But is this really unfair? The free-for-all targets every one of you. If you were on a battlefield, could you choose your opponents? Could you pick the environment? No. At the very least, in this free-for-all, you were at the same starting point, not forced into a desperate situation."
He paused, took a bite of the chicken leg, and said while chewing, "With your current mindset, not a single one of you is qualified to enter the Inner Court. This seemingly unfair free-for-all is precisely the best way to test your comprehensive strength. In a short period, what I see is your ability to collaborate, your individual strength, and your character."
"Those who follow the Dao will receive much help—that's nonsense. If you want people to help you, first you must have social skills, and second, you must have strength. People with solitary personalities cannot achieve great things."
He pointed at the seven people still standing on the stage in the distance, "This kind of free-for-all is a daily occurrence in the Inner Court. If you don't even have this much reaction capability, what right do you have to be Inner Court Disciples? Do you know what the Inner Court Disciples experienced at their most tragic?"
"That time, twelve Inner Court Disciples were separated from their teacher and encountered a 100,000-Year Soul Beast. In the end, eight died in battle, and only four survived. Those four people are now the top existences in the Inner Court. One of them obtained the spirit ring and Spirit Bone of that 100,000-Year Soul Beast."
Furina propped up her chin, silently complaining in her heart: That teacher was you, right, Elder Xuan? For a dignified Super Douluo to get separated from students is also quite the talent. It's fine, you'll make the same mistake again later—if I don't step in. A Super Douluo failing to catch a Spirit King level Evil Soul Master and letting the hostage be taken away, who would believe that if it were told."
She quite admired that Elder Xuan could speak of his own dark history, but regarding him as a person, she could only shake her head.
Drinking heavily and giving up on himself because of guilt, what kind of behavior is that? Show some attitude, stop escaping all day.
"Don't think that studying in the academy means everything is fine," Elder Xuan's voice continued to carry over, "If you want to become a true powerhouse, even within the academy, you must be prepared to face a life-and-death crisis at any time."
Furina thought: Shrek is indeed safe enough, but that's because Elder Mu is presiding over it. With just Elder Xuan and Yan Shaozhe, once Elder Mu is gone, something is bound to happen. Otherwise, the incident where Ma Xiaotao lost control and nearly killed someone wouldn't have happened.
Later, the Body Sect will come to snatch people. Without Elder Mu, could Elder Xuan beat Du Busi? The shame of the Super Douluos, his reputation is well-deserved.
Thinking of this, Furina silently sighed again: In Douluo 3, Shrek is going to be blown up once more.
"Don't think that becoming a Core Disciple means you'll definitely enter the Inner Court," Elder Xuan was still lecturing, "Even if you enter the Inner Court, that's not glory; it only means you've just stepped through a door—a door of life and death..."
Furina was listening and spacing out when she caught someone waving at her from the stage out of the corner of her eye.
It was Elder Mu.
She was stunned for a moment, stood up, and patted the dust off her skirt.
"Need something from me?"
With a hint of confusion, she walked toward Elder Mu.
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