Wu Siduo’s soul fusion was undoubtedly mighty. A single attack was all that was needed to disintegrate Yang Nianxia and reduce him to motes of light.

  “Run!” Tang Wulin immediately ordered.

  Gu Yue moved without hesitation. Silver light flashed, teleporting Tang Wulin and herself just outside the clearing and into the depths of the forest.

  They had tasted defeat at the hands of a soul fusion skill before. Not daring to underestimate it, they chose to exercise caution and retreat in the face of such power.

  The air stirred. A moment later, the Hell White Tiger appeared where they just stood, its powerful claws slashing out only to hit nothing……

  “I surrender!” Xu Xiaoyan shouted as she sat on the ground with her hands high in the air.

  The Hell White Tiger landed on the ground. In the next moment however, its figure faded, turning illusory before twisting and disappeared, leaving Wu Siduo in its place.

  Despite her pale complexion, she stood with her back straight and head held high.

  Her strength served as proof that she more than deserved her position as the strongest student of the first grade. With four purple soul rings, twin martial souls, and a self-soul fusion skill, it was impossible for her not to stand at the peak. Her most important ability was her soul fusion skill. It was unprecedented on the Douluo Continent. All of her abilities combined to earn her a spot in the top ten of the Genius Youths Ranking!

  “A-are you okay?” Xu Xiaoyan asked.

  Wu Siduo turned around, shooting Xu Xiaoyan a cold look. “I’m very weak right now. My body is in a bad condition, and I’ve overdrafted my soul power. If you plan to act, then do it now. Come on.”


  Xu Xiaoyan waved her hand dismissively. “How could I take advantage of you like that? I’m not that kind of person. I already surrendered, so I’m on your team now!”


  Wu Siduo frowned at Xu Xiaoyan’s sweet and innocent smile, then sat down on the ground.

  “Then protect me. I’m going to meditate.” She closed her eyes.

  It was Xu Xiaoyan’s turn to stare blankly at Wu Siduo. Was my acting too good?

  Tang Wulin and Gu Yue watched from the shadows of a tree. Gu Yue knitted her brows. “What are we going to do now?”


  Tang Wulin smiled wryly. “There’s no hurry. Such a large battle definitely attracted the attention of others. With the competition nearing an end, who wouldn’t take this opportunity to defeat Wu Siduo? We’ll wait here. Her soul fusion skill might be powerful, but it also consumes a lot of soul power. Right now, she’s not a threat so we’ll just use her as bait. Besides, she probably has another card up her sleeve since she dares to meditate out in the open. Rather than taking a risk and going out to search for others, we should wait here and let Wu Siduo weaken them before we jump in.”


  Gu Yue shook her head. “I’m okay with waiting, but I don’t want anyone to disturb her.”


  Tang Wulin stared at her in surprise. “Why?”


  Gu Yue met his gaze. “I want to duel her at her best condition.”


  Tang Wulin chuckled. “Oh, you! You’re just as stubborn as always. Alright, fine. We’ll protect her while she meditates then.”


  “You two sure have big hearts. Wouldn’t it be better if I just deal with her right now?” Xie Xie popped up by their side. He had been quietly trailing them from a distance the entire time.

  Tang Wulin shook his head. “No, Gu Yue is right. If we defeat her right now, would she really accept us as the victors? There’s no way she would, and others wouldn’t either. If any of us wants to become the class president, we’ll need to show our strength. This is Shrek; only the strong are welcomed. Wu Siduo is a challenge we have to overcome.” He turned to Gu Yue. “But I want you to promise me one thing, Gu Yue.”


  “What?”


  “I know you refuse to accept this, but don’t deny that a four-ringed soul master with a self-soul fusion skill is stronger than us. It will be difficult to defeat her, so let’s fight together, alright?”


  Gu Yue smiled. “Our opponent isn’t just her. Wulin, is class president really that important to you?”


  Tang Wulin was taken aback. His heart thumped, but he smiled a moment later. “I understand. Thanks for your reminder. We’ll do this together!”


  “Captain, why are you excluding me from this?” Xie Xie pouted.

  Tang Wulin whispered a few words into Xie Xie’s ear, and he mulled over them. “That makes sense. Okay. I’m fine with that. Just remember to compensate me later.” Xie Xie giggled mischievously.

  Tang Wulin rolled his eyes. “Even without this matter, would I owe you anything?”


  The forest gradually settled. Contrary to Tang Wulin’s expectations, no one came.

  “Twelve people remain. The arena will be reduced now for the final battle.” Shen Yi’s voice resounded throughout the forest, and the world before them blurred. When everything came back into focus, Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, Xu Xiaoyan, and the meditating Wu Siduo were beside each other.

  They had originally been deep within the forest, surrounded by giant trees and dense foliage. Now, however, the terrain was nothing like before. A clearing of at least one hundred meters in diameter appeared in front of them, not a tree in sight and every inch of its ground covered in bluesilver grass. It was as if they were on an elevated dueling arena.

  In this space were twelve people.

  Tang Wulin’s group of four, with the addition of Wu Siduo, were grouped together. To their left was the group of three led by Immortal Xu Yucheng, and on their right was a group of four. This group of four, however, were in dire straits. Blood soaked every one of them, and their soul power fluctuations barely noticeable.

  Tang Wulin finally understood why no one had come to eliminate Wu Siduo. It turned out that there were only a dozen of them left, a third of which were barely clinging onto life and devoting all their energy into recovering.

  After taking everything in, Xu Yucheng was the first to act. He charged at the four injured soul masters like a bolt of lightning, his two followers darting out an instant later. They were clearly were well-rested and in peak condition. Rather than attacking the injured group though, the two followers moved to the side to guard Xu Yucheng from Tang Wulin’s team.

  The first grade had a total of 101 students. Only twelve of them remained now. This was the eve their final battle for presidency.

  Tang Wulin and his comrades remained still, simply watching Xu Yucheng charge.

  The team of four was trapped, an arrow at the end of its flight. The scythe slashed down. They disappeared in flashes of light.

  Now only eight remained! They were the three from Xu Yucheng’s team, and the five on Tang Wulin’s side.

  Tang Wulin took the lead, approaching his opponents. His gaze fixed on Xu Yucheng. Now that the competition had come to this point, scheming and waiting no longer had any purpose. Now was not the time for wisdom to shine, but for strength to show its supremacy.

  The only way to convince others was to show strength.

  Xu Yucheng turned to look at Tang Wulin, his expression grim as he lifted his Demon Scythe up. His two companions released their martial souls.

  But when they saw that Tang Wulin only had two soul rings, a mocking smile tugged their lips.

  They assumed their usual battle formation; Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan in the rear, Tang Wulin as the vanguard, and Xie Xie on the side.

  Neither side spoke a word. They all knew that this was the final battle. Xu Yucheng didn’t understand what the situation was with Wu Siduo, who was seated off in the distance, but he knew that his only option now was to defeat his opponents.

  “Save your soul power,” Tang Wulin said to Gu Yue. “I’ll deal with Xu Yucheng.” His words were filled with confidence.

  Since the start of the competition, Tang Wulin had been patiently biding his time. For the sake of his comrades, he didn’t display his full strength and maintained himself in peak condition the entire time. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to fight and show off his power, but that he couldn’t. He had to act in consideration of his team.

  But he no longer had to hold himself back. He wanted to see who was stronger, him or Immortal Xu Yucheng. He wanted to see just how strong a ranker was.

  Previously, Gu Yue had asked him if being class president was important. The class president seat was important. However, it just couldn’t compare with the pleasure of battle.

  Xu Yucheng’s two gray teammates turned illusory and dashed out. These two were agility-type soul masters! As for Xu Yucheng, he was undoubtedly an assault-type.