Battle of the Battle Armours

The competition was down to the final battle. It progressed in a straightforward fashion. Siduo's team kept on winning and Wulin's team also kept on winning. The other groups sometimes gave up beforehand. Both teams had it easy. They were all monsters among monsters.

Now they stood in the arena, finally facing each other in the grand finals. Wulin's team of seven consisted of Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan, Ye Xinglan, Xu Lizhi and Val Karni. Ye Xinglan wasn't supposed to battle today—at least if this followed the same timeline—but Karni's Relaxing Aura and quality designs made a difference.

On Siduo's team of nine, there were also seven battlers. Her team consisted of Wu Siduo, Luo Guixing, Yang Nianxia, Zheng Yiran, Xu Yucheng, Li Tai and Yu Tian. Liu Liu and Wen Bao weren't combatants this time around, since they were weak compared to the rest of the team's abilities.

Out of that whole team, however, Luo Guixing has beein in a bad mood the whole tournament. He was in the main team due to a technicality. His abilities were more useful than Liu Liu's, but he had yet to beat her. She countered his Martial Soul.

Elder Cai personally refereed this match. Hidden in the stands were also other elders. Ya Li and Elder Long were both watching from the side.

"Did those two kids get into a fight? I thought they would fight together. I liked their atmosphere." Ya Li wrinkled her forehead.

Elder Long shook her head. "Do they look like that? Those two have wide smiles on their faces. They look excited to me. Though… They should take this a bit more seriously. This is Shrek."

Ya Li looked at the two children. She reexamined her stance. "If anything, it seems this is the easy going attitude that comes from strength, I don't sense arrogance."

Elder Long thought a bit. "I agree. But that is not necessarily good. We might have to think of something so that they do not stagnate. Even though we have many monsters this year, they are the only ones that aren't taking this competition seriously."

Elder Long was correct. Mostly. The two were only thinking of having fun right now. But the key target today was still Gu Yue. They would not hold back, but growth really wasn't on their mind right now. Tang Wulin was still a pressure in the back of their mind, but perhaps their current excitement showed too much. They've been preparing this match up for a while now, and it finally came to fruition.

There were also other students watching this match. Students that weren't in the first year. The second year students. Karni didn't notice Yuanen Yehui and Yue Zhengyu in the stands, though he has met the two since he joined this team, if only superficially. A few hellos and that was it.

Elder Cai floated above the arena and used Soul Power to make her voice travel far and wide. "This match will decide the next Class President and other council functions."

She said nothing more and moved to the side to begin the countdown. A very Elder Cai thing to do. "3. 2. 1. Begin."

Siduo's team was organised. Luo Guixing stayed back, as did Li Tai and Yu Tian on Siduo's team. Meanwhile, Siduo, Yang Nianxia, Xu Yucheng and Zheng Yiran all charged.

Tang Wulin's team answered in kind. Xu Xiaoyan stayed back with Gu Yue and Xu Lizhi, while Karni, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie and Ye Xinglan charged ahead.

Xie Xie went to face Xu Yucheng directly. They were the first to clash. A clear ringing sound of metal against metal was heard across the arena.

The next people to meet were Siduo and Karni. One Shifting, the other an agility type Soul Master. Claws against a Bo. The two looked into each other's eyes with grins on their faces and clear eyes. Karni quickly used this chance, his second ring shining.

On the side, Tang Wulin and Yang Nianxia met. Power against power. Tang Wulin prepared his claws before the clash. Yang Nianxia smiled as his own soul ring shined.

Then Tang Wulin suddenly jumped. Yang Nianxia looked at the figure who went directly above him, and from behind Tang Wulin, Ye Xinglan crashed into the Dusk Bear with her Stargod Sword. A shining brilliance exploding in Yang Nianxia's face.

Tang Wulin continued onwards, while Zheng Yiran ran in from the side, to help Yang Nianxia fight off Ye Xinglan. They had the chance to get rid of Ye Xinglan!

She ran at full speed into a dirt wall, summoned by Gu Yue.

Behind Siduo and Karni a clear radiance of fusion started. Li Tai and Yu Tian. Tang Wulin continued charging towards them. Karni informed him of the type of fusion those two possessed, and Tang Wulin was just the perfect counter for them.

But Siduo's team had a Control type Soul Master as well. Luo Guixing was about to put a wall of space in front of Tang Wulin. No matter the power, Tang Wulin would still be stopped by a force of Space itself.

Until Tang Wulin vanished.

Karni smiled as he was in free fall at the moment. He Shifted Tang Wulin after confusing Siduo for a split second. That being said, it was all sunshine and sun meteors. Siduo may have been confused for a second, but her offensive power was at the very top of this class. Her Black Soul Ring was seen through the light of her Soul Skill. He couldn't Shift instantly after Shifting someone else.

His Bo Staff circled in drumstick forms as he met the raging meteor that was Siduo. Even with a decent build up of Disordered Drumstick Resonance, he had no chance to combat Siduo's fourth Soul Ring. Like a missile, he was shot towards the ground.

But he managed to Shift before crashing into the ground. He appeared above Siduo, now toward a trajectory to crash into her instead of the ground.

Karni was full of smiles. Damn it, this was surprisingly fun. His Soul Bone immediately shot a paralysing ray at Siduo. His Disordered Drumstick Resonance worked together with a full power Sonic Rhythm to attack Siduo.

Before he could hit her however, a shield of complete light appeared in front of him. A multilayered shield of light stripes. Siduo could still use her Soul Bone even in such a state.

Karni crashed directly into it. Shattering it, but using up his power and momentum.

Now he saw a muscled up Siduo with White Tiger Transformation. An instant Crystal Light Wave was sent at Karni from point blank range, but he Shifted at the very same instant: below Siduo.

Siduo came falling down towards Karni, with her Diamond Transformation and Diamond Layer. Her hands glowed icy blue too. She wore a frustrated smile as she charged at Karni. She was having fun as well, except she forgot how damn slippery Karni is!

Karni smiled back. This was fun, but damn she was hard to break through.

… … …

Tang Wulin was almost upon Li Tai and Yu Tian, already in their fusion: Dragon in the Clouds. Luo Guixing's first Soul Ring shone again, but this time, starlight chains sealed his Martial Soul, he couldn't stop Tang Wulin. Xu Xiaoyan used her skills at a perfect time. She was a different kind of Control type Soul Master to Karni. He could manipulate the battlefield, she had absolute control over others' Martial Souls.

The plan to get Tang Wulin to the Martial Soul Fusion was Wulin's. Even Karni was surprised at the shrewd techniques he thought of to get there. Karni expected Tang Wulin to first fight head on with Yang Nianxia, with them being strength type Soul Masters and all—and also with Wulin having an easy win there. But no, Tang Wulin didn't go for a mano a mano. Instead, he intentionally thought of using that idea to get to the Soul Fusion so he can destroy it.

Tang Wulin ate two buns. His body became sturdier and faster. The Recovery Pork Bun and Agility Soup Bun given to him by Xu Lizhi. His Golden Dragon Claw met with the almost translucent sword of Dragon in the Clouds. But there was something else as well. His blood was flowing in a reverse way.

The two powerhouses met and both got knocked back. Even then, Tang Wulin just cracked the sword with that single attack. The domineering aspect of his bloodline was working on overdrive.

Xu Yucheng couldn't go and help. Xie Xie was keeping him completely occupied. Even though Xie Xie was losing, Xu Yucheng could not escape him even when he tried to. 

Ye Xinglan was causing trouble to both Yang Nianxia and Zheng Yiran with Gu Yue's help from afar. In fact, she was dominating them due to the unique properties of her Stargod Sword. It had passive paralysing properties like Karni's Nerve Authority Soul Bone attack.

Siduo could see the situation worsening. Tang Wulin might have been pushed back too, but there was a clear winner there. And the winner was Tang Wulin. She may have a team of talented people, but Wulin's team had the damn future Shrek Seven Monsters… and worse than that, they had Karni.

She stared at Karni and her two Martial Souls lit up like the sun. Black and White fusing together. As soon as the Hell White Tiger formed, she charged towards Tang Wulin.

"Sisi! Where do you think you're going?!" Karni's Soul Bone blasted the paralysing ray of spiritual power into the Hell White Tiger.

Just as it was supposed to hit, Battle Armour appeared on the tiger. And Siduo barely flinched. Karni's eyes went wide. Then they turned firm, blazing with competitive spirit. Yes! They haven't had a true all out battle in years!

Siduo made her armour specifically to boost her strength, with an nonoptimal secondary effect of countering spirituality. She would eventually create a different Battle Armour. She made this one with the sole purpose of fighting Karni in mind.

As Karni was about to chase, a drill of pure light came towards him. It was Siduo's light stripes from her Torso Bone forming a drill, spinning in a wild manner. Her control of the Soul Bone skill had greatly increased.

Meanwhile, she fused her Hell Rush with Sun Meteor and charged towards Tang Wulin. But Karni still appeared in front of her, trying to hit her with Disordered Drumstick Resonance. He was now at the 24th hit, its power was not to be underestimated when used with a fully realised Sonic Rhythm by its side. He Shifted away from the drill, while at the same time appearing in front of Siduo. 

Instead of facing him, Siduo used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track in her tiger form. Karni was astonished. Karni wasn't the only one to improve in terms of control of his skills. She passed him, charging further at Tang Wulin, but he didn't pay Siduo any mind. He was focusing on defeating the Soul Fusion of Dragon in the Clouds as fast as possible. If that got loose on the others, they would be in trouble.

Tang Wulin got a promise from Val Karni: that he would stop Siduo no matter what. And he decided to trust Karni. 

Gu Yue would not watch his back this time, because Karni insisted that she would be more useful as a support. After some convincing, Wulin agreed, though Gu Yue did not appreciate it. In this battle, she was not doing a lot.

Karni shifted once again, but this time directly in front of the charging meteor that was Siduo. In front of her open mouth. And he was almost bitten down. Almost. He placed his Martial Soul in Siduo's jaw in its staff form. She was unable to close her mouth. The staff was holding it open.

"Hot, hot, hot, hot." Karni was clenching his teeth. His Bo Staff still held the built up Resonance. He split it in half, but they were stacked on top of each other as if they were still one whole staff. The grinding between the drumsticks caused further build up of Disordered Drumstick Resonance. And Karni felt it build to 27, which he had yet to master.

A bit of epiphany hit him. It's not just spinning and force and Sound going opposite that mattered, like he taught it did at the 18th hit. It's about gradual resonances and what boosts them further—at the 18th hit, that just so happened to need reversal for further advancements. So what did he need here?

The built up felt like the Sound wanted to escape. So Karni let it. He released.

An explosion of sound and force came from inside Siduo's mouth. Her jaw completely dislocated, blood oozing from her mouth, but her charge continued. She was just as determined as Karni.

Karni subconsciously sucked the Sound back inside. Feeling the power not lacking, but stronger. The path to the 28th hit!

He charged forth, his skin burnt from the fire of Siduo's fourth Soul Skill, but at least he was out of her mouth. He sent the 28th hit, but when it hit, it unfortunately only slowed her down. The 29th hit did not come. The fact he progressed by two hits at once was already a miracle. He did not have the time to build it up again. Siduo was charging at Wulin!

He shifted in front of her once more and took out what he had saved in his storage ring. A specially made one just for this occasion. This was a mecha competition in the first place! He had to build a mecha for himself. He might as well use it as a meat—metal—shield.

A giant metallic mecha appeared in front of her, no weapon in its hands. Siduo crashed into it, completely destroying it. Karni at least managed to put an obstacle in her place. It wasn't a high grade mecha anyway. Not one that could compete against Siduo's fusion at least.

But as Siduo burst through the mecha, she noticed the chaotic Dragon in the Clouds, the fusion being undone. She made a split second decision. She was too late. Her body turned bloody. Her muscles bulged. Blood red horns appeared on her head, and she did a 180 degree turn, directly towards Ye Xinglan.

At the same point, Xu Yucheng exploded as well, following Siduo's lead. But Xie Xie wasn't done, he also exploded with speed. He was going to stop Xu Yucheng any way possible, he also made a promise. He rushed at Xu Yucheng in a suicidal manner. He would not be a weak link in their formation. All of his Soul Rings shined with absolute might.

Xu Yucheng activated four Soul Rings last minute as well, but Xie Xie crashed in him before he could do anything. In speed, for a second there, he surpassed Siduo. Elder Cai intervened and pulled both Xu Yucheng and Xie Xie out. Both of them were unconscious. Xie Xie crashed so hard he knocked himself out as well.

Karni ate a recovery bun he had prepared and rushed back at Siduo, but he noticed six of her Soul Rings appearing. Six. Karni's eyes went wide, as he saw them start fusion. Hell Rush, Hell Blade, Hundred Hell Claws, Sun Meteor, Diamond Transformation, Diamond Layer.

He Shifted in front of Siduo, his second Soul Ring, Vision Bestowal, shining, but he stopped mid-air. Siduo's eyes… were closed. He had no way to apply his skill. He laughed helplessly as he watched her crash at Ye Xinglan. But not before Ye Xinglan managed to take out Zheng Yiran and heavily damage Yang Nianxia.

Xu Xiaoyan's third Soul Ring shone. Dazzling Starlight. She applied it to Siduo to drain her energy, but her face went pale. It was using so much of her Soul Power. She quickly activated her first and second Soul Rings too, trying to slow Siduo down.

Siduo did slow down. For about two seconds.

Gu Yue had enough of sitting on the sidelines. Karni and Wulin's plan went awry. She started fusing six elements together at once, she had to go all out. This was too dangerous. This was what Siduo was trying to do way back in the representatives competition. This time she did it before anyone could defeat her.

The space around her distorted all of a sudden, her connection to the elements disrupted. Luo Guixing was grinning from afar. Finally, he got a chance to disrupt them instead. He went through hell because of Siduo, even more so due to Liu Liu. He had to invent so many ways to get around her Space destroying properties. Finally he was skilled enough to actually disturb Gu Yue.

Tang Wulin returned from the other side of the field, finishing off already weakened Yang Nianxia on the way. He was slow compared to Wu Siduo who charged towards Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan.

Xu Xiaoyan surrendered before she would be hit, so Elder Cai saved her. Gu Yue tried to teleport her away, but couldn't due to the disturbance of the elements around her. Xu Lizhi, who was even farther back, managed to run away.

That left Gu Yue alone. And she at the very least fused all elements but Space. Yet Siduo slapped any semblance of a beginning chaos away with her claws. Then she came for Gu Yue herself, catching Gu Yue of all people completely defenceless. Elder Cai pulled her away at the last second.

Karni turned around. He couldn't do anything about Wu Siduo right now anymore, not with that so many Battle Armour pieces on her. He had to stop Luo Guixing. He helped take Gu Yue out, which must have made Siduo incredibly happy. He glanced for a bit. If he could, he would take a picture of the shit eating grin she was wearing in her Hell Tiger form. It was surprisingly goofy.

He threw one of his drumsticks at Luo Guixing. He built his hits back up to the ninth.

It wasn't effective at all. Luo Guixing's second Soul Ring activated as a whirlpool of silver light deflected Karni's drumstick. Karni Shifted next to Luo Guixing with an active third Soul Ring and tried to hit him, but Luo Guixing smoothly teleported to the side with his Spatial Retreat ability.

Moving with Drunken Ghost Dance, Karni kept on Luo Guixing's tail as he attacked him with a constant build up of Disordered Drumstick Resonance. As Luo Guixing teleported, so did Karni immediately after.

Karni even circulated his own bloodline to be stronger and disturb Luo Guixing's tempo. He kept on trying to close up the distance, but Luo Guixing kept dodging. He would get frustrated, if not for the fact he knew they were both slippery. Luo Guixing was more frustrated that Karni could follow him around with such ease. He kept on trying to use the first Soul Ring, Spatial Lock, only to be disrupted by Karni's quick action.

Karni wore a grin on his face, as his eyes glowed purple and yellow. Luo Guixing panicked, and quickly forced the usage of his first Soul Skill, but nothing happened. Karni made a simple sidestep and dodged the skill. He finally got a read that he could react to, the movement of Luo Guixing's body gave him away.

Then Luo Guixing's third Soul Ring, which he used to teleport, shone again to try and run away—this time, Karni predicted it not just through the future sight, but understanding what the movements of the golden shadows meant. He activated his own fourth Soul Ring at the same time, to teleport to the same spot as Luo Guixing.

But he felt a tug on space, as if pulling it apart. It overlapped with the area Luo Guixing was trying to teleport with. Both their Soul Rings shook, the space deforming in front of them, while neither of them were able to move. The Soul Rings were being torn apart by the pressure.

Space collapsed, and a crack in space showed, with its infinite abyss wanting to suck them in.

Immediately, the two were in the air, being held by Elder Cai. They watched in horror as the small area in which they were in got erased completely. Space itself disappeared in that small corner of the arena.

Karni sighed as he realised he just got disqualified with Luo Guixing. "Note to self. Don't Shift when there are other people trying to do the same thing and are close to your level."

The crow inside him complained. "It wouldn't have happened if you were using Space directly and not through Sound. You would have overpowered him."

"If I don't control it directly, how exactly would controlling it directly help? He controls it directly as well." Karni still did not understand what 'doing it through Sound' meant.

"That's the point, Karni. You only influence Space through Sound, guide it. And that alone is strong enough to compare with Luo Guixing, who does it directly. Imagine if you had influence over it directly?"

"So we should start training that soon then?"

"No." Hop said. "What you said is right. One thing at a time. I'll think of something by the end of the year. I promise you. You seem to have trouble sensing Space in general. Hmmm. Water, yes we will need a lot of water."

"Water?" Karni asked. "Water? Hop? Hop? What do you mean, water?"

The crow did not answer, he seemed to fall into his own world.

Luo Guixing was silent but frustrated. Karni completely had him. If not for that instance, Karni would have teleported with him and then defeated him immediately after. He got lucky. Somehow Karni got a read on Space itself.

And Karni did that. Or more exactly, like Hop said, Karni heard Space's movement, hence he could predict with more than just his first Soul Ring.

Luo Guixing and Karni were dropped on opposite sides, then turned to watch the rest of the match.

Siduo was chasing Xu Lizhi, but the chubby teenager had trouble running away. There was also debris from a broken mecha on the side. It looked like he had to use it to escape, just like Karni had to use his to block Siduo's charge. Their mechas were at the yellow level only, there was not enough time to make better ones.

Tang Wulin came running from the backside, saving Xu Lizhi. His own Battle Armour appeared. It overlaid his whole arm and shoulders. The audience gasped audibly. Siduo might have almost all the pieces except for her torso, but the quality between hers and Tang Wulin's armour couldn't even be compared.

His Golden Dragon Claw shined. No. It was the Golden Dragon Dreadclaw boosted by his Battle Armour. It tore apart everything with absolute domination.

Siduo noticed him and used her fused Soul Rings to slash against him too. An explosion of sparks flew around. Power and technique from both sides.

Tang Wulin shot back and Siduo slid back as well, but she clearly won in the exchange. This was a Soul Fusion, Soul Fusion of Soul Rings and multiple pieces of Battle Armour. It didn't matter that Tang Wulin had higher quality. She was simply… stronger.

Tang Wulin suddenly caught four buns. Recovery Pork Bun, Agility Soup Bun and two Bloodthirst Bean Buns. His aura changed as he ate all of them at once.

He charged back towards Siduo furiously, shining in bright gold, his own pores oozing the bloodline of the Golden Dragon King.

Siduo charged furiously. Six soul rings fused. She had the Buffalo Duke's Rage activated as well. Bloody horns accompanied her already terrifying appearance.

The two clashed. Claw against Claw. No. Siduo used Mysterious Jade Hands as well.

The two seemed to stop in mid-air for a split second, completely equal, both jumped back. No. Siduo was still slightly above Tang Wulin. Her arm was only bruised.

"First time seeing six soul rings fused." Karni commented on the side. He hadn't seen it before, only heard of it. "I can understand why the Soul Sage was injured back in Star Luo Continent when caught unaware. But Sisi. You're running out of time."

Siduo knew that, not that she actually heard Karni outside of the arena.

The two charged back at each other. Wulin however had quite the bloody mouth right now. He might've been able to compete against her strength right now, but he was still more injured even with the boosts from the buns. Only the strength of his arm was boosted.

As the two were about to clash again bright light stripes appeared on Siduo's claws as both additional armour and sharper claws. The two stopped in mid-air, but Tang Wulin got thrown back this time. Siduo was on top again.

Karni watched Siduo's eyes. He could see that she was already running on fumes. She single-handedly almost caused a turn-around in the match.

She ran towards Tang Wulin again. The flames of her Sun Meteor raging higher. Karni watched in amazement as they also turned a bloody colour. Was this her own comprehension? Wait. She did always seem to have better control of the flames in that skill. Was that why she knew about fire so much as well? This might be her experience of her previous life coming through for the first time. Those flames raged with control.

Tang Wulin slashed back at her, using Golden Dragon Shocks the Heaven, but he was pushed back again. It wasn't like he wasn't doing damage to her, it was just that it was too little.

The two clashed again. Explosion after explosion, but Karni felt a bit sad as he saw both of them becoming slower and slower.

Siduo roared one final time as the rest of her Soul Power coagulated, the fires concentrated around her arms, flowing over the light stripes. The Tang Sect techniques were used at once, the Soul Rings focused on her arms, joining the flames. And she hit. 

Wulin was shot back. Not just back. Elder Cai supported him in that split second. Tang Wulin was barely conscious. He had no strength left.

Siduo transformed back into her human form. Her eyes were round and unfocused, her cat-ears were bent weird. Her jaw also seemed to hang a bit weird.

She glanced at Karni for a second, before noticing Gu Yue looking at her with a bit of genuine shock. Then she turned towards Xu Lizhi, who still stood on the arena. Her third Soul Ring of the Hell Cat shone. A blade forming. "Hust one mo-" She fell, caught by Elder Cai, so she didn't hit the ground. She was completely out of energy.

Xu Lizhi was left standing alone in the arena, not knowing what to say. The Food type Soul Master was the last one left standing. Despite being a Tang Sect disciple and knowing techniques, there was a certain intensity to Siduo at the end. He wasn't sure he'd be able to fight her even in that injured state.

The class was quiet. There may have been a certain consensus that Tang Wulin didn't completely deserve the position, but this awed them. That guy managed to fight against Siduo—what they now considered a creature of hell. They still won at the end, even if it was on a technicality. The fact they pushed Siduo so far, and to see her own power. It sent shivers down their spines. They still defeated that beast. Funnily enough, the other members of Siduo's team seemed far less impressive after this match.

Ya Li stepped to the injured students from the stands. She first healed Siduo, who had it the worst. Then she brought her to Karni, leaving her in his care. Karni looked at her unconscious body, and felt a shiver. Today he realised he might not have to fear catching up to Wulin. He would have to worry about catching up to Siduo.

Elder Cai remained in the arena. "I pronounce that the winners of the first year competition are Tang Wulin's group."

… … …

Siduo ate lunch with Tang Wulin for the first time in a while. Mostly because Karni was taking care of her, and he had to stay around for now. She could barely walk by herself. Tang Wulin didn't have nearly the same level of backlash as she did. He saw just how far that girl was willing to go. And why was it?

"To prove a point." She said at some point. Which shocked them greatly, because it felt just a bit petty. And it was. And it was not a bit petty, it was extremely petty, and she regretted nothing. It was who she was. Gu Yue kept on glancing at her as well.

"Well." Tang Wulin cleared his throat. "If you want to, you can help us face the second years."

They would face second year students in about a week as well. It was organised by the school. Winners of class one against winners of class two.

"Nah. I won't be combat ready until then anyway." Siduo kept on leaning on Karni a bit begrudgingly, but she also didn't push away.

"And you?" Tang Wulin turned to Karni.

Karni shook his head. "I won't participate either. I'll only go to the Designer Competition." He wanted to hang out with Siduo more. He was a tad done with hanging so much with Wulin's team.

Tang Wulin sighed. They'll be losing quite a bit of firepower. Siduo was the only one he was willing to accept. He didn't care for any other Genius Youth team members, some of which have already asked him to let him include them in the fight. Siduo on the other hand did not want to cooperate. And now Karni as well, apparently.

"Mm." Siduo mumbled, with her mouth full. She gulped down the food with some difficulty, her jaw still hurting. "I'll be participating in the Mechanic and Manufacturer competitions as well. We'll be wiping the floor with them in the profession department."

Tang Wulin turned to look at Ye Xinglan. "Won't you also participate in Manufacturing? That would mean you two would have to compete for the spot."

Siduo caught the eyes of Ye Xinglan, who shook her head. "I probably won't be allowed."

"Eh? Why not?"

"In fact, they probably let me participate this time mostly, because of the imbalance that would be there otherwise. Me and Lizhi are already in the inner court of Shrek, the academy needs to test you guys."

She turned to look at Karni and Siduo. "Honestly, I don't think they'll be too happy that you two won't be participating. They were probably thinking of removing me and Lizhi from the next part so you two could face the second years."

Siduo waved her arm. "I wouldn't be able to fight fully anyway."

Karni laughed a bit embarrassed. "And honestly, in my case, I only stayed, because me and Siduo wanted to mess with you guys a bit as revenge."

"Wait what?" Gu Yue was the most shocked.

"Mm." Karni spoke, but it was Siduo who looked proud. "My goal was to essentially make you feel useless and think that you should've relied on Sisi. So just this once, we'll have to decline your guys' offer."

Tang Wulin laughed a bit. He laughed genuinely. "That's both cruel and funny. It seems you two are both quite petty people. I like that. I suppose we do deserve it this time, eh, Yue?" He glanced at her, who actually blushed for a change.

"Pfffffff." Siduo spit out her food. "No fucking way." She looked at the blushing Gu Yue. "Kiki. Look at these guys. Did they really just fight us to such a degree? Though I suppose I did manage to make Gu Yue feel a bit useless in both the profession and the fight, so I'm satisfied."

"To be fair," Karni said. "The reason she couldn't do more in the fight is also due to my suggestion."

Wulin sounded. "Wait, that was part of it as well? How deep did this go."

"To the point I just mentioned. No deeper. That would have been a bit too much."

Gu Yue was left quiet for a second, before regaining her clarity. "I won't go down so easily next time."

"Mm. Yeah. Sure, sure." Siduo said as she grabbed more food. Though she groaned with pain when she stretched her arm. It was not a successful mocking attempt.

Gu Yue was left quiet as she stared at Siduo. But her expression was, surprisingly, not hostile. If nothing else, Karni and Wulin considered that an improvement. Even if it did start due to prideful pettiness.