Douluo: I Am the Lord of Mysteries

Just like the day before, the Advancement Tournament resumed after the afternoon classes on the intermediate division's training field.

This was only the second match of the tournament, and as expected, there still wasn't much of a crowd.

After all, Class Five's victory over Class Four yesterday hadn't caused much of a stir within the academy. In the eyes of most, it was just a match between the lowest-ranked first-year classes—hardly worth the attention.

But not everyone was ignoring it. For instance, Class Three of Year One, who would be facing Class Five today, took the match very seriously.

Class Three's homeroom teacher, Ye Yingrong, was quite young—even younger than Wu Zhangkong. A newly appointed teacher.

She had arrived early with her class. Her students were lined up in a neat formation. Standing at the front were three handsome, identical-looking boys. Strangely, the three looked exactly alike—so alike that anyone unfamiliar with them wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

Wu Zhangkong soon arrived as well, bringing with him the four-person team from Class Five—Nan Fusheng, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue.

The rest of Class Five followed closely behind, eyes filled with excitement and confidence after yesterday's dominant victory.

Ye Yingrong walked over with a gentle smile.

"Hello, Teacher Wu," she said with a polite nod.

Ye Yingrong was a rare beauty. Standing over 1.7 meters tall, her proportions were excellent. Her eyes were bright and spirited, and her pale green hair was tied into a sleek ponytail. Fair skin, delicate features, and a small cherry-like mouth—just her appearance alone was enough to make someone believe she was a student from the advanced division.

She had joined Eastsea Academy at twenty-three and had already reached the four rings—Soul Ancestor rank. At her age, that was a remarkable achievement.

"Hello."

Wu Zhangkong nodded in return, his gaze already shifting toward the competition stage.

Xie Xie, standing nearby, couldn't help but admire Wu Zhangkong's aloof demeanor.

So cool... That kind of cold arrogance is just impossible to imitate.

Compared to him, I'm just not there yet...

Ye Yingrong didn't seem the least bit offended by Wu Zhangkong's cold response. She simply waved a hand, and her students quickly jogged over, lining up neatly behind her.

She turned to them and said calmly,

"Friendship comes first, competition second. Gu Tianri, Gu Tianyue, Gu Tianming, and Itou Makoto, you four are up next. Understood?"

"Yes, Teacher Ye!"

The triplet brothers, identical in appearance, responded in unison along with one plain-looking boy.

Wu Zhangkong briefly turned to glance at them. When he noticed the three identical faces, his gaze lingered for a moment longer, clearly more interested in them than in Ye Yingrong herself.

Just then, Long Hengxu, the academy's director of education, arrived on the stage.

"Second match of the Advancement Tournament.

Class Five of Year One—are you sending the same four students?"

Wu Zhangkong nodded slightly. Nan Fusheng, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue stepped forward in a practiced line, walking toward the center of the field.

Ye Yingrong smiled gently.

"You four, go ahead."

The Gu triplets and Itou Makoto ascended the platform.

The three brothers were all thin, sharp-eyed, and moved in eerie synchrony—every step in unison, to the point that Itou, walking beside them, seemed almost invisible.

Wu Zhangkong didn't give his students any extra instructions. This was their battle to fight.

The Advancement Tournament was a trial by fire. If they needed him to point out every move, they'd never learn to grow.

Nan Fusheng and the others kept to the same diamond formation as before.

The Gu triplets, on the other hand, stood side by side: Gu Tianri in the center, Gu Tianyue on the left, and Gu Tianming on the right. Itou Makoto stood quietly behind them, his body obscured by their frames.

"Are you ready?"

Long Hengxu asked routinely.

After both sides confirmed, he waved his hand to signal the start of the second match.

The Gu triplets activated their Martial Souls almost simultaneously. The moment their souls appeared, a flicker of surprise crossed the eyes of Nan Fusheng and his teammates.

It wasn't surprising that triplets would have the same Martial Soul, but when three pairs of wings suddenly spread wide behind them, the visual impact was intense.

Three white soul rings rose beneath their feet as they took to the sky, soaring upward in sync.

As they ascended, their positions shifted, and the previously hidden Itou Makoto suddenly vanished.

Yes, vanished. He hadn't flown up with the others; he had simply disappeared.

The triplets' Martial Soul was called Sky-Soaring Battle Eagles—a species known for its exceptional flying speed.

While not the strongest of eagle-type souls, their sheer velocity was what made them deadly. In the wild, such soul beasts could reach altitudes of over 3,000 meters and maintain high-speed flight for extended periods.

All three brothers had taken the Agility Attack–type path, and had even chosen the same soul beast for their first soul ring: the Breeze Falcon, a small bird with minimal offensive power but extreme speed, only about the size of a palm.

They're broke, thought Xie Xie, realizing the triplets were limited by cost.

"They can fly? What do we do?"

Xie Xie looked over nervously.

Tang Wulin smiled,

"We knock them down.

Fusheng, this one's on you. Gu Yue, wind element boost."

As he spoke, a blue light flashed from his hand, and several strands of Blue Silver Grass coiled around Xie Xie's waist.

"AHHH! I'm afraid of heights!"

Xie Xie cried out.

"And I'm afraid of pain!

How many times did you stab me yesterday?"

Tang Wulin shot back.

Before Xie Xie could retort, Tang Wulin stepped forward and grabbed him from behind, arms wrapped around his waist.

A burst of green light enveloped them—Gu Yue's wind element. Xie Xie suddenly felt weightless—like floating—and the next thing he knew, he was soaring into the sky.

From the ground, Ye Yingrong's eyes widened as she watched Tang Wulin spin Xie Xie in place and hurl him into the air like a projectile.

He just threw someone that high?

She was stunned, but quickly recovered.

She'd trained the Gu triplets intensively in aerial combat. Letting just one person take to the sky? That was asking for a triple surround and takedown.

In the air, Gu Tianri calmly gestured to his brothers.

Instead of attacking directly, he halted his charge with a flap of his wings and hovered.

Their greatest advantage was flight, and in aerial combat, they ruled.

They planned to strike only after Xie Xie's momentum died, catching him mid-fall for a clean finish.

But just as Gu Tianri prepared to pull back, a strange force tugged at his mind, and his thoughts went blank.

At that instant, Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger landed lightly on his forehead. He stepped on Gu Tianri's shoulder with his right foot, using it as a springboard, and shot toward Gu Tianyue like a hawk in flight.

"Gu Tianri, out."

Long Hengxu announced.

In that brief instant, Xie Xie could've killed him.

"What!?"

Gu Tianyue and Gu Tianming were stunned.

But before they could act, a wave of mental dizziness washed over them. Both froze in place, and Xie Xie neatly tapped each of their foreheads with his dagger, taking them out without resistance.

The three brothers hit the ground, and the others kept their guard up.

They all knew… someone else was still out there.

Gu Yue waved her hand, calling on the wind element to slow Xie Xie's descent and soften his landing.

Then, from the shadows at the edge of the arena, a figure slowly emerged—it was Itou Makoto.

Just as the four of them prepared to righteously gang up on him, Itou threw up his hands.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

His Martial Soul was Shadow Wolf, and his first soul skill was Shadow Sneak. Earlier, while everyone's attention was on the triplets' flight, he had slipped into the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Unfortunately for him, his teammates were all taken out too fast, and he never found a chance.

Not wanting to be brutally outnumbered, he wisely chose to concede.

Year One, Class Five—victory!

Long Hengxu's voice carried a clear note of shock as he announced the result.