Although the Soul Ray was only a Tier 2 spirit tool, its power wasn't enough to directly eliminate a Disciple, but such a dense attack was not something an ordinary person could withstand.
Wang Nan activated his first Spirit Ability, accelerating out of the ray's range with the help of his spirit tool thrusters.
The other Disciples also used various methods to dodge. One figure in particular caught Wang Nan's eye.
That person was Dai Yueheng; he circulated his spirit power, and a barrier rose around him, blocking all the rays shot at him.
Wang Nan originally thought that a Spirit Master with a top-tier Spirit like Dai Yueheng wouldn't use spirit tools much, but he didn't expect the opposite to be true. Facing the overwhelming Soul Rays, his first choice was actually to deploy a spirit tool shield.
In fact, Dai Yueheng was different from other Disciples of the Martial Soul Department. He had followed the White Tiger Duke to the battlefield and personally witnessed the power of the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Master legions. His acceptance of spirit tools even surpassed some teachers in the Martial Soul Department.
After only one round of attacks, two weaker Disciples had already been eliminated.
"Let's team up to eliminate the others first; we can consider the spots later."
The attack from the Soul Rays had just ended, and before anyone could catch their breath, they heard someone in the crowd shout this.
The Disciples reacted quickly, swiftly moving closer to those they were familiar with, preparing to fight together.
Wang Nan subtly shook his head at Gongyang Mo, who was approaching him, then looked around and fixed his gaze on the five people who had already gathered in front of him to the right.
He touched his wrist, and with a clang, a dark metal cannon barrel appeared on his arm.
The rear end of the cannon barrel enveloped Wang Nan's entire arm, making it look from a distance as if a spirit tool cannon had grown out of his shoulder.
Since Wang Nan knew the content of the selection competition, he naturally wouldn't be unprepared. This spirit tool shock cannon was for this very moment.
The spirit tool shock cannon is different from ordinary spirit tool cannons; it does not directly attack a Spirit Master to cause damage, but rather fires extremely unstable cannonballs condensed from spirit power, causing area damage through the shockwaves generated by the explosion.
In a chaotic battle, forming alliances was bound to happen. Wang Nan had been waiting for other Disciples to gather. Although this wasn't the optimal timing he had envisioned, hitting five people with this one shot was already a good deal.
He moved his arm to aim forward, and a powerful spirit power rapidly surged into it, with a yellow light continuously condensing at the muzzle.
Xuan Zi, who was watching from the side, raised an eyebrow, moved his foot slightly, and his figure already appeared next to Wang Nan.
The moment the yellow cannonball was fired, Xuan Zi extended his right hand, caught it in his palm, and gently clenched his five fingers. Both the cannonball itself and the shockwave it created vanished into thin air.
Xuan Zi looked down at his right hand, briefly felt the intensity of the shot, then quickly turned and took the five people Wang Nan had just aimed at out of the competition arena.
Only then did Wang Nan put away his spirit tool shock cannon and turn to rush towards Gongyang Mo.
With five people eliminated at once, the competition arena suddenly became much emptier. On the other side, Dai Yueheng, as the owner of the top-tier Spirit Evil Eyes White Tiger, had almost no Disciple who was his match. Coupled with his military-style attacks, which were quite ruthless, he also successively eliminated two people in a short time.
There were fewer than twenty Core Disciples of suitable age in the entire third and fourth grades. After this round, only nine people remained in the competition arena.
Dai Yueheng glanced at Wang Nan, then a tiger's roar came, and he pounced on him.
At this time, Wang Nan had already met up with Gongyang Mo, and naturally, he was not afraid of Dai Yueheng. He raised his Coiling Dragon Staff to meet the enemy.
However, before Dai Yueheng could get close, the surrounding temperature plummeted, and an ice-blue halo appeared above Dai Yueheng's head. Immediately after, blue light scattered, trapping Dai Yueheng in the middle.
Wang Nan looked up and met Ling Luochen's gaze. He nodded slightly, indicating his agreement to her joining them.
Dai Yueheng couldn't break free for a moment, and seeing the Coiling Dragon Staff about to fall, he quickly spoke.
"Junior Brother, let's team up!"
Wang Nan stopped his movements, pondering in his heart.
"Junior Brother, a total of five people need to remain in the selection competition. There are three of you, and even with me, there are enough spots. Moreover, you and I are the strongest on the field right now. If we team up, even if it's four against five, our chances of winning are greater."
Wang Nan looked at the others; they also seemed to be discussing forming an alliance, so he nodded in agreement. He believed that Dai Yueheng alone would not be a match for the three of them, but he also wouldn't be easy to deal with. If they suffered any damage from Dai Yueheng's counterattack, the remaining five would be difficult to handle.
"You charge forward, and I'll disrupt their formation."
Wang Nan arranged simply.
Since Dai Yueheng took the initiative to propose an alliance, he naturally had to perform. After the ice prison dissipated, his third spirit ring immediately lit up, his muscles swelled, black horizontal stripes appeared on his skin, and he charged towards the five opponents.
Having formed an alliance, Gongyang Mo was also not stingy with his spirit power, and three halos fell upon Dai Yueheng.
Wang Nan repeated his old trick, and the spirit tool shock cannon reappeared in his hand.
With the previous record of eliminating five people with one shot, how could the opponents dare to stand together? They scattered to dodge.
Then, what remained was for Dai Yueheng to eliminate them one by one.
"Alright, the competition is over."
Just as Dai Yueheng had successively eliminated four people and was about to chase after the last Disciple, Xuan Zi stepped in and stopped him.
"The others can go back now." Xuan Zi took a bite of a chicken leg and waved his hand casually.
Although the eliminated Disciples were resentful, they dared not say much.
"What, are you still not convinced?"
Xuan Zi had presided over the selection competition many times, and he knew exactly what these Core Disciples were thinking. It was nothing more than complaining that the competition rules were unfavorable, or that they were eliminated without fully demonstrating their abilities.
"Don't think that these rules are unfavorable to you, and don't think that others win unfairly. In the future, on the battlefield, the situation will be much more complex than it is now."
"In this free-for-all, at least the enemies are in plain sight. But on a real battlefield, you might be defeated or killed before you even notice the enemy. Will you still talk about rules then?"
"As excellent Spirit Masters, you should learn to quickly assess the environment, arrange tactics reasonably, and only then unleash your full strength. You are all Core Disciples; if you don't even have this level of reaction ability, what qualifications do you have to enter the Inner Courtyard?"
After this speech, it's unclear how much these Disciples took to heart. Perhaps some were still dwelling on what had just happened, but at least no one showed it on their faces. They silently left the Fighting Soul Zone one by one.
"Alright, the few of you wait a moment. Two people will come over shortly, and I'll speak to all of you together then."