Chapter 207: Relatively Simple

This wasn’t just “alright”!

This was insane!

A Glazed Azure Luan got knocked out by a Green Caterpillar?

By one that hadn’t even reached a thousand years?

To be honest, they weren’t very skilled at Soul Pet Battles, so they didn’t really understand.

But they clearly saw that Green Caterpillar zip-zip-zipping and defeating that Azure Luan in about two minutes. That part was crystal clear.

“This totally changes how I see Soul Pet Battles,” Yun Feimo complained. “How was that possible? How can a Green Caterpillar be that strong… The Soul Power Cultivation gap was massive, and their Racial Potential was worlds apart.”

Beside her, Shui Qingling and the rest of the classmates were speechless.

They just stared at the small, cute Green Caterpillar following behind Wang Che.

They couldn’t look away.

Hmm… it looked completely harmless. Not strong at all.

“The point of a Soul Pet Battle is to defeat your opponent,” Wang Che explained with a smile. “And defeating an opponent, when there isn’t a huge gap, can be done many ways… That Glazed Azure Luan had been challenged way too many times already. It had become numb.”

“So at first, it really wouldn’t believe a little caterpillar could be any threat.”

“Senior Shen was off doing something else, ignoring the battle. At that moment, the key was to grasp the chance, unleash a furious storm of attacks, overwhelm the Azure Luan before it recovered, and deny it any chance to react.”

“Victory becomes relatively simple.”

Relatively Simple.

“Sounds… kind of easy,” Kong Shijin mumbled. Then he realized something. “But why is it that when I went up, I got booted down in seconds?”

“Perhaps you’re lacking a bit in experience?” Wang Che suggested.

“Hahaha, Mr. Wang, you don’t need to be that polite,” Yun Feimo laughed loudly. “It’s not ‘lacking experience’; he’s just too weak!”

Kong Shijin coughed.

“Well, that just means I have huge room for improvement, right! Big shot, in the future, whenever you’re free, please do guide us in our class’s Soul Pet Battles.”

“We don’t expect to be as strong as you. Even one-tenth of your level, and we’d be satisfied.”

Wang Che thought to himself: One-tenth of his level? That would breeze through the top eight, even top four, in the Qihang Cup, right?

For a moment, Wang Che didn’t know what to say. He just nodded.

“Sure, working hard enough, it’s achievable.”

“One-tenth? Kong Fatty, you’ve got some serious misunderstanding of Soul Pet Battles,” Yun Feimo grinned. “Look at the level of that fight just now. I bet even the champion of our Yunjiang Province’s Flying Cloud Cup couldn’t do that… Well, technically, yeah, working hard… a LOT… could maybe…”

Yun Feimo heavily emphasized the “LOT”.

Those who understood got it.

“It was that wild?” Kong Shijin gasped, astonished.

He truly wasn’t good at Soul Pet Battles.

“Okay, I’ll be blunt since you guys are all clueless,” Yun Feimo said without holding back. “I could see some skill in that, and it felt incredibly complex… Forget predicting attacks, battle composure, complete suppression… just those Soul Skills alone; I’ve never even seen their like before.”

The others understood. Wang Che was strong. Way stronger than they imagined.

“Mr. Wang, you’re not ordinary, are you?” Shui Qingling asked. “Could you be some continent’s champion?”

“Titles like champion are fleeting. There’s a new champion every year. So many strong students exist,” Wang Che replied.

Since they had guessed, Wang Che didn’t outright deny it.

“Got it. You are a champion.” This time, Kong Shijin reacted lightning fast.

“Mr. Wang, you’re from Xiyue Continent, right? We don’t have many from Xiyue in our school. What’s the name of the high school Soul Pet Battle tournament over there again?”

“It’s the Qihang Cup. Wow. The champion is right beside us!”

“Wait… a Green Caterpillar won the championship?”

The more they thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

The more they contemplated, the more terrifying it felt.

It was like a legendary master suddenly appearing right in front of them.

“I need a picture with a champion Soul Pet!”

Yun Feimo, suddenly enthusiastic, walked over to the Little Caterpillar. She examined it closely and realised this Green Caterpillar was very different from others.

“Zizzizz…”

The Little Caterpillar made a sound.

It felt a bit tired after the battle.

Mainly, that Glazed Azure Luan had been incredibly tough. Its attacks, coordinated seamlessly with Wang Che’s commands, flowed like water – but it couldn’t slack off for even a second.

Otherwise, the Glazed Azure Luan would have snapped back instantly.

This kind of suppressive fight, against type, against a cultivation gap, required absolute perfection in every aspect.

Otherwise, overcoming someone with nearly double the Soul Power Cultivation to win would have been impossible, even without its Soul Pact Master nearby.

But for the Little Caterpillar, which had battled many far more powerful Ancient Soul Beasts, it handled it rather well.

“Huh? It seems sleepy. Must be tired after that fight? Better skip the photo for now.”

Yun Feimo could tell. “Mr. Wang, why don’t you recall it into your Soul Domain Space to rest… It really does look unique compared to other Green Caterpillars.”

“What’s that small, diamond-shaped crystal on its forehead?”

Yun Feimo scrutinized it.

“Maybe it’s a Soul Pet Decoration?” Shui Qingling suggested.

Wang Che smiled faintly, tacitly agreeing.

He recalled the Little Caterpillar into his Soul Domain Space.

“Our class is probably going to become famous…” Shui Qingling murmured, feeling countless gazes gathering towards them. “Being classmates with a champion is kind of pressuring. Hey, that didn’t count as us intentionally tiring it out or anything, did it?”

“It did,” Wang Che said with a smile. “Without your efforts beforehand, I wouldn’t have won so easily.”

For Wang Che, going earlier or later only meant potentially revealing a bit more of his hand.

It was his turn, so he went.

Challenging other seniors solo might have been simpler, but that would seem divisive.

This was university. This challenge program was even suggested for groups by the Principal. Wang Che had zero intention of showing off and making himself seem apart from the group just for a bit of limelight.

If he wanted the spotlight, he could have had Principal Gu personally chauffeur him and given a big speech at the Opening Ceremony to officially announce he was the Qihang Cup champion.

But that wouldn’t suit him at all, and was completely pointless since it wouldn’t bring any real benefit.

The class voted on who to challenge; Wang Che followed along. Mainly, he genuinely enjoyed getting along with these classmates. They seemed pretty cool.

Communicating and doing group activities with the other students made Wang Che feel his spirit felt younger. It reminded him of when he acted alongside fellow disciples back in his sect days. Though those times involved much fiercer struggles, where a single slip could cost your life.

“Uh… what did we actually work hard at?” Kong Shijin scratched his head, puzzled.

His classmates burst into laughter.

Yeah, what exactly did they work hard at?

They seemed to just walk onto the stage, stood around, and didn’t actually do anything.

And then… they won?

The rewards included some special medicinal meals from the cuisine program, as well as potions or supplements for cultivating Martial Soul.

Since the university focused on cultivating Martial Soul, the rewards were all related to that.

Of course, they did not give out seeds anymore.

After all, they had to consider students from other majors who were not in the Agricultural Planting Major.

Giving seeds was definitely not as useful as resources for cultivating Martial Soul, which all majors needed.

The rewards were quite generous — just by defeating one senior, there could be dozens of shares.

The stronger the senior defeated, the greater the rewards.

Clearly, the hidden message of the rewards was to encourage a whole class team to work together to defeat a sophomore or junior senior.

It was not about individual effort.

As the first event gradually ended, the fourteen seniors were defeated one after another.

The prizes were soon distributed by the instructors to the winning class and major.

When Kong Shijin and others received their prizes, they felt a bit unaccustomed.

“Is this what it feels like to be carried?” Kong Shijin said. “It feels pretty good. Suddenly, I have a strong expectation for the next few years of university—something I’ve never felt before…”

“This kind of reward makes me a little uncomfortable,” Yun Feimo placed the prize on her palm, held it out, and said in a conflicted tone, “My strength isn’t enough to earn this reward… But, since it’s already here, I’ll have to cultivate even harder in the future. Otherwise, I’d feel unworthy of this prize.”

After speaking, she withdrew her hand.

Everyone: “…”

Shui Qingling was much more natural about it, quietly putting her prize into her pocket.

“Next is the Soul Pact Master battle—are we going to participate?”

As the first event ended, the second event, the Soul Pact Master battle, soon began.

In today’s society, besides Soul Pet Battles, Soul Pact Master battles were also very popular.

However, Soul Pact Master battles only happened after awakening one’s Martial Soul.

So, they weren’t encountered in high school.

Soul Pact Master battles focused on using one’s own Martial Soul and the Soul Rings attached by the Soul Pets to fight.

During the process, Soul Pets could not directly participate in the battle.

It entirely depended on individual strength.

It was a competition that truly showcased personal strength, and its popularity in current society was almost as high as Soul Pet Battles.

Soul Pact Master battles also helped train the Soul Pact Masters in their Martial Soul cultivation and accumulate combat experience.

Of course, the most advanced form was the top-level Professional Soul Contractor’s comprehensive battle, which emphasized cooperation between humans and Soul Pets.

That kind of battle represented the peak of human combat power.

“In Soul Pact Master battles, Soul Pets can’t fight. Basically, it’s half dominated by the Douhun Major. Students in the Battle Soul Master track have Martial Souls with strong offensive capabilities.”

Yun Feimo said, “We from the Agricultural Planting Major should just watch from the sidelines and participate for fun. Student Wang, are you participating?”

The Soul Pact Master battle event was not complicated either.

There were only four senior brothers and one senior sister on the stage.

Their Soul Power Levels were close to thirty, and they all possessed a second Soul Pet.

With two Soul Rings and high Soul Power Levels, they had strong combat power themselves.

The longer a freshman could hold out, the better the reward.

Defeating them was out of the question.

With the freshmen’s Martial Soul levels, it was basically impossible to defeat these seniors.

However, this event was one that showcased great personal charisma.

If Soul Pet Battles displayed a Soul Pact Master’s combat intuition and talent for raising Soul Pets,

then pure Soul Pact Master battles better reflected individual combat power and charisma.

Some were not good at raising Soul Pets, but their Martial Souls were skilled in combat, and they themselves had extremely strong fighting abilities.

Soul Pets were more like a form of support.

For example, Wang Che had that impression of Li Yanming.

Not very good at raising Soul Pets, but his personal combat power was extremely strong.

In fact, many strong individuals in the military were better at fighting themselves, with Soul Pets serving as support.

Most of these Soul Masters chose to become Battle Soul Masters.

Other types like Taming Soul Masters, Art Soul Masters, and Healing Soul Masters relied much more on their Soul Pets than Battle Soul Masters did.

That was because these types of Soul Masters didn’t have strong combat abilities themselves and needed to rely on Soul Pets to make up for it.

However, in true top-level professional battles, it was about overall combat power, and Battle Soul Masters weren’t necessarily stronger than other Soul Masters.

In the last Federation-wide top Professional Soul Contractor championship held every fifty years,

only two of the top ten were Battle Soul Masters; the other eight were other types of Soul Masters… Art Soul Masters had the most, with four.

But the champion was a Battle Soul Master.

So, Battle Soul Masters were still mainstream in today’s society.

Because, to some extent, the upper limit of overall combat power for Battle Soul Masters was higher than that of other Soul Master types.

“I won’t participate,”

Wang Che said. “Kong Shijin’s Martial Soul is Iron Vine Grass, which has strong control, and he already has his first Soul Ring. He’s more suitable to participate.”

Soul Pact Master battles had certain requirements for Martial Souls.

For example, Shui Qingling’s Medicine Field wasn’t much help in Soul Pact Master combat.

She couldn’t just materialize her Medicine Field Martial Soul on stage and put on a farming show, right?

“Then I’ll give it a try,”

Kong Shijin straightened his collar and said seriously.

Soul Pact Master battles and Soul Pet Battles seemed opposite.

In Soul Pet Battles, Soul Pact Masters could not directly participate but could use their Martial Soul power to help their Soul Pets.

In Soul Pact Master battles, Soul Pets could not participate directly, but their Soul Rings could help the Soul Pact Masters.

As for high-level Professional Soul Contractor comprehensive battles, they combined both aspects, making them more complex, more professional, and better at reflecting the combined abilities of humans and Soul Pets.

However, Professional Soul Contractor comprehensive battles were so high-level

that the fights seemed like battles among gods for ordinary people and even most beginner Soul Pact Masters.

It was confusing, and they couldn’t understand what was happening.

Lower-level professional comprehensive battles were somewhat easier to follow.