Legendary Soul Art

"Aron, don't start it. We didn't come here to fight," Sena shushed the young man before walking up to wrap her arm around his neck. "Didn't I tell you to shut up and leave the talking to us?"

It definitely wasn't a friendly embrace as Aron's face got red from the gentle squeeze alone. It was clear who was the leader in their group as he couldn't even get away no matter how much he struggled. "Let go you—"

Number One made a mental note of Sena's physical strength as it was definitely abnormal. Despite being slimmer and shorter than Aron, she was able to subdue him with ease. Aron was only let free when he stopped fighting back and then he began fixing the brown nest on his head as if his image was everything he cared about.

"Anyway, as Aron was saying, we just want to stay neutral with you three until the Final Selection will take place," Aurora continued the conversation. "It would maximize the chances of our group since all of us would participate. Whatever happens during the Final Selection is another story since it would be unfair to ask for more. Even if you three qualify, having seven of us join you is still better than losing to the other two groups."

Aurora was the only person in the group that kept her face covered with a hood and a bandana. Gazing into her pretty red eyes made one curious about how she looked which explained every student's reaction when they saw her.

"So you want us to eliminate three individuals from the other teams instead of yours which would give you an advantage later on, is that it?" Number One questioned calmly as he tried to figure out the catch. "What is the Final Selection going to look like?"

"We will just battle each other and see who is better. If you happen to meet any of us then it's just bad luck and we can leave it all to individual strength," Aurora explained casually but Number One wasn't born yesterday. Even though she was covering her face, Aron wasn't careful enough and displayed a short smirk.

'I don't think we will stay over at your friend's place. They are hiding something,' Number One pointed out. 'Could the Final Selection consist of group battles? Why else would they form three teams of ten?'

Number One was about to get to the bottom of this when the Disciplinary Group Leader came out through the barrier. He was surprised at the number of Legacy Students waiting outside but he still went straight to Number One and presented him with three tokens. "Sir Number One, the Headmaster is awaiting you."

The man couldn't arrive at the perfect time and save him some trouble. "One second, I have a question about the Final Selection. What format will the Academy choose to pick the ten seeds?"

The Legacy Students raised their eyebrows and their expression turned ugly when the Disciplinary Group Leader explained, "The Final Selection for the Dragon Summit seeds will consist of a Battle Royale style competition where ten last survivors will win. It will take place in approximately three weeks but the location is still unknown."

"Are there any rules preventing the Legacy Students from teaming up?" Number One asked right after as he slowly figured out Aurora's plan.

"No, at least not to my knowledge," the Disciplinary Group Leader replied while gazing at Sena and her team. "Teamwork is an important skill that will come in handy in the Dragon Summit which is why teaming up is encouraged."

That was all Number One needed to hear and he turned to Aurora with a cold smile, "I will have to decline your offer. We will simply go with our original plan and challenge whoever is the easiest to beat. If that happens to be you then you should focus on improving your skills instead of scheming to have an unfair advantage."

"Hey, we have nothing against you," Sena firmly denied. "I love Nami and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. I will kick Aron in a heartbeat and replace him with Nami if she wants to."

"Hey!" Aron protested immediately but was quickly silenced with a single gaze from Sena. He could only change the target of his complaints and chose to stare daggers at Number One.

"That won't be necessary," Nami rejected without hesitation and suggested, "It's best if we treat each other like competition from now on. Being friends when you are fighting each other will only cause problems."

"How about we all work together to beat the other teams and then settle the seeding between each other?" Aurora proposed an alternative solution. "We can have individual battles afterward instead of fighting in groups."

Number One couldn't help but chuckle in response. "So you want us to help you beat everyone else and then you all will just gang up on us ten versus three. Your plan only works if there is trust but we just met each other and you already tried to trick us."

"I think I know how we can trust you," Number One added with a shrug. "How about the three strongest in your group give us your Islands and then challenge the opposite two teams instead? This way you can show your dedication and we can trust you more. What do you think?"

"I don't mind it at all," Sena nodded while extending her hand to Nami. "My heart would bleed if I was forced to hurt you. I would rather forfeit instead of betraying my love for you."

Too bad, no one else was as confident as Sena and they all looked at Aron and Aurora who seemed to be the strongest. Aron only snorted and extended his wings to depart. "I am leaving since this conversation is pointless. Why are we even discussing the Final Selection if they might not even participate? Come challenge me if you are so confident. We will see if you are truly Number One."

One by one the Legacy Students launched in the air, leaving only Sena and Aurora behind. The mysterious beauty stared at Number One and warned, "Our team is the kindest and you definitely won't get a similar offer from the other two. In fact, they would actually prefer to sabotage you instead so watch out. I suggest you stay in the Academy or else they will eliminate you."

Aurora joined the rest after saying her peace and Sena followed while waving at Nami, "You can always stay at my place love. I will protect you."

The whole scene left a bad taste in Number One's mouth as he found everyone overreacting. They treated the whole Dragon Summit too seriously and immediately tried to boost their chances on their cost. Number One wouldn't even care about that tournament if not for the opportunity of finding his Soul Herbs or selling a lot of pills.

"I would actually agree with Miss Aurora," the Disciplinary Group Leader commented quietly. "The benefits of being a Legacy Student are the best you can get so they are quite protective of this title. I wouldn't be surprised if they hired assassins to eliminate the potential competition."

Number One wasn't a bit bothered as that was exactly his life for more than ten years. If he didn't go through an assassination attempt at least once every few months he would think something was wrong.

"Is that friend of yours part of the other team? How strong is he?" Number One questioned curiously as they withdrew their Student Badges and finally stepped through the barrier into the private island. They were immediately met with lush greenery and a stone path leading towards a grand mansion.

"He is currently eleventh in strength from all Legacy Students and yes, he is in the strongest team which is most likely going to represent Winged Soul Academy at the Dragon Summit," the Disciplinary Group Leader replied while scratching his head. "If I were to be honest, I think Miss Sena's group is the weakest which explains why they wanted to be left alone. If they lost any of their members then they would be for sure doomed."

Number One raised his eyebrows. "How does Sena compare to the rest?"

They were naturally confident in their abilities but Number One wouldn't say they could beat everyone right away. They still had a month to improve and he believed they could secure a seed after proper practice.

"Miss Sena is ranked seventh while Sir Aron is tenth. Their strength is the top of the Academy but they are at a clear disadvantage when facing the sons and daughters of the Academy Board members," the Disciplinary Group Leader muttered cautiously. "Most of them are in the top ten since they receive a lot of hidden resources."

Number One wasn't even surprised at that fact as every Academy was bound to have some shady operations. The Academy Board would naturally favor their own blood and boost their strength with all they could get. He could already guess the pills he sells to the Academy would mostly end up in the Legacy Student's pockets.

The Disciplinary Group Leader clearly knew much more but he kept quiet as they already approached the mansion. Headmaster Blake definitely knew how to live well as the sheer gardens alone were beautiful with small ponds and colorful flowers all over the place. The courtyards were also massive and consisted of numerous traditional-styled houses.

"The Headmaster is currently eating a late dinner with multiple influential figures and he invites you to join," the Disciplinary Group Leader informed as they stepped into the main courtyard. They saw multiple servants carrying dishes that filled the corridor with tasty aroma.

Number One and the girls had nothing to eat all day so they couldn't reject a meal. The only thing that he worried about was the sudden attention that would fall on them but it was good practice for the meeting with the Academy Board.

They followed the sounds of laughter coming from the main dining room and just as Number One expected, all sounds went silent as soon as they stepped inside.