Taking a Child Out

Meanwhile, after the match ended, Yan Shaozhe hurried to the Sea God Pavilion.

"Teacher!"

Inside, two elderly men sat calmly drinking tea. Hearing his voice, the slightly older-looking one turned to look at him.

"It's rare to see you like this. What happened?"

After respectfully bowing, Yan Shaozhe hurriedly explained what had just happened, then asked, "Is there anything wrong with that student?"

Before Mu En could speak, the man beside him spoke first. "Was she a little girl? By now, she should most likely be a Soul Elder?"

"Yes. You know her?"

"She is the disciple I intend to take."

Those words carried far too many implications. Yan Shaozhe swallowed all the questions on his tongue and instead discussed other matters with Mu En.

Afternoon.

Having entered the finals, all the teachers who had previously watched from the elevated platform had moved to the spectator stands.

Huo Yuxi and her team's placement match was held in a separately designated area. Apart from the proctor, there was no one else there.

The contrast was rather pitiful.

But she had adjusted her mindset and did not think there was anything wrong with it. She even had the leisure to discuss the finals next door with the Soul Devouring Spider in her arms.

"Spider, do you think Brother and the others have a chance of winning the championship?"

Do you want the truth, or...?

"Of course I want the truth!" Huo Yuxi lowered her head to look at it. "Where did you learn to talk like that? You used to be so well-behaved. Did you sneak off somewhere and learn bad habits behind my back?"

Don't humans talk about 'white lies'? Of course I wanted you to choose for yourself.

Huo Yuxi lifted the spider plushie and gave it a stern lecture before saying, "You can't learn bad things, understand? A good spider should act like a good spider."

While she verbally assaulted it, the Soul Devouring Spider chose to remain silent. Only after she had finished did it answer her earlier question.

You wanted the truth, so... their chances of winning are less than twenty percent.

After finding a comfortable position in Huo Yuxi's arms, it began its analysis. Your brother's side only has an advantage in having Twin Martial Souls and a second soul ring that has reached the thousand-year level.

But Dai Huabin possesses a top-tier beast martial soul and is already a Soul Elder. His other two teammates are both Soul Grandmasters. He and Zhu Lu may even have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. They simply can't compare.

Your brother's Soul Shock is quite powerful too, but the tournament has gone on for so long. Your brother has used it who knows how many times, so they will definitely be on guard against it.

If they want to win the championship, it will take a miracle.

To be honest, after hearing that, Huo Yuxi's heart sank completely. But she was unwilling to let Dai Huabin take the championship.

"But doesn't my brother have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Wang Dong too? Teacher Wang Yan said their martial souls were perfectly compatible. Its power must be even stronger, so why can't they win the championship?"

The Soul Devouring Spider pondered for a moment. If it comes down to a clash between the two Martial Soul Fusion Skills, your brother has a chance of winning. I'm just afraid neither side will last until then.

At the same time, in the spectator stands.

Most people shared the Soul Devouring Spider's opinion. Only two people were exceptions: Fan Yu and Qian Duoduo, the Vice Dean of the Soul Tool Hall.

Qian Duoduo had even made a bet with Yan Shaozhe.

"You won't choose core disciples, nor students below the second year who have reached Rank 30 or above?" Yan Shaozhe looked skeptical. "You take quite a few students like that every year. Do you still need to come make a bet with me?"

"Don't even mention it. We recruit plenty of students, but very few are suitable." Qian Duoduo propped up his face with one hand. "Kids these days simply don't understand the Soul Tool Department. They rule us out without even considering us."

"You know about our plan. Manufacturers aren't the only ones who matter; we also need suitable users."

"Every time I come here to ask you for people, you act like I'm trying to steal your mother. You won't even let me pick."

"Fine!"

In the end, both sides felt they had gotten the better deal, and the bet was happily settled. Yan Shaozhe did not notice the burning gaze Qian Duoduo had fixed on Huo Yuhao.

Listening to the two big shots bicker from behind them, Du Weilun only felt that all his illusions about them had shattered...

Huo Yuxi's match was not as formal as Huo Yuhao's, so it began as soon as everyone had arrived.

After both sides announced their names, the match officially began.

In this match, Luo Ling took the lead in attacking, while Huo Yuxi and Lu Wanwan supported her.

Whether the opposing team had yet to recover or something else was wrong, they were not in good condition. After more than half an hour of fighting, Luo Ling ended the match with a single second soul skill.

They successfully claimed third place in the end.

"Wanwan, can we go watch their match?"

Huo Yuxi was very worried. Although she wanted to believe in Huo Yuhao, she had to admit that Dai Huabin and the others were indeed a level stronger.

Against opponents like them, Huo Yuhao and the others might not even be able to ensure their own safety, let alone win.

"No." Lu Wanwan ruthlessly shattered her hopes. "To protect the privacy of students' skills, the academy prohibits other students from watching the matches."

"Don't worry too much. Doesn't your brother's team still have a secret weapon? Teacher Zhou looked utterly shocked last time, so the power of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill should be considerable."

"Mm."

To keep her from overthinking, Luo Ling and Lu Wanwan decided to take her out to explore Shrek City.

"Xixi, you definitely haven't explored Shrek City before, right? Once we're assigned to classes later, we definitely won't have time to go out and play. Let's take a look around!"

When she first arrived, Huo Yuxi had not carefully examined her surroundings. This time, once she came out, she discovered that Soul Tools had been fully integrated into everyday life throughout Shrek City.

Whether at the Duke's Mansion or after entering Shrek Academy, this was the first time she had properly gone shopping.

Everything she saw felt novel to her. She could even stand around for a long time watching old women bargain over their purchases.

Both Luo Ling and Lu Wanwan felt as though they had taken a child out with them.

Merchants of every sort came and went through Shrek City. None of the three noticed the scrawny man behind them staring intently at them.

Lu Wanwan and Luo Ling clearly carried the bearing of members of great families and did not look easy to provoke. But Huo Yuxi was different. At a glance, he could tell she was a foolish child who rarely went out. He could probably trick her with just a few words.

Girls like her were highly sought after these days. There were plenty of wealthy people with unusual tastes, especially for someone like Huo Yuxi, who looked like a porcelain doll. Once he finished this job, he could probably retire outright.

The Soul Devouring Spider naturally had the ability to conceal Soul Power, so he had not noticed that Huo Yuxi was actually a soul master as well.

Xixi, there's an ugly thing behind us, the Soul Devouring Spider reminded her, thinking she had not noticed because she was listening so intently.

Huo Yuxi glanced back from the corner of her eye and saw that he was only a Soul Grandmaster. She did not take him seriously and continued browsing the strange and curious items in other shops.

By the time she came back to herself, she was standing before a massive building more than twenty meters tall. From the outside, it looked resplendent in gold and jade, like a treasure bowl.