Core Disciple

Upon returning to the academy, Huo Yuxi heard the loudspeaker at the entrance repeatedly announcing, "Congratulations to Huo Yuhao's team for winning the freshman assessment tournament championship."

"Yay! The championship still belongs to our Class One!" Huo Yuxi was delighted. Rounding up, the championship still belonged to them.

On the way back to the dormitory, she felt as if she were walking on air. Although she had not claimed the final victory herself, the battles of the past few days had given her a great experience.

She would just treat it as gaining practical combat experience.

"Xixi, where are you coming back from?" Xiao Xiao's voice came from ahead. The moment Huo Yuxi saw her, she rushed into her arms like a fledgling bird returning to its nest and clung to her fiercely.

"You were all amazing—you won the championship! Hurry up and tell me, was Daquan furious to death?" Huo Yuxi pictured Dai Huabin's face twisting with rage and laughed out loud.

"Yeah." Xiao Xiao pinched her chubby cheeks. "It's all your fault. After what you said in the dormitory, I couldn't stop looking at him the moment I got on the field. He probably thought I had a crush on him."

Dai Huabin's appearance surfaced in her mind, and Xiao Xiao could not help laughing again. "But honestly, it really was an incredibly accurate description."

The two of them were speaking nonsense to everyone else. Huo Yuhao looked at Huo Yuxi and asked, "Who is Daquan?"

"Daquan is Dai Huabin!" Huo Yuxi did not think there was anything wrong with that. She already wanted to kill him, so the fact that she could restrain herself to merely giving him such a respectable nickname was already quite impressive.

"Why call him that?" Wang Dong did not understand. What did it have to do with anything?

"Because he has a middle part, and when he uses his soul skill, there's a 'king' on his forehead!" Huo Yuxi vividly swept aside the hair over her forehead and pointed at it.

Wang Dong draped an arm over her shoulders and could not stop herself from laughing. "You're a genius!"

Once they made that connection, they could never unsee it. The more they thought about it, the funnier it became.

Huo Yuhao pulled Wang Dong's hand away. "Just talk. Don't get so handsy."

Wang Dong shot him an annoyed glare but did not say anything more. Huo Yuxi hurriedly changed the subject. "Brother, the competition is over. Are we selling grilled fish today? We haven't had any in ages."

"We're not selling any tonight. We'll go out into the wilderness with Teacher Tang Ya and the others, and I'll make some just for you."

Tang Ya led everyone to a place perfectly suited for grilling fish, where even the tools were readily available.

As soon as the grilled fish was ready, Huo Yuxi was the first to offer some to the two companions who had never tried it before. She stared at them eagerly. "Well? How is it?"

Anyone who did not know better would have thought she had grilled the fish herself, judging by how impatient she was to receive praise.

"Mhm, it's super delicious!" Lu Wanwan was very cooperative, praising it as she ate.

Satisfied, Huo Yuxi quickly started eating too. After everyone had eaten their fill, Tang Ya finally remembered the important matter and turned to Wang Dong. "Wang Dong, do you still want to join the Tang Sect?"

"Of course." Wang Dong put down the grilled fish in her hand, her expression serious.

"Good!" After welcoming her into the sect, Tang Ya turned her attention to Xiao Xiao. "Xiao Xiao, are you interested? Do you want to join us too?"

"The Tang Sect?" Xiao Xiao blinked and looked sincerely at Tang Ya.

"That's right, the Tang Sect. Did you see the special movement technique Yuhao used during the competition? That's one of our Tang Sect's ultimate techniques. If you join us, we'll teach it to you too. What do you think?"

"Okay." Thinking of the dazzling movement technique Huo Yuhao had used in battle, Xiao Xiao agreed without hesitation.

"Then I want to learn too!" Huo Yuxi hurriedly spoke up. She had not been very interested in it before, but now that Xiao Xiao would be with her, she felt motivated again.

"No problem. We'll teach all of you later."

Tang Ya had actually wanted to invite Luo Ling and Lu Wanwan as well, but they were not very familiar with each other. The two girls were also both reserved, so there was no topic to start with. She simply gave up on the idea.

"By the way, do any of you want to learn how to make Soul Tools?" Tang Ya's gaze moved from one person to the next. "If the Tang Sect wants to rise again, we definitely need to revive hidden weapons. But we cannot keep wrapping ourselves in a cocoon like before. We need innovation—combining hidden weapons with Soul Tools."

Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong both felt that cultivating their martial souls was more important and were not very interested in learning Soul Tool crafting. But Huo Yuhao had a different idea.

"Since Soul Tools can replace the Tang Sect's hidden weapons as the weapons most valued by every nation on the continent, they must have something extraordinary about them. Teacher Tang Ya, if I have the talent, I want to give it a try."

"Yuhao, you really want to?" Tang Ya's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful. Your martial soul is spiritual in nature and lacks offensive power. With Soul Tools to support you, that weakness can be covered up."

"And your Spirit Eyes martial soul is so precise when it comes to controlling heat. You definitely have talent for it!"

Bei Bei took her hand and sat down, reminding Huo Yuhao, "But Yuhao, you must manage your time properly as well. Don't place too much emphasis on cultivating Soul Tools. Soul Power cultivation is still the foundation for us soul masters."

"The more powerful a Soul Tool is, the more Soul Power it requires to activate. You still need sufficient Soul Power yourself."

"I understand." After Zhou Yi had taken him to learn about Soul Tools once before, Huo Yuhao had become even more certain of the path he wanted to take in the future.

Even if he lacked talent, he would still learn the relevant knowledge of Soul Tools. He knew exactly how powerful the enemies he would face in the future for revenge were. He would not let go of any resource he could make use of.

Tang Ya added at this point, "However, even if you want to learn, you might not necessarily get the opportunity. One of the mandatory rewards for the freshman assessment is the status of an Outer Court core disciple. That status means the academy will invest more resources in you to help you become stronger soul masters. They likely will not agree to let you divide your attention by taking elective courses in the Soul Tool Department."

"Core disciple?" Huo Yuhao murmured softly.

Hearing his voice, a trace of worry flashed through Bei Bei's eyes. He hoped he was overthinking things.

The next day.

The weather was clear, with not a cloud in the sky. Xiao Xiao opened the window and breathed in the fresh air outside. Huo Yuxi lay sprawled across her bed, a Soul Devouring Spider plushie covering the back of her head. The two girls were both sleeping soundly.

"All freshmen, please gather at Shrek Plaza. All freshmen, please gather at Shrek Plaza." The loudspeaker in the plaza issued the announcement in its distinctive voice. To ensure that students still in their dormitories would know, the owl alarm clocks began broadcasting as well.

"Xixi, get up. It's time for us to go."

Huo Yuxi pulled the Soul Devouring Spider off herself and rubbed her head. She had felt signs of another breakthrough last night and had stayed up cultivating until after three in the morning. Her Soul Power had now reached Rank 33.

Not long after everyone had assembled, Du Weilun came onto the stage with more than a dozen teachers. He held a folder in his hand and swept his smiling gaze across the high-spirited students before saying:

"The elimination rounds of the freshman assessment have also come to an end. Next, I will announce the top three teams and their rewards."

"Third place goes to Huo Yuxi's team, whose members are Huo Yuxi, Luo Ling, and Lu Wanwan. Second place goes to Dai Huabin's team, whose members are Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie." At this point, he paused as if deliberately building suspense. "Next is the champion of our elimination rounds: Wang Dong's team. Please come onto the stage in order."