The Tsundere "Flaw" and the Clash of Data

That afternoon, the exchange match between the new students and Core Disciples was held as scheduled.

The area around the venue buzzed with noise. Most of the new students had come to cheer for Huo Yuhao. In their eyes, he had already become a legend among the freshmen.

Ji Juechen and Jing Ziyan stood in an inconspicuous corner, like two detached spectators.

"Juechen, are you really not participating?" Jing Ziyan asked softly. With Ji Juechen's current strength, taking part in this kind of exchange match would be nothing less than a Dimensional Strike.

"Watch." Ji Juechen uttered only one word.

His gaze, like the most precise radar, remained firmly locked on Huo Yuhao in the center of the arena.

System, turn the Eye of Insight to maximum power and record all of Huo Yuhao's Data Streams during the battle in real time.

[Command confirmed. 'Eye of Insight' has entered overclock mode. Consumes Sword Intent Points x 200 per minute.]

The bell signaling the start of the match rang.

Huo Yuhao's opponent was a Four-Ring Soul Sect whose Martial Soul was the Earth Dragon Bear, renowned for its strength and defense.

"Kid, let me see what you've got!" The Soul Sect class monitor let out a roar. His first soul ring lit up, and a massive bear paw, carrying the howl of the wind, slammed toward Huo Yuhao.

Everyone broke into a cold sweat for Huo Yuhao.

Yet Huo Yuhao neither dodged nor retreated. Only a faint purple light flickered in his eyes.

[Target has activated first soul skill: 'Mental Probe Sharing'.]

A three-dimensional battlefield model immediately formed in Ji Juechen's mind. The Earth Dragon Bear's paw trajectory, the points where its strength converged, even every twitch of its muscles—all were clearly displayed as data.

Perfect prediction. But no matter how perfect the data is, the body still has to execute it.

Huo Yuhao's figure slid half a step sideways like a ghost, perfectly avoiding the bear paw's frontal strike. At the same time, he flicked his wrist, sending a streak of white light flying out.

"A hidden weapon?" The Soul Sect class monitor snorted disdainfully, covering himself with Soul Power.

But that white light was not a hidden weapon. It was a cloud of purple mist.

[Target has activated third soul skill: 'Group Weakness'.]

The purple mist spread instantly. The Soul Sect class monitor's movements visibly stalled, and both his strength and speed noticeably declined.

"Good chance!" Huo Yuhao's eyes sharpened as he prepared to press the attack.

At that moment, the system prompt sounded once more in Ji Juechen's mind.

[Ding! A new high-value target detected. Initiating Spirit Lock on 'Huo Yuhao'.]

Ji Juechen's gaze instinctively shifted toward the spectator stands.

There, a "young man" had risen to his feet. His incomparably handsome face bore a trace of tension and pride. He—she—clenched his fists tightly, while Spiritual Power surged from his golden eyes toward Huo Yuhao like a tide, seemingly providing him with some form of support.

Wang Dong... Goddess of Light Butterfly Martial Soul, Extreme Light attribute. His Spiritual Power is exceptionally pure, but its fluctuations are extremely unstable... filled with contradictory emotions.

[Ding! Detected the inner thoughts of target 'Wang Dong'. Generating snark material...]

['Damn it, Huo Yuhao is taking too much of a risk! Why doesn't he just use Golden Road? Idiot!']

['But he looked pretty cool when he dodged just now... No, Wang Dong, you can't let him fool you! You have to stay aloof!']

['That Earth Dragon Bear is so ugly. Huo Yuhao better not let it ruin his face...']

Ji Juechen: "..."

System, this is what you meant by 'an extremely rich inner world'? This... what is this? Split personality disorder?

[Ding! Complex emotions such as 'saying one thing and meaning another' and 'tsundere' detected. Target 'Wang Dong' has been rated 'SSS-grade' in snark value.]

The corner of Ji Juechen's lips once again curved into that barely noticeable arc. He discovered that analyzing this "young man" named Wang Dong seemed to be more interesting than analyzing Huo Yuhao's soul skills...

The battle on the field continued.

Seizing the moment when his opponent had been weakened, Huo Yuhao burst forward and thrust out both palms. Two streams of extreme cold surged forth.

[Target has activated first soul skill of second Martial Soul: 'Ice Empress's Claw'.]

"Boom!"

Extreme Ice collided violently with the Earth Dragon Bear's Soul Power barrier, producing a deafening explosion. Huo Yuhao was forced back several steps, while the Soul Sect class monitor's entire arm became covered in a layer of white frost, his movements turning incredibly stiff.

The outcome had been decided.

"I concede!" The Soul Sect class monitor admitted defeat wholeheartedly. He could not understand how a two-ring soul master could unleash such terrifying power.

Thunderous applause erupted across the venue.

Huo Yuhao stood in the center of the field, breathing lightly, a confident smile appearing on his face.

Meanwhile, Wang Dong in the spectator stands let out a heavy sigh of relief. A brilliant smile appeared on his face, entirely unlike his earlier "aloof" expression.

It's good that he won... Good that he won... Hmph, at least that guy didn't embarrass me.

Ji Juechen took all of it in.

He turned to Jing Ziyan and said, "Let's go."

"Where to?" Jing Ziyan was still not quite satisfied.

Ji Juechen did not answer. He merely headed toward the exit. His objective was clear.

Data collection complete. Now it's time for a precise offline test.

He walked straight toward Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who were preparing to leave.

The moment Huo Yuhao saw him, his gaze became wary. The sensation of being seen through yesterday remained fresh in his memory.

Wang Dong stepped in front of Huo Yuhao instead, sizing Ji Juechen up and down. He lifted his chin arrogantly. "What do you want?"

Ji Juechen ignored him. Instead, he fixed his eyes on Huo Yuhao and spoke in his eternally cold tone, words that left both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stunned.

"Your Mental Probe Sharing has seven nodes that can be disrupted."

"Your Group Weakness has an effective range three percent smaller than you think."

"And you," he finally looked at Wang Dong, "your Spiritual Power is very noisy."

Having said that, he did not linger. Together with Jing Ziyan, he brushed past the two of them.

Only Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong remained standing there in a daze, their faces filled with shock and horror.

Huo Yuhao's heart sank to the bottom.

This person... how did he know?! Every word he said was like a scalpel, piercing precisely into the core of my abilities!

He was not guessing. He... truly knew!