Seeing the rankings, Huo Yuhao guiltily edged backward.
But in the next instant, Jiang Yuheng and Wang Dong's friendly figures appeared in front of him almost simultaneously.
"This is what you called good luck?" Wang Dong narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, making it impossible to tell how she felt.
"Huo Yuhao, you're something else! There are only three teams in the whole match, and you pulled two of them right away. What, are you trying to play Match-3?!" Jiang Yuheng patted him on the shoulder with one hand and asked with a beaming smile.
"Th-this, you two, listen to my excuse—no, listen to my explanation first!"
"Think about it from my perspective. There are only three teams in total, and I got two with one draw. Isn't that luck in its own way?"
As he spoke, Huo Yuhao's expression grew more and more aggrieved, as if he were about to cry.
This really was not the result he wanted. He did not know what had happened either!
In the spectator stands, when Zhou Yi saw Area 8's match order and participating teams, her relaxed brows immediately furrowed again.
She had not expected her class's Seed Team to have such terrible luck. Not only had they encountered a Soul Elder team, they had run into two of them at once.
She did not know whether to praise them for being lucky or for being lucky to the extreme.
"Teacher Zhou, are you looking for your class's Seed Team? I just looked over the draws, and what a coincidence. The Seed Team you selected happened to be matched against our class's Seed Team."
"Take a guess—which side will win?"
A female teacher who looked to be in her thirties walked over to Zhou Yi and spoke with a soft laugh.
Zhou Yi adjusted her glasses. "Mu Jin, you think your students have already won?"
Mu Jin was not young, but she was undoubtedly still a beautiful and youthful woman. Smiling, she shook her head. "Not necessarily. Nothing is absolute. But I heard that there isn't even a single student above Rank 30 in your class. What a shame."
Zhou Yi's expression remained indifferent. "Did you come here to provoke me?"
Mu Jin kept smiling, but her tone had turned extremely cold. "So what if I did? Isn't your class supposed to have the best results? I'd like to see how many students you taught can make it into the top eight!"
"Oh, I almost forgot. After the draw ended, I noticed that our class's Seed Team happened to meet yours. I hope Teacher Zhou's team doesn't get eliminated too early. Otherwise, how boring would that be~"
The grudge between the two had not begun just yesterday. Ever since Mu Jin's younger brother had been expelled without mercy by Zhou Yi, their already poor relationship had completely fallen apart.
From then on, they had remained at each other's throats, with Mu Jin especially relentless in her provocations.
Zhou Yi could not be bothered to respond to her. It was a waste of time.
But this time, a rare gleam flashed through Zhou Yi's eyes, and the corners of her lips curled up faintly. "Want to make a bet?"
Mu Jin's original goal had been to anger and humiliate Zhou Yi. Without giving it any thought, she immediately agreed. "Fine. What are you using to bet against me?"
Zhou Yi slowly said, "A Spirit Bone. Do you dare?"
"A Spirit Bone?!" Mu Jin's pupils suddenly contracted when she heard those words.
Spirit Bones were a hundred times more precious than Spirit Rings, and only Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were guaranteed to produce one.
A Spirit Bone's greatest function was to grant a Spirit Master an additional spirit skill while improving the Spirit Master's physical qualities and various attributes to the greatest extent possible.
Without exaggeration, any Spirit Bone would inevitably spark a scramble among Spirit Masters.
Was Zhou Yi going all in and staking everything against her? Where did she get such confidence?
Seeing her reaction, disdain rippled across Zhou Yi's lips. "If you're scared, stay away from me."
A sharp light flashed in Mu Jin's eyes. "Fine, then let's bet! If I lose, I'll give you a Spirit Bone. If you lose, you'll have Fan Yu forge a close-body Soul Tool for me."
"What does this have to do with Fan Yu?"
Before Mu Jin could speak, a deep voice rang out. A tall figure had somehow appeared beside Zhou Yi.
"Fine. I'll agree on her behalf."
The moment she saw Fan Yu, Mu Jin's earlier arrogance completely vanished, and her voice became somewhat aggrieved. "You're joining forces with her to bully me."
Fan Yu's expression remained calm, though his brows were slightly furrowed. "You were the one making trouble first. If you want to bet, then bet. If you don't, stop bothering Zhou Yi. As for you and me, we are merely colleagues. Nothing more."
"Bet? Why wouldn't I bet? Losing to her doesn't mean my students will lose to hers!" Mu Jin suddenly turned around and tightly gripped the railing beside the platform, her eyes already misty.
Her gaze also shifted toward the match grounds in the Assessment Area.
"Why did you suddenly come over?" Zhou Yi returned to her usual tone and asked quietly.
"To take a look at the future Core Disciple of our Soul Engineering Department," Fan Yu replied with a smile.
"A Core Disciple? Who is it?" Zhou Yi asked in confusion.
Fan Yu shook his head. "The higher-ups gave the order. It's confidential, and I'm not allowed to reveal it."
Zhou Yi fell into thought. If it had not been a strict order, Fan Yu would never have kept it from her.
In the competition area, aside from Jiang Yuheng, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were extremely nervous. This was their first time facing Three-Ring Spirit Elders, and the pressure was anything but ordinary.
Across from them stood three pretty young girls, also dressed in New Student Uniforms. However, their gazes were filled with contempt. They did not even spare Jiang Yuheng's team a glance, showing none of the basic respect owed to opponents.
At Shrek Academy, this was perfectly normal. They had higher Soul Power and greater strength, so they indeed had the right to look down on everything.
"Hey, Jiang Yuheng, stop spacing out. Say something about the strategy already. We can't just charge in like this!" Wang Dong leaned closer and asked in a low voice.
"The strategy is the same as before. There's no need to change it," Jiang Yuheng said.
"What do you mean, the same strategy? Have you turned into an idiot? They're a Soul Elder team. If we don't change our strategy, we'll be the ones who lose!" Wang Dong said anxiously.
She truly could not understand what kind of mental fortitude this fool possessed to remain so calm and natural.
What Wang Dong did not know was that Jiang Yuheng was so calm entirely because the opposing Soul Elder was a support-type Spirit Master, not a Battle Spirit Master.
As long as they coordinated their tactics properly and knocked her out, there would be no problem.
To put Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao at ease, Jiang Yuheng told them this crucial information and explained their on-field tactics.
After hearing him out, Huo Yuhao nodded thoughtfully and began considering how to use his spirit skills to restrain the opponents as effectively as possible.
Wang Dong looked deeply skeptical. "Really? You've been with me these past few days. When did you have time to gather intelligence?"
Jiang Yuheng smiled indulgently. "Wang Dong, you're hopelessly stupid. Since when did gathering information require doing it yourself? Can't I pay someone to do it?"
Wang Dong curled her lips and quietly took several steps back. Then, without hesitation, she directly kicked Jiang Yuheng in the butt.
"You're the idiot! Your whole family is made of idiots!"
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