Everything happened too fast. From the moment Mo Yuan released his Martial Soul to the moment Huo Yuhao fell, only an instant had passed. But it was not until Huo Yuhao hit the ground and the Spiritual Probe Sharing effect vanished that Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao recovered from their shock.
Before either of them could act, Mo Yuan's figure flickered and disappeared right before Wang Dong's astonished eyes. When he appeared again, he was already behind Xiao Xiao.
His speed was terrifying. Even more terrifying was that Mo Yuan had not used the Word Spirit Moment or Time Zero. He had relied solely on the physical abilities of an S-rank mixed-blood.
The instant she spotted Mo Yuan, Wang Dong spun around and retreated, shouting to Xiao Xiao,
"Xiao Xiao, watch out! Get out of the way!"
Unfortunately, her warning came too late. Before Xiao Xiao could move, she felt a sudden numbness at the side of her neck. Darkness surged into her vision from all sides like a rising tide.
With a thud, Xiao Xiao collapsed unconscious.
Silence. Deathly silence. Every gaze in the assessment area was fixed on Mo Yuan. Nobody said a word, but their faintly trembling pupils said everything.
With nothing but the release of his Martial Soul, he had immediately crushed Huo Yuhao, whose Body Martial Soul possessed the Mental Attribute. From his first move to knocking out Xiao Xiao, a Soul Grandmaster, it had taken no more than the blink of an eye.
As they recalled those two scenes that had just unfolded, the students waiting to fight below—and all the students watching from around the perimeter—could not help but entertain the same thought.
This was only a New Student Assessment, where there were limits on how they could fight. But what if they were out in the wilderness?
If they faced Mo Yuan, would they end up like Xiao Xiao, cut down from behind before they could even figure out what was happening?
The students seemed to picture something terrifying. They shuddered in unison, and when they looked at Mo Yuan, their eyes were filled with awe.
"Are you still going to resist?"
Mo Yuan asked Wang Dong, who was trembling slightly some distance away. He certainly would not go easy on the daughter of the Tang Godking the way he had on Xiao Xiao.
If she still wanted to fight under these circumstances, then as an Anti-Tang Fighter, Mo Yuan could only teach her a lesson on behalf of Tang San about why "those who know when to yield are the wisest."
At his words, Wang Dong—who had been planning to concede—suddenly felt a nameless anger flare inside her. In particular, the utterly indifferent look Mo Yuan gave her, as if she were nothing more than an ant, deeply wounded her pride.
As the daughter of a God King and the possessor of Twin Martial Souls, she had been born to stand above everyone else. One day, she was destined to look down on them all.
No one could look down on her. No one could treat her as weak. Not before, not in the future, and certainly not now!
"So what if you're a Soul Ancestor? We won't know who wins until we fight!"
As she spoke, Wang Dong's trembling gradually subsided. She pointed at Mo Yuan, who was watching her in silence, and said fervently,
"You think you can make me surrender without a fight? That's impossible! We won't know who wins until we've fought! If I don't try, how can I know I can't win?"
Wang Dong's fiery declaration struck a chord with the many students watching. After all, at their age, they were at their most chuunibyou.
"Good! Well said!"
"Exactly! We won't know who wins until we fight!"
"..."
As the students cheered in agreement, the atmosphere grew increasingly strange. Mo Yuan seemed like the great villain in a story, while Wang Dong was the protagonist, destined to fight her way through every obstacle and defeat him by unlocking some hidden power.
Unfortunately, this was Douluo Continent, not a story about a brave hero. A gap in strength could not be made up with a few words—unless she could call her dad over...
Looking at Wang Dong, who was fired up and seemed ready to fight him to the end, Mo Yuan felt a little helpless. He shook his head slightly, then slowly clenched his right hand into a fist.
The next moment, Mo Yuan vanished from the spot again. Having already suffered once, Wang Dong reacted immediately and tried to turn around to guard against an attack from behind.
But as soon as she began to move, Mo Yuan had already appeared within two meters of her.
All Wang Dong saw next was Mo Yuan's right fist flying toward her, and his lips moving soundlessly as he said something.
When his fist was only inches from her face, Wang Dong suddenly understood what Mo Yuan had said.
One punch to shatter your fiery dream...
A thud rang out once more across the arena. Wang Dong's move of attacking Mo Yuan's fist with her face ended with her collapsing unconscious.
The match was over.
"Freshman Class One versus Newborn Class Nine. Newborn Class Nine wins!"
The referee in charge of Assessment Area One immediately announced the result. As his words rang out, silence fell over the arena once more.
The students who had been fired up and shouting for Wang Dong to beat him fell silent. And when Mo Yuan's gaze swept across them,
they all lowered their heads, as if afraid he would put them to sleep with one punch, just like Wang Dong.
It was not only the students who fell silent. Even the teachers on the elevated platform, all of whom were at least Soul Emperors, were stunned.
A Soul Ancestor and a Soul Grandmaster were two major realms apart, so it might seem as if a Soul Ancestor could defeat a Soul Grandmaster with a casual move.
But that was not the case. Below the Soul Saint realm, two major realms did create a considerable gap, but it was not an insurmountable chasm like the one between a Soul Saint and a Titled Douluo.
With outstanding personal ability and good teamwork, two or three Soul Grandmasters could defeat a Soul Ancestor. At the very least, it should not have been as effortless as what they had just witnessed.
Were Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, or even Huo Yuhao weak for Soul Grandmasters? The teachers certainly did not think so.
Then there seemed to be only one explanation for why even the best among Soul Grandmasters, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, had been defeated so quickly...
"Mo Yuan's true strength surpasses his Soul Power Level..."
Mu Jin murmured her guess, her expression startled. But she soon put her surprise aside. After all, a huge cause for celebration was right before her eyes.
"Zhou Yi, you saw it yourself. Your class lost to Mo Yuan's. According to our bet, you owe me a Soul Bone. As for your resignation, I hope you won't be anywhere in the academy the day after tomorrow."
Zhou Yi's expression darkened at once. She glared at Mo Yuan, who was surrounded by a crowd of female students fawning over him, then gave a cold snort and left without looking back.
Seeing this, Mu Jin felt much better. The pent-up frustration she had carried for years finally lifted. Du Weilun, who had been watching the match beside her, also quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He was about to announce the teams for the second match when a hand silently came to rest on his shoulder.
Du Weilun's heart jumped. He instinctively began to turn around and strike back, when a familiar cough sounded beside his ear.
At the sound, Du Weilun immediately relaxed.
"Headmaster?"
Thanks to the reader Yuan Yingtao for the monthly ticket, and thanks to the reader Meng Hui Yuan Luo for two monthly tickets and the reader Grand Archbishop's Blade for two monthly tickets.
Thanks to the reader Eri-ri Is the Cutest in the World for the 100 Qidian Coins tip.
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