Zhou Yi clearly didn't give the student from another class so much as a second glance. Huo Yuhao wasn't offended. He'd already heard from Qiu'er and Wang Dong what kind of person this teacher was, so he'd been prepared.
"Now go and work on your teamwork." Zhou Yi's tone was unusually stern. "Your team's goal is to win the championship. If you don't..."
She didn't spell out the consequences, but the cold glint beneath her glasses made her meaning clear.
She'd never liked either Chi Qiu or Wang Dong. To her, obedient students were far better than talented ones.
What's more, those two had the whole class quietly going against her! And now, someone with a ten-year Soul Ring as his first had been shoved onto their team. There was no way she'd be nice to them.
At her words, Wang Dong seemed more relieved than anything. "Then we can go, right?"
As soon as she'd finished speaking, the three of them seemed to share a single thought and slipped out of the classroom.
It wasn't until they were outside the teaching building that Huo Yuhao finally let some of his excitement show. "I was just wondering what we'd do if we ran into Qiu'er's team. I'd even started coming up with tactics, and then I suddenly realized all that work was for nothing."
Chi Qiu asked calmly, "What tactics did you come up with against me?"
"I've already forgotten!" Huo Yuhao immediately changed the subject. "But based on how our class is divided into teams and the makeup of ours, I did come up with another simple, blunt tactic."
Wang Dong chuckled. "Yuhao's already come up with a tactic this quickly. We should just register as Team Huo Yuhao. That'd make that old hag furious!"
"Agreed," Chi Qiu said.
Wang Dong instantly got into character. "Captain Huo, your orders—"
"You two..." Huo Yuhao was rather exasperated. Still, he couldn't deny that being made the captain had left a tiny, sweet feeling in his heart.
This must be what it feels like to be accepted, he thought.
He turned to look at Chi Qiu, and she was already looking at him. A sudden smile crossed his face. "All right, then. I'll start laying out our tactics!"
The day of the assessment arrived.
Though Zhou Yi was unwilling to admit it, Team Huo Yuhao was indeed the seed team for her Freshman Class One. When she received the member information form Chi Qiu had submitted and saw the words "Team Huo Yuhao," her blood pressure shot up. Still, there wasn't much she could say.
Shrek Academy had picked a fine day for the assessment. The sun hid behind a thin layer of white clouds, making the sky neither glaring nor gloomy.
All the teams competing in Area Thirty-Three stood in rows in front of a teacher. He wore black-framed glasses and looked to be in his forties. With his gentle, refined, quintessentially scholarly appearance, he was currently reminding everyone of the assessment rules.
"Now that everyone understands, let's begin." The teacher named Wang Yan opened the folder in his hands. "First team, Team Huo Yuhao of Freshman Class One, take the field and stand by."
This was where the golden storm that swept through the arena began.
As soon as they took the field, Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, looking as if he planned to meditate right there. Wang Dong was even more brazen. She dragged a little stool over from the sidelines and sat down, looking every bit like a spectator enjoying the show.
Chi Qiu leisurely walked to the front of the team and announced their names in a cool, emotionless voice.
"Freshman Class One. Chi Qiu, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong."
At the referee's command, Chi Qiu leaped forward like a golden dragon. Two Soul Rings lit up in succession.
First Soul Skill, Golden Dragon Body.
Second Soul Skill, Dragon's Strength.
The two enhancement skills stacked instantly, raising her physical toughness and strength far beyond the level of anyone her age. After that, all she had to do was use her fists to knock every opponent out of the arena.
No one had expected the first match to end so quickly.
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, a flicker of blue-green light passing over the corners before vanishing in an instant.
He'd closed his eyes to hide the way they shone when he activated his Martial Soul. As for his Soul Ring, he'd deliberately concealed it beneath Wang Dong's stool.
That way, it looked as if Chi Qiu had defeated everyone by herself, while Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had simply watched the show.
And it wasn't just that match. Nearly all the matches that followed played out the same way.
Since both of Chi Qiu's Soul Skills enhanced her directly, her strategy was completely straightforward. I'll activate my Soul Skills right in front of you. You'll know they're enhancements. So what can you do about it?
Now that you know what my Soul Skills do, you still have to let me knock you out!
She hadn't even used her Golden Dragon Spear yet!
That was also why Huo Yuhao had chosen Chi Qiu as their main attacker. It didn't matter if her Soul Skills were exposed. But Soul Skills as distinctive as his and Wang Dong's could be studied and countered.
By the time they'd finished all the matches before the final, Wang Dong had only fought twice.
The first time, they faced the Lan Sisters' fusion skill. When Huo Yuhao saw that things weren't going well, he immediately used Spiritual Detection to point out the sisters' location to Wang Dong.
Soul Masters using a Martial Soul Fusion Skill were very vulnerable in their original forms. Wang Dong got up from her stool and even rubbed her legs before sweeping out her Butterfly Wings. In the blink of an eye, she'd reached the Lan Sisters, grabbed one by the collar in each hand, and tossed the two girls, who were nearly at their limit, out of the competition area.
They'd spent too much Soul Power. After Chi Qiu was trapped by their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, she realized that it blocked the outside world from seeing what she was doing. So she immediately unleashed her Ultimate Fire!
How could their hair possibly withstand that? The Lan Sisters had lost most of their Soul Power to Chi Qiu's flames. They couldn't resist at all when Wang Dong grabbed them by the collars. The moment she lifted them into the air, their Martial Soul Fusion Skill collapsed, and both sisters passed out.
That left Huang Chutian alone. Chi Qiu knocked him off the platform with a heavy punch.
The second time was against Ning Tian's team. Drawing on the little knowledge he'd gained recently, Huo Yuhao instructed Wang Dong to catch Ning Tian off guard with a surprise attack.
But Ning Tian had prepared thoroughly against Wang Dong's speed this time. Wu Feng was assigned to clash head-on with Chi Qiu, while Nanmen Yun'er kept watch for Wang Dong.
After all, Wang Dong was an agility-type Soul Master who'd only started making up for lost time recently. Even at full speed, she still couldn't match a true agility-type Soul Master.
However, Huo Yuhao had hidden his Soul Ring so well earlier that Ning Tian's team had paid too little attention to him. That was their first mistake.
Seeing that Wang Dong was having trouble getting through, Huo Yuhao was the first to use Spiritual Interference. Nanmen Yun'er hesitated for an instant, slowing down, and he immediately took aim at the opening and unleashed a Soul Shock at Ning Tian!
He hadn't put his full strength into that Soul Shock. After all, he was now at level twenty, and his Spiritual Power had already reached a level far beyond that of his peers. If he'd gone all out, Ning Tian's Sea of Consciousness might have suffered irreparable damage.
Even with his restraint, the blow nearly made Ning Tian lose consciousness. At the same time, a dull thud sounded on the other side of the field: Chi Qiu had knocked Wu Feng out of the arena with her bare hands.
Ning Tian's team's second mistake was thinking Wu Feng could take on Chi Qiu head-on.
Even with the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's support, Wu Feng had only barely managed to hold her own against Chi Qiu. Once Ning Tian was hit, Wu Feng could no longer stand up to her at all. It was a clear example of just how astonishing the boost from the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda could be.
Ning Tian had thought that since she hadn't been knocked out, she could still order Nanmen Yun'er to keep fighting. But while the latter was dazed, Wang Dong had already flown right up to her.
Wang Dong's flight path looked rational and precise. She'd even taken the flow of Soul Power into account, giving her flight a stark beauty that the spectators couldn't help but notice. The next second, Wang Dong grabbed the still-weak Ning Tian and easily tossed her out of the arena.
Huo Yuhao had marked out the route in the images provided by Spiritual Detection Sharing.
By now, he'd learned how to make marks directly in the shared vision using his Spiritual Power. It was practically a babysitter-level ability. With him guiding them, Soul Masters could move through the battlefield as easily as if there were signposts everywhere.
Once Chi Qiu and Wang Dong closed in on Nanmen Yun'er together, there was no suspense left in the match.
And Xie Huanyue's team?
Miss Qiu took on all three and finished them in seconds.
Xie Huanyue's Martial Soul was powerful, but going head-to-head with a Golden Dragon was a sign of excessive confidence in his own strength. The teams before his had already begun looking for ways to get around Chi Qiu and take out the two "spectators" behind her first. He'd still planned to charge straight in, so getting eliminated was his only possible outcome.
Still, Xie Huanyue was quite strong. With two enhancements stacked, Chi Qiu had surprisingly failed to gain much of an advantage with her bare hands. She only managed to knock him off the platform after bringing out the Golden Dragon Spear.
Xie Huanyue's Martial Soul could only be broken through with an Ultimate Attribute or extreme sharpness, and her Dragon Spear happened to possess an Ultimate Attribute.
Huo Yuhao also hit Xie Huanyue with two Soul Shocks during the match, while Wang Dong waited for an opening nearby. His Martial Soul really was difficult to deal with, and Huo Yuhao had noticed as much. He didn't want Qiu'er to suffer an injury she could've avoided just because they'd been careless.
Aside from those few matches, the rest had been swept through quickly. The three members of Zhou Sichen's team had some unusual Martial Souls, but overwhelming force beat every fancy trick.
When the semifinals were over, Huo Yuhao glanced up at the viewing stands. Sure enough, Zhou Yi, Xuan Zi, and Dean Yan all had the same look in their eyes.
This kid's lucky he made it onto this team. Otherwise, who knows if he'd even pass? Their opponents in the final have no weak links, while this team does. They'll probably have a hard time winning.
Only Wang Yan had realized that Huo Yuhao must have been contributing even with his eyes closed. His occasional glances at their opponents had probably meant he was using his skills, too. But this theoretical expert was only a senior teacher. His words carried little weight in front of people like Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe.
Huo Yuhao looked away. He hadn't seemed to do anything, after all, so it was only natural that people underestimated him. If they gave the final everything they had, the teachers would have to change their minds.
He took a step toward the exit, but Wang Dong suddenly slapped him on the shoulder. He nearly twisted his ankle. Turning around as if annoyed, he asked, "What are you doing, Wang Dong?"
"Sorry, sorry." Wang Dong quickly jumped away. "I just wanted to ask how you feel about the Martial Soul Fusion Skill now."
After fighting the Lan Sisters, all three of them had felt how powerful a Martial Soul Fusion Skill could be. Huo Yuhao had said then that having such a weapon on their team would make their matches much easier.
They decided to try it right away. They headed to the same familiar spot in the woods and planned to test each possible pairing. They hadn't expected much—Martial Soul Fusion Skills were hard to come by! If they managed to produce even one through trial and error, it would be a huge win.
They decided to test Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu first. The connection formed by the Attribute Link might make it easier for them to fuse. In fact, their Soul Power did merge to a certain extent, but they still fell short of achieving a Martial Soul Fusion. After failing, they guessed it was because Huo Yuhao didn't have a Beast Martial Soul.
But when Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong tried, something unexpected happened.
At first, their fusion seemed astonishingly complete. But it lasted only a few seconds before Wang Dong let go as if she'd been shocked. She slid down against a tree trunk and sat on the ground, her face deathly pale and her eyes tightly shut. She dug her fingers into her scalp, clenching so hard her knuckles turned white.
After calling to Wang Dong again and again without getting a response, Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu had no choice but to take her to the school infirmary. The doctor examined her for a long time but couldn't find anything wrong. He only noticed a slight difference in her Soul Power fluctuations, so he told Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu that it might be a case of Soul Power disorder caused by forcing a Martial Soul Fusion.
After that, Chi Qiu didn't dare try to fuse with Wang Dong again, afraid it might trigger her condition another time.
In truth, that decision had saved them. If they'd attempted a Martial Soul Fusion, the power within Wang Dong would have stirred the Soul Fragment Chi Qiu had temporarily sealed away.
In Wang Dong's dream, as she lay unconscious, she found herself in a place wreathed in clouds and mist. Golden motes of light faintly filled the air, while a pure-white building shimmered into view in the distance. With every breath, she could feel the abundant energy of heaven and earth.
It was a paradise, yet for some reason, Wang Dong felt afraid in her dream.
She saw a little girl who looked seven parts like her. The girl was crying out.
"Daddy, why does Xiao Qi's head hurt so much..."
"Be good, Xiao Qi. It won't hurt anymore once you get used to it. This is very important to Daddy. Will you help Daddy?"
Wang Dong felt a primal fear crawl up her spine and into her mind. It was like the fear of watching herself be born, the fear of staring at the very beginning of her own life.
Wait, what... what was my name again?
"Wang Dong!"
"Wang Dong!"
A familiar voice suddenly rang in her ears.
She jolted awake from the beautiful nightmare, and her head began to throb violently.
"She's awake." A familiar, cool female voice came from above her. Wang Dong struggled to open her eyes and saw the black and golden hair that made her feel safe.
"I never expected that forcing a Martial Soul Fusion would have side effects this severe... No wonder the teacher said that those who can fuse are connected by blood or are each other's closest and dearest. I'm sorry, Wang Dong."
Huo Yuhao's voice trembled as he said it, and he looked deeply remorseful.
"I think there's more to it," Chi Qiu said. "The last time we went to the Soul Tool Department, you had a headache then, too. Wang Dong, is there some hidden condition we don't know about? Or has this happened to you before?"
"No." Wang Dong shook her head on the bed. "If we count the time at the Soul Tool Department, it's only happened twice. I don't know..."
"All right." Huo Yuhao went to the hot-water jug by the bed and poured her a cup. "Drink some water and get some rest. Don't think about it anymore. We can fight the remaining matches as usual."
Chi Qiu nodded, too. "We can win even without a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
The three of them didn't bring it up again for some time. But after advancing to the semifinals, Wang Dong used her incredible social skills to gather information on the teams in the other half of the bracket. Naturally, she learned about Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, too.
Still, when she discussed it with Captain Huo, his expression looked particularly sour.
"He's got a grudge against the Dai family," Chi Qiu explained for him.
Wang Dong froze. She knew Huo Yuhao was an orphan, but now that Chi Qiu had put it that way, she suspected this Dai Huabin had something to do with it.
Please read, bookmark, and vote! It really means a lot to me! Thank you, everyone!
Before you continue