The First Trial Passed Smoothly

Since this is an internal draw for the Support System, there aren't many powerhouses, so Huo Yuhao should consider how much effort he needs to exert to secure a win. You cannot maintain peak condition for long; you must allocate your energy wisely.

If Huo Yuhao wants to win the next two matches, he must ensure this one is taken easily. The exam time is not fixed; it depends entirely on the luck of the draw.

Once your name is drawn, you must step onto the stage. There is a possibility of one person fighting three consecutive matches without rest, though this situation is extreme. If the teachers notice, they will leave some leeway to give the student a rest period. If bones are broken or muscles torn, there is no way around it; such injuries require top-tier healing-type martial souls, and those with such supreme cultivation and endurance cannot possibly attend to so many injured students.

So, what is the solution? The only way is to treat everyone equally by providing no healing and letting them fend for themselves. This is the greatest form of fairness, allowing geniuses to be selected. It is simple for children of wealthy families to use their family's connections and resources to find help, but commoners have no chance at all.

Therefore, all individual battles must be resolved within a single day, divided into several waves based on each system to be finished over a few days.

Huo Yuhao stood in the arena, waiting for his opponent to take the stage. After a while, the opponent drawn arrived; it was a boy dressed in plain white clothes. As soon as this person walked over, one could feel a scholarly aura about him. Temperament is something that truly has the ability to make people unforgettable, and one could sense that this person must have read many books and was well-educated.

Waves of a scholarly scent drifted from him toward Huo Yuhao; it was the smell that books emit when stacked together. This made Huo Yuhao, who hadn't read many books since birth, feel somewhat inferior.

However, this useless emotion lasted only for a moment. No matter how young he was, Huo Yuhao was someone who had experienced major events. The continuous training and even life-or-death struggles of the past few months had allowed him to grow, giving him the courage to face life's difficulties alone. His fights with Xu Sanshi could only be called minor scuffles. Establishing a scientific combat system and awareness does not mean it will be used in life-or-death situations; previous fighting styles were not suitable for survival in society. Although a combat style that pursues instant kills might seem like cheating, doing it once or twice is fine, but sustaining it becomes true strength.

Huo Yuhao was also trying to gradually adapt to this rhythm of life, not putting the act of killing at the forefront. The opponent was innocent, and there was no need to kill him.

Just as Huo Yuhao was calming his mind and preparing for battle, the enemy suddenly greeted him, almost causing Huo Yuhao to lose his focus.

"Hello, my name is Wen Yifei, a two-ring Soul Master. Please advise."

"Oh, hello, my name is Huo Yuhao, a one-ring Soul Master. Please advise."

With that, the proctor also took the opportunity to announce the start. There were clearly fewer proctors here than in other places; there was really no need to watch the current stage of the Support System, as long as the winner or a draw was announced after a knockdown was confirmed.

Subsequently, two yellow Soul Rings appeared on Wen Yifei. He was clearly stunned upon seeing Huo Yuhao's white Soul Ring, but he quickly returned to a smiling expression. "Gentlemanly" is exactly the word for such a person.

"Martial Soul: Book."

Do people even declare their martial souls to their opponents like this? Does this martial soul have any use? For a moment, Huo Yuhao, whose mind was clear of distractions, had several questions. To put it bluntly, he just lacked experience. This could be considered Huo Yuhao's first serious competition; he would have more experience after a few more matches.

Huo Yuhao subconsciously replied, "Martial Soul: Spirit Eye."

This sentence stunned Wen Yifei again, and then he muttered to himself with some excitement, "A Body Martial Soul, what a rare person. This is my first time seeing one." While speaking, he did not stop his footsteps, quickly retreating to put some distance between himself and Huo Yuhao. This was a very standard fighting style for a support-type Soul Master. But is it a bit redundant when a support-type is fighting one-on-one?

Seeing the opponent's actions, Huo Yuhao, feeling somewhat at a loss, let Wen Yifei open up the distance, cautiously observing his movements. He dared not attack rashly and cause an upset.

Wen Yifei retreated a sufficient distance and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Huo Yuhao had not followed. His martial soul and soul skills required a lot of time to prepare at this stage.

First Soul Skill: Knowledge Manifestation. A soul skill with no offensive power; it simply manifests the knowledge in his mind onto his martial soul, turning it into a book. It consumes little soul power, and the book lasts for about a week—a very practical soul skill in daily life.

But this is Shrek Academy; how can one survive without combat power? At this moment, his second soul ring lit up brightly.

Second Soul Skill: Knowledge Possession. It imbues the knowledge within the books onto himself or others, allowing them to skillfully master a skill in a short period. The level of proficiency might not compare to someone who has practiced since childhood, but it is definitely enough to deal with a half-baked amateur. If the person being buffed knows how to use it, they can master and utilize the skill even more proficiently.

The combination of this martial soul and soul skill could, to a certain extent, achieve the amplification effect of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, but only partially at best. It is very useful at the current stage, but the further one progresses, the less it compares to the terrifying, all-encompassing amplification of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. However, being able to reach a fraction of its level at the first stage is already heaven-defying; after all, that is the strongest support-type martial soul that has produced a god. There might be other support-type martial souls that can rival the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, but the fact that it produced a god cemented its title as number one. The Sausage martial soul, after all, was not passed down to become a family line. One factor that allows the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to hold its position is the stability of its inheritance and the number of its users. Food-type soul masters are too rare and too difficult to pass down.

By this time, Wen Yifei had already skillfully mastered a defensive movement technique and had not stopped, continuing to buff himself with various offensive and other abilities.

Huo Yuhao had already realized something was wrong by now. What was this person doing? His martial soul was released, and he kept using soul skills, yet he wasn't attacking. Even if he were a two-ring soul master, he shouldn't be able to use hundred-year soul skills like this. If his soul power ran out, how would he fight?

However, there are no fools among the students who can take the Shrek exam. He must be doing this as preparation to defeat Huo Yuhao. At this point, Huo Yuhao could wait no longer and began his attack.

But it was already too late; such a long time was enough for him to buff himself to perfection. At the very least, he was one of the best among the support types; comparing him to a Power Attack System user would be bullying. This reveals the gap in experience—it is the accumulation of time. The compatibility between Wen Yifei's two soul rings and his martial soul is not something an ordinary person could figure out through trial and error. The first soul ring has no effect; it must be paired with the second soul ring to undergo a qualitative change. Where would an ordinary person find this answer? Even if they knew, how many would dare to gamble? And if they dared, how would they hunt the spirit beast that provides the soul ring? These are all hurdles.

This questioning and movement might not have been intentional, just a habit, but this habit had been passed down by adults through various methods; it must be the best behavioral habit summarized over generations. Huo Yuhao came from the Duke's Mansion but did not receive such an education; the gap in their starting points is evident.

However, every cloud has a silver lining; with fewer starting advantages, there are also fewer constraints. When rising to the highest point, one can go faster.

One can see a glimpse of this now: Wen Yifei is too methodical. What happens when he encounters a freak? The experience summarized and passed down by your elders is suitable for most situations, but you will crash if you encounter the minority. Shrek Academy is the place that lacks "freaks" the least.

As the two were about to collide, they both began their little maneuvers according to their habits. Huo Yuhao unleashed a mental attack combined with the Purple Demon Eye—the complementary ability that caused Xu Sanshi to crash. Wen Yifei used his remaining soul power to apply Knowledge Possession onto Huo Yuhao. Most people cannot handle knowledge being directly poured into their minds without preparation; just like Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection and Sharing, it produces side effects on the recipient. Since there are side effects, why not use them on the enemy?

Both of them launched soul skills at each other simultaneously. This was a coincidence; spirit-type attacks are inherently rare, so not many people warn these children about the dangers of doing this. When you attack others, you also leave yourself vulnerable; attacks are two-way.

When you attack others, your own Sea of Spirit must inevitably provide support for the attack. When spiritual power flows out, it also opens a gap. This time is very short, but it is not impossible to seize this opportunity, just like now.

Two ignorant boys simultaneously provided openings for others with their spirit-type soul skills. Memory Possession is essentially a short-term spiritual power assist, and when used for an attack, the comparison between the two is about whose spiritual power is stronger and the level of the soul master's focus.

If you are careless and unfocused, although the enemy's attack will be countered when it hits your Sea of Spirit, it has, after all, struck the Sea of Spirit—arguably the most fragile part of the body. Without good fortune, it will leave hidden injuries.

Fortunately, Tian Meng had previously left a restriction on Huo Yuhao, allowing him to go all out with his attack without worrying about a backlash. A violent mental collision erupted inadvertently.

Both of them were caught off guard and briefly lost consciousness, their minds going blank. Their bodies collided fiercely due to inertia and then fell to the ground, motionless.

This development left the proctor somewhat at a loss. The realm of spiritual power is not something a non-professional can judge; this situation had indeed never been encountered before. Both fell without even fighting; it could be ruled a draw.

At this moment, the proctor thought about it and decided to wait. Things had already reached this point, and there was no one who could provide targeted treatment; if they didn't recover, they wouldn't need to pass the subsequent matches. Letting one person get an extra full score could increase the number of support-type students, which was already low. Thinking of this, the proctor waited. The first one to stand up would win; if too much time passed and they didn't get up, it would be a draw.

Just as he thought this, Huo Yuhao stumbled to his feet, nearly falling, but finally stood steadily on the competition stage.

Most of the people watching this match felt it was inexplicable, but in reality, it was extremely dangerous. Huo Yuhao's mental attack shattered the second soul skill, which had little offensive power, in the first instance, and then rushed directly toward the Sea of Spirit along the trajectory. If it had entered, one of them would have definitely gone insane, and Huo Yuhao's spiritual power would certainly have held absolute dominance.

Without intervention, Wen Yifei would definitely have ended up in a mental hospital. At this moment, Tian Meng came to clean up the mess again; the collision in the Sea of Spirit startled him awake, and he directly blocked the contact.

If the collision had been completed in full, Huo Yuhao certainly wouldn't have felt good either.

However, the result was fine; Huo Yuhao secured this match steadily and without much loss.