Huo Yuhao was dumbfounded.
Was that a Soul Skill, or a divine ability?
It was over. They were going to lose!
This team was just too strong.
But in the next moment, Wu Feng swung a punch at Huo Yuhao again and shouted, "Third Soul Skill, Dragon's Burst!"
Boom!
No matter how the fragile Huo Yuhao tried to dodge, the blow slammed into his chest and sent him flying.
After all, he was only a One-Ring Soul Master. Once Wu Feng, a Three-Ring Soul Master, locked onto him, he had no chance to escape.
Reality didn't offer that many surprises.
After putting up a fight, Wang Dong was the last to fall.
At that moment, Du Weilun, the director of studies in charge of the competition, stepped forward and announced, "Freshman Class Nine wins and advances to the finals."
At his words, Wu Feng beamed. She threw her arms around Ning Tian and shouted, "Tian Jie, we won! Yeah!"
Ning Tian smiled faintly. "It was all thanks to our instructor."
Down below, the defeated trio of Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao left the arena with their shoulders slumped.
It wasn't that they couldn't fight. Their opponents were simply too strong.
They had done their best!
Wang Dong couldn't help grumbling. "If we'd had an instructor like theirs, I could definitely have beaten Class Nine, advanced to the finals, and won the championship! My Light Goddess Butterfly is one of the very best Martial Souls, but Nanmen Yun'er's Jade Green Bird completely countered it. I refuse to accept this!"
Xiao Xiao felt the same way, but didn't dare say so with Old Woman Zhou standing nearby.
Huo Yuhao was even more dejected.
He hadn't expected the first lesson in growing up to be so cruel. His dreams had been shattered by his opponent.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said coolly, "Little Yuhao, this is nothing. Your talent is better than theirs; you just haven't had the chance to show it. When this break is over, your big brother will take you to find a Second Martial Soul. I guarantee it'll blind the lot of them!"
"Thank you, Brother Sky Dream."
Huo Yuhao actually believed him, and his fighting spirit flared anew.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yi had overheard their conversation.
She was already in a foul mood, and that only added fuel to the fire.
Zhou Yi walked up to the three of them and berated them. "You're the worst batch of freshmen I've ever taught. You've made me look like a fool! One Twin Martial Souls, one top-tier Martial Soul, and one Body Martial Soul—and you still lost to Class Nine! I truly regret taking you on."
Huo Yuhao was so ashamed by her scolding that he couldn't lift his head.
Xiao Xiao silently lowered hers.
Wang Dong flew into a rage and shot back, "Your teaching methods are clearly the problem. How can you blame us? If we'd had an instructor like Class Nine's, we definitely wouldn't be this weak. Your teaching methods are obviously flawed."
"I've never met a teacher as unreasonable as you. You're incompetent, and you still love picking fights."
Wang Dong gave her a furious tongue-lashing, and Zhou Yi got even angrier.
She could accept criticism of herself, but saying her teaching methods were worse than those of an Inner Court student? That was a straight-up slap in the face.
Zhou Yi snapped, "You don't get to criticize my teaching methods. There's nothing wrong with them. You're the problem."
Wang Dong scoffed. "You can't teach, but no one's allowed to say so? What kind of logic is that? Your teaching methods are the problem."
As they argued, the two soon broke into a full-blown quarrel.
Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao hurried over to break it up.
The teacher-student farce ended with neither side willing to speak to the other.
Just then, Yu Daoyun passed by with Ning Tian and the other two. He turned to Zhou Yi and said, "Teacher Zhou, do you remember our bet?"
The arrogance drained from Zhou Yi's face. Gritting her teeth, she said, "You won. From now on, I won't teach freshmen anymore. But you can't deny my ability. In the Outer Court, my class has the highest rate of students advancing to the next year."
So she wouldn't torment the freshmen anymore—she'd just torment the older students instead, huh? Yu Daoyun grumbled to himself, then turned and left.
He had no desire to waste any more time talking to the old woman. He'd already rubbed her face in it enough.
Behind him, Zhou Yi ground her teeth as she stared at Yu Daoyun's smug retreating figure, wishing she could rush over and claw his face.
She'd been looked down on by a student.
It was the greatest humiliation of her teaching career.
And it was all because the students were no good, because their quality was too poor.
Wang Dong was just as angry.
She'd never seen such a terrible teacher. There was the grueling training every day, not to mention that Zhou Yi wouldn't even let them drink water. All she ever did was scowl.
And now that they'd lost the assessment, she blamed them.
After advancing to the finals, Yu Daoyun treated all the students of Freshman Class Nine to a meal to boost their spirits and encourage them to keep working hard.
As for the bill, the Martial Soul Department would naturally cover it.
He was the next in line to inherit the position of Sea God Pavilion Master. The academy's money was his money—he could spend it however he wanted.
At the table, Yu Daoyun raised his glass of juice and said, "After the New Student Assessment ends, other teachers will take over your classes. Your instructor has to return to the Inner Court and continue cultivating."
At his words, the male and female students present burst into tears, their faces filled with reluctance.
It wasn't easy to meet an Inner Court student, and it was even harder to meet a good instructor.
In those three months, Instructor Yu Daoyun had taught them so much. In only three months, he'd turned them all into capable students.
In other words, there were no deadweights among the students admitted to the academy. They were all the pride of their respective cities.
Yu Daoyun's teaching methods were clearly much easier for them to accept.
At that moment, the girls were all in tears, huddling against Yu Daoyun as they cried, "Instructor, don't go!"
The scene was just like when military training ended in his previous life: the female college students had secretly fallen for their instructor, then boldly confessed their feelings.
But Yu Daoyun wasn't some master of juggling romantic entanglements.
He was busy, with cultivation to do and assignments for the Supervision Group.
So, after exchanging a few pleasantries, Yu Daoyun made a clean getaway.
The finals came as scheduled the next day, with Freshman Class Nine facing Dai Huabin's Freshman Class Five team.
Ning Tian's team had only just gotten over the pain of parting. They immediately unleashed all their pent-up anger on Dai Huabin and gave him a brutal beating.
Even when Dai Huabin finally unleashed the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Hell White Tiger, it wasn't enough to turn the tide. In the end, Ning Tian's team defeated him.
Dai Huabin paid dearly for the nasty things he'd said before, getting thoroughly humiliated.
And so, the New Student Assessment championship went to Freshman Class Nine. Class Nine also had the highest number of core disciples in its history.
Ning Tian's team got the Soul Bones they'd hoped for and became core disciples of the Martial Soul Department.
Huo Yuhao continued to enjoy core disciple privileges on a temporary basis, while Xuan Zi labeled his Body Martial Soul as lacking potential.
In the end, Huo Yuhao obtained core disciple status in the Soul Tool Department.
The New Student Assessment finally came to a close.
After the assessment, Yu Daoyun was leaving too, returning to the Inner Court to continue cultivating.
Ning Tian and the other two naturally couldn't bear to see him go. They were all sentimental girls.
The thought of rarely seeing their instructor in the future made them feel miserable.
So that evening, Ning Tian invited Yu Daoyun to take a walk by Sea God Lake.
Before you continue