Teaching in Public During the Top 4 Competition, the Entire Audience Was Dumbfounded

"Both sides, take your positions!"

The referee's voice echoed across the examination arena.

Dai Huabin stood on his side of the field, with Zhu Lu half a step behind him to his right. Opposite them, Ning Tian and her two teammates had already reached their respective positions.

The surrounding stands were rowdy; after all, it was an internal conflict for Class Nine, and there was plenty to watch regardless of who won.

The referee lowered his arm.

"Match, begin!"

Yet, none of the five people on the field moved.

More accurately, not a single one of them had released their Martial Soul.

There was a silence that lasted for about three seconds.

Ning Tian gave a slight nod to Dai Huabin, then turned and walked to the edge of the arena, lifting her robes to sit down on the ground.

Her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was not summoned at all.

The stands instantly erupted into a buzz of confusion.

"What's going on? Why did Ning Tian just sit down?"

"No way, are they giving up? This is the semi-finals!"

"Look, the other two haven't released their Martial Souls either..."

In the center of the field, only four people remained.

Dai Huabin and Wu Feng stood face-to-face, less than ten meters apart.

Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er had distanced themselves on the other side.

Wu Feng cracked her neck, the joints popping with two sharp sounds.

She rolled up her sleeves, clenched her fists, bent her knees slightly, and assumed a standard close-quarters combat stance.

Nanmen Yun'er mimicked her, holding her hands out in front of her as her emerald-green ponytail swayed behind her.

No spirit rings, no Martial Soul Possession, no fluctuations of spirit power.

Pure hand-to-hand combat.

This was what Dai Huabin had agreed upon with Ning Tian and the others before taking the stage.

The stands were filled with astonishment.

In the high-platform viewing area, the teachers' seats also fell into a brief silence.

Yan Shaozhe, Dean of the Martial Soul Department, frowned and turned to look at the Vice Dean beside him, Cai Mei'er.

"What are they doing?"

Cai Mei'er was also somewhat puzzled; she scanned the field and shook her head.

Du Weilun, the Director of Academic Affairs, was the quickest to react. He pushed up his glasses and muttered, "Interesting."

Down below, Mu Jin stood at the entrance of the passage, her arms crossed over her chest.

She did not show any expression of surprise.

She knew better than anyone how these children trained on a regular basis.

Every few days, Dai Huabin would organize the Ning Tian team and the Cui Yajie team for alternating practical sparring sessions, focusing not only on coordination but also on individual combat.

He had a good relationship with Ning Tian in private, and there was no need for the two teams to fight to the death.

It was just the semi-finals; no matter how they fought, it was an honor for Class Nine.

Rather than fighting tooth and nail, it was better to use this opportunity to sharpen their blades.

The corners of Mu Jin's mouth curled up slightly.

As a teacher, she was naturally happy that the students in her class had such good bonds.

And the core that had twisted so many people with such different personalities into a single rope was the golden-haired youth on the field: Dai Huabin.

In the center of the field.

Wu Feng was the first to move.

She lunged forward, her right fist striking straight toward Dai Huabin's chest.

Her speed was not slow, and the angle was tricky, targeting the lower-middle path.

Dai Huabin sidestepped to let it pass, taking the opportunity to lightly slap the outside of her forearm.

"Don't raise your shoulder so high when you punch. You aren't a Tool Martial Soul user; you rely on the explosive power brought by your Dragon-type Martial Soul. If you raise your shoulder, the power transmitted from your waist and hips will be cut off halfway."

Wu Feng was stunned, but she immediately threw another punch. This time, she deliberately lowered her shoulder line, twisting her waist to drive the force into her fist.

"Bang!"

Dai Huabin caught the punch with his palm, his hand tingling from the impact.

"Yes, that's the feeling. Remember this way of exerting force."

Wu Feng grinned.

"Class monitor, is your hand okay? I didn't hold back."

"Cut the chatter, continue."

The two engaged once more.

Dai Huabin's speed and power were clearly a notch above Wu Feng's, and he held the advantage in height and reach.

Yet, he did not use these advantages to suppress Wu Feng; instead, he pointed out issues after every exchange.

"Your footwork is too choppy. When your Dragon Fire is possessed, you are a ball of fire; you don't need so many small, shuffling steps."

"Take long strides to cut in, and if a strike doesn't land, pull back immediately. Don't get bogged down in a prolonged fight."

"And your knees—never lock them during combat. If they're locked, you'll be half a beat slow when you want to change direction, which will put you at a huge disadvantage against Agility-type soul masters."

Wu Feng corrected her movements with every word, and her actions became visibly more fluid.

On the other side, the "sparring" between Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er was also underway.

Nanmen Yun'er actually had a good foundation; her footwork was light and her strikes were clean and crisp. But her problem was also obvious: every attack was too conventional.

After Zhu Lu dodged three of her straight punches in a row, she suddenly side-stepped behind her and tapped her lightly on the back of the neck.

Nanmen Yun'er shivered and quickly jumped back two steps.

"Your rhythm is too uniform," Zhu Lu said, her voice light and her pace steady.

"One, two, three, one, two, three—it's like a metronome. As soon as an opponent counts your rhythm, they'll be behind you before your fourth punch even lands."

Nanmen Yun'er nodded, blushing. "Then how should I change it?"

"Disrupt your own intervals. For example, make the first two fast and delay the third by half a beat, so your opponent can't gauge your timing."

Zhu Lu gestured. "Give it a try."

Nanmen Yun'er followed suit, throwing two quick punches and intentionally pausing for a moment before the third.

Zhu Lu didn't dodge this time; she took the punch head-on and retreated half a step.

"Much better."

Nanmen Yun'er was immediately energized and continued to practice varying her rhythm according to this logic.

The audience in the stands, who had been whispering earlier, fell completely silent.

Even the dullest among them realized that this was no longer a semi-final match; it was an open training session.

Dai Huabin was teaching Wu Feng close-quarters combat, while Zhu Lu was teaching Nanmen Yun'er how to handle speed.

Ning Tian sat on the sidelines, watching it all with a smile, clearly having planned this in advance.

On the high platform.

Yan Shaozhe's brow slowly smoothed out.

He had sat in the Dean's chair for many years and had personally watched every Freshman Assessment.

He had seen countless ways of competing, but this was a first.

Using the semi-finals as a training ground—this kind of mindset and vision was not something an eleven-year-old usually possessed.

"This Dai Huabin..." Yan Shaozhe muttered to himself, leaving the sentence unfinished.

Xuan Zi, sitting to his right, chimed in:

"What? Have your eyes on him?"

Yan Shaozhe did not deny it.

"I've been pondering who to make captain for the reserve team. This child has the strength and the temperament. What's most rare is that he's willing to pull others up along with him."

Du Weilun adjusted his glasses and interjected:

"He might be doing this today to conserve energy for the finals. After all, Cui Yajie's team is no pushover."

Yan Shaozhe waved a hand:

"Even if there is such a calculation, it doesn't diminish the significance of what he's doing.

To be able to calculate, and at the same time have his teammates willingly cooperate with his schemes—that is the quality of a leader."

Cai Mei'er listened from the side, a hint of a smile on her lips.

Having mentored students for so many years, this was the type of student she liked best.

Xian Lin'er, Dean of the Soul Guidance Department, added an aside:

"His fiancée is also quite interesting. A level 27 Hell Spirit Cat who can provide high-level guidance against an Agility-type soul master—this pair would be considered top-tier even in the second or third year."

The senior officials exchanged comments, their evaluations quite high.

Only Zhou Yi, sitting in the corner, remained silent.

She stared at Dai Huabin on the field, her expression less than pleasant.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, this brat was staging a "teaching match." On the surface, it was a display of camaraderie, but in reality, he was telling everyone: I, Dai Huabin, am not only strong myself, but I can also lead others to become stronger.

Such behavior, when presented before the academy's upper management, was practically overflowing with bonus points.

Zhou Yi felt a tightness in her chest.

Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao were both supposed to be the trump cards of her Class One. Instead, they had all been lured away by Dai Huabin to Mu Jin's Class Nine.

However...

Zhou Yi took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

After the class distribution, the Assault System and Control System students belonged to Class One.

Dai Huabin was an Assault System student with a White Tiger martial soul; he was a guaranteed member of Class One.

When the time came, this brat would still have to address her as Teacher.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yi's mood improved slightly.

Let Mu Jin be smug for these few months; in the end, the results of the training would all be credited to her, Zhou Yi.

The "teaching" on the field lasted for over ten minutes.

Wu Feng's close-quarters combat was clearly much smoother than it had been at the start; at the very least, her punches were no longer as wild and disorganized as before.

Nanmen Yun'er had also grasped a bit of the knack for changing rhythm; although she was still quite clumsy, she was heading in the right direction.

Ning Tian stood up from the ground and brushed the dust off her skirt.

She walked to the center of the field and bowed slightly to the referee.

"We concede."

The referee had long since realized the nature of this match, so he didn't say much and directly announced the result.

"Class Nine's Dai Huabin team is victorious and advances to the finals!"

A smattering of applause broke out from the stands.

Although most of the audience hadn't seen any intense confrontation, they felt a bit more curious about Dai Huabin.

Ning Tian walked up to Dai Huabin and said softly:

"Class Monitor, good luck in the finals."

Wu Feng also crowded over and thumped her own chest with her fist:

"Class Monitor, I've remembered everything you taught me. Next time I spar with you, I definitely won't have my flaws pointed out within three moves."

Nanmen Yun'er stood behind them and bowed quietly.

"Thank you, Lulu."

Zhu Lu let out an "en" and a faint smile appeared on her face.