Class Nine Sweeps Top Three, Mu En Is Tempted, Electrolux Awakens

Cui Yajie and Xiao Xiao were on the other side, tending to the unconscious Wang Dong'er.

Xiao Xiao held Wang Dong'er, tear tracks still wet on her face, but she finally let out a sigh of relief after the healing soul master confirmed that neither of them was in any serious danger.

"Xiao Xiao, how is Dong'er?" Cui Yajie asked.

"Her soul power is just exhausted; the healing sister said she'll be fine."

Cui Yajie nodded, walked to the center of the arena, looked at the fissure in the ground carved out by the two attacks, and then glanced back at Zhu Lu's side.

The corner of her mouth twitched.

"Those two are truly insane."

Xiao Xiao muttered in a low voice:

"The squad leader is even crazier. Does he even know he's bleeding? And he's still smiling."

Cui Yajie brushed back her long pink hair: "Of course he knows. He just doesn't want Lu Lu to worry."

Xiao Xiao froze for a moment, looked down at the unconscious Wang Dong'er in her arms, then looked at Zhu Lu, who was crouching motionless beside Dai Huabin in the distance, and remained silent for a long time.

The referee walked to the center of the arena and cleared his throat.

"The result of the final: Team Dai Huabin is victorious!"

A burst of cheers and applause erupted from the stands.

Zhou Yi stood in the furthest corner, her expression looking extremely grim.

She hadn't uttered a single word from start to finish.

Three of the four semi-finalist spots belonged to Class 9.

The champion was Class 9, the runner-up was Class 9, and the third-place winner was also Class 9.

And her Class One?

Their best result was the round of thirty-two.

The soldiers she had trained for three months had been crushed into dust by that "greenhouse gardener" Mu Jin.

What made Zhou Yi's chest feel even tighter was that Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao should have been students of Class One.

Radiant Goddess Butterfly, Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, Twin Martial Souls—any one of these would have been a trump card for Class One.

Mu Jin had intercepted them all.

No, to be precise, that Dai Huabin had intercepted them.

Zhou Yi clenched her fists, her nails digging into the flesh of her palms.

Nearby, Mu Jin happened to walk over.

The two met in the aisle.

Mu Jin said nothing, merely offered a faint smile, stepped aside to let her pass, and then led her students downward.

That smile was more effective than any mockery.

Zhou Yi was so angry that her back teeth clicked together.

"Teacher Zhou, are you alright?" a proctoring teacher behind her asked cautiously.

"I am perfectly fine."

Zhou Yi turned and walked away.

The award ceremony was simple.

Under the emergency recovery of a healing soul master, Dai Huabin managed to stand up. His face was still very pale, but at least he could walk.

Yan Shaozhe personally announced the final rankings.

Champion: Team Dai Huabin.

Runner-up: Team Cui Yajie.

Third Place: Team Ning Tian.

All three teams came from Freshman Class 9.

Some had guessed this result when the bracket was first released, but when it was officially announced, a commotion still rippled through the stands.

Since the founding of Shrek Academy, this was the first time the top three spots of the Freshman Assessment had been swept by the same class.

Ning Tian walked up to Dai Huabin and handed him a bottle of potion: "That move of yours—what exactly was that?"

Dai Huabin took the potion and downed a mouthful: "I don't know either."

"You don't know?" Ning Tian raised an eyebrow.

"I really don't. It just happened suddenly halfway through the fight, and it vanished once it was over."

Ning Tian studied him for a few seconds before deciding to drop the questioning.

Wu Feng popped up from behind, hands on her hips: "You don't even understand your own moves? Are you messing with us?"

"If I could use it whenever I wanted, would I have needed to take that blade?" Dai Huabin pointed to the bandaged wound on his chest.

Wu Feng tilted her head, considering this, and decided it made sense.

"Still, you were terrifying."

She muttered, "My legs went weak the moment I saw that light."

"Your legs went weak because you were exhausted from our sparring earlier."

"Get lost!"

Nanmen Yun'er stood quietly to the side, though the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

Zhu Lu remained at Dai Huabin's left, her hand resting on his arm, ready to support him at any moment. She said nothing, but from that position, no one else could hope to squeeze in.

Xiao Xiao walked over, supporting Wang Dong'er, who had regained consciousness but was still shaky on her feet.

Wang Dong'er's face was paler than paper and she was limping, but her spirit had clearly returned.

She paused as she passed in front of Dai Huabin.

"Let's spar again next time."

Dai Huabin tilted his head. "You want to get beaten up again?"

"Who got beaten up? I was only a hair's breadth away from winning!" Wang Dong'er retorted haughtily.

"A hair's breadth is still a loss."

Wang Dong'er was so angry she wanted to stomp her foot, but she couldn't balance on one leg, and Xiao Xiao hurriedly grabbed her.

Cui Yajie laughed out loud from behind them.

That night, Sea God Pavilion.

Yan Shaozhe walked through the long corridor and stopped in front of the door to the innermost quiet room.

He hesitated for a moment before knocking.

"Come in."

The voice was aged, yet full of vigor.

Yan Shaozhe pushed the door open and entered.

The quiet room was small and sparsely furnished, containing only a chair and a bookshelf.

Mu En leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, a pot of tea that had long since gone cold sitting on the small table in front of him.

"Teacher, I apologize for disturbing your rest."

Mu En opened one eye. "You wouldn't be coming to see me for something trivial. Speak."

Yan Shaozhe did not sit, standing instead before Mu En as he weighed his words for a few seconds.

"An incident occurred during the finals of the Freshman Assessment today."

Mu En opened both eyes.

"A thirty-fourth-level freshman with a White Tiger martial soul briefly achieved a state of... unity of essence, energy, and spirit while clashing with a student possessing a Radiant Goddess Butterfly martial soul."

Mu En did not speak, but his fingers stopped tapping the armrest of his chair.

Yan Shaozhe continued:

"It wasn't just the three in unity. I sensed a fourth element within that state: conviction. He fused his absolute will to win into that unity of essence, energy, and spirit, forming a momentum."

A long silence followed.

Mu En slowly straightened his posture.

"What is the name of the student you speak of?"

"Dai Huabin. A direct descendant of the Dai family of the Star Luo Empire, son of the White Tiger Duke. I saw him once when he enrolled; his talent is certainly good, but there was nothing particularly extraordinary about him."

Mu En tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice.

"I remember this child. I ran into him at the entrance of the dormitory building on the day of freshman enrollment. I thought then that he had a solid foundation and was a good seedling, but nothing more."

"Teacher, for a Soul Elder to touch upon the unity of essence, energy, and spirit, and even infuse it with the power of conviction..."

Yan Shaozhe's tone dropped.

"In all my years, I have only ever seen this in one person."

Mu En did not respond.

He did not need to.

Because the person Yan Shaozhe spoke of was himself.

Not even his great-grandson, Bei Bei, had reached this stage.

Reign Over the World, the ultimate technique created by Mu En throughout his life, had at its core the absolute unity of essence, energy, and spirit, using the lifelong conviction of the Dragon God Douluo as a catalyst to condense a momentum capable of suppressing all things.

How many years had it taken him to comprehend this realm?

Fifty-seven years.

It was only at the age of seventy, after his soul power broke through to level ninety-five, that he truly achieved the fusion of essence, energy, and spirit for the first time.

Yet this child, at level thirty-four, had already touched that door during a Freshman Assessment.

Mu En's fingers rested on the armrest for a long while.

"Does he know it himself?"

"He likely does not."

"That is as it should be."

Mu En nodded and continued, "True enlightenment is never something achieved through deliberate effort. The more naturally it is triggered under extreme pressure, the more it proves that the seed of it already exists within the person's foundation."

Yan Shaozhe waited for a moment, and finding that Mu En had no intention of continuing, he tentatively asked, "Teacher, do you mean..."

Mu En spoke slowly: "Keep an eye on him. If his talent is truly this great, Reign Over the World might..."

Yan Shaozhe's heart jolted.

Mu En had not finished his sentence, but the meaning was already clear.

Dragon God Douluo Mu En, former Dean of Shrek Academy and one of the few Limit Douluo on the continent, was considering taking on a disciple.

"I understand, Teacher."

Yan Shaozhe bowed in salute and turned to walk out of the quiet room.

Mu En leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes.

Dai Huabin.

A direct descendant of the White Tiger Dai family.

Interesting.

Night fell.

Freshman dormitory building, first floor.

Dai Huabin was supported back to his room by Zhu Lu.

His physical strength had recovered somewhat, but his mental power remained hollow, causing him to sway occasionally as he walked.

Zhu Lu pressed him onto the bed, then went to fetch a basin of hot water.

"No need to fuss, I'll be fine after a sleep."

Zhu Lu ignored him, wrung out a hot towel, and wiped away the dried sweat and dust from his forehead. Her movements were very light, for fear of touching the injury on his chest.

Dai Huabin leaned against the pillow, watching Zhu Lu busy herself.

"Lulu."

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

Zhu Lu's movements paused for an instant, then she continued wiping.

"No need to thank me."

Her voice was soft, but steady.

Dai Huabin smiled and closed his eyes.

Drowsiness surged over him like a tidal wave. He didn't even have the strength to resist; his consciousness sank, and he fell directly into a deep slumber.

Zhu Lu folded the towel and placed it at the head of the bed, then checked once more to ensure the bandages on his chest hadn't loosened. After confirming everything was fine, she sat down on the chair nearby.

She leaned against the back of the chair, staring at Dai Huabin's profile for a long time.

Then, she tilted her head to the side and drifted off to sleep as well.

Late at night.

Dai Huabin's consciousness was submerged in a boundless darkness.

He knew this was his spiritual sea.

The spiritual sea was calm, like stagnant water. The battle during the day had drained his mental power completely, leaving not even a ripple on the surface.

However, the spiritual sea was slowly recovering on its own. Minute amounts of energy seeped in from all directions, filling the void strand by strand.

Dai Huabin's consciousness floated within the spiritual sea, half-asleep and half-awake.

Then, he felt it.

In the corner of the spiritual sea, that gray orb of light that had been resting quietly all this time, moved.

It was not an illusion.

The light was trembling slightly, its frequency increasing rapidly, as if something were about to break out from within its shell.

The gray light began to brighten.

Wisps of faint, silvery-white light seeped out from the gray orb, wandering aimlessly across the surface of the spiritual sea.

Dai Huabin's consciousness suddenly became more than half awake.

Electrolux.

The former Necromancy Holy Mage.

In the original work, Electrolux was an existence within Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, one of the key figures who helped Huo Yuhao grow.

Dai Huabin had been waiting.

He had waited for more than three months.

The trembling of the gray orb became increasingly violent.

The silvery-white wisps of light no longer wandered aimlessly; instead, they began to converge, forming a thin halo around the periphery of the orb.

Then, a voice rang out.

It was very soft, very distant, as if it were coming from beneath the water.

"I did not expect to encounter such a child in this world."

Dai Huabin held his breath.

He waited for a few seconds, confirming that the voice was not a hallucination.

Then, he tentatively spoke within the spiritual sea.

"Senior, have you awakened?"