Admitting Defeat

"You guessed the effect faster than I imagined, classmate Wu Feng." Huo Yuhao smiled at his opponent, his body still held in a combat stance.

"Your spirit skill... is very impressive!" Wu Feng replied. Although she had just suffered a setback, she didn't feel any discomfort.

On the contrary, her fighting spirit surged to a new level, and her eyes held an excitement and passion that Huo Yuhao had never seen before. It was an emotion he had only ever seen in the eyes of a man obsessed with the way of the sword in his past life.

"Strictly speaking, I am truly convinced by you now. Ning Tian, young... Ning Tian is indeed not as suited for this position as you are."

"Haha, if classmate Ning Tian heard that, wouldn't she be angry?" Huo Yuhao asked with some embarrassment.

In the spectator stands, Ning Tian had of course heard Wu Feng's words, but to her, they carried a different meaning.

"Wu Feng thinks very highly of Huo Yuhao." Although Ning Tian and Wu Feng were only seven years old, they had grown up together in the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and in such an environment, they naturally considered things more deeply than ordinary people.

On the surface, Wu Feng's words were meant to praise her opponent, but Ning Tian knew clearly that these words were actually meant for her.

Huo Yuhao is an asset worth befriending from now on. This was the message Wu Feng was conveying to Ning Tian.

Ning Tian's eyes were fixed on Huo Yuhao. A thousand-year spirit ring... she felt that this was not Huo Yuhao's true trump card.

This was easy to judge; after all, Huo Yuhao had shown his thousand-year spirit ring in front of everyone without a hint of hesitation or any intention to hide it.

Either Huo Yuhao was a fool who didn't know how to conceal his edge, or he possessed a trump card far more critical than a thousand-year spirit ring that he had yet to reveal.

After all, besides the thousand-year spirit ring behind his head, Ning Tian had noticed that Huo Yuhao's hand had undergone an almost imperceptible change the moment it made contact with Wu Feng.

If she hadn't been watching him closely from the very beginning, it would have been impossible to notice such a subtle difference.

Wang Yan, sitting beside Ning Tian, saw her increasingly serious expression and wore an expression of understanding.

Time returned to a few days ago, just after Lang Ya's attack had ended.

Wang Yan was in his office writing the lesson plan for the next month. At that time, he did not yet know of Huo Yuhao's existence; he only knew that two very special children were about to join his class.

"Teacher Wang Yan, I hope I'm not disturbing you."

Hearing this, Wang Yan looked up and found it was Long Xiaoyao, who had just dealt with Lang Ya.

"Dean!" Wang Yan quickly stood up to greet him, settled Long Xiaoyao on the sofa to the side, and even poured him a cup of hot water.

"Teacher Wang Yan, do you still have an impression of those two children?" After taking a sip of the hot water, Long Xiaoyao asked.

"You mean... Huo Yuhao and Dong'er, right? The two recommended to me personally by Teacher Zhou Yi."

Wang Yan sat to the side and said after recalling.

"It's quite rare, actually. Teacher Zhou Yi hasn't recommended a student to the Unlimited Division in two or three years, always saying they weren't qualified if anyone asked... How did she suddenly recommend two at once, and at the age they just awakened their spirits?"

Wang Yan pushed up his glasses and continued his analysis:

"Dean, if even you have made a special trip here... then the talent of those two children must be extraordinary?"

Listening to Wang Yan's analysis, Long Xiaoyao nodded.

He then told Wang Yan everything, including the physical examination reports he had obtained from Fan Yu and the incident where Lang Ya of the Body Sect had raided the Spirit Soul Academy.

"The Body Sect?"

As a scholar specializing in the study of spirits, Wang Yan naturally knew of this group—a sect composed entirely of those who possessed Body Spirit Souls.

They had been exposed to the eyes of the Douluo Continent by the Martial Soul Hall about a thousand years ago and were now almost universally known. Moreover, there was a grudge between the Spirit Soul Academy, the Martial Soul Hall, and the Body Sect concerning a former sect leader.

"Could it be because of that matter..."

"No... compared to a disciple seeking revenge for a former sect leader, that person gave me the impression of a lunatic with mental issues," Long Xiaoyao shook his head.

"I will discuss this matter with others later, but that is not the point."

"Teacher Wang Yan, I recall you have a relative named Wang Hong who works at the Martial Soul Hall and is very close to the Holy Son Bei Bei, right?"

"Ah, yes. Does he have any connection to Huo Yuhao?" Wang Yan recalled slightly. His relative had rarely contacted him lately, but work at the Martial Soul Hall was busy, especially concerning the Holy Son, so he hadn't thought anything was amiss.

"There is indeed a connection. Bei Bei's third spirit ring was obtained together with Huo Yuhao's first spirit ring."

"When I last met with Bei Bei, he specifically mentioned something about Huo Yuhao to me. There is one detail that I think you will be very interested in."

Long Xiaoyao looked at Wang Yan, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table as he spoke:

"His first spirit ring is a thousand-year-level... Dream Silkworm."

The moment he heard the name Dream Silkworm, Wang Yan almost jumped up, ignoring Long Xiaoyao's status and grabbing him by the shoulders.

"Dream Silkworm, Dean, you're talking about a Dream Silkworm, right! Right!"

Long Xiaoyao seemed to have expected this and quickly pressed Wang Yan back into his chair.

"You can go find your relative to understand the specifics later. I came today to give you a heads-up: if possible, let Huo Yuhao show what he can do in class."

Long Xiaoyao put his hands behind his back, and before walking out the office door, he left one final remark:

"He might be a genius capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Bei Bei."

Time returned to the present. Wang Yan rested his chin on his hand, carefully observing the battle between Huo Yuhao and Wu Feng.

He was not only admiring his talented student but also observing as a scholar what kind of spirit skill a spirit beast like the Dream Silkworm would produce.

The Dean has certainly placed a heavy burden on my shoulders... Wang Yan thought to himself.

At this moment, the battle on the arena was nearing its end.

Following their initial clash, the standoff between the two had entered a bizarre cycle of repetition.

No matter what kind of attack Wu Feng launched, Huo Yuhao would always neutralize it with all sorts of strange stances, and once Wu Feng stepped within a certain range of him, her movements would suddenly turn rigid.

Coupled with what Wu Feng had said about Huo Yuhao's soul skill being able to affect her mind, Wang Yan had also roughly deduced the effect of Huo Yuhao's soul skill.

At this time, Wu Feng stood where she was, the flames in her eyes still flickering. As she continuously adjusted her breathing, she realized clearly that her stamina and soul power were nearly bottomed out.

Her first soul skill, Dragon Fire, belonged to the attribute-enhancement category; it required a significant consumption of soul power on its own and relied primarily on physical prowess to inflict damage on an opponent.

However, through their several exchanges, she had long since clearly understood that no matter how fierce her attacks were, once they entered a certain range, they would be affected by Huo Yuhao's soul skill, causing all her efforts to fall short at the final hurdle.

For Wu Feng, there was no longer any need for this battle to continue.

"I concede, Teacher Wang Yan!" Wu Feng cast a look of acknowledgment toward Huo Yuhao, then immediately raised her right hand and shouted aloud.