Admitting Defeat

"You figured out the effect much faster than I expected, Wu Feng." Huo Yuhao smiled at her, his body still holding a combat stance.

"Your Spirit Skill... is impressive!" Wu Feng replied. Though she had just suffered a setback, she didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

On the contrary, her fighting spirit had risen to new heights. Her eyes held an excitement and passion Huo Yuhao had never seen before. He had only seen that kind of emotion in the eyes of a man from his previous life who was devoted to the sword.

"Strictly speaking, I'm already very impressed with you. Ning Tian... Ning Tian really isn't as suited to this position as you are."

"Haha, wouldn't Ning Tian be angry if she heard you say that?" Huo Yuhao asked awkwardly.

Up in the 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." Though Ning Tian and Wu Feng were both only seven years old, they had grown up together in the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Naturally, they thought about things far more deeply than ordinary children.

On the surface, Wu Feng's words had been praise for Huo Yuhao, but Ning Tian knew very well that they had really been meant for her.

"Huo Yuhao is someone worth befriending from now on." That was the message Wu Feng had sent her.

Ning Tian stared intently at Huo Yuhao. A Thousand-Year Soul Ring... She couldn't help feeling that it wasn't his true trump card.

It was easy enough to tell. After all, Huo Yuhao had displayed his Thousand-Year Soul Ring in front of everyone without the slightest hesitation or any desire to hide it.

Either Huo Yuhao was a fool who didn't know how to keep his talents under wraps, or he had an even more important trump card than the Thousand-Year Soul Ring that he still hadn't used.

After all, aside from the Thousand-Year Soul Ring behind his head, Ning Tian had noticed an almost imperceptible change in Huo Yuhao's hand when he touched Wu Feng.

Unless someone had been watching him closely from the very beginning, they would hardly have noticed such a subtle difference.

Wang Yan, seated beside Ning Tian, saw her growing serious and looked as though he had expected it.

A few days earlier, just after Lang Ya's attack had ended.

Wang Yan was in his office writing lesson plans for the following month. At the time, he still didn't know Huo Yuhao existed. He only knew that two very special children would be joining his class.

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

At the sound of the voice, Wang Yan looked up and saw Long Xiaoyao, who had just dealt with Lang Ya.

"Dean!" Wang Yan hurried to his feet to greet him. He settled Long Xiaoyao on the sofa nearby and even poured him a cup of hot water.

"Teacher Wang Yan, do you remember those two children?" Long Xiaoyao asked after taking a sip.

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

Wang Yan sat down nearby and answered after a moment's recollection.

"It's quite unusual. Teacher Zhou Yi hasn't recommended any students to the Unlimited Division for two or three years. Whenever anyone asked, she said they didn't measure up. Why recommend two all at once now—and both of them at the age when they've only just awakened their Martial Souls?"

Wang Yan pushed up his glasses, then continued thoughtfully:

"Dean, if even you have come here in person... those two children must have remarkable talents?"

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

Then he told Wang Yan everything: the two children's medical examination reports, which he had obtained from Fan Yu, and the Body Sect's Lang Ya attacking Spirit Soul Academy.

"The Body Sect?"

As a scholar who specialized in the study of Martial Souls, Wang Yan knew of this group. It was a sect composed entirely of people with Body Martial Souls.

About a thousand years ago, they had been brought to the attention of the Douluo Continent by Spirit Hall. Now they were known to almost everyone. Moreover, Spirit Soul Academy and Spirit Hall both had a grudge against the Body Sect over an incident involving its former sect master.

"Could it be because of that incident...?"

"No... Compared with a disciple seeking revenge for the former sect master, that man struck me more as a madman with something wrong in his head." Long Xiaoyao shook his head.

"I'll discuss the matter with the others later, but that's not the point."

"Teacher Wang Yan, I recall you have a relative named Wang Hong who works at Spirit Hall and is on quite friendly terms with Holy Son Bei Bei, right?"

"Ah, yes. Does he have something to do with Huo Yuhao?" Wang Yan thought back for a moment. His relative hadn't contacted him much lately, but working at Spirit Hall was busy enough as it was, especially when one was connected to the Holy Son. So he hadn't thought anything of it.

"He does. Bei Bei obtained his third Soul Ring at the same time Huo Yuhao obtained his first."

"The last time I met Bei Bei, he specifically mentioned Huo Yuhao to me. There was one thing he said that I think you'll be very interested in."

Long Xiaoyao looked at Wang Yan as he spoke, his fingers tapping against the tabletop:

"His first Soul Ring came from a thousand-year-level... Dream Silkworm."

The instant he heard the name Dream Silkworm, Wang Yan practically jumped to his feet. He even forgot who Long Xiaoyao was and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Dream Silkworm? Dean, you said Dream Silkworm, right? Right?"

Long Xiaoyao seemed to have expected this. He promptly pushed Wang Yan back into his chair.

"You can ask that relative of yours for details later. I came today to give you an early heads-up. If possible, have Huo Yuhao show what he can do in class."

Long Xiaoyao clasped his hands behind his back. Before leaving the office, he left him with one last remark:

"He may be a genius who can stand alongside Bei Bei."

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

He was not only enjoying the performance of his gifted student, but also watching as a scholar, studying what kind of Spirit Skill a Dream Silkworm might produce.

"The dean really has put a heavy burden on my shoulders..." Wang Yan thought.

By now, the battle in the arena was nearing its end.

After their first clash, the confrontation between them had settled into a strange repetition.

No matter what attack Wu Feng launched, Huo Yuhao would deflect it with some odd stance. And whenever Wu Feng came within a certain distance of him, her movements would suddenly become stiff.

Taking into account Wu Feng's remark that Huo Yuhao's Spirit Skill could affect her thoughts, Wang Yan had more or less figured out the effect of Huo Yuhao's Spirit Skill.

Wu Feng stood motionless, the flames in her eyes still flickering. As she continued adjusting her breathing, she knew all too well that her stamina and Soul Power were almost depleted.

Her first Spirit Skill, Dragon Fire, was a boost-type Spirit Skill. It consumed a great deal of Soul Power and relied mainly on her physical strength to injure her opponent.

But after clashing with him several times, she had clearly realized that no matter how fierce her attacks were, once she entered a certain range, Huo Yuhao's Spirit Skill would affect her, and all her efforts would come to naught.

As far as Wu Feng was concerned, there was no point in continuing the fight.

"I concede, Teacher Wang Yan!" Wu Feng gave Huo Yuhao an approving look, then raised her right hand and shouted.