A surge of dark, black fear energy burst from Lin Yun's forehead, forcefully blocking the Mental Shock Huo Yuhao had unleashed.
Lin Yun had controlled it well. He hadn't stirred up the fear in Huo Yuhao's heart; he had merely blocked Huo Yuhao's spiritual power and forced it back.
Huo Yuhao immediately suffered a backlash from his own mental attack and staggered a step backward.
Zhou Yi clapped her hands and said to Lin Yun,
"Interesting. The captains of both of the seed teams I have lined up couldn't last three rounds against you."
Lin Yun couldn't help interrupting her.
"Teacher Zhou, since when are they the captains of two seed teams?"
Zhou Yi gave a light cough, then said with a stern face,
"If I'd told you from the start that one of these two was supposed to be your teammate, would you still have fought them properly with your real abilities?"
Lin Yun said helplessly,
"Why not just say you realized I was decent enough, so you changed your mind at the last minute?"
Wang Dong immediately cut in, also trying to stand up for Lin Yun. She said to Zhou Yi,
"Teacher Zhou, Lin Yun belongs with Xiao Xiao and me. I can switch to the Agility Attack System. At worst, I can change systems again later."
Lin Yun also said,
"I can switch to the Control System too. My abilities are still somewhat limited when they erupt, so I can just about pass for a control-type."
Zhou Yi said to Wang Dong,
"All right, all right. Look at the state of you. How about this: the Control System and Power Attack System aren't all that different, but the Agility Attack System is a much bigger leap. Lin Yun, you'll have to put up with it and sign up for the Control System."
Lin Yun nodded. Zhou Yi continued,
"You, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao will be a team. The three of you should spend the next couple of days getting used to one another. Huo Yuhao, you stay behind."
Lin Yun left with Wang Dong. He looked at her in confusion and asked,
"Aren't you and Huo Yuhao roommates and deskmates? How come you two have been getting along worse since you moved into separate dorms?"
Wang Dong said scornfully,
"Don't bring that lunatic up. He's not normal. He gets up earlier than a chicken and goes to bed later than a dog. He's always muttering away to himself in the room, talking to who knows what. The dorm walls are so thin that moving out might as well have changed nothing. And he's always pushing himself harder, adding extra training, then acting like he hasn't even put in much effort."
"All that back and forth has doubled our training load. Can you believe it? That guy's completely out of his mind."
Lin Yun nodded and asked Wang Dong,
"So that's why you two fell out completely?"
Wang Dong looked at Lin Yun and said,
"That's not the only reason. Haven't you noticed that quite a few people are missing from our class?"
Lin Yun nodded, then said,
"I heard Teacher Zhou expelled most of them?"
Wang Dong nodded and said to Lin Yun,
"Most of them, yes. But some were during group sparring. Huo Yuhao got riled up by one or two people's trash talk and stabbed them in the stomach and other vital spots."
"The worst one had his throat bitten right through. If Huo Yuhao hadn't failed to increase his Soul Power from it, they'd have taken him for an Evil Soul Master and dealt with him already!"
Lin Yun was so startled that he glanced back at Zhou Yi's office. He said in disbelief,
"No way. That kid always seems so honest and well-behaved."
At the same time, Lin Yun began to think it over. This damn well has to be the result of me intercepting Electrolux. Without Electrolux to guide him, Huo Yuhao has gone completely off the rails and ended up on the absurd Blood-Eyed Holy Son route with the Holy Spirit Cult.
As Lin Yun stared ahead, lost in thought, Wang Dong said to him,
"Don't let him fool you. He's always blinking those big eyes and looking so cute and innocent, but he's the most cruel and vicious one of all."
Lin Yun suddenly thought of Chu Zhengzhang, and then of that viscount from the Dou Ling Empire.
After the earlier ambush, Yan Shaozhe had stepped in, and the mission had been temporarily put on hold while they dealt with the immediate situation. He still had to ask Zhang Lexuan what she thought. It would be outrageous to leave the matter alone, no matter how you looked at it.
But for now, he had to get through the round-robin tournament.
With that in mind, Lin Yun said,
"Wang Dong, I should make something clear to you. This freshman assessment isn't important to me."
Then Lin Yun told Wang Dong what Yan Shaozhe had told him. Wang Dong said indignantly,
"Huo Yuhao has the nerve to act like he's suffered so much. Compared to what you've been through, what's his tragedy? With the way he is, you could say he and his father are a perfect match."
Lin Yun looked at Wang Dong and patted her shoulder, trying to talk her down.
"That's not right either. They're both tragedies; there's no point saying one person has it worse than another. I only hope that one day true light can shine over the continent, so that tragedies like ours and Huo Yuhao's never happen again."
Wang Dong said,
"You really do have a higher outlook. How about this: during the round-robin tournament, you go do whatever you need to do. Xiao Xiao and I can handle them on our own. If you have things to take care of, go take care of them."
Lin Yun looked at Wang Dong, then said,
"Can you handle it? It'd be a shame if you messed up and ruined your future."
Wang Dong assured Lin Yun,
"Don't worry. I'm no pushover. Xiao Xiao and I were already working well together. You're just icing on the cake."
And so, they tentatively decided that Lin Yun would take care of the Dou Ling Empire matter during the round-robin tournament. After returning to the classroom and discussing it with Xiao Xiao, they confirmed the plan.
Still, Lin Yun decided to add another layer of insurance.
Lin Yun had been in the Inner Court before. After confirming Mu En wasn't outside the freshman dorms pretending to be an old security guard, he flew straight into the Inner Court.
The disciples on duty in the Inner Court happened to have seen Yan Shaozhe bring Lin Yun back. They knew that this Evil Martial Soul wielder, though wreathed in black energy, meant no harm, so they simply registered him and let him through.
When Zhang Lexuan heard Lin Yun had arrived, she walked out of her dorm and came to meet him.
"I knew you'd come. Mu En said you wouldn't forget about this, and he was right."
Zhang Lexuan smiled at Lin Yun as she spoke. Lin Yun gave her an awkward laugh.
"He really does know me well. No wonder he's Mu En."
After Lin Yun finished speaking, Zhang Lexuan stretched and draped a dark green cloak over his shoulders. She said to him,
"All right. We're going to the Dou Ling Empire to investigate a noble. Be careful, and keep everything confidential. Also, follow orders in all matters. Don't let your temper get the better of you."
Lin Yun looked at Zhang Lexuan in confusion, then asked her,
"Investigate? Wasn't the evidence conclusive? Weren't we going to go straight in and kill him?"
Zhang Lexuan looked at Lin Yun and smiled.
"Of course it can't be that simple. This has been a longstanding tradition of the Shrek Inspection Team ever since it was founded..."
Before you continue