Finals

"That guy wants to kill you."

The semifinals had ended, and the crowd was gradually dispersing. However, Di Qiu'er suddenly turned her head and fixed her gaze on Dai Huabin's retreating back.

"Heh, that's normal."

Liu Yuan chuckled. "I pinned him to the ground and humiliated him like that. If he didn't feel even a hint of killing intent, that would mean he was deeply calculating—and even more dangerous."

"Exactly!" Wang Dong'er suddenly cut in. "If it were me, I'd want to slaughter the person too. But that's only because he's angry. Once that anger passes, at most we'd just dislike the sight of each other. What else could he do? Kill someone?"

Liu Yuan: "..."

He looked at Wang Dong'er, and his expression gradually became strange.

Well, she wasn't wrong. Her words had really hit the mark. After losing face to Liu Yuan twice in a row, Dai Huabin might truly come up with an assassination plan.

But Liu Yuan had already made plans regarding this matter.

"Qiu'er."

"Hm?"

At his soft call, Di Qiu'er looked over at him in confusion. She tilted her head. What are you calling me for? Is something wrong?

"Have a proper fight with me this afternoon."

The moment he said that,

her eyes lit up with a flash.

She got straight to the point. "How are we fighting?"

Liu Yuan tapped his arm, the corners of his lips curling up. "As violently as possible. Other than the Golden Dragon Spear, use every ability you have. I'll cover for you."

"Alright!"

Di Qiu'er's straightforwardness and decisiveness made Huo Yuhao and the other three silently exchange glances.

Well, they wouldn't be able to get involved in the finals.

But by this point, they had already shown more or less everything they needed to show. Since it was the last match, they might as well let these two have their way.

After lunch, Liu Yuan and the others took a brief rest before returning to the Assessment Area for the finals.

By the finals, there were even more people on the high platform.

Besides Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe, who had come for the second time, there were even two people beside them who had never appeared before.

One was a sturdy man over fifty, with hair like steel needles and a height exceeding two meters twenty. The other was not as muscular as the former, but he was still not to be underestimated. According to Huo Yuhao, the latter was Fan Yu—the teacher from the Soul Guidance Department who had permitted him to sit in on classes and valued him greatly.

"But why is Teacher Fan Yu here?" Huo Yuhao's small eyes were filled with immense confusion.

This was an assessment for the Martial Soul Department, right?

"Isn't that obvious?" Liu Yuan patted his shoulder, a satisfied smile on his lips and amusement in his eyes. "Yuhao, you truly haven't disappointed me when it comes to the Soul Guidance Department."

"Brother..."

Huo Yuhao's face immediately reddened.

Hehe, Brother praised me for being capable!

Subconsciously, he glanced toward the high platform again. Just in time, his eyes met Fan Yu's, who was looking down at him.

Fan Yu gave him an encouraging smile.

"Fan Yu..."

At that moment, the man beside Fan Yu leaned closer.

"That kid is the one you think so highly of?"

"That's right."

"Does it have to be him?"

"It has to be him!"

As he spoke, Fan Yu's eyes were filled with determination.

"Dean Qian Duoduo, I'm counting on you."

"Sigh, you..."

Qian Duoduo rubbed his head in frustration.

Damn it, why did this kid make it to the finals?

This is difficult!

But since Fan Yu had said so, he couldn't refuse. No, I need to talk Yan Shaozhe into it.

I just hope...

Qian Duoduo secretly glanced at Xuan Zi.

"Why are you sneaking glances at me?"

Without even turning his head, Xuan Zi, who was gnawing on a chicken leg, suddenly spoke. "What? Got your eye on my fine wine and meat?"

"Oh, what are you saying, Elder?" Qian Duoduo hurriedly laughed it off. "How could I dare steal your food? I'm just curious—why did you come here?"

His murky gaze swept backward.

Xuan Zi and Qian Duoduo met each other's eyes. "I came to take a look at Shrek Academy's future seeds."

"Seeds of the Martial Soul Department."

Those final four words put immense pressure on Qian Duoduo.

After all, at every Sea God Pavilion meeting, Xuan Zi, this Elder, always had the strongest objections to every proposal concerning the development of the Soul Guidance Department!

He had definitely overheard what Fan Yu and he had just said.

"Haha... Old Qian, what are you doing here?" Yan Shaozhe wore a broad smile, but his words were anything but polite. "Don't tell me you've set your sights on the promising students of our Martial Soul Department."

"Listen to you."

Qian Duoduo, who had just been gritting his teeth, instantly changed his expression. He did it so quickly that it was practically Sichuan opera face-changing.

He pointed at the two teams below.

"The promising students of your Martial Soul Department will ultimately just become Core Disciples. Don't tell me all six people in this final will be made Core Disciples?"

Yan Shaozhe stared at Qian Duoduo, his smile unchanged.

There were never many Core Disciples in each intake.

At the fewest, there were one or two; at the most, four or five.

Yet quite a few Core Disciples were promoted from unofficial Core Disciples. So would all six of them be made Core Disciples at once?

That was not necessarily the case.

But since Qian Duoduo had put it that way...

They were both old foxes. Why bother playing games?

"You guessed right." Yan Shaozhe leaned against the railing of the high platform. "I really do plan to make all six of them Core Disciples. What do you think?"

Tch—

Qian Duoduo didn't believe him.

But he put on an indignant expression. "Fine, so this is how you treat your brother?" He pointed at Huo Yuhao and Nanmen Yun'er, the two who were still at Rank 20 and had only recently reached it. "Don't tell me those two little ones can become Core Disciples too?"

As soon as Yan Shaozhe heard that, his eyes shifted.

Just as he was about to speak,

"Enough."

Xuan Zi suddenly spoke, interrupting the farce.

He pointed with a chicken bone that had been gnawed clean. "If your Soul Guidance Department is after that girl, take her away. But if you're after that boy... don't even think about it."

What?!

Qian Duoduo immediately became anxious.

"Elder Xuan, you..."

"I won't budge on this." Xuan Zi stopped Qian Duoduo from continuing. "That kid possesses an absolutely top-tier Body Martial Soul. Though he's only Rank 20, I can tell that he has merely yet to obtain his second Soul Ring, so he has remained in a period of accumulation. Whether it is his cultivation talent or his physique, both are above average. More importantly, he hasn't undergone his second awakening yet! So you can't have this kid!"

Compared to the original timeline, Huo Yuhao had long since undergone a complete transformation under Liu Yuan's guidance.

Thus, in Xuan Zi's eyes, he already met the most basic requirements to become an outstanding Body Soul Master.

After all, Xuan Zi might be foolish, but he wasn't stupid.

Qian Duoduo: "There's really no room for discussion?"

Xuan Zi glanced at him, completely unconcerned.

"What else do you want?"

Meanwhile,

below the high platform, the assessment teacher entered the field.

To watch from up close,

Wang Yan decided to personally serve as the referee.

To allow the contestants to perform better, all the partitions had been removed at noon, revealing an enormous and spacious Assessment Area.

Liu Yuan swept his gaze over it and silently nodded.

With a field like this, they could fight to their hearts' content!

Di Qiu'er across from him clearly had the same thought.