"Ah? Oh, you're forfeiting, right? Then the winner of the second assessment is Huo Yuhao's team." Wang Yan, standing nearby, only came to his senses after a moment of stunned silence.
After announcing the result, Wang Yan couldn't help giving a helpless, wry smile.
He'd originally wanted to see how Huo Yuhao performed in a team match, but this guy simply refused to play by the rules.
A Ten Thousand Year Second Soul Ring!
Wasn't that a little too outrageous?
Even Wang Yan, who had seen plenty, had never encountered anything like this. Stranger still, he didn't seem to have seen Huo Yuhao leave the academy these past few months.
How had he obtained a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring? And how had he managed to fuse with one?
Wang Yan was deeply puzzled. Just then, a mysterious sect suddenly came to mind.
Could Huo Yuhao have been lying? Was he actually from the Body Sect?
At the thought, his gaze toward Huo Yuhao grew complicated.
Huo Yuhao had no idea Wang Yan was imagining all sorts of things about him. He was also stunned to see the other team forfeit right away. They were just giving up like that?
Shouldn't they have charged in with that classic refusal to believe it, only to lose afterward?
I haven't even had a chance to test my Soul Skill yet.
Was a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring really that intimidating?
This wasn't how things were supposed to go.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's stunned expression, Huang Chutian sneered inwardly.
Heh. You think we're idiots? You've got a Ten Thousand Year Second Soul Ring, and you expect us to fight you?
Anyone with half a brain would forfeit. There were ten matches in the round-robin stage, so of course you picked on the weak.
All you had to do was make sure you got into the knockout rounds.
Besides, if your second Soul Ring had been a thousand-year one, we could've given it a shot.
But you've got a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, man. How are we supposed to play against that?
Huang Chutian led his team away without looking back.
Huo Yuhao stayed where he was and high-fived Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng in celebration.
Although Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng were just as astonished by Huo Yuhao's Ten Thousand Year Second Soul Ring, they were even happier.
Since they'd hitched themselves to a big shot, the bigger the shot, the better.
The three of them stepped down from the platform with ease. They hadn't even broken a sweat during the assessment, so of course it had been easy.
Only when Huo Yuhao reached the bottom of the platform did he notice that everyone in the Assessment Zone looked solemn and uneasy.
They were all praying that they wouldn't draw Huo Yuhao's team in the next round.
"A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring? How could it be a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring?" Wang Dong murmured, her voice trembling slightly.
She remembered how she'd just strutted around, proudly showing off her Second Soul Ring.
Compared with Huo Yuhao, her behavior just now had made her look like a clown.
At that moment, Wang Dong's face burned with embarrassment.
"Crack"—a crisp sound seemed to ring out suddenly. Zhou Sichen, standing nearby, asked curiously, "What was that sound?"
Xiao Xiao tilted her head to listen, then said urgently, "Wang Dong, it sounds like something on you just broke."
Wang Dong, meanwhile, stood there blankly, her mouth slightly open and her pupils unfocused.
The round-robin assessments lasted two days. But over the following two days, Huo Yuhao was a little frustrated to find that he never got a chance to test his new Soul Skill.
The reason was that whenever a team drew Huo Yuhao's group, they all twisted their faces into strange expressions.
"Huh? I'm up against Huo Yuhao? Seriously?"
Every team reacted like that, then immediately told the referee they were forfeiting.
A few teams occasionally tried to put up a fight, but Huo Yuhao didn't even need to step in. He simply used Spirit Detection Sharing to support Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng, and they won with ease.
When the second day's matches ended, Huo Yuhao's team had, as expected, secured ten consecutive victories.
Wang Yan found them then and said, "The three of you did very well. You won all ten matches over the past two days, and every victory was a complete rout. Well, the opponents forfeiting more or less counts as a rout too."
"However, the later matches probably won't be as easy as the earlier ones. Many teams in the next stage have Soul Elders with three rings, so don't let your guard down. Do your best to take first place."
"Don't worry, Teacher Wang. We'll definitely do our best." Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng nodded.
Mm, the two of us will definitely do our best. Whether we win is up to Big Brother, though. No need to say more.
The three of us are really strong!
Huo Yuhao, standing nearby, merely nodded slightly without saying anything.
"Mm." Wang Yan waved a hand and said, "If there's nothing else, head back and get some rest. The knockout rounds start tomorrow. Do your best."
Everyone nodded, then went their separate ways.
After parting from the others, it was already evening. Huo Yuhao grabbed a quick bite at Shrek's cafeteria, then crossed Shrek Plaza and made his way back to the lakeside path on the southern side.
Just as Huo Yuhao started down the path, he ran into two people coming toward him.
Seeing them, Huo Yuhao couldn't help being taken aback.
They were both people he knew.
They were none other than Ma Xiaotao, dressed in red, and Xu Sanshi, whom he had fought once before.
Compared with the arrogant, overbearing way Xu Sanshi had acted when they first met, he now looked deathly pale. It was as if all his strength had been drained away; he seemed utterly listless.
His clothes were rumpled too, and he looked completely down in the dumps.
Ma Xiaotao, meanwhile, looked even more radiant than before. An unnatural flush tinged her pretty face, and the pale pink of her eyes had deepened considerably.
"Why is it him!" Xu Sanshi exclaimed, surprise and indignation on his face as soon as he saw Huo Yuhao.
He clearly hadn't expected Huo Yuhao to show up here.
Ma Xiaotao, standing beside him, suddenly stopped and froze in place.
The instant she saw Huo Yuhao, a faint tremor stirred in her heart.
Huo Yuhao's figure bore some resemblance to the outline of the young man in her memories.
But it didn't quite match.
"Your friend?" Ma Xiaotao asked, her voice heavy.
Xu Sanshi heard the strange note in Ma Xiaotao's voice. He turned to look and saw her face full of uncertainty.
His eyes darted about, and he said, "Sister Xiaotao, if I tell you who he is, will you let me go?"
"Tell me!" Ma Xiaotao said, looking impatient.
"This guy's called Huo Yuhao, a first-year student in the Outer Court. He's a one-ring cultivator, and his Martial Soul seems to be his eyes."
Xu Sanshi immediately spilled all the information he had about Huo Yuhao.
At his words, Ma Xiaotao furrowed her brow.
"One-ring cultivation? An eye Martial Soul?"
Those details didn't seem to match the person in the nightmares she'd been having every day at all.
Could it be him? Ma Xiaotao looked doubtful.
Thanks to RainH for the tip! A quick note about the update schedule: from now on, there'll be one chapter at midnight and another at noon. This seems like it might work better. Please keep reading, and thanks, everyone!
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