To the Semifinals, Huo Yuhao's Crimson Eyes!

The noise from the District Eight arena had yet to dissipate when the presiding teacher in District Five struck the gong to signal the start of the match.

Xiao Yan walked onto the arena stage at a leisurely pace.

Standing opposite him was a trio that looked quite familiar—Huang Chutian, along with a pair of identical twin sisters, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo.

Watching these three freshmen standing at the ready, a rare sense of interest stirred within Xiao Yan.

The twin sisters possessed a martial soul fusion skill called "Heavenly Net." While he didn't consider it particularly powerful, at the freshman level, it was undoubtedly a highly threatening trump card for any other team.

With that confidence, these three should have had the courage to go all out today.

Xiao Yan stopped, his hands hanging at his sides, and waited quietly for their offensive.

The presiding teacher raised his right hand, preparing to bring it down.

"Teacher! We forfeit!"

Huang Chutian took a deep breath and, beating the referee to the announcement, thrust his right hand high above his head.

His voice was loud and full of vigor, as if he were afraid the referee wouldn't hear him and would declare the match started.

Behind him, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo let out a collective sigh of relief, their tense shoulders slumping instantly as they looked utterly unburdened.

Xiao Yan's fingers, which had been preparing to lift, froze in mid-air. He shook his head helplessly, turned around with a lack of interest, and stepped down from the arena.

The freshmen below not only refrained from booing but instead cast looks of understanding at Huang Chutian's decisive surrender.

The freshman circle had long been discussing this mysterious Class Nine monitor.

After the fermentation of the previous rounds, everyone had privately pieced together a conclusion: Xiao Yan mastered a high-level illusion that could ignore defenses and act directly upon the mental plane.

Being defeated on the arena stage wasn't scary; at most, one would suffer some physical pain and be back on their feet after lying down for two days.

But facing Xiao Yan was practically a one-sided social death.

The teams from the previous matches that hadn't believed the rumors had ended up clutching their heads and sobbing on stage, dancing on the ground, or beating their teammates black and blue with bloodshot eyes.

Without strong mental power to serve as a line of defense against the illusions, rashly challenging this monster was equivalent to disregarding one's own dignity.

Since they couldn't win and would only make a fool of themselves, it was better to forfeit cleanly; at least they would save face and avoid becoming a laughingstock.

Once this psychological defense collapsed, the subsequent matches completely lost their flavor.

Round of thirty-two to sixteen, sixteen to eight, eight to four.

For three consecutive rounds of elimination, Xiao Yan hadn't moved a single finger.

Every time he stood on the arena, the opposing team acted as if they had rehearsed it beforehand, raising their hands in unison to forfeit before nimbly walking off the stage.

Xiao Yan was thus "escorted" into the semifinals without a drop of blood being shed, becoming a living, insurmountable legend among this year's freshmen.

In contrast, the path to the semifinals for Ning Tian's team was much more lively.

Although they also advanced steadily, winning every match, they rarely encountered teams that voluntarily forfeited.

While the raw strength of Ning Tian's trio was indeed intimidating, their fighting style involved solid, tangible collisions of soul skills.

For many freshman teams, being able to trade blows with such a top-tier team during the assessment was a rare practical experience in itself, and everyone wanted to take the opportunity to gain some combat experience.

Ning Tian coordinated the overall situation from the rear, Wu Feng charged into the fray, and Xiao Xiao wielded her great cauldron to control the field and deliver the finishing blows.

Through constant practical tempering, the three girls perfectly integrated the experience they had accumulated in the Dream Arena, becoming invincible.

The tense schedule progressed extremely quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the Freshman Assessment reached the semifinals.

The four teams that had broken through gathered in front of the drawing table in the center of the assessment area.

In addition to Xiao Yan's one-man army and Ning Tian's trio, the remaining two teams were Dai Huabin's team and Huo Yuhao's team.

Although Huo Yuhao's trio had been defeated by Ning Tian's group in the round-robin, they had relied on a perfect record in the subsequent matches to fight their way out of the encirclement, barely squeezing into the final four.

The semifinals required a separate draw to determine the matchups.

At this moment, the atmosphere in front of the drawing table was somewhat eerie.

Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Xiao Xiao stood huddled together, hands clasped, muttering under their breath.

"Please don't let us draw the monitor... please don't let us draw my brother..."

Wu Feng stomped her feet in anxiety, and Ning Tian was uncharacteristically nervous, unable to maintain her usual cold and aloof demeanor.

They knew that man's methods all too well. Being tormented in the small woods was one thing, but if they were to face him in the semifinals, under the gaze of the entire school's faculty and students, it wouldn't be a match—it would be a public execution.

Du Weilun, the dean responsible for the draw, cleared his throat and stepped forward holding a sealed wooden box.

"Captains of the final four teams, come forward to draw. Number one plays number one, number two plays number two."

Xiao Yan was the first to step forward.

Seeing Xiao Yan approach, Du Weilun, who had been keeping a straight face to maintain the dignity of a dean, saw his facial muscles rearrange themselves instantly, hanging a brilliant smile on his face.

He knew the weight of the young man before him, so his attitude naturally had to be handled with care.

"Student Xiao Yan, you go ahead." Du Weilun even took the initiative to push the wooden box forward.

Watching the dean's overly enthusiastic attitude, Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow.

Smiling so brightly, could it be that you've rigged the draw box?

Within his deep black eyes, the star map of the Fuxi Bagua began to calculate in silence.

Energy flowed, and the threads of causality intertwined deep within his pupils.

A few seconds later, Xiao Yan confirmed that there were no spiritual concealment or soul power guidance formations inside the wooden box; it contained only four ordinary wax balls, with no tricks whatsoever.

After confirming everything was in order, Xiao Yan casually pinched a wax ball from the box, glanced at the slip of paper inside, and returned to his original position.

Immediately after, Ning Tian, Dai Huabin, and Huo Yuhao stepped forward one by one to complete the draw.

During the lull after the draw, Xiao Yan's gaze fell upon Huo Yuhao not far away.

The delicate-looking youth was currently staring fixedly in the direction of Dai Huabin.

His face was so pale it lacked even a hint of color, his eyes appeared bloodshot from congestion, and his hands, hanging at his sides, were tightly clenched into fists.

Huo Yuhao clearly wanted nothing more than to exact some interest from Dai Huabin on the arena floor.

Xiao Yan glanced at the number two slip in his own hand, then looked at the slip clutched in Huo Yuhao's, and shook his head helplessly.

This luck was truly hopeless.

No matter how much you hate him to the bone, today's act of revenge is destined to fall through.

Because your semifinal opponent is me.

Du Weilun walked onto the high platform, took the slips handed over by the four team captains, and after confirming they were correct, announced the matchup list to the entire arena in a booming voice.

"The results of the semifinal draw are as follows!"

"Number one, Ning Tian's team, versus Dai Huabin's team!"

Hearing this result, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Xiao Xiao, who had been tense for so long, froze for a moment before suddenly hugging each other, letting out a cheer that rang through the clouds.

"Great! We finally avoided the class monitor!"

"Dai Huabin, is it? Just watch me pluck all the fur off his White Tiger today!" Wu Feng waved her fists arrogantly, looking ready to show off her skills on the field as her long-suppressed desire for battle erupted completely.

Standing opposite them, Dai Huabin's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot upon hearing their cheers.

As a descendant of the White Tiger Duke Mansion and a peerless genius possessing the top-tier beast martial soul, the Evil Eye White Tiger, where had he ever gone without being feared and respected?

Yet now, those three girls on the other side were so happy to have drawn him that it was as if they had won the lottery!

What was the meaning of this? Were they treating him, Dai Huabin, as a soft persimmon that could be squeezed at will? This was nothing short of the greatest offense and humiliation to him!

Dai Huabin's eyes spat fire as he stared daggers at Ning Tian and the others, his molars grinding together with a clicking sound.

Du Weilun paid no mind to the undercurrents surging below; he cleared his throat and continued to read the final result.

"Number two, Xiao Yan's team, versus..."

The eyes of the entire audience instantly focused on the high platform.

"Versus, Huo Yuhao's team!"