The Newcomer Competition

Lan Xuanyu had his reasons for being so confident.

First, he had already crossed blades with the Emotion God King Huo Yuhao in his past life, making him intimately familiar with the man's combat style.

He was merely a God King who happened to be somewhat proficient in mental power; to put it bluntly, that guy's attacks were no more than a tickle to him.

Although this version of Huo Yuhao was only a Soul Grandmaster, he was one too! In Lan Xuanyu's eyes, there was no reason for him to lose to a guy like that.

During the three months since enrollment, he had focused primarily on stabilizing the bloodlines within his body to prevent them from clashing. His soul power growth hadn't been significant; he had only risen two levels to rank 34 after consuming the Soul Ascension Pill provided by the academy as compensation.

Cultivation rank was just a number. Much like how he possessed the combat strength to rival a half-step God King back when he was rank 99 in his past life, what truly mattered was always one's raw strength.

Looking at his aunt, Wang Dong, she had undergone three months of bitter training—and a tiny, negligible amount of cultivation resources. Her soul power had surged from rank 21 to a terrifying rank 26, a five-level jump in just three months.

See that? That is the power of... paying-to-win genius.

Although that Xiao Xiao seemed obscure, she was, after all, one of the Shrek Seven Devils from the same generation as Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong. As a rare twin martial soul user, she definitely had a few tricks up her sleeve.

Tell me loudly in four words what this situation is!

The next afternoon, Shrek Academy's outer courtyard assessment zone.

Following the morning's group drawing, the grounds had been partitioned into specific areas. Teachers from every class had already led their students to the spectator stands.

In a relatively secluded corner, a red figure watched the arena in silence.

Naturally, the only person she was watching was someone in particular.

Unfortunately, Huo Yuhao had been placed in the first group and was the first to take the stage.

As for his opponents...

Striking powder-blue hair and a hairstyle that resembled dog ears; as for the petite girl beside him, her presence was truly not very high.

It was none other than the seed team of Class One, the highly anticipated Lan Xuanyu squad.

The academy attached great importance to this competition, and since this match was also a test for Huo Yuhao, the referee had been changed from Wang Yan to the head of the outer courtyard department, the Soul Douluo-ranked Du Weilun.

Even though Huo Yuhao stood there all alone, strangely, no one felt he was the weaker party.

The four entered the arena and stood on one side of the platform.

Lan Xuanyu looked at Huo Yuhao with a hint of disdain. In his view, he didn't need help to beat Huo Yuhao; he was enough on his own. This was truly an unnecessary precaution.

Xiao Xiao: So handsome...

Wang Dong's gaze flickered. Looking at Huo Yuhao's handsome, picturesque yet expressionless face, she felt an inexplicable and intense discomfort in her heart.

It feels like... it feels like the person standing beside him should be me...

No, no, what about Xuanyu...

Just as Wang Dong's left and right brain were fighting, Du Weilun's voice rang out, "Without further ado, let us begin the match. During the process, feel free to give it your all; I will control the pace of the match. Anyone I rescue from the arena will be considered defeated. Do you all understand?"

The four nodded in unison.

"First round, first match of the assessment. Freshman Class One: Lan Xuanyu, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao; Freshman Class Ten: Huo Yuhao. You may only release your martial souls after I announce the start of the match."

Du Weilun raised his right hand and swung it down forcefully.

"Assessment start."

Wang Dong was the first to release his martial soul. Azure wings burst open from behind him, and one yellow and one purple soul ring emerged beneath his feet. He floated into mid-air, seizing the high ground.

Beside Lan Xuanyu, three soul rings—one yellow and two purple—appeared. It was an impressive configuration, accompanied by vast stretches of blue-silver vines sprouting from the ground. It was not hard to recognize them as the most common Blue Silver Grass on the continent.

Huo Yuhao's eyes shifted slightly. Just like the disharmony he had sensed from Lan Xuanyu before, there were strange elemental reactions surrounding him—at the very least, water, fire, and earth.

Using Blue Silver Grass to control elements?

What was this guy thinking? Wasn't he afraid of the elemental reaction spiraling out of control and causing him to explode?

Lan Xuanyu stepped into his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and charged toward Huo Yuhao without hesitation. With a casual wave, a crystal-clear ice orb shot out.

The orb was interlaced with blue and red, emitting a bizarre aura.

"...!"

Huo Yuhao had to admit that he had underestimated this Lan Xuanyu.

He would have to take this orb seriously; he would at least need to use his soul bone skill [Earth Core] or manifest his second martial soul, the Deep Blue Glazed Dragon, to block it.

[It's not that I'm downplaying Xiao Huo's combat power. First, the salted fish is a reincarnator; he was a Supreme God King in his past life, so his combat experience and elemental control are maxed out. Xiao Huo hasn't been training in the Douluo World for many years, so his combat experience is definitely inferior. Second, Xiao Huo's Spirit Eye martial soul leans toward control and lacks offensive means.]

This ice orb was a self-created soul skill from Lan Xuanyu's past life called the Ice-Fire Dual Instrument Orb. In essence, it was a combination skill of water and fire elemental control, but relying on the Silver Dragon King bloodline's elemental affinity, Lan Xuanyu controlled it perfectly, turning it into his ultimate weapon.

Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, it was this move that allowed him to break the defenses of the highly resilient Young Rock Dragon Lizard, absorb its bloodline, and gain control over the earth element.

Xiao Xiao's Three-Life Soul Suppression Cauldron was also firing on all cylinders, unleashing her ultimate move, Cauldron Oscillation.

Wang Dong didn't hold back either. Knowing that Huo Yuhao had beaten him up with his bare hands before, he knew he wouldn't last a few rounds without going all out. Thus, he used his second soul skill, Butterfly Goddess Light, without hesitation.

This was Lan Xuanyu's battle plan: go all out from the start, give Huo Yuhao no chance to react, and strike him down immediately!

Watching the Lan Xuanyu trio charging at him in a triangular formation, Huo Yuhao twitched his lips in silence.

Just how much of a grudge do we have? Is this really necessary...

It seemed he had to get serious.

Golden light flickered in the depths of his eyes, carrying faint nine-colored ripples as the first soul ring of his Spirit Eye flashed.

Spiritual Detection Sharing, Spiritual Interference Domain.

The Spiritual Interference Domain enveloped the entire arena. Released with the power of his Spirit Abyss Realm mental strength, even Du Weilun, a Soul Douluo standing nearby, felt a wave of dizziness, as if he could no longer clearly see the movements of the four people on the field.

If a Soul Douluo like Du Weilun could not see clearly, then the other teachers and students with weaker cultivation levels stood even less of a chance.

But at this moment, Huo Yuhao shared his Spiritual Detection with every member of Lan Xuanyu's team.

Just like everyone else who received Spiritual Detection Sharing for the first time and could not help but be stunned by such a powerful functional soul skill, the three members of Lan Xuanyu's team were caught off guard for a moment.