Confession

In the afternoon, the trio arrived at the competition grounds to draw lots for the round of thirty-two, then stepped onto the soul fighting arena.

On the stage, their opponents were already in position: three beautiful young girls. The one in the center had short golden hair and large, water-blue eyes framed by long lashes. The girl on the left had short, fiery red hair, matching red eyes, and skin as fair as jade. The girl on the right had long, light green hair cascading down her back, her dark green eyes radiating gentleness.

"Freshman Class Nine, Ning Tian, Level 31 Support-type Soul Elder," the golden-haired girl said coldly.

"Freshman Class Nine, Wu Feng, Level 25 Assault-type Great Soul Master," the red-haired girl said with a haughty air.

"Freshman Class Nine, Nanmen Yun'er, Level 24 Agility-type Great Soul Master," the light green-haired girl said softly and timidly.

Once Lin Shuo's trio finished their introductions, the match began. "The Seven Treasures has a name, the first: Speed, the third: Power." Ning Tian's martial soul was the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda. As the young mistress of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect, her talent at such a young age was beyond doubt.

"Feng'er, Yun'er, follow the plan!"

Wu Feng's martial soul was a Red Dragon. The moment she summoned it, she felt a mournful cry emanate from within the soul itself.

Lin Shuo held back the eager Wang Dong'er beside him and released his martial soul, three black soul rings slowly emerging.

Lin Shuo took a step forward. An indescribable aura radiated from him, pressing down on Ning Tian and her teammates without mercy.

"H-how is this possible..." Wu Feng's voice trembled. She tried her best to raise her fist, but her body refused to obey. Her martial soul instantly dissipated; it was struggling, wailing, conveying a single message to her—submission. Then, she fainted.

"Feng'er!" Nanmen Yun'er cried out.

Although she felt the immense pressure, she could still move, but she hadn't expected Wu Feng to lose consciousness so abruptly.

Ning Tian's pupils contracted sharply. She had heard that Lin Shuo was strong, but she never imagined he would be to this extent—merely releasing his aura had caused Wu Feng to collapse on the spot.

Lin Shuo summoned fireballs, taking the opportunity to eliminate Ning Tian and Nanmen Yun'er. The referee rushed onto the stage to block the damage for them.

"Team Lin Shuo wins and advances to the top sixteen!"

Wang Dong'er shook her head from the sidelines. "Geez, if you make a move, Yu'er and I have nothing left to do."

Ning Tian helped the unconscious Wu Feng up and checked her breathing. It was steady; she had only temporarily lost consciousness.

Ning Tian looked at Lin Shuo as he walked off the stage with a strange expression. As the young sect master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect, she had always been the best among her peers and had never suffered such a crushing defeat.

Lin Shuo. Ning Tian silently repeated the name in her heart.

"Fire, ice?" Xuan Zi, sitting off-stage, took a swig of wine and a bite of a chicken leg, his tone puzzled. Isn't this little guy's martial soul a dragon? How can he control two elements? Could it be a twin martial soul?

In the round of sixteen, Lin Shuo encountered another Soul Elder, Xie Huanyue. Despite being a Level 31 Pipi Elephant user, he was sent flying by a single punch from Lin Shuo. His two teammates jumped off the stage themselves. The opponents for the round of eight simply surrendered upon seeing this.

The draw for the final four was conducted personally by Dean Yan Shaozhe. The four team captains stepped forward one by one. When Lin Shuo approached to draw, a scorching gaze fixed upon him.

Lin Shuo looked up and met Yan Shaozhe's face, which was plastered with a smile. Yan Shaozhe looked at him as if he were a rare treasure. Lin Shuo frowned, drew a lot, and shot him a look of disdain.

Yan Shaozhe took the lot as if nothing were amiss. "Freshman Class One, Team Lin Shuo, number two."

As Lin Shuo returned to his team, he passed a golden-haired youth with deep blue, double-pupiled eyes who was walking toward Yan Shaozhe with an expressionless face.

Lin Shuo's gaze fell on Huo Yu'er. Since before the draw, he had noticed that her mood was off. She sat on a bench in the rest area, her hands resting on her knees, fingers unconsciously twisting together. Her deep blue eyes stared at the ground ahead, but her gaze was unfocused. Her face was paler than usual, and her lips were pressed tightly together, as if she were trying to suppress something.

Lin Shuo walked over, sat beside her, and looked down at her.

"Yu'er."

Huo Yu'er looked up as if startled. Meeting Lin Shuo's eyes, which were filled with gentleness and concern, her long-tensed nerves relaxed slightly.

"Big Brother Lin..." Her voice was so soft it was almost drowned out by the surrounding noise.

Wang Dong'er also noticed something was wrong. She set aside her usual playful expression, sat down beside Huo Yu'er, and reached out to hold her cold hand.

"Yu'er, what's wrong?"

Huo Yu'er remained silent for a long time, the surrounding clamor seeming to fade away.

"I'm fine, Dong'er, Big Brother Lin. Let's finish the match first." Wang Dong'er wanted to say more, but Lin Shuo stopped her.

"Alright, let's compete first. We can talk about whatever it is later."

Their opponents in the final were three Great Soul Masters: Cao Jinxuan, Zhou Sichen, and Long Xiangyue. Wanting to end it quickly, Lin Shuo released his martial soul, and a hurricane mixed with fireballs flew directly toward them. Du Weilun intervened in time to block the attack.

The three opponents looked at Lin Shuo with pale faces. Hey, big brother, do we have some kind of grudge against you? Why treat us like this?

"The winner is Team Lin Shuo. Congratulations on advancing to the finals," Du Weilun announced on the spot.

Lin Shuo led Wang Dong'er and Huo Yu'er away.

On the way back, even the usually boisterous Wang Dong'er was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Dong'er, you go back to the dorm first. Yu'er and I have something to take care of."

"Okay." Wang Dong'er looked at Lin Shuo, then at Huo Yu'er, and didn't ask any questions. She squeezed Huo Yu'er's hand firmly before turning toward the dormitory building. She looked back after a few steps, her pink-blue eyes filled with worry.

Lin Shuo walked slowly with Huo Yu'er along the tree-lined path of Shrek Academy. The sunset had already dipped below the horizon, leaving only a streak of dark orange afterglow in the sky. The two walked one after the other for a long time without speaking.

Lin Shuo didn't rush her. He led her across Shrek Plaza, bypassed the teaching buildings, and walked all the way to a bench by the Sea God Lake. The lake surface shimmered with ripples in the twilight, and the distant Sea God Pavilion loomed in the evening mist. He sat down and patted the spot beside him.

Huo Yu'er sat down next to him, hands on her knees, head bowed. The lake breeze blew over, brushing aside the stray hairs on her forehead and revealing those deep blue eyes—reflecting the faint light of the lake, and also some things she had hidden for a very, very long time.

"Big Brother Lin," she said softly, "I'm sorry for making you and Dong'er worry."

"There's nothing to apologize for." Lin Shuo leaned back against the bench, his gaze resting on the distant lake. "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Whenever you're ready, I'll be here."