Chapter 19

The final match of the freshman assessment had arrived, and the spectator area was packed with teachers.

Yan Shaozhe ascended the high platform, accompanied by Du Weilun and a group of other instructors. Not far from the platform, a disheveled old man was busy alternating between bites of a chicken leg and gulps of wine; it was none other than the Taotie Douluo, Xuan Zi.

Although they all presumed Lin Shuo's team would emerge victorious, no one wanted to miss this final, as it offered a chance to gain deeper insight into Lin Shuo's true capabilities.

Standing to the side, Du Weilun reported the list of recommended core disciples for this assessment to Yan Shaozhe. "Dean, regarding Huo Yu'er from Lin Shuo's team..." Du Weilun hesitated, his expression conflicted, but he continued, "She currently only has eighteen levels of soul power and possesses only a single ten-year soul ring. Spirit-type martial souls are already notoriously difficult to obtain high-quality rings for, so I originally did not recommend her for core disciple status."

He paused for a moment, lowering his voice slightly: "However, from what I understand, Lin Shuo and she share a very close relationship. If their team takes the championship and she is the only one not granted core disciple status—well, geniuses are prideful by nature, and I worry about Lin Shuo's reaction..."

Upon hearing this, Yan Shaozhe did not answer immediately. Instead, he cast his gaze toward the blue-haired girl below, scrutinizing her for several moments.

"Let it be done," Yan Shaozhe said with a slight nod. "When the rewards are distributed, let this matter be known to Lin Shuo in a subtle manner."

Du Weilun closed the roster and acknowledged the order.

Below, on both sides of the soul fighting arena, the two teams were ready.

The referee raised his hands toward both sides, signaling them to enter the arena.

As they walked onto the stage, Dai Huabin caught sight of Lin Shuo and gave him a provocative look.

Lin Shuo shook his head. Although he intended to keep the boy alive so Huo Yu'er could have her revenge in the future, Dai Huabin wouldn't be leaving this stage standing today.

"State your names."

"Lin Shuo."

"Wang Dong'er."

"Huo Yu'er."

"Dai Huabin."

"Zhu Lu."

"Cui Yajie."

"The match begins."

The moment the words fell, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu activated their martial souls, opening their arms and lunging toward each other. Dai Huabin knew he was no match for Lin Shuo in a one-on-one fight, especially after seeing him instantly defeat Xie Huanyue. But as long as he and Zhu Lu utilized their martial soul fusion skill, the "Nether White Tiger," he was certain of victory.

A blinding white light erupted, and the two figures vanished. A massive white tiger appeared within the assessment area. The beast was translucent, its white fur marked with black stripes, and it stared coldly at Lin Shuo. Without a moment's hesitation, the Nether White Tiger pushed off the ground with all four claws, its massive body launching forward like an arrow from a bow. Sharp tiger claws tore through the air, leaving several cold streaks of light as they aimed straight for Lin Shuo.

Wang Dong'er instinctively spread her butterfly wings, about to step forward, but Lin Shuo raised a hand to stop her.

"Dong'er, you don't need to intervene." As he spoke, Lin Shuo took a step forward.

He activated his Seven-Colored Dragon King martial soul.

Seven-colored dragon scales spread from his arms up to his shoulders, refracting a glass-like luster under the sunlight. He didn't need to fully manifest his soul for someone like this.

The Nether White Tiger's pupils constricted violently. Within those cold, dark blue eyes, the icy killing intent was replaced by fear.

Lin Shuo left an afterimage behind as he appeared directly in front of the Nether White Tiger in the next instant. He splayed his fingers and grabbed the beast's front paw, seven-colored light swirling between his digits.

The Nether White Tiger tried to break free, but the hand held its paw like an iron vice; no matter how much strength it exerted, the grip remained immovable. Lin Shuo then dropped his arm, hoisting the giant tiger into the air before slamming it violently into the ground.

BOOM!

A shallow crater exploded into the earth, sending gravel flying. The Nether White Tiger let out a low, guttural roar. Its form began to flicker violently. Under the weight of such absolute, brutal suppression, the fusion state could no longer be maintained. The white light burst apart once more, and Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were thrown back by the backlash of their broken fusion.

Without looking back, Lin Shuo swung his hand. Two gusts of wind struck Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie with precision, sweeping them off the arena stage.

His gaze remained fixed on Dai Huabin.

Dai Huabin lay on the ground, struggling to stand.

Lin Shuo had controlled his strength carefully; he was afraid of knocking the boy unconscious. If he passed out, the referee would end the match immediately—and he couldn't have that.

Lin Shuo grabbed Dai Huabin by the head and slammed it down hard.

BANG!

Dai Huabin's forehead struck the ground with a dull, heavy thud. The intense pain made him open his mouth to scream, only to find that he couldn't make a sound. His voice had been sealed by an invisible force—a spatial lock Lin Shuo had placed upon him, preventing even a single cry from escaping.

Hmm, that was a good sound. A solid hit.

"As expected of the Duke White Tiger's second son, you're quite tough. You still haven't surrendered."

In the distance, the referee, who had originally intended to intervene, stopped in his tracks. That was true! Since the person involved hadn't fainted or surrendered, it meant he had no objections, so why should he interfere?

Hearing these words, Dai Huabin's eyes filled with deep resentment and humiliation.

On the high platform, Du Weilun asked Yan Shaozhe if they should intervene; any intelligent person could see there was bad blood between the two.

"In a soul fighting match, if you aren't as skilled as your opponent, you have no room to complain—even if the Duke White Tiger himself were here, he would have nothing to say, provided no lives are lost," Yan Shaozhe said calmly. He knew exactly how to weigh a duke's second son against Lin Shuo.

Du Weilun felt a chill in his heart; he had still underestimated Lin Shuo's standing in the eyes of the academy's leadership. Had Lin Shuo's importance truly reached the point where he could publicly humiliate the Duke White Tiger's son without consequence?

BANG! BANG!

"Well, let's end this early." Lin Shuo released his head, grabbed the boy's legs, and slammed him into the ground again, simultaneously releasing the seal on his mouth.

CRACK!

A crisp sound of breaking bones rang out, piercingly loud in the suddenly silent assessment area. Dai Huabin's legs bent at an unnatural angle, and immediately after, a heart-wrenching scream erupted from his throat.

"AAAH—"

Dai Huabin's shrill scream echoed throughout the entire assessment area, and immediately after, his eyes rolled back, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground, falling completely unconscious.

Lin Shuo looked down at Dai Huabin, who lay on the ground like a pile of mush, and brushed some non-existent dust off his hands.

"Fainted so quickly, how boring."

Seeing that Dai Huabin had lost consciousness, the referee stepped forward.

"The champions are the Freshman Class One, Lin Shuo's team."

Wang Dong'er threw her arms around Huo Yu'er, who was standing beside her; even though neither of them had made a move during the finals, they were still champions! Huo Yu'er stared blankly at Lin Shuo, complex emotions surging within her deep blue eyes.

She understood that Lin Shuo had done this to vent her frustrations, especially since Lin Shuo and Dai Huabin had never met before.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say "thank you," but the words stuck in her throat, unable to come out. Between her and Lin Shuo, those two words felt far too light.

Wang Dong'er finally let go of Huo Yu'er, glanced at her expression, and then looked at Lin Shuo. She quietly took hold of Huo Yu'er's hand and gave it a firm squeeze.

Lin Shuo walked over to them and stopped.

"Do you feel better now?"

Without waiting for Huo Yu'er to reply, he turned and headed off the stage.

"Let's go, time to head back."