The Ultimate Dark Horse

Yun Xiao said the words, but there was an obvious trace of tension on his face as well.

However, seeing the single soul ring on each of the three opponents, Xie Xie gave a disdainful smile and stepped forward.

The three on the other side did not care either. The one in the lead was a teenage boy whose body was covered in fur.

As he stepped forward, before Xie Xie could strike a dashing pose and make his move, scorching light had already begun to flare.

Terrifying radiance enveloped the area. As a faint white gleam flashed through Yun Xiao's eyes, the fur on their bodies, along with the soul skills unleashed by the other two students, vanished in an instant.

And that was the end of it. Especially when they saw Yun Xiao wielding a Flame Longblade and chasing the three of them down to slash at them, Class Four's homeroom teacher immediately chose to surrender.

Quite a few students around them were dumbfounded by the scene, especially by this student named Yun Xiao.

After all, although he had not been particularly famous when he first arrived at the academy, many people had noticed him.

Those who could enter Eastsea Academy had either graduated from nearby schools or possessed fairly outstanding grades.

They had rarely seen a boy so deeply steeped in inferiority, so when they saw Yun Xiao, many wore looks of disdain.

Yet no one had expected that in such a short time, the once timid and self-conscious boy would become so overwhelmingly domineering.

Long Hengxu's gaze swept over the area, pausing briefly on Wu Zhangkong's face before revealing a hint of admiration.

"Teacher Wu's teaching ability truly is impressive. Since today's matches have gone so quickly, let's proceed directly to the next one. It would naturally be best if we could finish them all today."

"Let them rest for twenty minutes. After all, they've consumed Soul Power."

Before Long Hengxu could finish, Wu Zhangkong interjected. Long Hengxu glanced at him. Though there was a trace of displeasure on his face, he still nodded.

"Then let them rest for twenty minutes."

As Wu Zhangkong and Long Hengxu finished speaking, quite a few students around them began whispering among themselves.

Chen Ye, meanwhile, glanced toward Class Five's group, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

It was obvious that Tang Wulin had locked the classroom door from the inside, so the students had not opened it and had instead come straight to the field to assemble.

Someone among them must have seen Tang Wulin. Sure enough, once the break was announced, a long-haired girl leaned over and whispered something into Wu Zhangkong's ear.

Wu Zhangkong frowned slightly, nodded to the girl, and then headed directly toward the teaching building.

Chen Ye glanced in that direction without paying it much mind. About ten minutes later, Wu Zhangkong returned, carrying Tang Wulin in one hand as he strode over.

Tang Wulin still looked sleepy, but the aura around him had changed enormously.

Seeing Tang Wulin's bewildered expression, Chen Ye smiled faintly.

After Wu Zhangkong brought Tang Wulin back, another ten minutes or so passed before the second match began.

This sort of high-intensity competition was actually difficult for many people to adjust to. In the past, there had been one match per day, with plenty of time in between.

But this time, due to various reasons such as a teacher's death and the investigation into the case, Eastsea Academy's competition schedule had changed.

Especially because Yun Xiao had indirectly caused a teacher's death, Eastsea Academy had greatly accelerated the pace of the competition.

"The next match: first-year Class Five versus first-year Class Three."

As Long Hengxu announced the start of the match, a woman with long dark-pink hair approached with a smile.

She wore an outfit of black stockings, yet her face lacked the mature charm of a grown woman. Instead, it carried the lively cheerfulness of a young girl.

"Hello, Teacher Wu. I've long admired your reputation. I'm Ye Yingrong from Class Three."

Ye Yingrong wore a smile, but Wu Zhangkong merely glanced at her before looking directly at Xie Xie, Yun Xiao, and Tang Wulin.

"If you lose this match, your training intensity will be multiplied by fifteen."

The three of them did not seem particularly bothered after Wu Zhangkong spoke. Xie Xie especially glanced at Yun Xiao and rolled his eyes.

As the six of them stepped onto the stage, many people turned their attention to Class Three's team.

The three members Class Three sent out were identical. They were clearly triplets. As wings unfurled from all three of their backs simultaneously, they flew directly into the sky.

But under the sun, whether they flew into the sky or not made no difference at all.

As scorching light flickered, the rays refracted directly.

Yun Xiao merely raised his hand, and the sun behind him actually produced a faint refraction with the sun in the sky.

Light refracted wildly, directly burning through the triplets' martial souls and nearly inflicting heavy injuries on them.

Watching the triplets lose less than ten seconds after taking the stage, Ye Yingrong's face showed a rare trace of embarrassment.

Her gaze fell on Yun Xiao, her expression carrying a hint of regret.

"What a gifted child. He should have gone straight to Class One, shouldn't he? He already possesses such terrifying power with just one ring. He's stronger than most people I know."

Although Ye Yingluo seemed to be speaking to herself, she was clearly addressing Wu Zhangkong.

Unfortunately, it was plainly like playing music to a cow.

Wu Zhangkong did not even spare her a glance and simply returned calmly to his team.

Seeing Class Four and Class Three defeated by Yun Xiao alone as easily as chopping vegetables, quite a few students exchanged glances.

They did not look toward Class Two, but directly toward Class One.

Class One's teacher was absent, but the white-haired boy sitting at the front was exceptionally conspicuous.

He was the only one in the entire class not sitting on the grass. Instead, he sat in a chair woven from vines, scrutinizing this side with a measuring look in his eyes.

Seeing Chen Ye's completely unconcerned, carefree manner, Yun Xiao's face instinctively showed a trace of disdain and anger.

He did not understand where this emotion came from, but he felt an inexplicably powerful fighting spirit—or rather, hostility—toward Chen Ye.

This was not Chen Ye's influence, but because they both belonged to sequences of the Chaos Sea pathway.

He would naturally develop a certain hostility toward Chen Ye himself, or rather, the urge to kill him and devour him.

As a result, the anger within him continued to build, and the unlucky ones became the next three members of Class Two.

As soon as Class Two's contestants stepped onto the stage, Tang Wulin and Yun Xiao attacked together.

One directly displayed terrifying strength, sending an opponent flying with a single punch, while the other filled the sky with radiance before raising the Flame Longsword and charging in to slash.

Watching this scene and the nearly one-sided crushing advantage, the students below were genuinely shocked.

In just one day, the former Class Five had directly defeated Class Two and even sought to challenge Class One's position.

Most crucially, these students clearly only had one ring, yet the destructive power they displayed against those of the same rank was practically overwhelming.

This not only aroused the curiosity of many people, but even Long Hengxu turned an interested gaze toward Class One.

Feeling that most people's eyes were focused on them, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Ziyang swallowed, traces of nervousness appearing on their faces.

Although both of them possessed the strength of two rings, being watched by so many people—on top of Class Five's terrifying record of fighting their way through Class Two—made them somewhat nervous.

However, when their gazes fell on Chen Ye, who sat at the very front with an interested expression, their hearts inexplicably settled again.

Just as the two were about to step forward and say something to Chen Ye, Long Hengxu's voice rang out from the side.

"The next match: first-year Class Five versus first-year Class One."