Even though Zhou Yi was in a terrible mood, her face dark with anger,
there was nothing she could do to stop the announcement that was about to ring out.
The referee's voice rang throughout the Soul Fighting Zone through the Amplifying Soul Tool.
"Freshman Class One, Huo Yuhao's team."
"Versus."
"Freshman Class Five, Dai Huabin's team."
Dai Huabin and his two teammates had already stepped onto the Soul Fighting Platform.
At the front stood Dai Huabin, tall and straight, his golden hair gleaming harshly in the sunlight.
A mocking smile hung openly at the corner of his mouth.
He really did look a lot like Dai Mubai at the beginning.
Behind him stood two girls, Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie.
The three of them held the entire Soul Fighting Platform in the palm of their hands.
Huo Yuhao was still in the waiting area, standing on tiptoe as he repeatedly peered toward the entrance.
Wang Dong paced back and forth beside him.
Dai Huabin's gaze swept over and landed on Huo Yuhao, the mockery at the corner of his mouth deepening.
"What, couldn't scrape together a full team?"
"Getting scared?"
"If you're scared, hurry up and admit defeat. Save yourself the embarrassment of coming up here."
The two teammates beside him laughed along.
A wave of quiet laughter also rose from the stands.
Huo Yuhao clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white, the veins on the backs of his hands bulging.
Down one person, they didn't have much chance of beating Dai Huabin.
But he had no intention of losing to someone from that family.
Absolutely none.
Wang Dong stopped pacing and muttered a curse under her breath.
"Why hasn't Xiao Xiao come back yet?"
Just as the referee was about to urge them for a second time,
a petite figure dashed in through the entrance, green hair flying behind her.
Xiao Xiao was in a hurry. A sheen of fine sweat covered her forehead, and her cheeks were flushed from running hard.
Seeing Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao finally let out the breath he'd been holding in his chest.
Wang Dong stopped pacing too and muttered, "She's finally here."
When Zhou Yi saw Xiao Xiao running over, she didn't lash out, despite her dark expression.
She simply lifted her chin, signaling for Xiao Xiao to hurry onto the platform.
"I'll let it go this time since you were obtaining a Soul Ring. Do your best, and I'll overlook your tardiness."
Xiao Xiao glanced at her and didn't break stride.
She didn't bother acknowledging Zhou Yi at all.
She walked right past her and climbed onto the Soul Fighting Platform.
Zhou Yi's expression darkened further, the wrinkles on her face deepening.
But she held down her anger.
She figured the match was about to start and Xiao Xiao was anxious, so she hadn't had the time to respond.
There would be plenty of time to deal with her after the match.
Xiao Xiao walked over to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong and stopped.
"I'm late."
She gave a casual explanation, her face showing no particular expression.
She didn't explain why she was late, and didn't even give them an apologetic look.
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong exchanged glances.
A flicker of unease passed through both their eyes.
Xiao Xiao hadn't used to act like this.
Before, whenever Xiao Xiao saw them, she was always smiling, adorable, her voice soft and sweet.
Even when she occasionally did something wrong, she would blush and apologize over and over.
And today, of all days, she was late.
She was late, so why was she acting like this?
Wang Dong couldn't put up with this.
She took a step forward, chin raised, mouth opening as she prepared to challenge Xiao Xiao.
A hand caught her by the arm.
Huo Yuhao grabbed Wang Dong and pulled her back to his side, then leaned toward her ear and lowered his voice.
"The assessment matters more. Don't make trouble."
Wang Dong shut her mouth.
She forced the words back down, glared hard at Xiao Xiao, then turned her head away.
Huo Yuhao had stopped Wang Dong because he really didn't want to argue right now.
Beating Dai Huabin was the most important thing.
More important than anything else!
The fight hadn't even started, and their own team was already at each other's throats.
Wouldn't that be handing Dai Huabin a joke to laugh at?
That was why he'd stopped Wang Dong.
Xiao Xiao stood there, watching Huo Yuhao lean in to whisper to Wang Dong.
Huo Yuhao's mouth was right beside Wang Dong's ear.
After listening, Wang Dong still looked displeased, but she didn't say anything more.
Whispering.
Whispering right in front of her.
Xiao Xiao sighed inwardly. As expected, I'm just an outsider.
Those two were on the same side. Whatever they had to say, they wouldn't say it in front of her.
Good thing.
It wasn't as if she didn't have anyone backing her up now.
Xiao Xiao looked away from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong and turned toward the stands.
In an inconspicuous corner of the stands sat two people.
An eight- or nine-year-old boy sat in the arms of a red-haired woman. The boy had handsome features, while the woman was stunningly beautiful, with a cool and distant bearing.
With Leng Yaozhu's strength as a Limit Douluo, and Xiao Xiao—a registered student of Shrek Academy—helping from the inside, sneaking into Shrek Academy to watch a freshman assessment was no challenge at all.
Gu An noticed Xiao Xiao's gaze.
He blinked.
His lips moved slightly as he silently mouthed a few words.
She couldn't hear him, but Xiao Xiao understood.
Xiao Xiao took a deep breath, turned her gaze away, and looked back at Dai Huabin and his two teammates.
On the other side of the Soul Fighting Platform,
Dai Huabin saw that Huo Yuhao's team had finally managed to assemble all three members.
His expression remained unchanged.
"So what if you've got all three?"
"You're still destined to lose."
As his words fell,
he was the first to release his Martial Soul.
The phantom of an Evil Eye White Tiger appeared behind him, its eyes wide and fangs bared as it let out a deafening roar.
Three Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
Yellow, yellow, purple.
They slowly revolved around Dai Huabin.
The two teammates beside him released their Martial Souls at the same time.
Zhu Lu had the Hell Spirit Cat, while Cui Yajie had the Nine-Tailed Fox.
The latter looked quite alluring as she summoned her Martial Soul.
Seeing this,
Huo Yuhao and the other two released their Martial Souls at the same time.
A white Soul Ring rose beneath Huo Yuhao's feet, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes as he summoned his Spirit Eye.
The wings of the Light Goddess Butterfly spread behind Wang Dong, and a yellow and a purple Soul Ring rose from beneath her feet.
Xiao Xiao clasped her hands in front of her, and the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron appeared. Two yellow Soul Rings slowly revolved around it.
She didn't summon her Nine-Phoenix Flute.
Her Second Martial Soul didn't have any Soul Rings attached to it yet.
The referee raised his right hand high, then slashed it down.
"The assessment begins!"
Dai Huabin didn't want to waste time. Without a word, he sprang into action.
He didn't use a single Soul Skill. Relying purely on a Soul Elder's physical strength, he shot toward Huo Yuhao like a cannonball.
Zhu Lu followed close at his side, her figure elusive as she left a gray-black afterimage across the Soul Fighting Platform.
Cui Yajie grew even more alluring as she used her "Charm" Soul Skill.
On the platform,
Gu An sat beside Leng Yaozhu, arms folded across his chest, his gaze fixed on the Soul Fighting Platform.
He lowered his voice and asked Leng Yaozhu,
"Do you think they can still win without Xiao Xiao's Second Martial Soul Skill?"
Leng Yaozhu was also watching the Soul Fighting Platform. At Gu An's question, she tilted her head slightly.
"Purely in terms of strength, Dai Huabin is a three-ring Soul Elder. Two of them are two-ring Soul Grandmasters, and one is a One-Ring Soul Master."
"Though both sides have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
She paused, her gaze lingering on Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
"I still think Huo Yuhao's team is more likely to win."
Gu An listened and nodded.
"Is that so?"
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
"Then I really can't let them win."
Interfering with the people onstage while they were fighting.
That was what Huo Yuhao was best at.
In the original story, Huo Yuhao had used Spiritual Detection Sharing and Mental Interference to secretly influence the outcome of who knew how many battles.
If he could do it, why couldn't Gu An?