Listening to the cheers around him, Li Qingming looked at the three people who had been utterly defeated.
As Li Qingming casually dispelled the Angel Shield, there was still no excitement on his face.
Such matters no longer had much of an impact on him.
Or rather, battles at this stage were merely tools for him to gain fame and Soul Bones.
So he was not particularly thrilled.
But the next moment, Wang Dong pounced on him and tightly wrapped his arms around Li Qingming's neck.
It happened so suddenly that Li Qingming visibly froze for a moment.
Then Xiao Xiao pounced over as well.
Amid the two of them's cheers, Li Qingming paused, and a rare hint of a smile appeared in his eyes.
With the match over, they had advanced to the semifinals. However, both the semifinals and finals were easy victories.
Though the opponents they encountered all possessed three-ring strength, they had virtually no chance against Li Qingming.
Once their three-ring Soul Masters were easily suppressed by Li Qingming, they quickly collapsed.
And the final victors were naturally Li Qingming's team.
The day after their victory, all the first-year students gathered together.
That was because all freshmen who had passed the freshman assessment would be assigned to classes that day. Du Weilun would also announce the results of the freshman assessment elimination tournament, along with the related rewards.
The top three teams would each receive a Soul Ring best suited to them, with the academy helping them find and obtain it.
The champion team would also receive a mysterious reward.
"This year's freshmen are of a higher caliber than in previous years. The academy has specially approved a number of students to become core disciples of the Outer Court. I will now announce the list."
"Li Qingming, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Zhou Sicheng, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo..."
As the student names were read out, Li Qingming paid no attention to his own name and instead silently looked toward the back.
At the very rear, Huo Yuhao stood there quietly with his head lowered.
The young man's gaze was calm, yet a trace of hatred unconsciously showed in his eyes.
This time, he had not been assigned to the same class or dormitory as Wang Dong.
The greater change was in his teammates. This time, his teammates were Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo.
The three of them had formed a team by chance.
However, their result this time had been miserable.
Although Li Qingming's team had not encountered Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo, and therefore had not encountered Huo Yuhao, they had still suffered a crushing defeat, stopping at the round of sixty-four and only barely making it here.
Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo had been specially approved as Outer Court core disciples because of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, which naturally had nothing to do with Huo Yuhao.
Looking at the young man with his head lowered and sorrow written all over his face, Li Qingming remained calm.
He knew that Huo Yuhao would soon head to the Far North to obtain the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion as his second Martial Soul.
This would be the true beginning of Huo Yuhao's rise.
Yet as he gazed at Huo Yuhao, Li Qingming's expression did not change.
Once the competition results had been announced, the three of them followed Du Weilun to his office.
Naturally, Li Qingming was familiar with this office.
After all, he had come here to steal something before.
When Du Weilun took out a bag and handed it to the two of them, Li Qingming already knew what was inside.
It was the Void Leopard's left leg bone, a relatively rare Soul Bone.
This Soul Bone was of no use to him, and he had no interest in one of this quality.
So after taking out the Soul Bone, the three of them discussed it briefly and decided to give it to Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao was actually quite touched that the two of them gave something so important to her.
But neither of them said anything, so although Xiao Xiao remembered the favor, she did not express it either.
Just as the three of them were about to leave, Zhou Yi came over as well.
Zhou Yi swept her gaze over Li Qingming. Seeing the calm-as-water expression on the young man before her, she was somewhat speechless.
Still, she raised her hand and took out another bag, handing it over.
"You took first place this time, so I have a special reward for you as well."
After saying that, she did not linger. She raised her hand and handed over the bag. Seeing the secret-art Soul Bone inside, they were all somewhat surprised.
Li Qingming stared at the Soul Bone for a moment, and his eyes flickered slightly.
"Who should we give this Soul Bone to? Which one of us should use it? It really is useful to us, but..."
Wang Dong scratched his head as he spoke.
This secret-art Soul Bone was completely useless to him.
And the Void Leopard Soul Bone was perfectly suited to Xiao Xiao, so she did not need the secret-art Soul Bone either.
This secret-art Soul Bone could increase the success rate of Soul Bone fusion, making it extremely useful.
It simply had no use for them at present.
However, upon seeing it, Li Qingming raised his hand and took it from Zhou Yi first.
"Please give this to me, Teacher Zhou. It will be useful to me."
Li Qingming cupped his fists slightly toward Zhou Yi as he spoke, taking the item without ceremony.
Zhou Yi merely glanced at him before turning and leaving.
Neither Wang Dong nor Xiao Xiao objected to Li Qingming taking it.
Xiao Xiao had absolutely no use for it. Her current Soul Bone had fused perfectly, and she did not need any additional enhancement.
As for Wang Dong, he had no Soul Bone that needed fusing at the moment.
Once the Soul Bones had been distributed, the three of them went their separate ways and returned to their classrooms.
With the establishment of the first-year classes, there were four first-year classes in total.
The core class among them was First-Year Class One.
First-Year Class One was mainly divided into two factions: the control system and the assault system.
Support-system students like Ning Tian were assigned to Class Three, while those focused on defense, like Xie Shengyue, went to Class Two.
At this moment, in First-Year Class One, Teacher Wang stood at the front, quietly writing down the candidates for class monitor.
There was no need to ask who ranked first among the assault-system candidates: Li Qingming.
Wang Dong was second, Dai Huabin third, Zhou Sicheng fourth, and Huang Chutian fifth.
Among the control-system candidates, Xiao Xiao ranked first, Cao Jinxuan second, Lan Susu third, and Lan Luoluo fourth.
Looking at the list on the board, many people turned their eyes toward the young man seated at the very front.
The young man had a head of golden hair and sat there quietly and casually.
One hand propped up his head against the desk as he gazed slightly outside.
Li Qingming did not care about any of this. He had no interest whatsoever in the position of class monitor.
Yet seeing him like that, many girls secretly looked at him.
Even quite a few boys in the back were looking at him.
Only Dai Huabin wore a gloomy expression. He stared fixedly at Li Qingming, and a vicious glint flashed through his eyes.
Even so, he knew he could do nothing to Li Qingming.
So he lowered his head as well and said nothing.
This class monitor election went quite smoothly, with Li Qingming receiving far more votes than anyone else.
Once the class monitor had officially been selected and the remaining classes were completed, they would officially begin their vacation.
And that was what annoyed Li Qingming the most.
He had originally thought everything would be over after the final assessment, but it turned out they still had to attend class and finish these courses before vacation could officially begin.
Of course, the remaining lessons passed quickly.
After Wang Yan announced the second-year opening assessment, they officially entered their break.
However, Dai Huabin and the others had not been moved to Class Two this time. Instead, they remained in Class One with the others.
At that moment, in the dormitory, Li Qingming and Wang Dong were both packing their things.
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