Do You Have a Grudge Against Dai Huabin?

"But..." Wu Feng still hesitated. "Shrek Academy's assessments emphasize stopping at the right point. If we hit too hard, the academy will reprimand us."

"Stopping at the right point is for opponents with bottom lines." Huo Yuhao's tone was calm, yet it carried a chilling clarity. "It's not like we're taking lives. The freshman assessment requires us to go all out. If we hit hard, people will naturally fear us, and we can avoid getting dragged into too many battles and exposing information about our soul skills."

Wu Feng's lips moved as she muttered, "We're all classmates. There's no need to be so ruthless, right? And if the injuries are too severe, it'll affect their later cultivation. We could show a little mercy."

Huo Yuhao did not immediately refute her. He merely spun a crystal of ice formed at his fingertips in his palm. The light refracted by the icy edge happened to fall upon Wu Feng's slightly furrowed brow. "What you see as mercy may be seen as a flaw by your opponent."

His voice softened, but became even clearer. "Besides, do you think other teams will hold back when they face us? The results of the freshman assessment concern our future treatment at Shrek Academy. Who would stop at the right point with you?"

Wu Feng froze. She truly had not considered that.

"The academy's rule is 'do not damage one's foundation,' but it never says we can't make our opponents hurt." The ice crystal at Huo Yuhao's fingertips turned into fine snow, falling onto the table and melting into droplets. "It's better to scatter their soul power and make them lie down for two days to recover than to use more soul skills and make future opponents wary of us."

"Those Soul Elder teams aren't pushovers either. If you think the two Soul Elders on our team can steamroll through them, that's just wishful thinking."

Ning Tian suddenly raised her hand. The phantom of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda flashed in her palm, and a rainbow halo fell onto the tabletop, circling the droplets Huo Yuhao had melted into a tiny ring of water.

"Yuhao is right. Let's proceed according to Yuhao's plan for now."

Though she said that, Ning Tian's gaze never left Huo Yuhao. She knew what kind of person he was. Deep down, he was gentle, not someone who would resort to ruthless measures at the slightest provocation. Yet he had proposed such a strategy now, so there had to be another reason.

The fine snow at Huo Yuhao's fingertips had yet to disperse. Sensing Ning Tian's gaze upon him, he lifted his eyes to meet hers. A nearly imperceptible flicker passed through his ice-blue eyes before they returned to calm. "It's only a plan. There's no need to think too much about it." He spoke lightly and tapped the table with his fingertip. The ring of water enclosed by the rainbow halo suddenly froze into ice, its surface reflecting the three of them. "With me and the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's amplification, I should be overwhelmingly stronger than anyone we encounter in the early stages of the assessment. Wu Feng probably won't need to make a move."

Wu Feng looked at the reflection in the ice. Her shadow was enclosed between Ning Tian's rainbow halo and Huo Yuhao's ice-blue patterns, and an inexplicable sense of belonging arose within her. She muttered, "Fine, fine. Are you sure you want me to hide my strength and not fight?"

Ning Tian, however, did not look away. Her fingertips gently brushed over the phantom of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, making the halo around its tip sway slightly. "Yuhao, can the range of your Spirit Eye's Spiritual Detection cover the entire assessment arena?"

Huo Yuhao nodded. "No problem."

"Then... have you scanned the teams from the other classes?" Ning Tian's voice was soft, as though she feared disturbing something.

The ice crystal at Huo Yuhao's fingertips paused for a moment, then melted as if nothing had happened. "I have."

"There aren't many Soul Elder teams. We mainly need to watch Dai Huabin's team. Dai Huabin's team has one Soul Elder. On paper, they don't look strong, but Zhu Lu's martial soul is the Netherworld Spirit Cat."

It was as if lightning had flashed through Ning Tian's mind. She cried out in shock, "A Martial Soul Fusion Skill?!"

Huo Yuhao's fingertips stopped in midair. Frost mist gathered between his fingers without dispersing, and his voice became several degrees heavier. "It's highly possible. The Netherworld Spirit Cat and the White Tiger are both beast martial souls, and Zhu Lu's soul power fluctuations are highly synchronized with Dai Huabin's. Those are typical signs of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

Wu Feng abruptly leaned in, nearly throwing herself across the tabletop. "Is a Martial Soul Fusion Skill that powerful? Is it even stronger than Young Mistress's Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda?"

Before Ning Tian could answer, the phantom Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda at her fingertips had already begun to emit an urgent halo. The rainbow light at its tip flickered brightly and dimly. "It's far more than powerful. Among freshmen, fewer than one in a hundred can use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Once they fuse, their strength will rise by at least fifty percent. They might even cross an entire major realm—Dai Huabin is already a power-attack Soul Elder. With a fusion skill, he may be able to directly contend with a high-level Soul Ancestor."

She looked at Huo Yuhao. The shock in her eyes had yet to fade, replaced by a layer of gravity. "You noticed it long ago?"

Huo Yuhao nodded, and the frost mist at his fingertips finally dispersed. "My Spiritual Detection has never been wrong. There must be a Martial Soul Fusion Skill between Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu."

Wu Feng clicked her tongue in amazement. "Then... what do we do? We can't just stand there and let them use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill to beat us up, can we?"

"Know yourself and your enemy, and you will win every battle." Huo Yuhao's voice turned cold. "Since we know they have this trump card first, we have a way to deal with it. I'm telling you so that you'll be more cautious, not so that you'll lose confidence."

Ning Tian's doubts grew heavier and heavier. Huo Yuhao had first spoken of hitting hard, then warned them to be wary of Dai Huabin's Martial Soul Fusion Skill. It was practically written on his face that he was targeting Dai Huabin.

Unable to stop herself, she asked, "Yuhao, do you have a conflict with Dai Huabin?"

Huo Yuhao raised his head with a smile. "You guessed it? What, do you want to support me, or do you want to resolve the conflict between Dai Huabin and me?"

For some reason, as Ning Tian looked at Huo Yuhao's smile, she felt as though he might leave her in the next moment. An inexplicable panic rose within her, and she hurriedly said, "No. Although the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect has deep ties with the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, I just want to tell you that you have the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect and me behind you. I'll always stand behind you!"

The smile on Huo Yuhao's face faded slightly. A trace of complex emotion flashed through his eyes before turning into calm warmth. He looked at Ning Tian and lightly tapped the table with his fingertips. His voice was not loud, yet it carried a reassuring strength. "Thank you."

There were no excessive sentimental words, yet Ning Tian's suspended heart quietly settled. Her hand gripping the hem of her skirt loosened, and the phantom of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda slowly faded from her fingertips. A faint, imperceptible blush appeared on her cheeks. "We're teammates, aren't we?"

"Exactly!" Wu Feng slammed the table, making the bowls and plates clatter. "Young Mistress has spoken. What the hell is Dai Huabin? Isn't it just a Martial Soul Fusion Skill? When the time comes, the three of us will join forces and make him see what we're capable of!" As she spoke, she raised her fist. Faint signs of martial soul possession emerged, and a flicker of firelight glimmered from her fingertips.