Chapter 29

Wang Dong's eyes lit up.

"Whoa, what a badass name!"

"That's the one!"

For the rest of that time, Ye Tianming spent his days running laps and sparring with Class One, then attended Dean Qian Duoduo's lectures at the Soul Tool Department in the evenings.

Qian Duoduo practically wanted to tie him to his belt. Ye Tianming could not turn him down, so he agreed to go twice a week.

Whenever Huo Yutong finished training with Ye Tianming, she brought him food she had made herself.

Ye Tianming accepted every bite without hesitation.

Of course, he also gave the adorable little girl a vigorous head rub every time.

Time flew.

On the day the Freshman Assessment began, the entire outer academy gathered around the assessment grounds.

More than three hundred freshmen formed teams of three and faced elimination matches determined by lot.

Ye Tianming's team drew Ning Tian's team in their first match.

Ning Tian possessed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul. A three-ring Soul Elder, she was a renowned support-type prodigy among this year's freshmen.

Of course, though Ye Tianming was also a three-ring Soul Elder, he had already broken through level forty.

He simply had not hunted down his next Soul Ring yet.

On the battlefield, Ning Tian looked Huo Yutong over and smiled.

"I heard Class One has a one-ring control-type student. Don't tell me that's you?"

Huo Yutong did not answer. She activated her First Soul Skill and shared her senses with Wang Dong and Ye Tianming through Spiritual Sharing.

Then she fired a Mental Shock straight at Ning Tian's team.

Their vision blurred. Wang Dong's Butterfly Wings flashed, and a golden figure appeared among the three of them in an instant.

"First Soul Skill, Winged Guillotine!"

Wang Dong shouted. Before Ning Tian could even react, the blow blasted her off the platform.

Ye Tianming was not about to stand by and watch. He followed right behind Wang Dong.

He opened with his Second Soul Skill, appearing behind Nanmen Yun'er in an instant.

"First Soul Skill, Azure Dragon Hundred-Crack Claw!"

One swipe sent Nanmen Yun'er flying off the platform. Without the slightest pause, he chained into his Third Soul Skill, Azure Dragon Thunderclap Claw.

The terrifying claw strike tore toward Wu Feng, who had yet to recover.

Wu Feng had no time to react. She, too, was knocked off the platform in an instant.

"The match is decided!"

"Ye Tianming's team wins!"

At the edge of the platform, Ning Tian and her teammates stared in a daze.

What just happened?

Their heads had spun for a moment, and somehow they had lost?

Meanwhile, on the platform...

"Wow! Brother Tianming, you were so cool!"

Huo Yutong shouted excitedly.

"Hey, hey! Wasn't this young lady cool too?"

Wang Dong stood to one side, plainly displeased.

Huo Yutong hurriedly added, embarrassed,

"You were cool too, Wang Dong."

Wang Dong: "..."

With that said, Huo Yutong rushed over to Ye Tianming, clung to his arm, and began talking about the details of the match.

Watching the two of them chat, Wang Dong suddenly felt as though they were giving off a dazzling glow.

Over the next few days of the Freshman Assessment, their opponents were almost always defeated in an instant or surrendered outright.

Then, one day...

"Match, begin!"

Ye Tianming's team faced Xie Huanyue's.

The Rubber Elephant Martial Soul was said to have the best defense among the freshmen. Xie Huanyue himself was a three-ring Soul Elder, thick-skinned and impervious to blades and spears.

The three used their usual tactics. Huo Yutong launched a Mental Shock at the opposing team.

Wang Dong's Butterfly God's Light struck Xie Huanyue, but it was like scratching an itch.

Ye Tianming, meanwhile, was in no hurry to attack.

An amusing idea suddenly came to him, and he spoke slowly.

"If you can withstand one move from Yutong and Wang Dong, we'll concede this match."

Huo Yutong and Wang Dong both turned to him in shock.

Then Ye Tianming raised an eyebrow, and they immediately understood.

In a voice only the two of them could hear, he added,

"Remember, go a little easy on them."

Xie Huanyue was delighted to hear this.

"It's a deal!"

Ye Tianming nodded at once.

"Don't worry. I'm a man of my word. I won't go back on it."

Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao stood back-to-back.

Then golden light burst forth once more.

Withering Amid Splendor.

Golden Road!

A thirty-meter golden furrow plowed straight from one end of the arena to the other.

The Rubber Elephant's supposedly unbeatable defense was like paper before the Golden Road.

Xie Huanyue collapsed unconscious in the arena.

The entire crowd erupted!

After releasing the Golden Road, Huo Yutong hurried back to Ye Tianming's side. Taking his hand, she asked excitedly,

"What do you think, Brother Tianming? Was I amazing?"

Ye Tianming smiled and rubbed her head.

"You were. Yutong was super amazing!"

Wang Dong: "..."

In the other semifinal, Dai Huabin's team faced Huang Chutian's.

Dai Huabin, who possessed the White Tiger Martial Soul, was already a three-ring Soul Elder. With Zhu Lu and her Nether Civet Martial Soul beside him, he unleashed a barrage of White Tiger Heaven-Splitting Claws.

Huang Chutian's team lasted only a few exchanges before falling.

When the matchups were announced, everyone in Class One drew a sharp breath.

Ye Tianming's team versus Dai Huabin's team.

On the day of the final, the assessment grounds were packed so tightly that water could not have flowed through.

Dai Huabin stood at the center of the arena. He had grown considerably taller since their time at the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. Dressed in brocade robes, he had not lost a trace of the arrogance between his brows.

He glanced at Huo Yutong across from him and was about to say something.

But Ye Tianming's stare sent a chill down his spine, and he swallowed the words he had prepared.

Wait. What am I afraid of? We both have three rings.

The river runs east for thirty years, then west for thirty. This time, I'll wipe away the shame of my defeat.

Dai Huabin's thoughts turned cold.

All three Soul Rings beneath his feet lit up.

Two yellow and one purple. His White Tiger Martial Soul possessed him in an instant, and a tiger's roar left everyone's ears ringing.

"Match, begin!"

Before the referee had finished speaking, Dai Huabin lunged. Ye Tianming merely used his Second Soul Skill, Wandering Dragon, without exerting his full strength.

With the movement of Azure Dragon Cloud Soar, he glided around the arena, keeping Huo Yutong safely behind him.

But Dai Huabin clearly had no intention of letting him keep moving freely.

"Zhu Lu!"

Dai Huabin roared.

Zhu Lu understood at once. Her Nether Civet Martial Soul possessed her, and with a flicker of her figure, she stood back-to-back with Dai Huabin.

Their Soul Power merged violently, and a terrifying beam of white light shot into the sky.

When the light faded, an enormous white tiger, over three meters tall, stood at the center of the arena.

Its body was snow-white, its black stripes dark as ink, and its eyes glinted with a chilling ferocity. The terrifying pressure made the younger students around the arena blanch.

"It's the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Hell White Tiger!"

Up on the raised platform, Du Lun, the director of the teaching department, raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

The Hell White Tiger roared and struck with one massive paw.