First Match of the Knockout Tournament, Qiongqi vs. Seven Treasure Glazed Tile (Please keep reading and send tips)

Huang Chutian glanced at the two girls who had been deposited in front of the referee, sighed, then swung his fist and released his Martial Soul Possession.

"I admit defeat, heart and soul. Impressive."

Huang Chutian made no excuses, nor did he have any to make. After all, Huo Yuhao had not defeated them with a soul skill. He had not even released his martial soul throughout the entire match.

Huo Yuhao smiled at Huang Chutian and said,

"You have a solid foundation too, Brother Huang, and your reactions in battle were quick."

Huang Chutian smiled and waved a hand. As he looked at Huo Yuhao and the two girls again, there was a little more acceptance in his eyes.

"After all that trouble, we couldn't even force you to release your martial soul. The gap in strength was too big. There's nothing else to say."

Huang Chutian stood as he spoke and said to Huo Yuhao,

"I hope your remaining matches go smoothly. Aim for ten wins out of ten."

Huo Yuhao replied to Huang Chutian,

"Then I'll take that as a good omen."

The next four matches went just as smoothly as Huang Chutian had predicted. None of their remaining opponents had higher soul power levels than his team, and they encountered no more Martial Soul Fusion Skills.

But on the morning their ten matches concluded, after the three of them left the Assessment Area, Huo Yuhao noticed that Wang Dong seemed rather glum.

Huo Yuhao could more or less guess what Wang Dong was thinking, but he did not point it out. Instead, Xiao Xiao, who had yet to part ways with them, spoke with her usual frankness.

"Wang Dong, what's wrong? Did you lose your soul?"

Xiao Xiao's call startled Wang Dong out of her thoughts. Coming back to herself, she said,

"Hm? Oh, I was thinking about Martial Soul Fusion Skills."

"Martial Soul Fusion Skills?"

Xiao Xiao played the straight woman, repeating the phrase. Wang Dong nodded, then answered,

"Yes, that move the sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo used before Huo Yuhao grabbed them—the one where they hugged each other. I was thinking, wouldn't it be even better if we had that ability?"

Huo Yuhao stretched, then said to Wang Dong,

"Don't overthink it. Our martial souls aren't compatible. Mine doesn't match either of yours, and there's very little connection between your Goddess Butterfly and the Soul-Calming Cauldron."

Wang Dong froze at his words and could not help sighing. Xiao Xiao hesitated for a moment, then said to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong,

"Actually, I have a second martial soul. It's another tool martial soul called the Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute. It's another martial soul passed down in our family."

Wang Dong's eyes lit up, and she immediately said to Xiao Xiao,

"I have a second martial soul too. It's the Clear Sky Hammer!"

Although Huo Yuhao already knew the truth about Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, he still feigned bewilderment. Slapping his thigh, he said,

"So both of you have twin martial souls, and you're picking on poor little me with my single martial soul."

Huo Yuhao delivered those words with righteous indignation. Although the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had already promised to research a second martial soul for him, he still did not have one.

Since he did not have one yet, he could hardly produce it if he claimed otherwise. He might as well pretend he had none, then later follow the original Huo Yuhao's example and invent a similar lie.

Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong both rolled their eyes at Huo Yuhao, then spoke in unison.

"You have the nerve to say that? Your soul power is practically higher than both of ours put together."

Huo Yuhao promptly adopted a dead-fish stare and said,

"Then take your time figuring it out. I'm heading back first."

But Xiao Xiao grabbed Huo Yuhao. When he turned around, her face immediately reddened, and she said to him,

"Speaking of which, I really need to thank you. If you hadn't joked around with me that time, I might already have added the first soul ring to my second martial soul by now. That would have wasted a huge amount of my talent."

Huo Yuhao raised his eyebrows and said,

"I do find that strange, though. Logically, you hadn't officially started studying back then, and the pressure from Shrek Academy hadn't landed on your shoulders yet. Why were you thinking about adding a soul ring to your second martial soul?"

Discussing that embarrassing episode, Xiao Xiao scratched her head and briefly explained. Only then did Huo Yuhao understand: she had happened to see Xie Huanyue boasting in a restaurant and witnessed his strength as a Soul Elder.

Thinking that Shrek Academy was full of monsters like him, she had wanted to get a hundred-year soul ring to strengthen herself.

"Good thing you already had two rings back then. Otherwise, wouldn't you have just killed yourself?"

Huo Yuhao then said,

"Take your time figuring it out. I'm heading back first. Don't stay out too late. We may have a day's breathing room tomorrow, but we still have regular classes. That old hag Zhou Yi is holding a wrap-up meeting too."

With that, Huo Yuhao turned and headed toward the dormitory building. The next morning, the three of them entered Freshman Class One's dormitory together. Zhou Yi had already arrived, but her expression was not stern. Clearly, she was not angry.

By Zhou Yi's usual logic, class began the moment she arrived, and anyone late for class would be thrown out.

"Sit here. These seats are yours."

Zhou Yi gently pointed to the chairs beside her, then addressed Huo Yuhao and the two girls in a mild voice.

The three exchanged glances, then took the seats Zhou Yi had indicated without hesitation. The instant Zhou Yi raised her head, her expression hardened.

"Our class's results this time were an utter mess. Don't think you're safe just because you got into Shrek. Damn it, apart from these nine up front, not one of you made it into the Knockout Tournament. You certainly know how to scrape by in the rankings, don't you!"

Apart from the nine students in the first two rows, the rest of Freshman Class One fell silent as cicadas in winter, clearly cowed by Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi continued,

"That's fine. You don't like fighting for a higher rank, do you? That's fine. You'll have a wonderful time over the next three days of the Knockout Tournament. I'll show you what a hell week is!"

"What kind of damned week only lasts three days? Isn't that just impotent rage?"

Huo Yuhao chuckled from his seat. Zhou Yi immediately lowered her gaze toward him, but he did not care in the slightest. With a cold snort, she said to him,

"Don't get smug just because your team is in first place at this stage. Only first place in the Knockout Tournament makes you champions."

Huo Yuhao shrugged. Seeing his utterly unconcerned manner, Zhou Yi forcibly suppressed her anger, then waved the members of the three qualifying teams away to arrange their own training.

As for what happened to everyone else, Huo Yuhao had no idea.

By the next day, after a full day of repairs, the Assessment Area had been repartitioned according to the Knockout Tournament's progression, and the cracks left by the earlier matches had been repaired.

There were sixty-four teams in the entire Knockout Tournament. The first morning would narrow sixty-four down to thirty-two, and the afternoon would narrow thirty-two down to sixteen. The second day would bring sixteen down to eight, then eight down to four. The semifinals and final would take place on the third day.

The schedule lasted only three days in total. That was why Huo Yuhao had mocked Zhou Yi's hell week for lasting just three days.

There was little worth mentioning about the first day's matches. When the round of sixteen arrived on the second day, Huo Yuhao and his teammates faced Ning Tian's team again...