Soon, Huo Yuhao and the others passed the first trial, Sincerity, one after another.
Some were naturally exempt from the trials.
"The first round, Sincerity, is over. The second round, Adventure, begins!"
"Those exempt from the trials may enter the third round first!"
As Ning Rongrong's voice faded,
a beam of golden light descended from the sky and carried Zhang Lexuan away.
As the only person exempt from the trials, she could proceed straight to the third trial-Sincerity Adventure!
The others remained where they were.
They waited for the second trial to begin.
This time, Xiao Xiao and He Caitou did not proceed straight to the third trial.
That was because their relationship was not as close as it had been in the original story.
In the original story, the turning point that brought them closer had occurred during the previous tournament.
During Shrek Academy's match against Qianling Academy, Xiao Xiao had blocked an opponent's attack for He Caitou at the cost of shattering her Martial Soul.
He Caitou had been deeply moved, bringing the two closer together.
But the problem was this.
Shrek had colluded with the Star Luo Imperial Family to rig the previous tournament.
As a result, every academy team they faced had been exceptionally weak.
That had robbed the two of their chance to grow closer.
So Xiao Xiao and He Caitou were now nothing more than ordinary friends.
Moreover, because He Caitou had become an undercover agent,
he still had not told the others about his true background.
And because of Wang Dong,
Xiao Xiao had grown indifferent to romance.
So when Ning Rongrong had asked her earlier, "Do you have someone you love?"
she had said that she did, but that person was already dead.
That answer had truly caught Ning Rongrong off guard.