Xiao Wu shuddered at his words, then blustered, her bravado masking her fear. "Wh-who's scared? I'm not."
Xiao Wu's affection +1. Current affection: 26.
Standing nearby, Tang San was furious to see Liu Hao teasing Xiao Wu right in front of him. Unfortunately, he dared not lash out and could only rail inwardly that Liu Hao had already courted his own death.
After all, his promise to Xiao Wu back then had been that anyone who wanted to hurt her would have to step over his body first.
But Liu Hao had not hurt Xiao Wu. He was only teasing her verbally, deftly sidestepping Tang San's bottom line.
"Relax, Little Rabbit. I'm not interested in your soul ring or soul bone. I won't hurt you," Liu Hao told her through a secret voice transmission.
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up as she looked at Liu Hao, but then her delicate brows knitted, and her expression darkened again.
Unfortunately, Xiao Wu was not yet strong enough to transmit her voice, and she could not discuss this openly in front of everyone.
Liu Hao could only judge from her subtle changes in expression that she did not seem to believe him.
There was nothing for it. He would have to talk to her in private later.
Liu Hao told Li Yusong to register Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong without checking their bone ages either, then headed into the academy once their registration was complete.
Anyone with eyes could tell there was something fishy about this special treatment. After all, these girls were all beauties.
But nobody dared say anything. Even if they did, they would only praise Liu Hao's gentlemanly conduct. Such was the privilege of the strong.
Next, just as in the original story, everyone was above rank twenty-five, so they skipped the second and third tests and went straight to the fourth: the combat assessment.
The only difference was that Lu Qibin, the teacher overseeing the second test, was also stunned by Liu Hao's strength. He kept exclaiming that the academy must have been blessed across three lifetimes to earn His Eminence Liu Hao's favor, and other such remarks.
As for Dai Mubai, his fear of Liu Hao's strength kept him from trying anything underhanded, even after being humiliated and mocked in public. He obediently led the way.
Upon seeing no fewer than five students arrive for the fourth test, Zhao Wuji predictably grew eager for a fight-or a beating-and decided to assess them personally, or rather, get beaten up himself.
"Mu Bai, explain my strength and abilities to them properly. Let them work out their tactics. They have one incense stick's worth of time to prepare."
Zhao Wuji spoke casually, lit a stick of incense to keep time, then returned to his chair and lay back with his eyes closed to rest.
Seeing how confident he was, Dai Mubai suddenly developed a mischievous urge to watch Liu Hao beat Zhao Wuji black and blue.
Otherwise, how could they do justice to Teacher Zhao's confidence?
So he deliberately neglected to mention that Liu Hao was a Titled Douluo.
When it came to information about Zhao Wuji, however, he told everyone everything he knew.
Of course, that information was somewhat superfluous to Liu Hao.
"Brother Hao, how should we fight? Are you going to make a move?" Ning Rongrong asked, looking at Liu Hao.
"Yes. I'll restrain Zhao Wuji in a moment, and you can all gang up on him. Loosen up his muscles and bones a little. Consider it a lesson for wanting to bully us."
"Okay!" Ning Rongrong nodded excitedly. The thought of beating a Soul Saint with her bare hands as a Soul Grandmaster-especially the renowned Immovable Wisdom King-thrilled her.
"Master, why not let us fight him first to gain some practical combat experience, then step in once we can no longer fight?" Zhu Zhuqing asked curiously.
Even Tang San nodded in agreement at that.
A treasured sword gained its keen edge through grinding. Difficult battles could indeed help someone grow quickly.
"Letting you fight Zhao Wuji would just mean a one-sided beating. It would be pointless. The gap in strength is too great. You'd make faster progress spending that time cultivating or sparring with soul masters of your own level," Liu Hao explained with a smile.
"I see." Zhu Zhuqing looked thoughtful.
"In that case, Brother Hao, why don't we start the fight early? Why wait a whole incense stick to prepare?" Ning Rongrong rubbed her hands together, itching to begin.
"You're a support-type soul master. Why are you so fond of fighting?" Liu Hao did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Hehe, I just thought we could finish the fight sooner and go rest."
"All right, let's not waste time. We'll start early." Liu Hao nodded, circulated his soul power, and called toward Zhao Wuji, "Old Bear, we're ready. Let's begin the assessment."
??
Zhao Wuji's eyes snapped open, and he looked at Liu Hao.
What did that brat just call me? Old Bear? What kind of ridiculous name is that?
And they're ready already?
Looking at the incense stick, which had not even burned down by a fifth, Zhao Wuji seethed. So they think that little of me? Very well.
"You're ready, are you? Fine. Let's begin," Zhao Wuji said coldly through gritted teeth.
At the same time, he produced another incense stick from somewhere and flicked it out. It struck the first stick precisely, knocking it away and extinguishing it, then lit on its own.
"Let's see what you've got that makes you dare call me Old Bear."
With a cold laugh, Zhao Wuji released his martial soul, the great strength vajra bear. A massive dark-gold bear appeared behind him, radiating an immense aura.
At the same time, seven soul rings appeared beneath his feet.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black.
Then Zhao Wuji activated Martial Soul Possession. His already powerfully built body swelled even larger, making him look like a small mountain.
The sight made Liu Hao's lips twitch.
In the original story, Zhao Wuji had not gone all out right from the start like this.
This old, stupid bear is throwing a tantrum.
The corners of Liu Hao's lips curved slightly. His soul power surged, and he vanished from where he stood, reappearing above Zhao Wuji's head.
Then an overwhelming pressure Zhao Wuji could not resist descended from above, enveloping him.
With a thud, his massive body was forced flat against the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and leaving him unable to resist.
At that moment, Zhao Wuji was utterly dumbfounded.
Am I still asleep? What happened to my strength as a rank seventy-six Soul Saint? How did I get pinned down just like that?
Liu Hao paid no attention to whatever was going through his mind and simply called to the others in the distance, "All right, you can come over and beat him up now."
As soon as he spoke, Ning Rongrong was the first to rush forward, with Zhu Zhuqing close behind.
Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment, then walked over as well.
Only Tang San remained where he was, his brows tightly furrowed as he wavered.
"Tang San, what is it? Do you want to fight Zhao Wuji alone?" Liu Hao raised an eyebrow at the sight, recalling how Tang San had gone berserk and challenged Zhao Wuji alone after Xiao Wu was injured in the original story.
Tang San's eyes lit up at those words. He thought this was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate his abilities-or show off-and nodded without hesitation. "That's right. I want to take Teacher Zhao's assessment alone. If I only pass with Your Eminence's help, wouldn't that be cheating?"
This show-off is in for some suffering, Liu Hao thought with an inward chuckle, though his expression remained unchanged. "All right. You've got backbone."
"Zhu Zhuqing, Rongrong, Xiao Wu, go ahead and beat up Zhao Wuji. He's thick-skinned and tough. You won't break him, so hit him as hard as you like."
"Okay."
Zhu Zhuqing and Rongrong stepped forward without hesitation, circulated their soul power, and began attacking.
Although Xiao Wu somewhat regretted not standing together with Tang San, Liu Hao's intimidating authority compelled her to step forward as well. She activated Martial Soul Possession and began attacking Zhao Wuji.
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