"Dai Youheng!" Dai Yueheng's voice rose in anger, carrying a threat. "Aren't you afraid I'll tell Father exactly what you said today?"
He knew full well that his father, Duke Dai Hao, was the person this younger, concubine-born brother had feared and revered most since childhood. Using their father to pressure him had always been the most effective approach.
Yet Dai Youheng's response once again defied his expectations.
There was no fear or panic on Dai Youheng's face, only an almost indifferent calm. He replied flatly, "Go ahead."
His tone made it sound like some trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.
Dai Youheng wasn't afraid of Dai Hao. That man was the father of that lovesick lapdog, not his father. Why would he care what Dai Hao thought of him? At worst, he would never return to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion again! In this world, strength reigned supreme. Why should he lean on the name of a family whose hearts had long since turned away from one another?
Seeing his unyielding expression, which even held a trace of contempt, Dai Yueheng laughed in fury. "Fine! Fine! Fine!" Dai Youheng, you've really grown bold. I hope you remember every word you said today! Don't regret it when the time comes!"
Faced with Dai Yueheng's anger and threats, Dai Youheng merely turned slightly aside, opened the dormitory door, and gestured for him to leave. His voice remained utterly calm. "Take care. I won't see you out."
From beginning to end, he had shown neither the slightest fear of this high-ranking eldest legitimate brother nor any of the respect expected of him. There was only a cold distance, as though he were drawing a firm boundary between them.
Dai Yueheng glared fiercely at him, snorted, and swept out with a flick of his sleeve. The dormitory door slammed shut, leaving only Dai Youheng inside and a terrified Zhou Sichen outside.
Zhou Sichen cautiously slipped back into the room. Looking at Dai Youheng, who remained perfectly calm as though nothing had happened, he couldn't help clicking his tongue in wonder. "Wow, Youheng! I really have to see you in a new light. That was Senior Dai Yueheng! He's not only one of our academy's current Shrek Seven Devils, but your own eldest brother, too. You actually dared to talk to him like that?"
Neither of them had deliberately lowered his voice during their conversation, so Zhou Sichen had heard every word from outside the door. Now he was filled with admiration and a lingering trace of fear.
Dai Youheng merely smiled faintly without answering. In his mind, strictly speaking, he was an "orphan" in this world.
If he had to name someone as family, perhaps the Snow Empress, who shared his body as a second soul and stood with him through fortune and hardship, could count. Beyond her, he felt no emotional attachment to anyone, whether his nominal father Dai Hao or the original lapdog Youheng's mother and younger brother, Dai Luoli.
Since he had no intention of seeking familial affection from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, no intention of staying at Shrek long-term, and had even planned when he would leave, why should he bow and scrape before those people and make himself suffer?
Three days passed quickly, and the advancement assessment resumed.
To ensure the wager's "fairness" and prevent Huo Yuhao from pulling any more tricks, Dai Huabin strongly demanded a change in its terms. Rather than comparing individual results, they would compare their teams' total scores.
The trio of Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie would face the trio of Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. Whichever side had the higher combined score would win.
There was one additional condition, however: if any of the six participants failed the assessment, the wager would automatically be void.
Dai Huabin's intention was to prevent Huo Yuhao from using special methods to affect the entire arena again and force him into a head-on contest. After a little thought, Huo Yuhao agreed. He had confidence in Wang Dong's and Xiao Xiao's abilities.
The Beast King, Gong Changlong, once again served as the chief examiner. Clearly still shaken by Huo Yuhao, he deliberately placed him last in the assessment order.
Standing in the center of the arena, Gong Changlong announced the detailed new assessment rules: the advancement assessment had a maximum score of 150, comprising base points and technique points. Technique points had a fixed maximum of 50 and would be awarded by the examiners based on combat performance. Base points depended on the age of the chosen soul beast: choosing and defeating a thousand-year soul beast earned 100 base points; a soul beast aged 700-999 years earned 90; one aged 400-699 years earned 85; and one under 400 years earned 80. This meant that only someone who chose a thousand-year soul beast and performed flawlessly could obtain the full 150 points. A total score of 90 was required to pass. Those who failed would have to take a makeup assessment, and failing again would mean being asked to leave the academy.
The assessment began. Wang Dong went first, confidently choosing a thousand-year soul beast and successfully defeating it. Unfortunately, after gaining the upper hand, she grew somewhat careless and exposed an opening. Dean Yan Shaozhe's sharp eyes caught it, and he deducted a full 40 technique points, leaving her with a final score of 110.
Next came Xiao Xiao. She challenged an eight-hundred-year soul beast, but her luck was poor: her opponent was an Ironclad Rhino with absurdly powerful defenses.
She was only a rank-twenty-eight Soul Grandmaster, and her martial soul was not suited to assault. Even after a bitter struggle, she failed to break through the Ironclad Rhino's defenses and could only avoid defeat. With a low base score supplemented by her technique points, she barely managed 96 points, just over the passing threshold.
On Dai Huabin's team, meanwhile, Zhu Lu successfully challenged a seven-hundred-year soul beast. Her nimble movements as an agility-type Soul Master earned her extra technique points, bringing her final score to 100. Cui Yajie performed even better, scoring 110 thanks to her excellent use of technique.
At this point, Dai Huabin's team was already four points ahead of Huo Yuhao's!
The pressure now fell on Dai Huabin.
With anger pent up inside him, he entered the arena himself and chose a thousand-year soul beast. His fighting style was brutally aggressive, and in the end, he even killed his opponent-a Thousand-Year Wind Tiger-through a forceful, head-on clash!
Killing soul beasts in the Beast Arena was against the rules, and Gong Changlong immediately flew into a rage.
Yet Dai Huabin defended himself with righteous conviction, claiming that he had merely wanted to avoid repeating Wang Dong's mistake of underestimating her opponent and losing points. He also emphasized, "The examination arena is a battlefield. You must never show mercy to an enemy!"
His argument actually won Yan Shaozhe's approval. Seeing in him a soldier's iron-blooded bearing, the dean awarded him an exceptionally high score of 145 on the spot!
This brought Dai Huabin's team to an astonishing total of 355 points! Huo Yuhao's team had only 206 so far, which meant that unless Huo Yuhao, appearing last, earned a perfect 150, they were certain to lose!
Watching from outside the arena, Dai Youheng remained entirely untroubled. He knew perfectly well that Huo Yuhao would get full marks in this match!
The outcome held no suspense.
Huo Yuhao once again wielded the power of ultimate ice. This time, however, he did not simulate an aura but directly unleashed his Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion martial soul, perfectly countering and crushing his opponent, a thousand-year Flame Lion.
Without hesitation, Yan Shaozhe awarded him a perfect score of 150!
Huo Yuhao's team thus reached 356 points, pulling off a narrow comeback by a single point and winning the wager!
Heh heh, what a windfall, Dai Youheng thought delightedly. Another soul bone and three million Gold Soul Coins would soon be his. He
remembered that Shrek City's annual Treasure Appraisal Fair was coming up soon. The funds he had on hand would be enough for quite a shopping spree there.
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