Wang Dong said disdainfully, "What about you? What right do you have to protect the student regulations? If it weren't for the core disciple's privileges, you and the person next to you would have long been kicked out of this academy."
Dai Huabin was hit where it hurt, his eyes spitting sparks of anger. He snorted coldly and said, "You want to die." Then he strode forward and raised his hand to strike directly at Wang Dong.
Just then, a black light appeared, blocking both sides. It was Xiao Xiao's Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron.
However, Dai Huabin continued to charge forward. At this moment, the disparity in cultivation between the two sides became clear. After colliding with the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron, a dull thud echoed, and Xiao Xiao's martial soul was sent flying straight towards Wang Dong.
At this point, Xiao Xiao had only two choices: one was to retract her martial soul, leaving Wang Dong exposed to Dai Huabin; the second was to let the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron, now out of control, fly straight backward.
While Xiao Xiao hesitated, a figure appeared. He flew forward and caught the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron with both hands. Only then did the cauldron stabilize and gently fall to the ground.
The person who had acted was not Wang Dong, but Huo Yuhao.
Currently, Dai Huabin had not used his martial soul, and neither had Huo Yuhao. But Dai Huabin had used only one hand, while Huo Yuhao used two. Yet, Huo Yuhao had firmly held the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron with his two hands.
When Dai Huabin saw this, he was immediately startled. He had indeed fought Huo Yuhao before, but in his impression, Huo Yuhao was only cunning and intelligent, with a somewhat special spiritual attribute martial soul, but nothing else remarkable. He was confident in his own soul power; otherwise, how would he dare to send the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron flying with one hand? Yet, Huo Yuhao could easily block it. In other words, perhaps Huo Yuhao's soul power was not as strong as his, but it wasn't much lower either. How could this be?
Xiao Xiao was equally shocked. Although she knew Huo Yuhao had awakened his second soul power, she still thought Huo Yuhao was just an ordinary Strong Attack System Control type. She never expected him to be so powerful.
Huo Yuhao said indifferently, "Dai Huabin, if you want to fight, let's go to the Soul Dueling Arena. This is the Teaching Building. Don't you know the academy's rules?" As he spoke, he glanced at Xiao Xiao, signaling her to retract her Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron.
Dai Huabin had also calmed down by now. "No need to go to the Soul Dueling Arena. Huo Yuhao, do you dare to make a bet with me during the upcoming assessment?"
Huo Yuhao asked, "What kind of bet?"
Dai Huabin said in a deep voice, "Let's compare the results of our group with your group's."
Wang Dong interjected, "What's the stake?"
Dai Huabin said, "I want your rewards from the previous New Student Assessment."
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were startled. Their reward from the New Student Assessment was a soul bone, and Xiao Xiao had long since integrated that soul bone into her left leg.
Soul bones are different from soul rings. When a Soul Master dies, soul rings automatically disappear. Soul bones, however, can be preserved. As long as the soul bone is not shattered, when a Soul Master dies or the body part containing the soul bone is separated from the person, others can absorb the soul bone.
Although Huo Yuhao and the other two didn't know if the opponent knew all their rewards, at the very least, it was Xiao Xiao's left leg.
Seeing the expressions of Huo Yuhao's three companions change, Zhou Lu was extremely pleased.
"Haha, scared, are you? If you're scared, then bow your heads and get lost."
"We'll play! What's there to be afraid of?" Xiao Xiao retorted angrily. Although she had a gentle nature, being looked down upon like this still made her furious.
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said to Dai Huabin, "Change the stakes."
Dai Huabin said coldly, "No changes. Either bet or get out."
Huo Yuhao blinked. "What if you lose?"
Dai Huabin replied, "If we lose, we will naturally offer a similar reward."
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Alright, I agree. Our reward from the New Student Assessment was a Spirit Bone. Xiao Xiao has already integrated it into her left leg. According to your demand, if we lose, we must cut off Xiao Xiao's left leg and give you that Spirit Bone. Conversely, if you lose, I also want one of your legs and a Spirit Bone of the same grade. This shouldn't be a problem, right? As long as you present your Spirit Bone now, we will immediately make the bet."
This time, it was Dai Huabin's three companions who were startled. They didn't know what Huo Yuhao's group's reward was, and now they had to bet their own bodies... but upon hearing the words "Spirit Bone," Dai Huabin's eyes turned red.
"Alright, I..."
"Silence!"
Just as Dai Huabin was about to agree, a loud shout interrupted him.
Wang Yan stepped forward from behind, angrily yelling, "What are you doing? You're just a bunch of kids, daring to bet with your own bodies. Don't you know what limits are? Dai Huabin, why aren't you in class reporting? What are you doing here? Do you want to be punished?"
Huo Yuhao had anticipated this. He hadn't accepted the bet in a fit of anger; this was Xiao Xiao's leg! Earlier, he had seen Wang Yan approaching, so he had deliberately spoken loudly about the bet with Dai Huabin so that Wang Yan would hear it.
"Teacher Wang, it was Dai Huabin who blocked us from delivering the message, and they also forced us to bet. This disciple only agreed because I was forced... Please forgive me, Teacher." Huo Yuhao bowed and explained to Wang Yan.
Wang Yan snorted coldly, "Using assessment results as a standard for betting can encourage you to cultivate diligently, and I welcome that. But using your bodies as stakes is unacceptable. You are young and may not think deeply, but have you thought about your families? If you lose a part of your body later, cultivation will become extremely difficult! This time, I will act as a witness. The two groups will bet, and whichever group loses will have to bow their heads and apologize to the other."
Zhou Lu shouted, "Bowing is too easy! They should be made to kneel and kowtow to admit their mistake!"
Just as Wang Yan was about to stop him, Wang Dong leaped out and yelled, "Alright, you said it! If we lose, we will kneel and admit our mistake. What about if you lose?"
Dai Huabin, who had been overwhelmed by Wang Dong's imposing manner from the start, was very angry. Hearing Wang Dong's words, he didn't even think before replying, "Alright, if we lose, we will also kneel and admit our mistake!"
"It's a deal!" Huo Yuhao raised his hand and clapped Dai Huabin's hand three times. The bet was set. At this point, Wang Yan wanted to stop them, but it was too late.
Although kneeling and admitting fault would not cause physical harm, it would certainly create animosity between the two groups in the future. Both groups had two core disciples from the Martial Soul System. If they became enemies, the entire New Student group of the Martial Soul System would lose its unity. Thinking of this, Wang Yan couldn't help but frown. But things had come to this, and since both sides had clapped hands and made a pact, he couldn't step in to stop them.
Dai Huabin and the other two moved aside, making way for Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. Afterward, the entire group followed Wang Yan back to the classroom.
Seeing Huo Yuhao return, the students of Class One were extremely surprised. Although Huo Yuhao's abilities were not considered very strong in the eyes of others, his previous battle with Yu Feng had left an impression on everyone. He was still the class leader, and after being absent for yesterday's roll call, he had appeared today.
Huo Yuhao sat in the same spot as he had in his first year. As soon as he sat down, Zhou Sichen, who was behind him, leaned forward and asked:
"Boss Huo, why are you only arriving now? Being late for roll call will cause trouble."
After the battle between Huo Yuhao and Yu Feng, Zhou Sichen was the most tragically affected. He lost nearly twenty thousand gold soul coins to Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. Even though his family background was very good, he couldn't produce such a large sum of money in a short time. Fortunately, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were very generous and waited for Zhou Sichen to earn enough money before collecting.
From then on, Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan were considered to be on Huo Yuhao's side, and their relationship gradually improved. With Dai Huabin, Zhou Lu, and Huang Chutian not present, the group of three—Huo Yuhao, Zhou Sichen, and Cao Jinxuan—along with the two Lan sisters, became the most prominent. Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were also very close to Huo Yuhao. They had all fought together, making it easy for them to become familiar. Class One of the first year also became united because of this. Only a small number of disciples, due to jealousy, formed a separate group. However, because of their envious mindset, this group of disciples couldn't focus on cultivation, and whether they could pass the upcoming assessment was also a problem.
Huo Yuhao said softly:
"Just listen to what the teachers say. It probably won't be anything major."
Zhou Sichen laughed and said:
"It's good if it's nothing. If you were eliminated, that kid Cao would get lucky."
Among the Control System Soul Masters, besides Huo Yuhao, who was appointed class leader by Zhou Yi, Cao Jinxuan had the strongest actual combat ability. Although the two Lan sisters had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, they were still two individuals. If it weren't for Huo Yuhao, the Control System class leader would very likely have been Cao Jinxuan.
Cao Jinxuan was also sitting nearby. Hearing this, he immediately became angry:
"Zhou Sichen, if you're so capable, pay me back two hundred gold soul coins right now! You already owe me money, and you still dare to badmouth me behind my back?"
"Whoa, whoa, slip of the tongue... just a slip of the tongue!"
Zhou Sichen was startled, turned to look at Cao Jinxuan, and smiled:
"Brother Cao, look, our relationship is very close. I was just joking earlier, and that was also praising Brother Cao. If you didn't have the strength, how could you replace Boss Huo as class leader?"
"Don't even think about sowing discord, pay me back the money!"
Cao Jinxuan jumped up and grabbed Zhou Sichen by the neck.
Seeing the two fools causing trouble, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao couldn't help but smile. On the surface, they were very aggressive, but their relationship was actually very good.