The teachers of Shrek Academy had encountered many geniuses, but disciples as stubbornly determined to win and as unwavering in their conviction as Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong were now truly rare.
Du Weilun, the director of the Martial Soul Department of the Outer Court, walked over to the stunned Zhou Yi and said,
"Teacher Zhou, congratulations on teaching two excellent disciples. Report them; I believe they are qualified to become core disciples of the Outer Court."
Zhou Yi finally reacted, stopping him and saying,
"Director Du, there's also Huo Yuhao. He's the captain of the team."
Du Weilun was startled:
"He's a rare spiritual attribute Soul Master. Have you considered how many spiritual attribute Soul Masters there are?"
After saying that, he tucked his tail and left.
As the director of the Martial Soul Department, he not only possessed formidable strength but also had an extremely sharp eye. He clearly saw Huo Yuhao's role in the match. It was because of him that Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong's fighting spirit was almost crazily ignited. But as a director with significant responsibilities, he naturally wouldn't care about a core disciple just because of their temperament and leadership ability.
After hearing Du Weilun's words, Zhou Yi trembled all over. That's right, she had always overlooked this problem. Although Huo Yuhao's Soul Ring Return Soul Skill was powerful, he was, after all, a spiritual attribute Soul Master. Spiritual attribute Soul Beasts were too rare, and powerful Soul Beasts were even rarer. Under such circumstances, Huo Yuhao's future as a powerful Soul Master would naturally be even smaller.
"It's fine. If the Martial Soul Department doesn't need him, our Soul Tool Department does."
Fan Yu patted her shoulder, a glint flashing in his eyes:
"Powerful spiritual system Soul Beasts are hard to find, but ordinary ones can still be found. As long as his Soul Power is sufficient, even if he only has one Soul Ring, he can still become a great disciple of the Soul Tool Department. I want this core disciple."
In front of Fan Yu, Zhou Yi did not wear her usual cold expression. She said,
"No, not yet. If you have this idea, wait three years for this child. Yuhao was sent by the Tang Sect, specifically recruited. He should be a self-cultivating Soul Master, which is why he only has a ten-year Soul Ring. At the academy, this boy is a diligent and very determined disciple. Although he started late, I see him as a serious disciple. I want to keep him by my side to continue teaching him. In three years, he will have enough extensive knowledge. With his efforts, he will at least reach Three Rings by then. Breaking through Three Rings, his future prospects will naturally be bright. At that time, he can become a core disciple of your Soul Tool Department."
Fan Yu smiled:
"I see you truly like this child. You've made good arrangements for him, so let's do it that way. After the assessment, bring him to see me. First, let him cultivate the Soul Tool Department concurrently; I also want to know if he has talent in this area."
"Alright."
Zhou Yi nodded and said,
"I'll go see how Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong are doing. Fan Yu, do you believe that the Martial Soul Department, by refusing to accept Yuhao as a core disciple, will definitely regret it in the future?"
Fan Yu said,
"Then let's just wait and see."
Wang Dong's situation was quite good; he was just exhausted. More importantly, he and Huo Yuhao had merged their Martial Souls nearby. Huo Yuhao held him, and Soul Power naturally flowed into his body, quickly helping him recover his Soul Power. Less than ten minutes later, the unconscious Wang Dong slowly woke up.
However, Xiao Xiao's situation was not good. She had used the Nation-Weighting Qi Tripod, which not only consumed a lot of soul power but also required very strong control. In a normal state, Xiao Xiao only needed to use one-tenth of the Nation-Weighting Qi Tripod's power to send an enemy flying and forcibly stun them, its power far exceeding that of using two soul skills. But at that moment, she didn't do that. Instead, she used the Nation-Weighting Qi Tripod to absorb the Evil Illusory Moon, with the goal of buying time. The Evil Illusory Moon's defense was too strong, and Xiao Xiao was afraid that after sending him flying, he would quickly return. Given his speed, this was very likely.
Because of this, Xiao Xiao was not only exhausted of soul power but also of mental energy. As soon as the match ended, she fainted.
Fortunately, Shrek Academy never lacked healing elixirs. After taking the elixir, Xiao Xiao fell into a deep sleep. But according to the healing teacher, she needed to rest for at least one day and one night, undisturbed, to avoid any lingering effects. In other words, Xiao Xiao would not be able to participate in this afternoon's match or tomorrow morning's.
Zhou Yi personally took Xiao Xiao back to her dormitory to rest. Huo Yuhao followed behind Wang Dong, who looked like a dying man, back to their dormitory.
"Wang Dong, let's forfeit this afternoon's match."
Looking at Wang Dong's pale face, Huo Yuhao sighed softly.
"No."
Wang Dong knew Huo Yuhao was worried about him. But his fighting spirit had never been higher than it was now. From childhood to adulthood, he had never experienced an event like this.
"Yuhao. I know you're worried about me. But we must continue to compete. If we give up like this, wouldn't we be letting Xiao Xiao down? Xiao Xiao is unconscious, but we are still here. We have the Hao Dong power; we will definitely recover by the afternoon. We should challenge for Xiao Xiao, and wait for Xiao Xiao to return."
Seeing the resolute look in Wang Dong's eyes, Huo Yuhao's heart was filled with emotion. True feelings are revealed in times of hardship. The past two days of competition had made his relationship with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao even closer. This was not just the affection of classmates, but the kind of bond between comrades who face life and death together. Although this was not a battlefield, these children had come to regard the competition as one.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up."
As he spoke, Wang Dong raised both hands towards Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, raised his hands to meet his, and said firmly and powerfully:
"Fight for Xiao Xiao."
Seagod Island, Lakeside.
"Elder Xuan, how do you feel?"
Wang Yan stood beside Elder Xuan, asking in a low voice.
Elder Xuan had gnawed a chicken leg down to the bone, still savoring it, then moved on to a chicken wing. He looked as if he could never eat enough.
"Those two children are not bad. But the boy with the Body Soul that you mentioned is a bit lacking. He should possess a skill similar to mental detection. It's a pity he only has a ten-year soul ring. There's no way to compensate for that deficiency."
Elder Xuan took a sip of wine and said.
Wang Yan said, "But, Elder Xuan, that is a Body Soul."
Elder Xuan shook his head and said,
"Don't you know what the most important thing about a Martial Soul's True Body is? It's potential, it's the mutation of a Martial Soul in battle. Today's battle was very clear; under such pressure, its Martial Soul didn't show any mutation. In other words, his Martial Soul's True Body doesn't possess that crucial essence. Furthermore, he's already old, his Soul Power is weak, and his first Soul Ring is just an ordinary Ten-Year Soul Ring. Even if he has potential, he's not the type I'm looking for, do you understand?"
Wang Yan was still a little unwilling, saying,
"But Elder Xuan, yesterday this disciple just learned something: Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong successfully completed a Martial Soul Fusion and can unleash a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Although this disciple doesn't know what kind of Soul Skill it is, isn't that enough to prove his talent?"
Elder Xuan objected.
"Martial Soul Fusion Skills are meaningless. Alright, my decision is made. Those two children might have potential, but as for Huo Yuhao, it's over."
Having said that, he stood up, holding a chicken in one hand and a wine bottle in the other, and staggered away.
Wang Yan watched Elder Xuan's retreating figure disappear, sighing softly. He naturally knew Huo Yuhao's problem, but for some reason, he still felt that the boy had a very strange aura. Although Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao both displayed much greater strength than him, he could still maintain the position of leader, controlling the entire battle. Why, why?
"Could my judgment be wrong? No, I will definitely not give up. I must cultivate Huo Yuhao well at all costs. It won't be too late to seek out Elder Xuan after he achieves some success in the future."
This new student assessment was nearing its end. After the morning matches, only eight teams remained. Unexpectedly, two of the three teams led by a Soul Venerate had been eliminated, and even more remarkably, they were defeated by the same group.
In the afternoon, when Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao entered, they immediately attracted the attention of the remaining seven teams. It was understandable; no one wanted to encounter the team that had defeated the two top groups, even though they now only had two people.
The Hao Dong power was truly miraculous. With Huo Yuhao's help, Wang Dong completely recovered his Soul Power after two hours. Moreover, because he had fought with all his might in the morning and had been diligently cultivating recently, he had now successfully broken through to level twenty-five.
While waiting for their turn to draw lots, Huo Yuhao quietly asked Wang Dong,
"Hey, what was that last Soul Skill you used this morning?"
Wang Dong replied,
"It was 'Thorn Blade' combined with 'Light of the Butterfly God,' and it's currently my strongest attack. If I'm not mistaken, Xie Huan Yue's Martial Soul is an extremely rare Beast Martial Soul, the 'Elephant Skin.' The most special characteristic of this Martial Soul is its incredible toughness and extremely strong defense; ordinary attacks won't easily penetrate it. There are only two ways to break it: one is to use extreme energy, such as extremely hot flames or extremely cold ice, and the second way is something extremely sharp. I used 'Light of the Butterfly God' combined with 'Thorn Blade' to create something powerfully sharp to break through his defense. And at that time, he was locked down by Xiao Xiao, buying me some time, which is why I was confident I could succeed."
Hearing Wang Dong's explanation, Huo Yuhao secretly praised him. In the past three months, he had been constantly learning about Soul Masters, yet he was still far behind Wang Dong! This made his determination grow even stronger.
"Huo Yuhao's team, step forward to draw lots."
Dean Du Weilun's voice rang out, awakening Huo Yuhao. He quickly stepped forward and walked towards Du Weilun.
Du Weilun stood close to Huo Yuhao, carefully observing him. He thought to himself, "This student is indeed exceptional. A Spirit Soul with mental attributes is extremely rare. It's a pity that he hasn't reached level twenty yet, and his chances of obtaining a powerful Soul Ring in the future are even lower. Otherwise, he would be perfectly qualified to become a core student! Well, he's passed the assessment anyway. It's not too late to re-evaluate him when he reaches the fourth or fifth grade."
"Number 3."
Du Weilun took the lot from Huo Yuhao's hand and read it aloud.
Among the teams that had already drawn lots, one team's expression changed slightly, because the team that had to fight Huo Yuhao was them.
Huo Yuhao walked to Wang Dong's side and said, "We have a 1/7 chance. If we still draw a team with a Soul Sage this time, I think we should go worship ghosts and gods."
Wang Dong said with a helpless expression, "Worship what gods?"
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, "Of course, it's the Sea God. Isn't the ancestor of our Shrek Academy the Sea God?"
Wang Dong raised his right hand and put it on his shoulder.
"Hmph, there's nothing funny about it. Thirty-two teams, a probability of less than 1/10, and we still got it. In the round of sixteen teams, the probability was about 1/8, and it was still us. Now the probability is 1/7, which is even greater than the previous two times. It's not strange if we get it."
Huo Yuhao's face instantly fell when he heard him say that.
"It can't be that unlucky, can it..."
The truth proved that although there was such a thing as luck, it had two sides, one good and one bad. This time, the team they had to face did not have a Soul Sage.
After entering the arena, both sides immediately introduced themselves. Their opponent this time was a team from Class Nine of the New Student Class. All three of them were Great Soul Masters. This team was relatively strong, but it was still not enough to compare with their previous two opponents.
"Two Agility Attackers, one Power Attacker. It's this kind of distribution again. It seems strong. How do you want to fight?" Wang Dong asked Huo Yuhao in a low voice.
Huo Yuhao's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Just fight."
"Okay."
The tacit understanding between the two had reached its limit. They only said a few simple words, and the match began just in time.
Both sides released their Spirit Souls at the same time. Wang Dong, as a Power Attack Battle Soul Master, did not release his Spirit Soul at this moment but instead grabbed his blue wings, and his second Soul Ring immediately lit up.
Huo Yuhao, below, grabbed Wang Dong's ankle. The golden light from the depths of his eyes was completely overshadowed by the splendor of the Radiant Goddess Butterfly. After both of them used Hao Dong's Power, the golden patterns on the orange wings became even denser.
At this moment, no one dared to approach and disturb them. Huo Yuhao clearly felt that Wang Dong's second Soul Skill was no longer a single beam of light but formed different streams of light, each with golden patterns. There were a total of about ten of them. Immediately afterward, a dazzling light spread out, covering everything.