Seeing Yan Shaozhe smiling happily, Xiao Dada outwardly feigned anger, but inwardly, his heart bloomed. He glanced at Yan Shaozhe and thought to himself, "Old Yan, oh Old Yan, what if you're suspicious? What if you're cunning? You'll still have to drink my foot-washing water, haha. I hope you won't regret it later, but even if you do, it'll be too late, ha ha ha ha."
Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin's teams were unaware that their New Student Assessment final for the championship had become a wager between two powerful deans.
Both sides had descended onto the arena, preparing while observing their opponents from afar.
Although Dai Huabin didn't recognize Huo Yuhao, he still felt a sense of threat from Huo Yuhao's team. While their cultivation was clearly superior to their opponents, it was only superior, not absolutely so. Was Ning Tian's team weak? Besides Ning Tian, who possessed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial spirit, there was also Yu Feng with the Fire Dragon martial spirit. All of them were outstanding students in the New Student class, not much inferior to his own team. As for Xie Huanyue's team, he was no stranger to that guy's defensive power, yet he had to rely on the supervising teacher to escape a calamity.
Wang Dong was powerful, Xiao Xiao had twin martial spirits, and even the mysterious Soul Master Huo Yuhao gave him a sense of threat. Therefore, from the beginning, he had meticulously prepared everything, even inquiring with teams that had previously encountered Huo Yuhao's team, carefully investigating their abilities.
In contrast to Dai Huabin's careful calculations, Huo Yuhao was grappling with mixed emotions. He had to try to convince himself and bury that hatred deep down. For some reason, as the battle was about to begin, his heart surged. He truly wanted revenge! But he knew this was impossible. With the supervising teacher present, even if he and Wang Dong cooperated, they couldn't kill Dai Huabin.
"Yuhao."
Wang Dong called his name in a low voice.
"Huh?"
As Huo Yuhao turned to look at Wang Dong, he saw a hint of coldness in his eyes.
"Relax, don't show any openings."
He whispered the instruction, deliberately not letting Xiao Xiao hear.
At this moment, the supervising teacher had entered. All the partitions in the assessment area had been removed, and this entire vast area was their arena.
The teacher waved at them, signaling them to approach.
Huo Yuhao and his two teammates stepped forward, with Huo Yuhao still in front, and Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao on either side. On the other side, Dai Huabin also led two other girls in.
The supervising teacher approached the two teams and said in a deep voice:
"The finals will begin shortly. The rules for today's match have changed slightly. You may move freely within the arena. Those with martial souls capable of flight cannot exceed a height of ten zhang. To allow you to unleash your full strength, you may attack freely in this match without holding back. I will observe everything from the sidelines. If anyone is rescued by me, they will be considered disqualified. Understood?"
"Yes, understood."
Both teams replied in unison. At this moment, a peculiar light flickered in the eyes of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Across from them, Dai Huabin's expression was icy cold, and a faint killing intent seemed to emanate from him.
As the son of the White Tiger Duke, though not the eldest, he had received the best education from a young age. This included not only martial soul cultivation but also combat, warfare, and methods of killing enemies. The White Tiger Duke was the commander of the Star Luo Empire's army, and as his son, Dai Huabin would naturally join the military in the future.
Therefore, Dai Huabin's temperament was much colder and tougher than that of his peers, vaguely possessing some military bearing. Furthermore, among the Duke's children, his talent was the best, and in the Duke's family, any direct descendant could inherit the title. Thus, from a young age, Dai Huabin had been educated in a decisive and ruthless manner. When he was five years old, he had personally killed a small soul beast for the first time.
"Both sides, state your names."
"Huo Yuhao."
"Wang Dong."
"Xiao Xiao."
The three on Dai Huabin's side were now filled with hostility.
"Dai Huabin."
"Zhu Lu."
The black-haired girl spoke.
"Cui Yanjie."
The girl with long, flowing pink hair added.
The referee extended both hands towards the two teams and said, "Everyone return to your positions. You may only launch an attack when I announce the start."
Both sides slowly retreated. Huo Yuhao's gaze remained fixed on Dai Huabin. Dai Huabin's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and a faint killing intent was vaguely present, but at this moment, he was startled to see that Huo Yuhao was not to be outdone. The strength of the two could be said to be worlds apart, yet at this moment, in terms of aura, Huo Yuhao did not fall into a disadvantage.
The masters observing the match from the high platform also fell completely silent. Both Headmasters Yan Shaouzhe and Qian Duoduo also intently watched the match below.
Fan Yu watched Huo Yuhao's retreating figure, thinking to himself, "Xiao Hao, I hope you don't disappoint me. This match is no longer just your New Student Assessment finals; it is also the most important assessment for you from the Soul Tool Department."
Moments later, both sides had returned to their positions. Today's arena was extremely large; at this moment, their opponents were far out of sight, appearing incredibly small.
The referee raised his hand, then brought it down, shouting, "Begin!"
Both sides immediately took identical actions. After hearing the command to begin, they accelerated towards their opponents.
At this moment, the distance between the two sides was too great. Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection could not yield any results; he had no way of knowing what the opponents were doing.
While running at full speed, Wang Dong suddenly shouted loudly. The wings from his Bright Goddess Butterfly martial spirit immediately spread wide, and he flew straight into the air. However, he did not leave Huo Yuhao, maintaining his position and flying directly above Huo Yuhao's head.
They both understood that, in terms of strength, winning would be extremely difficult. Dai Huabin's White Tiger martial spirit was too powerful, even stronger than Yu Feng's Red Dragon martial spirit. Moreover, in the previous match, Yu Feng was only a two-ring Soul Master, and Ning Tian, though also a Soul Elder, her support abilities were precisely countered by Huo Yuhao. As for Dai Huabin, he was certainly prepared for Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Shock skill. Furthermore, his cultivation had reached the Soul Elder rank. Their battle would be very arduous. Their greatest advantage might only be the Hao Dong power.
Xiao Xiao also quickly ran forward to shield Huo Yuhao, simultaneously releasing her Nine Phoenixes Welcoming Xiao martial spirit.
The three people on the other side continued to charge forward like mad. Leading them was Dai Huabin. At this moment, he ran and shouted loudly:
"White Tiger, Possession!"
A silver light erupted from his body. Dai Huabin stretched his arms out to the sides, his chest swelled, causing his skeleton to tremble. His body suddenly expanded, almost tearing his clothes. Beneath his clothing was now a large body full of explosive power. The air around him seemed to be affected, becoming heavy.
His golden hair instantly turned white mixed with black, and patterns forming the character "Wang" (王) appeared on his forehead.
His hands changed most noticeably. At this moment, his hands were nearly twice as large, covered entirely in white fur. His five sharp fingers continuously flexed, each finger like an eight-inch long blade flashing with a cold, sharp light.
Dai Huabin's eyes turned blue, giving onlookers a sense of death.
From his feet, three streams of light—one yellow and two purple—gradually spread, and mighty Soul Power surged forth.
Huo Yuhao bit his lip upon seeing the White Tiger martial spirit. If his martial spirit hadn't mutated, if his martial spirit had been as powerful as the White Tiger martial spirit, he wouldn't have been suppressed in the Duke's mansion before. An ordinary direct descendant who obtained the White Tiger martial spirit would be supported and given every opportunity to develop, let alone him being the son of the White Tiger Duke, though only the son of a concubine.
The two girls beside Dai Huabin also underwent changes. Zhou Lu, on the left, had her eyes become profound and ethereal, her ears stood erect, and her body elongated. Sharp blades appeared on each of her fingers, not as powerful as Dai Huabin's but light and illusory. Although Zhou Lu's speed at this moment still did not surpass Dai Huabin, her moving body left afterimages.
The pink-haired girl was even stranger. After releasing her Martial Soul, the girl, who was only about twelve years old, transformed into a sixteen or seventeen-year-old maiden. Her fiery red hair, like a wave, continuously grew longer. Her eyes became translucent, her ears became long and pointed, and her face was exceptionally beautiful. What was strange was that three pink tails appeared behind her, each about a foot long, continuously swaying in the afternoon sun, making others unable to resist the urge to caress them.
Cui Yajie's eyes looked towards Huo Yuhao, and she smiled faintly. Her first Spirit Ring also lit up subtly; if one wasn't paying attention, they wouldn't notice it.
Huo Yuhao's eyes gleamed.
Cui Yajie's body trembled, and her expression changed. Her Martial Soul, among Beast Martial Souls, was considered an extremely high-grade type: the Nine-Tailed Fox. Each time she gained a Spirit Ring, her body would grow another tail, and her strength would become even greater. Her first Spirit Skill was Charm, and the skill she had just used was precisely that. She used Charm to attack Huo Yuhao's mind, but it had no effect whatsoever.
The Nine-Tailed Fox Martial Soul was an intermediary between the Spirit System and the Strength Attack System Martial Souls, and her cultivation direction also advanced accordingly. Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes Martial Soul, however, purely belonged to the Spirit System, which made it very difficult for Cui Yajie's Charm to affect him.
At this very instant, the distance between the two sides was only about ten meters. The effect of the Nine Phoenixes Auspicious Flute began to manifest, and Dai Huabin's speed was reduced by several points. Zhou Lu was affected the most, and two of the afterimages she had created earlier disappeared.
The distance grew shorter and shorter. At this moment, Dai Huabin's group of three had entered the range of Spirit Detection. Immediately, all their actions became clear in the minds of Huo Yuhao's group.
Dai Huabin attacked first. Then, Zhou Lu's figure flickered. Her speed, even under the influence of the Nine Phoenixes Auspicious Flute, still increased by a few points, and her body shot straight towards Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao's group of three was startled and surprised. They had all researched Zhou Lu's Netherworld Spirit Cat Martial Soul. But at this moment, Zhou Lu was considered the fastest Agility Attack System Battle Spirit Master they had ever encountered. If not for the Nine Phoenixes Auspicious Flute, they might not even have been able to catch a glimpse of her shadow.
At that very moment, Dai Huabin also roared and launched an attack. Silver light converged at the top of his head, his second Spirit Ring lit up, and a pillar of light appeared, shooting towards Wang Dong. His intention was to force Wang Dong to block his attack and prevent him from having the opportunity to rescue Huo Yuhao.
Cui Yajie, in turn, looked at Xiao Xiao. The Charm, originally aimed at Huo Yuhao, now redirected towards Xiao Xiao.
The three cooperated seamlessly, using their strengths to attack the weaknesses of each member of Huo Yuhao's group. Cui Yajie used Charm to suppress the Nine Phoenixes Auspicious Flute, creating an opportunity for Zhou Lu to speed up and deal with Huo Yuhao, while Wang Dong was held back by Dai Huabin.
Dai Huabin's calculations were very reasonable. All three used their strengths and also relied on the difference in cultivation to choose their opponents to secure victory. There was only one thing the three had not expected: Huo Yuhao's Spirit Skill, Spirit Detection.
As Cui Yajie shifted her target, Huo Yuhao took action. He didn't team up with Wang Dong because the situation was three-on-three; if he went to help Wang Dong, one of the opponents would be left free.
Soul Shock, target: Cui Yajie.
Huo Yuhao chose an incredibly precise moment to attack. Although the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm had warned him about skill backlash, with the aid of Spiritual Detection, he found the opponent with the weakest spiritual defense. The moment Cui Yajie used Charm to attack Xiao Xiao was also the moment Huo Yuhao launched his assault.
Both were spiritual attack skills, but their strengths and weaknesses were very clear. Cui Yajie's Charm required the opponent to look into her eyes to be effective, while Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Shock could attack an opponent by surprise.
Cui Yajie shrieked, her entire head feeling as if it were being pricked by needles, an excruciating pain. She staggered, nearly falling. However, Cui Yajie's spiritual power was much stronger than that of an ordinary Soul Master, and Huo Yuhao at this moment was not supported by Hao Dong's power, so the previous strike was only enough to halt her offensive without causing any actual damage.