Three days quickly passes, and the class examination was about to begin.
Wang Yan tidied up his lesson plans, then said, "Those of you who are core disciples stay behind. I need you all to follow me to the Soul Dueling Area for a while."
They all shared a look with each other, some of them gulped out of anxiety and excitement.
The number of core disciples in Huo Yuhao's generation was extremely high; it was slightly higher than the previous generations. Class 1 alone had nine, while Class 2's Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue and Zhu Lu—as well as Class 3's Ning Tian—made for a total of twelve core disciples. This was an extremely rare sight in Shrek Academy's outer courtyard. The combined total of third year and fourth year core disciples was around this number.
When they left the classroom, Huo Yuhao immediately saw Class 2's geniuses with their teacher, Mu Jin, leading them.
Dai Huabin naturally saw Huo Yuhao as well, and a cold light flashed through his eyes when he did. He concealed his own emotions very well however, as he simply looked away from Huo Yuhao as they left. He didn't even spare him a second glance.
In his heart and mind, he had only one goal and he was determined to accomplish it.
Win. Although letting Huo Yuhao win and continue being low profile is a good idea, he didn't like it. He didn't reach this far just to take a step back and let some commoner take the spotlight.
He is the son of the White Tiger Duke! Losing and giving up is not an option for him. He would do whatever it takes to come out on top and reclaim his rightful place as one of the top core disciples in Shrek Academy.
Just like the stories he read and heard as a child, he is the main character.
"Hey, Yuhao, sister Feng, Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong." Ning Tian greeted her friends as soon as she came out of Class 3. They returned the greeting with a smile.
The twelve core disciples of Year 2 left the teaching building as they followed the three teachers and headed towards the Soul Dueling Area.
Huo Yuhao saw a few familiar faces when they neared the Soul Dueling Arena.
Tang Ya, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan appeared in his line of sight; all of them were Year 5 core disciples. The core disciples of Year 5 naturally weren't limited to the four of them, but they were the strongest amongst the core disciples of the outer courtyard.
Soul Elders were very common in the outer courtyard, but there were very few students below Year 5 capable of reaching the four-ringed rank. Advancing from a Soul Elder to a Soul Ancestor was much more difficult than advancing from a Soul Grandmaster to a Soul Elder. This point alone was enough to demonstrate there weren't any other four-ringed core disciples besides Tang Ya's group of four.
The third and fourth year core disciples began to arrive in succession, but He Caitou was the only core disciple of the Soul Tool Department to arrive. The final number of students participating in the match was twenty-eight, but the second year students occupied half of these spots.
Students from different classes stood behind their teachers in charge and waited silently.
The atmosphere was tense with anticipation.
At that moment, a swaying figure slowly walked towards the Soul Duelling Area. His swaying appearance gave the impression that he could fall down at any time.
Huo Yuhao revealed a trace of astonishment on his face when he saw him.
He had the appearance of a useless, old drunkard man, but his presence exuded a sense of power and authority that couldn't be ignored. It was Elder Xuan, the second highest in authority and one of the strongest fighters in Shrek Academy.
He had only seen him once by passing, and it was an experience that would remain in his mind forever: he showed, just by releasing a bit of his energy, that the path to becoming the strongest is still far and hard to achieve.
Elder Xuan unsteadily walked towards the group of students, then raised his head with an intoxicated look in his eyes. "Little Wang."
"Elder Xuan." Wang Yan hurriedly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Is everyone present?" Elder Xuan asked.
Wang Yan replied, "Everyone's arrived. There are a total of twenty seven core disciples from the Martial Soul Department between Year 2 and Year 5, while only a single person has come from the Soul Tool Department. Two, when you count Huo Yuhao."
"Oh. Let's head in then." With that, Elder Xuan turned around and wobbled his way into the Soul Dueling Arena.
Most of the core disciples had never seen Elder Xuan before. Because of this, a large number of them had doubts in their heart. Wang Dong'er couldn't help but whisper to Huo Yuhao, who was beside her, "Who's this drunkard?"
"Probably the strongest person in the academy." Huo Yuhao whispered back.
Wang Dong'er's eyes widened in shock.
The Soul Dueling Arena looked like it usually did, except for the fact that there were no other teachers or students present.
Elder Xuan walked all the way to the middle of the Area before he stopped. The core disciples also stopped, along with their teachers.
Elder Xuan spoke in a muffled voice, "Listen up you brats. The test you're about to take is extremely simple. I call it the Collective Chaotic Battle. It will be held in this Soul Dueling Area, and you're free to attack whenever and however you wish. There are no rules in this competition. If you surrender or are rescued by a teacher, you'll be eliminated. The last seven people will be the victors of this battle. Alright, I'm done explaining. Teachers, get ready. Once this old man gives the signal, you can start fighting."
'Everybody, get ready. When Elder Xuan gives the signal, we group up.' While everyone else started to get confused and panic, Huo Yuhao hurriedly made contact with his friends; Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, Wu Feng, Ning Tian, Tang Ya, Bei Bei and He Caitou. He didn't count both Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan, at most they're the friends of his friends.
As the teachers left the arena, Elder Xuan raised the bottle gourd in his hand and shouted, "Begin!"
With a 'whoosh', Elder Xuan's figure vanished, which left only the twenty-eight core disciples of the outer courtyard in the Soul Dueling Arena.
While other students stood there like sitting ducks, Huo Yuhao and his friends begun to move. As Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao blurred, moving towards the direction of Tang Ya's group, Huo Yuhao quickly followed after them when he grabbed both Wu Feng and Ning Tian, moving like a blur.
Dai Huabin, who had been tracking his enemy's movements all this time, quickly yelled out while using his martial soul. "GET HIM!"
At that, all hell broke lose as every student started turning at one other with some creating temporary alliances with each other.
After hearing Huo Yuhao's command, Tang Ya didn't hesitate to bring out her martial soul. Dark-blue vines sprouted out of the ground like spikes, pushing back nearby students and knocking back both Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan. Her ten thousand year old soul ring caused a strong deterrent against the weaker students, causing them to jump away.
"Hey, watch it!" Xu Sanshi yelled, bringing out his shield, cold sweat dripping down his face.
"Yaya..." Jiang Nannan frowned, feeling a bit hurt.
Tang Ya guiltily looked at her friend, "Sorry Nannan, but I'll try to persuade Yuhao to be part of our group. If not, I can at least bargain him to make you a feast."
Jiang Nannan sighed at the betrayal, but nodded in understanding. However, that didn't mean she wasn't going to go without a fight.
"Hey, what about me?!" Xu Sanshi complained, feeling left out of the conversation.
"Shut up!"
"How mean! Ah!?" He quickly brought up his shield to block a dragonic arm enveloped by blue lightning. "Dude! Really?!"
Bei Bei smirked, "Just as Xiao Ya says, unless junior brother says you're with us, we'll continue being rivals for the time being."
"Tch, hardass. Fine, I wanted another duel with you anyway. Let's go!" With a loud war cry, Xu Sanshi knocked back Bei Bei, his shield raised defensively as he prepared to engage in combat.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao and his group was quickly making their way towards Tang Ya's group without any hesitation and obstacles. With their movements synchronized and their determination unwavering, they closed in on their allies.
"Raaaauuuugh!"
Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao's path, however, was soon obstructed by a gigantic white tiger with black stripes; it was the Netherworld White Tiger, the fusion soul skill between Dai Huabin and Zhu Le. It growled threateningly at the dumbfounded girls and took a large swipe at them.
"Xiao Xiao!" Wang Dong'er yelled, and without saying anything back, Xiao Xiao quickly grabbed onto her as a pair of beautiful butterfly wings unfolded behind her back. With a powerful flap of her wings, she and Xiao Xiao leapt out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding the tiger's attack.
As they landed a safe distance away, Wang Dong'er quickly assessed the situation. With the Netherworld White Tiger blocking their path, they needed to find another way to reach their allies and regroup.
Only to feel a temporal disturbance ripple through the air, causing them to momentarily freeze in place.
They knew one person with this absurd time control soul!
'Cao Jinxuan!' Just as they suspected the culprit, two tiger claws went after them again.
"Oraaaaa!" Wu Feng cried out, appearing more mature and sexier with scales covering most of her limbs, enveloped by a pink aura, she punched the Netherworld White Tiger's right face cheek with a force that sent it staggering back. The impact reverberated through the arena, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
Wu Feng's power startled everyone, including Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao.
'When did this bitch get this strong?' The duo thought.
They blinked, as the temporal suppression upon them disappeared. Without thinking about it, Wang Dong'er quickly flew away back and look around the battle for her friends.
It wasn't hard to find them, when there's an ice throne formed by Huo Yuhao, with Ning Tian standing beside him, her martial soul glowing brilliantly, boosting their allies-the reason for the unexpected power of Wu Feng's punch. Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and He Caitou were also nearby, pushing back or defeating their enemies as they headed towards his direction.
He Caitou especially, was like a machine of war, with numerous large tubes all over his body and two enormous, thigh-sized cannons on his shoulders. With a wide grin across his lips, and a lit cigar, he mercilessly launched a volley of attacks towards the area that held the largest number of people. Over twenty beams of light suddenly emerged from his body towards his target, and the ripples of soul power that instantaneously exploded outwards stunned everyone present.
On the ice throne, Huo Yuhao let go of Cao Jianxuan's neck, dropping down unconscious. While his friend, Zhou Sichen, was long since thrown out of the arena's bounds by him and now in the care of one of the teachers.
Huo Yuhao sighed, as the most annoying and only dangerous person among the students were Cao Jianxuan, his time control skills could affect any of the students and he wasn't an exception. And he wasn't one to let someone so dangerous continue causing trouble.
Narrowing his eyes, Huo Yuhao turned his attention back to the ongoing battle, where his friends were fighting with all their strength.
"You're really taking this easily, huh?" Ning Tian asked, taking a seat on his armrest. "Well, with just that black soul ring, no one is going to come near you."
Huo Yuhao smirked, the disguised one black soul ring(the hundred thousand year soul ring) circling around him shone, freezing two idiots that were trying to attack him from behind.
Ning Tian wryly smiled, "You're cold."
"Why aren't you? I offered you a level 2 heat warming suit."
"Hmph. Don't underestimate the wealth of the Seven Treasure Glaze Clan, I have a level 5 all-elements resistant soul tool. Though it isn't completely negating the chill of your ultimate ice..."
Huo Yuhao blinked and then glanced at her exposed legs, noticing the transparent barrier.
"What other treasures do you have...?"
"That's a secret," She stuck out her tongue, giggling. "Also, what's with the throne? Don't tell me you developed a big ego like Dai Huabin."
"Eugh, no. But to answer your question, tell me, what's the most effective way to destroy the will or morale of people?"
She pondered about it for a moment and replied, "Absolute power?"
Resting his chin on his fist, Huo Yuhao smiled, and crossed his legs.
"That, and sending a message. To every students here," his eyes shone with an icy light. "that we are not to be messed with!"
....
AN: Just watched the btth anime/donghua. Thoughts: old season 1 had trash animation, season 2-4 were pretty decent, and season 5 was absolute peak! I'm waiting for more updates for it. I'm just waiting for them to animate Xiao Yan meeting his kid, the drama, the feels! And Medusa! Also, they really did Hai Bodong in the manhua dirty, damn!
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