Despite not even being thirteen yet, Huo Yuhao had still appeared tall and mighty when he'd been onstage earlier. He'd been filled with hot-blooded vigor, along with a seemingly astonishing amount of arrogance; some of that arrogance was of course faked however. Furthermore, there had also been his six blood-red soul rings. All of these things had been deeply branded into Wang Dong's mind; he couldn't forget any of them.
"Why did I have six soul rings when I was next to you?" Wang Dong asked.
Huo Yuhao replied, "My Imitation soul skill allows me to control everything within a three metre radius around me—that's why I waited for you to get close to me before I released it. The reason that you had six soul rings is that six hundred thousand soul rings is the limit of what our opponent's minds could withstand. Using my Imitation to make it seem as though we were both Soul Emperors was definitely already enough to frighten them. However… I didn't think that they'd be that weak. Along with the shock received by our soul rings, they were also sent into a daze for a moment when I used my Spiritual Interference on them. In addition to that, using your Golden Light to ignite our Haodong Power was quite effective; even though it didn't increase the strength of our Golden Road, its attack range was clearly increased by quite a bit. It seems that your left arm bone synergises quite well with our fusion skill."
Wang Dong shrugged his shoulders. "However, using an all-out attack like that instantly exhausted all of our Haodong Power. Just heading back was hard on us. Even though this fight was satisfying, we revealed our most powerful attack. Haven't we lost more than we gained?"
Huo Yuhao replied, "You can't look at it that way. This match was very significant to us, and just because it was our first match. Furthermore, it was also the first round of the knockout round. Right now we represent the glory of Shrek Academy, and everyone watching was able to see how old we were. If this had been a normal fight, we would've had to reveal everyone's true strengths. However, we did it differently today. The two of us don't even look fifteen, yet we displayed Soul Emperor-ranked cultivations. Wouldn't that astonish everyone? Now that we've astonished everyone, they'll overestimate our capabilities. As such, they'll feel nervous when they fight us in the future, and we'll be able to take advantage of their nervousness to win. Because of this, our chances of getting through the round-robin round before our seniors recover have become much higher. At the same time, revealing our strength allowed us to conceal the strength of the others! The most important thing we need to focus on is efficiency. Even though our Golden Road needs three days to recharge before we can use it again, we used it on day one in order to control our enemies. As such, we'll be able to use it at any time throughout the round-robin rounds. As you can see, we've achieved quite a few things in one move."
"From this match, I've truly come to understand how important Shrek Academy's reputation as the number one academy in the continent is. If it weren't for the fact that our academy's fame terrified them, our match definitely wouldn't have been so easy!"
Wang Dong muttered in response, "However, we still would've revealed it sooner or later. Our matches later on will definitely not be that easy either. Furthermore, your six hundred thousand year soul rings were too fake. I feel that if you'd only made your last soul ring a hundred thousand year one, it would've been much more believable. You used their knowledge of soul rings to fool them, but once they actually think it over, they'll realise that you must've used some sort of special method to fool them. A Soul Emperor who isn't even fifteen is already astonishing enough, but one with six hundred thousand year soul rings is another story. That's something that vastly exceeds common sense."
"Uh… you're right." Huo Yuhao shook his head. "My blood rushed to my head then; I was just trying to make Shrek Academy look even more powerful. Because of that, I made all of them hundred thousand year soul rings. Now that I think about it, I was definitely a bit foolish. But what's done is done; I can't do anything about it now. Let's just let them think whatever they want to think."
Wang Dong placed his hands behind his head and lay back down on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling and said, "Honestly, we don't need to think about it too much. Let's just do our best to win. In any case, it's definitely impossible for us to become champions by ourselves. Every single match counts."
Huo Yuhao lay beside him and placed his hands behind his head as well. "That's true. Do you think we'll have a chance at become champions once sister Xiaotao and the rest have returned?"
Wang Dong nudged him with his elbow. "Move a bit further away from me. And how am I supposed to know the answer to that? We might have a chance. Either way, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng are both Soul Emperors. Hmph, calling her sister Xiaotao is quite an affectionate term! I didn't think that you'd have an Oedipus complex."
"You're the one who has an Oedipus complex," Huo Yuhao unhappily replied, "I just don't understand why you're so hostile towards her."
Wang Dong turned towards Huo Yuhao and hit him on the forehead. "Don't forget, we almost died because of her last time! A fellow like you truly forgets all of his loyalties when he's lustful."
Huo Yuhao clutched his painful forehead and grumbled, "Hey, I'm only twelve! What do you mean by 'lustful'! Just what sort of thoughts is your brain filled with? They must all be unhealthy thoughts. At our age, we should just study hard and aim for the sky. Don't think too much about things, understand?"
Wang Dong snorted. "It'd be good if that really were the case. I'm heading back to my room." With that, he sat up to get off the bed.
However, Huo Yuhao grabbed his hand. "Don't go back."
Wang Dong hurriedly retracted his hand, then hugged his quilt and stared back at him vigilantly. "What do you intend to do?"
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes. "You're full of shit. Cultivate of course!"
Because they'd completed their knockout round on the first day of the round-robin round itself, the students from Shrek Academy were able to get a very good rest during the following two days. However, there were no traces of the backup team they were looking forward to during these two days.
The busiest person of them all during these two days was definitely Wang Yan, who entered and exited the hotel daily. He seemed to appear at one moment, then would disappear the next.
On the third night of the tournament, he gathered all of them together in a conference room and held a meeting.
"Xiaotao, how are your injuries looking?" Wang Yan's gaze fell on Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen.
Ma Xiaotao replied, "Since we were able to peacefully recuperate during the past few days, our recoveries have gone quite well. I should be able to make a complete recovery in about half a month. If I have to forcefully enter the tournament, ten days should be sufficient. However, I'm afraid that that would worsen my injuries."
An internal injury was the most serious injury a soul master could sustain. An attack to one's internal organs could cause a translocation, which brought about a series of injuries in succession. Fortunately, the three of them hadn't been poisoned when they'd been injured. If they had, this wouldn't have been a problem that could be resolved within a mere half a month. For example, the others—who'd been sent back to the academy to recover—wouldn't make a full recovery for at least three months. Even now, Ma Xiaotao's trio still felt somewhat indignant towards the events that had occurred within the Ming Dou Mountain Range. That evil soul master's ability had simply been too evil! They'd never seen a skill such as his, that would grow more powerful the larger the number of corpses present. They wouldn't have suffered such a large loss otherwise.
Dai Yueheng said, "The same goes for me."
Ling Luochen also nodded and said, "I'm recovering as expected."
"That's good," Wang Yan said. He then looked towards the seven members of the preparatory team, who were led by Bei Bei. "In your first match, you showed your opponents just how powerful Shrek Academy is. To be more accurate, you increased Shrek's reputation even further. I've been observing the other academies' matches during the past few days, and listening to the reactions brought about by your first battle; the effects you all achieved were much better than we could've expected. Our Shrek Academy has become the manifestation of 'mysterious and powerful' in the eyes of the other academies. They have no idea what our true strength is, while Huo Yuhao definitely became the center of attention. Furthermore, thanks to the show orchestrated by Yuhao and myself that day, he's become the leader of the team in all of their eyes."
"To us, it's already like that!" Bei Bei said with a smile.
Huo Yuhao blushed as he said, "Senior brother, please stop joking. As weak as I am, how could I be the leader?"
"Even though strength is definitely the most important attribute in this tournament, not everything depends on it," Bei Bei resolutely replied, "wasn't your performance in the first match absolutely incredible? Who among those seated there could've done a better job than you? I don't think that even the three students of the inner courtyard could have defeated them with a single move like you did."
Ma Xiaotao smiled and said, "What Bei Bei says is right. Your performance that day was simply amazing. Even though your cultivation isn't that high, even we have to admit that that soul skill of yours is really quite incredible—especially when you use it play tricks."
Huo Yuhao would always get embarrassed whenever he was faced by Ma Xiaotao. However, the nearby Wang Dong definitely wouldn't be. "Senior sister Ma, how could you say that Yuhao played tricks? Wasn't what he did for the sake of letting the academy win?"
Ma Xiaotao smiled in response, but didn't say anything. She just looked ambiguously towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
Wang Yan waved his hand and motioned for everyone to keep quiet. He then continued, "During these past two days, I've carefully examined the matches between the other academies. This first elimination round can only be described as 'fierce'. None of the other academies won as easily as we did. Even the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy struggled a bit with their opponents; it took them around ten minutes to conclude their battle. This means that we'll definitely have enough time to conserve and strengthen our energy. The round-robin phase of the tournament will begin tomorrow. In fact, the list matchups for the round-robin is already out. It seems to have been compiled based on the order of the teams that passed this elimination round. My next objective is to come up with a plan for tomorrow's match."
After their experience with the Hand of Death and having heard his instructions before the first match of the tournament, even the three students from the inner courtyard had completely accepted Wang Yan as the leading teacher of the team.
Wang Yan said, "Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao are all my students, as such I know quite a bit about their abilities. However, I don't know too much about you four. I hope that you all can tell me about your soul skills, as it will have an impact on the plan that I'm going to arrange for the match."
Normally, soul skills were a soul master's biggest secret. However, the situation wasn't the same inside the academy, let alone now that they were on the eve of an important match. Therefore, it was normal for Wang Yan to ask this question.
Bei Bei nodded and went first in order to set an example as their team leader. He said in a grave tone, "I have a total of four soul skills: Thunderous Dragon Claw, Vigorous Thunderbolt, Thunderous Fury, and Thunderous Dragon Head."
Afterwards, he carefully explained both the characteristics of his soul skills and their usage. Then, it was Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan's turn.
Xu Sanshi was considered the number one student in the outer courtyard alongside Bei Bei, and his four soul skills broadened everyone's horizons. As for Jiang Nannan, her soul skills were also quite good. In particular, if she were to use them in a one-on-one fight, they would surely leave a deep impression on her opponents.
At last, it was He Caitou's turn. He was also a Soul Ancestor like the others.
"Caitou, considering the fact that you're a soul engineer, there would usually be no need to inquire about your soul skills. However… the current situation is a bit special. We have to make use of everything at our disposition. If possible, could you please tell us about your martial soul?" Wang Yan asked He Caitou.
He Caitou nodded, but he had an embarrassed expression on his face as he said, "Actually, even my martial soul has a certain use. But I'm sure that none of you will be willing to use it. That's why I didn't bother to show it."
When Huo Yuhao heard these words, he suddenly recalled the time when he'd seen He Caitou with a long and black object in his mouth. His expression immediately became somewhat strange.
Wang Yan smiled and said, "It's alright, everything has its use. Come on, let us see your unique martial soul."
He Caitou looked around and, lacking self-confidence, said, "You aren't allowed to laugh."
Ma Xiaotao nodded seriously and replied, "Fine. We won't laugh at you. Now quick, don't waste anymore time. Come on and show us this soul skill of yours."
He Caitou dark face blushed as he said, "This daddy has a thick cigar."
Ma Xiaotao was dumbfounded, and she immediately got angry. "What did you just say?"
However, she didn't even have the chance to release her anger, when four soul rings, two yellow and two purple, suddenly appeared from beneath He Caitou's body. His first soul ring lit up, and that black and long thing that Huo Yuhao had once seen reappeared in Caitou's hand…
The room immediately went quiet. He Caitou looked around, and—save for Huo Yuhao—everyone was dumbfounded. He quickly remarked, "You're not allowed to laugh! You promised that you wouldn't!"
"Pfff—" The entire room immediately exploded into laughter. Everyone began to laugh; even Wang Yan was no exception.
Yes, it was indeed truly unique! He Caitou's martial soul was unique to the point that no one had expected it.
They laughed so hard that the sound could even be heard in the corridor outside. Their laughter happened to be heard by the leader of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy's main team, Ma Rulong, who happened to be passing through the corridor. His expression immediately changed when he heard them. Why were these guys from Shrek Academy laughing so hard? The round-robin would began tomorrow!
He Caitou became angry from the shame he felt. He struck back fiercely by immediately stuffing the long cigar he was holding into Xu Sanshi's wide open mouth.
Xu Sanshi's smiling face immediately stiffened. Then, a burst of flames appeared out of nowhere on the tips of He Caitou's fingers that were holding the game, which ignited the other end of the cigar…