In the sky, Wang Rui suddenly froze—after all, he was indeed slacking off.
First, he was a little curious about the soul skills of the three students in Zhang Jingkun's team. Second, he also wanted to give Huo Yuqing a chance to train her abilities.
Although the Maple Leaf Assassins were dense and sharp, their speed wasn't actually very fast.
With Ning Tian's speed boost and the addition of spiritual detection, Huo Yuqing could basically protect her vital points from being injured. This greatly reduced the lethality of the maple leaves, leaving only shallow scratches.
A Rank 20 healing-type Soul Master could easily heal such wounds with a simple soul skill, leaving no trace behind. All in all, this was a good opportunity for her to practice dodging.
Wang Rui felt that slacking off a bit and letting Huo Yuqing train her evasive skills wasn't a bad idea.
The problem was… Huo Yuqing actually seemed really mad. She even called him by his full name instead of "Ruirui"!
The crisis warning from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion buzzed in his mind. Everyone knew that when someone who usually calls you by a nickname suddenly uses your full name, it means trouble.
So, Wang Rui cautiously glanced at her… Judging from her expression, she didn't seem too angry?
Huo Yuqing glared at him on the spot.
"I'm on it, I'm on it." Wang Rui quickly raised both hands in a surrendering gesture.
The fiery red wings behind him flapped slightly. From the very beginning, tiny sparks of fire had been scattering outward with his movements.
These sparks seemed like nothing more than a natural effect of his martial soul—no one noticed whether they were extinguishing midair or… silently flying elsewhere.
The red-haired boy flickered in the air before diving straight toward Zhang Jingkun.
Having already witnessed Wang Rui knock Jiang Xin out of the field, Zhang Jingkun was naturally on guard. Seeing Wang Rui dive at him, he didn't even think—he immediately dodged in the opposite direction to avoid the impact.
Wang Rui didn't change his trajectory. He simply tilted his body, sweeping one of his wings toward Zhang Jingkun.
No one noticed the dimly glowing ember beneath Zhang Jingkun's foot.
Zhang Jingkun barely dodged the attack and felt a surge of relief—seemed like a Rank 30 Soul Elder's accuracy wasn't all that great. Not too difficult to avoid.
But before that thought fully settled, Wang Rui's voice suddenly rang out:
"Referee!"
Why call the referee all of a sudden?
Just as the question flashed through his mind, Zhang Jingkun suddenly felt his collar tighten. A moment later, a sense of weightlessness hit—someone had lifted him straight into the air.
"Boom!!!"
A deafening explosion erupted below. A flash of fire seared itself into his retinas, and the shockwave sent debris flying. A scorching wave of air swept across his skin, bringing a burning sting.
The spot where he had just been standing had exploded, leaving a charred fissure on the battlefield!
Ye Xuan was also in the referee's grasp, her wide eyes still filled with shock.
"W-What just happened?" Zhang Jingkun asked. He only then realized that his voice was trembling.
"I'm not entirely sure either," the referee hesitated. Admitting ignorance in front of students was a blow to his dignity, but he truly hadn't seen how it happened.
The moment Wang Rui called out to him, his attention instantly locked onto the situation. He immediately noticed an extremely dense cluster of fire energy forming under Zhang Jingkun's feet. The terrifying energy fluctuations signaled an imminent explosion, and he reacted at his fastest speed to snatch both Zhang Jingkun and Ye Xuan out of danger.
But he couldn't understand how such a dense fire element could appear there. He had been watching the battle closely and hadn't seen Wang Rui activate any additional soul skills.
Could it be a soul-bone skill?
But from what he had heard, this student didn't come from a wealthy family…
The referee's curiosity was killing him. He instinctively turned to look at Wang Rui.
The red-haired boy had already landed, but he wasn't looking at the referee—he already knew the outcome of the match.
What puzzled the referee even more was that Wang Rui was standing beside that single-ring student, despite being a Soul Elder. His posture and expression carried a hint of deference, almost as if he was trying to please the other student.
Meanwhile, the one-ring student looked mildly annoyed, scolding Wang Rui in a low voice.
On the side, another Soul Elder—Ning Tian, the treasured prodigy of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect—stood awkwardly, though she mostly seemed to agree.
That single-ring student had only gotten in through connections—how did he have the nerve to scold his team captain?
The referee's gossip instincts flared. He pricked up his ears to eavesdrop.
"…I told you to get serious, not to reveal your secret technique outright! There are still more matches to come. What if your future opponents prepare countermeasures?" Huo Yuqing muttered.
"They won't beat me anyway, Yuhao, don't be mad—"
"You'll suffer if you underestimate your opponents." Huo Yuqing lectured earnestly. "Soul Masters have a limited number of soul skills. Keeping them secret is key. If you don't have to use them, don't."
Well, I made up most of these techniques anyway, Wang Rui thought. It doesn't matter if this one gets exposed. Who in the first-year Shrek Academy roster can make me suffer?
As for stronger opponents… I can just revert to my true form or use the Grand Summoning Technique.
But deep down, he was indeed hiding his true power. Since Huo Yuqing didn't know the full truth, her concern was understandable. Ultimately, he was at fault here.
Naturally, he felt guilty. He lowered his head, completely avoiding her gaze, too sheepish to argue back.
If Wang Rui were in his true form, his tail would probably be tucked between his legs by now.
The referee, after listening for a while, felt his mouth twitch.
Huo Yuhao, well said!
This kid was indeed underestimating his opponents too much. A little reprimand would do him good.
…Though why it had to come from a single-ring student was beyond him. Perhaps this was a case of one thing countering another.
The referee turned to Zhang Jingkun's team. "Regardless of the specifics, based on your current strength, you had no way of handling that explosion. Therefore, the victory goes to Wang Rui's team. Any objections?"
Zhang Jingkun's team had no complaints—if the referee hadn't acted in time, he and Ye Xuan would've been seriously injured.
With the result officially announced, the waiting healing-type teachers rushed onto the stage to tend to the injured students.
Meanwhile, Wang Rui, looking like a dejected puppy, followed behind Huo Yuqing, who was puffed up with frustration like a little pufferfish.
[T/N: Insert cute pouting girl]
Why is it so hard to understand what Huo wants…? Wang Rui scratched his head.
As for Huo Yuqing's thoughts…
She had struggled against the Maple Leaf Assassins, while Wang Rui had handled them with ease. Once again, she was forced to confront the massive gap between their strengths. Along with a sense of urgency, there was also an undeniable frustration at having shown such a helpless side to the person she liked.
And there was something else—something she wasn't quite ready to admit.
Deep down, she had wanted Wang Rui to keep his focus on her the entire time.
"I don't know much about human females, but isn't this just the usual way your kind flirts and throws little tantrums?" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm commented lazily.
"I am not!" Huo Yuqing shot back in her mind—but even she could feel her ears burning.
So she changed her words.
"I just like Wang Rui and want him to pay attention to me. What's wrong with that?!"
Behind her, Wang Rui stared at her reddened ears.
…?
What's up with Huo again?
A confused Three-Eyed Big Cat emoji flashed through his mind.
Emotions God in the making, huh? Well, her mood swings were even harder to figure out than a normal girl's.
"Wang Rui, can you come here for a moment?"
He turned around and saw Wang Yan waving at him, looking excited.
Wang Rui immediately turned away, pretending not to hear.
Huo Yuqing shot him a glare. "Didn't you hear the teacher calling? Go already!"