The love and hatred of the older generation had nothing to do with the younger ones. Right now, the semifinals had to proceed as scheduled.
After Yan Shaozhe finished speaking, Ning Tian went up to draw lots as usual.
Following behind her, the next one to draw was a tall young man. He had long golden hair, a handsome face, but his expression was cold. His deep blue eyes even had double pupils.
This was none other than Dai Huabin, the second young master of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
It was also him who had ordered his servants to beat up Huo Yuqing and her mother, which ultimately led to the tragic death of that ill-fated woman.
As he waited for his turn to draw, Dai Huabin's gaze swept indifferently over the other teams below the stage. When his eyes met Wang Rui's, he paused for a moment. There was a hint of hostility in his eyes, but it was restrained—more of a cautious probe rather than outright enmity.
However, it was clear that he did not recognize the girl standing beside Wang Rui—Huo Yuqing.
Huo Yuqing instinctively clenched Wang Rui's hand, biting down hard on her lip.
Hatred churned within her chest, burning like a crimson fire. Yet, she kept her face perfectly composed, not revealing a single trace of emotion.
Taking a deep breath, she allowed the cool air to flow into her lungs, gradually calming the raging storm of anger inside her.
Just wait, she thought. I will have my revenge. I will reclaim every debt from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, one by one, and bring peace to my mother's soul in the afterlife.
Only then did she realize that her fingertips felt a bit warm. She turned her head slightly and met a pair of golden eyes—gentle, comforting.
She knew Wang Rui would help her. The realization that someone was standing by her side gave her a subtle sense of security—so steady, so reassuring.
"Ahem." Ning Tian cleared her throat, speaking in a deliberately teasing tone. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry to interrupt your little couple's moment, but the draw is over."
"Who are we up against?" Huo Yuqing collected herself and asked.
"Class Three's team. Three Soul Grandmasters," Ning Tian replied. "Most likely, our final match this afternoon will be against Dai Huabin's team. Did he recognize you just now?" she asked with concern.
"No." Huo Yuqing let out a cold laugh. "Why would the young master of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion remember the child of a mere servant?"
Ning Tian opened her mouth as if to say something. She was also the heir of a major sect, and at this moment, she felt that any words criticizing Dai Huabin would sound hollow and hypocritical. So, instead, she simply patted Huo Yuqing on the shoulder. "I'll help you beat him up this afternoon."
Huo Yuqing's expression softened. "Alright. Thank you."
"Oh, come on, no need to be polite."
A Formidable Opponent
Class Three's team consisted of a strong attack-type soul master, a defense-type soul master, and a food-type soul master. Each of them had rather unique martial souls.
The strong attack-type soul master, Zuo Lan, had a martial soul called the Radiant Stone Staff. Her soul skills had a homing effect, making them impossible to dodge even with shared spiritual detection. This proved to be a real headache for Ning Tian and Huo Yuqing. In the end, Wang Rui had to brute-force his way through the attacks to knock her out of the arena.
The defense-type soul master, Tian Shan, possessed a rare beast martial soul called the Wood Jiao. Unlike most defense-type soul masters who acted as tank-like frontliners, he played a supportive role from the rear, granting energy shields to his teammates.
The food-type soul master, Yi Xing, had a martial soul that took the form of steamed buns. His second soul skill, Crystal Bun, was particularly interesting—similar to Oscar's Mirror Image Sausage, seemingly derived from the same Mirror Beast soul. However, its effect had subtle differences. The Crystal Bun allowed its consumer to temporarily take on the appearance of anyone they could currently see, copying their martial soul and their first two soul skills, though at only 10% of the original power. If used wisely, this skill had great tactical flexibility. Yi Xing transformed into Ning Tian, using a heavily weakened version of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to boost his teammates.
This team had a well-balanced setup and excellent coordination, which explained how they had made it to the semifinals.
But unfortunately for them, they ran into Wang Rui in serious mode.
The match itself was nothing too remarkable—long story short, they were all sent flying out of the arena by Flame Meow's Dragon Chariot.
And with that, Wang Rui's team officially entered the finals.
Enter Qian Duoduo
"If you ask me, I think banning soul tools in the freshman assessment is pretty unreasonable," a deep male voice suddenly interjected as they were leaving the arena.
That statement struck a nerve with both Ning Tian and Huo Yuqing, making them stop in their tracks and turn to look at the speaker.
It was none other than Qian Duoduo.
He had been watching the semifinals, bickering endlessly with Yan Shaozhe, insisting on getting a Soul Elder—preferably someone like Ning Tian, who was undoubtedly going to use soul tools—to transfer into the Soul Tool Department.
Of course, Yan Shaozhe wasn't going to agree. The two department heads bickered like a pair of old children, with Qian Duoduo constantly accusing Yan Shaozhe of "hindering the advancement of the Soul Tool Department" and "going against Elder Mu".
In the end, Yan Shaozhe got so annoyed that he snapped, "Fine! You can have anyone you want from the nine remaining semifinalists—except for the Soul Elders!" Then he stormed off to watch Dai Huabin's match.
Qian Duoduo, now free to act, casually stationed himself at the arena exit, lying in wait for Wang Rui's team.
His real target had never been the three semifinalist Soul Elders. What he truly had his eyes on was that one-ring student—Huo Yuhao.
Yan Shaozhe took it for granted that all these students belonged to the Martial Soul Department, so he hadn't bothered to dig deep into their profiles. But Qian Duoduo, determined to poach some talent—or rather, harvest some fresh crops—had done his homework.
And the more he read, the more he found this Huo Yuhao kid interesting.
During the entrance exams, Huo Yuhao had used a soul tool to defeat a Tang Sect girl, which was ruled a violation, forcing him to retake the test.
To Qian Duoduo, this was utterly ridiculous.
Why could the Tang Sect girl use hidden weapons, but Huo Yuhao couldn't use a soul tool?
A regular weapon is a weapon, but a soul tool isn't?
But Shrek's rules were Shrek's rules. Martial Souls were still the foundation of a Soul Master, and no matter how much he resented the Soul Tool Department being sidelined, there wasn't much he could do.
The thought of his students getting booted from the official team for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament just made him fume.
Still, the fact that Huo Yuhao had immediately turned to soul tools in battle meant he already had some training—either from his primary academy or his family.
As he read through the match reports, he noticed that most of the instructors had focused their evaluations on Wang Rui's rare mutant martial soul. Even Wang Yan hadn't bothered guessing what Huo Yuqing's soul skills were.
Her file simply stated: The only notable trait is exceptional evasion ability.
For the Martial Soul Department, that wasn't exactly a glowing assessment.
But for Qian Duoduo, it was a jackpot.
No attack power? Use a soul cannon.
No defense? Use a soul shield.
No speed? Use a soul propulsion system.
The real key was a passion for soul tools!
…And affordability. —By Shrek Academy's resident stingy iron rooster
Besides, this kid's martial soul wasn't bad at all. A Body Martial Soul was a top-tier martial soul, and while spirit-type soul beasts were rare, they weren't nonexistent. If he was good at dodging, then his aim with soul weapons would probably be top-notch too.
Thinking of this, Qian Duoduo couldn't help but feel bitter.
"What? You don't want a Body Martial Soul user? Then just give him to me!"