Ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel. Before Xiao Xiao even had a chance to show her skills, she was pinned to the ground and thoroughly beaten by Huo Yuhao, who hadn't even used any hidden weapons.
After all, although her martial soul, the Three Lives Soul Calming Cauldron, was a top-tier tool-type spirit and Xiao Xiao had worked hard to master it, Huo Yuhao's **Eye of Truth** allowed him to easily see through her every move in battle. He predicted her attacks and dodged them with foresight, closing in and countering precisely.
With just a few punches and kicks, Huo Yuhao knocked Xiao Xiao to the ground, leaving her unable to get up again.
Even as she lay there, Xiao Xiao looked completely dazed, her face full of confusion.
Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?
"So, convinced yet? Want to try again?" Huo Yuhao smiled down at her and offered his hand to help her up.
Xiao Xiao pouted, brushed the dust off her clothes, and stood up. She wasn't stupid,Huo Yuhao's relaxed expression clearly showed he hadn't even used his full strength. She wasn't about to embarrass herself further.
"Alright then, that's enough. Everyone can disband. Go back, rest for a while, and get ready for the afternoon assessment," Huo Yuhao said with a yawn.
Soon, afternoon came. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao arrived at the Shrek Academy examination grounds.
"By the way," Huo Yuhao said to his teammates, "the next opponents shouldn't be too strong. You two hold back a little and drag out the fights if possible. If anything unexpected happens, I'll step in."
After all, these matches were great opportunities for him to observe and analyze other people's soul skills. The longer his opponents fought, the more data he could gather.
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao looked puzzled.
"Besides training at home or fighting during the entrance test, how many real battles have you two actually been in? To be blunt, these freshman assessments are just chicks pecking at each other. Getting more experience now will help you improve later," Huo Yuhao explained casually.
But in truth, getting stronger wasn't that simple. Real combat experience helped develop instincts, but true power came from analyzing both one's own and the enemy's abilities,understanding strengths and weaknesses and using that knowledge to counter them.
That was the real way for the weak to defeat the strong,or for the strong to avoid carelessness leading to defeat.
Experience could make a soul master more composed in sudden situations, but without the ability to reflect and learn, they would never grow much.
Soon, the three entered the assessment area, ready to face their opponents in the warm-up match.
A total of 306 teams,918 students,were participating in this freshman exam. Only 150 teams would advance.
"Attention all freshmen! Please proceed to the assessment zones immediately!"
Hearing the announcement, the students,each with their own mix of excitement and nerves,walked toward their respective areas.
Huo Yuhao's group was assigned to Zone 33, along with five other teams.
A middle-aged male teacher, about forty, smiled kindly at them. "Everyone's here. Let me introduce myself,I'm your examiner, Wang Yan. I'll be overseeing your assessments for the next two days."
Skipping the formalities, Wang Yan began organizing the first match.
"Round one, match one: Class One,Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao. Class Three,Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, Zhao Haochen."
"You may enter the arena. Take your positions. Once I announce the start, you can release your martial souls. Now, into position."
Zhao Haochen, a chubby boy from Class Three, turned pale when he heard who they were up against.
"Damn, just our luck! Those two from Class One are the ones who crushed the senior examiners during the entrance test. We're doomed. Let's just try to perform well."
"Don't jinx it! You never know until we fight."
"Yeah, they're strong, but we're not weak either!"
Both sides took their positions.
Huo Yuhao's team formation had Wang Dong up front, Xiao Xiao in the middle, and Huo Yuhao at the back.
Their opponents placed Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng in front to protect Zhao Haochen.
When both sides were ready, Wang Yan announced, "Begin!"
The teams released their martial souls simultaneously,but Huo Yuhao acted first. With a flick of his hand, three Flying Locust Stones shot out toward the opposing trio.
Wang Dong unfolded his Goddess of Light Butterfly wings and charged forward.
In front of Xiao Xiao, three black cauldrons appeared, floating protectively.
Before Zhao Haochen could even chant his soul skill incantation, one of Huo Yuhao's stones struck his throat.
It wasn't a powerful attack, but it made the chubby boy swallow his words painfully.
At the same time, Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng,distracted by Zhao's snack in hand,were hit in the mouth by Huo Yuhao's stones, their lips splitting and swelling almost instantly.
Infuriated, the two attackers charged at Wang Dong without waiting for Zhao's support.
"Interesting… a Tang Sect special recruit?" Wang Yan muttered to himself, watching closely. "His control of hidden weapons is quite skilled. Judging by his spirit rings, that last move must have used an augmentation-type soul skill."
Ouyang and Chen, both agility-type soul masters, attacked furiously,but rage couldn't make up for a gap in power.
Their strength was nowhere near Wang Dong's.
And with Huo Yuhao's hidden weapons flying from the rear, they were forced to slow down just to avoid being hit, creating the perfect opening.
"First Soul Skill,Wing Guillotine!" Wang Dong shouted, his wings slicing forward.
At the same time, Huo Yuhao's hands flicked again, launching two more hidden weapons.
Ouyang Junyi activated his own first soul skill, transforming the blade on his arm into multiple light slashes aimed at Wang Dong. Chen Junfeng swung his short sword, sending a wave of sword energy forward.
But before the attacks could land, Huo Yuhao's projectiles struck their wrists. The sudden pain caused their aim to falter, their attacks missing entirely.
"These two are just one-ring soul masters,not worth watching anymore," Huo Yuhao muttered. "Wang Dong, finish it."
Wang Dong didn't hesitate. His wings slashed down while Xiao Xiao's cauldrons released waves of soul power. Both opponents collapsed to the ground, defeated.
"Class One, Wang Dong's team,victory!" Wang Yan declared.
Watching from the sidelines, he couldn't help but sigh. Tang Sect's hidden weapons truly were ingenious,especially effective in low-level battles.
"Unfortunately, times have changed," Wang Yan thought. "As soul tools evolve, hidden weapons can't keep up. Still, this boy has remarkable perception and tactical instinct."
He looked at Huo Yuhao again, eyes gleaming. "If I remember correctly, I've seen him reading in the library these past months. A hardworking and thoughtful student,excellent."
After the match, Huo Yuhao's team stayed to observe the next two battles. Then he turned to his teammates.
"We've gathered enough intel. The rest aren't interesting,let's just end fights quickly from now on."
Wang Dong glared at him. "Didn't you just say we should gain battle experience?"
"I was wrong," Huo Yuhao said shamelessly. "These matches are too low-level. I'm going back to take a nap." He ran off, with Wang Dong chasing him.
"Let's see what new techniques I can analyze from today's fights," Huo Yuhao thought as he jogged away. "This isn't being inconsistent,it's adapting."
The next day, they faced four more teams, defeating them easily under Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao's dominance and Huo Yuhao's precise coordination.
From the sidelines, Wang Yan's interest grew stronger. "Interesting… very interesting. Could his martial soul be a body-type spirit?"
He had noticed that when Huo Yuhao used his Spirit Eyes, only his eyes changed,a clear indicator.
"Body-type martial souls don't show much advantage at low levels, but pairing them with hidden weapons? That's clever. He'll have reliable combat power at least up to rank 30."
Most soul masters only trusted their own bodies and soul skills. Using hidden weapons or soul tools was considered beneath them.
But Wang Yan, being more of a theorist than a fighter, admired innovative thinking. Seeing Huo Yuhao, he felt as if he were meeting Tang San from ten thousand years ago.
"What a pity," he thought. "A body-type martial soul of this quality will surely be taken under special care by the academy. I won't have the chance to mentor him deeply. Still, I'd love to study this spirit further."
Unbeknownst to Wang Yan, Huo Yuhao had already sensed his gaze,even without activating his Eye of Truth.
"Doesn't matter," Huo Yuhao thought. "Becoming a core disciple means more resources anyway. For now, I'll play along and wait for the right time,either until Tang Buddha lets his guard down or Electrolux awakens again."
Soon, the third day of matches began. This time, their opponents were the sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo,whose martial souls were hair-based,and the power-type soul master Huang Chutian.
"Hair martial souls… also body-type spirits," Huo Yuhao mused. "Could I use this as inspiration to modify my own body? If I can analyze the structure of their martial souls, maybe I can reconstruct my energy and blood flow, turning my spirit into a true body-type martial soul…"
As his thoughts raced, Wang Yan announced:
"Alright, both teams are present. Because Team Wang Dong has achieved the best record in this zone so far, they will serve as the seed team for this round. Match one of Zone 33, Round Six,Team Wang Dong versus Team Huang Chutian. Begin!"
After exchanging introductions, both sides took their positions,Huo Yuhao's formation unchanged.
On the other side, Huang Chutian stood in front, with the Lan sisters behind him.
Once they were ready, Wang Yan declared, "Match start!"
As both sides activated their martial souls, the battle began in full force. This time, Huo Yuhao didn't throw his hidden weapons immediately. Instead, he observed quietly, waiting for the perfect moment.
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