At this moment, the No. 1 assessment area had become the center of attention.
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and the other two were still in the preparation area.
Huo Yuhao glanced at Wang Dong and nodded. Unexpectedly, they had truly crossed paths in the freshman assessment. If not for the bad luck in the previous draw, Wang Dong might have actually secured a spot in the top two.
Even without Huo Yuhao by her side, Wang Dong was growing vigorously and wildly, and the results seemed quite impressive. Huo Yuhao couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, as if watching a foolish child finally mature.
Facing Huo Yuhao's gaze, Wang Dong was momentarily stunned before a fierce fighting spirit surged within her.
Although she had been unlucky to draw Huo Yuhao as her opponent, she felt an inexplicable excitement. As a teammate, Huo Yuhao was undeniably reliable—especially after he had saved her from the clutches of the man-faced demon spider. His strength was reassuringly formidable.
Now, as an opponent, Wang Dong was eager to test her mettle against him. Her tone even became more spirited.
"Xiao Xiao, Bai Yan, let's do this!"
After a night's rest, Xiao Xiao had mostly recovered. Although she couldn't unleash the same explosive power as yesterday, she was still fit to fight.
Bai Yan's weak voice chimed in, "Do we really have to fight Huo Yuhao? Our bodies haven't fully recovered yet. Shouldn't we just surrender?"
She had heard that Huo Yuhao's opponents were always ruthlessly defeated. The guy showed no mercy, even when facing a cute girl.
Xiao Xiao agreed, "Yeah, Yuhao has made it this far alone and even defeated Xu Sanshi, one of the Twin Stars of the Outer Court. His strength is terrifying."
Even the Evil Illusion Moon had pushed the three of them to their limits. Xu Sanshi, with his title as one of the Twin Stars, was no small feat to defeat—let alone Huo Yuhao, who had accomplished it.
Wang Dong rolled her eyes at her teammates' pre-battle fear. "What's wrong with you two? Didn't we agree to aim for first place? Zhou Yi is watching from above, you know. I was the one who boasted yesterday."
Bai Yan was the first to admit defeat. As the one carried away by their previous victory, her performance yesterday had been overly confident.
Xiao Xiao snorted, "Come on, Zhou Yi's intentions are clear. She wants us to be champions? Why doesn't she just have us fight Titled Douluo? There are rewards for the top three. We can save our strength and aim for third place in the afternoon match."
At this, Xiao Xiao couldn't help but sneak a glance at Huo Yuhao and whisper, "Besides, Yuhao is so handsome. I can't bring myself to fight him..."
And then there were Huo Yuhao's superb cooking skills. If the chef got annoyed, how would she get free food and drinks later?
Seeing Xiao Xiao's lovestruck expression, Wang Dong was utterly dumbfounded.
'No, there's a traitor among us!' She had only taken Xiao Xiao out to eat a few times, and now this? Wasn't Xiao Xiao interested in her before?
'Damn philandering woman!'
"Xiao Xiao, what's wrong with you? Am I not as good-looking as Yuhao?"
For some reason, Wang Dong felt the need to compete, but in the strangest way.
"Well, Wang Dong, you're very good-looking, but Yuhao is just too handsome!" Xiao Xiao concluded after glancing between Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao.
Bai Yan nodded in agreement, "Yes, the class monitor's temperament feels unique, almost a bit feminine."
Wang Dong: ? ?
It was hard for her to refute that. She subconsciously touched herself, ensuring her disguise was still intact. Inexplicably, she felt a pang of guilt.
Wang Dong coughed twice and wrapped up the discussion, "It's almost time. Let's go. The battle is about to start. Even if we can't win now, we still have to fight well."
If Zhou Yi had heard their conversation, she would have been furious enough to vomit blood. No one could have expected that Wang Dong and her team, who had been highly anticipated by Zhou Yi, had already decided the outcome before the battle even began.
…
In the No. 1 assessment area, the referee waved to both sides, signaling them to enter the venue.
Due to Wang Dong's impressive performance in the previous matches, the referee for this semifinal had been replaced by a 60-year-old man.
This teacher exuded a powerful aura, clearly a high-level soul master sent to ensure no mistakes occurred during the competition.
The referee announced in a deep voice, "Starting from the semifinals, the rules have been adjusted. You may move freely within the venue, but flying martial spirit users cannot exceed ten meters above the ground. During the competition, you may go all out without holding back. I will control the intensity of the match. Anyone rescued from the venue by me will be deemed to have lost. Do you understand?"
"Understood," both sides replied in unison.
After the roll call concluded, the invigilator declared, "The competition begins."
With that, the semifinals officially commenced.
As the first encounter between Huo Yuhao, the favorite to win the championship, and Wang Dong's team, the dark horse, this match had drawn everyone's attention. As for the battle with Dai Huabin? It had been a crushing victory—nothing worth seeing.
Wang Dong was the first to release her martial soul. Azure wings appeared behind her, shimmering dreamily under the sunlight.
"Light Goddess Butterfly!"
This martial soul was unique within Shrek Academy, and its mere appearance elicited gasps from the students present.
It was breathtakingly beautiful!
Especially Wang Dong's two soul rings—one yellow and one purple—which were even more eye-catching.
But Huo Yuhao's three soul rings—one yellow and two purple—were even more shocking!
For those students who had only heard of Huo Yuhao's reputation but never witnessed his strength firsthand, their eyes widened in disbelief.
'Is there really such an outrageous existence among the freshmen?'
Even senior students who had come to watch the excitement were stunned. They had heard that this year's freshmen were exceptionally strong, but they hadn't expected this level of absurdity.
'They feel like their age might be a lie.'
'I'm sorry for being born human.'
Everything pales in comparison.
Generally, even for Shrek Academy students, reaching the third ring typically takes until the third grade. Achieving the third ring is also a prerequisite for advancing from the third to the fourth grade.
Yet, among this year's freshmen, it was said that there were already four soul elders. Such strength almost guaranteed their future entry into the Inner Court.
Xiao Xiao also focused his gaze, raising his hands to hold a green flute, which gave him an elegant demeanor.
"Nine Phoenix Dancing Flute!"
A yellow soul ring quietly lit up, and a faint melody began to play. Though not particularly pleasant, it carried a sticky, oppressive quality. A green halo spread outward from Xiao Xiao's body.
"First Soul Skill: Slow!"
This skill could reduce the opponent's speed by 20%.
At the same moment, Wang Dong and Bai Yan launched their attacks, using their offensive soul skills against Huo Yuhao.
Under the pressure of Huo Yuhao's overwhelming presence, all teams chose to fight with everything they had when facing him. Only by doing so could they find a chance to win.
This was one of the classic strategies for defeating a stronger opponent.
Wang Dong unleashed her first soul skill, "Guillotine Wings, without hesitation.
The edges of her gorgeous wings formed a circle of golden light about three inches wide, radiating an unstoppable sharpness as they slashed toward Huo Yuhao.
Though Bai Yan's martial soul was the Sharp-Tailed Swift, she wasn't a pure speed-type soul master. Her first soul skill was Flight, and her second soul skill was called swallow Return.
Swallow Return could be used to accelerate and also had an offensive effect.
At this moment, under the combined assault of the three, Huo Yuhao had no room to dodge.
Huo Yuhao's hands glowed with a faint blue light as he accurately intercepted the attacks of the two. Before they could react, Huo Yuhao's wrists flicked.
Wang Dong and the others felt a terrifying force surge through them, sending them flying out of the arena uncontrollably.
It was at this moment that Xiao Xiao's attack arrived.
She had already switched her martial soul to the Three Lives Soul-Sealing Cauldron.
The cauldron fell to the ground, and the air above Huo Yuhao's head seemed to distort. The timing and positioning of the cauldron's descent were perfect.
"Second Soul Skill: Cauldron Sweep!"
With a loud bang, the cauldron struck.
Huo Yuhao caught the three cauldrons effortlessly and flung them aside without a scratch.
Before anyone could applaud Huo Yuhao's calm response, Wang Dong rushed back into the fray.
"Second soul skill: Light of the Butterfly Goddess!"
In an instant, golden light flooded the arena, engulfing Huo Yuhao completely...
…
If you'd like to support me and gain access to advanced chapters, you can follow the link:
patreon.com/DarkLord621
📖 Explore my fanfiction collections:
🔹 Douluo: Infinite Lottery System - 250+ Chapter
🔹 Douluo: Peerless Gu Master - 164+ Chapter
🔹 My Disciple Are All Dou God - 77+ Chapter
Thank you for your support!