Chapter 30.1: The Finals
Yan Shaozhe laughed, while Qian Duoduo had a look of righteous indignation on his face. In reality, however, Qian Duoduo had also burst into laughter inwardly. Glancing at Yan Shaozhe, he inwardly thought, Old Yan, Old Yan. No matter how sly you are, you’ll have to drink the water this daddy uses to wash his feet with. Hehe, I hope that you don’t regret this in the future. Of course, it’ll be too late to regret it then. Wahahaha!
Naturally, the two teams that were participating in the finals of the freshmen assessment’s knock-out tournament weren’t aware that their match had gotten to the point that even the two Deans were betting against each other.
Both sides had arrived in the arena early. One side was making their preparations, while the other observed their opponents.
Even though Dai Huabin didn’t recognise Huo Yuhao, he was naturally able to sense the threat that Huo Yuhao’s team posed to him. If he based their chances on cultivation rank alone, their team should win. However, there were several things that ‘should’ have happened yet hadn’t. As such, nothing was set in stone. Was Ning Tian’s team weak? Both Ning Tian, who possessed the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, and Wu Feng, who possessed the Fire Dragon, were outstanding first-rate students from this year’s batch of new students, and the overall strength of Ning Tian’s team hadn’t been far off from their team’s strength. Had Xie Huanyue’s team been weak? Xie Huanyue had an extraordinarily strong defense, but their match had still ended with the proctor being forced to interfere and protect him. If the proctor hadn’t, he might not have been able to leave in one piece.
There was the powerful Wang Dong, the twin-souled Xiao Xiao, and finally Huo Yuhao, who was somewhat mysterious despite only being a Soul Master. The three of them made Dai Huabin feel threatened. Because of this, they’d made sufficient preparations before the match started; they’d even found the teams that had previously fought against Huo Yuhao’s team and asked them about their fights in order to carefully understand Huo Yuhao and his teammate’s abilities.
Compared to Dai Huabin’s cautious and concentrated state of mind, Huo Yuhao was currently feeling a few different emotions. He’d done everything he could to hide his hatred deep within his heart, but his heartbeat still sped up violently when they entered the arena to begin the final match of the knock-out tournament. He truly wanted to simply get his revenge now! However, he knew that that wasn’t a realistic option. With so many teachers present, as well as the referee who’d be monitoring and controlling the match, it would practically be impossible for him to kill Dai Huabin with his current strength.
“Yuhao.” Wang Dong whispered.
“Yep.” Huo Yuhao turned to Wang Dong and saw the cold look in his eyes. “Relax, don’t expose any flaws.” He urged Huo Yuhao, his voice so low that even Xiao Xiao couldn’t hear him.
At that moment, the referee entered the vast Assessment Arena. All of the partitions had been removed during the afternoon, exposing the enormous Assessment Arena.
The referee waved towards both sides, motioning for them to enter the arena.
Huo Yuhao’s trio proudly entered the arena. As per usual, Huo Yuhao stood in the middle, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao stood on either side of him. On the other side of the arena, Dai Huabin also stood in the middle as he walked into the arena, while the two girls on his team stood beside him.
The referee called the two parties to him and said in a deep voice, “The finals are about to begin, thus there will be a change in the rules. Listen well. As of now, you can move as you wish in the arena, but students with flying-type martial souls are no longer allowed to fly more than ten meters into the air. For the sake of allowing you to display the entirety of your strength, you can go all-out with your attacks; don’t hold anything back anything during the match. I’ll take care of the situation if any problems arise. However, any participants I have to rescue will be disqualified from the match. Do you understand?”
“Understood.” Both parties simultaneously replied. A peculiar light flashed through both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s eyes. At the same time, a trace of chilliness appeared in Dai Huabin’s eyes as an incorporeal killing intent seemed to erupt from his body.
Although Dai Huabin wasn’t the eldest son, he was still one of the White Tiger Duke’s sons. He’d received the best education a child could since he was young. He hadn’t just learned how to cultivate his martial soul; he’d also learned about how to participate in a war, as well as ways to kill others. The White Tiger Duke was a commander of one of the Star Luo Empire’s three armies. As such, his sons would definitely obtain military experience in the future.
As a result of this, Dai Huabin had a much colder temperament than his peers; he already had the basic mannerisms of a soldier. Of the White Tiger Duke’s many sons, he had the best amount of talent, which in turn made the White Tiger Duke value him highly. On the other hand, any of the White Tiger Duke’s sons could inherit the position of Grand Duke. This had formed Dai Huabin’s firm and ruthless personality. When he was only five years old, he’d personally killed his first young soul beast.
“Both sides, introduce yourselves.”
“Huo Yuhao.”
“Wang Dong.”
“Xiao Xiao.”
On the other side, Dai Huabin’s team of three exuded an obvious sense of hostility.
“Dai Huabin.”
“Zhu Lu.” The black-haired girl said.
“Cui Yajie.” The pink-haired girl said.
The referee spread his arms wide and said, “Both teams, return to your sides of the arena. When I give the signal, you may begin attacking.”
Both parties slowly moved backwards, but Huo Yuhao continued to keep his eyes trained on Dai Huabin. A savage light flickered through Dai Huabin’s eyes as they revealed a faint killing intent. However, he was astonished by the fact that Huo Yuhao didn’t yield at all. Strength-wise, there was a world of difference between the two of them. However, the aura that Huo Yuhao was letting out at this instant didn’t lose to Dai Huabin’s at all.
At that moment, the onlooking teachers were completely silent. Even Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo had become fully concentrated on the arena below them.
As Fan Yu looked towards the retreating form of Huo Yuhao, he inwardly thought to himself, Brat, I hope that you won’t disappoint me. This match isn’t just related to your freshmen assessment; it’s also the most important assessment that the Soul Tool Department has for you.
Both parties quickly reached their respective sides of the arena. The Assessment Arena was extremely large, thus, due to the distance between them, both parties had already become miniscule dots in each other’s eyes.
The referee raised his right hand, then brought it down swiftly. Immediately afterwards, a clear ‘Begin!’ rang out in the ears of the participants.
The instant after the announcement was made, both parties moved identically; they both charged towards each other.
At that moment, they were separated by too great a distance; even Huo Yuhao was unable to scout their opponents with his Spiritual Detection.
Wang Dong let out a shout as he ran, causing the wings of his Radiant Butterfly Goddess to unfurl. He flew directly into the air, but didn’t overtake Huo Yuhao. Instead, he flew right above him.
They understood that there was little chance of them winning if they were to compete in pure strength; Dai Huabin’s White Tiger was even better than Wu Feng’s Red Dragon in terms of quality, albeit only slightly. Furthermore, Wu Feng had only had two soul rings. Even though Ning Tian was a three-ringed Soul Elder, her strength-boosting boost had been completely halted by Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Shock. However, Dai Huabin definitely wouldn’t allow himself to lose to the same trick; he’d definitely guard himself against Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Shock. With his cultivation rank as a Soul Elder, Huo Yuhao’s team were fated to be dragged into a bitter fight in which their only chance of winning would lay with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s Haodong Power.
Xiao Xiao ran in front of Huo Yuhao, using her body to shield his. Simultaneously, she took out her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute.
On the other hand, Dai Huabin’s trio kept their previous formation as they wildly dashed forward. Dai Huabin was in the very front, and he shouted loudly as he ran, “White Tiger, Possession!”