The next day.
The finals of the freshman ranking tournament arrived as scheduled.
Facing the daydreaming trio opposite him, who seemed eager to clinch the championship as dark horses, Lin Yun—under their rapidly petrifying gazes—calmly reached into his collar and pulled out his big treasure: Qing'er.
Not wanting to reveal too many of his cards in front of Wang Dong, Lin Yun simply had Qing'er freeze them all in one go. The final match ended almost as soon as it began.
Fights were like that. When the gap in strength wasn't too wide, victory could still be snatched through combat experience and tactical planning. But when the disparity was overwhelming? No amount of effort could bridge it.
Unless, of course, the opponent screwed up first. (Ahem, looking at you, Elder Xuanzi—the so-called "Supreme Elder" of the Holy Ghost Church who let a Soul King-level evil soul master escape.)
At this stage, Qing'er was practically invincible. Without the use of soul tools, Frost King's Wrath was a guaranteed one-hit KO.
And just like that, Huo Yuhao's dark horse journey came to an abrupt halt, settling for second place.
Qing'er's terrifying power only made Huo Yuhao more eager for the second martial soul the Heavenfiend Ice Silkworm had promised him—one that would supposedly be far stronger than Qing'er.
Next up was the much-anticipated Core Disciple selection.
Core Disciples:
Lin Yun
Xiao Xiao
Wang Dong
Ning Tian
Wu Feng
Dai Huabin
Zhu Lu
Zhou Sichen
...
Core Disciple Trial Pass (Temporary Status):
Zheng Xiaolong
Huo Yuhao
Nanmen Yun'er
Cui Yajie
Lan Susu
Lan Luoluo
...
As expected, Huo Yuhao wasn't selected as a full core disciple—only given a trial pass.
He wasn't alone. Zheng Xiaolong also missed the cut, receiving only an eight-month core disciple trial pass. Even Ning Tian's third-place team had Nanmen Yun'er stuck with temporary status.
Perhaps because he had Zheng Xiaolong and Nanmen Yun'er as company, Huo Yuhao—while disappointed and resentful about not being named a core disciple—didn't spiral into the near-psychotic rage he had in the original timeline.
With the freshman competition concluded, the champion team—Lin Yun's group—headed to the dean's office to claim their prize.
After a few words of encouragement, Dean Du Weilun handed them a soul-power-insulating leather pouch. Inside, unsurprisingly, was a soul bone—though not the Void Demon Leopard's left leg bone from the original story. Instead, it was a dragon-type soul beast's left leg bone, clearly intended as a recruitment sweetener from Yan Shaozhe.
Lin Yun wasn't about to play the magnanimous hero and gift it to Zheng Xiaolong. Carrying him this far was already a favor—the guy hadn't contributed enough to deserve a soul bone.
The bone went straight into Lin Yun's pocket, with neither Xiao Xiao nor Zheng Xiaolong objecting.
Zheng Xiaolong knew his place. While he craved a soul bone, he wasn't foolish enough to covet what wasn't his. Smart people understood their limits—pushing his luck would be suicidal.
As for Xiao Xiao?
Lin Yun had already given her a soul bone and a spirit herb. She was still figuring out how to repay him for that. If she took this bone too, she'd probably start wondering how to "repay" him in other ways.
"Boss, after the class split, I won't be joining Class 1. I'm a support-type—Class 3 suits me better," Zheng Xiaolong said after a moment of silence.
"You've made up your mind?" Lin Yun glanced at him, surprised.
He'd assumed Zheng Xiaolong would cling to him and follow him into Class 1.
"I'm already grateful to have ridden your coattails to a championship. I can't keep relying on you forever," Zheng Xiaolong smiled, bowing deeply. "But I won't forget what you've done for me. If you ever need me in the future, I'll go through fire and water without hesitation."
With that, Zheng Xiaolong left.
Lin Yun and Xiao Xiao were assigned to Class 1—the "battle and control hybrid" stream. They reclaimed their seats by the window in the back row. Ning Tian soon joined them, sitting in front of Lin Yun, while Wu Feng took the desk ahead of Xiao Xiao.
Lin Yun wasn't an idiot. He knew exactly why Ning Tian was making such obvious moves.
But Ning Tian wasn't like Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao came from a minor family at best. Ning Tian? She was the heir to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, a 10,000-year-old institution.
Did anyone seriously think the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would betray humanity for spirit beasts?
Impossible.
Their inherent allegiances created an uncrossable chasm between them.
If Lin Yun were just some lone wolf, he wouldn't mind indulging the little rich girl. But as the future ruler of all spirit beasts, he couldn't bring himself to manipulate her feelings like Tang San would.
So no matter how hard Ning Tian tried to get closer, Lin Yun kept her at arm's length with polite smiles.
One amusing side note: During the class monitor elections, Lin Yun's name dominated the close-combat stream with 90% of the votes, followed by Wang Dong and then Dai Huabin in third.
Seeing this, Lin Yun promptly handed the monitor position to Wang Dong, ensuring Dai Huabin's hatred for Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao reached new heights.
'What a saint I am.'
After the freshman competition, life settled into a peaceful rhythm.
Well, "peaceful" for Lin Yun.
For some people? Not even remotely.
Class 1's homeroom teachers—Mu Jin and Wang Yan—were both easygoing. As long as no major incidents occurred, student conflicts were tolerated under Shrek's idiotic motto: "Those who don't stir trouble are mediocrities."
And Dai Huabin?
His hatred for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had reached critical mass.
Huo Yuhao had turned him into the "Solitary Brave Warrior."
Wang Dong had humiliated him publicly.
Together, they'd made him the laughingstock of the freshman class.
For someone as prideful as Dai Huabin, this was unforgivable.
He harassed them openly every day while undoubtedly scheming something darker behind the scenes.
One thing was certain: Dai Huabin wanted Huo Yuhao dead.
If this weren't Shrek Academy, that "one-egg grudge" would've already justified hiring a few Soul Sages to end him.
(End of Chapter)
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