Chapter 76 - Rules Are Meant to Be Exploited
As expected, just after Lin Yun asked, both Xiao Xiao and Zheng Xiaolong shook their heads, indicating they had no objections.
"I'll follow the boss," Zheng Xiaolong said decisively.
"Me too," Xiao Xiao nodded.
Though it was a three-versus-three battle in name, the two of them were just there to fill the numbers. Since that was the case, why wouldn't they agree?
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go to the Soul Arena!" Wu Feng waved her fist impatiently. She had long wanted to fight Lin Yun—not only because of Ning Tian, but also because of her martial soul.
She wanted to see just how her Red Dragon compared to Lin Yun's Golden Dragon.
'Hmph, it's the soul master that matters, not the martial soul. I don't believe I, Wu Feng, am weaker than you, Lin Yun!'
…
An hour later.
After going through the formalities and paying the fees, the soul duel began. But in less than three minutes, it was over—faster than Ultraman fighting a monster.
Lin Yun was the first to walk out of the arena. He stretched lazily with a calm face, while Xiao Xiao and Zheng Xiaolong followed behind him, their expressions twisted with suppressed laughter that they couldn't quite let out.
Behind them, Ning Tian and Nanmen Yun'er supported Wu Feng by her arms. Ning Tian's face was helpless, while Nanmen Yun'er's mouth was still hanging open in shock.
As for Wu Feng, her face had turned green, her whole body trembling, her teeth chattering audibly.
"What a truly exhilarating battle!" Lin Yun said with satisfaction as he finished stretching.
"Pfft~" Xiao Xiao could no longer hold it in. One hand clutching her stomach, the other resting on Lin Yun's shoulder, she burst into laughter.
Zheng Xiaolong was stunned as well, but his admiration for Lin Yun grew boundless.
Wu Feng, walking at the back, was instantly infuriated. Her pale face darkened several shades.
"Exhilarating? My ass! Who fights like that? You clearly cheated!" Wu Feng exploded in frustration.
"Oh? Then tell me, how did I cheat?" Lin Yun turned, his expression calm. "The hard rules of the freshman assessment state that a team cannot have two assault-type soul masters, nor can they use soul tools. Our duel followed those exact rules. From a rules standpoint, I didn't break any."
"But…" Wu Feng's face grew darker, her mouth opening and closing without a word.
"No buts. Even the Tang Sect can use their hidden weapons, so why can't I use my own trump card?" Lin Yun spread his hands, face full of amusement.
"You have to understand, a trump card is part of one's strength."
Wu Feng wanted to argue further, but Ning Tian stopped her. "Enough, Fengmei. Lin Yun is right. According to the freshman assessment rules, he didn't break any. Besides, even if he didn't use his trump card, you still wouldn't have beaten him."
"Fine…" Wu Feng shrank her neck awkwardly, dropping her protest.
In the end, Lin Yun's "trump card" had delivered a huge shock to the five little ones before him. With their rigid thinking, they could never have imagined that the freshman assessment could be played this way.
But Lin Yun wasn't bound by such rigidity.
Rules were meant to be exploited. As long as something wasn't explicitly forbidden, it could be done. How far it could be pushed depended entirely on the individual.
Still, even though Wu Feng had suffered badly from Lin Yun's methods, deep down she felt a strange urge to see others fall into the same trap.
After all, if she had been caught in the rain, how could she let others keep their umbrellas untouched?
She was already eager to see the shock on others' faces.
"Since we're already all together and it's about time, let's go eat. My treat!" Lin Yun said with a smile.
"Hmph, at least you have some conscience. I'll eat you broke tonight!" Wu Feng snapped back, her mouth hard as always.
Ning Tian only shook her head helplessly, lifting her delicate finger and flicking Wu Feng's forehead.
"Fengmei, don't make trouble."
And that was why Lü Tong was said to be the most frightening. Just four simple words from Ning Tian were enough to tame Wu Feng's tsundere stubbornness completely.
If it were Lin Yun, even if he crushed every bone in Wu Feng's body, her mouth would still remain hard.
No comparison at all!
The next day, the freshman assessment arrived as scheduled.
Ten thousand years ago, Shrek Academy had four checkpoints for new students: testing bone age and spirit power, evaluating combat strength, and the like. But in the current Shrek Academy, these procedures were gone. As long as one's bone age and spirit power met the standard, and they had a recommendation letter, they could enroll.
In exchange, however, a new filtering mechanism had been added after enrollment—the freshman assessment.
Each year, roughly over a thousand students entered. Out of these, only one-third could pass the assessment. Split into groups of three, the thousand or so students formed more than three hundred teams. The vast majority would be eliminated.
On the day they submitted their team rosters, Mu Jin had already explained the rules clearly.
Aside from one's own group, all class teams would be scattered and distributed into numerous assessment zones, battling against teams from other classes.
On the first day, each team needed to fight only one match. Each zone held six teams, paired off into battles. On the second day, there would be four matches—two in the morning, two in the afternoon. On the third day, five matches—three in the morning, two in the afternoon.
The freshman assessment lasted three days in total. Out of the ten matches, advancement was determined by the number of victories, with the lowest two-thirds eliminated.
Of course, Mu Jin did not go into every detail. For instance, if teams had the same number of victories, which advanced and which were cut—that was left to the academy's higher-ups to decide, not matters for teachers and students to worry about.
After the assessment came the freshman ranking tournament. The top sixty-four teams out of those who passed would compete.
Sixty-four to thirty-two.
Thirty-two to sixteen.
Sixteen to eight.
Eight to four.
Then semifinals and finals.
Truly, Douluo Continent lived up to its reputation—not only the "continent of love," but also the "continent of competition." There was never any shortage of tournaments.
It was precisely because Mu Jin had explained the rules of the assessment in such detail that Lin Yun began scheming about pulling off some flashy tricks.
After all… weren't rules meant to be exploited?
As long as they weren't explicitly forbidden, anything could be used. For him to simply beat up children felt boring. But pulling some stunts in the matches—that suited his mischievous taste far better.
(End of this chapter)
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