"What's wrong? Something on your mind?" After walking for a while longer, Huo Yuhao noticed that Dong Xinyi still hadn't spoken, so he took the initiative to ask.
"Sort of. After years of hard cultivation, I thought I had made some real progress. But since coming to Shrek, I've come to realize just how ordinary I really am."
Their pace was slow, but Dong Xinyi's hand moved at lightning speed. In the blink of an eye, a line of words appeared in her notebook. Practice makes perfect—as she had relied on writing to communicate with others for over a decade, her handwriting speed had become almost supernatural.
Huo Yuhao didn't reply right away. He understood that the real trigger for her mood today was the competition. To be fair, Dong Xinyi was already doing quite well. But in a place like Shrek, a gathering place of prodigies, she inevitably seemed average.
"Actually, you really don't have to think about it so much. We just need to do our best in the things we want to do. Most of life doesn't go the way we want. You might feel ordinary when comparing yourself to those exceptional classmates, but have you ever thought about all the students who have already been expelled since the term started? Many of them were talented too. Yet they were kicked out over trivial matters. Compared to them, at least we're still here at the academy. What's there to be dissatisfied with?"
Dong Xinyi stayed silent for a few moments before writing again: "You're right. Hearing you say that really makes me feel a lot better."
Huo Yuhao smiled gently. "There's always a higher sky, a stronger person. You may surpass them, but there will always be someone stronger. The key is that we're not living for others. As long as we're happy, so what if we're average or unremarkable? So what if we're not ambitious?"
Dong Xinyi curled her lips. Huo Yuhao was incredibly gifted—of course he couldn't truly relate. But he sure could rattle off a bunch of high-sounding ideas. "Not ambitious"? Was he talking about himself? She couldn't help but recall how, back when he was class monitor, he never did anything useful.
Still, despite her mental grumbling, she had to admit that Huo Yuhao's words made sense. The gloom from earlier that day was now mostly gone.
"Phew. I do feel a lot better after hearing you out. Thanks, little Yuhao." She paused and added, "I'm three months older than you—it's not too much for me to call you that, right?"
Huo Yuhao didn't say a word. This girl was clearly taking advantage of him.
The next day, the top sixty-four ranked students were lined up neatly in the arena. Du Weilun, the Head of the Martial Soul Department of the Outer Court, called names one by one. After that, representatives of each team came forward to draw lots for their next opponent.
This public drawing method gave the students more confidence in the system. Compared to the previous round-robin format, which simply announced pairings, this method felt more transparent. Even if someone ended up against a tough opponent, they'd chalk it up to bad luck instead of questioning the fairness of the academy.
It was worth noting that among these sixty-four teams, Huo Yuhao recognized quite a few—like the team with siblings Liang Siyuan and Liang Jingjing, as well as Ning Ruoxue and Ning Tian. They had all made it into the elimination round. However, none of the teams Huo Yuhao drew included anyone familiar.
With fewer participating teams now, the layout of the arena changed. The previous partitions were dismantled and restructured into sixteen zones. Because of the reduced number, each area was now several times larger than before. Spectator areas were also designated, unlike before when people had to find spots on their own and constantly worry about stray attacks from the competitors.
After the drawing, the elimination matches officially began. To ensure every team could perform at their best, each would only compete in two matches per day—one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
At first, Huo Yuhao thought the elimination round opponents would be significantly stronger. But once they actually got on stage, he found them to be quite average. With the combined strength of Huo Yuhao, Dong Xinyi, and Xiao Xiao, their opponents were utterly dominated and lost without suspense.
But this wasn't surprising. The elimination round didn't consist solely of elites. Based on Huo Yuhao's estimation, the team they faced had just barely scraped into the round—basically bottom-tier.
By the afternoon, the same process repeated. Only thirty-two teams remained now, and this number would shrink again tomorrow since this round was to narrow the field from thirty-two to sixteen.
By this point, all the remaining students were top-tier talents. Each one gave it their all, treating this evaluation round as a career-defining battle. After all, their results would determine how many resources the academy would allocate to them in the future.
Huo Yuhao focused up as well. He was eager to witness the brilliance of the prodigies gathered at the renowned Shrek Academy.
However, instead of seeing some dazzling genius, he ran into an old acquaintance. Not someone like Liang Siyuan, Ning Tian, or anyone else from Class One of the freshmen…
It was Dai Huabin, son of the White Tiger Duke of the Star Luo Empire, and Huo Yuhao's half-brother.
Huo Yuhao hadn't realized it earlier, since the lot drawing was done by number rather than by team representative names. He had no idea who his opponent was until both sides stepped onto the stage—then he recognized him instantly.
Back at the Duke's mansion, Huo Yuhao had been forced to act like a useless good-for-nothing. During that time, Dai Huabin had repeatedly ordered servants to beat Huo Yuhao and his mother. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Dai Huabin bore some responsibility for his mother Huo Yun'er's tragic death from illness. But since she was just a lowly servant who had fallen out of favor, nobody cared about her fate.
"The rules have been adjusted slightly. Soul Masters with flying-type Martial Souls must stay within ten meters of the ground. Other than that, go all out. I'll be here to keep you safe. However, if I have to pull you off the battlefield, it means you're out. Got it?"
The referee was a burly bald man with a square face and a beard, and his voice boomed like thunder. Thankfully, he didn't have any scars—otherwise, he'd look like a full-on mob boss.
"Understood." The six students in the arena responded in unison.
"State your names."
"Huo Yuhao."
"Xiao Xiao, Dong Xinyi."
"Dai Huabin."
"Zhu Lu."
"Cui Yajie."
Among the three on that team, Dai Huabin was clearly the leader. With three spirit rings, he was a Soul Elder, and the others had no objections to his captaincy. Only three freshmen this year had reached Soul Elder rank, making him one of the few elites. As such, Dai Huabin looked down on the rest and had no desire to associate with them.
His long golden hair flowed over his shoulders, and he had a handsome face and tall figure. But what stood out most were his eyes—a pair of unsettling dual pupils.
Facing Dai Huabin's intense battle gaze, Huo Yuhao noticed something else in his eyes—killing intent. It wasn't even intentional; it just naturally leaked out. Ordinary people wouldn't sense it, but Huo Yuhao, who had inherited Ming Zihan's memories, recognized it immediately. That guy had lived in a chaotic world and killed many for profit—Huo Yuhao would never mistake such a familiar feeling.
(End of Chapter)