While the conversation in the stands grew heated, the battle on the field had already begun.
The fight between Huo Yuhao's team and Dai Huabin's team was evenly matched. Wang Dong faced Dai Huabin, Huo Yuhao took on Cui Yajie, and Xiao Xiao battled Zhu Lu. Surprisingly, none of them were at a disadvantage, each holding their ground with precision.
Zhu Ziyang finally witnessed the famed Butterfly Goddess of Light and couldn't help but marvel—it truly lived up to its name as one of the most beautiful beast-type martial souls. On Wang Dong's back, blue butterfly wings unfurled. The forewings shifted in hue from deep blue to sky blue to pale blue. The entire surface sparkled like the sky encrusted with radiant halos in a V-shape, bringing light to the world.
Its form and coloration were beyond exquisite—like white waves rising from a deep-blue sea. The wings shimmered with purple and blue patterns, covered in glowing white inscriptions like embedded jewels. It was mesmerizing.
Such splendor made the title of "most beautiful butterfly" more than deserved.
However, what drew Zhu Ziyang's attention even more was Wang Dong's spirit rings: one yellow, one purple. As expected from a descendant of the Clear Sky Clan! A thousand-year ring as a second ring—Zhu Ziyang had never seen that before, aside from himself.
Wang Dong was matching Dai Huabin blow for blow, even gaining the upper hand thanks to his flying advantage. Du Weilun, who had favored Dai Huabin's team, was visibly surprised.
Meanwhile, Xiao Xiao and Zhu Lu were well-matched opponents. Zhu Lu, a direct descendant of the Zhu Clan of the Star Luo Empire and Dai Huabin's fiancée, wielded the Spirit Cat Martial Soul, a classic agility-type weapon. Xiao Xiao, though of lower soul power, had the perfect counter—she was a control-type soul master whose twin martial souls were both ideal for restraining agility-based foes. Her soul skills greatly limited Zhu Lu's mobility, preventing her from fully exploiting her speed.
As for Huo Yuhao versus Cui Yajie, there was never any suspense. As the "Child of Destiny," how could Huo Yuhao ever be suppressed? Cui Yajie's Nine-Tailed Fox Martial Soul was also spirit-based, but she had no edge against someone like Huo Yuhao, whose own martial soul was purely spiritual in nature. From Zhu Ziyang's perspective, Huo Yuhao's eyes merely flashed, and Cui Yajie froze for a second—her glowing first soul ring suddenly dimmed. She had been interrupted mid-cast.
Zhu Ziyang grew curious—how had Huo Yuhao disrupted her soul skill? What exactly was his soul skill?
The situation on the field shifted quickly. To avoid Wang Dong's attacks, Dai Huabin abruptly retreated, exposing Cui Yajie. Wang Dong seized the moment and unleashed his second soul skill, launching a full-force attack on both Dai Huabin and Cui Yajie. Knowing she couldn't evade in time, Cui Yajie tried to take Huo Yuhao down with her by using her second soul skill directly against him.
Just as the referee prepared to intervene, Huo Yuhao suddenly sidestepped with an incredibly strange footwork, completely evading Cui Yajie's attack. The referee swiftly rescued Cui Yajie, pulling her from the field.
Dai Huabin's team was now down one member.
After taking Wang Dong's full-force second soul skill head-on, Dai Huabin was furious. A dignified Soul Elder, being suppressed by a mere Soul Grandmaster—it was a humiliation his pride could not tolerate. Roaring with rage, he activated his third soul skill.
With White Tiger Vajra Transformation enhancing him, Dai Huabin began a 1v2 assault against Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Initially, he managed to pressure them with raw power, but their teamwork was seamless. After several defensive counterattacks, they weathered his onslaught and began turning the tide in their favor.
Once in control, Wang Dong unleashed his second soul skill again—brilliant blue laser light poured from his wings toward Dai Huabin. In response, Dai Huabin hastily retaliated with his own second soul skill, White Tiger Fierce Light Wave.
One attack was focused and prepped, the other rushed and reactive. A Soul Grandmaster's full-powered blow clashed with a Soul Elder's panicked defense. The explosive collision echoed across the arena. Wang Dong soared upward, his wings dispersing the shockwave effortlessly. Dai Huabin, however, wasn't so lucky—his legs sank knee-deep into the ground, and his upper body was forced back. His golden aura flickered, and his White Tiger Vajra Transformation was clearly shaken.
The outcome was clear: Dai Huabin was being suppressed by both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Zhu Lu was unable to defeat Xiao Xiao, and though the battle was intense, Huo Yuhao's team had the upper hand. All they had to do was stall and wear down their opponents' soul power to secure victory.
Dai Huabin tried several more attacks but was repeatedly thwarted by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's fluid coordination. Not only did he fail to hurt them, but he also sustained more injuries. Finally realizing brute force wouldn't work, he made a decision. With a roar, he shouted, "If you've got guts, face me head-on!"
Wang Dong sneered. "Do you even understand tactics? And you call yourself the son of the White Tiger Duke? What a joke."
Eyes burning with fury, Dai Huabin didn't attack again. Instead, he did something surprising—he canceled his White Tiger Vajra Transformation and ran straight toward Zhu Lu.
Zhu Lu immediately abandoned her fight with Xiao Xiao and sprinted to meet him.
This move left Huo Yuhao's team confused. But from the stands, Zhu Ziyang understood their intent at once.
"They're doing it—the legendary symbol of the Star Luo Empire: Nether White Tiger!" both Qian Duoduo and Cai Meier said, faces serious.
Though the White Tiger Clan no longer ruled the empire, the Nether White Tiger was still revered as a national totem. For nearly 10,000 years, the White Tiger Clan had led the Star Luo Empire through its most prosperous era.
As Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu came together, Huo Yuhao felt a powerful sense of dread. His instincts screamed a warning, and he shouted, "Are they about to use a Martial Soul Fusion Technique?!"
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, now at Huo Yuhao's side, also turned grim. They had encountered fusion techniques before and knew how terrifying they could be.
As Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu embraced, waves of black and white energy surged and vanished. In their place stood a massive white tiger—over two meters tall and eight meters long. Its body was translucent, covered in white fur and black stripes. Twin violet eyes glared coldly at Huo Yuhao's team.
The Nether White Tiger had arrived, exuding a terrifying killing aura. Without hesitation, it charged toward them.
Yet Huo Yuhao's group responded with an unexpected move. Xiao Xiao stepped forward to block the tiger's path. The tiny girl looked helpless and fragile before the beast.
Even more bizarrely, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong embraced—just like Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu had moments earlier.
The crowd burst into whispers. Were they seriously trying to imitate a fusion technique? How laughable! Fusion techniques weren't something you could just mimic.
The referee was poised to intervene.
Zhu Ziyang, however, watched with a strange light in his eyes. He had a feeling he already knew the outcome. He wasn't alone—Zhou Yi, the homeroom teacher of Class One, also smiled faintly.
As Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong held each other, their bodies vanished. In their place appeared a massive glowing eye, radiating blue, gold, and violet light. The moment it materialized, it fired a brilliant beam of terrifying energy straight at the Nether White Tiger's raised claw!
Xiao Xiao stood between two Martial Soul Fusion Techniques.
Thankfully, the referee intervened in time and pulled her from the field. Otherwise, she would've been vaporized in the clash.
Qian Duoduo and Cai Meier shot to their feet in shock. No one expected a battle between two fusion techniques during the freshman assessment.
As the clash ended, calm returned to the arena. Five figures remained: the exhausted Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, the equally drained Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, and the heavily injured referee, Du Weilun.
Du Weilun looked disheveled, surrounded by eight soul rings. His body shimmered gold, and five claw marks marred his back. The ground in front of him bore a glowing, golden gash thirty meters long and half a meter deep.
He was a mess—but thrilled.
The outcome was clear.
Everyone in the stands could see: without Du Weilun's intervention, the results would've been fatal—two dead, two critically wounded. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu would've died, while Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong would've suffered catastrophic injuries.
The freshman assessment concluded. For the first time in Shrek Academy's history, the championship team included a single-ring soul master.
"I can't believe it… Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong actually used a Martial Soul Fusion Technique!" Jiang Nannan exclaimed. "They probably didn't even know each other three months ago, and now they're so compatible they can form a fusion skill? They're truly destined!"
As someone who had experienced a fusion technique herself, Jiang Nannan knew just how difficult it was to form one. She and Zhang Lexuan had trained for over three years before succeeding!
"Heh, true," Zhu Ziyang nodded in agreement, but deep down, Electrolux's words were stirring up a storm in his heart.