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Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Aside from Dai Huabin—one of the strongest freshmen—being sidelined by a waist injury from a rank 17 soul master, which prevented him from using his full strength in the later matches, he then ran into Xie Huan Yue's group and was defeated, leaving him with only a regretful third-place finish.
Meanwhile, the dark horse, Huo Yuhao, had also begun to emerge.
Although he remained inconspicuous within his team, after Xiao Xiao's departure, Fan Yu did his utmost to help his squad by adding a rank 25 Grand Soul Master—someone who had missed the enrollment deadline by accident but was fortunately discovered by Fan Yu. (The wheels of fate were turning.)
Since helping him defeat Dai Huabin, the Skydream Iceworm had not intervened again, claiming that Shrek had too many powerful experts and that its previous action had already drawn unwanted attention.
Huo Yuhao fought with such desperation because he was in dire need of the status that came with being a core disciple. Right now, avenging his mother was his top priority. Thus, he followed Skydream's advice: absorb as many of Shrek's resources as possible to strengthen himself and focus on his revenge above all else.
As for Su Wen, Huo Yuhao knew he was not someone he could afford to provoke at present.
So, Huo Yuhao chose to endure.
Even when he was transferred into the class of Mu Jin, Teacher Zhou Yi's bitter rival, he remained silent and activated his "stealth" skill, keeping a low profile.
Even Dai Huabin, who wanted nothing more than to kill him, failed to notice that the "little wretch" had managed to sneak into his own class.
Meanwhile, Wang Dong obtained a ten-thousand-year soul bone from the Clear Sky Sect and gifted it to Xiao Xiao as an apology. Although she repeatedly refused, Wang Dong's firm insistence left her no choice but to accept this token of friendship.
"Students, congratulations on passing the first round of the assessment."
In the plaza, Du Weilun smiled as he spoke.
"Next, I will announce the rewards."
"First place: Su Wen's team!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap~
Thunderous applause erupted across the field.
Su Wen, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng stepped forward as everyone watched with envy. Even Dai Huabin, who couldn't stand Su Wen, had no objection to them taking first place.
After all, this was someone who had just stood toe-to-toe with Zhou Yi, a person capable of crippling even a Soul Emperor. His talent was monstrously terrifying, the kind of genius you'd be hard-pressed to find a match for even in the history books. He was almost certain to become an Ultimate Douluo in the future—a true treasure of Shrek Academy.
Thus, no one even considered competing with him anymore. Instead, they were all thinking about how to get closer to him.
This was evident from the very first day of the elimination tournament, as every team that faced Su Wen's squad surrendered instantly. The only difference was their excuses, which ranged from diarrhea to being on their period.
"Second place: Xie Huan Yue's team!"
"Third place: Dai Huabin's team!"
"Step forward!"
Du Weilun quickly announced the rewards.
In addition to the first-place prize of a soul bone, the top four teams would all earn an opportunity to have one of the academy's experts help them hunt for a spirit ring.
Then came the selection of the core disciples.
"Su Wen!"
"Ning Tian!"
"Wu Feng!"
"…"
"Chen Yanjin!"
Finally, he got to Huo Yuhao's team.
Huo Yuhao's young face couldn't hide his excitement. This was the first time he had reached fourth place among the freshmen teams through his own effort.
He waited with bated breath for Du Weilun to call his name.
But…
The latter glanced at Huo Yuhao, then skipped right over him and called out the name of another person on his team: "Wang Tao!"
(In the original story, Du Weilun only gave him an "alternate" core disciple spot because of his Martial Soul Fusion Skill and first-place finish. Now, having been a non-factor the entire time, he didn't even qualify for that.)
"Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo!"
"That makes eleven in total. I hope you will all achieve even greater results in the future…"
Huo Yuhao stood frozen, the joy and excitement on his face slowly hardening, as if he had sunk into another world. In that instant, all sound faded into a distant muffle, like the feeling of being submerged underwater.
He had worked so hard and finally achieved something.
But now, it seemed he was nothing but a clown.
"Next is the list of alternate core disciples."
"Long Xiangyue, Cui Yajie, Nanmen Yuner, Huang Chutian… The reading is complete."
A round of warm applause followed.
But Huo Yuhao's heart sank into an abyss.
His name wasn't called…
The boy appeared resilient, but deep down, he harbored a darkness few could imagine. The traumas of his youth were not easily healed. In the original story, the care of his teachers and the companionship of his lover allowed him to feel at home in Shrek, which suppressed this darkness. Yet it still surfaced at times—like during the great Mingdu explosion, where he displayed a complete lack of reverence for life.
How many people can an ordinary evil soul master kill in a lifetime?
It would be a struggle to even reach ten thousand.
But Huo Yuhao, in Mingdu alone, slaughtered at least several hundred thousand innocent civilians. And that's not to mention later, when he couldn't defeat the Sun Moon Empire, he massacred unarmed commoners in Mingdu under the guise of assassinating Xu Tianran.
The only reason he didn't fall into the path of an evil soul master and get taken away by Zhongli Wu as a Holy Son was purely due to Electrolux's suppression. Otherwise, the first time he encountered that Soul King in the Mingdou Mountain Range, he likely would have opened the door to a whole new world.
And in this life…
His inner darkness was not being suppressed.
In his spiritual sea, Skydream remained silent. It quietly watched the boy lower his head, his face obscured by shadow, his fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms.
It needed a youth who could walk the path to godhood.
Not a weak and incompetent boy whose only goal was so-called revenge for his mother.
Even if that path to godhood was slightly twisted, as long as it led to immense power… well, wasn't the Rakshasa God also a deity? Killing wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
To transform and grow, the first step is to face setbacks.
So, it offered no words of comfort.
Instead, it allowed a seed of hatred to be planted deep in Huo Yuhao's heart, letting it take root and sprout.
After a long while, the award ceremony ended.
As the crowds dispersed, Skydream finally said slowly, "Yuhao, your efforts weren't for nothing. Even though you didn't become a core disciple, earning the chance for a Shrek expert to help you hunt a spirit ring is still very good. In the next two days, focus on cultivating to rank 20 and prepare to set out."
"Okay, Brother Tianmeng…" Huo Yuhao replied in a low voice.
(End of Chapter)