Du Weilun chuckled and said, "They're old rivals. They've been bickering since their student days, and after becoming Outer Court teachers, their conflicting teaching philosophies have only made it worse. Because of Fan Yu, Zhou Yi usually had the upper hand in the past. But this time, I'm afraid she's going to stumble again."
"It seems you have great confidence in that little fellow named Feng Piaoling," Yan Shaozhe replied with a faint smile. He turned to the Inner Court students standing to their back right and asked, "What do you all think? Who will win?"
"Feng Piaoling," Zhang Lexuan stated calmly, offering only those three words.
This came as a great surprise to the other Inner Court students, including Ma Xiaotao. One had to know that their Eldest Senior Sister usually never voiced an opinion so easily.
Yan Shaozhe also shot her a surprised glance before a flicker of interest crossed his face. "Now that is interesting. Everyone says this kid is the number one genius of the Outer Court—beating Yaoheng's younger brother and that second-generation brat from the Xuanwu Sect right after enrolling. If he can win today, I'll certainly make sure to nurture him well in the future."
He knew exactly what kind of person Zhou Yi was. Having lost a spirit bone to Mu Jin previously, the fact that she was wagering another spirit bone this time meant she definitely had something up her sleeve. This match likely wouldn't be as simple as it seemed.
While the Shrek high-level executives and Inner Court students were focused on the match, the God-King Tang San—who had just finished a "bout of harvesting carrots" with Xiao Wu in the Divine Realm—was now standing outside the divine temple, observing the Douluo Continent.
Seeing Wang Dong'er standing alongside the Son of Destiny, Huo Yuhao, in the Shrek Academy assessment area, the God-King nodded with a satisfied smile. Although the interference of a certain clown had caused things to deviate slightly from his expectations, the plan was finally back on track.
As Tang San was reveling in his success, Xiao Wu emerged wearing a sheer, gauzy dress. "Third Brother..."
Tang San turned and was momentarily stunned. "Xiao Wu, why didn't you rest a bit longer?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu's expression turned resentful, her look almost screaming: It only lasted a few minutes, why would I need to rest?
Ultimately, Xiao Wu chose not to dwell on the matter and asked curiously, "Third Brother, what are you looking at now?"
Thinking that the incident where he had sent the Titan Giant Ape and the Azure Sky Bull Python to infiltrate Shrek Academy and kill someone had already passed, Tang San smiled and said, "It's nothing. Xiao Qi has entered Shrek Academy and is participating in the freshman assessment. She's reached the finals, so I wanted to take a look."
"Then I want to watch too." Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, and she hurried forward to take Tang San's hand.
Tang San currently controlled the core of the Divine Realm; as long as their divine power was connected, she could see the images from the Douluo Continent as well.
At that moment, in the spectator stands of the Shrek Academy assessment area, a sturdy man about fifty years old approached, bringing Fan Yu with him. There wasn't a single wrinkle on his face, yet his hair—white and stiff as steel needles—gave him a somewhat weathered appearance. His bronze skin reflected a golden luster under the sun, and he carried a heavy scent of metal about him.
This man was Qian Duoduo, the Vice Dean of the Soul Tool Department. He, Yan Shaozhe, and the Dean of the Soul Tool Department, Xian Lin'er, carried on the tradition of the "Golden Triangle" love dynamic from ten thousand years ago. The slight difference was that Qian Duoduo was a bit more capable than Flender; he had managed to become Xian Lin'er's husband in name. Eventually, at the cost of his martial soul shattering and nearly dying, he had finally won her over. Of course, this didn't change the fact that he was essentially a "simp" at heart.
"Vice Dean Qian." Seeing Qian Duoduo, Du Weilun and the Inner Court students hurried to salute him.
"You copper-stinking fellow, what are you doing here?" Yan Shaozhe didn't turn around, giving him only a casual glance.
Qian Duoduo waved off Du Weilun, Zhang Lexuan, and the others, then looked at Yan Shaozhe with a sly grin. "I was just passing by... I happened to hear you all were guessing the winner. I've always liked a good gamble, so I came over to check it out. How about it, Old Yan? Want to place a bet?"
Yan Shaozhe finally turned his head, raised an eyebrow, and said, "You never do anything without a profit in mind. You're likely eyeing the talents of our Martial Soul Department again. Let's get this straight first: you aren't touching any of those three-ring Soul Elders."
"Relax, I have no interest in those people. Let's just bet on which of these two teams will win. If you lose, let me pick any one student from the freshmen below the Soul Elder rank."
As he spoke, Qian Duoduo exchanged a look with Fan Yu, then subtly shifted his gaze toward Huo Yuhao.
Yan Shaozhe knew this fellow was definitely up to no good, but thinking of Feng Piaoling, he agreed nonetheless. "Fine. I'll bet on Feng Piaoling's team winning. If you lose, give me a hundred of those stationary soul tool shells—make sure they're the high-explosive ones. Those things are a blast to use."
Qian Duoduo's mouth twitched. "You stingy bastard, your heart is truly black. A hundred high-explosive shells? You think those are cabbages?"
"Just say if you're betting or not." Yan Shaozhe simply started acting like a rogue.
"I'm in! Why wouldn't I be? Then I'll bet on Dai Huabin's team winning." Despite his exasperated act, Qian Duoduo couldn't help but let a grin spread across his face. He had heard from Fan Yu that Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin had already mastered a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Forget a mere Soul Elder like Feng Piaoling; even Zhou Yi, whose cultivation had reached the Soul Emperor rank, wasn't confident she could block it. Feng Piaoling's team was destined to lose.
The other participants naturally had no idea that this freshman assessment final was attracting so much attention—even the God-King Tang San and his "Asura Sword's sheath" were watching.
Only Feng Piaoling understood exactly what was happening. He was curious to see how the God-King Tang San would react once he saw Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin perform their Martial Soul Fusion. Would his eyes turn blood-red and his breath turn ragged, or would his breath turn ragged and his eyes turn blood-red?
"But I still need to be cautious. I can't reveal too many trump cards, lest I be targeted by Tang San," Feng Piaoling thought to himself.
Both sides had already walked onto the field and made their preparations. Before the match even began, the air was already thick with the smell of gunpowder.
"Zhu Lu, if you regret it now, there's still time. Do not ruin yourself and your clan over a single moment of poor judgment," Dai Huabin shouted angrily. He glared at Zhu Lu, who was standing beside Feng Piaoling with an obvious, different look in her eyes.
A trace of mockery flashed in Zhu Lu's spirited, heterochromatic eyes. "Ruin myself? Ruin my clan? Do you really think the Dai family is still the imperial royalty from ten thousand years ago? That you can dictate the life and death of my Netherworld Duke's Mansion?"
At this point, she shot a meaningful glance at Huo Yuhao. "Not only has the glory of your Dai family long since faded, but even if you were still royalty, the Dai family wouldn't break ties with my Zhu family over a piece of filth like you who prefers men."
Prefers men?
The entire audience fell into an uproar at Zhu Lu's words. Dai Huabin's face turned various shades of blue and purple, and Huo Yuhao looked equally humiliated.
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