In mid-air, where the clash between the Nether White Tiger and the Spiraling Sphere had just occurred, Yan Shaozhe appeared. There were no soul rings visible on him, and no one present could sense any aura from his body. He simply floated there quietly in the air—but no one dared to ignore his presence.
"Greetings, Headmaster." A chorus of voices came from the upper-year students and teachers, who all gave a slight bow to show their respect for the headmaster. Behind them, a group of freshmen also followed suit in greeting Yan Shaozhe. It was no wonder they were a beat slow to react—since enrolling, this was the first time in months they'd actually seen the notoriously busy headmaster.
Du Weilun floated down beside Yan Shaozhe. He had initially planned to intervene and stop the Nether White Tiger from colliding with the Spiraling Sphere, but Yan Shaozhe had stopped him. The reason was simple: Yan Shaozhe wanted to observe the children's limits. As powerful as he was, he had full confidence he could stop the match at any moment to prevent casualties.
As it turned out, that's exactly what he did. Had Yan Shaozhe not intervened at the last second, letting the Spiraling Sphere and the Nether White Tiger continue would likely have left Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu in far worse shape. In this sense, the Nether White Tiger had drawn the short end of the stick. Since the Nether White Tiger was a fusion of Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, any attack against it was essentially an attack on them both. On the other hand, Huo Yuhao had merely been blown away by the energy and remained mostly unscathed.
"This match is a draw. Do either of you have any objections?"Yan Shaozhe looked at both sides, his voice slightly aged.
"No, sir."Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin exchanged glances and responded in unison. With the headmaster himself speaking, how could they possibly object?
Yan Shaozhe stroked his beard and smiled, nodding in satisfaction before transforming into a beam of white light and vanishing on the spot.
"Yuhao, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
As soon as Yan Shaozhe left, the long-suppressed Xiao Xiao and Dong Xinyue rushed forward to check on Huo Yuhao's condition. Both of them wore expressions of deep concern. Publicly, Huo Yuhao was their team captain and the core of their strength; privately, the three had spent a great deal of time together, forging a deep friendship.
Huo Yuhao shook his head, indicating he was fine. Then he turned his gaze to Dai Huabin and the others. "Thanks for the match."
"Thank you for going easy on us earlier."Xiao Xiao also expressed her thanks to Zhu Lu.
"It's nothing, just a match."Dai Huabin shook his head and continued, "Besides, we were relying on the power of a martial soul fusion technique. But you, Huo Yuhao, I truly admire." As he spoke, a look of genuine respect appeared on Dai Huabin's face.
Martial soul fusion techniques were all about compatibility and destiny—just like in his own family. The Evil-Eyed White Tiger of the Dai family and the Nether Ghost Cat of the Zhu family were highly compatible, yet even so, a fusion between the two was extremely rare, only occurring once in a decade or longer. Dai Huabin was one of those rare exceptions. Not only was he naturally gifted, but he was also the only one of his generation who could produce a martial soul fusion technique with a daughter of the Zhu family.
But martial soul combination techniques were different. They relied almost entirely on the soul masters' own perception and understanding. In other words, Huo Yuhao could form a combination technique with Dong Xinyue today, and potentially someone else tomorrow. More importantly, at equal cultivation levels, a combination technique should never be stronger than a fusion technique. Yet Huo Yuhao had defied that logic. He had managed to match a martial soul fusion technique with a mere combination technique involving just two people. How could Dai Huabin not be shocked?
Though the two teams had battled fiercely, after the match, they treated each other politely. No ill will lingered.
Huo Yuhao still remembered that in the original story, Dai Yuhao had made a bet with Dai Huabin after enrolling at Shrek Academy—kneeling and kowtowing was on the line. After Dai Huabin lost and was humiliated, he held a grudge and later sent assassins after Huo Yuhao, only for Ma Xiaotao, Yan Shaozhe's disciple, to eliminate them all at the critical moment.
With that lesson in mind, Huo Yuhao wasn't foolish enough to make enemies too early. His own strength was still lacking. Provoking Dai Huabin now for a fleeting sense of satisfaction would be utterly foolish—especially if Dai Huabin dug into his true identity. In the original plot, the Dai family never uncovered who Dai Yuhao really was, but Huo Yuhao had lived with them for years, leaving behind plenty of traces. Interacting with Dai Huabin now was already a dangerous gamble.
"Headmaster, what do you think of these kids?" Back at the same spot, Du Weilun stood respectfully beside Yan Shaozhe.
Yan Shaozhe gave a slight smile at the question and didn't answer directly. Instead, he instructed, "Look into the backgrounds of these kids—thoroughly. Especially the one who used the martial soul combination technique."
"Yes, sir."Du Weilun replied and withdrew. From the moment Huo Yuhao had unleashed that technique, Du Weilun knew this child would become someone the academy paid close attention to.
While Dai Huabin marveled at Huo Yuhao's perception, Yan Shaozhe and Du Weilun were more focused on the details. Forget everything else—just the fact that Huo Yuhao could harness and repurpose the full energy output of a Soul Grandmaster was already incredible. Even Yan Shaozhe and Du Weilun found it hard to believe.
A Soul Grandmaster's power might be trivial to them, but that's because their cultivation was on another level. For someone at Huo Yuhao's level to replicate such a feat—to bind and control the entire energy release of someone at the same rank—would likely result in their own body exploding on the spot.
Back on the competition stage, after exchanging some polite compliments, the two teams stepped down to make way for the next group of students.
"Huo Yuhao."
At the sound of his name, Huo Yuhao turned around, confused as he looked at Dai Huabin, unsure what he wanted.
"Have we met before?"Dai Huabin finally asked. He had felt from the start that Huo Yuhao looked familiar, but couldn't quite place where he had seen him.
"Well, I'm from the Star Luo Empire. I lived in Star Luo City for a while,"Huo Yuhao replied calmly, keeping it short. He didn't think Dai Huabin would recognize him. Even though he'd lived in the White Tiger Duke's residence for years, their identities were worlds apart. The last time they'd met was two years ago, and in that time, Huo Yuhao's appearance had changed quite a bit. It was unlikely Dai Huabin would recognize him now—unless he launched an investigation.
Then, suddenly, Huo Yuhao had a sinister thought—what if he found a chance to kill his half-brother outside of school? That way, he could prevent Dai Huabin from uncovering his identity and also avenge his mother.
Moreover, since they weren't on bad terms, no one would suspect Huo Yuhao if something happened to Dai Huabin.
But just as that thought surfaced, Huo Yuhao immediately dismissed it. After all, he was probably being monitored. If anyone witnessed him killing his own brother, who would ever trust or let a person like that grow stronger? That would be like raising a tiger in your backyard and hoping it wouldn't eat you.
Looks like he'd have to take things one step at a time. Huo Yuhao sighed inwardly. He knew Dai Huabin was a threat—but couldn't eliminate him directly.
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(End of Chapter)