38 Chapter 38: Bullying Wu Feng

"Hahahaha! I-I can't believe you actually did t-that hahahah!" Wang Dong laughed uncontrollably as they left the arena, intending to head towards the cafeteria as they only have one match in the morning.

Xiao Xiao blushed, remembering the scene of the boy, Cao Nima, flying into the air screaming in pain after Huo Yuhao did "that". "I-It was pretty funny but still, why did you have to do it like that?"

Huo Yuhao grinned, completely unbothered by the looks he was getting from other people. "Well, one, the guy kinda deserved for embarrassing us like that. I'm not homophobic or anything, but I'm quite clear about my sexuality. What if him or someone heard it and would spread all kinds of rumours?"

"Truthfully, I don't really care what they think about me. I don't want to date anyone yet after all," He didn't look at Xiao Xiao's glance. "But I don't want anyone to misjudge or disrespect any of my friends."

By his side, Wang Dong's face lit up and he turned his face away to hide his flushed face and wide smile that split across his face.

"And two, this is the finals of the assessment. Unlike from before, this is the stage that certain people of the academy would look at us and decide if we're worth more than the average students."

"Huh? They do? But we haven't heard teacher Zhou say anything like that though." Xiao Xiao replied.

Huo Yuhao shook his head, "No, of course she wouldn't. But I know it because this is the perfect situation for some high-up from either the Soul Engineering Institute and Martial Soul Institute to recruit new talents. A place for students to show off their abilities and character."

Both Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao nodded, understanding Huo Yuhao's point. "Yes, this is definitely a great opportunity for the three of us to showcase what we're capable of," Wang Dong said, his excitement evident in his voice.

Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement. "Exactly. That's why I'm letting you both fight more later on to show any hiding old people that you're both worth nurturing."

Xiao Xiao blinked, confused. "Us? What about you though?! Huo Yuhao, you still haven't got your second soul ring and yet you're already confident enough to fight on a Soul Elder! If there's anyone that needs to showcase their abilities and have attention by the school elders, it's you!"

Huo Yuhao chuckled, a confident glint in his eyes. "Don't worry about me. I have my own plans. Trust me, I won't disappoint."

Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong exchanged a glance, still unsure of Huo Yuhao's intentions.

"Plus, I'm already a disciple of the Soul Engineering Institute." Huo Yuhao added, smirking at their shocked looks. "Though it's still unofficial."

True to Fan Yu's word, after Huo Yuhao's soul skill Spiritual Detection reached 100 meters, he accepted the boy as his second and last disciple. But it would be a secret from the entire school until his second year due to a rule that says only a second year student could become a disciple of someone from either institution.

"What?!"

"Yuhao, explain!"

Huo Yuhao schooled his expression and said, "No, I don't think I will." He laughed as he headed towards the cafeteria as the two tried catching up to him for answers.

When the afternoon bell rang, the freshmen assessment's knock-out tournament's round of sixteen officially began.

When compared to the morning, the number of competing students had decreased by a half. Once they drew their lots again, the students immediately headed toward their designated areas to start their respective matches.

The layout of the area hadn't changed, as this match was being held on the same day as the previous match. However, only the first 16 battlefields were used for the matches.

There was a tall stage erected by the northern part of the Assessment Area. From the ground, it was impossible to see the number of people the stage contained. However, there were vague figures up there, as if there were people who were watching their matches. On the other hand, a distance of 20 meters from the ground was enough to overlook the entire Assessment Area, allowing the people up there to clearly see the state of every match.

This time, Huo Yuhao's team were assigned to the eighth arena. By the time they arrived at the arena, the other team who'd been assigned to the eighth arena as well had already arrived.

"Huh?"

To Huo Yuhao and his team's astonishment, their opponents were all girls and two of them were extremely familiar to them.

'Fuck!' Wu Feng inwardly cursed as she saw their opponents, her heart further sank as she saw the sadistic smirk that slowly emerged from Huo Yuhao's face.

"..." Still keeping up appearances, Ning Tian merely nodded at them.

Their teammate, Nanmen Yun'er, looked back and forth from her teammates to their opponents. She clearly noticed the strange atmosphere between them.

The handsome guy in leade before them even had a strange smile as he stared Wu Feng.

'Do they know each other?'

Zhou Yi quietly stood on the stage, surveying the matches that were about to start.

After round 32, only five teams from Class 1 remained. Although their numbers were greater than those from the other classes, their dominance was no longer that obvious.

"Teacher Zhou, are you looking for your seeded team? I've just looked at the lots, and coincidentally, the seeded team you've chosen just so happened to meet up with the seeded team from my class. They're over there at the eighth arena. Say, who do you think will win?"

A middle aged female teacher had walked up to Zhou Yi, wearing a smug smile.

'Ugh, not this bitch again.' Zhou Yi inwardly groaned. The teacher that was approaching her was Mu Jin, she looked quite "young" and pretty and that's pretty much all she is. Her strength and teaching ability was the average Shrek teacher.

But if there's one significant thing about her, was her clear jealousy towards Zhou Yi because she liked her husband, Fan Yu, ever since they were students in Shrek Academy.

And it wasn't no closet secret as well. Everyone who were friends with them clearly knew it, even Fan Yu! Mu Jin was just that obvious.

'Seriously, I know love can be blind but why would you still pursue someone who is clearly not interested in you? It's just sad.' Zhou Yi thought to herself, ignoring Mu Jin's annoying comment.

"Who knows?" Zhou Yi replied nonchalantly. "Mu Jin, do you think that your students will win for sure?"

Mu Jin chuckled, shaking her head. "That's not true. There are no absolutes in this world."

"However," Her lips curled, a look of ridicule flashed in her eyes. "I've heard that there aren't any particularly outstanding talents from your class this time around. At the very least, I've heard that you don't have any students who're above Rank 30. What a pity."

Zhou Yi gaze turned chilly. "Are you trying to provoke me?"

Mu Jin smiling expression instantly vanished, "So what if I am? Don't think I've forgiven you for what you did for expelling my disciples even when I bitterly begged you not to." She raised her hand and clenched her fist. "This is the first time that I've felt this happy. I've also heard that you want to be promoted to a senior teacher? But aiyah... you might be out of luck again."

However, Zhou Yi didn't pay attention to Mu Jin's provocation.

Her gaze concentrated on Huo Yuhao's team and she didn't missed the look of confidence on his face.

Though she was still angry about his embarassing action in the previous match, Zhou Yi held complete faith in Huo Yuhao's abilities to win the competition.

After all, who would have the guts to fight when wearing 15 kilograms of weight bracelets around each of his limbs? That was 60 kilograms of weight!

So, as Mu Jin was about to turn towards the stage, she indifferently said, "Would you like to make a bet with me?"

"A bet? What're you betting with me?" Mu Jin was surprised for a moment before she eagerly replied.

What she wanted when approaching Zhou Yi was to humiliate her, now that she was asking her this, wasn't she just falling right into her trap?

Zhou Yi smirked. "One soul bone. Do you dare to bet with me?"

Mu Jin's eyes suddenly shrank.

A soul ring was already an extremely precious item to a soul masters, as a soul master needed a soul ring to be able to breakthrough the existence known as a bottleneck. However, soul bones were a hundred times more precious than soul rings.

Hence, how could Mu Jin not be astonished? She didn't understand where Zhou Yi's confidence was coming from.

A trace of disdain appeared at the corner of Zhou Yi's mouth, "Get away from me if you're scared. I don't want to smell that nauseating perfume of yours."

A fierce light flickered through Mu Jin's eyes, she gritted her teeth. "Fine, I'll bet with you. Were you trying to scare me away using empty words? If I lose, I'll give you a soul bone. But if you lose, I want Fan Yu to make me a close-combat soul tool."

Zhou Yi narrowed her eyes. "I'm the person who's betting with you, not him. If I lose, I'll give you a soul bone."

Mu Jin humphed, "I don't want your soul bone. I want Fan Yu to make me a close-combat soul tool."

'Oh my Sea God, just how fucking desperate are you?!' Zhou Yi eye twitched, realizing that Mu Jin was taking another shot of getting close to her husband. Just as she was about to respond,

"Fine, I'll reply on her behalf." A deep voice rang out. A tall figure had already arrived at Zhou Yi's side; it was Fan Yu.

Once she saw Fan Yu appear, Mu Jin's expression immediately changed.

She took a slight step backward, and looked at Fan Yu with slightly red eyes. "You're teaming up with her to bully me."

Fan Yu raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Bully you? Mu Jin, don't flatter yourself. Zhou Yi and I are simply making a wager. If you're not confident in your students, then don't bet."

Mu Jin's face turned red with anger and embarrassment. She stuttered, "I...I am confident in my students! I accept the bet!" Mu Jin suddenly turned around, tightly holding onto the railings with her hands.

Fan Yu glanced at Mu Jin with disdain before turning to Zhou Yi and saying, "Well, since you've already made the bet, I'll take my wife's place and accept the outcome. If we lose, I'll make you a close-combat soul tool."

Zhou Yi's expression softened as she looked at Fan Yu. She knew that he was only doing this to protect her.

"Alright then, it's settled," Zhou Yi said with a smile. "Let's watch the match and see who comes out on top."

On the fighting stage.

"Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao. Both of you don't need to get into formation." Huo Yuhao ordered, surprising his teammates.

Though it took a moment for Wang Dong to realize his plan when he saw the fear in Wu Feng's eyes and said. "Ah, I see. So we don't need to do anything huh."

"Huh? Huh? Wang Dong, what's going on?" Xiao Xiao was still confused.

Wang Dong had a complicated expression as he said, "Do you notice... something off about Wu Feng?"

"Wu Feng?" Xiao Xiao tilted her head, she turned to look and noticed that Wu Feng seemed to be trembling slightly, her eyes filled with fear. "You're right. What's wrong with her?"

Huo Yuhao glanced at Wu Feng and a small smile played on his lips. "She's just excited to see her friends again. Especially little'ol me, her mas–sparring partner."

'Excited? It's more like terrified,' Wang Dong thought to himself as Xiao Xiao continued being confused. He had witnessed the sadistic side of Huo Yuhao during their spars and with others... especially if he found a strong opponent.

Wang Dong was confident in his strength and soul skills, but when it comes to combat experience and hand-to-hand combat? Wu Feng was a couple levels above him. And he wasn't jealous for once about that of her.

Seeing Xiao Xiao still looking so lost, Wang Dong sighed and whispered. "Remember what happened in the previous round? Huo Yuhao did that to Wu Feng and some more in the name of training."

Xiao Xiao gasped, her face turned red then pale as she turned to Huo Yuhao in shock. "Y-Yuhao, you did that to her?"

Huo Yuhao nodded, his gaze still on Wu Feng.

"Y-You pervert..."

"Xiao Xiao, believe me when I say that I don't have such thoughts to Wu Feng when I had used my secret technique." Huo Yuhao replied with a straight face, he spread his hands out. "I fight not with honor, dignity, or respect, but with strategy, technique, and efficiency. It was all in the name of training and pushing our limits."

"Moreover, in a real battle, gender differences do not matter. Thus, I believe in true gender equality when in battle."

Xiao Xiao was still speechless, unable to comprehend the sadistic side of her usually gentle and kind teammate.

"I can't say I understand why he did what he did, but it seems to have had a significant impact on Wu Feng," Wang Dong said, glancing at their opponent.

Indeed, Wu Feng seemed to be trembling slightly, her eyes filled with fear and hesitation. It was a far cry from the confident and fierce person they had seen when they had a barbecue party.

"...But that still doesn't explain–"

"Both parties, enter the arena and introduce yourselves." The proctor announced.

The six people from both teams simultaneously entered the wide arena, and stood by their respective sides. Huo Yuhao's team causally stood around each other while Ning Tian's team...was having an infighting?

"Wu Feng..." Ning Tian softly sighed, but there was no mistaking the trace of annoyance in her voice.

She couldn't help but turned towards Huo Yuhao and coldly glare at him, but to him, it looked as though she was cutely pouting at him.

"No! No, no, no. No!" Wu Feng stubbornly refused, crossing her arms as she stood behind her teammates. "Si–miss Ning Tian, I will not move from my spot unless we forfeit."

"Wu Feng, you–"

Nanmen Yun'er looked on in shock at her once arrogant and confident teammate being so... cowardly towards their enemy, especially the handsome one who looked to be their leader.

Wu Feng stared nervously at Huo Yuhao, her eyes filled with fear and uncertainty.

Whenever they're talking or spending time together as friends like that barbecue party, Wu Feng wouldn't be this frightened. And that's only because Huo Yuhao would become kind and treat her well as a friend.

But when it comes to a fight or a spar? Wu Feng would immediately kneel down in submission to even think of fighting back against him.

She had been too traumatized by his strange techniques.

Ning Tian sighed in frustration, clearly exasperated by Wu Feng's behavior. She turned to Huo Yuhao and spoke with a stern yet gentle tone. "Huo Yuhao, look at what you did to her. Now how are we gonna fight now?"

Huo Yuhao smirked, his eyes glinting mischievously.

Ning Tian sighed and thought, 'Oh well, we've been winning all our battles and reaching this far is good enough. I've seen enough of Huo Yuhao's abilities to know we have little chance to win. Teacher Mu Jin would understand.'

Unfortunately however, she didn't know that her teacher was had locked in a bet with Zhou Yi.

Huo Yuhao glanced at Ning Tian and said, "Don't worry, Miss Ning Tian. I promise you it won't be as bad as you think. We're just here to have a friendly competition, after all."

Ning Tian raised an eyebrow, unconvinced by his words. "Friendly competition? Is that what you call what you did to Wu Feng?"

Huo Yuhao shrugged nonchalantly. "I was just helping her improve her skills. It's all part of the training process."

Ning Tian shook her head and turned towards the proctor and said, "We forfeit this match!"

The proctor was stunned and asked, "Are you sure?"

Ning Tian nodded firmly. "Yes, we're sure. We'll forfeit this match."

The proctor sighed and announced, "Team Ning Tian's team, forfeits the match. Team Huo Yuhao, wins by default."

Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong turned towards to each other in surprise.

They won?!

Huo Yuhao softly sighed, guilt and regret flashed through his eyes as he watched Ning Tian's team walked off the stage.

Though he looked like he enjoyed himself being an asshole–he didn't.

It took every fiber of his being to not rush over towards them both, to apologize and hug a distraught and ashamed Wu Feng.

The reason why he didn't was because he knew it wouldn't solve anything. Wu Feng needed time and space to process what had happened and to heal from the trauma Huo Yuhao had unintentionally caused.

However, he couldn't help but feel a sense of regret and guilt. He had only wanted to help his friends improve, but he had pushed Wu Feng too far, causing her to lose confidence in herself.

'Why are people so complex?' Huo Yuhao let out a deep sigh as he turned around.

"Let's go."

In the spectator's stage.

"W-Wha..." Mu Jin stared at the arena, completely gobsmacked.

What the hell were her students doing?!

Even Zhou Yi and Fan Yu were flabbergasted of the result. Even they couldn't believe of what happened.

....

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