Two Versus One, Day One Begins

[ Shrek Academy, Random Forest ]

Standing before Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, Xin Qing kindly advised them, "You two should fight together, that way we don't waste as much time."

Dai Huabin was furious at this statement. "Xin Qing, you may be strong, but..." His partner, Zhu Lu, cut him off.

Zhu Lu, who was Dai Huabin's little lover, was calmer than her counterpart. With an incisive but calm tone, she asked, "I wonder what abilities you have to be so arrogant."

Xin Qing did not even show a smile, only looking on as he held his sword with his uninjured left arm. "Come, then."

Dai Huabin, having confronted him before, was about to point out that Xin Qing was holding his sword with his wrong hand, when Zhu Lu simply started to attack the latter.

Xin Qing simply sighed internally. 'To think that Huabin's pride wouldn't let me hand the position of Team Leader to him, saying that he had to win it for himself. On the other hand, I get to see the abilities of my teammates, so it is quite opportune.' Xin Qing simply saw this whole thing as childish charade with some benefits to be gained.

He used his Flickering Step to repeatedly dodge the attacks of Zhu Lu even in her Hell Civet form, which drastically increased her speed. Zhu Lu, unlike him and Huabin who were of the power-attack system, was an agility-attack fighter, which meant the main focus was in speed then attack. Xin Qing understood that his team would have a focus on pestering and overwhelming the opponent with force.

Dai Huabin joined in on the offense, although it did not produce any different result. Whenever they got him into a critical position, he used his next level of Flickering Steps. It was not long before they understood that he was only playing with them.

Zhu Lu was out of breath. After all, most agility-attack systems lack endurance, evident by the fact that she was still out-lapped by both him and Wang Dong without butterfly form. Dai Huabin was not much better, sweat pouring from his forehead, but his will persisited.

He was about to launch another attack when he noticed Xin Qing's bored face now wore a frown as the latter slashed once more. The power of this strike was incomparable to the rest and neither Zhu Lu or Dai Huabin could do anything against it.

With the two now on the ground, Xin Qing thought in silence. 'These two are lacking too much in technique but I suppose they are children. In addition, they should be two of the stronger people in the grade, so I guess they'll do.' Stabbing his sword into the ground and resting his hand on it, Xin Qing looked into the sky, whispering, "Yuhao. Wang Dong. I wonder what these two will show me."

Xin Qing picked Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu up as all three bodies disappeared in a flash of light, leaving a peaceful grove of trees.

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[ Shrek Academy, Poseidon Lake's Island ]

"Xiao Tao, you almost killed another student today!" A tall man stood before the window, however the light stopped at his neck area, shadows covering his face.

Seated on the ground a few meters from him was the beautiful red-haired girl Xin Qing had encountered earlier. She softly said, "It was my mistake... I... thought I could contain the demonic phoenix fire inside of me."

The other figure sighed and spoke with a critical but gentle tone, saying, "The more you try to contain the demonic fire, the more dangerous it is when you lose control... For now, stop your training. Even though you are Shrek's greatest genius, you should not force yourself to such an extent."

The girl named Ma Xiaotao did not agree, however, saying, "Teacher, my demonic phoenix is under control now. Although I do not know who suppressed it, I am confident that I can continue training."

Her teacher turned to look at her with interest, "Oh? To think that a new student is capable of directly suppressing the demonic phoenix's fires. Only, it does not make sense with his martial spirit. Maybe his sword really is of the extremely rare Absolute Yang element?"

Ma Xiaotao had a surprised look when she heard the term 'new student,' as she asked her teacher for more details.

He turned around and explained how only Xin Qing was found at the scene, but he had a sword spirit. Ma Xiaotao displayed excitement at her teacher's words as she did indeed vaguely recall being slashed by a sword, even having the scab to prove it.

Ma Xiaotao was about to rush to see him when her teacher stopped her. "Today is the start of the New Student Exam, so he might not be available. Wait until the tournament is over or your condition flares up again. After everything is over, we can discuss about assigning him the job of saving you whenever you lose control."

Ma Xiaotao was no longer impatient, realizing that the solution to her fire's problem would remain within arm's reach. She was eager to meet the person who purged her evil flames.

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[ Shrek Academy, New Student Exam Grounds ]

Xin Qing seemed to be unable to stop sneezing. He wryly thought to himself, 'It could not be that I have caught a disease, right?'

Refocusing his gaze to the students around the place, he had a small smile playing on his lips.

Dai Huabin saw this smile and shuddered. After numerous interactions with Xin Qing, he knew that this smile which appeared innocent on the outside, contained a devil's intention and sadistic pleasure.

Xin Qing walked through the crowd, completely ordinary at a glance, but his aura made people involuntarily move to make way. Following behind him, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu followed, shocking those who knew Dai Huabin well.

Placing his hand on the registration table, Xin Qing's' pretty face was revealed once more from under the hat with a bright smile, saying, "Team Qing. Sign us in."