Dai Huabin was deeply convinced that his superiority in cultivation to Huo Yuhao meant that Huo Yuhao couldn't beat him even if he possessed twin martial souls or was extremely gifted.
Dai Huabin believed that he was never inferior to Huo Yuhao before. It was more of a coincidence. If it were a pure one-on-one battle, he believed that Huo Yuhao wouldn't be his match.
Dai Huabin was filled with jealousy and hate as he thought of how Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao took part in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament even though they weren't as powerful as him. It was just that they had left for so long, but hadn't returned. Did they perish in the tournament? After he humiliated Class 1 tomorrow, it would be time for him to make a trip and inquire about the tournament results.
He had been keeping a low profile ever since it was known that he had instructed someone to attack Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. He cultivated tirelessly, and rarely made any contact with the outside world. On the other hand, Dai Yueheng was instructed not to reveal any information about the tournament after he returned to the inner courtyard, and went into retreat in the inner courtyard due to pressure from his upcoming graduation. That's why no one from the outer courtyard knew anything about the academy in the tournament. The academy only announced that they had returned as champions, but didn't reveal any of the details of the process. There was nothing extraordinary about Shrek becoming champions in many of the students' eyes.
In reality, it was not only Dai Huabin from Class 2 that resented Class 1. Zhu Lu, Xie Huanyue, Wu Feng and Huang Chutian - who used to be the Lan sisters' partner, but was also chased out like Wu Feng - all possessed hatred towards Class 1. Class 1 only had assault-type and control-type soul masters, but they had defensive-type and agility-type soul masters in addition to those two. Although they lacked any auxiliary-type soul masters, they still formed a rather powerful team. The importance of an auxiliary-type soul master had also dwindled due to the development of soul tools. There were fewer and fewer auxiliary-type soul masters in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.
Early morning.
The weather was a little hazy, but the air was very fresh. It carried a slight moisture from Sea God's Lake. When inhaled, it left one feeling relaxed and refreshed.
Many students were already gathered at the Soul Dueling Area within Shrek Academy's outer courtyard in the early morning. They were all from the second grade of the outer courtyard, and it wasn't just the students from the first and second classes. Students from the third and fourth classes were also gathered here. Their reason was very simple - they were here to observe and learn.
Zhou Yi gave off a very cold and rigid look when she wore a mask. It was as if she was warning everyone not to come close to her. Zhou Sichen and the others were already prepared beside her, but it was obvious that they were still a little anxious from the looks on their faces.
The students from Class 2 were a little late. Under Mu Jin's leadership, Dai Huabin and the rest were all feeling very competitive. Even the rest of the students behind them were all in high spirits, and looked very proud.
It wasn't a surprise that they were like that. The first class of every grade in the outer courtyard was always the strongest, and they were always superior to the other classes. But it was a little special for Class 2 in the second grade. Class 2's abilities were greatly increased because Dai Huabin, Huang Chutian, Wu Feng and the other core disciples that had been chased out of Zhou Yi's class. This also developed their competitive streak. Although their overall abilities were still incomparable, Class 2 still possessed an advantage in today's competition.
Many of Class 2's students reckoned that Class 1 wouldn't be able to match up to them even if Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were present. That's because only 7 team members could be selected. After all, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao only had 2 soul rings. In Class 2, it was not only Dai Huabin who had managed to reach an astounding Rank 39 soul power. Xie Huanyue was slightly lousier at Rank 35, but was still commendable. The two of them were the top two in the second grade. Wu Feng and Huang Chutian had crossed the Rank 30 mark, whereas Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie were only slightly off from Rank 30 at Rank 29. Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan managed to reach Rank 28, and were among the top few agility-type students. They were also chosen to compete this time. The depth of Class 2's strength was obvious.
On the contrary, the greatest strength of Class 1 was that the average cultivation of the entire class was above Rank 25. But none of them were above Rank 30 as of now. Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo were all Rank 29, while the other 3 were Rank 28. There was a huge gap in both team's abilities. Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao would make it better if they were here. After all, Wang Dong had crossed the Rank 30 mark, and Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao both had twin martial souls. They would have a fighting chance.
Class 1's morale was extremely low, which was a stark contrast from Class 2. All of them lacked energy, which revealed their despondence.
Zhou Yi's expression couldn't be seen, as she wore a mask. But she already regretted her decision. She was naturally aware of the disparity in the abilities of both classes. She regretted her impulsiveness for agreeing to the challenge after Mu Jin provoked her. She wasn't afraid of losing, but the impact on the students' fighting spirit if they lost. However, she wasn't fully devoid of confidence. She recalled Fan Yu mentioning that Xiao Xiao had ended her retreat. She had asked her to find her in the inner courtyard yesterday. But why were they not back?
"Teacher Zhou." Mu Jin brought her 7 team members in front of Zhou Yi at this point. She appeared calm, but the complacency in her eyes couldn't be concealed.
"Teacher Mu." Zhou Yi answered indifferently.
Mu Jin looked at the 7 behind Zhou Yi and revealed a slight smile on her face. "Eh, there should be a few students with decent cultivations in Teacher Zhou's class if I remember correctly. Where are they? Were they expelled because they made some mistakes?"
Zhou Yi revealed a cold look in her eyes. Mu Jin was asking an obvious question, "Teacher Mu, you don't have to worry about this. How my students are is my problem ."
Mu Jin smiled and replied, "You can't put it this way. Teacher Zhou, the students in every class across all grades are the most brilliant talents that have been picked out. Their development is extremely crucial. Although I'm in charge of Class 2, it's also necessary for me to be concerned about the academy's future. However, our grade is a little special. In terms of overall abilities, Class 1 is strongest. But Class 2 is better in terms of high-end combat strength. There are already 4 students in my class that are Rank 30 and above. It seems like Teacher Zhou is still incomparable to me in terms of nurturing outstanding students."
Behind Zhou Yi, Zhou Sichen couldn't help but say, "Teacher Mu, Dai Huabin and the rest…"
"Shut up." Zhou Yi interrupted him.
Zhou Sichen was shocked, and didn't dare to speak anymore. His eyes were filled with indignance. Teacher Mu's skin was extremely thick. Out of the 4 students from Class 2 that were Rank 30 and above, 3 of them came from Class 1. The only exception was Xie Huanyue. It was just that these 3 were chased out by Zhou Yi.
Mu Jin laughed uncontrollably. "Teacher Zhou, your teaching attitude is undesirable. How can you stop your student from speaking? This would not happen in my class. We have to preach democracy. If your students cannot adapt to your teaching style, they can find me in Class 2. The doors to Class 2 are always open."
Zhou Yi turned more and more dismal under the mask, and she said coldly, "Teacher Mu, you're full of nonsense. As Shrek Academy's teacher, aren't you aware that soul power rank doesn't represent everything?"
Mu Jin straightened her look, "Good, I was waiting for you to say that. We shall meet in the Soul Dueling Area. I want to see how your students can prove to me that soul power rank doesn't represent everything."
"They will prove it to you. We'll prove this point to you, Teacher Mu." A crisp voice rang out at this moment. The students behind Zhou Yi stood aside and created a path. Three people walked towards them with big steps.
Zhou Yi's fury that was about to erupt instantly turned into a bellyful of surprise when she saw the 3 of them. She couldn't help but scream, "You three rascals still know when to return!"
Three students wearing second grade uniforms quickly walked over as they were surrounded by excited Class 1 students. They were led by Huo Yuhao, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao followed behind.
Xiao Xiao had only undergone her retreat for slightly more than 30 days, but Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had been secluded for more than 60 days. That's why their abilities had increased so significantly.
Xiao Xiao hadn't left after she finished her retreat. She had remained on Sea God's Island to absorb her soul bone. She was supposed to return to the outer courtyard after she finished absorbing the power of the soul bone, but she was retained by Elder Mu. He invited the strongest auxiliary-type soul master in the Sea God's Pavilion to guide her personally in her cultivation. Since she had chosen to be an auxiliary-type soul master, she had to learn vastly different things from what she did before.
There was another reason why Elder Mu kept her in the inner courtyard. That was because both her and Huo Yuhao's cultivation had reached a bottleneck. After Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong ended their retreat, Elder Mu was going to instruct someone to bring them to hunt suitable soul beasts to enhance their soul rings.
After Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong ended their retreat, they both absorbed their respective soul bones before reuniting with Xiao Xiao outside of the Sea God's Pavilion. Elder Mu gave them a few days to rest and allowed them to readjust themselves. They went to obtain their third soul rings after that. It was also at this point that Fan Yu reached the inner courtyard and found Xiao Xiao.
Fan Yu didn't tell Zhou Yi that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had ended their retreat, as he wanted to give her a surprise. At this point, Zhou Yi's best students had finally returned.