As the match going on in the other arena magnificently continued, the semifinal match in Arena 1 had already ended. The time it had taken for Team Huo Yuhao’s match to end was much shorter than anyone had expected.
Huo Yuhao and w.a.n.g Dong had won again. Even though they were lacking a team member, they’d still been able to win the two matches afterwards, allowing them to progress directly from the top 8 to the top 2.
Although this match had ended very quickly, they were still lacking a person, which had made it a very narrow victory. If it weren’t for their Haodong Power playing an extremely crucial role in their matches, they wouldn’t have even had a chance at winning. If this were a life and death match, it would be very hard to tell who would’ve won.
Huo Yuhao had used the rules to his advantage, which had allowed him to escape unscathed from the boomerang due to the proctor’s protection. However, what if there there hadn’t been a proctor? w.a.n.g Dong would’ve had to block Long Xiangyue’s attack for him. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao wouldn’t have been able to activate his Spiritual Shock on Zhou Sichen in a situation like that. Once his two summoned beasts joined the battle, it would’ve become hard to predict the outcome.
Their change in tactics, in addition to the appearance of Huo Yuhao’s four soul skills, had allowed them to barely eke out a victory. However, nearly all of their skills had been exposed. Huo Yuhao had already used his Spiritual Shock multiple times during the knock-out tournament, thus their future opponents would definitely be vigilant towards it.
The freshmen a.s.sessment was only designed to test the cultivation of a student’s martial soul. However, modern soul masters were always equipped with soul tools during combat, and there was no lack of extremely defensive soul tools. At many times, the advantages a martial soul had would actually become disadvantages because of this.
Despite this, a victory was still a victory. After defeating Zhou Sichen’s team of three, Team Huo Yuhao had formally entered the top 2. They were guaranteed to at least obtain second place, which also guaranteed them a prize.
As soon as the match ended, they immediately left the a.s.sessment Area and went back to their dorm room. It was highly probable that their last opponent would be the team from Cla.s.s 5 that Dai Huabin led. As to whether or not Xiao Xiao would recover in time for the match, Huo Yuhao wasn’t clear. However, a spark had already been lit in his heart; he had to win this next match.
Once they got back to their dorms, w.a.n.g Dong couldn’t help but ask, “Yuhao, what happened to you before the match? Did you recognise that Dai Huabin?” Huo Yuhao’s reaction when saw Dai Huabin had been extremely strange. The normally-calm Huo Yuhao had almost lost control of himself; how could w.a.n.g Dong not be baffled?
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. After hearing the words ‘Dai Huabin’, his body shook uncontrollably. He lowered his head and madly ruffled his hair before sitting down heavily on his bed. Afterwards, he slowly spoke in a hoa.r.s.e voice, “Dai Huabin is the son of the White Tiger Duke. You should know who the White Tiger Duke is.”
w.a.n.g Dong nodded. “Naturally. The White Tiger Duke is the hereditary and perpetual Grand Duke of the Star Luo Empire. He has an extremely venerated position. The White Tiger Duke’s clan was originally the royal family of the Star Luo Empire. However, the Star Luo Empire was nearly destroyed during a ma.s.sive war that occurred a few thousand years ago. The empire was only saved due to the cooperation of a few large sects in the empire. When that happened, those sects guarded the entire country. At that time, the bloodline of the White Tiger Duke had withered to the point that they were extremely weak, and their subjects were unwilling to continue serving them. Thus, that generation’s White Tiger Duke stepped down and gave the throne of the emperor to the general who’d quelled the rebellion that had occurred. That general’s family is the current royal family of the Star Luo Empire. However, royal blood still flows through the veins of the White Tiger Dukedom, so the new emperor bestowed him with the hereditary position of Grand Duke so that his family could enjoy riches and honor in perpetuity.”
“The blood flowing through the veins of the White Tiger Duke’s clan is still the blood of a former royal family, so the White Tiger martial soul that they pa.s.s on is an extremely strong Beast Soul. The head of our Shrek Academy’s first generation Shrek’s Seven Monsters was the Evil Eyed White Tiger Dai Mubai, who came from the White Tiger Dukedom. I didn’t think that this Dai Huabin would actually be a descendant of the White Tiger Dukedom.”
w.a.n.g Dong’s voice paused. He looked Huo Yuhao straight in the eye. “Then, then you and Dai Huabin….”
Huo Yuhao replied, “My mother was a servant of their clan, while I was born without a father. My mother worked in the White Tiger Dukedom in order to provide for me….” He didn’t say that he was actually one of the White Tiger Duke’s sons, as he’d never thought of him as his father. Furthermore, he hated the man who’d ruined his mother’s life. He’d rather say that he didn’t have a father, and wasn’t willing to admit the truth of his real ident.i.ty. As he told the story of his life to w.a.n.g Dong, about how his mother had been beaten up for the sake of protecting him, and how she’d finally died of her illnesses, Huo Yuhao was reduced to tears.
“That b.a.s.t.a.r.d.” w.a.n.g Dong suddenly smacked the wooden bed and stood up with a ‘whoosh’.
“What are you doing?” Huo Yuhao hurriedly grabbed ahold of him.
w.a.n.g Dong angrily said, “I’m naturally going to help you seek revenge! Let’s go! Let’s go right now!” He’d originally thought that Huo Yuhao was just an ordinary kid who’d been born poor. Only now had he become aware of what Huo Yuhao had gone through. It was no wonder that he’d already become as silent as he was by the mere age of twelve. Furthermore, he was much calmer than his peers, and he cultivated like his life depended on it.
Huo Yuhao stood up and pushed w.a.n.g Dong back onto the bed. A light flashed through his eyes. “No, we can’t do that. It’s not time to confront him yet. This is Shrek Academy. Let’s not even mention whether or not we have the strength to do anything to him within the confines of the Academy; the Academy definitely won’t tolerate our malicious actions. He’s only one of the main culprits behind my mother’s death. I want revenge from all of them, not just from him alone. As such, the target of my revenge is the entire White Tiger Dukedom. Therefore, I want to become stronger—strong enough to take on the entire White Tiger Dukedom and obtain the revenge I seek.”
w.a.n.g Dong looked at Huo Yuhao, astonished. He didn’t think that Huo Yuhao’s unwillingness to seek revenge was a cowardly act at all anymore. On the contrary, he sensed an extremely chilly aura from Huo Yuhao’s body.
The heaven-turning hatred that had instantly burst forth from Huo Yuhao’s body was so great that even the three rivers and five lakes weren’t able to wash it away; the hatred in his eyes was simply that deep. The current him was like a lion that was about to devour its prey; he was completely different from the normally-warm and diligent Huo Yuhao.
An eleven-year-old child had actually been able to conceal his hatred this much, while remembering everything. From this, it could be seen what he’d experienced during his eleven years of life. This definitely wasn’t something that could’ve acc.u.mulated in a single day!
The anger in w.a.n.g Dong’s eyes gradually dissipated. After wiping some of the tears from his eyes, he asked in a quiet voice, “Then, how do you intend to seek your revenge?”
Huo Yuhao shook his head. “The current me is just a mere ant that the White Tiger Dukedom can stomp on at any time. What I need to do right now is become stronger, much stronger. The White Tiger Dukedom will continue on, but after ten, twenty, thirty, or even fifty years from now, there will come a day when I’ll find them. When that happens, I’ll sever the bloodline of the White Tiger Dukedom.”
In that instant, a savage light appeared in Huo Yuhao’s eyes. His pupils had even turned blood-red due to the deep hatred that had been carved into his heart. In that instant, the grey pearl in his spiritual sea shook lightly, causing Huo Yuhao to feel dizzy for a brief moment. His body swayed for a moment, but he was barely able to stand firmly on the ground with w.a.n.g Dong’s support.
w.a.n.g Dong a.s.sumed that he’d been stirred up due to his emotions. However, he’d never thought that there was such a deep hatred hidden within Huo Yuhao’s heart.