Chapter 138: Xiao Xiao Corrupted
Evening descended.
By the shores of Sea God Lake, a gentle breeze rippled through the water.
Ye Chen strolled along the lakeside with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, none of the three speaking a word. The silence hung awkwardly, thick with unspoken tension.
The good news was that Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had grown closer.
The bad news—Xiao Xiao had been corrupted by Wang Dong.
Both girls kept their heads lowered, faces flushed a deep scarlet.
Wang Dong's ears still burned when she recalled what had just happened.
She didn't even know what possessed her—one impulsive moment, and then… well, it just happened.
She still couldn't forget the look on Xiao Xiao's face—shocked beyond description.
…
Xiao Xiao, too, walked with her eyes downcast, embarrassment filling her every thought.
She had helped Ye Chen before, sure.
But she hadn't expected to… help him together with Wang Dong.
In the private room earlier, after a little wine and a day's worth of emotional upheaval, things had spiraled.
Now that she was sober, she wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and disappear into it.
…
Ye Chen, however, felt fantastic.
After this… development, there would be no more issues between Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.
Sure, they might gang up on him now and then—but that was far better than dealing with an emotional battlefield.
"Well, let's call it a night. I'll walk you both back," Ye Chen said lightly as they reached the dorm area.
"Mm~"
Xiao Xiao nodded softly. After everything today, she needed a breather.
Wang Dong didn't object either—once Xiao Xiao left, Ye Chen would be hers alone for the night.
At the dorm doors, Ye Chen and Wang Dong bid Xiao Xiao goodnight before returning to their own room.
The moment they entered, Wang Dong pushed Ye Chen down onto the bed, fuming.
"Ye Chen, you jerk! You actually ignored me! Unbelievable!"
"I didn't! I swear I didn't!" Ye Chen protested instantly.
"You totally did! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have lost my head like that… ugh… this is all your fault! You embarrassed me in front of Xiao Xiao—you'd better make it up to me!"
Wang Dong pouted and refused to relent.
She was mortified by what had happened and needed some serious comforting.
If Ye Chen hadn't paid so much attention to Xiao Xiao's legs instead of hers, none of this would've happened!
Ye Chen could only sigh in defeat and let her vent—it was safer that way.
…
Time passed quickly, as beautiful days always did.
Before long, the freshman assessment finally began.
During the interim, Ye Chen had traveled between the outer and inner courtyards, pushing his cultivation all the way up to level 60 through his Resonance aptitude.
With his Basic Soul Spirit Contract Scroll only capable of binding beasts under 500,000 years, his best candidate was still the Ice Empress.
Her attributes perfectly matched his Ice Dragon Spirit—ideal compatibility.
Though it would be a forced contract, Ye Chen was confident that once he demonstrated his abilities and promised the right "benefits," he could easily convince the simple-minded Ice Empress to agree.
After all, she wasn't exactly difficult to trick—and with her options limited, even the Heavenly Dream Iceworm had managed to persuade her once upon a time.
Still, he decided to wait until after the freshman assessment before heading to the Extreme North.
He was actually looking forward to seeing how the assessment played out—it promised to be entertaining.
Thanks to his recent training sessions, Wang Dong had reached level 33.
Xiao Xiao had also reached level 33.
Wu Feng and Ning Tian were both at level 33 as well, far surpassing their peers.
Together with their superior martial souls, the four of them stood leagues above the rest—their dominance was absolute.
It didn't take long before the academy noticed.
An investigation followed—all trails pointed toward Tang Sect.
Although curious, the academy found no trace of dark or forbidden techniques among the students, so it quietly let the matter go.
…
The freshman assessment began with the preliminary rounds.
Three hundred groups in total—ten groups assigned per division. Competition ran rotation-style: two points per win, one for a draw, none for a loss.
Each group fought at least ten matches, and rankings were determined by total points.
The bottom five were eliminated, and ties led to additional tiebreaker matches.
With a 50% elimination rate, the assessment was brutal.
And that was just the beginning—each term's promotion exam had another 20% cut.
Layer by layer, only the most exceptional reached the sixth year, and even fewer advanced into the inner court—the monstrous prodigies of their generation.
As for inner court "training missions"… those were another story entirely—more a test of luck than strength.
…
To ensure fairness, strong teams weren't grouped together, avoiding early clashes among the best.
Naturally, Wang Dong's team and Wu Feng's team crushed the preliminaries with ease, advancing straight into the knockout stage.
Ye Chen also kept an eye on Huo Yuhao's team.
They nearly failed to qualify, tying their bracket and only advancing after a tiebreaker—where Yuhao completely drained his spiritual energy to scrape out a victory.
His supporting ability scaled with his teammates' strength; unfortunately, without powerhouses like Wang Dong or Xiao Xiao, his support effects plummeted.
And with no fusion technique now, even reaching past the preliminaries at level 17 was pure luck.
Ye Chen hadn't bothered watching the early rounds—it wasn't worth his time.
But once the knockout rounds arrived, he found them fairly entertaining.
Wang Dong's team, Ning Tian's team, and Dai Huabin's team all dominated their brackets and quickly advanced to the semifinals.
Unfortunately, Ning Tian's luck turned sour—they drew Dai Huabin's team next.
Even though both Ning Tian and Wu Feng had reached the Soul Elder stage, Ning Tian's support remained the main strength, while Wu Feng's martial soul still lagged behind.
Nangong Yun'er, their third, was even weaker in both soul and cultivation.
In the end, they lost under the overwhelming might of the Nether White Tiger.
Meanwhile, Wang Dong's team easily crushed their semi-final opponents.
"Dai Huabin's team wins—advances to the finals!"
With the referee's announcement, the freshman tournament approached its conclusion.
Far away, atop the academy's observation tower, Ye Chen watched alongside Xian Lin'er.
"Well, well, little brat—you've got quite the luck with women," she teased, pinching his cheek with a playful smirk. Her eyes gleamed with amusement.
Ye Chen had once shared some of his "special cultivation method" with her, though she had gained little from it.
She didn't need to spy on him to know what he'd been up to—Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Wu Feng, Ning Tian… their skyrocketing cultivation and Tang Sect affiliation said plenty.
And not just in the outer court—rumor had it even Ma Xiaotao from the inner court was involved.
Ye Chen truly was a walking disaster of charm.
(END CHAPTER)
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