'Gu Yue, what do you think?'
Caelus scanned the battlefield, his gaze lingering on Huo Yuhao for a moment before turning his head to ask Gu Yuena beside him in a low voice.
After fighting side by side for some time, the cold and aloof vice-monitor's attitude had finally softened, allowing Caelus and Ye Guyi to address her directly as Gu Yue—a sign that she had accepted them.
"Shameless."
Gu Yuena glanced at Wang Dong, who was engaged in a fierce exchange with Wu Feng, his figure fluttering like a butterfly, and uttered the three words in a flat tone.
As soon as these words were spoken, Caelus's expression stiffened, and Ye Guyi looked at Gu Yuena in astonishment, completely unable to understand where such an evaluation came from.
It was clearly a brilliant confrontation, and Wang Dong's performance was commendable; how could it be linked to "shameless"?
Gu Yuena had no intention of explaining. She shifted her gaze away from Wang Dong and turned to Huo Yuhao, who was standing still in the back but actually controlling the entire situation. A trace of imperceptible inquiry flashed through her amethyst-like eyes.
Seeing that Gu Yuena had no intention of explaining, Ye Guyi, knowing her personality well, realized that pestering her would be useless. She could only turn her head away in frustration and continue to watch the match, though she felt as curious as if being scratched by a kitten.
As for Caelus, after a brief moment of astonishment, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
He immediately understood what Gu Yuena meant—she must have seen through Wang Dong's hidden female identity.
Thinking about it carefully, although Gu Yuena's evaluation was blunt and harsh, from a woman's perspective, it... didn't seem entirely wrong?
A girl, disguising herself as a boy, sneaking into the boys' dormitory, eating and sleeping with a boy, and living in the same cramped room... This behavior itself was indeed shocking and lacked restraint.
It was like a boy disguising himself as a girl to sneak into the girls' dormitory and living in the same room; no matter the reason, it would inevitably invite criticism.
'Disguising as a boy, heh.'
Caelus was speechless. With a Martial Soul as prominent as the Light Goddess Butterfly, it could only fool novices who lacked knowledge about Martial Souls.
However, he quickly thought of the shadows that might exist behind this—the influence and layout of that God King Tang San, who was far away in the God Realm.
After all, this was a man who could imprint a "thought seal" on his own daughter, making her subconsciously despise spirit tools that led to the decline of the Tang Sect's Hidden Weapons. To control Huo Yuhao, the child of destiny, what else wouldn't he do?
Using his daughter as a bargaining chip to send to Huo Yuhao's side was perhaps just a natural move for Tang San, who came from an ancient assassin Sect and whose deep-seated thoughts inevitably contained patriarchal views.
This could be considered staying true to character.
Thinking of this, Caelus couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. He had no interest in getting involved in these schemes of the God King's family.
However, listening to Gu Yuena's precise mockery and watching "Wang Dong," who was oblivious to all this and fighting hard on the field, a faint smile couldn't help but curl at the corner of Caelus's mouth.
Gu Yuena's evaluation, though harsh, was... actually quite interesting.
The result of the battle between Huo Yuhao's team and Ning Tian's team did not exceed Caelus's expectations.
Under the mental shock reinforced by Huo Yuhao's Purple Demon Eye, the brilliant light of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was abruptly interrupted, and the scales of victory tilted accordingly.
For this victory, Huo Yuhao's team had poured out almost everything, playing all their trump cards, with only that final Fusion technique kept in reserve.
Because those who could end the battle quickly and watch leisurely like Caelus were, after all, in the minority, Huo Yuhao's team's victory over the team possessing the Soul Elder Ning Tian did not cause much of a stir among the freshmen.
But true storms are often gestated in silence.
After a day of intense elimination, only sixteen teams remained out of the originally large number of participating teams, and forty-eight freshmen stood out.
They were undoubtedly the best among their peers, worthy of being called the elite seeds of the future Spirit Master's world.
At the Round of 16 draw ceremony, Caelus scanned the crowd and saw many familiar faces.
Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Xie Huanyue, as well as Huo Yuhao's team who had just fought hard to advance, and Dai Huabin, whose eyes were sharp and aura fierce.
Except for Ning Tian, who had bad luck and encountered a strong enemy early, the powerhouses among the freshmen were all standing here.
The draw concluded, and the Round of 16 match officially began.
After yesterday's victory over the team with a Soul Elder, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were filled with confidence and high Martial Souls.
Even Ning Tian's team had been defeated by them; encountering another team with a Soul Elder didn't seem so scary anymore.
They didn't even think their amazing luck would work twice in a row, causing them to draw another tough nut to crack.
However, when they saw the three figures walking onto the arena opposite them, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, the two guys who did nothing but Cultivate besides competing, hadn't reacted yet, but Xiao Xiao, who was more sociable, had her pupils shrink, and she wailed on the spot:
"No way, are you messing with us? This luck... how could it be this good?!"
Seeing Xiao Xiao's exaggerated and somewhat desperate reaction, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao couldn't help but look puzzled.
Yesterday, facing Ning Tian's team, Xiao Xiao, as a Soul Master with twin spirits, had looked solemn but had never been so discouraged.
"You two... actually don't know?"
Xiao Xiao looked at her two teammates, her eyes filled with the helplessness of "Are you living in isolation?"
"That's the monster team from freshman class six opposite us, three... three Soul Elders."
"Three Soul Elders?!"
At this, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could no longer remain calm, their faces instantly filled with shock.
Wang Dong was so frustrated he almost jumped up.
"Are you kidding? How can there still be a team made up of three Soul Elders? How did the academy divide the classes? Our class one doesn't even have a single Soul Elder."
Hearing Wang Dong's words, Xiao Xiao secretly complained in her heart.
'With that old hag Zhou Yi's teaching style, what Genius Soul Elder could stand it, and how would the academy dare to assign precious Soul Elders to be scolded?'
Meanwhile, on the spectator stand, the atmosphere was equally subtle.
Mu Jin, the homeroom teacher of freshman class nine, with an undisguised mocking smile on her face, specifically walked over to Zhou Yi and said in a volume that was not high but clear enough for the teachers around to hear:
"Heh, Zhou Yi, it seems that the fluke luck your class one had, ends here."
She deliberately bit the word "fluke" heavily, her gaze sweeping over Zhou Yi's livid face, feeling even more pleased.
"Yesterday you just beat the support system Soul Elder from our class, but today it's three real Battle Soul Venerables, and two of them are... Hmph, it seems your class one's winning streak is about to be ended by class six."
Losing to Zhou Yi and losing a Spirit Bone had been something she kept brooding over, and now that she had the chance, she certainly wouldn't miss the opportunity to mock her.
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