"Hey, it's someone we know!" On the other side, Xiao Xiao also smiled, her emerald-green side ponytail swaying cutely.
During their time in Class 1, aside from her, Lin Yun only had a few conversations with Huo Yuhao. Xiao Xiao, who always paid attention to Lin Yun, naturally remembered Huo Yuhao, the unremarkable guy, as well as Wang Dong, whose looks were almost on par with Lin Yun's.
After all, she was a bit of an aesthetics enthusiast.
Although Lin Yun had already captured her heart, Wang Dong was still a "handsome guy," which made him memorable to Xiao Xiao.
And now, before even reaching the ranking tournament, they were facing their former classmates?
"Both teams, please enter the arena!" The referee teacher repeated, seeing that Lin Yun's team hadn't moved.
Xiao Xiao, who had been about to say something, playfully stuck out her tongue, linked arms with Lin Yun, and walked onto the stage. Behind them, Zheng Xiaolong, who had been watching, followed with a wide, knowing smile.
He was totally shipping it.
Indeed, the sugar from the boss was the sweetest!
On the stage, the two teams stood on opposite sides, staring each other down across the several dozen meters distance.
"Match begin!"
Facing an opponent like Lin Yun, who exuded overwhelming pressure, Huo Yuhao didn't hold back. He pulled out a variety of gleaming hidden weapons from the Twenty-Four Bridge Moonlight Night storage device at his waist, which Tang Ya had given him.
Of course, these hidden weapons were also from Tang Ya.
Before the assessment, Tang Ya had told him that while soul tools weren't allowed in the freshman assessment, throwing weapons like the Tang Sect's hidden weapons were permitted.
Until now, no matter how tough the battles had been, Huo Yuhao hadn't used the Tang Sect's hidden weapons. But facing an opponent like Lin Yun, who seemed almost impossible to defeat, Huo Yuhao had no choice.
He... wanted to win!
Standing beside him, Wang Dong subtly glanced at the hidden weapons in Huo Yuhao's hands, a strange glint flashing in his pinkish-blue eyes.
These hidden weapons gave him a sense of familiarity.
It was as if he was also meant to use such weapons, just like the feeling he got when looking at his own martial soul.
Thinking this, Wang Dong himself was startled and quickly shook his head, dispelling these strange thoughts.
How could that be? They were just weapons made of metal. How could they compare to his martial soul?
What he didn't realize was that a seed had already been planted in his heart. Given the right opportunity, this seed would guide him to join a sect he was destined to be part of.
On the other side, Lin Yun couldn't help but laugh when he saw Huo Yuhao pulling out those ancient Tang Sect hidden weapons from his soul tool.
"Yuhao, are those Tang Sect hidden weapons?" Lin Yun asked with interest.
"That's right. These are the unique weapons of the Tang Sect, which I belong to," Huo Yuhao raised his right hand, holding several bone-piercing needles and throwing darts between his fingers. "I'm sorry, Lin Yun. I didn't want to rely on external tools, but since the freshman assessment doesn't prohibit the use of hidden weapons, I had no choice but to resort to this."
"Tch..." Xiao Xiao let out a dissatisfied snort, but before she could say anything, Lin Yun stopped her with a raised hand.
"You're right. Since the freshman assessment doesn't have any rules against it, it's only natural for you, as a Tang Sect disciple, to use hidden weapons," Lin Yun nodded in agreement, but then his smile took on a strange twist.
Seeing this smile, for some reason, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong felt their hearts skip a beat.
This smile... was off!
Recalling the time Lin Yun had punched Zhou Yi into oblivion, he had worn the same smile back then!
"As a Tang Sect disciple, it's reasonable for you to use hidden weapons. So, as a member of my own sect, it's also reasonable for me to use my sect's special skills, right?" Lin Yun smiled faintly, gently patted his chest, then took a step back with his left leg, extending his right arm straight forward, palm facing upward.
Seeing this gesture, Xiao Xiao and Zheng Xiaolong immediately tensed up, taking several steps back until they were almost at the edge of the stage before stopping.
They hadn't forgotten what happened the last time Lin Yun made this gesture—Wu Feng had been utterly crushed!
On the other side, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and the agility-type girl beside them looked confused, unsure what Lin Yun was up to.
Not just them, even the referee outside the stage and the other teams resting and recovering their soul power in the audience turned their attention to the match.
In the next moment, a rustling sound came from Lin Yun's body, like the sound of a multi-legged creature's sharp claws scratching against fabric.
At the same time, an intangible pressure quietly emerged, making everyone feel as if their throats were being squeezed.
Breathing became difficult!
A faint emerald-green light glowed as a scorpion, resembling a work of art, slowly crawled out from Lin Yun's collar. When the scorpion climbed onto Lin Yun's outstretched hand and settled there, everyone could finally see it clearly.
It was slightly larger than Lin Yun's palm, with a bluish-green body and crystal-blue eyes. Its small pincers seemed covered in frost, and its nine-sectioned tail was slightly raised.
"Is that... a soul beast?" Huo Yuhao's eyes widened in shock.
"Yes, a soul beast!" Lin Yun nodded with a smile. "You, as a Tang Sect disciple, can use hidden weapons. So, as a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, isn't it reasonable for me to command a soul beast?"
Reasonable... my foot!
The referee teacher's expression completely fell apart. These kids might not know better, but how could I not understand?
Although this referee teacher didn't have Wang Yan's extensive theoretical knowledge and couldn't recognize that the soul beast on Lin Yun's hand was an Ice Jade Scorpion, the aura emanating from Qing'er was at least that of a three-thousand-year soul beast!
Even he, a Soul Emperor-level teacher, felt a strong sense of danger from Qing'er, let alone these kids.
You're asking these average one or two-ringed soul masters to fight a three-thousand-year soul beast?
The referee teacher was about to call a stop when he remembered what Lin Yun had just said.
That's right!
The freshman assessment rules stated that a team could only have one strong attack-type soul master and couldn't use soul tools, but there was no explicit rule against commanding soul beasts, was there?
The referee teacher was at a loss for words.
What kind of sect is this Beast Taming Sect? A three-ringed disciple can command a three-thousand-year soul beast?
In the next moment, a flash of emerald-green light swept past, and Huo Yuhao's trio were instantly frozen into ice sculptures, experiencing the same treatment Wu Feng had received a couple of days ago.
(End of Chapter)
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