At Shrek Academy, regular students could eat for free, while work-study students had to pay with contribution points.
However, on the first day of enrollment, even work-study students were allowed a free meal.
After finishing their meal, they arrived at the Soul Dueling Arena, only to find it already packed to the brim.
The rumors of Xia Yi boasting that he was invincible among Soul Elders and capable of a one-for-one exchange with Soul Ancestors had spread throughout Shrek Academy.
Almost all first- and second-year students had come to watch, especially the second-year students, who had absolute confidence in their class leader, Yuanen Yehui.
They were all here to see how Yuanen Yehui would crush Xia Yi.
"Xie Xie, are you really going to challenge him? Even our captain lost to him, and he isn't even afraid of Yuanen Yehui. You know how strong Yuanen Yehui is," Xu Xiaoyan said as she looked at Xie Xie. If the challenge were free, it wouldn't matter, but it cost 500 contribution points.
With their second profession at only level two, they had no idea how long it would take to earn that back.
"Mind your own business, kid," Xie Xie said, feeling the heaviest pressure among them all.
Of course, he knew how powerful Yuanen Yehui was. Just the night before, several of them had teamed up against her, and they still hadn't gained the upper hand.
But facing Xia Yi now, he felt even more pressure than when he had faced Yuanen Yehui.
"What are you doing here?" Gu Yue asked coldly as she saw Na'er quietly appear beside her.
"I'm here to give you a weapon," Na'er said in a serious tone.
"I've already said I don't need it. If you want to defeat him, you can sign up yourself. It just costs a few contribution points, and you're not short of those," Gu Yue replied indifferently.
"I know you have confidence in your own strength, but can you say with certainty that you have a 100% chance of winning? He can afford to lose, but can you? Even if you have a 99% chance of winning, you can't afford to lose, can you?" Na'er said coldly.
"That's just your opinion," Gu Yue replied calmly, her face expressionless.
She had already adjusted her mindset—this match was just an ordinary sparring session. She would approach it with a calm attitude.
Xia Yi didn't care about winning or losing, so why should she?
"Hmph, I don't believe it. Once Xia Yi reveals more of his abilities, let's see if you can still be this composed. Don't come begging me then," Na'er snorted before turning and leaving.
In the front row of the spectator seats, Yali sat with the outer court dean, Cai Yue'er, and several other first- and second-year teachers, as well as some faculty members who had come to watch.
"Why are you so upset?" Yali smiled as she looked at Na'er's frustrated expression. "Aren't you going to give it a try? You have at least a 50% chance of winning."
"I…" Na'er opened her mouth but hesitated. A 50% chance meant there was also a 50% chance of losing.
She couldn't afford to lose.
Even though she was just a split entity of the Silver Dragon King, she was still the ruler of the soul beasts.
If she lost to Xia Yi, a mere '100,000-year transformed soul beast,' she wouldn't be able to lift her head among the soul beasts ever again.
Moreover, he was Yun Ming's final disciple. Losing to Xia Yi, who was Cold Yaozhu's student, would be like saying Yun Ming was inferior to Cold Yaozhu.
She couldn't afford to lose.
Seeing Na'er hesitating, Yali easily guessed what she was thinking. Smiling, she gently ruffled Na'er's silver hair and said, "Your teacher and I have told you before—don't let your titles and status become a burden. Otherwise, they will only hold you back. Your teacher and I don't care about losing to Tianfeng Douluo."
Na'er opened her mouth again but still hesitated to speak.
Yali had only guessed a small part of her real reason for not challenging Xia Yi.
"Anyone who wants to challenge, come over and pay the contribution points first," Xia Yi's voice suddenly rang out.
Xie Xie was the first to step forward. He transferred 500 contribution points to Xia Yi's student ID and immediately entered the Soul Dueling Arena.
At Shrek Academy, contribution points were stored directly on a student's ID and could only be used by the student themselves.
If students traded contribution points privately, the academy would automatically deduct a 1% transaction fee.
For example, out of the 500 points Xie Xie transferred, Xia Yi only received 495.
Xie Xie couldn't bring himself to ask Yuanen Yehui to let him weaken Xia Yi's soul power for her.
If he had dared to say such a thing, Yuanen Yehui would never let him off.
Someone as proud as Yuanen Yehui would never resort to such underhanded tactics.
Xie Xie understood this, so he simply seized the Soul Dueling Arena first.
If Xia Yi wanted to fight someone else, he would have to defeat Xie Xie first.
Wu Siduo stepped forward and left an IOU.
Yuanen Yehui also came forward and paid 3,000 contribution points.
Xia Yi grinned and said, "If I beat you, I'll return 1,500."
"Remember our deal. You can't surrender for one incense stick's time," Le Zhengyu snorted and transferred 5,000 contribution points.
The Holy Angel clan had a close relationship with Shrek Academy, and they had influence in many areas of the academy.
Le Zhengyu had no shortage of contribution points.
"Are all Shrek Academy students this cowardly? I'm asking for a beating, and no one is stepping up," Xia Yi muttered.
"It's all Wu Siduo and Yuanen Yehui's fault," he added. Since Wu Siduo, a twin martial soul Soul Ancestor, had challenged him, no other first-year student dared to make a fool of themselves.
The same went for Yuanen Yehui—once she stepped in, several second-year students who had been eager to fight immediately gave up.
Only Le Zhengyu, who had been away from the academy, had stepped up.
"Two thousand contribution points. I hope you don't disappoint me," a cold voice said. Ye Xinglan walked past Xia Yi and casually transferred 2,000 points to him.
She knew her chances of defeating Xia Yi were slim, but if she didn't try, she would never be satisfied.
"Two thousand, huh? Heh, an inner court student is indeed worth the price," Xia Yi chuckled before glancing around. "Anyone else?"
Seeing no response, Xia Yi took a deep breath and stepped into the Soul Dueling Arena.
The referee was once again Shen Yi.
To prevent Xia Yi from using his second soul skill to control his forging hammers for long-range attacks, Shen Yi activated the arena's secondary protective shield.
If Xia Yi used his Fox Mind Technique to remotely control his Creation Hammers, no one below four rings would be able to get close to him.
They would simply be drained of their soul power.
Since the academy was aware of Xia Yi's tactic, they wouldn't let him exploit it.
"A secondary protective shield, huh?" Xia Yi shook his head, knowing Shrek Academy was countering him.
"Are you ready?" Shen Yi asked.
"Ready," Xia Yi and Xie Xie answered in unison.
"Begin!"
At Shen Yi's signal, Xie Xie moved first. His third soul ring lit up, splitting him into three as he used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to quickly approach Xia Yi.
At about 15 meters away, the three figures suddenly stopped, moving around Xia Yi in a continuous blur, searching for an opening.
Xia Yi remained still, neither activating his martial soul nor opening his eyes.
He just stood there, motionless.
"This is too arrogant!" many students in the audience gritted their teeth.
"He either knows Xie Xie's soul skills very well or his spiritual power far surpasses Xie Xie's," Yali observed.
More than a minute passed before two Genesis Hammers suddenly appeared in Xia Yi's hands.
With a swift turn, he hurled both Genesis Hammers fiercely into the air behind him.
At the same time, a Dark Phoenix emerged from his arm, crashing violently toward the space above his head.
"Pfft!"
Fifteen meters away, Xie Xie's three figures instantly merged into one. A mouthful of blood spewed from his lips as his face turned deathly pale.
The Level Two protective barrier was immediately deactivated, and Yali's Angel of Prayer soul power enveloped Xie Xie in an instant.
"Xia Yi wins!" Shen Yi announced helplessly.
The dramatic victory left the watching students wide-eyed and stunned.
They couldn't understand.
Xia Yi hadn't even touched Xie Xie, so how had Xie Xie ended up so severely injured?
"Your spiritual power has already reached the Spirit Sea Realm, possibly exceeding 2000, hasn't it?" Yali appeared on the Soul Battle Stage.
Others might not know how Xia Yi had won, but how could these Title Douluo fail to see through it?
Xie Xie hadn't just created two clones—he had actually summoned five.
The difference was that three of them were invisible.
Afraid of being controlled by Xia Yi's Fox Mind Technique or Absolute Zero, Xie Xie hadn't dared to let his true body or visible clones approach Xia Yi.
Instead, he relied on his invisible clones to sneak in and look for an opening.
Since they were invisible, Xia Yi simply chose not to rely on sight.
He used his immense spiritual power to sense the locations of Xie Xie's clones.
"It's been a while since I last tested it, so I'm not really sure," Xia Yi chuckled.
"Hmm." Yali nodded, then turned to Xie Xie with a reassuring tone. "Your biggest issue is still your insufficient spiritual power and the fact that your Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track isn't fully mastered yet. If you improve these two aspects, it won't be so easy for Xia Yi to lock onto your three clones simultaneously."
As a Rank 98 Super Douluo, Yali had immediately noticed that Xie Xie's spiritual power was lacking the moment he activated his soul skill. He simply couldn't control so many clones at once.
As a result, even with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track enhancing them, his clones remained slightly sluggish in their responses.
Xia Yi seized upon this weakness, striking at the perfect moment to eliminate three of the clones in one go.
If only one clone had been destroyed, Xie Xie might have been able to continue the fight. But losing three at once meant he suffered severe backlash.
Xia Yi had seen through this flaw and had waited patiently for the right moment to land a decisive blow.
Victory in a single strike.
"Thank you, Your Eminence. I understand now." Xie Xie bowed respectfully to Yali.
Yali's words echoed those that had been spoken to him before—during the freshman assessment, Silver Moon Douluo Cai Yue'er, the Outer Court Dean, had given him the same advice.
(End of Chapter)