When they heard that they were going to have an exchange match with the first-years, the second-year students were initially a little concerned.
Although they were confident in their own strength, it still depended on who their opponents were.
With Xia Yi present, their chances of winning were almost negligible.
Aside from Yuanen Yehui, no one else wanted to participate in this match.
They were, on average, three years older than the first-years.
If they lost, it would be utterly humiliating.
Only Yuanen Yehui was eager to fight. She had already crafted her battle armor gauntlet, and she had broken through to the four-ring Soul Ancestor level.
With a four-ring Soul Ancestor's cultivation and her battle armor gauntlet, she believed she could rely on brute force to break through Xia Yi's Fox Mind technique and Absolute Zero.
Of course, that was assuming Xia Yi didn't drink alcohol to evolve his martial soul like he did against Gu Yue.
Recalling that day when Xia Yi froze the entire battle arena, she still felt a lingering fear.
However, a few days ago, she had heard from Xu Xiaoyan that Gu Yue and Xia Yi had taken leave for nearly twenty days.
She wasn't sure if they would return in time for this match.
Three Days Later – The Exchange Match
The exchange match between the two classes was comprehensive, starting with secondary professions—blacksmithing, designing, crafting, and repairing—before moving on to actual combat.
In the secondary profession competition, the first-years were clearly at a disadvantage. Aside from Tang Wulin's fifth-rank blacksmithing, the other events ended either in a draw or in losses.
Wu Jin, a fourth-rank mecha crafter, was evenly matched with second-year Yue Zhengyu.
Wu Siduo, a fourth-rank repairer, narrowly lost to Yuanen Yehui, who was also a fourth-rank repairer.
In the design competition, with Gu Yue absent, the highest-ranked designer among the first-years was only at the third rank.
They were completely outmatched and lost outright against a fourth-rank designer from the second-years.
For secondary professions, experience accumulation over time was essential unless one was truly gifted.
Even Wu Jin had only recently broken through to the fourth rank.
If he hadn't recently crafted several pieces of battle armor, he might not have been able to match Yue Zhengyu at all.
The inscriptions on his gauntlet and Gu Yue's breastplate were his work.
Meanwhile, Yue Zhengyu had never lacked resources since childhood, and his secondary profession foundation was solid.
Moreover, Yue Zhengyu had already begun crafting his own battle armor.
Even Yuanen Yehui's gauntlet inscriptions were done by him.
After the four secondary profession competitions, the second-year class achieved two wins, one draw, and one loss. Though they appeared victorious, they clearly felt no excitement.
When assessed overall, the second-years were obviously inferior to the first-years.
The age gap was evident—if they didn't achieve a complete victory, it meant they had lost.
Shen Yi was fairly satisfied with the results of the secondary profession matches. Stepping onto the battle arena, she announced solemnly, "The final event of today's exchange match will be a team battle. Since the first-years are younger, they may decide the number of participants."
After speaking, she turned her gaze to the first-year class leader, Wu Jin.
As the class leader and the team captain for this exchange match, it was naturally his decision to make.
"The first-year class will send out… one person." Wu Jin spoke calmly, his tone and expression completely indifferent.
With that, he strode toward the battle arena, his face devoid of emotion.
Both the first-year and second-year students, as well as all the teachers, were left stunned by his declaration.
"This guy must be insane. How can he say something so outrageous with such a straight face?" Wu Siduo gritted her teeth in frustration. She had been looking forward to a fight with Yuanen Yehui, but Wu Jin had sidelined everyone.
"How did I not realize before that this cold and arrogant guy is even more conceited than Xia Yi? Does he think so little of us?" Ye Xinglan said coldly.
"Not allowed?" Shen Yi's expression darkened as she looked at Wu Jin. She scolded, "As class leader, you must lead and unite your classmates. How can you fulfill that role with such an attitude?"
"Then you pick the team," Wu Jin replied, shaking his head. His expression remained calm, as if he couldn't be bothered to explain himself and was simply giving in.
Shen Yi's face grew even darker, but she had no choice but to comply. Turning to the first-year students, she said helplessly, "Ye Xinglan, Xu Lizhi, Wu Siduo, Xu Yucheng, Tang Wulin, Luo Guixing—you six will fight."
A seven-person team—the most common configuration for a soul master squad.
It had control, support, offense, and agility.
On paper, the lineup was perfect.
However, Shen Yi was deeply concerned.
These individuals were notoriously difficult to unite.
Each of them had their own strong personality, and they rarely cooperated well.
It would be difficult for them to utilize their full team potential.
Still, Shen Yi insisted on forming this team. Excluding Xia Yi and Gu Yue, these seven were the strongest among the first-years.
With time and experience, they could become true partners.
Shen Yi was confident that she could mold them into an unstoppable force.
A true team of Shrek Academy monsters.
As for Xia Yi and Gu Yue…
Shen Yi had long given up on them.
Xia Yi and Gu Yue were Leng Yaozhu's students.
They had no future within Shrek Academy's leadership.
Training them was meaningless.
Most importantly, Shrek Academy had no confidence in truly integrating Xia Yi into its ranks.
That was one of the reasons why Cai Yue'er removed Gu Yue from her position as class leader.
Pre-Battle Arrangements
Just as Shen Yi had expected, the moment the first-years stepped onto the battle arena, conflict arose.
Wu Siduo's gaze locked onto Yuanen Yehui. "Yuanen Yehui is mine. None of you are allowed to interfere."
Luo Guixing added, "I think our class leader is a strong attacker and should hold the frontline. Ye Xinglan and Xu Yucheng should flank him to relieve pressure. Wu Siduo can sneak in from the side. I'll coordinate with Tang Wulin to control the battlefield, and Xu Lizhi will provide support.
"With this formation, we have a big advantage. Wu Siduo can switch between offense and agility, while Tang Wulin can serve as both a controller and an attacker. This gives us high flexibility."
"That sounds reasonable, considering this is our first time working together." Xu Yucheng nodded in agreement.
"Anyone else have any suggestions?" Wu Jin asked indifferently, glancing at the team.
"Do whatever you want," Ye Xinglan responded coldly.
She could hear the dismissiveness in Wu Jin's tone.
Wu Jin was indifferent toward them, uninterested in their discussions, and clearly didn't want to work with them.
She wasn't about to force herself on him either.
If it came down to it, she'd rather fight separately than deal with his attitude.
Even if they lost, it would be better than taking orders from Wu Jin.
"I'll listen to Sister Xinglan," Xu Lizhi said.
"I'm fine with anything," Tang Wulin added.
At this moment, he found himself missing the days at Eastsea Academy with Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan.
Back then, he was always in control of the team.
Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan had trusted him.
But at Shrek Academy, none of these so-called geniuses paid him any attention.
If he tried to take command now, they would probably just laugh at him.
Tang Wulin hated this feeling.
A part of him even wished the first-years would lose this match.
Then he could step in, turn things around, and establish his authority.
"Since everyone has spoken, I'll say something too," Wu Jin stated calmly. "Wu Siduo and Luo Guixing, you focus on taking out their support and control. Yuanen Yehui—I'll hold her off for you. Once you eliminate their support, you can take her on. The rest of you, stick to your plan."
His words were brief and devoid of unnecessary explanations.
Whether they listened or not, he didn't care.
As the first-years assembled, the second-year team, led by Yuanen Yehui, also stepped onto the battle arena.
Seeing that Xia Yi was absent from the first-year lineup, Yuanen Yehui felt a tinge of disappointment.
Fighting a first-year team without Xia Yi… even if they won, it wouldn't be a true victory.