Bonus Chapter. Enjoy!
============================
Although this training ground was virtual, the Simulation of combat was very realistic. The pain, the fatigue, and the sense of emptiness after exhausting one's Spirit Power were so real that it was hard to distinguish between virtuality and reality.
Luo Guixing was heavily wounded at this moment; though it wasn't life-threatening, his injuries made it impossible for him to compete with the other Students any longer.
He lay prone on the ground, covered in dirt and grass clippings, the stinging pain in his body clear and real.
Looking at the three people before him, his heart was filled with complex emotions.
He had originally thought that among the over one hundred Students in the class, only Huo Yuhao was a high mountain he couldn't overcome.
But he hadn't expected to be beaten to the point of doubting his life by an unfamiliar young girl! Finally, he sighed and pressed the button in his hand.
It was the button to exit the training ground, which every Student possessed. His figure instantly vanished from the forest as if he had never been there.
Outside, in the training hall.
The hatch of the training pod belonging to Luo Guixing slowly opened; he unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the pod.
Luo Guixing glanced around; over twenty eliminated Students were already standing behind the two teachers, Shen Yi and Wu Changkong.
Their eyes were fixed on the large screen in front of them, which displayed the situation inside the training ground in real-time.
Luo Guixing clenched his fists, lowered his head, and walked slowly to Shen Yi's side without saying a word.
That failure just now was indeed a significant blow to him.
Shen Yi glanced at him and said, "Watch the performance of the others. Na'er is a Spirit King and was previously an Inner Court Student; there's no shame in losing to her."
Luo Guixing looked up upon hearing this, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.
He hadn't expected Na'er to be an Inner Court Student. No wonder she was so strong!
The Inner Court was the true core of Shrek Academy, a place that countless Outer Court Students dreamed of but found difficult to reach.
Losing to an Inner Court Student was indeed not shameful.
At the same time, Huo Yuhao's previous words echoed in his mind; it seemed he really shouldn't care too much about the Young Genius List.
The names on that list didn't represent everything.
As time passed, more and more Students were eliminated.
In the hall, one training pod hatch after another opened, and the Students who stepped out were either depressed, calm, or annoyed.
The dots of light on the large screen grew fewer and fewer; the once-dense distribution gradually became sparse.
When half of the personnel were eliminated, Shen Yi, still outside, used a spirit tool formation to control and gradually shrink the area of the training ground.
This was both to speed up the assessment process and to force the survivors into a direct confrontation.
After Huo Yuhao, Gu Yue, and Na'er gathered together, they didn't separate again.
Huo Yuhao's mental force enveloped the entire training ground, allowing him to clearly determine the central position.
So the three of them headed straight for that central point, which was destined to be the final battlefield of this assessment.
Along the way, they also encountered several Students.
Just like before, upon seeing Huo Yuhao's figure, these Students chose to flee immediately.
Even if they knew they didn't have the strength to compete for the position of class monitor, everyone wanted to hold on longer and didn't want to be eliminated early.
After arriving at the "final battlefield" Huo Yuhao had chosen, the three of them waited there, watching Students appear only to be scared away.
However, facts proved that what Huo Yuhao had said before was correct: some would indeed choose to take action against those stronger than them.
Because someone finally stopped there; her footsteps did not shrink back, and her gaze did not dodge.
She looked at Huo Yuhao, her beautiful eyes filled with Battle Intent!
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow slightly at this first classmate who dared to show Battle Intent toward him directly.
He took a step forward, his gaze falling on her as he observed her closely.
She had long brownish-red hair, its color like autumn maple leaves, rich and intense. The ends of her hair curled slightly, spreading casually over her shoulders. Her face was a standard oval shape, her skin fair as porcelain, and her features sharp and well-defined. Between her brows and eyes was a hint of a cool aura, like a clear mountain spring, cold and transparent.
Although Huo Yuhao hadn't met her, he recognized her because she was also on the Young Genius List.
Among the over one hundred Students in Shrek's new first-year class, several had made it onto the Young Genius List; the girl before him was the highest-ranked one.
Her name was Wu Siduo, titled 'Hell,' and she was ranked ninth on the Young Genius List!
Wu Siduo looked at Huo Yuhao, her beautiful eyes full of seriousness.
"I know I am no match for you," she said, her voice not loud but clear and firm. "But I want to see just how big the gap is between myself and the number one on the Young Genius List!"
There was no provocation or defiance in her tone, only a pure desire for greater strength. She wasn't here to challenge him; she was here to verify—to verify the distance between herself and the highest peak.
Huo Yuhao looked at Wu Siduo, a flash of appreciation in his eyes.
He spoke, his voice calm and gentle: "You are the first person who has dared to proactively challenge me."
In this training ground, everyone had avoided him like the plague, running the moment they saw him as if he were a monster.
Only this girl had walked toward him, standing before him with eyes full of Battle Intent.
He took a few steps forward and added, "However, doing this means you'll have no chance at becoming the class monitor. There will be plenty of opportunities to challenge me later."
Wu Siduo's expression remained unchanged, her cool face showing not a hint of wavering.
She looked directly at Huo Yuhao, her voice as calm as water: "If I can't beat you, being the class monitor is meaningless to me."
She hadn't come here to be the class monitor. She was here to become stronger, and fighting against the strong was the philosophy she had always believed in.
Seeing her determined eyes, Huo Yuhao nodded, and his expression turned serious. "Then make your move!"
Four spirit rings suddenly rose from beneath Wu Siduo's feet, their purple light flowing in the sunlight; they were all thousand-year spirit rings.
To reach the Realm of a four-ring Spirit Ancestor at this age, it was no wonder she could Rank ninth on the Young Genius List.
Then Wu Siduo's figure became illusory, like a reflection in water, erratic and unfixed.
A dark aura appeared around her entire body, like nightfall descending, dimming the sunlight.
Hell Civet Spirit, Possession!
Almost at the same moment as the Spirit Body Enhancement, Wu Siduo's figure flashed. She was like a bolt of black lightning, her speed incredibly fast, reaching Huo Yuhao in the blink of an eye.
That dark aura followed her movement, trailing a long afterimage behind her.
Such speed was already comparable to an average agility-attack system Spirit King. However, under Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes, her figure was no different from slow motion.
Deep within those Spirit Eyes, a faint golden light flickered, breaking down every one of Wu Siduo's movements with total clarity.
Huo Yuhao kept both hands behind his back, his posture as leisurely as if he were strolling in a courtyard. With a shift of his feet, his figure tilted slightly, precisely dodging Wu Siduo's attack. The movement was minimal, as if he had just casually shifted his body, yet it was perfectly timed to let the fierce claw strike pass by his side without even touching his clothes.
Wu Siduo's strike missed, and her figure came to an abrupt halt. She kicked off the ground with her right foot, spinning like a top as her right hand, transformed into a sharp claw, struck backward. The claw strike was fast and ruthless, carrying the sound of breaking air as it aimed straight for Huo Yuhao's throat.
Huo Yuhao took half a step back, and the claw strike swept past his face, missing by a hair's breadth—another perfect dodge.
Afterward, Wu Siduo launched continuous attacks. Her speed was like lightning, her strikes sharp as blades, one move after another without pause.
Hell Rush Stab, Hell Hundred Claws... various Spirit Abilities were unleashed in turn, black light flickering at her fingertips as she enveloped Huo Yuhao.
Yet Huo Yuhao still kept his hands behind his back, moving his feet lightly, dodging left and right, perfectly evading her attacks every single time.
His movements were as smooth as flowing water, neither hurried nor slow, as if he were performing an elegant dance.
Even when Wu Siduo's strongest fourth Spirit Ability, Hell Shadow Clone, was activated, and seven or eight identical figures lunged at Huo Yuhao from different directions, sealing off all his paths of retreat.
Huo Yuhao simply swept his gaze across them and easily identified which figure was her true body.
To an outsider, Wu Siduo was constantly launching attacks against Huo Yuhao, her offensive like a tide, wave after wave. While Huo Yuhao used minimal movements to easily dodge her attacks.
Unwillingness filled Wu Siduo's eyes as she gritted her teeth, charging forward again and again, only to be dodged every time.
Her brows gradually furrowed, a shallow "river" shape forming between them.
Only after truly fighting Huo Yuhao did she realize how vast the gap between them was.
It wasn't just a difference in Spirit Power Rank, but a total crushing in terms of combat awareness, reaction speed, and timing.
The speed she took pride in was like child's play in Huo Yuhao's eyes.
Her carefully designed offensive was ineffective before Huo Yuhao.
This was no longer a gap; this was a chasm!
---------------------------------------------
A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
2 Reviews = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.