The illusory ray of light shot straight out, and a resplendence that seemed to last forever covered anything the light touched. The only thing left behind was a blurry, distorted brilliance.

The previously fully-confident Dean Yan Shaozhe had suddenly stood up the instant that he saw Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong hug each other, his eyes filled with an inconceivable look. At the same time, the miserly Dean Qian had stood up alongside him.

The shock in Qian Duoduo’s eyes was no less than that of Yan Shaozhe’s. Neither he nor Yan Shaozhe had known that the two of them had a trump card like this! Furthermore, they’d never expected the occurrence of such an astonishing scene within the freshmen tournament’s final round. This was a fusion skill pitted against another fusion skill! This was an extremely rare sight, even amongst the upperclassmen of the outer courtyard, or even the inner courtyard! However, they were currently watching the tri-colored laser from the enormous vertical eye head towards the enormous Netherworld White Tiger.

Even the extremely experienced referee had been left flabbergasted at this moment. He didn’t know if he should stop the collision between the two attacks, as both parties were using fusion skills. However, how could the victor be decided if they weren’t allowed to forcefully clash against each other?

Although the referee didn’t know what to do, that didn’t mean that nobody knew what to do. The instant the two attacks were about to collide, a white figure appeared out of nowhere in the Assessment Arena. The figure appeared right in-between the two fusion skills, and used its back to take on the Netherworld White Tiger’s palm, while it blocked the resplendent tri-colored beam of light head-on.

A dense white light soared straight into the heavens, forming an illusory yet incomparably sturdy barrier that simultaneously blocked the two fusion skills.

The extremely-strong looking Netherworld White Tiger instantly collapsed as soon as it hit the white barrier, causing Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu’s bodies to reappear on the ground with pale expressions on their faces. They didn’t even have the energy to stand up.

On the other side, the enormous Spirit Eye had appeared yet again after the resplendent tri-colored beam of light dissipated. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were still hugging each other, but they hadn’t collapsed this time around. Instead, they looked towards the figure who’d blocked their Golden Path with an expressionless look in their eyes.

The person who’d appeared out of thin air and used his body to block the two fusion skills without suffering any negative repercussions was none other than the Director of Shrek Academy’s Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun.

The white light coming from his body was formed purely of soul power. In that instant, eight soul rings had emerged from his body.

There were two yellow, two purple, and four black soul rings, the most optimum combination of soul rings. This was the domineering strength of an eight-ringed Soul Douluo!

How could one neutralise such an intense collision? Du Weilun had answered that question—by using his body to simultaneously block both attacks! By using his body, Du Weilun could also tell which attack was stronger, and thereby determine the victor of the match.

The two attacks were fusion skills, and they were both each team’s last resort. By taking on both attacks, Du Weilun could undoubtedly tell which attack was stronger with a single glance.

The other teachers on the tall stage had ordinary reactions to this, but a look of shock flashed through the eyes of Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo. Du Weilun’s body had turned golden, which made the current him look like an upright-standing statue that had been carved from gold. However, the back of his clothes had been torn apart by the Netherworld White Tiger’s palm, exposing his sturdy back. In addition to that, there were even five bloody streaks on his back.

An eight-ringed Soul Douluo had actually been injured? Injured by a bunch of students led by someone merely at the three-ringed rank?

This was simply inconceivable. Gradually, the other teachers started to realise the gravity of the situation, and each and every one of them was flabbergasted.

Naturally, Zhou Yi was one of the many spectators to the battle. Her eyes instantly darkened as she watched this scene unfold. Although she couldn’t believe that something like this had occurred, the Netherworld White Tiger had truly wounded Du Weilun! She was aware of Du Weilun’s cultivation, and she was entirely confident that Du Weilun wouldn’t want to lose face in a situation like this. Therefore, the wounds on his back must be real.

Yan Shaozhe’s current expression was extremely ugly. He turned towards Qian Duoduo, but was met by an innocent-looking Qian Duoduo staring back at him.

“Did you know about this?” Yan Shaozhe lowered his voice, yet spoke with a fierce tone.

Qian Duoduo smiled bitterly. “Do I look like I knew about it? These are students from your Martial Soul Department; how the hell would I know about them!? Old Yan, you’re not trying to renege on your promise, are you?”

Yan Shaozhe snorted and left the tall stage with a flash. His body flashed yet again, and he vanished as everyone looked on.

As he watched Yan Shaozhe leave, Qian Duoduo smiled. He didn’t let out a laugh, but the pleased look on his face revealed how happy he currently felt.

“Dean Qian, Dean Yan..?” Fan Yu had a doubtful look on his face as he walked towards Qian Duoduo, puzzled. From what had happened in the arena, Dean Qian should’ve lost! But it seemed as if..

Qian Duoduo smiled cunningly. “Let’s go. I’m a man of high moral standards, so we can’t neglect our appearances even when we’re proud of ourselves. However, I have to say, Fan Yu! You’ve really found a good seedling this time. We’ll have to rely on this brat for our plan. I don’t care what you do, you can’t let that brat become a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. You heard the bet that I had with Old Yan, right?”

Fan Yu whispered, “Dean Qian, you’re saying that we won?”

Qian Duoduo smiled mischievously, “Obviously. Let’s go.” With that, he left the tall stage in a flash, rapidly vanishing from sight.

Within the Assessment Arena, Du Weilun’s golden body had already returned to normal. However, the current him had a look of astonishment and disbelief on his face. A light flickered through his eyes as he turned to look at Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who were struggling to escape from each other’s embrace. Even he didn’t dare to believe that this was real! However, the scorching pain from his back reminded him that everything in front of him was real.

Struggling, Dai Huabin rose to his feet and helped Zhu Lu up. Cui Yajie had already run excitedly to their side, cheering exuberantly.

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong currently had downcast expressions on their faces. They hadn’t seen Du Weilun’s wounds, but they could tell that they’d lost from their opponent’s happy faces. They were unable to tell what their ‘Golden Path Amidst Withering Resplendence’ had done, but this loss was truly somewhat baffling to them. Huo Yuhao was disappointed, as he hadn’t been able to forcefully clash against Dai Huabin’s attack in the end. He truly wished to see whether his and Wang Dong’s all-out attack could defeat their opponents!

Du Weilun was still the Director of Studies for Shrek Academy; after blanking out for a brief moment, he quickly came back to his senses. A bitter smile appeared on his face as he inwardly thought, This is truly embarrassing!

“Very good. You all have done extremely well.” Du Weilun’s voice rang out, causing both teams to calm down and turn their gazes towards him.

Du Weilun spoke dully, “I’m very surprised your cultivation ranks were able to reach this level as freshmen. Moreover, both of your teams were able to unleash fusion skills. I’ve personally felt the strength of your fusion skills.”

While he spoke, he glanced coldly at the not-too-distant referee. Were it not for his malfeasance, would he have had to have his back exposed for the crowd to see? The referee had already lowered his head ashamedly, not daring to meet Du Weilun’s gaze.

Du Weilun spoke with a deep voice. “Now then, I will announce the final champions of the freshmen assessment’s knock-out tournament. They are..” With that, he paused. Afterwards, he suddenly raised his right hand and pointed towards Huo Yuhao’s trio, speaking loudly, “Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao!”

“Boom—” The entire crowd went into an uproar.

Dai Huabin’s team weren’t the only ones who didn’t dare to believe their own ears; even the teachers on the tall stage had shocked expressions on their faces. From what they’d seen, the winning team definitely should’ve been Dai Huabin’s team, as they’d managed to injure Du Weilun! There were immediately people who thought, Was Director Du using his position to take revenge for the embarrassment he’d suffered?No, that wasn’t possible! The two other Deans had also been watching the match earlier, so how could Director Du abuse his position for his own private benefits? Furthermore, Du Weilun was always known for how just he was. After serving as the Director of Studies for the outer courtyard for so many years, he’d never made a mistake.

Even Huo Yuhao’s trio were somewhat uncertain. The three of them glanced at each other, and Xiao Xiao looked towards Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong as she whispered, “We won?”

Wang Dong replied, unconvinced, “Did Director Du announce the champions or the runner-ups?”

Huo Yuhao smiled and gave the final word, “It seems like we’ve actually won!”

As Huo Yuhao’s trio gradually accepted the fact that they’d won, Dai Huabin’s trio were still unwilling to accept it. Ignoring how weak her body was, Zhu Lu didn’t want to give in. “Director Du, why did they win? We’re the ones who should’ve won.”

Du Weilun turned around and swept his glance over them, saying indifferently, “Are you questioning my judgement?”

Zhu Lu immediately paused as she faced his powerful aura. However, the unconvinced look in her eyes was obvious to any onlooker. Although Dai Huabin didn’t utter any words, he pursed his lips tightly and stared straight at Du Weilun without any intention of giving up.

Du Weilun forcefully suppressed the indignation in his heart as he inwardly thought to himself, I’ve already embarrassed myself; do I also have to explain the process of how I was embarrassed!? These brats!