Caelus only nodded slightly and did not say anything more.
His so-called "showing mercy" was merely necessary to maintain his persona of being "composed, powerful, and graceful."
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, especially when there was a possibility of being observed by the academy's upper echelons, striking a classmate too ruthlessly would only leave an impression of being cruel, bloodthirsty, and difficult to control, which ran counter to his long-term goals of entering the Shrek Core Disciple ranks and even competing for the position of Sea Gods Pavilion Master in the future.
Furthermore, the rules of the Freshman Assessment were clear: causing disability or killing an opponent was strictly prohibited, and beating someone into an idiot was also a violation of the red line; he did not want to lose big for the sake of small gains.
On the spectator stand, Xuan Zi's murky gaze swept across the two distinct teams below, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face as he commented:
"A time-type Martial Soul, controlled with finesse; a Silver Dragon Martial Soul, with top-tier elemental affinity, the pinnacle of Dragon-type Martial Souls; a Sacred Angel Martial Soul, of extremely high quality, combining offense and defense."
"Hmm, that little girl with the twin spirits has a resilient Mind and nature, not bad at all. And that tomboy with the Light Goddess Butterfly, although a bit impulsive, has excellent Innate talent. Hehe, the freshmen of this batch are truly hidden dragons and crouching tigers; they are much more interesting than in previous years."
Hearing Elder Xuan's words, Wang Yan was stunned at first, and then an anxious look appeared on his face.
He was very clear about what Elder Xuan's words meant—this was selecting seeds for future Core Disciples and was a signal of being included in the candidate list for the next generation of Shrek Seven Devils.
He hurriedly advocated for Huo Yuhao:
"Elder Xuan, what about Huo Yuhao? He has a one-in-ten-thousand Body Martial Soul, and it's of the extremely rare Martial Soul type. Although his cultivation is still shallow, in the battle just now, his command and support were crucial, especially that Spiritual Detection, which can be called a divine skill. In the end, he even performed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with immense power with Wang Dong. This potential is limitless."
Wang Yan was strongly recommending the student he favored; he did not understand why Huo Yuhao, who had performed so brilliantly, did not seem to catch Elder Xuan's Dharma Eye.
Xuan Zi heard this, but merely shook his head dismissively, picked up his wine gourd and took a gulp, his tone carrying a touch of realistic cruelty:
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill? So what? As for the Body Martial Soul Martial Soul type... he completely lacks the essence of a Body Martial Soul. In the situation just now, he couldn't even erupt with power. A ten-year soul ring, one-ring cultivation—his foundation is still too thin. In the Spirit Master's world, when have you ever seen a Soul Master whose first spirit ring was a ten-year one eventually become a true powerhouse?"
In his criteria for judgment, Innate foundation and current hard strength occupied a huge weight.
Huo Yuhao might have his special aspects, but that white ten-year soul ring, as well as his Soul Power of only level 17, were hard flaws that could not be bypassed no matter what.
Among the geniuses he had seen over his long years, such a starting point almost destined that his future upper limit would not be too high.
Therefore, Huo Yuhao was completely outside the scope of his consideration at this moment.
Wang Yan opened his mouth, wanting to argue further, but looking at Elder Xuan's unquestionable expression, he could only turn it into a helpless sigh in the end. His gaze cast once again toward the youth below the stage who was struggling to stand up, his heart filled with regret.
Leaving the noisy assessment area and walking on the tree-lined path returning to the dormitory area, Ye Guyi finally couldn't help it. She quickened her pace to block Caelus and Gu Yuena, hands on her hips, her pretty face filled with gloom, her emerald eyes carrying a touch of accusation:
"Hey, you two, both of you have Teleportation Martial Soul Abilities and ran faster than anyone, leaving me alone standing there foolishly to take that so-called Martial Soul Fusion Skill head-on. That's really not fair."
She complained puffily, recalling the terrifying power of that Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Although she had managed to withstand it in the end, her chest still felt a bit stuffy now.
Caelus looked at her appearance and couldn't help but chuckle. He naturally saw that Ye Guyi wasn't really angry; it was more of a joke and a playful complaint between friends after the battle ended.
"Weren't you very excited at the time? Opportunities to directly confront a Martial Soul Fusion Skill are rare."
His tone carried a touch of teasing.
"I believed you could block it."
Gu Yuena's cold voice also sounded from the side, a rare, faint trace of a smile flashing across her purple eyes.
She understood Ye Guyi and knew what kind of pride and Battle Intent this companion who possessed the Sacred Angel Martial Soul had in her bones. This kind of head-on Peak duel was exactly what she craved.
If not for this, she wouldn't have so decisively used spatial movement to avoid it, leaving the stage to Ye Guyi.
Otherwise, with her absolute control over elements as the Silver Dragon Martial Soul, even if she didn't dodge, she would have had plenty of ways to deal with it.
"You two..."
Ye Guyi was left speechless by the two of them singing in harmony. She pouted, but she truly didn't hold it against them anymore; after all, that exchange of blows had indeed made her feel exhilarated.
She changed the subject, looking at Gu Yuena with curiosity:
"No way, you two must treat me to a meal today to calm my nerves. Also, Gu Yue, when you teleported, your spirit rings didn't light up, did they? That wasn't a Spirit Ability?"
Gu Yuena nodded slightly and explained lightly:
"That is my Martial Soul talent, Elemental Control. The Silver Dragon holds dominion over elements, which naturally includes space. Short-distance Teleportation does not require the use of a Spirit Ability."
Her explanation was simple, yet contained astonishing information.
Being able to use Teleportation without a Spirit Ability—this talent could be called monstrous.
Immediately, Gu Yuena cast her curious gaze toward Caelus, her purple eyes carrying inquiry:
"What about you? I am very sensitive to space and can be certain that your method of movement is definitely not spatial Teleportation. There was not the slightest spatial fluctuation. How did you do it?"
She could feel that Caelus's movement was even more bizarre, as if it had directly skipped the process.
A trace of a smile flashed in Caelus's eyes; he noticed Gu Yuena's change.
When they first met, with her cold and aloof personality, she would never have proactively asked about private matters involving others' core abilities.
Asking now meant that she had begun to truly regard them as trusted partners.
He did not hide it either, and said frankly:
"That is my third Spirit Ability, Empty Dream Shadow Flit. Its effect is not to move through space, but to instantly 'cut' and 'paste' my coordinates on the time axis, thereby achieving an alternative type of displacement. In essence, this is the manipulation of time factors, so it will not cause any spatial ripples."
On the Douluo Continent, when a Soul Master reaches the Titled Douluo level, they can initially come into contact with space. Super Douluo can tear through space, and Limit Douluo can even perform spatial transfer by relying on their own power, or even condense a space-attribute Martial Soul core, such as the Beast God Di Tian.
Therefore, the fluctuations produced by spatial movement are like bright lights in the dark night to the perception of true powerhouses, making it difficult to use for sneak attacks.
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