Freshman Assessment Area,
The tense and thrilling freshman assessment had officially begun. This was a stage for outstanding students to showcase their strength—and a nightmare for those with weaker cultivation.
Half of the participants would be eliminated.
Every year, Shrek Academy enrolled over a thousand freshmen, yet this single assessment would cut that number in half. One could easily imagine just how brutal the elimination rate was.
Out of those thousand-plus students, the number who would eventually graduate from the outer courtyard would likely drop to fewer than a hundred.
This time, more than three hundred teams—over nine hundred students—were participating. In the end, only one hundred and fifty teams would remain. These teams would become official first-year students and continue studying at Shrek Academy. The rest would all be eliminated.
Survival of the fittest—perfectly normal.
If you were eliminated, it simply meant you weren't capable enough. Go back and train harder. Shrek Academy wasn't some charity that treated everyone equally.
Thinking otherwise would only lead to trouble sooner or later. Besides, the outer courtyard wasn't even where Shrek truly cultivated monsters—it mainly served to meet the needs of the nobles from the three great empires.
Su Yunlin's team was assigned to Area Thirty-Three, where they would soon face their first opponent.
Su Yunlin stood with his arms crossed, waiting calmly. Wang Dong mirrored him with the same posture, looking proud. Seeing both of them like that, Huo Yuhao followed suit—he couldn't break the formation.
[First Round, First Match!
Freshman Class One: Su Yunlin, Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao
vs.
Freshman Class Three: Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, Zhao Haochen.
Enter the arena and take your positions in separate corners. Only after I announce the start may you release your Martial Souls. Now, enter!]
The supervising teacher for this assessment was Wang Yan—the theory instructor with the Panlong Staff Martial Soul, yet only a mere Spirit King, and infamous for his persuasive lecturing.
He was well-connected, with a strong background—his Martial Soul was the Panlong Staff, and he was a direct disciple descendant of the Taotie Douluo. This time, he was in charge of this section of the assessment area.
Su Yunlin's team took a reversed triangle formation. Su Yunlin and Wang Dong stood side by side at the front, while Huo Yuhao positioned himself behind them, nearly at the edge of the arena.
"Assessment begins!"
At Wang Yan's command, both sides instantly released their Martial Souls.
The most eye-catching were undoubtedly Su Yunlin and Wang Dong. Behind them, a pair of stunning wings unfurled respectively.
Wang Dong's wings were blue, like a clear sky under bright sunlight. Su Yunlin's wings were dark purple-black, resembling a deep, shimmering starry sky.
The moment their Martial Souls appeared, they drew the attention of the entire arena. Their Martial Souls were simply too beautiful.
Even Wang Yan couldn't help but exclaim, "The Radiant Goddess Butterfly and the Night Sovereign Moth—two of the most beautiful Martial Souls on the continent appearing together! Truly unbelievable!"
What shocked everyone even more was their Spirit Ring configurations.
Su Yunlin, a Spirit Elder, had one yellow and two purple Spirit Rings. Wang Dong, a Grand Spirit Master, had one yellow and one purple Spirit Ring.
A thousand-year second Spirit Ring—this was no easy feat. Meanwhile, their opponents were merely three Spirit Masters, each with only a single Spirit Ring.
"Come, my—ugh!"
The food-type Spirit Master Zhao Haochen attempted to release his Martial Soul, but was instantly subdued by Su Yunlin. A one-ring Spirit Master was no match for a three-ring Spirit Elder.
The other two one-ring Spirit Masters were stunned—they hadn't even seen Su Yunlin move.
"Don't lose focus."
As they stood there in shock, a calm voice sounded.
Bang! Bang!
Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Less than ten seconds had passed since the start of the match—and it was already over.
Wang Yan announced, "Victory—Team Su Yunlin from Class One!"
Su Yunlin remained expressionless, completely unchallenged. He flew back and met Wang Dong midair, the two exchanging a crisp high-five.
Watching them, Wang Yan thought to himself—this was the absolute trump card of Freshman Class One.
The Night Sovereign Moth and the Radiant Goddess Butterfly were already top-tier beast Martial Souls, and Su Yunlin's Spirit Power was remarkably high.
Though Wang Yan couldn't determine Su Yunlin's exact level, he could estimate that it was at least Level 35—definitely not someone who had just stepped into the Spirit Elder rank.
"Haha, that was way too easy! I didn't even use a single Spirit Ability and still won!" Wang Dong said lazily, hands behind his head.
Su Yunlin shot him an annoyed look. "You're this happy beating a couple of Spirit Masters? Have some ambition. You're a Level 25 Grand Spirit Master with a thousand-year second Spirit Ring—at least try taking down a Spirit Elder across levels."
This time, Wang Dong didn't get flustered. He simply stuck out his tongue. "Tch, can't I be happy for a bit? We've been training hard for three months—it's not easy seeing results!"
Indeed, over the past three months, Su Yunlin and Wang Dong hadn't wasted time. While they enjoyed themselves during breaks, they trained seriously when it mattered. Cultivation required balance between effort and rest.
Both of them had previously obtained a Spirit Ascension Pill. After taking it, Wang Dong's Spirit Power reached Level 23, while Su Yunlin didn't break through but got close to Level 37.
They had also fully mastered their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. With perfect fusion, their joint cultivation speed far surpassed solo training.
This was what one might call "dual cultivation."
Now, Wang Dong had reached Level 25, and Su Yunlin had reached Level 38. In just three months, their improvements were tremendous.
Watching them, Huo Yuhao smiled. "Class monitor and Wang Dong really have a great relationship."
Su Yunlin chuckled, draping an arm over Wang Dong's shoulder. "Of course. We're the kind of partners who can entrust our backs to each other."
The sudden intimacy and the phrase "entrust our backs" made Wang Dong's ears turn red. Fortunately, he no longer reacted as dramatically as before.
Wang Dong was gradually building resistance.
Huo Yuhao nodded, smiling. In his eyes, the class monitor and Wang Dong were the perfect Spirit Master partners—a flawless duo. It was rare for a Spirit Master to find someone they could trust so completely.
He wished he could find a partner like that too.
The following matches were just as one-sided.
As soon as Su Yunlin and Wang Dong released their Martial Souls and Spirit Rings, their opponents' fighting spirit was cut in half. Facing a Spirit Elder? As one-ring Spirit Masters, they simply couldn't do it.
...
Evening,
At Huo Yuhao's grilled fish stall, he treated Su Yunlin and Wang Dong to food. Knowing he had essentially been carried to victory, he felt a bit embarrassed.
He also invited Bei Bei and Tang Ya.
Tang Ya walked over to Wang Dong with a cheerful smile. "Little handsome, I heard from Yuhao that you want to join the Tang Sect?"
Wang Dong immediately put down his grilled fish and nodded seriously. "Yes! Senior Tang Ya, I really want to join the Tang Sect!"
Tang Ya had already heard about this from Huo Yuhao. But instead of joy, she had felt puzzled. She knew better than anyone the current state of the Tang Sect.
Why would someone want to join it for no reason?
After asking around, she finally understood—Wang Dong was deeply interested in the Tang Sect's hidden weapons and admired its ancestors.
That was enough for Tang Ya to decide to accept him.
With a grin, she said, "Alright then, little handsome—if you can win first place in this freshman assessment, I'll personally approve your entry into the Tang Sect. Or…"
She glanced at Su Yunlin beside him.
"If you can rope this handsome guy into the Tang Sect as well, I'll directly make you the senior disciple!"
Su Yunlin, who was eating grilled fish, looked confused. How did this suddenly involve him?
Wang Dong hesitated for a moment. "Getting first place is no problem. As for pulling Yunlin into the Tang Sect… I'll try."
Bei Bei poked Tang Ya with his finger, looking at her with a hint of jealousy.
Tang Ya giggled and playfully acted cute in response.