Live Only by Embracing Madness

For assessments, Shrek Academy had a dedicated area located in the north-central part of the Martial Soul Department, adjacent to the Soul Duel Zone.

However, compared to the Soul Duel Zone, the assessment area was much larger.

After all, one was for one-on-one matches, while the other could accommodate team battles. Naturally, they were different.

Every year, a large number of Shrek Academy students were eliminated because they failed to pass the assessments.

Naturally, those eliminated had nothing to do with Huo Yuhao, nor did he wish to concern himself with them.

The facts proved that he did not need to be a good person, nor did he need to do anything else. As long as he could ensure that he lived as he pleased, that was what truly mattered.

Of course, for the growth of his Ming Sect, he now needed to do something as well.

After all, the Ming Sect was also part of his plans.

But for now, he did not need to show himself personally.

The assessment area was oval-shaped. Unlike the enclosed Soul Duel Zone, it was an extremely vast expanse of open ground.

A ring of low walls surrounded the outermost perimeter, while partitions of varying number divided the interior into areas of different sizes.

These partitions could be dismantled at any time to alter the size of the areas, making it convenient for different teams to battle simultaneously.

The morning of the first assessment day was for group registration and match drawing. The assessments officially began in the afternoon.

Every class had more than thirty groups, and Class One's number of students made the other head teachers cast sidelong glances.

Unless students had performed especially poorly during the freshman period, head teachers generally would not easily eliminate them before the New Student Assessment. They would always give them a chance to take the assessment. (Original setting)

They were also well aware of Zhou Yi's formidable reputation. Although people like Stone had long known that Zhou Yi had suffered a setback this time, not everyone knew about it.

That Class One's number of groups could exceed thirty was truly beyond their expectations.

Even among the teachers, Zhou Yi was an oddity, prompting quite a few people to start asking around.

Very soon, it was time for the assessment to begin, and the many teams entered in batches.

Most freshmen were children of eleven or twelve. Even if they seemed somewhat mature, they could not help feeling excited about the assessment.

As long as they passed it, they would become members of Shrek Academy.

Of course, if they failed the assessment, then Shrek Academy would no longer have anything to do with them. They would either return home to inherit the family estate or find a lower-tier Soul Master Academy to continue their studies.

"All freshmen, attention. All freshmen, attention. Enter the assessment area immediately and prepare for the New Student Assessment. You have ten minutes remaining to enter. Anyone late will be deemed to have forfeited this assessment."

The booming announcement rang throughout the Outer Court. Some freshmen calmed themselves down, while others wore grave expressions.

Of them all, Huo Yuhao's group of three was undoubtedly the most relaxed.

Although Huo Yuhao had once warned Wang Dong to cultivate both her power and her heart, that had merely been a warning.

Despise the enemy strategically; take the enemy seriously tactically.

Cultivating one's heart did not mean underestimating the power one possessed.

In Assessment Area Thirty-Three, a teacher around forty years old arrived. He had an ordinary appearance and looked very amiable.

After checking the number of people, the teacher nodded and smiled. "Very good. There are six groups of students taking the assessment in our area, and everyone is here."

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Wang Yan. For the next two days, I will serve as your assessment teacher."

As Huo Yuhao looked at Wang Yan, it felt as though he had returned to the day in his previous life when Wang Yan had begged him to help cheat during the Star Luo Grand Competition. (Original plot)

Among Shrek Academy's teachers, Wang Yan was the classic example of someone shackled by so-called Shrek Glory.

For the sake of that so-called glory, he would pursue victory even at the cost of cheating.

What meaning could such glory possibly have?

Back then, Huo Yuhao had yet to understand that truth.

Whenever he thought of how he had been bound by so-called Shrek Glory for half his life, committing one mistake after another, Huo Yuhao felt a chill run through him.

Yet it was precisely because of that that he could now use anyone without hesitation.

For revenge, for power, he could do anything as well.

One could live only by embracing madness.

"First, I must remind you that this is only an assessment. You absolutely may not cripple or maim your opponents. Otherwise, I can only regretfully ask them to leave and report the matter to the academy."

All the students nodded. Naturally, they understood Wang Yan's meaning.

Only Huo Yuhao knew that within Shrek Academy, it was an assessment, but once they reached a competition, it became killing. He, too, had once been an executioner.

Wang Yan took out a folder, opened it, glanced at it, then looked up. "First round, first match. Freshman Class One: Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao. Freshman Class Three: Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, Zhao Haochen."

"You may enter the arena now and take your positions at separate corners. You may only release your Martial Souls after I announce the start of the match. Begin entering now."

The two teams swiftly entered the arena and took up positions at opposite corners.

Huo Yuhao stood in the corner, with Xiao Xiao slightly ahead of him and Wang Dong farther ahead.

Once he saw that both teams had taken their positions, Wang Yan nodded. "Assessment begins!"

In an instant, both sides released their Martial Souls almost simultaneously.

However, as Wang Yan observed closely, he discovered that Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao released their Martial Souls slightly faster than Ouyang Junyi's group of three.

It was as though Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao moved with exceptional fluidity, while Ouyang Junyi's group had been somewhat delayed.

The sharp contrast in that sensation filled Wang Yan with intense curiosity.

How exactly had they done that?

While Wang Yan's mind raced, Huo Yuhao's group of three had already made their move.

Huo Yuhao remained perfectly calm. He activated Spiritual Detection Sharing, then rested.

If Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao could handle it, why should he waste the effort and enter the fray himself?

Xiao Xiao released the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron, and the black cauldron rapidly formed above her head.

The moment Wang Yan announced the start of the assessment, Wang Dong charged out. As soon as she leaped into the air, a pair of incomparably dazzling blue-purple wings had already unfurled.

Her Martial Soul was simply too unfair. Anyone with even slightly insufficient self-control would have their gaze stolen by those splendid wings.

Both the opponents and Wang Yan, who was overseeing the match, were drawn to her, to the point that even Xiao Xiao's presence was overshadowed.

As for Huo Yuhao, no one paid him any further attention.

That was the usual state of Support System Soul Masters.

Aside from a few exceptionally famous Support-type Martial Souls, when ordinary Support System Soul Masters appeared on the field, almost no one would prioritize watching them.

The opposing three were only stunned for a moment before swiftly recovering their senses.

Zhao Haochen, standing at the rear, shouted, "Come quickly, my big chicken legs!"

A yellow soul ring rippled outward, and two streams of yellow light gathered in Zhao Haochen's hands, gradually forming two braised chicken drumsticks.

I carefully studied the original text regarding Ma Xiaotao's Ultimate Fire setting. Ultimate Fire could be pure or impure. The Dark Phoenix possessed impure Ultimate Fire due to its darkness attribute. Then there was also the setting that any phoenix possessed Ultimate Fire, with Ma Xiaotao merely suffering from the negative effects of Evil Fire.

Her darkening did not directly eliminate the evil energy. Instead, it caused the evil energy to erupt outright, pushing her flames to the level of stable yet impure Ultimate Fire while she endured the Evil Fire debuff.

As for people like Yan Shaozhe, the original text also mentioned that their flames were not pure enough because they possessed a light attribute. His Radiant Phoenix was actually a combination of light and fire, just as Beibei's Radiant Holy Dragon Martial Soul was a combination of light and lightning. Although it was not a pure Ultimate Martial Soul.

By this point, there should be no more doubts about this issue. In this book, Ma Xiaotao used the setting of "an Ultimate Fire she could not fully unleash due to the influence of Evil Fire."