Advancement Assessment and Treasure Appreciation Fair Encounters

Three more days passed before the Second Year Advancement Assessment resumed.

This time, there were no surprises. Huo Gua was forbidden from using the "simulation soul skill" he had mentioned, and everyone's assessments proceeded normally.

It was worth mentioning that, perhaps because Dai Huabin had nearly lost his mind after losing before—or perhaps just as in the original plot—he once again challenged Huo Gua over assessment points.

The outcome was no surprise. With a single Ice Emperor's Body Protection, Huo Gua scored full marks in the assessment and made Dai Huabin kneel again.

At that moment, Zhou Huan even saw boundless killing intent and madness in Dai Huabin's eyes.

That was good.

To be honest, Zhou Huan had some doubts as well. Though he, this butterfly who had barged into the story, had kept an extremely low profile, there was no denying that he had already changed quite a few things without realizing it.

Yet neither Huo Gua and Dai Huabin's Freshman Competition final nor their current Advancement Assessment wager battle had changed in the slightest.

Zhou Huan could only explain it as the Protagonist's fate having its own arrangements in the unseen world.

Unfortunately, such a Son of Destiny was still merely a chess piece in the end.

But for now, Zhou Huan was only letting his imagination run wild. He did not yet have the strength to change anything.

As for Zhou Huan's Advancement Assessment, he chose a six-hundred-year Soul Beast.

With his outwardly displayed twenty-seventh-level Soul Power, he was perfectly suited to handle a Soul Beast of that level.

Thus, under Zhou Huan's precise control of Frost Fills the Sky and the ambushes of Frost Spikes, he defeated the six-hundred-year Three-Headed Golden Mane Lion in just ten minutes.

The entire battle was ordinary. It only showed that Zhou Huan's attacks were extremely precise, so his final score was fairly good without leaving any particularly deep impression on others.

Especially after Huo Gua used his cheat again, displaying Ice Emperor's Body Protection and frightening off a Thousand-Year Flame Lion King with a single word—"Scram"—everyone else's assessments seemed even more lackluster.

The only interesting sight was Wang Qingya. As a Food Type Soul Master, she had not needed to participate in this Soul Beast combat assessment, but she still defeated a three-hundred-year Gale Green Wolf with her Great Sword.

As a result, quite a few people privately gave her the title of "Great Sword Pretty Girl Warrior."

Zhou Huan was utterly powerless to mock it. Wang Qingya, on the other hand, had no objections, since she did not understand what Zhou Huan found so mockable about that title.

As for Wen Xiaoshuai and Xiao Xiao, although becoming Soul Elders made people take notice, they were not the only Soul Elders in the Second Year. Thus, they did not spark much discussion, and they completed their Advancement Assessments with ease.

While having dinner, Xiao Xiao suddenly asked, "Tonight is the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's Treasure Appreciation Fair. Are you going?"

Yes, after the Advancement Assessment ended, the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, whose backer was Shrek Academy, sent invitations to Outer Court Core Disciples like them.

"Of course. Why wouldn't we?" Wang Qingya replied. "Even if we can't afford anything, we can still broaden our horizons."

"I'll go have a look too," Zhou Huan added. The Treasure Appreciation Fair, huh? Hehe, something major was happening tonight. How could I miss it? Dai Huabin better not disappoint me.

After that, all three of them looked toward Wen Xiaoshuai.

By now, Wen Xiaoshuai could behave normally even when facing three people at once. "I'm fine with anything."

His social anxiety limit had risen from one person when he had first entered Shrek Academy to three people now. That counted as progress for Wen Xiaoshuai.

Thus, after dinner, the four of them headed to Shrek City.

Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

This was not Zhou Huan's first time here. Last year, he had picked up a Ten Thousand Year Whale Jelly bargain here.

That should also have prevented the distasteful incident between Huo Gua and Ma Xiaotao in Sea God Lake from the original plot.

Zhou Huan felt that the two of them should thank him, a pure and wholesome little helper.

"Wow, this place is huge! There are so many treasures!" The moment she entered the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, Xiao Xiao was drawn in by the dazzling array of items.

Although her family was fairly wealthy, they could not possibly possess so many rare treasures as the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

But in Zhou Huan's eyes, the entire hall was filled with Gold Soul Coins!

Sure enough, the treasures at the Treasure Appreciation Fair were more than three tiers above the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's usual merchandise!

Unfortunately, he was poor!

He was so poor that he only had a little over two thousand five hundred Gold Soul Coins left. He could not afford a single item here.

Just then, an older girl dressed in cool, revealing clothes, around seventeen or eighteen years old, approached the four of them and politely said, "Hello, my name is Hong Ling, and I am an attendant at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. May I ask if you are students of Shrek Academy?"

In fact, the salesgirl named Hong Ling had already identified them from their school uniforms, but according to the rules, she still had to ask first.

The four of them nodded. "Yes."

Hong Ling continued, "If you are willing, you may undergo our Treasure Gathering Pavilion Shrek student evaluation. Different evaluation ranks come with different discounts. Of course, the evaluation will not involve any of your Soul Master secrets. You only need to fill in some simple information, such as your name, age, Martial Soul, Soul Power Level, academy honors you have received, and so on."

"Sure, take us there." The first person to answer was unexpectedly Wen Xiaoshuai rather than Zhou Huan and the other two.

Xiao Xiao and Wang Qingya did not think much of it, but Zhou Huan could more or less guess why.

None of them objected to the Shrek student evaluation ranks, especially Zhou Huan, who knew the inside story.

The Treasure Gathering Pavilion belonged to Shrek Academy in the first place. The so-called student benefits and discounts were actually Shrek's investment in Core Disciples.

Very soon, the four of them completed their student evaluation registration.

Hong Ling took out four cards, two purple and two yellow.

The purple cards were given to Xiao Xiao and Wen Xiaoshuai, while the yellow cards went to Zhou Huan and Wang Qingya.

According to Hong Ling's explanation, purple-ranked VIPs could enjoy a ten percent discount when purchasing items at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. They also had an annual credit limit of one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, but it could only be used once a year, and the rank had to be reevaluated every year.

As for yellow-ranked VIPs, the arrangement was similar, except they received only a five percent discount and had a credit limit of fifty thousand.

Clearly, the yellow rank was much lower than the purple rank.

However, Zhou Huan understood this perfectly well. Though they were all Second Year Core Disciples, Wang Qingya and he were only two-ring Great Soul Masters, while Xiao Xiao and Wen Xiaoshuai were already Soul Elders. Naturally, their treatment would differ.

After that, the four of them did not ask Hong Ling to accompany them as a guide. They had only come to broaden their horizons and might not buy anything, so there was no need to trouble her.

Even with credit limits, the items at the Treasure Appreciation Fair were far too expensive.

They cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of Gold Soul Coins at the drop of a hat. Even Xiao Xiao and Wang Qingya could not possibly have that much money on them.

"Ah, I only realized today how poor I am," Xiao Xiao sighed. "Even with a hundred-thousand-Gold-Soul-Coin credit limit, we still can't buy what we truly want here."

Hearing that, Wang Qingya pretended to be angry and pinched Xiao Xiao's little face. "Don't be ungrateful, you little brat. That's one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins! Still, thinking about it carefully, even the credit limits Zhou Huan and I have are outrageous. Isn't the Treasure Gathering Pavilion afraid of losing everything?"

At that moment, Wen Xiaoshuai suddenly said, "The Treasure Gathering Pavilion is run by Shrek Academy."

Xiao Xiao and Wang Qingya: "..."

No further explanation was needed. That one sentence already explained plenty.

"Eh? Look at that Soul Bone. It's actually golden-red, and it's glowing! It's so pretty." Xiao Xiao suddenly said in surprise.

"You only noticed the Soul Bone? Didn't you see the class monitor and Wang Dong beside it?" Wang Qingya rubbed her forehead speechlessly.

It was quite realistic, really. Class One had always had two class monitors, one being Huo Yuhao and the other Wang Dong. Yet whenever anyone referred to the class monitor, they meant Huo Yuhao. Wang Dong was simply Wang Dong.

Because Huo Gua worked so hard and diligently while also helping the other students, everyone recognized that. As for Wang Dong, she had never done what a class monitor ought to do.

From that perspective alone, Huo Gua, as class monitor, had earned the recognition of most people, including Zhou Huan.

Only after hearing Wang Qingya mention Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong did Xiao Xiao look toward the area beside the Soul Bone display. "Oh, the class monitor and Wang Dong aren't as pretty as a Soul Bone."

That piqued Zhou Huan's interest. "Xiao Xiao, you've changed. Didn't you always judge people by their looks before?"

Xiao Xiao shook her head. "Looks are certainly important, but they can never compare to the importance of a Soul Bone."

You really are practical.

Zhou Huan then looked at the price tag for the Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone and said, "Mm, Soul Bones are indeed more important, but that price of nine million five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins is even more important."

Xiao Xiao: "... I'm not looking anymore. The more I look, the more my heart aches. Come on, let's go out for a late-night snack."

Zhou Huan and the other two: "..."

How long had it been since dinner? Not even three hours, right? And she wanted a late-night snack already? Were they sure that what they were going out to eat now counted as a late-night snack?

In the end, the four of them did not stay at the Treasure Appreciation Fair for long. The things they liked were basically all beyond their means, so there was no need to keep torturing themselves.

However, after thinking it over, Zhou Huan still used fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins of his credit limit before leaving to buy a fourth-level Defensive Soul Tool.

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