Wu Changkong's Evaluation

At dawn, Eastsea City was shrouded in thick mist, limiting visibility and making everything appear hazy.

The usually quiet East Sea Spirit Pagoda was exceptionally lively today. As one of the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars of the Spirit Pagoda organization, it was one of the entrances to the Riot Period Spirit Ascension Platform.

Early in the morning, Wu Changkong brought his Class Zero students to the East Sea Spirit Pagoda. The earlier they entered, the less likely they were to encounter opponents.

Before going in, Wu Changkong gave the Class Zero students another round of instructions:

"Remember this: the Riot Period Spirit Ascension Platform is when the most people enter at once. Inside, other than each other, everyone else is an enemy.

"You only have one task: survive. Anyone who fails the Final Exam will be punished."

Upon hearing there would be a punishment for failing the exam, Xie Xie asked curiously,

"Teacher Wu, what's the punishment?"

Wu Changkong glanced at Xie Xie.

"Your vacation will be canceled!"

At the end of every semester, there was a one-month vacation. Xie Xie's eyes widened at the words "vacation canceled." He had been looking forward to the break for a long time.

The others exchanged looks as well. Only Tang Wulin's expression remained unchanged, while even Su Hao frowned at the punishment.

Wu Changkong then handed over five entry cards. Led by Staff, they arrived at the familiar room.

This was the influence of Eastsea Academy. As Eastsea City's only Intermediate Soul Master Academy, Eastsea Academy wielded considerable influence and had a good relationship with the Spirit Pagoda. Otherwise, a spot in the Spirit Ascension Platform was not something money alone could buy.

The Spirit Pagoda had also prepared a room for Wu Changkong so he could observe the activity within the Spirit Ascension Platform at any time.

After Staff gave the Class Zero students another set of instructions, he arranged for them to enter the Spirit Ascension Platform.

Once he saw that the Class Zero students were all lying down, Staff inserted six red cards into a nearby machine and pressed the button. Class Zero officially entered the Riot Period Spirit Ascension Platform.

Su Hao's consciousness blurred briefly. When he came to again, he found himself in a vast forest. The greatest difference from before was that all six of them had appeared in the Spirit Ascension Platform together this time.

The fresh air and green vegetation were all familiar. It did not look much different from their usual entries.

Su Hao stepped forward a few paces. "Formation."

Wang Jinxi took the middle-right position to guard against Soul Beast ambushes from the right. Zhang Yangzi and Xie Xie stood in the middle-left position to guard against attacks from the left, while also being able to restrain any Soul Beasts on that side together. Tang Wulin stayed alone at the rear to guard against Soul Beasts suddenly charging from behind. Gu Yue was surrounded in the center, responsible for supporting the entire group and spotting any openings in time.

Su Hao walked at the very front, taking responsibility for most of the Soul Beast attacks and combat.

A flash of green light appeared in Gu Yue's hand, covering Five People at once. It was Gu Yue's Wind Elemental Control. Though it was not powerful, it could lighten everyone's weight and make them more agile.

Su Hao also summoned his Elemental Spirit, having it fly around him. It further lightened everyone's weight while controlling the surrounding trees to clear a path.

Zhang Yangzi raised his hand and released his Soul Spirit, Little Black Eagle. Little Black Eagle first nuzzled Zhang Yangzi affectionately, then flew into the air at his command. The combat enhancement Little Black Eagle provided was secondary; its greatest use was allowing Zhang Yangzi to share its vision.

However, Little Black Eagle could not move more than ten meters away from him. Even so, the extra field of vision allowed Zhang Yangzi to see farther.

The group released their Martial Souls and watched their surroundings vigilantly. Tang Wulin also took out his Thousand Refined Silver Hammer.

Inside the Spirit Pagoda's observation room, Staff smiled at Wu Changkong.

"These little ones aren't bad. Teacher Wu, you've trained them well."

Wu Changkong gave a slight nod.

"Let's see how they perform."

As Wu Changkong watched Su Hao and the others, he could not help recalling the school motto that place had upheld for twenty thousand years: Shrek Academy only accepted monsters, never ordinary people.

He wondered how far these little ones could go.

To become monsters, they needed more than hard work. They also needed talent beyond the ordinary. So far, all six of them possessed it.

In terms of talent, Su Hao was undoubtedly the best. Neither the Spirit Pagoda nor Shrek Academy had any record of his Martial Soul, and his origins were unknown as well. Tang Sect's investigation into his current father had revealed that he was merely Su Hao's adoptive father, and even he did not know where Su Hao had come from. He only knew that adopting Su Hao had been a coincidence.

Moreover, Su Hao's Martial Soul was exceptionally unusual. Though he could not directly obtain Soul Skills, he could use Self-Created Soul Skills. Even now, Su Hao's Self-Created Soul Skills were no weaker than the first or second rings of ordinary people, and were even more powerful than some people's third or fourth rings.

Furthermore, Su Hao was now practically a combination of Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, gathering both of their strengths in one body. His weakness was the same as Tang Wulin's: he lacked powerful long-range attack-type Soul Skills. But that was not a major issue.

The second most talented was Gu Yue. Like Su Hao's, Gu Yue's Martial Soul had never appeared in the records of either the Spirit Pagoda or Shrek Academy.

Control over five elements was simply miraculous. Although her Soul Skills could only strengthen her own Soul Power or her control over the elements, with five elements that could be controlled and combined, what additional Soul Skills did she need?

Other than Su Hao, her Spiritual Power was unprecedented among her peers. Not only had she reached the Spirit Connection Realm at such a young age, but she was improving at an incredible pace. She would likely reach the Spirit Sea Realm before graduating from the Primary Department in six years.

The third most talented was naturally Xie Xie. Twin Martial Souls were an exceptionally rare talent in any era. Though his were companion-type Twin Martial Souls, making them somewhat inferior to pure Twin Martial Souls, companion types had their own advantages. Perhaps in the future, he could...

Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi, judged solely by individual talent, could only be considered above average. Bone Dragon King and Dark Phantom Eagle were not among the most exceptional Martial Souls. However, they could perform Martial Soul Fusion. Once their Martial Soul Fusion Skill could be perfectly displayed and controlled, the two of them together would be no weaker in battle than any top genius.

Last was Tang Wulin. Even Wu Changkong could not quite see through him. Tang Wulin possessed many qualities his peers lacked. His temperament was tenacious, and despite possessing a useless Martial Soul, he had never grown discouraged and continued cultivating diligently, keeping pace with his classmates step by step. His physical strength was also the greatest among them all. His innate Divine Power could at least compensate for the shortcomings of his Martial Soul at the lower levels.

More importantly, his Martial Soul was still mutating, and he also possessed the unusual Golden Dragon Claw.

His uncertainty was the greatest among the five people, and he required further observation as well. If his Martial Soul's beneficial mutation could continue, he might very well become a super genius like Gu Yue.