First Battle in Area Thirty-Three!

Lin Yuan spent the night in cultivation, and nothing else happened.

Early the next morning, Lin Yuan and Wang Dong headed to the teaching building after breakfast. The moment they entered the classroom, a tense, heated atmosphere washed over them. Following Zhou Yi's grouping yesterday, the three students in each team had gathered together, enthusiastically discussing tactics.

Huo Yu Hao had arrived before them and was already waiting beside their seats. When he saw Lin Yuan and Wang Dong enter, he immediately waved them over.

The two walked over, and Huo Yu Hao said, "The assessment officially starts this afternoon. Should we go over our tactics?"

Wang Dong said carelessly, "What's there to discuss? We just fight our way through."

Lin Yuan raised a hand and tapped Wang Dong on the forehead, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness. "Don't get careless." He then looked at Huo Yu Hao. "Your Spiritual Detection is the key. You can sense the opponents' Martial Souls and soul skills in advance. We need to use that to seize the initiative."

Huo Yu Hao immediately nodded. "My Spiritual Detection can cover a fifty-meter radius and analyze the opponents' Soul Power fluctuations. But it can't last long. In an intense battle, I can only maintain it for about fifteen minutes."

"That's enough." Lin Yuan lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingertip, sketching out a simple tactical arrangement. "Wang Dong, you're the main offensive core. You'll break through from the front and prioritize taking out their Control System or Support System Soul Masters. Yu Hao, circle around their flank and rear. Use Spiritual Interference to disrupt their rhythm while reporting their positions to us. I'll control the field, restrict their movements, and support your attacks."

Wang Dong curled her lips but did not argue. Instead, she leaned closer to examine the layout on the table.

Just as the three were discussing their strategy, three knocks suddenly sounded at the door. The previously noisy classroom instantly fell silent.

Zhou Yi stood at the classroom door, then slowly walked to the podium, her expression as cold as ever. "I've submitted the competing teams. The matches officially begin this afternoon. During the ten-round round robin, you won't encounter students from your own class. Your opponents will all be from other classes. I only have one piece of advice for you: whoever tries to stop you from passing the assessment, beat them up! That's all. Dismissed. Gather at the assessment area this afternoon." As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and left the classroom.

Zhou Yi's words were simple and blunt, yet they instantly ignited the atmosphere in the class. The students rubbed their hands together, their eyes brimming with fighting spirit. Lin Yuan and the other two also rose to their feet, preparing to return to the dormitory for their final adjustments.

Back in the dormitory, Lin Yuan sat cross-legged on his bed and closed his eyes to sort through his condition. Dragon God's Heart slowly circulated. The Nine-Colored Giant Dragon in his Sea of Consciousness gently swished its tail, while blue-gold Soul Power rippled like seawater, nourishing his spiritual power. After three months of stabilization, although his Soul Power remained at rank thirty-nine, it had become several times more condensed than before, and his control over the authorities had grown increasingly proficient.

Wang Dong occasionally stole glances at Lin Yuan. Seeing his focused expression, she withdrew her gaze and silently rehearsed the tactics they had discussed that morning.

The afternoon sun blazed fiercely. Shrek Academy's assessment area was located in the north-central section of the Martial Soul Department, adjacent to the Soul Duel Zone. Compared to the Soul Duel Zone, the assessment area was far larger. Every year, many students were eliminated here for failing to pass their assessments, and most assessments were held in this place.

The assessment area was oval-shaped. Rather than an enclosed stadium like the Soul Duel Zone, it was an open expanse of ground. A low wall surrounded its perimeter, while movable partitions inside divided it into multiple sections, allowing the size of each area to be adjusted at any time.

During the annual freshman assessments, this was when the assessment area was divided into the greatest number of sections. This was not only because there were many freshmen, but also because their destructive power and attack ranges were limited, so they did not need much space to use their abilities. The entire assessment area covered roughly twenty thousand square meters and had now been divided into fifty sections. Each section was approximately four hundred square meters, a square with sides twenty meters long. For freshmen who generally possessed only one or two Soul Rings, such space was more than sufficient.

After the groups were formed in the morning, the assessments officially began in the afternoon. Since it was the first day of assessment, each group only needed to complete one match before leaving, allowing the freshmen to adapt to the pace. The academy dispatched fifty teachers, each responsible for registration in one of the fifty sections. The day's opponents had been determined by drawing lots at noon, ensuring that teams from the same class would not meet during the ten-round round robin.

Aside from Class One Freshman, which had only twenty-two groups of students, the other classes generally had more than thirty teams. In the end, a total of three hundred and ten teams, comprising nine hundred and thirty students, participated in this freshman assessment. Of these teams, only one hundred and fifty would be able to remain and officially become first-year students to continue their studies. All remaining teams would be eliminated.

The fifty sections held assessments simultaneously, with six or seven teams assigned to each section. This would not only be the case that day. The next day, those teams would still remain in the same section and compete against the other teams there. Once everyone had faced one another, they would be regrouped, continuing until each team had completed its ten assessment matches.

Lin Yuan's group was assigned to Area Thirty-Three. Every section had a clear marker, and they quickly found their designated area. Students from other classes who were competing there had also arrived. When their gazes met, obvious hostility flashed between them.

A teacher around forty years old arrived at Area Thirty-Three. After counting the students, he nodded with a smile. "Very good. There are six teams of students here in total, and everyone is present. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Wang Yan, and I'll be your assessment teacher for the next two days."

"Hello, Teacher Wang," everyone replied in unison.

Wang Yan chuckled. "No need to be so stiff. My teaching habit is to treat everyone as friends. From now until the end of the assessment, you're all my little friends. So, I don't want to see anyone get hurt. All right, let's begin."

As he spoke, he took out a folder and opened it for a glance before raising his head. "First round, first match: Class One Freshman—Lin Yuan, Wang Dong, Huo Yu Hao—versus Class Three Freshman—Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, Zhao Haochen..."

That day, the six teams would hold three matches in Area Thirty-Three. Lin Yuan's group did not hesitate and quickly entered the field, taking their positions in the northwest corner. Their formation was carefully arranged: Wang Dong stood at the front, Lin Yuan in the middle, and Huo Yu Hao in the rearmost corner.

The three students opposite them naturally chose the southeast corner. The trio from Class Three Freshman were all boys, and all of them looked fairly good. Ouyang Junyi was the tallest and also the most handsome; Chen Junfeng beside him was not short, but he was exceptionally lean; Zhao Haochen, standing at the back, was a chubby boy with an honest smile on his face.

Seeing both sides in position, Wang Yan nodded. "The assessment begins."

Both sides instantly released their Martial Souls. Lin Yuan did not directly release his Martial Soul, but several spheres of light in different colors appeared around him, representing the eight great authorities he controlled: water, fire, earth, wind, light, darkness, space, and time.

Wang Dong acted even more directly. With a flash, she charged forward. While still in midair, a pair of dazzling blue-purple wings spread behind her, decorated with gleaming golden patterns that instantly drew everyone's attention.

Huo Yu Hao stood quietly behind the other two, seemingly unchanged. However, anyone watching closely would have noticed a faint golden glow in his eyes. At that moment, Lin Yuan and Wang Dong had both received the enhancement of Huo Yu Hao's Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing. The Martial Soul traits, Soul Power fluctuations, and even the likely next movements of their three opponents were all clearly displayed in their minds.

The three opponents had also prepared themselves and released their Martial Souls immediately.

"Come on, big chicken legs!" Zhao Haochen shouted. A yellow Soul Ring slowly rose around him, and two streaks of yellow light lit up in his hands. Two braised chicken drumsticks then appeared, which he swiftly handed to the two people in front of him.

Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng released their Martial Souls while taking the drumsticks and wolfing them down. One possessed a Beast Martial Soul and the other a tool Martial Soul, but both were Agile Assault System Battle Soul Masters. Ouyang Junyi's Martial Soul was the Sword-beaked Hummingbird. After releasing it, a spike grew from the end of his right arm. Although it was an avian Martial Soul, his cultivation was still insufficient to form wings. Chen Junfeng's Martial Soul, meanwhile, was a flexible sword. All three were One Ring Soul Masters, each with a yellow hundred-year Soul Ring.

After the two Agile Assault System Battle Soul Masters finished their drumsticks, their speed surged dramatically. Like two arrows, they lunged toward Wang Dong at the same time. Wang Dong instantly realized that the drumsticks enhanced speed. But for their team, speed-type opponents were the least frightening. Spiritual Detection happened to counter enemies like these.

The golden glow in Huo Yu Hao's eyes became clearer. A three-dimensional image of the entire arena appeared in Lin Yuan and Wang Dong's minds at the same time. Though Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng were fast, their movement trajectories, Soul Power circulation, the directions of their soul skill bursts, and their openings were all impossible to conceal.

Lin Yuan raised a hand and lightly touched the ground. Earth Authority activated in an instant. The ground in the southeast corner of the arena suddenly rose, and two half-meter-high earthen walls shot up from the ground, directly blocking the pair's charging path. They were moving too quickly to stop in time and slammed hard into the walls with dull thuds. Their charge was instantly broken.

"What the hell?" Ouyang Junyi clutched his aching shoulder and shouted angrily.

In midair, Wang Dong stood far higher than the two of them. Golden patterns spread across her wings as her first Soul Ring lit up, and her arms instantly merged with her forewings.

First Soul Skill, Winged Scythe!

Dazzling golden light erupted from her wings. Sharp, blade-like wing edges carved two brilliant arcs through the air, shooting toward the pair who had just broken free from behind the earthen walls. Ouyang Junyi reacted swiftly, his right-arm spike gleaming with cold light as he tried to block the attack. Yet the overwhelming force within the Winged Scythe numbed his arm and sent him staggering backward. Chen Junfeng had barely drawn his flexible sword when Wang Dong twisted aside to evade it. Her wing then swept across with the motion and lashed brutally against his back.

Chen Junfeng groaned, stumbling forward. Lin Yuan's finger twitched, and Authority of Wind silently activated. An invisible current of air wrapped around his ankles, throwing off his balance and sending him crashing heavily to the ground.

"Zhao Haochen, move!" Ouyang Junyi shouted urgently at the sight.

Light flashed in Zhao Haochen's hands as he condensed another two chicken drumsticks. This time, their surfaces glowed red, clearly carrying some special effect. Just as he was about to throw the drumsticks to his companions, Lin Yuan's eyes narrowed, and Space Authority abruptly surged forth. Fine ripples spread through the space before Zhao Haochen. The instant the two drumsticks left his hands, invisible Space Power trapped them in midair. Then, with a bang, they shattered into specks of energy and dissipated.

"How is that possible?" Zhao Haochen's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.