Who Can't Put on a Show?

The next morning, before dawn had fully broken, Shrek Academy's assessment area was already bustling.

Outside the assessment area stood a row of academy teachers, more than thirty in total. Zhou Yi was among them. Below stood over two hundred students; Lin Yuan, Wang Dong, and Huo Yu Hao had arrived early.

As time passed, roll call officially began. Class One Freshman had the most participating students, so its roll call took the longest. After a quarter of an hour, Du Wilun, the dean of the Outer Court Martial Soul Department, finished calling names, and it was time to draw lots. The Freshman Assessment ceremony was kept simple, and Lin Yuan drew the lot on behalf of his team. The sixty-four teams participating in the elimination rounds were divided into thirty-two matches, and the contests began immediately.

The students had been given a day to rest yesterday, and the assessment area had also been renovated. With only the positions of the partitions needing adjustment, it had been divided into sixteen areas once more. This time, each area was several times larger, giving the participating students far more room to display their abilities.

The elimination rules were simple and clear. There would be one match each morning and afternoon. Eliminated teams would return to class directly, while winning teams would remain to continue competing. The top three would be decided over the course of three days.

After the drawing ended, the round of sixty-four to thirty-two began at once, with all thirty-two matches proceeding simultaneously. This arrangement minimized the assessment time and gave the winning students sufficient rest to prepare for the afternoon matches.

Lin Yuan's team was assigned to Area Fifteen. The proctor had changed as well, replaced by a kind-looking female teacher in her thirties. The drawing had only included numbers, so no one knew who their opponents were. Only after arriving did they discover that their first-round opponents were actually classmates from Class One Freshman. This elimination match had become an internal battle.

Since Zhou Yi had designated Lin Yuan's trio as Class One Freshman's seeded team, their strength naturally far surpassed that of the other teams. Although their opponents were not weak, facing Lin Yuan, the ceiling of freshman combat power, the match did not last long. After giving their opponents plenty of face, the three ended the battle in less than five minutes and advanced smoothly into the top thirty-two.

When the afternoon class bell rang, the thirty-two-to-sixteen elimination matches of the Freshman Assessment officially began in the assessment area. Compared with the morning, half the participants were gone. After drawing lots again, everyone immediately headed to their assigned areas.

Since it was still the same day's event, the venue had not been altered and retained the morning's layout, though only the first sixteen numbered areas were in use. A high platform had been erected to the north of the assessment area. Supported by six metal pillars, it stood a full twenty meters above the ground. From atop it, one could overlook the entire assessment area and take in every match at a glance.

Lin Yuan's trio had been reassigned to Area Eight. When they arrived, the other team assigned to Area Eight was already waiting. Their opponents were three strikingly beautiful girls.

"Both sides, enter the field and state your names," the proctor announced.

All six entered the spacious field and took positions on opposite sides. Lin Yuan's trio maintained their usual formation: Wang Dong in front, Lin Yuan in the middle, and Huo Yu Hao at the rear.

"Freshman Class Nine, Wu Feng, Level Twenty-Five Assault Battle Soul Master." The red-haired girl's tone was arrogant, her eyes full of disdain for Lin Yuan's team.

The girl with light-green hair shot Wu Feng a reproachful glance, but did not change the way she introduced herself. In a soft voice, she said, "Freshman Class Nine, Nanmen Yun'er, Level Twenty-Four Agile Attack Battle Soul Master."

A calm voice came from behind the two. "Freshman Class Nine, Ning Tian, Level Thirty-One Support System Artifact Soul Elder."

"Class One Freshman, Wang Dong, Level Twenty-Four Assault Battle Soul Master."

"Class One Freshman, Huo Yu Hao, Level Seventeen Control Battle Soul Master."

Lin Yuan looked at the three girls opposite him and shook his head helplessly. When it came to putting on a show, who couldn't do it? He stepped forward, lifted his purple eyes slightly, and spoke calmly, though his tone carried an unquestionable pressure. "Class One Freshman, Lin Yuan, Level Thirty-Nine Control Assault Dual-System Battle Soul Elder."

The moment those words fell, the entirety of Assessment Area Eight plunged into deathly silence.

The arrogance on Wu Feng's face instantly froze. She stared at Lin Yuan in disbelief, her shrill voice full of doubt. "Level Thirty-Nine? You're lying! An eleven-year-old Soul Elder? That's impossible!" Nanmen Yun'er and Ning Tian also showed shock.

Ning Tian frowned tightly. As a Support System Soul Elder, her perception of Soul Power fluctuations far exceeded that of ordinary people. Yet when she focused her senses on Lin Yuan, all she felt was bottomless calm. His Soul Power seemed like a vast ocean, and she could not detect its true boundaries at all.

There were only two possibilities: either Lin Yuan was lying, or his Soul Power far exceeded hers and he could conceal his aura at will.

The proctor was also stunned for a moment before coughing twice. "The assessment begins!"

The instant she spoke, Wu Feng gave a sharp cry and sprang into the air. Intense heat surged from her body, vaguely accompanied by a dragon's roar.

Wu Feng's body suddenly became more slender. While airborne, she looked like a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl who had just fully matured. Her academy uniform burst apart, revealing the elastic leather bodysuit she had prepared beneath it. The suit cinched at her waist and exposed a pair of smooth, bare thighs.

A faint red sheen rippled across her skin. Fine Dragon Scales began spreading over the left side of her face, continuing down her neck and shoulder until they covered her entire left arm and hand. The powerful aura of a top-tier Martial Soul erupted, and two yellow Soul Rings rose from beneath her feet.

"I'll teach you some manners!" Before Lin Yuan had even finished speaking, Nine-Colored Flowing Light surged around him. The pressure of the Dragon God Bloodline swept across the field like a tsunami. It was not deliberate savagery, but supreme majesty born from the depths of his soul, like a divine dragon in the highest heavens looking down upon ants—invisible, yet suffocating.

Wu Feng's body abruptly halted midair. The Dragon Scales on her skin trembled uncontrollably, and the Soul Power within her instantly fell into chaos. Her prized Red Dragon Martial Soul was like a young beast encountering its natural predator beneath that pressure. She could not even activate her Soul Skills smoothly. Her originally fierce dive completely collapsed, forcing her to awkwardly adjust herself in midair and barely stabilize her descent.

"Dragon... Dragon Might?" Wu Feng's face turned deathly pale as she stared at Lin Yuan in disbelief. "How do you have dragon blood? And such pure Dragon Might at that!"

At that moment, Nanmen Yun'er from Ning Tian's team moved. When she activated her Martial Soul, her body became so light it seemed weightless. She was incredibly fast; in nearly a single flash, she crossed dozens of meters and rushed before Lin Yuan.

Only at close range could one see that a pair of emerald-green wings had appeared behind Nanmen Yun'er at some point. Her hands had also turned the color of carved jade as they struck directly toward Lin Yuan's face.

At the same time, Ning Tian extended her right hand from afar and called out, "Seven Treasures, Turn Out Glazed Light!" She spun gracefully in place as dazzling seven-colored radiance flowed from her body. A seven-colored treasure pagoda over a foot tall condensed in her palm, while three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—circled the seven-tiered pagoda in orderly rhythm.

"Seven Treasures Have Names, first: speed!"

As her words fell, her first Soul Ring lit up. Two brilliant rays shot from the pagoda and landed on Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun'er respectively. The next instant, the two girls' speed abruptly increased, leaving even a chain of afterimages in the air.

"How boring. As long as you have Beast Spirits, you can't escape my suppression." As Lin Yuan spoke, he lightly tapped the ground. The assessment area's floor suddenly shook. Centered on him, five Stone Spikes half a meter thick burst from the ground like blades, stabbing straight toward Nanmen Yun'er. The howling wind from their emergence sealed off every path of retreat.

Nanmen Yun'er's pupils shrank. The emerald-green wings behind her flapped rapidly as she tried to gain altitude and avoid the Stone Spikes. But Lin Yuan moved his fingertips again, and Space Authority flowed silently. The space around her warped slightly, slowing her movements by half a beat. That fleeting pause was enough for the Stone Spikes to close in.

"Pfft—" A Stone Spike grazed past her waist. It did not injure her flesh, but it sliced a tear through her clothes, and the sharp force sent her blood and energy churning. Nanmen Yun'er groaned and was forced to fly backward, landing awkwardly on the ground.

"Seven Treasures Have Names, third: strength!" Seeing her companion suffer a setback, Ning Tian's third Millennium Soul Ring instantly lit up, and two yellow halos once again enveloped Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun'er.

The Soul Power fluctuations around the two girls surged. Their strength and speed increased another level. Wu Feng stabilized herself and forcibly broke through the Dragon Might Suppression. Her first Soul Ring lit up, and a blazing fireball condensed in her palm before she hurled it viciously at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan watched the incoming fireball, amusement flashing through his purple eyes. He did not dodge. Instead, he raised a hand and lightly clenched it, his five fingers precisely closing around the fireball. The fireball burned wildly in his palm, its heat enough to melt refined steel, yet it could not even scorch his skin.

"Playing with fire? You're still too green." Lin Yuan chuckled as Dragon God Power began circulating silently. Nine-Colored Flowing Light flashed in his palm, and the fist-sized fireball expanded at a visible rate. In an instant, it grew to the size of a millstone, while its flames shifted from scarlet to dazzling golden-red, its power increasing severalfold.

"Take it back." With a flick of his wrist, the enhanced fireball shot back like a cannonball. It was more than three times faster than before, carrying a piercing shriek through the air as it hurtled straight toward Wu Feng's face.

Wu Feng's pupils contracted, and her face went pale at once. She could clearly sense the terrifying energy contained in that fireball, several times greater than when she had released it. If it struck her, the consequences would be unimaginable. She hurriedly twisted aside to avoid a vital hit, but the fireball seemed to have eyes, curving slightly through the air while remaining locked onto her.

Boom!

The fireball exploded violently. A scorching shockwave swept outward and flung Wu Feng away. She crashed heavily to the ground, several holes burned into her leather suit, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

"Wu Feng!" Nanmen Yun'er cried out. Ignoring her own injuries, she spread her emerald-green wings again and lunged forward. Her jade-like claws glinted coldly as they went straight for Lin Yuan's throat, swift as lightning.

Lin Yuan's gaze sharpened. With a light tap of his foot, he vanished from the spot like a ghost. Nanmen Yun'er's claws struck nothing but an afterimage. Her heart jolted, and just as she tried to turn, a gentle yet irresistible force pressed against the back of her neck.

"Your speed isn't bad, but you have too many openings." Lin Yuan's voice sounded behind her. Before his words had faded, his hand tightened slightly. A thread of Space Power flowed through his fingertips and instantly sealed the circulation of Soul Power within Nanmen Yun'er.

Nanmen Yun'er's entire body went limp. The light of her Martial Soul faded, and her emerald-green wings and claws vanished with it. She collapsed into Lin Yuan's arms, completely unable to resist.

"Without teammates, a Support System Soul Master is a lamb awaiting slaughter. You have no chance. Surrender." Lin Yuan gently set Nanmen Yun'er aside, then flashed forward and appeared before Ning Tian in an instant, his voice cold.

Ning Tian bit her lower lip as she looked at Wu Feng sprawled on the ground and Nanmen Yun'er subdued nearby. She knew the outcome had been decided. Taking a deep breath, she withdrew the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. Her voice carried unwillingness, but also frank acceptance. "We surrender."

"Lin Yuan's team wins!" the proctor announced loudly, her eyes full of amazement. In this battle, Lin Yuan had crushed his opponents single-handedly. He had remained utterly at ease throughout, fully displaying the strength of a Level Thirty-Nine Soul Elder.

Lin Yuan released his hand and returned to Wang Dong and Huo Yu Hao. Wang Dong curled her lips, her voice carrying a hint of jealousy. "You stole all the spotlight again. Yu Hao and I barely even got to fight."

Huo Yu Hao smiled and shook his head. "Lin Yuan is too strong. They never had a chance to get close to us."

Ning Tian walked over to Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun'er, helping the two to their feet. Wu Feng looked at Lin Yuan's back with complicated eyes—unwillingness, shock, and a trace of barely perceptible awe. "A Level Thirty-Nine Soul Elder, at eleven years old... What kind of monster are you?"

Lin Yuan turned back, a faint smile flashing in his purple eyes. "Otherwise, why do you think they call me the Abyss God?"

Wu Feng choked on the retort. Her mouth opened, but she could not offer any rebuttal. She had to admit that Lin Yuan's strength was worthy of that somewhat teasing title.

Supporting her companions, Ning Tian gave Lin Yuan a deep look before turning away with the other two. Their departing figures were full of disappointment, yet they still carried an unyielding determination.

The trio left the assessment area. As soon as they reached the entrance, they saw Zhou Yi standing not far away. Her expression remained cold, but there was a trace of approval in her eyes. "Not bad. You didn't embarrass me. But don't get arrogant. The opponents ahead will only be stronger."

"Understood, Teacher Zhou," Lin Yuan replied. Wang Dong and Huo Yu Hao hurriedly nodded as well.