Fortunately, the freshman elimination matches were held separately, and there were not many spectators on site. As a result, Lin Yuan's team did not attract much attention and smoothly advanced to the top sixteen.
After just one day of competition, most freshmen had already been eliminated. By the second day, the remaining teams formed the top sixteen of this Freshman Assessment, with a total of forty-eight freshmen. They were undoubtedly the cream of the freshman class, among the finest soul masters of their age on the entire continent. At the top-sixteen drawing ceremony, Lin Yuan's team encountered familiar faces. Huang Chu Tian's team, which had lost to them during the group stage, had also successfully made it into the top sixteen.
There were far more people on the spectator platform today than yesterday. Before the matches had even begun, the platform was already packed. Strangely, an area of roughly three square meters had been left empty in the center. An old man with disheveled hair and tattered clothes sat there barefoot, his feet dangling over the edge of the platform as he drank from a large purplish-red gourd. Several roasted chicken legs lay on oil paper beside him, and he held one in his hand, taking a bite of meat for every swig of wine, eating with great gusto. Everyone qualified to watch from the platform was a teacher from Shrek Academy, yet no one approached the old man, much less dared question him.
After the drawing concluded, the top-sixteen-to-top-eight elimination matches of the Freshman Assessment officially began. The competition area was expanded once again, with eight spacious arenas hosting matches simultaneously. This time, Lin Yuan's opponents were no longer the three girls they had faced in their second match yesterday, but three boys.
The moment the three opponents entered the arena, they lined up side by side. The one in the center was a massively obese boy, at least 1.7 meters tall—more than a head taller than Lin Yuan's group. More exaggerated still, his waistline was probably nearly 1.7 meters as well. He looked exactly like a gas cylinder. Compared to him, the two at his sides seemed extremely thin. They were not only more than a head shorter, but practically skin and bones, with only their arms being unusually long.
"State your names. Prepare to begin." The proctor spoke in a deep voice.
The gas cylinder abruptly slapped his chest, making the fat all over his body quiver. "My name is Xie Huan Yue, from Class Two New Students."
"Class Two New Students, Luo Tian Long."
"Class Two New Students, Luo Tian Ba."
Lin Yuan's group also announced their names one by one. With the proctor's shout of "Begin!", the battle for a place in the top eight officially started.
Three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—appeared around Xie Huan Yue's body. As the rings emerged, his body swelled further, growing from 1.7 meters to 1.9 meters tall, while his skin instantly darkened. He hammered his chest with both fists, producing heavy thuds, then charged toward Lin Yuan's group in huge strides.
Luo Tian Long and Luo Tian Ba did not release their Martial Souls immediately. Instead, they flashed behind Xie Huan Yue, using his massive body to conceal themselves.
"Little Dong'er, leave those two hiding behind him to you. I'll deal with this gas cylinder." Lin Yuan looked toward Wang Dong, who had already released her Light Goddess Butterfly. Under Huo Yu Hao's Spiritual Detection, those two had nowhere to hide.
"No problem!" Wang Dong beat her wings, golden patterns flowing across the blue-purple wing membranes as she shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, charging straight behind Xie Huan Yue. Through Huo Yu Hao's shared Spiritual Detection, she had already locked onto the Luo brothers' positions. Using Xie Huan Yue's bulk as cover, they were quietly gathering Soul Power, clearly preparing an ambush.
Xie Huan Yue seemed completely unconcerned. He stomped his left foot heavily against the ground and leaped upward as his first Soul Ring lit up. In the next instant, his massive body soared into the air. After reaching a height of ten meters, he curled himself into a ball and smashed down toward Lin Yuan and Huo Yu Hao.
A cold smile curled across Lin Yuan's lips. Faced with Xie Huan Yue's Mount Tai-like descent, he did not retreat. Instead, silver-white patterns flashed beneath his feet, and his body suddenly shot upward.
"Good timing!" Lin Yuan shouted, his right leg wrapped in Nine-Colored Flowing Light as it lashed fiercely toward the curled-up Xie Huan Yue like a steel whip.
Perhaps ignorance truly bred fearlessness. Faced with Lin Yuan's attack, Xie Huan Yue neither dodged nor used a soul skill, taking the kick head-on. At the instant of collision, his first Soul Ring finally took effect. His already enormous body expanded once more, becoming round and plump like an inflated balloon.
Bang!
The dull collision shook the arena slightly as Lin Yuan's foot landed squarely on Xie Huan Yue's rounded body. The expected crushing result did not occur. Xie Huan Yue's body became like an inflated rubber ball, a pale gray glow full of elasticity spreading across its surface and forcibly dispersing most of the force. Then he dropped straight down toward Lin Yuan.
Wang Dong was not at a disadvantage on the other side either. Though her two opponents were not weak, with Huo Yu Hao's shared Spiritual Detection and the toughness and sharpness of her Winged Scythe, she still firmly held the upper hand despite fighting one against two. However, the Luo brothers were fast and exceptionally crafty, constantly avoiding direct clashes with her, making it difficult to decide the battle for the moment.
Lin Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. Ripples spread through the space beneath his feet, and he instantly shifted several meters to the side, evading Xie Huan Yue's massive falling body. With a thunderous boom, Xie Huan Yue smashed into the ground. Rubble flew everywhere, dust billowed up, and a half-meter-deep crater was blasted into the arena floor.
"Interesting." A cold curve formed on Lin Yuan's lips as blue-gold Soul Power surged around him. He clenched his right fist, Nine-Colored Flowing Light winding around his arm as dazzling radiance covered his knuckles. Without giving Xie Huan Yue a chance to catch his breath, he closed in like a ghost and drove a punch directly at his chest.
Boom!
The force of the punch, wrapped in Nine-Colored Flowing Light, dragged an afterimage through the air before striking Xie Huan Yue squarely in the chest. The pale gray elastic glow around his body shook violently and caved inward under the shape of a fist, still trying to disperse the force.
But in the next instant, Xie Huan Yue suddenly let out a pained howl. His massive body seemed to have been struck by a giant hammer and was actually launched off the ground by that punch, flying backward like an out-of-control ball before crashing heavily into the barrier at the edge of the examination area.
Almost at the same moment, a cold light flashed in Wang Dong's eyes. Her wings flickered rapidly behind her, forcefully driving back the Luo brothers. Immediately afterward, her thousand-year second Soul Ring lit up, and Butterfly God's Light activated. With the precise predictions of Spiritual Detection, not only did this skill possess a locking effect itself, but even without one, Wang Dong's soul skill would never miss.
Naturally, the Luo brothers would not simply wait to be defeated, but their reactions were half a beat too slow. By the time they began using their second soul skills, Wang Dong's skill had already been completed. They activated their Martial Souls and conjured dozens of mantis blade lights, attempting to block Butterfly God's Light, but the facts proved that such resistance was utterly futile. Whether in Soul Power Level, Martial Soul quality, or Soul Ring age, they were far inferior to Wang Dong.
Amid flashing golden light, Butterfly God's Light displayed its full power and blasted the Luo brothers away. However, at the instant their soul skills were broken, the proctor quickly entered the arena and pulled both of them out of the golden light before withdrawing from the competition area. Clearly, he believed that if the Luo brothers continued taking the attack, they would be severely injured. His intervention meant that the Luo brothers had completely lost their qualifications to continue.
Just as Wang Dong secured victory on her side, Xie Huan Yue recovered as well. He leaped up again, his second Soul Ring lighting up as his arms suddenly lengthened and whipped toward Lin Yuan and Huo Yu Hao.
Lin Yuan vanished in a flash, while Huo Yu Hao also dodged to the side. Xie Huan Yue's extended arms missed and smashed heavily into the ground, sending another spray of broken stones flying.
"You're pretty fast, but do you think that means you can keep dodging?" Xie Huan Yue roared. This time, he did not bounce up again. Instead, he rolled across the ground, chasing after Lin Yuan as he tried to crush him beneath his body.
Wang Dong had just defeated the Luo brothers, and Xie Huan Yue felt the pressure mounting. If he could not first defeat the two before him, he had no confidence in fighting one against three.
The third Soul Ring on his fat body finally lit up. Purple light instantly illuminated his entire body, making Xie Huan Yue resemble a gigantic purple ball. With a low growl, a powerful purple halo erupted from his body and instantly caught up to Lin Yuan.
"You picked the wrong opponent. Great Wind Hand Seal!"
Lin Yuan snorted coldly as a terrifying aura erupted from within him. Soul Power churned violently around his body. His right hand opened, its five fingers spread slightly, then he slammed it forward.
The Authority of Wind activated instantly. Wind elements between heaven and earth gathered madly, and an enormous energy hand seal nearly ten feet across suddenly appeared. Its palm lines were clearly visible as it tore through the air with a piercing howl, fiercely striking toward the purple halo erupting from Xie Huan Yue.
At the sight of that giant hand seal, Xie Huan Yue was scared out of his wits. Even though he was confident in his powerful defense, he absolutely did not believe he could withstand this attack.
The proctor did not dare hesitate. He flashed into the arena and grabbed Xie Huan Yue, only to discover in shock that he could not pull him out of the hand seal's attack range. Meanwhile, the enormous cyan hand seal in front of him was already whistling toward them. Its powerful pressure made even him, a Soul Emperor, feel as though he could barely breathe.
"No way! Is this really a skill that a Soul Elder-level student can unleash?" The proctor nearly cursed aloud. He could clearly sense the terrifying power contained within the wind hand seal, far beyond the limits of an ordinary Soul Elder!
At that moment, a massive pulling force descended from the sky. Just before the cyan hand seal struck the proctor, who had stepped forward to block it, it suddenly changed direction and flew upward. At some point, a fiery red giant hand had appeared in midair. In the next second, the two palms met.
Boom! The deafening collision swept across the entire venue as the cyan wind hand seal and the fiery red giant hand crashed together in midair.
The violent energy shockwave spread like a tsunami. The barriers at the edge of the examination area were instantly blown away, while broken stones on the ground shook and rattled. The two forces remained locked in a stalemate for a moment before shattering simultaneously, transforming into countless motes of energy that scattered away.
On the spectator platform, Xuan Zi lowered his wine gourd. Beneath his messy hair, his cloudy old eyes suddenly lit up. Taking a bite from a chicken leg, he muttered, "What terrifying power. Is that a Self-Created Skill?"
Clearly, that red giant hand had been casually unleashed by Xuan Zi. He had originally been watching for amusement. Only when he saw the proctor in danger had he casually acted to resolve the crisis, yet he had not expected Lin Yuan's attack to be so astonishingly powerful that even the Soul Power he had hastily gathered was dispersed by more than half.
The proctor supported the pale-faced Xie Huan Yue, his chest rising and falling slightly after forcibly blocking the shockwave earlier. His gaze at Lin Yuan was full of shock and lingering fear. Only after taking several deep breaths did he barely steady his voice. "Xie Huan Yue's team has lost its ability to fight. Lin Yuan's team wins and advances to the top eight!"
The teachers on the spectator platform all fell silent. They had completely ignored every other match that had ended or was still ongoing. To become teachers at Shrek Academy, they were at least six-ring Soul Emperor-level powerhouses. Yet against that palm strike just now, they did not believe they could necessarily receive it so easily without releasing their Martial Souls or using soul skills. An eleven-year-old, thirty-ninth-level Soul Elder had actually unleashed an attack approaching the level of a Soul Emperor. This had surpassed the realm of genius. He was practically a monster.
Before you continue