I Will Do What You Can Do, And I Will Also Do What You Cannot Do!

"Youngsters, hello. I am Yan Shao Zhe, the 261st dean of Shrek Academy," the old man in white said with a smile. "I know you're curious why I'm here. Normally, even in the final stages of the freshman assessment, having a vice dean appear would be enough to show the academy's regard for you. But I must say, the performance of this batch of freshmen has greatly pleased me. You are the most talented generation in nearly a hundred years. I am very interested in you, so I came personally and will watch all your matches today. I hope you can show me some surprises. Now, let the drawing begin."

It was naturally not the dean's place to personally host the drawing. Du Wei Lun quickly took over the task, but Yan Shao Zhe insisted on holding the drawing box for the freshmen himself. This action immediately made every freshman, except Lin Yuan, feel a surge of excitement.

"Class One Freshman, Lin Yuan's team, come forward to draw."

Lin Yuan walked forward slowly, his purple eyes calmly sweeping over the drawing box in Yan Shao Zhe's hand. With a slight movement of his fingertips, he had already drawn a slip of paper.

"Class One Freshman, Lin Yuan's team, draw number two," Du Wei Lun stepped forward, took the slip, and announced loudly.

Number two meant they would compete in the second arena during the semifinals. There were only four numbers in the drawing box: two number ones and two number twos.

Yan Shao Zhe's gaze fell on Lin Yuan, filled with a hint of scrutiny. The young man before him had silver hair and purple eyes, an ethereal aura, and a seemingly gentle demeanor that concealed a subtle pressure that even he found unsettling. He had already heard that this young man had reached level thirty-nine at the age of eleven, and yesterday he had inadvertently witnessed his feat of defeating a strong opponent in nine seconds. Now, observing him up close, he realized the young man's extraordinary nature far surpassed the rumors.

"Interesting," Yan Shao Zhe's lips curved into a slight smile as he gestured for the next group to draw.

"Class Five Freshman, Dai Hua Bin's team, draw."

A tall young man strode out. Huo Yu Hao's memory was usually excellent, but looking at the young man's back, he realized he hadn't seen him during the previous round's drawing. Clearly, due to Dean Yan Shao Zhe's presence, Class Five Freshman had specifically chosen a different person to draw.

The young man walked onto the stage, bowed to Yan Shao Zhe and Du Wei Lun, and then drew a slip of paper, handing it to Du Wei Lun before turning around. It was a handsome yet cold face, with long golden hair parted in the middle and falling to both sides. Upon closer inspection, his deep blue eyes actually had double pupils, and his physique was also taller than his peers.

When Huo Yu Hao saw his face clearly, his entire body suddenly trembled. His eyes were filled with disbelief, and his body even shook uncontrollably as he grabbed Lin Yuan's arm beside him.

Lin Yuan turned to look at him and saw Huo Yu Hao's ashen face, his eyes filled with unconcealable hatred.

Even though more than three years had passed, and he had grown considerably, Huo Yu Hao would never forget those indifferent eyes and cold voice from back then.

It was him! He was one of the culprits responsible for his mother's death. Huo Yu Hao's eyes gradually turned red as he clearly saw those distinctive double pupils. They were a symbol of direct blood relatives of the Duke's mansion. And the person before him was precisely the Duke's wife's youngest son, his half-brother, Dai Hua Bin, who had caused his mother's death.

Dai Hua Bin's expression remained stern. Even when facing Dean Yan Shao Zhe, he did not lower his proud head. He clearly no longer recognized Huo Yu Hao, having never even glanced at his half-brother when he brought disaster upon Huo Yu Hao and his mother.

"Dai Hua Bin's team, draw number one," Du Wei Lun announced. Dai Hua Bin then walked back to his team.

Only when Dai Hua Bin was out of sight did Huo Yu Hao's emotions stabilize slightly. At this moment, he even needed Lin Yuan's support to stand steady.

The drawing continued, and no one noticed Huo Yu Hao's abnormality. Only after all the drawing was completed did Huo Yu Hao straighten up again, but Lin Yuan and Wang Dong could still feel his body trembling slightly.

"Yu Hao, can you still compete? If not, we can postpone this match," Lin Yuan asked.

Huo Yu Hao took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind, and nodded gently, "Brother Lin Yuan, I can. What number did Dai Hua Bin draw just now?"

"He drew number one. If we both defeat our opponents, we'll meet in the finals," Lin Yuan said thoughtfully.

"Let's go, it's time to compete."

In the semifinals, Lin Yuan and his two companions faced three great Soul Masters from Class Ten, all of whom possessed peculiar Martial Souls. These three freshmen from Class Ten were all male and appeared spirited.

"Class Ten Freshman, Zhou Si Chen, Assault type Battle Soul Master."

"Class Ten Freshman, Long Xiang Yue, Agility type Battle Soul Master."

"Class Ten Freshman, Cao Jin Xuan, Control type Battle Soul Master."

"Class One Freshman, Lin Yuan, Control and Assault type Battle Soul Elder."

"Class One Freshman, Wang Dong, Assault type Battle Soul Master."

"Class One Freshman, Huo Yu Hao, Control type Soul Master."

Due to Lin Yuan's stunning performance in previous matches, the invigilator for this round—the semifinal referee—was replaced by an elder in his sixties. He stood there quietly, exuding a powerful aura, clearly a strong teacher specially assigned by the academy to prevent any errors during the competition.

"The match begins." With a command from the invigilator, the semifinals officially kicked off. Simultaneously, intense battles were unfolding in Arena One, where Dai Hua Bin was located.

As soon as the match began, Zhou Si Chen and his two companions unleashed their abilities with full force. Long Xiang Yue, as an Agility type Soul Master, did not charge forward rashly but quickly flashed behind the Assault type Soul Master Zhou Si Chen. The Control type Cao Jin Xuan made the same move, the three maintaining a straight line.

Their Martial Souls manifested at the same moment.

White light surged in Zhou Si Chen's hand, and in the next second, a book appeared. His two hundred-year soul rings lit up simultaneously. The pages of the book flipped open, and two beams of light shot out, transforming into a bear with yellow light flashing all over its body and a tiger engulfed in flames.

The bear and tiger quickly blocked the path in front of the three, roaring at Lin Yuan and his companions. Cao Jin Xuan, standing behind Zhou Si Chen, had his gaze fixed, a distorted halo emanating from his body. A exquisite clock silently rose above his head.

The clock was shaped like a city gate arch, round at the top and square at the bottom, about half a meter tall with a white body. The inner dial was circular, and a pendulum with golden patterns gently swung below. Cao Jin Xuan's two hundred-year soul rings, after the clock appeared, seemed to treat it as part of his body, moving up and down and encompassing the clock.

The three launched their attacks simultaneously, and Long Xiang Yue was no exception. He maintained a distance from Cao Jin Xuan in front of him, yet remained on that straight line. As an Agility type Soul Master, his Martial Soul was also a weapon type. As he released his Martial Soul, a giant boomerang appeared in his hand. One side alone was over a foot long, and it looked somewhat unbalanced in the hands of Long Xiang Yue, who was not yet twelve years old.

After gripping the boomerang, Long Xiang Yue paused slightly, first twisting his body backward, then abruptly turning back and flinging the boomerang out. The moment he threw it, his two soul rings lit up simultaneously.

Just then, Lin Yuan slowly raised his eyes. His purple eyes suddenly turned into vertical pupils, golden dragon patterns swirling in the depths of his eyes. A supreme pressure originating from the Dragon God Bloodline swept across the entire arena like a tsunami. The yellow bear and fire tiger, condensed from soul power, trembled violently under this invisible pressure, emitting terrified low growls. The light on their bodies quickly dimmed, their bones crackled, and they shattered like porcelain, dissipating into a sky full of soul power light spots.

"Do you know why I'm called the ceiling of freshman combat power? Because I can do everything you can, and things you can't. As for time..."

A sphere of silver-gray light appeared before Lin Yuan, its surface seeming to have countless tiny stars slowly annihilating and regenerating. This was the materialized form of the Time Authority.

"...to me, it's just a plaything that can be manipulated at will."

As his voice fell, the silver-gray sphere suddenly expanded. The light in the assessment area instantly became viscous. The movements of Zhou Si Chen and the other two slowed down at a visible rate. Even the boomerang Long Xiang Yue threw froze in mid-air, its whistling sound stretched into a prolonged hum. The pendulum of the clock above Cao Jin Xuan's head completely stopped, fine cracks appearing on the clock's surface. His control Soul Skill, not yet fully unleashed, was on the verge of collapse.

"Little Dong'er, let's finish this quickly," Lin Yuan's tone was calm, as if issuing a most ordinary command.

Wang Dong had already been poised to strike. The golden patterns on the wings of the Goddess of Light Butterfly suddenly surged. Her figure, unaffected by the frozen time and space, darted towards Zhou Si Chen like a blue-purple lightning bolt. The Winged Scythe condensed a brilliant edge, and in the instant the opponent showed a look of horror due to the spatial distortion, it precisely slashed towards his book-shaped Martial Soul.

"Crack--" The soul power-condensed book pages shattered. Zhou Si Chen grunted, the backlash from his broken Martial Soul causing his blood and qi to surge, and he staggered backward.

Huo Yu Hao's Spiritual Detection erupted simultaneously. His pale golden spiritual power, like a fine net, clearly fed back the chaotic soul power flow and stiff muscle reactions of the three to Lin Yuan and Wang Dong. Although his emotions were unsettled due to Dai Hua Bin's appearance, he did not affect his control of the battlefield. His Spiritual Interference accurately struck Cao Jin Xuan, causing his already collapsing Soul Skill to completely disintegrate.

Long Xiang Yue's boomerang finally broke free from the spatial constraints, but just as it was about to reach Lin Yuan, it was swallowed by a spatial rift that suddenly opened. The next second, the rift closed behind him, and the boomerang, with a sharp whistling sound, flew back, grazing his shoulder before embedding itself in the ground, kicking up a cloud of gravel.

"Give up." Lin Yuan raised his hand, and the silver-gray light sphere contracted back into his palm. The light and time flow in the assessment area returned to normal. Zhou Si Chen and the other two looked pale, their Martial Souls dimmed, and their soul power was so chaotic they couldn't even maintain basic defenses. It was clear they had lost the ability to fight.

A hint of admiration flashed in the eyes of the proctoring teacher, who then announced loudly, "Lin Yuan's team wins and advances to the finals!"

At the side, Yan Shao Zhe's teacup paused slightly. A sharp glint flashed in his cloudy eyes. At this moment, he finally understood why Lin Yuan could so easily suppress Soul Masters of the same age. He turned his head to look at the other assessment area. Dai Hua Bin's team had also finished their battle and was walking towards the rest area with cold faces, clearly having advanced smoothly as well.

"This will be an interesting final," Yan Shao Zhe's lips curved into a faint smile as his gaze flickered back and forth between Lin Yuan and Dai Hua Bin.