Five Battles, Five Victories

Divine Realm.

"Sea God, you've gone too far!"

"Damn it! That guy again!" Sea God slammed a fist onto the table in front of him, glaring furiously at the Destroyer outside.

"Attacking a mortal isn't the first time you've ignored the rules of the Divine Realm. From now on, I will monitor you for a period of time in my capacity as God Realm Enforcer. I hope you'll behave yourself."

With that, the Destroyer left without looking back, but his divine sense remained in Sea God's palace.

"It's fine. Even if she doesn't choose to revive the Tang Sect in the end, as long as Huo Yuhao doesn't stray from my plans, I haven't lost."

The next morning, Mu Jin entered the classroom as usual. After announcing that the assessment would officially begin that afternoon, she told everyone to cultivate on their own.

That afternoon.

Shrek Academy's assessment area was located in the north-central part of the Martial Soul Department, adjacent to the Soul Fighting Area. It was much larger than the Soul Fighting Area. For students in Shrek Academy's outer court, it was a paradise where outstanding students could show off their abilities, but a nightmare for those with lower cultivation. Every year, large numbers of students were eliminated for failing their assessments, most of which were held in this area.

The assessment area was oval-shaped. Unlike the Soul Fighting Area, which resembled an enclosed stadium, it was an open space. A low wall surrounded the perimeter, and partitions divided the interior into separate sections. These partitions could be taken apart at any time to change the size of the sections.

After the tense group assignments that morning, the assessments officially began that afternoon. Since it was the first day, the academy wanted to give the new students time to adjust, so each group only had to compete once before leaving. The academy had assigned fifty teachers to register the assessments in fifty separate sections.

After the announcement over the loudspeaker, Yue said goodbye to Meng and went alone to Section Thirty-Three. The teacher in charge was around forty years old, with an ordinary appearance and a genial smile.

He counted the students first, then nodded with a smile. "Very good. All six groups are here. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wang Yan, and I'll be overseeing your freshman assessments for the next two days."

"Hello, Teacher Wang!" the students greeted him in unison.

Wang Yan smiled and waved for them to relax. He was used to treating his students like friends.

As he spoke, he took out a folder. After glancing through it, he looked up and said, "First round, first match: Freshman Class Nine, Yue Hongchen; Freshman Class Three, Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, and Zhao Haochen. You may enter the arena. Take a corner each. You can only release your Martial Souls after I announce the start of the match. Go on in."

As Yue Hongchen passed him, Wang Yan gave him a curious look. This was the first time he'd seen someone take the assessment alone, but the form had made it to his hands, which meant the academy had approved it. He had no authority to question it.

He simply said in a quiet voice as Yue Hongchen walked past, "Be careful."

Yue Hongchen was a little surprised, but he still smiled and nodded.

When they reached the assessment arena, Yue Hongchen stood alone in one corner. His opponents for this match stood in the opposite corner.

At Wang Yan's call of "Begin!" the three opponents hurriedly released their Martial Souls.

Zhao Haochen, who stood at the back, shouted, "Come on, my big chicken legs!" A yellow Soul Ring rippled up beneath his feet, and two yellow lights shone in his hands. In an instant, two braised chicken legs appeared in his grasp, and he quickly handed them to the two men in front.

As they released their Martial Souls, Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng hurriedly took the chicken legs and bit into them, wolfing them down.

Yue Hongchen didn't want to waste much time on them. Before the other two could release their Martial Souls, he summoned his own, and the second blue-and-white Soul Ring behind him lit up.

The two men charging forward froze in place. At the same time, the shadow of a massive Human Rights Sword fell between them. The powerful impact sent them flying out of the arena.

It all happened so quickly that the opponents hadn't even completed their Martial Soul Possession before they had already lost. Only a Food System Soul Master remained in the arena.

"I surrender!" Zhao Haochen hurriedly raised both hands. He was a Food System Soul Master—without teammates, how was he supposed to fight the guy in front of him?

Wang Yan was stunned for only a moment before announcing, "First match, first round: Yue Hongchen of Freshman Class Nine wins."

After recording the result, Wang Yan glanced at Gu Changsheng again and thought, This group must be Class Nine's trump card.

Only after Wang Yan finished speaking did Yue Hongchen withdraw his Martial Soul and leave the arena.

As he passed Wang Yan, the teacher called out to him.

"Student Yue, I didn't realize you were so strong. It seems my concern before the match was unnecessary."

Yue replied politely, "It's simply the result of working hard at cultivation. You were worried because I was taking the assessment alone. Thank you for your concern, Teacher."

Wang Yan nodded. "Keep up the good work in the coming assessments. I have high hopes for you."

"Yes, Teacher Wang."

The first round of the freshman assessments soon came to an end. Today was only meant to help the students get used to the format. Starting tomorrow, each group would have four matches a day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. The day after that, the number of matches would rise to five, and the top sixty-four would be selected. The assessments tested not only how well the students worked together, but, more importantly, their ability to fight one battle after another.

In the first match of the second day's assessments, Yue once again sent all three opponents out of the arena with just one move. He could have incapacitated them if he wanted to, but they were all students at the same academy, so he didn't go that far.

The next three teams surrendered as soon as they faced Yue. Not a single one wanted to fight this monster.

Soon, the third day of the freshman assessments arrived.

Since Yue Hongchen had won all five of his matches, he remained in Section Thirty-Three. After the teams were reshuffled and new lots were drawn, five new groups arrived in the section to continue the assessments.

The fact that these five groups had been moved to Section Thirty-Three meant they certainly hadn't been the strongest students in their previous sections. The next five round-robin matches were a little more challenging, but they still wouldn't be too difficult for Yue.

Wang Yan gave Yue Hongchen a meaningful look before announcing, "Everyone is here. Since Yue Hongchen won all five of his previous matches, he'll be the seeded team for Section Thirty-Three and will compete first. Section Thirty-Three, sixth match, first round: Yue Hongchen's team of Freshman Class Nine versus Huang Chutian's team of Freshman Class Seven."

Both teams entered the arena. Yue Hongchen looked at the two female students on the opposing team, who looked exactly alike. They seemed to be twins.

Both girls had long blue hair and delicate little faces flushed pink. They looked very cute, and seemed a little younger than the students in his group.

In front of the two girls stood a tall, burly male student. He was clearly Huang Chutian, the captain of their three-person team.