New Student Assessment

Class Nine!

"Students, three months have passed since the start of term. Tomorrow, you will face your first assessment since entering Shrek Academy."

"Now for the group assignments: Group One: Wu Xuan, Qian Gu Ming, Nanmen Yun'er."

"Group Two: Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Li Ya."

"Group Three..."

"Alright, those are roughly the groups. If anyone has objections, you can raise them with me. The rule is that each group of three may only have one Power Attack System Soul Master; the remaining roles can be assigned freely."

"That's not right, Teacher Mu! Why does Wu Xuan's group have two Power Attack System Soul Masters?" Wu Feng raised her hand and questioned him.

Following Wu Feng's objection, the entire class turned to look at Mu Jin.

"Oh, here's the thing. I consulted Wu Xuan in detail about his three soul skills. His skills lean more toward support and control, so I had Wu Xuan register as a Control System Soul Master," Mu Jin explained.

"What? You can do that?" The students of Class Nine began discussing it with astonished expressions.

Bang! Bang! Mu Jin rapped on the desk, and Class Nine immediately fell silent.

"Quiet! Before you officially become first-year students, the academy will not interfere with your chosen development paths. Any of you who can demonstrate that your soul skills can control opponents or support teammates may also change systems. Alright, discuss the rest among yourselves. If you want to switch teams, come find me after class. Class dismissed!" With that, Mu Jin walked out of the classroom.

After Mu Jin left, the Class Nine students broke into another heated discussion. Yet after talking for a long time, not a single one of them met the requirements.

"That's great, Class Monitor! We actually got assigned to the same group." As they left the classroom, Nanmen Yun'er eagerly rushed over to Wu Xuan.

"Hehe! It's great that Yun'er joined our team. I was really afraid Teacher Mu would put Ning Tian in our group." Qian Gu Ming also looked delighted.

"Tch! You're overthinking it. If anyone were assigned together, it would be me, the Class Monitor, and Ning Tian." Nanmen Yun'er shot Qian Gu Ming a disdainful look.

"You little brat, Yun'er! All you know how to do is mock me. Just watch how I teach you a lesson." Qian Gu Ming flew into a rage and raised his fist as he chased after her.

"Ah! Class Monitor, save me!" Nanmen Yun'er hid behind Wu Xuan and pulled a face at him, infuriating Qian Gu Ming.

Not far away, Ning Tian stared blankly at Wu Xuan. Teacher Mu would not lie to them, so why had Wu Xuan added support and control-type soul skills instead of pursuing the Power Attack System? Could an Innate Full Soul Power Wind Element Martial Soul not cultivate as a Power Attack System Soul Master? If so, what was the point of her approaching Wu Xuan?

"Young Mistress! Wu Xuan and the others are too much. They actually treat you as someone they can replace at will. They simply have no regard for our Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect." Wu Feng watched the three of them joke around using Ning Tian as the subject, her eyes blazing with anger.

"Enough, Sister Feng. Let them do as they please. We just need to deal with them less in the future. This afternoon, let's find Li Ya and work out how we should coordinate in the upcoming matches." Ning Tian shook her head and spoke calmly.

"That would be great!" Wu Feng happily linked arms with Ning Tian, her face flushing slightly with excitement.

Shrek Academy's Assessment Area was located in the north-central section of the Martial Soul Department, adjacent to the Soul Fighting Area. Compared to the Soul Fighting Area, the Assessment Area covered far more ground.

The Assessment Area was oval-shaped. Unlike the Soul Fighting Area, which resembled an enclosed stadium, it was an open expanse. A low wall surrounded its perimeter, while partitions divided the interior into separate sections. These partitions could be removed at any time to alter the size of the areas.

The entire Assessment Area covered roughly twenty thousand square meters. It had currently been divided into fifty sections, each around four hundred square meters, forming squares with sides of twenty meters. For new students who generally possessed only one or two soul rings, this was more than sufficient.

After the tense group assignments that morning, the assessments officially began that afternoon. Since this was the first day of assessment and the academy wanted the new students to first get accustomed to it, each group only needed to complete one match today before leaving.

The academy had sent fifty Teachers to conduct assessment registration in the fifty sections. The opponents for today's matches had already been determined by drawing lots at noon. They tried to ensure that teams from the same class would not encounter each other during the upcoming ten Round Robin matches.

Aside from New Student Class One, which had only twenty-two teams, the other classes generally had more than thirty teams. Unless a student had performed especially poorly during the new student period, the teachers of the new student classes generally would not lightly eliminate students before the New Student Assessment. They had to be given a chance to take the assessment, after all.

Studying at Shrek Academy was undoubtedly fiercely competitive and cruel, but it was precisely because of this that the tense atmosphere pushed students to work harder and strive to improve.

Each new student class's homeroom teacher had one recommendation slot to send a student to cultivate in the Soul Tool Department. It was equivalent to being allowed to remain at Shrek Academy without undergoing an assessment, so this slot had always been fiercely contested by many students.

In the end, a total of three hundred and ten teams, comprising nine hundred and thirty students, participated in the New Student Assessment. Of those three hundred and ten teams, only one hundred and fifty would remain and officially become first-year students to continue their studies. The rest would be eliminated.

A moment later, a booming announcement sounded throughout the Assessment Area.

"Attention, all new students. Attention, all new students. Please enter the Assessment Area immediately and prepare to participate in the New Student Assessment. You have ten minutes remaining to enter. Failure to arrive in time will be considered forfeiture of this assessment."

The loud announcement echoed throughout the Assessment Area, reaching every corner. Most of the new students' expressions turned serious. Their first assessment was about to begin.

Wu Xuan's group had been assigned to Area Thirty-Two. Students from the other classes competing there had already arrived. Some appeared uneasy, while others were eagerly itching for a fight. When they looked at one another, their hostility was unmistakable.

The person in charge of assessment in their area was a young female Teacher who appeared to be under thirty.

After counting the students, the female Teacher said, "Hello, everyone. A total of six matches will be held in Assessment Area Thirty-Two, and now that everyone has arrived, let me introduce myself first. My name is Cheng Cheng. During the upcoming assessments, I will be your assessment Teacher."

"Hello, Teacher Cheng!" The students bowed to greet her in unison.

Teacher Cheng nodded and continued, "Everyone must take note during this New Student Assessment. Although this is a battle, it is only an academy assessment. You must exercise restraint and absolutely may not cripple or seriously injure your opponents. Otherwise, you will be directly stripped of your qualification to take the assessment."

Her tone was very gentle, but everyone present took her words to heart.

After all, no one wanted to suffer such severe consequences because of this.

Teacher Cheng swept her gaze over the crowd. After seeing that no one had any questions, she opened the folder in her hand.

"First match of the first round: New Student Class One, Zi Hao, Ma Qing Shuang, Leng Leng, versus New Student Class Nine, Wu Xuan, Qian Gu Ming, Nanmen Yun'er. You may enter the field. Take a corner each. You may only release your Martial Souls when I say begin. Enter the field."

Wu Xuan had not expected his team to be arranged for the very first match, and their first opponents were the second-ranked team from Class One.