Practical Combat Assessment? Huo Yuhao Worries, Zhang Lexuan: "On What Grounds Do You?"

The two of them, "runaways," clearly couldn't produce such a thing.

Hearing Huo Yuhao's question, Dai Yu stopped walking, tilted his head, and looked at him with a half-smile:

"What's wrong?

Scared now?

Regretting turning down that Tang Ya?"

"No, not at all!"

Huo Yuhao quickly shook his head, his gaze firm as he said:

"Since Yu Ge says it's unnecessary, then it definitely is! I'm just... just afraid I'll hold you back."

"Relax."

Dai Yu withdrew his gaze, looking toward the towering academy gates in the distance, a hint of arrogant confidence curling at the corner of his mouth:

"Rules are dead, people are alive.

In this world, as long as your fists are hard enough, there's no door you can't enter."

"Fists... hard enough?"

Huo Yuhao froze for a moment, then, as if something clicked, his eyes went wide:

"Yu Ge, you mean... we're going to rely on combat?"

"Exactly."

Dai Yu said calmly:

"Shrek Academy may have strict rules, but what they value most are freaks and strength.

As long as you show enough potential, that letter of recommendation is nothing but a scrap of paper."

Hearing the word "combat," Huo Yuhao's face instantly fell.

He instinctively shrank his neck, his heart sinking with unease.

Combat?

Are you kidding me?

His Soul Power had just broken through level ten, and while his First Soul Skill came from a Million Year Soul Ring, It was a purely auxiliary detection skill!

It had zero offensive power!

Letting him go up against those geniuses who'd been pampered since childhood, with Soul Power as high as ten or twenty levels?

That was just asking to be crushed!

"Yu, Yu Ge..."

Huo Yuhao's voice even trembled a little as he grimaced:

"I can't do it...

My martial soul is the Spiritual Eye, and my First Soul Skill is Spiritual Detection—I have no combat ability at all.

If we really have to fight our way in, I'll definitely get eliminated in the first round..."

Seeing Huo Yuhao looking like he'd just lost his last hope, Dai Yu couldn't help but let out a light laugh.

Dai Yu reached out, ruffled Huo Yuhao's slightly messy hair, and said with a casual, confident tone:

"What's there to panic about?"

"If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."

Dai Yu withdrew his hand, his gaze burning as he looked ahead, an intangible aura radiating from him:

"Since I brought you out, I never planned to let you face this alone."

"Keep your heart at ease."

Dai Yu turned around and strode toward the registration area, leaving only a straight-backed silhouette and a light yet weighty remark for Huo Yuhao:

"Leave it all to me.

Even if your combat ability is zero, and you're just a salted fish shouting '666,'

I'll still drag you through the gates of Shrek!"

"Pfft—"

A crisp, bell-like laugh suddenly rang out beside the two of them.

The laughter carried a hint of barely suppressed amusement, clearly having caught Dai Yu's arrogant speech about "dragging a salted fish into Shrek."

Dai Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, and Huo Yuhao looked equally curious; both instinctively turned toward the sound.

There, not far from them under the shade of a tree, stood a woman in a white form-fitting outfit.

She appeared to be around twenty-three or twenty-four years old.

Her tall, well-proportioned figure carried a cascade of black hair that fell freely over her shoulders, gently swaying in the breeze.

On that fair, delicate oval face hung a warm yet teasing smile.

The moment Huo Yuhao saw this mature beauty, he was stunned, his cheeks flushing slightly.

But Dai Yu's pupils contracted, a ripple stirring in his heart.

Long black straight hair, a gentle and poised temperament, appearing outside Shrek City...

Could this be...

The Inner Court Senior Disciple of Shrek Academy, Zhang Lexuan?!

Dai Yu was secretly startled, never expecting to run into Zhang Lexuan before even stepping through the academy gates.

'System, can I bind to Zhang Lexuan?'

Dai Yu asked in his mind.

But the system still ignored him.

Dai Yu frowned inwardly.

What exactly were the rules for this system binding?

Did he need to get into a conflict with someone to earn a suppression reward, or what?

Seeing the two youngsters staring at her, Zhang Lexuan wasn't annoyed. Instead, she walked over gracefully.

Her steps were light, and every gesture exuded the poise of a refined lady.

"Little brother, you've got quite the bold mouth."

Zhang Lexuan stopped before them, her gaze appraising Dai Yu with interest, a smile tugging at her lips:

"Shrek Academy is the number one academy on the continent. Even royal offspring can only sigh in despair if their talent falls short.

And you say you could get in even dragging along a 'dried fish'?"

Though she was teasing, her tone wasn't off-putting; it felt more like an older sister from next door teasing a clueless younger brother.

"Miss, we really want to join Shrek Academy."

Huo Yuhao quickly bowed nervously, afraid that Dai Yu's words might offend this obviously formidable senior.

Watching Huo Yuhao's tense demeanor, Zhang Lexuan's curiosity, piqued by Dai Yu's arrogant words, grew even stronger.

She smiled softly and said gently:

"Since you're so confident, I'd like to see if you really have the skills.

I happen to have nothing to do today. If your talents are passable, I might be able to point you in the right direction."

With that, Zhang Lexuan's gaze swept over them, and she asked bluntly:

"Tell me, how old are you this year? What are your martial souls? And what level is your soul power?"

Faced with this imposing older sister, Huo Yuhao dared not hide anything and answered honestly:

"I... my name is Huo Yuhao, and I'm eleven years old.

My martial soul is... Spiritual Eye, a Body Martial Soul."

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao's voice dropped noticeably, and he lowered his head in shame:

"I just absorbed my First Soul Ring... My Soul Power Level is now, level eleven."

"Eleven years old, level eleven?"

Zhang Lexuan's smiling eyes instantly flickered with disappointment. She shook her head gently, her tone still warm but carrying an undeniable reality:

"Little brother, while a Body Martial Soul is rare, it's not inherently powerful.

Shrek Academy's admission standard is reaching level fifteen soul power before the age of twelve.

You're already eleven, yet you've just broken through level ten...

To be honest, this talent is far too poor."

Zhang Lexuan sighed and spoke plainly:

"By the academy's rules, you probably can't even pass the first round of preliminary tests.

Even with a recommendation, with your aptitude, staying at Shrek would be very difficult."

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao's face turned deathly pale.

Though he'd long known his talent was poor, having it laid out so bluntly by a senior from Shrek Academy still stabbed him with a piercing pain.