"Ugh, you two don't have teammates, and you know I'm your homeroom teacher, right?" Zhou Yi didn't know what to say to Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena.
The freshman assessment was at stake, and they'd only come to her now. Their teams had already been decided.
Mu Xuanheng explained, "Isn't it because we've been studying Soul Tools this whole time? You know how talented we are."
Zhou Yi knew all too well how talented they were when it came to Soul Tools.
Mu Xuanheng's orange Soul Ring was no secret among Shrek's upper ranks.
Only Mu En and Xuan Zi knew that the Snow Empress was the source of his Soul Ring.
And Gu Yuena was no ordinary person either. Her third Soul Ring was a black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. If Mu Xuanheng hadn't been around, her influence would have been even greater.
"You're both three-ring Soul Elders, and so unusual at that. The academy made its decision for you long ago."
Mu Xuanheng asked, "Who else will be on our team?"
"Teammates? You two are the final bosses. Your job is to defeat everyone."
Gu Yuena zeroed in on the issue. "Teacher Zhou Yi, you said we have to defeat everyone. You didn't mean just the champion team?"
"That's right. I didn't say beating only the champion team would be enough. You'll have to face every team. And it won't be a series of one-on-one matches. It'll be the two of you against every freshman in the year."
That was a huge difference.
Mu Xuanheng was confident he could take them all down, but the question was whether the teachers were underestimating the quality of this year's freshmen.
The two wore different expressions: one worried, the other confident. Zhou Yi said, "Xuanheng, can't you be as confident as Gu Yuena? You're a three-ring Soul Elder, and your Soul Power is almost at the Soul Ancestor level, right? Are you really afraid you can't beat this bunch of freshmen?"
"No. I'm worried I'll traumatize them and become a devil in their hearts as they train."
"Heh, showing off now, are you?" Zhou Yi wore a mask, so they couldn't see her expression. "But it's true that you two have never fought in class. I only found out about your Soul Rings from Fan Yu. Go easy on them."
The overpowered duo sat in their seats, and people came over to ask whether they had a team.
Mu Xuanheng became their point of contact. "You can only hope you won't run into us. The bad news is that praying won't help. You're definitely going to face us."
"Not necessarily. We won't fight teams from our own class in the round-robin."
"You'll see."
Huo Yuhao came over too. "Senior brother, senior sister, are you both Power Attack System soul masters? I thought people from the same system couldn't team up."
Gu Yuena answered without hesitation, "I'm a control-type soul master."
Mu Xuanheng said, "We're special."
Their different answers both made one thing clear: they were definitely on the same team.
Zhou Yi came in and clapped her hands. "Quiet down." Then she began explaining the freshman assessment.
It didn't matter to Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena. They weren't taking part in the regular freshman assessment.
"Mu Xuanheng, Gu Yuena. Dean Yan wants to see you."
A special assignment called for someone special to deliver the news. Zhou Yi was just the messenger.
Yan Shaozhe studied the young man and woman. "You really are once-in-a-millennium geniuses at Shrek. That's why we haven't included you in the assessment according to the usual rules. Teacher Zhou Yi should have told you. Any questions?"
They shook their heads. They just had to fight, and they didn't even need to challenge anyone above their level.
"If you can challenge the entire year this time, the academy will give you a special reward. But I can't tell you what it is in advance."
Even Mu Xuanheng couldn't imagine what special reward Shrek might have.
"Gu Yuena, you can leave now. I have something else to discuss with Mu Xuanheng."
"I'm leaving with him."
Yan Shaozhe gave Mu Xuanheng a strange look.
He couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. The spot he'd been saving for his disciple had already been taken.
"Could you wait over there for a few minutes? Sorry for the trouble." Yan Shaozhe didn't give Gu Yuena a chance to refuse. He immediately set up a barrier between her and the two of them.
"Not bad, junior brother. You've already won someone over just after the semester started. You're much better than I am."
"Huh?" Mu Xuanheng felt miserable. Could Cai Mei'er or Xian Lin'er really compare to Gu Yuena?
They weren't even in the same league.
Yan Shaozhe coughed twice and grew serious. "There's something I'd like to ask you for help with. You know I took in a disciple, Ma Xiaotao. Like our ancestor Ma Hongjun, she has an Evil Fire Phoenix and is plagued by evil fire. She needs Ultimate Ice to suppress it. Could you help her?"
"Did Xuan Zi tell you?" Only three people knew the Snow Empress was inside him. Xuan Zi was the only one who could have let it slip.
Yan Shaozhe's mouth twitched at the blunt way he'd addressed Xuan Zi. "I went to ask Elder Xuan. I wanted to know what was going on with your third Soul Ring, and Elder Xuan couldn't do anything about Xiaotao's evil fire either, so he told me you had Ultimate Ice. He wouldn't tell me anything more."
"Fine. Set it up." Mu Xuanheng didn't want to get involved with Ma Xiaotao, but he was her martial uncle.
"Then I'll arrange for her to receive treatment after the freshman assessment."
Yan Shaozhe fell silent for a moment. "Does Gu Yuena always follow you around?"
That one question brought Mu Xuanheng to his senses. He and Gu Yuena had been practically inseparable at school for three months.
He'd gotten lost in it himself.
He gave a self-deprecating smile. "She really does."
"Don't worry. I've already looked into her. There's nothing wrong."
Mu Xuanheng looked at Yan Shaozhe's smug expression and thought he was adorable.
It wasn't that Yan Shaozhe's investigation had been insufficient. It was that he hadn't investigated at all.
The day of the freshman assessment arrived soon enough.
Du Weilun took the stage and began announcing the rules.
The same old speech was getting tiresome, but this year there was a new rule.
"Since two of this year's freshmen are exceptionally powerful and could easily affect the fairness of the assessment, they will be treated as the final targets. Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena, please come up onstage."
Du Weilun pointed toward them. "These are the final targets of this year's freshman assessment. There will be two challenges: one by the champion team, and another by all the freshmen working together."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the freshmen began to stir.
Only then did the students of Freshman Class One understand what Mu Xuanheng had meant when he said they were definitely going to face them.
Dai Huabin, who considered himself the strongest, immediately jumped up. "This isn't fair! Doesn't this mean you've already decided they'll be the champions? Why are they allowed to skip every earlier round and go straight to the finals?"
Du Weilun said, "This is to ensure fairness. If they compete, they could leave the other students unable to fight, affecting the remaining rankings as well as the academy's evaluation."
Some were still unhappy. The two of them were clearly being given special treatment. It was just that this special treatment was meant to ensure fairness.
Mu Xuanheng picked up where Du Weilun had left off. "You're Dai Huabin, right? Don't get knocked out on your way to challenging me."
With that, he left the stage. If Dai Huabin wanted to fight him, he could prove his strength through the proper rounds first. Otherwise, he'd just be earning the right to challenge them.
Without proving their strength, all they'd gain was resentment and dissatisfaction.
"Defeat them!"
"What are they showing off for? Do they really think they can fight the whole freshman year?"
"When the freshman assessment comes, we'll teach them a lesson."
The freshman assessment wasn't just a test of strength. It also determined how the academy distributed its rewards. No one wanted someone to stand above them without earning it.
The freshmen's resentment was focused on the two of them. They would face the challenge of an entire year.
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