Overwhelming

Without Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena, the freshman assessment went as expected.

The Golden Road defeated the Hell White Tiger, securing victory.

One freshman assessment had produced three Martial Soul Fusion Skills, one Twin Martial Soul user, and several Soul Elders.

That was enough to show that this year's freshmen were no ordinary bunch.

But their battle's end did not mark the end of the freshman assessment.

Du Weilun announced loudly, "The champion of this freshman assessment is Wang Dong's team."

Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao still wanted to argue, but Du Weilun quickly announced the final round.

"The final round of this freshman assessment is a challenge against the strongest freshmen."

Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao stood on the platform, watching Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena take the stage.

"Senior brother, senior sister, go easy on us." Huo Yuhao knew Mu Xuanheng was already a Level 3 Soul Engineer, with strength at least on par with a three-ring Soul Elder. Given their condition, it was perfectly normal for them to lose.

Mu Xuanheng said, "We'll do our best."

Gu Yuena was far less tactful. "Just jump down yourselves."

Wang Dong immediately flared up. "We haven't even fought yet. You think you've already won?"

With tempers rising, the freshmen below cheered them on, even though they didn't expect Huo Yuhao's team to win.

"First round: the champion team challenges the strongest freshmen. Begin!"

As Du Weilun's voice fell, Soul Rings appeared around the contestants.

"Black—three black Soul Rings? A black third Soul Ring?"

"What's that orange Soul Ring? Aren't white, yellow, purple, black, and red the only Soul Ring colors?"

"What on earth is going on with their Soul Ring Configurations?"

As Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena revealed their Martial Souls, the extraordinary colors of their Soul Rings shocked everyone.

Even Du Weilun stood there dumbfounded. Three black Soul Rings were already beyond anything he'd dare dream of. But what was that orange Soul Ring?

Huo Yuhao frantically questioned the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, too.

"Brother Sky Dream, what exactly is that orange Soul Ring? Is it a million-year-old Soul Beast like you?"

How would Tian Meng know? He was just a Soul Beast who'd reached a million years by eating and sleeping.

Besides, an orange Soul Ring was beyond everyone's understanding.

Gu Yuena was used to seeing it, but even she didn't know what kind of Soul Ring it was.

"Junior brother, watch out." Mu Xuanheng warned him, without pausing his movements. A ranged Chaofeng Dragon Claw immediately seized Xiao Xiao.

Then a terrifying pressure of wind pinned Huo Yuhao down, leaving him unable to fight back.

Gu Yuena struck again, sending a gust of wind slicing toward Wang Dong's wings like a blade.

Mu Xuanheng raised a hand and swept it aside. Ice spikes sprang up like a thorny thicket, completely blocking Wang Dong's escape route.

He could control the elements, too, though he was weaker than Gu Yuena in everything but ice.

Gu Yuena raised a hand. Flames blazed across his ice crystals, forming a vortex that was about to shred Wang Dong.

Du Weilun had to step in himself, tearing through the flames to rescue Wang Dong.

Du Weilun announced helplessly, "The first round is over. The champion team has lost. Please move to a larger area, where we'll begin the final free-for-all."

It had all happened too quickly. Huo Yuhao's team had been defeated without any chance to fight back.

And they were the champion team. Even without a Martial Soul Fusion Skill—their trump card—they were still the team that had fought their way through the other competitors.

Wu Feng exclaimed, "You've got to be kidding! They can't possibly be Soul Elders."

Zhu Lu clenched her hands tightly, not daring to speak.

Ning Tian gazed at Mu Xuanheng. "This is the strength a protector Douluo of my Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect should have had in his youth. This is the strength my husband should have."

She hadn't spoken loudly, but she immediately felt the weight of everyone's gaze.

Gu Yuena, standing on the platform, had already turned to look at her.

Several hundred people arrived at the arena. At its very center stood Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena.

An entire year of freshmen would face the two strongest among them.

The head teachers of the various classes also came, responsible for keeping the students safe.

Du Weilun deliberately waited a while, giving the two Martial Soul Fusion Skills time to recover.

"This should be quite a show."

Yan Shaozhe arrived as well. "It should, but don't get your hopes up. There's no way this will be an evenly matched fight."

"Hmm?"

He would soon understand. A voice rang out: "The final event of the freshman assessment! All contestants are ready. Begin!"

At the signal, everyone released their Martial Souls. Yellow was by far the most common Soul Ring color. Here and there were a few purple Soul Rings, along with Huo Yuhao's white one.

But their opponents' black Soul Rings gleamed, and the orange Soul Ring was even more intimidating.

Gu Yuena raised her hand, and a gale immediately swirled around them.

Huo Yuhao shouted, "Careful! That wind is powerful. Soul Masters with fewer than two rings, stay back!"

As a control-type Soul Master, he was ready to direct the entire battlefield.

At times like this, someone always rushed to take the lead.

Wu Feng was completely unwilling to take orders from Huo Yuhao. She released her Martial Soul and charged straight in.

"Back me up." Gu Yuena immediately attacked, sending spikes bursting from the earth toward Wu Feng.

The spikes weren't fast, giving Wu Feng a chance to dodge—and that chance was the greatest danger of all.

The last spike exploded. What burst out wasn't dirt and debris, but flames.

With the gale behind them, the flames instantly grew into a massive blaze.

Mu Xuanheng immediately controlled the flames and hurled them at Wu Feng.

Gu Yuena had handled all the precise movements leading up to it; his job was to deliver the final blow.

But this wasn't teamwork. He was simply stealing the credit. Their attacks had never stopped.

"The Seven Treasures shine with glazed light! Seven Treasures Have Names, Second: Speed!" Ning Tian immediately bolstered Wu Feng, helping her escape the attack.

Mu Xuanheng said, "Wind feeds the fire; the flames form a vortex. Gu Yuena, the rest is up to you." The blazing vortex spun larger and larger. Everyone knew they couldn't let it grow any further.

Huang Chutian charged first, only to be kicked flying by Mu Xuanheng. "Sorry, but I'm not an elemental combat mage. I'm an out-and-out close-combat Power Attack System fighter."

Everything he'd shown earlier had been ranged attacks, and now he claimed to be a close-combat fighter?

"Bastard! If you're a close-combat Power Attack System fighter, then fight me!" Dai Huabin's first, second, and third Soul Rings blazed to life as he activated the White Tiger Protection Barrier and White Tiger Vajra Transformation.

Mu Xuanheng didn't even look at him. Instead, he turned toward the stands. "Teachers, get ready to rescue them."

Gu Yuena unleashed the flames she'd been building. Their terrifying heat made every freshman feel death looming over them.

A surge of light-attribute Soul Power dispersed the flames and dispelled their heat.

"Wang Dong, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Huang Chutian, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, and Ning Tian, stay. Everyone else, leave," Yan Shaozhe said, exhaling. The blazing vortex had been far too powerful. These students shouldn't have been left behind either, but he wanted to see what Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena could do, so he'd kept a few.

Once everyone else had left, Ning Tian took charge of the battle.

"We can't give them another chance to use that move. Spread out! Seven Treasures Have Names, First: Strength." The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's enhancement fell upon Dai Huabin, the strongest among them.

Gu Yuena asked, "Why do you think that last blazing vortex needed time to form?"

She waved her hand, and flames ignited across the arena again, only without forming a vortex.

The seven students still on the field looked astonished. They hadn't expected Gu Yuena to unleash an attack like that on her own.

"Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Heavenly Net!"

The twin sisters tried to counter Gu Yuena's blazing attack with their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

Du Weilun once again found himself acting as a gauge for the attack's power. He then escorted the Lan sisters off the field.

Dai Huabin gritted his teeth and decided to take them on one at a time. "Hey, Mu Xuanheng! If you're a man, stop hiding behind a woman."

Gu Yuena stepped aside, leaving Mu Xuanheng to handle the fight.

She smiled faintly. "Let's see how the Phantom Scale Dragon fights."

Mu Xuanheng stepped forward and took his place in front of her. "Sure. I'd like to take on a Martial Soul Fusion Skill myself."

If he was going to show off, he might as well show them everything.

A trace of killing intent instantly suppressed the courage Dai Huabin had just mustered.

"Bring your fiancée and use your Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Otherwise, I can't promise you'll survive a single claw."

"Hmph, I'm the son of the Duke of White Tiger. I don't need you to remind me." His loud voice masked his fear.

Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu once again unleashed the Hell White Tiger.

"Seven Treasures Have Names, First: Strength, Second: Speed, Third: Soul!" He poured all his Soul Skills into the Hell White Tiger. Even a Soul King might not dare face it now.

"Senior brother, remember to rescue them." Mu Xuanheng's second Soul Ring lit up. "Phantom Dragon Demon Body!"

Chaofeng spread his wings. The ice crystals shattered, dazzling beneath the light.

Every freshman held their breath, anxiously awaiting the outcome.

One claw split the Hell White Tiger back into two people.

A ranged claw held the blood-spitting Zhu Lu in place. Then a close-combat claw swept across Dai Huabin's body, exposing neatly severed white bones.

Silence fell over the arena. Even the sound of breathing was clear.

"Not bad, Dai Huabin. Letting a woman take my attack for you."

He'd used a ranged claw on Zhu Lu because she had borne the brunt of their clash. She was unconscious and gravely wounded now; another claw would kill her.

Gu Yuena walked up to him and reached out to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Why did you have to meet his attack head-on? You'll get hurt."

She washed the bloodstains from his body with water. She wasn't about to touch someone else's blood.

They'd easily dismantled the two Martial Soul Fusion Skills. There was nothing left to say about the outcome.

All Wang Dong, Huang Chutian, and Ning Tian could do was admit defeat.

Du Weilun gave a bitter smile. "The freshman assessment is over. The challenge against the strongest freshmen has failed."