The Strength of Newcomers

An hour later, Azu walked out of the Training Room, satisfied, and closed the door behind him.

Ashley happened to be looking for him. Azu said, "Miss Angelina just finished her workout and needs to rest now. Don't let anyone in."

Ashley nodded, then added, "Homelander, 'Princess Frost,' 'Livewire,' and 'Element Man' have arrived."

"Good."

"Call Black Noir and Maeve. Have them go to Training Hall 3."

A moment later.

In Training Hall 3, Azu met the three new members he had selected.

'Princess Frost' was a white woman, tall and statuesque like a supermodel.

Her hair was silver-white, her skin delicate, and she wore a white one-piece short skirt that was pleasing to the eye.

'Livewire' was a white man, slight of build, with brown hair and brown eyes.

He looked a bit nervous, his gaze darting around, with occasional sparks of electricity flickering off him.

'Element Man' came from Russia. This woman had reddish-brown hair and emerald-green eyes.

But if you looked closely, you'd notice her eye color shifting constantly.

From emerald green to crimson red, then to silver-white, and then a pale yellow.

When Maeve and Black Noir arrived, Azu led them inside and clapped his hands, saying, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen."

Hearing his voice, the three Supers immediately looked over.

'Princess Frost' flashed a charming smile. She lightly lifted the hem of her skirt, which barely reached her upper thighs, and curtsied like a true princess.

'Livewire,' already uneasy, now didn't know what to do with his hands. A stiff smile was plastered on his face, and sparks occasionally jumped across his skin.

'Element Man' reacted the calmest. She gave a slight nod and said, "Good afternoon, Homelander."

Azu put his hands on his hips and flashed a sunny smile. "I've reviewed your files and believe you can all join The Seven and replace the members who've stepped down."

"However, as you know, The Seven faces the most vicious criminals, even Super villains."

"So I need to see what you're capable of."

"Next, my teammates and I will test each of you one-on-one."

"Any problems with that?"

'Princess Frost' beamed. "Of course not. If it's possible, Homelander, could you test me?"

Azu laughed. "No problem at all."

Soon, the three test pairings were decided.

Black Noir would test 'Livewire.'

Maeve would test 'Element Man.'

Azu's opponent would be 'Princess Frost.'

"Let's go to a private training room," Azu suggested.

'Princess Frost' agreed readily.

In the private training room, the two put some distance between them. Azu beckoned. "Show me what you've got."

"Then I won't hold back."

'Princess Frost' suddenly stepped forward. Frost spread from the toe of her white high-top leather boot.

The frost froze the ground and rapidly expanded toward Azu, threatening to seal him in.

But Azu had already floated up, his feet off the ground, easily dodging her move.

The statuesque 'Princess Frost' then condensed frost in her hands, stretching it into two ice blades.

She let out a shout and charged forward. As she ran, a smooth sheet of ice formed under her feet, extending a path straight toward Azu.

'Princess Frost' glided along this path at incredible speed, closing in on Azu in an instant. She slashed at him with both ice blades.

Azu didn't dodge or block, deliberately testing 'Princess Frost's' strength. He let the two ice blades carve white marks across his blue suit.

Though the blades couldn't break his defense, he noticed that the frost left on his suit began spreading on its own.

Then, 'Princess Frost' opened her mouth and exhaled a breath of cold air at Azu.

The moment that breath, carrying a fresh, crisp chill, hit Azu, he began to freeze over. But Azu simply raised a hand and flicked his finger lightly. The ice shattered and fell away.

He smiled. "Got anything stronger?"

'Princess Frost's' eyes suddenly turned silver-white, as if a blizzard were howling within her pupils.

She spread her arms wide. A cold wind kicked up in the training room, lifting her short skirt, and then a flock of birds, each formed from frost, flew in formation toward Azu.

They struck him relentlessly. Judging by the impact force of these ice birds, Azu gave a slight nod—they hit with the force of rifle bullets.

And after striking their target, they released cold air, freezing it solid.

In an instant, Azu was sealed inside a block of ice.

'Princess Frost' raised another arm, pointing an ice blade.

At Azu's location, a pillar of ice suddenly rose from the ground, yanking him inside and sealing him within.

Then, two points of light flared inside the ice pillar, followed by twin golden beams that burst through it. The sunlight-like radiance made the ice pillar rapidly crack, explode, and melt.

Azu, floating midair, withdrew his 'Heat Ray' and smiled slightly before suddenly diving.

'Princess Frost' only saw a blur before Homelander was right in front of her. A violent impact struck her lower abdomen, doubling her over like a shrimp.

From her neck to her face, she flushed bright red.

Before she could even scream, another invisible shock hit the same spot, sending her flying.

Just as she was about to slam into the wall, Azu flashed behind her, wrapped his arms around her slender waist, and slowly descended.

Only then did 'Princess Frost' start coughing violently, her body trembling.

After a moment, she finally caught her breath.

Setting 'Princess Frost' down, Azu glanced at his hands. The frost that had just formed on his palms had melted into water.

He looked at the woman and smiled. "Congratulations, you passed."

"Your ice abilities and physical strength are decent. They meet my requirements."

"So, from now on, you're a member of The Seven."

'Princess Frost's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Thank you so much, Homelander."

She bit her lip lightly, her eyes, now back to their normal color, shimmering with moisture. "I don't know how to thank you enough."

Azu looked her over without restraint, then whispered in her ear, "There'll be a chance for you to thank me later."

With that, he smiled and turned to walk out of the Training Room.

The tests for the other two groups also ended one after another.

'Livewire' could release high-voltage currents, condensing them into spheres or whips for attacks.

'Element Man' had quite a few tricks—he could use four different elemental abilities: earth, wind, fire, and water—but none were particularly powerful.

Overall, the three newcomers were decent, at least better than trash like A-Train and The Deep.

Next, Ashley led the three newcomers to see their rooms and had the costume team customize their battle suits.

Azu had just gotten some free time and wanted to head to the Criminal Analysis Department when his phone rang.

On the caller ID, the name 'Lin Aida' flashed.