Graduation Assessment

Jin Yan followed the crowd to the academy grounds.

By the time he arrived, quite a few people were already there.

Nearly a thousand students enrolled in Martial Soul Academy every year. Even with students dropping out each year for failing, four or five hundred still met the graduation requirements.

With four or five hundred people gathered on the grounds, it did not seem crowded at all.

Jin Yan found a warm spot and sat down. Before long, several figures emerged one after another from the building behind the grounds.

At their head was none other than Martial Soul Academy's dean, Heral. Though the old man was nearly ninety, he showed not the slightest sign of age as he strode proudly to the foremost position on the platform.

Behind him were several sixth-year teachers who had come to observe.

Standing at the front of the stands, Heral circulated his Soul Power and called out to the students below.

"Today is once again the annual sixth-year graduation assessment, so I won't waste time on nonsense.

"I believe you students already know that this graduation assessment differs from previous years. And the people observing it are not merely us teachers."

He paused, his expression turning serious. "I can tell you this: if you perform well in this assessment and catch the attention of the important people above, you may rise straight to the heavens.

"Furthermore, the reward for first place in this graduation assessment is extremely generous. You'd best give it your all."

The truth was, even he did not know what the reward was.

After all, it was a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone meant for his future disciple. How could Bibi Dong reveal such a thing? Although everyone admitted to Martial Soul Academy had a background that could withstand investigation, that was not how things were done. Thus, she had merely hinted to Heral that the reward would be generous.

Moreover, it was easy to imagine that if the champion was anyone other than Hu Liena or Jin Yan, their reward would not be a Soul Bone, but something else.

This was not only to prevent Spirit Hall from losing a Soul Bone, but also to protect the student who won the championship.

If that Soul Bone were truly given away, the student might receive it during the day, only for his corpse to appear in a mass grave that very night!

Even so, Heral's words stirred considerable commotion among the crowd below.

Though Heral had not explicitly said who was coming, no one standing here was a fool. The visitor was surely someone of great importance within Spirit Hall, or Heral would not have spoken in such a manner.

Jin Yan, however, knew that this so-called distinguished guest was likely the one seated in the Pope's Palace. Still, he did not say anything. After all, he did not know a single person around him.

Watching the crowd below buzz with activity, Heral smiled. This had been his purpose all along—to stir up everyone's emotions.

Seeing that the timing was right, he called everyone to order. A respectful expression appeared on his face as he bowed slightly toward his side.

"Welcome, Your Holiness the Pope."

His reverent bow not only bewildered the students below, but even the teachers behind him. Even if an elder from the Elder Hall had arrived in person, the dean would not act like this, would he?

Once they recovered, they hurriedly knelt as well and called out their welcome to His Holiness the Pope.

Sure enough, a beam of light descended where Heral had bowed. Bibi Dong's figure emerged from it, her beautiful face flawless and fair. Ju and Gui Douluo followed closely behind her.

At this, the students below finally came to their senses and all knelt in salute.

For a moment, Jin Yan seemed to be the only person still standing upright on the grounds. He merely bowed slightly in the manner of a junior, then straightened and stood there calmly, conspicuous as a crane among chickens.

Naturally, he did so deliberately. As the grandson of the Second Worship of the Worship Hall, no matter how turbulent Spirit Hall's internal struggles might be, they remained Spirit Hall's internal affairs. Therefore, he needed to show the Pope due respect—but Jin Yan had no intention of kneeling before her.

Bibi Dong naturally said nothing about it. Instead, she gave him a slight nod, appearing exceptionally approachable before outsiders. Ju and Gui Douluo, as well as Heral, all noticed that Jin Yan remained standing.

They knew Jin Yan's identity and naturally would not comment. Although they were supporters of the Pope's faction, none of them would offend a Rank 98 powerhouse over such a trivial matter.

Jin Yan's homeroom teacher, who knew nothing, was pale with fright. Yet she did not dare make any move to remind him. Before a Titled Douluo, any seemingly subtle action would be impossible to conceal.

Bibi Dong smiled faintly. A gentle halo spread from the scepter in her hand, sweeping across the entire grounds. A force that appeared soft yet was immensely powerful lifted everyone to their feet.

"Rise."

"Next, Elder Ju beside His Holiness the Pope will introduce the assessment rules."

Chrysanthemum Douluo, clad in magnificent golden armor, stepped forward and spoke in a shrill voice. "The rules of this assessment are simple. The Pope understands that, throughout a soul master's life, they must enter the Soul Beast Forest many times. It is fraught with danger, so the ability to adapt and survive is indispensable.

"Therefore, your graduation assessment will take place in a Soul Beast Forest raised by our Spirit Hall. There, not only must you survive for seven days without food or water, but you must also use every means at your disposal to seize the identity tokens of others. Once your identity token is lost, whether it is taken from you or misplaced by yourself, your assessment will be considered a failure!

"After the seven-day survival trial ends, anyone still alive will be considered to have passed. Final rankings will be determined by the number of identity tokens obtained."

After hearing the rules, the crowd below collectively breathed a sigh of relief. The assessment did not sound particularly difficult. Surviving for seven days without food or water seemed hard, but there were plenty of clever people among them. The academy had only said they needed to survive in the Soul Beast Forest for seven days; it had never said they could not form teams.

At once, many well-connected students began talking among themselves. Small groups formed before they had even entered the Soul Beast Forest.

As for Jin Yan, he knew no one among the sixth-years. The others did not know his strength either, and perhaps because of his earlier refusal to kneel before the Pope, whether intentionally or not, not a single person came to ask him to team up.

Bibi Dong saw this scene from the platform. A mocking curve rose on her beautiful face.

This was exactly the outcome she wanted. She had carefully designed this assessment to maximize the advantage of her disciple, Hu Liena.