Freshman Assessment

Oh, he remembered. The evaluation had gone like this:

Thirty thousand years ago, there had been a Spirit Hall at the heart of the continent, a sacred place every Spirit Master yearned to visit. Thirty thousand years later, there was a Shrek Academy at the heart of Douluo Planet, a sacred place every Spirit Master yearned to visit.

Thirty thousand years ago, Spirit Hall had commanded the most Titled Douluo and possessed the continent's greatest military strength. Thirty thousand years later, Shrek had the only God-ranked Douluo in the Douluo Star System and, together with the Tang Sect, possessed the most advanced technology.

Though Shrek Academy hadn't started any wars like Spirit Hall had, it was, after all, still just an academy on the surface. That didn't stop it from forming inspection squads every day and enforcing the law across worlds—not only enforcing the Holy Spirit Cult's law, but also the Federation's and other organizations' laws.

If Shrek Academy weren't an academy, but a sect or an organization, just imagine the trouble it would cause.

No one knew that, in Xia Linyuan's eyes, the flawless Shrek Academy held in such high regard by the people of Douluo Continent was utterly corrupt.

"Xia Linyuan!"

As he was thinking, Xia Linyuan heard someone call his name. He came back to his senses and realized it was his turn to take the entrance assessment.

"Hey, what were you thinking about just now? You were completely absorbed." Gu Yuena nudged his arm.

"Nothing much. I was just badmouthing something," Xia Linyuan said blandly.

When Xia Linyuan didn't elaborate, Gu Yuena didn't press him. "It's your turn. Go on."

"Mm."

As soon as he entered the Beast Fighting Area, the noise around him faded away.

"Xia Linyuan, right?" the examiner asked.

"Yes."

The examiner said, "Though your opponent is only a Ten-Year Soul Beast, Soul Beasts don't know when to hold back. This assessment is no joke. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

"Good. The assessment begins!"

The examiner gestured toward the far end. The Beast Fighting Area, which had been silent, was suddenly filled with the clatter of mechanical gears. Then the enormous iron gate opposite them slowly opened.

A sound of pounding feet came from the dark tunnel.

The pounding stopped abruptly the next second. A shadow flashed past the tunnel entrance, moving incredibly fast. In just a few breaths, it had charged dozens of meters and was lunging straight at Xia Linyuan.

Xia Linyuan pretended to release his Martial Soul and Soul Rings.

As three Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—rose from beneath his feet, black mist poured from Xia Linyuan's body and gathered behind him into the shape of a three-meter-tall humanoid shadow, clad in robes and armor, with a weapon in hand.

Six years ago, when he had "turned" part of his power into a Martial Soul, it had only been possible to make out a vague humanoid outline. But after putting down roots on Douluo Continent over the years and building up his presence through battles in the Endless Mountains and the Abyss Plane, his power had stabilized considerably. At last, it could take the form it had now.

Seeing the three Soul Rings circling Xia Linyuan, the examiner exclaimed in surprise, "A three-ring Soul Elder! What a monster we have this year. And what kind of Martial Soul is that? I've never seen anything like it."

As if recalling something, he flipped through the information on Xia Linyuan in his hands and murmured, "Hunter? What kind of Martial Soul is that? I've never heard of it."

When the examiner looked back at Xia Linyuan, his mouth fell open in astonishment.

W-what was he looking at?!

He'd only lowered his head to glance at Xia Linyuan's file, and the ten-year-old Gale Bei had already been pinned to the ground by dozens of razor-sharp black tentacles, its blood splattered everywhere!

Of course, a three-ring Soul Elder could easily deal with a Ten-Year Soul Beast. But not everyone was like the academy, which placed such importance on practical combat. During previous assessments, plenty of students who were Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters had nearly cried from fright when facing ordinary Ten-Year Soul Beasts.

He'd assumed that even though Xia Linyuan was a three-ring Soul Elder, he'd need at least a few exchanges to subdue the Ten-Year Gale Bei. He hadn't expected Xia Linyuan to pierce it clean through in a single move.

"Xia Linyuan, Xia Lin..." The examiner's muttering came to an abrupt halt.

He remembered now. Wasn't Xia Linyuan the son of Xia Yanqing, Duke Molong of the Star Luo Empire?

Once it occurred to him that Xia Linyuan was Xia Yanqing's child, the examiner suddenly felt it was only natural that Xia Linyuan could kill the Gale Bei with such speed and precision.

After all, he'd gone to war at the age of seven—and not an ordinary war. His enemies had been the savage Abyssal Creatures!

As expected of the Young War God, whom people believed could surpass the Duke of White Tiger! He was already a three-ring Soul Elder at such a young age!

"Xia Linyuan, you passed!"

The examiner stamped Xia Linyuan's application form with an approval seal and returned it to him. After all, he'd still need the form to report and register later.

After Xia Linyuan, it was Gu Yuena's turn.

Ten-Year Soul Beasts were no challenge at all for Gu Yuena. She also defeated hers in a single move, leaving it unable to move, and passed without a hitch.

When she came over with her application form, Xia Linyuan asked coolly, "You don't look like you're in a very good mood."

"Heh." Gu Yuena gave a cold laugh. "How good do you think I can feel, as the Lord of Spirit Beasts, when I see my own people being raised in captivity by humans—and then one of them gets killed by you, my partner?"

"Oh, really? Whether you're in a good mood or not doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm in a good mood."

Gu Yuena's fair forehead immediately bulged with veins.

She really, really wanted to grind this infuriating guy into the ground! But she couldn't beat him! He could pin her to the ground and grind her into the dirt with just one foot!

After the assessment, they went to the white freshman teaching building to report and register.

Once he'd finished registering, Xia Linyuan seemed to sense something and glanced at Gu Yuena. "What are you looking at me for?"

Gu Yuena made a gesture at him. "I don't have any money for tuition."

The meaning was simple: I, Gu Yuena, want you to pay up!

"Heh." Xia Linyuan casually tossed her a thousand Gold Soul Coins. "Don't bother me unless you need something."

Passerby: "..." Just look at him! Who in their right mind would say something like that?

After picking up their dorm keys, two sets of uniforms, and a white freshman badge, they left the freshman teaching building.

As soon as they stepped outside, they saw many students around their age crowding toward the bulletin board.

"What's going on?" Gu Yuena asked.

Xia Linyuan casually glanced at the new notice posted on the bulletin board and said coolly, "The class assignments are out. We're both in Freshman Class One, and our homeroom teacher is Zhou Yi."

"Huh?" Gu Yuena stared at Xia Linyuan, then looked at the distance between them and the bulletin board. "Your eyesight is that good?"

Xia Linyuan glanced at her. "My eyesight's good enough to see how many pores you have on your nose. Believe me?"

Gu Yuena: "..."