Upgrade Assessment (2)

"How should we do this? You first, or me?"

They could already be considered upperclassmen, and there was no scheming between the teachers of the two classes. They all knew which students were strong.

All things considered, the teachers handed the task of arranging the order of battle to Bei Bei, the class monitor.

Class One was a Power Attack System and Control System class. Originally, one student from each system should have been chosen as class monitor, but the Control System students of their year were truly lacking.

So both class monitors were from the Power Attack System, though Chen Yuan had always been a vice class monitor who never handled anything.

In his words, being class monitor neither earned points nor paid money, so why do it?

"Either way."

Jiang Nannan was currently on the field. As the Outer Court's number one beauty, the moment she stepped out, quite a few boys focused their gazes on her.

No wonder Xu Sanshi was so obsessed with Jiang Nannan. Aside from the guilt in his heart, there was probably also lust involved.

Jiang Nannan's appearance was truly outstanding: a perfect figure, soft and sweet features, and golden, wavy hair. She truly deserved the title of Outer Court's number one beauty.

Though that title might soon be stolen by some freshman.

By now, that Big White Goose should be arguing with Zhou Yi, right?

In the arena, a Millennium Black Panther emerged from behind the gate.

Jiang Nannan released her Martial Soul. Her figure became even more slender, two white rabbit ears appeared atop her head, and three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—pulsed around her.

This was clearly a contest of speed. Woman and beast darted and shifted across the arena, leaving behind only afterimages.

The black panther suddenly accelerated, becoming far faster than Jiang Nannan. But Jiang Nannan's figure flashed, and she appeared behind it.

She followed up with Gravity Control, making the black panther stagger. Feeling its body suddenly grow heavier, the black panther struggled to push itself up and charged at Jiang Nannan again.

Using the same trick, she Teleported away from the attack and canceled Gravity Control. The sudden change in gravity left the black panther unable to adapt, and it slammed hard into the wall.

While the black panther was dizzy and disoriented, Jiang Nannan used Teleportation to close in and viciously kicked it in the waist.

A kick from a high-level Soul Elder, even one from an Agility Attack System soul master, was enough to injure the black panther.

Gravity Control lowered the gravity around the black panther to its minimum. Jiang Nannan clamped her legs around its neck, then followed with her First Soul Skill, Waist Bow, actually hurling the Millennium Black Panther through the air.

Teleportation!

Jiang Nannan appeared above the black panther and kicked down fiercely. With a bang, the black panther crashed to the ground, sending up a huge cloud of dust.

When the dust settled, it revealed the black panther within, trying to stand but unable to do so no matter what.

Jiang Nannan's chest rose and fell as she exhaled a breath of stale air.

This was already the limit of what she could do. If she still couldn't defeat the black panther, she could only wear it down.

Her attacks mainly consisted of grappling techniques and legwork. Against Soul Beasts, her direct offensive power was severely lacking.

If her Soul Skills hadn't been strong enough, she probably wouldn't have been able to take down that black panther.

"Jiang Nannan, final score: 125 points."

Upon hearing her score, Jiang Nannan finally let out the breath she had been holding. This score was enough to earn her scholarship for the academic year.

Hearing Jiang Nannan's score on the field, Tang Ya, who had been sitting there quietly with nerves taut, couldn't help feeling happy for her roommate and best friend.

"Bei Bei, let me go."

"Are you sure, Xiao Ya?"

"One way or another, I have to go. Better to finish sooner."

Having only just advanced to Soul Elder, Tang Ya still had a clear understanding of her own strength. Passing this assessment shouldn't be a problem.

The moment Tang Ya stepped onto the field, she released her Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. The gate opposite her soon rose, and a Soul Beast bound in iron chains appeared in the arena.

The Rock Bird flapped its wings and took flight as soon as it entered the field. Bound by chains, it could not fly very high.

Tang Ya's expression turned extremely ugly. She hadn't expected her luck to be this bad, drawing a flying Soul Beast.

At low levels, the ability to fly was an advantage in itself.

After absorbing three Soul Rings, her Blue Silver Grass barely resembled its original form anymore. Someone could call it black vines, and others would believe it.

The Rock Bird dived down. Tang Ya used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to swiftly evade the attack. When its first strike failed, the Rock Bird flew high into the air, giving Tang Ya no chance to attack it.

If she did not display sufficiently outstanding control, Tang Ya's score was destined to be low.

Seeing the chains around the Rock Bird's legs, Tang Ya used all her strength to manipulate the Blue Silver Grass and draw its attention.

With so much grass blocking its vision, the Rock Bird used its speed advantage and sharp claws to continuously tear apart the Blue Silver Grass.

"Second Soul Skill, Parasite!"

As she activated her Second Soul Skill, the seeds hidden within the severed Blue Silver Grass stems were stimulated, growing into even more Blue Silver Grass.

It looked quite intimidating, but this Blue Silver Grass could not last long. The grass interwove into a net, attempting to capture the Rock Bird.

The large net drew the Rock Bird's attention, while Blue Silver Grass quietly crawled up the iron chains binding it.

"First Soul Skill, Entangle!"

The Blue Silver Grass tightened continuously and wrapped around itself, forcibly dragging the Rock Bird down a little.

Seeing that the method worked, Tang Ya released Blue Silver Grass with all her strength. At the same time, her hands turned jade-colored as she drew throwing knives, Bone-Piercing Nails, and steel needles from the Storage Soul Tool at her waist.

Using Tang Sect Hidden Weapon techniques, countless hidden weapons shot toward the Rock Bird, which had barely entered her attack range.

Seeing so many hidden weapons, Bei Bei, seated in the stands, looked extremely excited. Tang Ya's upgrade assessment would definitely be fine now.

Unfortunately, the Rock Bird noticed the human's intentions below and flapped its wings with all its strength, flying even higher and giving her no chance to hit it.

Seeing that Tang Ya truly had no way to deal with the airborne Rock Bird, the proctor stepped in and sent it back to the Beast Pen.

"Tang Ya, final score: 70 points."

That score was barely enough to pass the upgrade assessment.

After thanking the assessment teacher, Tang Ya returned to Class One's spectator stand with her head lowered.

Bei Bei immediately went over to comfort Tang Ya. Judging by this, he definitely would not be taking the field next.

Chen Yuan jumped into the arena and waited calmly.

The gate opened, and a scorching aura slowly approached. A crimson lion appeared in the arena.

"Dali Gu, I'll leave it to you."

"No problem, Gulu."

Martial Soul Possession. Chen Yuan's third purple Soul Ring flashed as he activated an amplification Soul Skill.

Third Soul Skill, Heart of Flame. After activation, fire attribute +60%, strength and attack power doubled (independent multiplier).

As the Soul Skill activated, the temperature around Chen Yuan skyrocketed, and his aura surged. From afar, heat waves distorted the air around him due to the extreme temperature.

Sensing those flames, the Flame Lion's body shrank back involuntarily, and it let out a low growl to bolster its courage.

"Ligu Fireball!"

His Dragon Soul-infused left hand slammed onto the ground. A scorching fireball leaped from Chen Yuan's left hand, bounced twice across the floor, and smashed into the Flame Lion.

"Roar!"

The Flame Lion let out a howl, and its entire body was blasted backward, sent straight back where it had come from.

"Xiao Yuan, your amplification Soul Skill is really useful."

"Of course. When the time comes, we'll activate every amplification and unleash the Sky Wing Lion King Demon-Breaking Fist."

Just imagining that scene made Chen Yuan feel a little excited.

"Chen Yuan, final score: 140 points!"

The instant the score was announced, the entire venue fell silent.

What? Only 140 points? He blasted away a Millennium Soul Beast in one move! That still wasn't enough for full marks? Did he have to kill the Soul Beast?

If that happened, Gong Changlong would get angry, wouldn't he?

The people in the stands wore mixed expressions. Some felt Chen Yuan's score was too low, while others thought he should not have gone on so early and should have let others go first.

He saw Bei Bei at the passageway. Once this match ended, it seemed Bei Bei would be the next member of Class One to take the field.

"Chen Yuan, congratulations on getting such a high score."

"You could get this score too. Have you comforted your Tang Ya?"

"Yeah. Her score was a little low, and Xiao Ya couldn't control her emotions for a while, but she's fine now."

"All right, the upgrade assessment is over, so I'll be leaving first. You know I still have things to do."

"Mm, go ahead. Your matters are more important. Since our little junior brother is in Class Nine, help me ask how he's getting along with the people in his class."

"No problem."

Chen Yuan had never paid attention to which class Huo Yuhao had been assigned to, as long as he had not been placed in Freshman Class One.

Come to think of it, Bei Bei truly devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Tang Sect. Not only did he have to comfort the upset Tang Sect master, he also had to care about the newly recruited Huo Yuhao.

Without Bei Bei, this Tang Sect might have fallen apart long ago.

Knowing full well that she had a blood feud, Tang Ya had still run back to Heaven Dou City alone. Chen Yuan had no idea what was going through her head.

Looking across the entirety of Peerless Tang Sect, Tang Ya had always been dead weight.

Bei Bei had always been the one managing the Tang Sect, while Huo Yuhao had come up with combining Soul Tools and Hidden Weapons.

As for the other members, He Caitou joined because of Huo Yuhao, while Xiao Xiao joined because of Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao.

Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan joined because of Mu En's request before his death. In the end, that was also because Bei Bei was in the Tang Sect; otherwise, the Tang Sect would not have had the leverage to ask Mu En for help.

All those who joined the Tang Sect later did so because of Huo Yuhao.

To put it bluntly, everyone else worked themselves to the bone for the Tang Sect, but what about Tang Ya, its nominal sect master? She went and got herself killed.

Not only did she get herself killed, she even stood against the Tang Sect.

This was hilarious. My enemy was actually my sect master.