Xuan Zi

That evening, when Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi returned to the dormitory, they found Chen Yuan sitting quietly on his bed, diligently cultivating.

They did not know whether it was just an illusion, but the natural energy in the dormitory seemed far denser than usual today.

"Hey, Bei Bei, do you think Chen Yuan can break through to Soul King before the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament begins if he cultivates this hard every day?"

"That's hard to say. Maybe he can. If that happens, he'll be the first member of a Reserve Team in recorded history to become a Soul King."

A Reserve Team member becoming a Soul King was something that had never happened before, even at Shrek.

Bei Bei greatly admired Chen Yuan, but the fact that Chen Yuan was clearly the vice class monitor yet never handled anything in class truly irritated him.

It had even interfered with Bei Bei's dates with Tang Ya.

At Shrek Outer Court, unless someone intended to graduate from the Outer Court, being class monitor was truly useless.

"I could never be like Chen Yuan. He used to stay away from women, and I thought he wouldn't cultivate so hard after getting Xiao Xiao. Yet he took that junior girl training for three whole months."

Xu Sanshi sincerely felt that something was missing in Chen Yuan's head.

"Xiao Xiao and Chen Yuan aren't together yet. It's still hard to say what will happen in the future."

"Besides, unlike us, working hard to raise his cultivation and display his talent is the best choice for him right now."

Bei Bei understood the gap in background between himself and Xu Sanshi compared to Chen Yuan. If Chen Yuan did not cultivate diligently, he might not even be able to control his own fate in the future.

There were countless geniuses appearing across the continent every year, but how many of them truly grew up? How many were assassinated by major powers?

Unless Chen Yuan joined a major power, he still needed to increase his strength faster.

The speed at which Chen Yuan's Soul Power circulated throughout his body suddenly increased. The Soul Power fluctuations emanating from him jolted—Level 47!

"Phew—"

"Tsk, you two finally came back."

"Yeah. If we hadn't come back soon, you probably would've silently pulled ten levels ahead of us."

Bei Bei was currently Level 38, nine levels below Chen Yuan and one level below Xu Sanshi. Of the three of them, his cultivation was the lowest.

It seemed the beating before had still been too light. Mu En's task had not been completed properly. That would not do.

As a worker with principles, Chen Yuan felt that he needed to give Bei Bei another thorough beating. It was definitely not because he wanted another chance to beat Bei Bei openly and honestly.

"Bei Bei, your cultivation is a little low. Want to practice with me?"

"N-no, I'd better not. You never know how to hold back."

"How about this? Once you have four rings, I won't use my Soul Rings. What do you think?"

Bei Bei looked at Chen Yuan suspiciously. Why did he feel that his friend could not possibly be this kindhearted?

He knew all of Chen Yuan's Self-Created Soul Skills. Every one of them was offensive. Once he became a Soul Ancestor, dealing with them should not be much of a problem.

By then, he could also have Chen Yuan serve as his sparring partner and familiarize himself with his Fourth Soul Ring and new combat style more quickly.

After the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul reached three rings, every major breakthrough would transform one body part into dragon form. Each additional dragonized body part was an enormous boost for a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Master.

"Alright!"

"Hey, hey! I'll be the next one in our dormitory to break through to Soul Ancestor! Don't forget about me!"

Chen Yuan and Bei Bei tacitly chose to ignore the loudly protesting man.

Having just broken through and obtained an opportunity like the Heart of Life that could speed up his cultivation, Chen Yuan naturally had to hurry toward Level 50.

Moreover, he still needed to carefully experience the changes brought to him by the Heart of Life.

Seeing that neither of them paid him any attention, Xu Sanshi found it boring and entered a cultivation state as well. He did not want Bei Bei to surpass him.

He was already Level 39. If Bei Bei overtook him, he really would have nowhere to complain.

The next day, since Chen Yuan had just broken through and needed time to stabilize his cultivation, Wang Yan told him to go back where he came from.

After five matches, half the Assessment Zone's work had already been completed. The teams that had lost every match were eliminated.

On the third day, all teams were rematched for five matches. Wang Yan also witnessed the first Martial Soul Fusion Skill of this year's class: the Heavenly Net unleashed by the Lan Sisters.

This time, Huo Yuhao acted again, using Soul Shock to directly cause intense spiritual fluctuations in the Lan Sisters. The powerful backlash from their interrupted Martial Soul Fusion Skill then knocked them unconscious.

Soul Masters with spiritual attributes had always been among the hardest to deal with, since Spiritual Power was invisible and intangible.

In this era, when Spiritual Power had not yet been fully valued, the advantage of spiritual-attribute Soul Masters among low-level Soul Masters was truly immense.

There was not much suspense in the following matches either. For Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong'er, as long as they did not encounter the seed teams from other classes, they could basically win.

After all the day's matches ended, the round-robin stage of the Freshman Assessment was complete. The lower-ranked teams would be expelled directly.

Afterward, Wang Yan learned from Huo Yuhao that his Martial Soul was actually the Body Martial Soul Spirit Eye. Once he confirmed that Huo Yuhao was not from the Body Sect, Wang Yan immediately went to find Xuan Zi.

"Elder Xuan, that's the situation."

"I believe that although these students are freshmen this year, they are indeed worth watching."

Wang Yan stood respectfully to one side.

Before him stood an old man with wildly disheveled hair, whose appearance could no longer be described as merely terrible.

The old man wore a tattered grayish-brown robe and no shoes, his feet soaking directly in the waters of Sea God Lake.

A massive Wine Gourd hung at his waist, while he held a greasy roast chicken in one hand.

A Level 98 Super Douluo, titled Taotie—Xuan Zi.

He was also the strongest person Shrek currently displayed to the outside world, and the designated next Sea God Pavilion Master.

After hearing Wang Yan's report, Xuan Zi opened his bleary crimson eyes, though he still looked just as muddled as before.

"A Body Martial Soul... interesting."

"What a pity. Those two little girls only have hair as their Martial Souls. They barely qualify as Body Martial Souls."

"But Elder Xuan, the two of them can use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and they have Body Martial Souls. Their future potential should not be weak."

"Heh. You study Martial Soul theory, yet your research into Body Martial Souls is this poor?"

"It can't be helped. The Body Sect has remained hidden from the world, and Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls are rare. There simply haven't been many opportunities for research."

"Then I'll give you a few pointers."

Xuan Zi rose from the ground and casually wiped the greasy hand holding the roast chicken twice against his clothes.

"The simplest way to judge the strength of a Body Martial Soul is to see how important that part is to the human body."

"Hair can grow back after it is gone. Even if someone goes bald, they will not die. So those two little girls can only be considered the lowest grade among Body Martial Souls."

"That little fellow you mentioned with the Spirit Eye Martial Soul has a decent Martial Soul. Unfortunately, it has a spiritual attribute, and his first ring is only a Ten-Year Soul Ring."

"Forget it. I've got nothing to do anyway. I'll go watch the Freshman Assessment Elimination Round. Remember to save me a seat."

"I hope that little fellow with the Spirit Eye Martial Soul can give me a surprise."

Xuan Zi had personally experienced the strength of a top-tier Body Martial Soul. The feeling of being suppressed and beaten was not pleasant at all.

He was a dignified Level 98 Super Douluo with the Godly Taotie Bull Martial Soul, yet Du Busi, whose Martial Soul was his body and who possessed no special bloodline, had suppressed him completely.

Whenever he thought of Du Busi's three blood-red Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, then looked at the single Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring on himself, Xuan Zi felt deeply powerless.

He truly could not defeat Du Busi.

On the surface, he was the strongest person on the continent today, but who knew how many hidden powerhouses existed in secret.