Heavyweights gathered at the Beast Arena, Xiao Xiao's high score stunned the crowd

The Beast Arena is located on the south side of the Soul Fighting Zone and is a semi-circular enclosed building.

The inner circle of the arena is enormous, divided into three areas—hundred-year, thousand-year, and ten-thousand-year—by partitions according to the age of the Soul Beast.

The observation platform at the top is equipped with mentor seats and Soul Tool devices for emergency termination of the assessment.

When Mu Jin led her Class One students into the Beast Arena, Dai Huabin immediately sensed something was wrong.

There were too many people sitting in the stands.

In the very center, at the head of the table, Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Martial Soul Department, held a cup of tea, looking relaxed.

To his left sat a young, beautiful woman with an exceptionally well-maintained face, dressed in elegant attire, and possessing a sharp and commanding presence —Cai Mei'er, the vice dean of the Martial Soul Department.

To Yan Shaozhe's right was a tall woman with striking features and an air of authority. She exuded a subtle sense of pressure; she was none other than Xian Lin'er, the dean of the Soul Guidance Department.

Next up is Qian Duoduo, the vice dean of the Soul Guidance Department.

In the shadows of the last row stood a somewhat disheveled old man holding a chicken leg; it was none other than Chicken Leg Douluo Xuanzi.

Dai Huabin slowed his pace slightly.

Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei'er came to observe the Class Promotion Assessment, which makes sense, since he is the dean of the Martial Soul Department.

Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo are both from the Soul Guidance Department, and Xuan Zi is even an elder of the Sea God Pavilion. This entourage is definitely not here for the Class Promotion Assessment.

They came for the Snow Empress.

Dai Huabin understood.

News of the Ultimate Ice Martial Soul spread among the academy's higher-ups.

This group of people gathered at the Beast Arena today, ostensibly to supervise and assess the candidates, but in reality, they came to see for themselves what kind of person this "Xue Qingyao" really is.

An Ice Empress voice came from behind.

"Huabin, those people up there are all quite strong."

"Okay, don't be nervous, just behave normally," Dai Huabin replied in a low voice.

Ice Empress curled their lip. "Who's nervous?"

Snow Empress didn't say anything, but simply raised her head slightly, glanced around the viewing platform, and then looked away.

The atmosphere on the spectator stands was quite subtle.

Cai Mei'er held her teacup, glancing at Xian Lin'er sitting opposite her out of the corner of her eye. She smiled, but her tone was not very polite.

"Lin'er, Xue Qingyao possesses the Ultimate Ice Martial Soul; she's a natural talent that our Martial Soul Department should focus on cultivating. What are you Soul Guidance Department doing here?"

Xian Lin'er leaned back in her chair, legs crossed, her posture composed. Today, she had specially worn a sharply tailored dark green long dress, which made her look incredibly dashing.

"Mei'er, you're wrong. Do you think I, Martial God Douluo Xian Lin'er, am incapable of teaching her?"

Cai Mei'er's smile remained unchanged, but her tone rose slightly.

"When it comes to teaching the Ultimate Martial Soul Martial Soul, it has to be our Martial Soul Department. Your Soul Guidance Department, don't even try to get involved."

The two exchanged barbs, their voices low, but every word was barbed.

Yan Shaozhe sat in the middle, with his wife Cai Mei'er on his left and Xian Lin'er on his right. He took a sip of tea without saying a word.

If those two women start arguing, he'd be asking for trouble if he interrupted.

Qian Duoduo sat behind Xian Lin'er, shrinking his neck and not daring to make a sound.

Xuan Zi, sitting in the last row, was munching on a chicken leg, completely unaware of this underhanded battle.

Her attention was entirely on the Beast Arena below, or more precisely, on the boy named Dai Huabin.

Below the Beast Arena.

Mu Jin stood in front of the trainees, holding the assessment roster in her hand, and checked the information of each person one by one.

She wore a plain-colored long dress, her features were gentle, and her voice was soft.

"Dear students, you are all familiar with the rules of the Class Promotion Assessment. You can choose to defeat or subdue Soul Beast in your chosen area, either solo or in a team. Three instructors will jointly score your performance; a score of 60 is required to pass."

Mu Jin paused, then glanced around at the line of people.

"When choosing a region, be realistic about your abilities and don't overexert yourself. If you get injured, the on-site mentors will intervene, but your assessment score will be affected."

Dai Huabin stood at the front of the line, with Zhu Lu to his right, and Ice Empress and Snow Empress standing in the back.

Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, and Cui Yajie stood close together, whispering to each other.

No sooner had Mu Jin finished speaking than Dai Huabin chimed in.

"Don't worry, Teacher Mu Jin, there's a surprise in today's assessment."

Mu Jin paused for a moment, then looked up at him.

Dai Huabin spoke casually and confidently.

Mu Jin smiled and didn't ask any further questions. She knew Dai Huabin; he usually kept his word.

"Then I'll wait and see."

Xiao Xiao was the first to go on stage.

When she walked out of the queue, she was not tall and looked quite petite, but her delicate face had a serious expression on it.

The head referee Gong Changlong, stood in the center of the field, flipped through the information card in his hand, and glanced up at Xiao Xiao.

"Xiao Xiao, a level 30 Quasi -Soul Elder, challenges a thousand-year-old Soul Beast single-handedly?"

Gong Changlong asked one more question, "Are you sure?"

He was a veteran referee in the Soul Fighting Zone and had seen too many freshmen overestimate their abilities.

It's not impossible for a level 30 player to solo a thousand-year-old Soul Beast, but the risk is very high.

Xiao Xiao straightened up and nodded.

"Sure."

Gong Changlong didn't try to persuade him any further, and raised his hand to signal the gate to open.

The metal gate slowly rose, and a thousand-year-old Rock-Armored Porcupine covered in gray-brown rock spikes rushed out of the secret passage.

This thing is not large, but its rock spikes are exceptionally hard, making it extremely powerful when it impacts.

The destructive power of a fully grown, thousand-year-old Rock-Armored Porcupine charging at full speed is enough to smash through a three-foot-thick stone wall.

Without hesitation, the Rock-Armored Porcupine charged at Xiao Xiao with its four hooves stomping on the ground and its head bowed.

The ground trembled slightly under its footsteps, and the rock spikes stood up as it ran, like a moving ball of iron spikes.

The trainees on the sidelines gasped.

Xiao Xiao did not retreat.

She lowered her body and changed her footwork, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

She drifted to the right like a falling leaf, the Rock-Armored Porcupine's charge grazing her clothes, missing her by less than half a foot.

As Xiao Xiao turned to the side, her Second Soul Ring lit up.

"Second Soul Skill, Cauldron Defense!"

The three Soul -Soul-Suppressing Cauldron coalesced in front of her and then merged into one.

The combined cauldron shimmered with a pale golden light, and its size was nearly twice that of the single cauldron.

The Rock-Armored Porcupine stopped its charge, turned around, and followed with a second charge.

Xiao Xiao Xiaohe stood in front of him, taking the porcupine's head-on attack.

The dull thud of metal clashing echoed across the arena. Xiao Xiao was pushed back two steps, but she regained her footing, and He Ding remained motionless.

The porcupine was momentarily dizzy from the shock.

Just this one moment.

Xiao Xiao's first Soul Ring lit up.

"First Soul Skill, Cauldron Shock!"

The combined cauldron emitted an invisible shockwave that spread outwards from the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron as its center.

The Rock-Armored Porcupine was within a meter of the cauldron, and the shockwave directly entered its brain.

The porcupine's four legs suddenly gave way, it staggered a couple of steps, and its whole body swayed unsteadily.

Dizziness effect.

Xiao Xiao didn't waste this window; she controlled the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron to fly out and accurately smash it into the porcupine's left foreleg joint.

The porcupine cried out in pain, struggling to stand up.

Xiao Xiao's steps didn't stop. The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track led her around the porcupine, always maintaining a distance of about three meters from the Soul Beast.

After the porcupine recovered, it charged again. Xiao Xiao used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to dodge, then used Cauldron Defense to block the frontal attack, and Cauldron Shock to provide additional control.

The entire process was executed flawlessly.

Yan Shaozhe put down his teacup on the viewing platform.

A full five minutes.

Xiao Xiao, with only level 30 Soul Power, used two Soul Skills and a set of footwork to completely outmaneuver the Thousand-Year Rock-Armored Porcupine.

He wasn't touched once, didn't suffer any injury, and controlled his Soul Power consumption with extreme precision.

Gong Changlong blew the whistle to signal the end.

The Rock-Armored Porcupine was subdued by the instructors and taken back to the secret passage. Xiao Xiao put away her Martial Soul, exhaled, and saw fine beads of sweat on her forehead.

The three assessment mentors raised their scoreboards almost simultaneously.

Total score 120, excellent!

There was a two-second silence on the sidelines, followed by a burst of noisy discussion.

"120 points? That's amazing! 60 points is a passing grade, right?"

"Who is Xiao Xiao in?"

"Second-Year Class One, Dai Huabin's class."

Mu Jin stood on the sidelines, her fingers unconsciously clenching the roster.

Her understanding of Xiao Xiao was limited to "Twin Martial Souls, good talent," and she mostly regarded Xiao Xiao as an accessory to Dai Huabin and the others.

But what was demonstrated in today's assessment far exceeded her expectations.

It's not about brute force, it's about controlling the battle.

A level 30 Soul Master who can maintain zero injuries and zero mistakes when facing a thousand-year-old Soul Beast —this level of combat skill is outstanding even among senior students in the Outer Academy.

Du Weilun sat on the side of the spectator stand, his pen pausing for a moment.

He was responsible for recording each trainee's performance in the assessment, and he watched Xiao Xiao's assessment from beginning to end.

How did this girl manage to get 120 points in a game with a level 30 character?

Du Weilun glanced subconsciously at Dai Huabin, who was standing in the queue.

The young man was talking to Zhu Lu beside him, his expression calm, as if he had known this would be the outcome all along.

Xiao Xiao returned to the queue, and Cui Yajie came up to her and patted her on the shoulder.

"Wow, Xiao Xiao, 120 points!"

Xiao Xiao wiped the sweat from her forehead and curled her lips slightly. "It was alright, but the porcupine was too fast; I almost couldn't dodge it once."

"Almost? I thought you handled it with ease."

Wang Dong'er crossed her arms, her tone slightly sour, "Did you two spend the whole holiday training with that guy?"

Xiao Xiao and Cui Yajie exchanged a glance but neither spoke.

Wang Dong'er snorted.

Dai Huabin glanced back and gave Xiao Xiao a thumbs up.

Xiao Xiao's face flushed slightly, and she quickly turned her head away.