March

Time passed slowly. Three months later, only sixty-seven students remained in Freshman Class One.

Bai Cai consumed two Mystic Water Pills, and Wang Dong gradually became more diligent.

The two still kept their respective secrets. Wang Dong seemed to have forgotten the existence of the pink spirit ring, never asking about the ring-shaped Soul Tool or the Mystic Water Pill worth ten thousand gold. Bai Cai continued to follow his promise to clean the dormitory, tolerating Wang Dong's occasional pretentious speech and behavior.

The position of class monitor remained unchanged; Wang Dong defeated every student who dared to challenge him with clean, decisive strikes. Bai Cai maintained his habit of keeping a low profile, becoming a regular at the library.

"Other classes have already started grouping up for the assessment." Wang Dong lay lazily on the soft fur. To hold onto his position as class monitor, he had not slacked off in the slightest, only feeling a bit more relaxed during idle chatter.

With his handsome appearance and formidable strength, Wang Dong had become the dream lover of most female students in Freshman Class One, and even girls from neighboring classes sent him love letters.

With so many admirers, Wang Dong was very well-informed, even obtaining the assessment groupings of other classes through certain means.

Only a few classes had yet to conduct their assessment groupings, including Freshman Class One, taught by Zhou Yi.

Wang Dong could vaguely guess who his future teammates would be, but with the freshman assessment approaching, he tossed and turned every day that Zhou Yi failed to finalize the groups.

"According to past practice, unless there are special circumstances, the composition of seed teams remains basically the same: one Power Attack System Spirit Master, one Control System Spirit Master, and one Defense or Support System Spirit Master."

Bai Cai sat on his bed reading a book on the fundamentals of Soul Tool theory and said casually, "Your teammates should be me and Xiao Xiao."

Xiao Xiao was a petite female student with delicate features. Her combat style leaned toward defensive counterattacks, and her awakened martial soul was the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, which possessed both defensive and support capabilities.

Among the defensive Spirit Masters in Freshman Class One, Xiao Xiao's spirit power and practical combat results were at the forefront, with her overall ranking in the middle. She had once actively challenged Wang Dong for unknown reasons.

Although he kept a low profile, Bai Cai knew that Zhou Yi must be aware he had entered through a special admission program—one that had even alarmed the upper echelons of the academy to gift him a Soul Tool as a Control System Spirit Master.

When Zhou Yi divided the seed teams, adhering to the principle of using the best steel on the blade's edge, she would inevitably group him, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong together.

"That's easy for you to say," Wang Dong complained. "What if Zhou Yi suddenly goes crazy and insists on..."

Before he could finish, a melodious bell rang. Wang Dong stopped abruptly, sealing his lips.

The classroom was much emptier. Bai Cai and Wang Dong walked to their seats as usual.

Zhou Yi arrived in the classroom right on time. "Physical training is suspended. Tomorrow is the freshman assessment; I know you have all been looking forward to it for a long time."

"It has been three months since the start of the term, and we are about to welcome the first assessment of Shrek Academy."

"By passing this assessment, you can become official first-year students. If nothing goes wrong, you will be able to stay at the academy to cultivate until the first-year graduation exam."

"The focus of the assessment is combat. That's right—even Support System and Food System Spirit Masters must participate in combat."

"The freshman assessment will be conducted in the form of team battles. The rules are the same as in previous years: teams of three will participate."

"Each team can have at most one Power Attack System Battle Spirit Master; the other two members can be configured as you like. When dividing teams, first consider students from the same dormitory; others can form groups freely or decide by drawing lots."

"This year, nearly three hundred teams of students are participating in the freshman assessment. Only half will be able to remain in the academy, basically the top one hundred and fifty teams."

"The assessment uses a point system. Opponents are decided by drawing lots. Each team will conduct at least ten battles, and rankings will be based on the number of wins."

"The top sixty-four teams will hold a knockout tournament. The academy will distribute different rewards to the top four teams of the tournament. The rewards for the champion team are extremely precious, so I hope you will seize the opportunity."

Zhou Yi said indifferently, "There are currently sixty-seven students, which can be divided into twenty-two groups, with one person left over. The groups have now been divided based on the characteristics of your martial souls."

"If you are not satisfied, you can discuss it among yourselves after returning and resubmit by tomorrow morning; otherwise, you will bear the consequences."

"Now, the class monitor will collect the future cultivation direction survey forms," Zhou Yi said coldly.

The future cultivation direction survey forms had been distributed by Wang Dong yesterday, and each student had checked them repeatedly before handing them to him.

After collecting the forms, Zhou Yi waved her hand. Wang Dong took the stack of papers to the podium and then returned to his seat.

"Group One: Wang Dong, Bai Cai, Xiao Xiao."

"Group Two: Zi Hao, Ma Qingshuang, Leng Leng."

"If there are any objections, negotiate among yourselves or come to me. You must submit applications for changing teammates before tomorrow morning."

"Finally, Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao, stay behind," Zhou Yi said with a smile, though her face remained as cold as frost.

Bai Cai and Wang Dong left the classroom and waited by the stairs for Xiao Xiao. Without Xiao Xiao's coordination, the freshman assessment would likely be fraught with setbacks.

A three-person team with good coordination could achieve a result where one plus one was greater than two.

No matter how Bai Cai and Wang Dong created advantages, two fists could never defeat four hands. If they encountered seed teams from other classes, they would return in defeat.

Waiting for Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong felt bored and suddenly suggested, "Little White, it's been a month. Why don't we have a spar?"

Wang Dong was about a year older than Bai Cai. When he was in a good mood, he would call Bai Cai "Little White," and when he was in a bad mood, he would call him by his full name.

However, since their first fight, Wang Dong rarely had a bad mood.

"I can't beat you," Bai Cai politely declined.

Without that blue-gold power, Bai Cai's winning percentage would reach seventy percent; during private spars, he could often suppress Wang Dong.

Unfortunately, the "fight" Wang Dong referred to was a personal spirit duel. Once Wang Dong got serious, the blue-gold light would circulate, and Ralts's telekinesis would become useless.

A mage being rushed by a warrior—that was about the size of it.

"Wang Dong?" Xiao Xiao left the classroom and saw Wang Dong at the stairwell. The young girl said shyly, "Are you waiting for me?"

"Little White is waiting for you, not me," Wang Dong retorted instantly.

"Xiao Xiao is an important teammate, so of course she is worth the wait." Bai Cai closed his notebook and comforted the delicate-looking girl.

"To be honest, the two of us can already crush the opposition," Wang Dong said, patting Bai Cai on the shoulder. "Why bother looking further afield and training with three people?"

"Arrogant," Xiao Xiao remarked.

Ever since Wang Dong had won her Soul Fight against Bai Cai, her studies and daily life had been smooth sailing without a single setback, leaving her feeling slightly inflated. She immediately retorted, "Shall we try a one-on-one?"

"Tch." Xiao Xiao's expression shifted slightly. "If you've got the guts, try taking on both me and Bai Cai at once."

"Not interested." Wang Dong turned her head and shoved Bai Cai along as she walked away.

Although Wang Dong was feeling conceited, she hadn't lost her mind; if two of her soul skills were sealed, fighting Xiao Xiao would be no different than digging her own grave.