Bai Cai and Wang Dong knew each other's Soul Skills and how they worked. They had sparred countless times in private.
As the saying went, "Put on your socks before your shoes; be a grandson before you become a grandpa." Wang Dong had been locked down by Confusion so many times that she'd gained plenty of battle experience. She even pushed Bai Cai aside and, like a senior, coached Xiao Xiao on how to deal with an enemy Soul Master caught in Confusion.
"An enemy whose limbs and joints are locked by Confusion basically can't break free."
Drawing on her experience, Wang Dong said, "Xiao Xiao, just wait for the right moment. While they're still caught off guard, knock them straight out of the arena."
"What if they react in time?" Xiao Xiao asked in return. "Besides, wouldn't using a Soul Skill let them break free pretty quickly?"
"Don't worry. Apart from me, no one knows about Xiao Bai's Confusion."
Wang Dong smiled. "It'll take at least three rounds—three rounds at the very least—for them to figure out how Confusion works. When Xiao Bai locked me down, I almost..."
"Almost what?" Xiao Xiao looked at Wang Dong in front of her, then glanced at Bai Cai in the distance. "You two seem to get along really well. Surely you wouldn't go too hard on each other?"
"It wasn't like that at first." Wang Dong still looked shaken. "I almost got my face disfigured that time."
"I never would've guessed you had that kind of history." Xiao Xiao muttered under her breath. "What a shame."
"What's a shame?" Wang Dong said amiably. "Aside from Xiao Bai, anyone who dares hit me in the face is going to regret it."
"What happened after that?" Xiao Xiao asked curiously. "Did you two make up, Wang Dong?"
"Yeah." Wang Dong gazed at Bai Cai's back, seeming a little lost in thought. "We made up."
"And then?" The pretty girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "How did you make up?"
"Secret." Wang Dong smiled. Without thinking, she hid her left hand and gently touched the Sea-Blue Bracelet on her left wrist with her right. "Anyway, we made up."
Girls of eleven or twelve were far more mature than boys their age. Wang Dong had already sensed a hazy fondness stirring deep inside her.
Although Bai Cai's previous life had been as an adult, she had spent ten years away from the Information Age, among the simple villagers of Cainong Village and the children at Farnos Junior Soul Master Academy. After all that time, she had been shaped by those around her. Her way of thinking was hard to change, but her mind had grown almost childlike.
Wearing a mask for too long was bound to bring confusion. Between the memories of her past life and the person she was now, Bai Cai could no longer tell who she really was.
The next day, at the Assessment Area.
Shrek Academy's Assessment Areas were divided into two kinds. One was the Closed Assessment Area, where students from the inner courtyard tested special Soul Skills. It was highly confidential. The other was the Open Assessment Area, a stage for students from the outer courtyard to show off their energy and skills.
The Open Assessment Area was oval and spacious. Low walls enclosed it, and partitions divided the interior into more than fifty sections.
In fact, the partitions inside the Open Assessment Area could be freely removed and rearranged, splitting the space into assessment fields of varying sizes and numbers.
The assessment fields were most numerous during the freshman assessments. Freshmen were numerous, but their destructive power and attack range were limited, so a field that was too large would only hinder their performance.
The Open Assessment Area covered more than twenty thousand square meters. It had now been divided into fifty equal assessment fields, each roughly four hundred square meters and square in shape.
Most freshmen had only one or two rings. A square assessment field of four hundred square meters was more than enough for them to show their strength.
That afternoon, the assessments officially began. On the first day, to help the freshmen adjust, each team was scheduled for only one battle. The academy sent fifty teachers to register the participants and direct the flow of examinees.
Freshman Class One had only twenty-two teams. The other classes generally had more than thirty teams each. Unless a class had performed terribly during freshman training, the class teacher usually wouldn't expel students before the freshman assessment. Zhou Yi was the exception.
Three hundred and ten teams were taking part in the freshman assessment, for a total of nine hundred and thirty students. However, only the top one hundred and fifty teams would qualify as official first-year students.
The competition was so fierce that it was easy to see how Shrek Academy's survival-of-the-fittest approach had turned all its upper-year and inner-courtyard students into champions of the rat race, elite Soul Masters.
There were only fifty assessment fields, so each one was assigned six or seven teams. After the teams competed in rotation, they would be regrouped to continue until every team had completed its ten matches.
Bai Cai, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao had been assigned to Assessment Field No. 33. During the ten-round round-robin, the academy wouldn't match teams from the same class against each other, so hardly anyone at the field knew Bai Cai or Xiao Xiao.
Wang Dong drew the eyes of most of the teams. She was, after all, a famous playboy among the freshmen, handsome and powerful. Many girls had secretly fallen for her, including her own teammate, Xiao Xiao, so she wasn't exactly popular.
"All freshmen, please pay attention. All freshmen, please pay attention. Enter the assessment area immediately and prepare for the freshman assessment. You have ten minutes to enter. Latecomers will not be admitted and will forfeit this assessment."
The clear announcement rang out across every corner of the outer courtyard. The whispers gradually died away, and an intangible hostility spread through the assessment area. The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.
"Do you remember our strategy?" Bai Cai stood behind Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. "Unless we run into a seeded team, try to conserve our strength."
"I'm scared." Xiao Xiao trembled slightly, looking anxious. "What if I mess up?"
"Trust us, and trust yourself." Bai Cai moved a little closer and encouraged her. "Once you release your Martial Soul, just charge straight at them."
A teacher who looked to be about forty walked into Assessment Field No. 33. He had an ordinary appearance and no imposing air about him. He wore a warm, amiable smile.
After counting the students, the teacher smiled. "Good, all six teams are here. Let me introduce myself. My name is Wang Yan. I'm the examiner for Assessment Field No. 33, and I'll also be the referee."
"Hello, Teacher Wang," the students greeted him.
"No need, no need."
Wang Yan waved his hand and said gently, "Before the assessment is over, I hope you can all become friends. Friends can compete with each other, but they shouldn't hurt one another."
"Inflicting serious injury on an opponent is prohibited. If you break that rule..." Wang Yan paused briefly, then said casually, "I'll have no choice but to report it to the academy and ask them to send you away."
The students nodded in agreement. Wang Yan smiled. "All right, let's begin. First round, first match: Freshman Class One—Bai Cai, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao; Freshman Class Seven—Huang Chutian, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo."
"The teams listed above, enter the assessment field. Keep at least ten meters apart. No one may release their Martial Soul before the match begins."
A tall, burly male student led two petite, adorable girls into the assessment field first.
To everyone's surprise, the two girls looked exactly alike. They had blue hair and rosy cheeks, and looked even younger than Xiao Xiao.
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