Freshman Assessment

"Mystic Ancestor, that state of Unity of Heaven and Man practiced by the Body Sect—although it, like Reign Over the World, is a technique involving the fusion of spiritual power and soul power, there are significant differences..." Bei Bei asked, voicing his confusion to Mu En.

"The Body Sect's cultivation focuses entirely on the self. They believe the self is everything, that the human body is a microcosm. Their cultivation process is a constant excavation of the potential hidden within the human body," Mu En explained in detail to Bei Bei.

"They fuse their own spiritual power with their soul power and communicate with the heavens and the earth, achieving a state where like qi seeks like, and similar things resonate. To follow this path is to gain; to go against it is to suffer harm."

"It is said that the Body Sect possesses an innate secret technique. Once cultivated to perfection, one can achieve divinity through the flesh. The physical body becomes immune to all negative states, remaining untainted by dust and impervious to all poisons. The body can absorb any energy from the heavens and earth to replenish itself; when the human body and the heavens are one, the power becomes inexhaustible."

Upon hearing this, Bei Bei could not help but click his tongue in wonder. "That is so formidable. Has anyone in the Body Sect actually succeeded in mastering it?"

"It is unclear, but likely not," Mu En shook his head slightly. Currently, only Du Busi within the Body Sect possesses a Body Martial Soul; if he had mastered it, he would have likely broken through to the ninety-ninth rank long ago.

Bei Bei silently committed this to memory. He was quite interested in the Body Sect's approach to cultivation, thinking it might prove helpful to him in the future.

No longer wishing to disturb Mu En, Bei Bei rose and returned to his dormitory.

At this moment, Xu Sanshi was attending class, leaving the dormitory empty. Bei Bei sat cross-legged on his bed to begin his meditation.

It was unknown how much time had passed when the dormitory door opened.

Xu Sanshi walked in and saw Bei Bei's figure. He said with some excitement, "Our busy man has finally returned. Two months have passed in the blink of an eye; what have you been up to?"

"Some family matters," Bei Bei smiled. "Have there been any major events in the academy recently?"

"Nothing major. Just the Freshman Assessment in a month's time," Xu Sanshi said in his usual devil-may-care manner.

Bei Bei nodded. The purpose of the Freshman Assessment was to select talented students, grant them the status of Outer Court core disciples, and lay the foundation for their future advancement into the Inner Court.

Furthermore, it was used to divide freshmen into classes and groups, separating power attack, defense, and support types into different classes to facilitate instruction tailored to their aptitudes.

The two chatted briefly before both began to enter into meditative cultivation.

Bei Bei calmed his heart and felt the power within his body.

Two Martial Souls, the Radiant Dragon King and the Dark Sacred Dragon, resided within him.

At this moment, the Radiant Dragon King Martial Soul was like a great sun, radiating brilliant light.

The Dark Sacred Dragon Martial Soul, however, appeared malnourished, squeezed into a corner.

When his Martial Souls first awakened, the power of the two had been balanced. Even after he focused primarily on his first Martial Soul later on, the two forces had never been this imbalanced.

The connection between the two Martial Souls, which had once resembled a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, had become extremely faint.

It was evident that after the first Martial Soul evolved into the Radiant Dragon King, the compatibility between the two had continuously declined.

Bei Bei felt helpless regarding this; he currently had no means to make the Dark Sacred Dragon evolve again.

Not wanting to lose the ability to perform this self-contained Martial Soul Fusion Skill, he could not help but secretly ponder a solution.

The next morning.

When Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi walked into the classroom, it immediately caused quite a stir.

After all, they had never seen a student take a two-month leave of absence upon enrollment without being expelled.

Many students whispered among themselves regarding Bei Bei's appearance.

Bei Bei paid no mind to this, finding a seat by the window at the back of the classroom.

Soon, the bell rang, and the teacher walked in. After scanning the room, he noticed Bei Bei.

He did not say much, as someone had already greeted him in advance.

He simply had Bei Bei introduce himself so the classmates could get to know him, then began the lecture.

The curriculum consisted of basics that Bei Bei had already taught himself as a child.

Bei Bei diverted his focus, secretly practicing his own meditation.

When class ended, Bei Bei headed to the Soul Tool Department to study the crafting of soul tools with Teacher Fan Yu.

He was researching a new topic: the Humanoid Soul Tool.

The most perfect masterpiece of a soul master and a soul tool was undoubtedly the Battle Armor!

And the Humanoid Soul Tool was precisely the prototype of the Battle Armor.

Bei Bei was conducting his research in this direction.

Time flew by, and a month passed in the blink of an eye; the Freshman Assessment was about to begin.

This assessment would eliminate a portion of the students, and only those who remained would truly be considered Outer Court students.

The teachers began assigning teammates to the students.

Xu Sanshi's teammates were both two-ring soul elders: one power attack type and one agility attack type.

Bei Bei was also assigned two students, both around the first rank, one control type and one support type; their strength was not particularly formidable.

Bei Bei did not care much about this, as with his strength, even a three-on-one fight would not be a problem.

This year's freshmen did not have many eye-catching individuals. Only Xu Sanshi had broken through to the thirtieth-rank Soul Elder; most other students were around the teens or twenties.

After class, Xu Sanshi walked away with a grin. "Hehe, my two teammates are quite good. My goal for this assessment is first place!"

"You should probably set your goal for second place! After all, with me here, first place is definitely mine," Bei Bei said with a faint smile.

"This isn't a one-on-one fight; having good teammates is very important."

Xu Sanshi was very confident in himself; after exchanging a few words with Bei Bei, he took his two teammates away to practice their coordination.

At this moment, Bei Bei's two teammates also arrived, eager to prepare for the Freshman Assessment tomorrow.

"Regarding the assessment, you need not worry. With me here, you only need to watch the battle from the rear with peace of mind. I will lead you to become champions with ease!" Bei Bei instructed the two of them.

But clearly, Bei Bei's empty words lacked much persuasiveness, especially since he had not yet displayed any formidable strength in class, making it difficult for them to be convinced.

Seeing this, Bei Bei suggested they spar a little first to get to know each other.

Bei Bei fought the two of them at once, and without even unleashing his Martial Soul, he toyed with them in the palm of his hand using only his physical strength.

Having witnessed Bei Bei's strength, the two of them underwent an immediate shift in attitude, becoming completely obedient to his every word.

The next morning.

The Freshman Assessment officially began.

There was only one round of competition on the first day, and Bei Bei, acting alone, moved with extreme speed, taking out one opponent with each punch and defeating all three in the blink of an eye.

Bei Bei's high-profile fighting style naturally attracted the attention of many.

On the second day, there were two rounds in the morning and two in the afternoon, totaling four rounds.

Bei Bei continued to win in the same fashion, while his two teammates essentially coasted to victory.

On the third day, they had to undergo five rounds of combat, and Bei Bei's team continued to advance like a hot knife through butter, maintaining a perfect winning record.

As the assessment concluded, Bei Bei's name spread widely among the freshmen. After all, he never used his Martial Soul in any of his matches, easily defeating his opponents with physical strength alone; even a two-ring Soul Grand Master was no match for him in a single exchange.