If it had only happened once or twice, that would have been one thing. It would have only proved that Bei Bei was strong. But in ten matches, he had easily crushed his opponents every single time.
This couldn't help but make the freshmen curious about Bei Bei's true strength.
After the three-day Freshman Assessment ended, almost half the students had been eliminated and left Shrek Academy.
In the second half of the Freshman Assessment, the top sixty-four teams would compete in one-on-one elimination matches.
The purpose of the elimination matches was to give the students a chance to fully demonstrate their abilities.
Students who stood out and showed great potential would be awarded the title of Outer Court Core Disciple by the Academy.
They would also have a better chance of becoming Inner Court students in the future.
There were six rounds in the elimination matches. Each round would eliminate half the teams, until only one team remained as champion.
Bei Bei had continued to defeat his opponents with ease in the first few rounds.
But in the fifth round, he faced the team led by Tang Ya.
After Bei Bei's guidance, Tang Ya had now fully tapped into her own talent. With the support of her Dark Blue Silver Grass, her strength was improving rapidly.
Tang Ya's Soul Power Level was now twenty-six. She had advanced a level in just three months, and her cultivation speed alone rivaled Bei Bei's.
The two teammates behind her were both Power Attack System Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters.
"First Soul Skill, Blue Silver Entanglement."
Tang Ya cried out. Her First Soul Ring flashed, and countless dark-blue strands of Blue Silver Grass spiraled forward, surging toward Bei Bei from every direction.
Taking advantage of the broad swath of Blue Silver Grass blocking the view, Tang Ya's two teammates hid among the vines and launched an attack on Bei Bei.
Countless golden bolts of lightning burst out around Bei Bei, writhing like little snakes.
The dark-blue Blue Silver Grass was instantly electrocuted into charred husks by the golden lightning.
Tang Ya's Dark Blue Silver Grass had the ability to devour.
With Bei Bei's careful guidance, Tang Ya could now control this devouring ability with reasonable proficiency.
During battle, Tang Ya could avoid unintentionally draining other people's life force.
However, the moment someone touched the grass or was bound by it, their Soul Power would be continuously drained.
With this ability, Tang Ya was an extremely troublesome Control System Soul Master among those of the same level.
"Hmph!"
Bei Bei snorted. Soul Power surged around him, and streaks of golden lightning spread outward.
But he couldn't see Tang Ya's two teammates anywhere.
Two screams rang out behind him. Bei Bei's two teammates had already been knocked off the platform.
After all, two One-Ring Soul Masters could never defeat two Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters, especially in a surprise attack.
Bei Bei didn't mind. He had always favored fighting alone, so he had been somewhat careless.
"Not bad. The Freshman Assessment over the past few days has really improved your ability to control the battlefield," Bei Bei said, looking at Tang Ya with approval.
"What can I do? Not everyone's a freak like you. Even with nothing but your physical strength, nobody among the freshmen can beat you." Tang Ya smiled sweetly, but she didn't stop moving. Her Second Soul Ring flashed beneath her feet.
"Second Soul Skill, Parasite."
Countless invisible spores instantly sprouted around the Blue Silver Grass that had been electrocuted into charcoal. They transformed into dark-blue Blue Silver Vines, which wrapped around Bei Bei and formed a sturdy cage.
At the same time, Tang Ya's two teammates each unleashed their strongest attacks.
"Thunder Dragon!"
A vast surge of golden lightning erupted around Bei Bei and gathered into a golden dragon, radiating mighty draconic pressure.
The dragon swept its claws, severing the Blue Silver Vines around it. Its tail lashed out, scattering the two attacks from behind, then swept the two attackers off the platform.
The golden dragon Bei Bei had formed seemed almost alive. It let out a series of low roars, like raging thunder.
The sight naturally drew the attention of countless students and teachers.
Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo, who were watching the fight, couldn't help but light up.
"It's Reign Over the World! I never thought Bei Bei had mastered it to this degree," Yan Shaozhe said excitedly.
"Our teacher has someone to carry on his legacy! With Bei Bei's talent, given time, he's bound to astonish the entire continent!" Qian Duoduo exclaimed in admiration.
Moreover, Qian Duoduo had already learned from Fan Yu's report that Bei Bei was now a Level 3 Soul Engineer and would soon be able to take the Level 4 Soul Engineer assessment. Talent like his in Soul Tools was extremely rare, even on the Sun Moon Continent.
The Soul Tool Department was preparing to launch an Ultimate Soldier Project. Qian Duoduo felt Bei Bei was the perfect candidate, and thought he would propose the project at the next Sea God Pavilion Meeting.
On the competition platform, Tang Ya saw that her teammates had both been knocked off. She promptly and decisively admitted defeat.
Bei Bei's team won and would face Xu Sanshi's team in the final that afternoon.
At noon, Bei Bei and Tang Ya went to the cafeteria for lunch.
It had been several months since they'd last seen each other. They weren't in the same class, and after lessons Tang Ya also had to study Soul Tools, so she was rarely around.
"Xiao Ya, how's your progress with studying Soul Tools?" Bei Bei asked.
"Not good." Tang Ya sighed softly. She didn't have much talent for Soul Tools and still hadn't successfully inscribed a Soul Tool Core Array even once.
"What have you decided about the partnership I mentioned before?" Bei Bei asked.
Bei Bei had told Tang Ya that the best way to rebuild the Tang Sect was to work with the Soul Tool Department.
If Tang Ya agreed to provide the Soul Tool Department with the Tang Sect's Mechanical Arts, he could persuade Fan Yu and the others to recommend Soul Tool Department graduates to join the Tang Sect and establish a new Tang Sect headquarters in Shrek City.
Tang Ya was still conflicted, but after being battered by reality, she understood that she couldn't rebuild the Tang Sect on her own.
Besides, Bei Bei only wanted the knowledge of mechanical Hidden Weapons, things that had been made obsolete by the advent of Soul Tools.
But the Tang Sect's core inheritances—Mysterious Heaven Skill, Purple Demon Eye, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and Hundred Interpretations of Hidden Weapons—were all still intact. As long as those remained, the Tang Sect would still be the Tang Sect.
Thinking this, Tang Ya slowly nodded. "I'm willing to offer the Tang Sect's mechanical Hidden Weapons in exchange for the Soul Tool Department's help rebuilding the Tang Sect."
"Good." Bei Bei nodded and said slowly, "Once this afternoon's match is over, we'll go see Teacher Fan Yu."
Rebuilding the Tang Sect wasn't Bei Bei's true purpose. He wanted to turn the Tang Sect into an institution like the Sun Moon Empire's Mingde Hall.
It would focus on researching and developing cutting-edge Soul Tools, providing support to Shrek Academy from the sidelines.
To Bei Bei, this would be a force of his own, with the Tang Sect as its outer shell.
Afternoon came quickly.
Bei Bei led his teammates onto the competition platform. On the other side, Xu Sanshi also walked over with two teammates.