Wu Feng: Are You Delusional?

The Freshman Assessment knockout tournament lasted for a total of three days.

On the first day, each team competed in one match, primarily to adapt to the rhythm of combat.

On the second day, four matches were held, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.

On the third day, five matches were held.

A total of ten matches served as a dual test of combat power and endurance.

Final rankings were determined by the number of victories. There were three hundred groups of students this year; the bottom two hundred groups were eliminated immediately, while the top sixty-four groups advanced to the semi-finals, with the top three among them receiving rewards.

On the fourth day, the assessment continued, but the Outer Academy had already published the list of eliminated students.

There was no need for unqualified students to drag out the final few days.

The bottom two hundred groups were all eliminated.

When the list was announced, the students fell into states of extreme excitement or despair.

The divide was clear.

Huo Yuhao was at the very tail end of those who passed.

Ninetieth place.

He had come dangerously close, but he had not been eliminated.

The number of freshmen had suddenly dropped by two-thirds.

The vacancy rate for the Shrek freshman dormitories was high; they were only used for three months each year and sat empty for the remaining nine. It was no wonder that when pushing the doors open on the first day, one could see dust everywhere.

Entering the semi-finals, which meant the competition between the remaining sixty-four groups, there was no need to guess.

There was no suspense.

Lu Ran had no equal.

He only needed one or two moves to secure a complete victory every time.

At Shrek, something even more unbearable than failure was voluntarily admitting defeat; it was considered the most shameful act.

Therefore, not a single student who encountered Lu Ran admitted defeat...

They simply used various excuses to avoid taking the stage.

Internal team conflict, insufficient personnel, oversleeping, feeling unwell...

All sorts of reasons.

After all, having high talent and abundant resources had nothing to do with being unwilling to admit defeat.

Who decreed that talented people must be tough?

Wang Yan knew what these little brats were planning, but he let them be.

They would lose regardless of whether they took the stage or not.

Only a very small number of students were brave enough to stand before Lu Ran.

To show respect, Lu Ran did not look down on them, but he did not use heavy hands either.

He simply knocked them off the stage.

Being repelled outside the arena, they would brush the dust off their clothes; it hurt, but they could get back up and go about their business.

There were no lasting effects.

This selective attitude

caused Lu Ran's favorability to soar

among a portion of the students.

They were all freshmen in the same teaching building, and everyone could see that Dai Huabin was arrogant and volatile.

They lacked the ability to defeat him, and they were extremely unhappy about it.

Even among the nobility, there were gaps; some were merely minor nobles, but Dai Huabin was the young master of the Duke's Mansion. The inherited Martial Soul of the Duke's Mansion was the Evil Eye White Tiger.

It held significant weight across all three great empires.

As for Lu Ran, his status, standing, and ability completely crushed Dai Huabin, and he possessed far more charisma.

Due to these many factors, Lu Ran's popularity surged, and he even began to be worshipped by some of the male students.

In the end, there were no surprises, Lu Ran and Wang Dong took first place, and Wang Dong earned a second nickname: the luckiest person in Shrek Academy, with the first nickname being the person with the most beautiful Martial Soul.

Regarding this second nickname, Wang Dong gritted her teeth in hatred, grinding them so loudly in her sleep at night that anyone unaware would have thought it was the sound of some Soul Beast, but she knew that leaving the team to take on three opponents alone was impossible, for no matter how strong she was, she could not be like Lu Ran, so she could only endure it, preparing to shock everyone in the future, thinking of things like "thirty years east of the river, thirty years west," and how her second Soul Ring would be a terrifying thousand-year one...

Her dreams at night were all about pinning Lu Ran down to teach him a lesson:

"Miss Dong'er, I was wrong..."

"Wuwuwu, I, Lu Ran, am the luckiest person in Shrek..."

"Hmph hmph hmph, as long as you know you were wrong!"

After the assessment, the rankings were announced:

Lu Ran and Wang Dong were first, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie were second, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Nanmen Yun'er were third.

Just as resources and character cannot be linked, strength and character also cannot be linked; Dai Huabin was indeed one of the strongest students in this year, and Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie were equally gifted, so taking second place was perfectly normal.

When Du Weilun announced the list of Core Disciples for the Outer Academy, Huo Yuhao, standing in the crowd, felt a sense of powerlessness welling up from the bottom of his heart; he had done everything he could, yet he had only achieved a ranking that nearly resulted in his elimination.

Looking at the radiant Dai Huabin on the stage, he lowered his head, clenched his fists, and deep unwillingness surged within his dark blue eyes.

On the stage, Du Weilun continued, announcing that the top three teams would all receive a uniform reward:

when the students went to obtain their Soul Rings, the academy would assist them in acquiring the Soul Ring most compatible with themselves.

This was not just about hunting;

it covered the entire process from selecting the Soul Beast to completing the hunt. Even if the most suitable choice was an incredibly rare Soul Beast, Shrek would still help them obtain that Soul Ring.

It sounded quite good, and the other students were quite excited, but Lu Ran's reaction was lukewarm;

to him, this was a bit lacking, as he had always been accompanied by a Super Douluo every time he obtained a Soul Ring, with the most extreme instance involving two Super Douluo and a Soul Saint together.

The awards ceremony concluded.

In the teaching building, Yan Shaozhe stood in his office, taking out an exquisite Black Iron Wood box with meticulously carved lines and a surface that shimmered with a metallic luster.

Black Iron Wood generally takes root on mineral veins, growing at an extremely slow pace, and its characteristic is that its body is incredibly hard; it looks like wood, but if you strike it with an axe, sparks will fly, and its weight is no different from a block of iron of the same size.

Most soul beasts of the same rank are helpless against it.

Yan Shaozhe smiled, and the moment he opened the lid, a strange fluctuation of soul power suddenly filled the room, bringing a wave of coolness to Lu Ran as a dense mist of water vapor rushed toward him, transforming the entire office.

There, resting quietly on a piece of bright yellow silk, lay a soul bone.

It was about half a forearm in length, its jade-white surface infused with a vibrant emerald green, the two colors blending and swirling together.

Just looking at it was enough to make one feel refreshed.

"A ten-thousand-year Canglang Waterfall Dragon Right Leg Bone. Its soul skill is likely an offensive one, suitable for Control, Assault, and Support type soul masters."

After saying this, he pushed the wooden box toward Lu Ran.

"..."

Lu Ran stared at the soul bone, remained silent for a few seconds, then shook his head.

"No, Dean Yan,"

"I am not suited to absorb a soul ring at this moment."

"Hm?"

Yan Shaozhe was stunned, thinking he had misheard, but seeing the look on Lu Ran's face, he couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

This was a ten-thousand-year soul bone!

It was worth a fortune in the outside world, and he had selected it personally.

Lu Ran explained, "It doesn't suit me, but I would like to exchange this soul bone for a different reward. Is that possible?"

Yan Shaozhe asked instinctively:

"What do you want to exchange it for?"

"I want to lease two small shops in prime locations, one within Shrek Academy and one within Shrek City."

Yan Shaozhe: "?"