Entering the Reserve Team

While Shrek Academy was in the midst of its heated reserve team selection, the Sun Moon Empire was not to be outdone.

After Lin Yun and Snow Empress verified their Soul Tool Master ranks, they also began their own reserve team selection assessment.

The reserve team assessment on the Sun Moon Empire side was actually not very rigorous.

Unlike the chaotic brawls at Shrek, candidates here were tested one by one. The content of the assessment was to survive for a certain amount of time against a Soul Tool Master one or two ranks higher than oneself.

If one could manage a counter-kill, they would be admitted directly into the reserve team, bypassing any scoring or selection process.

Lin Yun had "great" luck—or to put it bluntly, he was being targeted. As a Level 3 Soul Tool Master, his Soul Ancestor cultivation level meant he was matched against a Level 6 Soul Tool Master.

Fortunately, his opponent was a melee-type Soul Tool Master, lacking the long-range Soul Tools that could unleash attacks equivalent to a full-power strike from a Soul Emperor.

Even so, it remained tricky, because one could never know how many Soul Tools a melee specialist might have tucked away to use as trump cards.

Furthermore, melee Soul Tool Masters often possessed strange, special effects for close-quarters combat.

The most classic example was the Judgment Sword, with its reversal properties and forced infusion of dark attributes.

Although that was a Level 8 Soul Tool and the man before him was only a Level 6, it was still something that required careful defense.

After Lin Yun stepped onto the stage, he looked at his opponent, who was dressed in a somewhat Japanese style.

It was truly Japanese-inspired, especially the white headband tied around his forehead, which featured a red dot for reasons unknown.

Lin Yun felt as if he had just been buffed.

Lin Yun cupped his hands in a salute, and his opponent gave a slight bow in return to signal the start.

"Then, Examiner, shall I begin?" Lin Yun asked.

"Bring it on. I will not show any mercy."

Lin Yun nodded, and a pair of bone wings suddenly unfurled from his back.

His eyes turned red as he replied, "If you don't show mercy, that's even better. All this holding back just makes things troublesome."

As he spoke, a beam of purple-black light shot from the top of Lin Yun's head.

It was the Terror Ray from his Terror Demon Dragon King external head soul bone.

The Soul Tool Master immediately drew the blade at his waist.

A pale golden halo lit up around his body.

"To be frank, this is not a fair fight for you. As the examiner, I have your files beforehand and can specifically prepare Soul Tools that counter your attributes."

Lin Yun looked at the four soul rings at his feet and the six at his opponent's, unable to help but retort.

"Do you really need to say that?"

"Anyone who isn't blind can see this isn't an equal fight."

"Even if you didn't bring a single piece of Soul Tool equipment, wouldn't a six-ringed master beat a four-ringed one just as easily?"

The Soul Tool Master replied, "Therefore, if you are still standing on the stage after the hourglass runs out, you pass the assessment. Come, let me see what kind of skills an Evil Soul Master taught by Shrek really has."

Hearing this nickname, Lin Yun's head was instantly covered in black lines. His desire to go easy on the man cooled, and he said, "In that case, watch closely. That hourglass should only be about ten minutes or so."

The Level 6 Soul Tool Master was confused, but out of professional rigor, he still answered earnestly, "Fifteen minutes. Why?"

Lin Yun took a step back, and his second soul ring flickered.

"Undead Legion, descend!"

As Lin Yun spoke, he raised his hand.

At this point, the Undead Legion was a legion in the true sense of the word, bolstered by conversion and energy transmission.

The legion members included thirteen Bone Dragons and one Ice Empress, who could maintain her peak state for ten minutes.

The soul form of the Ice Empress flew out from Lin Yun's hand, yawned, and said, "To make such a fuss over these small fries... you really are a mediocre commander."

Lin Yun looked at the Ice Empress and said, "This is the only time. I want to have some fun with this one."

The Ice Empress nodded, her tone remaining lazy. "Fine. Since you said it's the only time, I'll reluctantly help you out."

With that, the Ice Empress's soul entered the skeleton of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, which was surrounded by the thirteen Bone Dragons.

This was the complete skeleton of an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, forged by gathering the strengths of all previous Ice Jade Empress Scorpions, and coordinated by the control of the Ice Empress.

With the thirteen Bone Dragons cheering them on, they charged forward in a mighty, sweeping wave, truly resembling a grand tide.

It left the opposing Soul Master completely stunned.

What the hell did it mean for bones to stand up?

This truly exceeded the cognitive limits of this Level 6 Soul Master.

The close-combat Soul Tool in his hand looked utterly ridiculous in front of the Ice Empress's massive scorpion pincers.

The Ice Empress used her thick, sturdy pincers to clamp onto that light-elemental Soul Tool longsword, snapping it with a casual flick.

This Level 6 Soul Tool shattered all over the ground like falling flower petals.

The Soul Ancestor felt his heart ache, and he hurriedly employed his techniques, preparing to put some distance between them. Yet, the moment he took flight, a flying Bone Dragon behind him snatched away his flight-type Soul Tool with a single claw.

The Bone Dragon's massive dragon claw gave a casual squeeze.

Another Soul Tool crumbled to pieces.

Before the hourglass had even finished running out, the Soul Master retreated to the edge of the arena, raised his hands, and shouted.

"I surrender, I surrender! I'm not fighting anymore, this is truly impossible to fight."

Lin Yun retracted his Undead Legion and then asked the Soul Master in front of him.

"So, does this mean I've passed?"

The Soul Master blew his beard and glared, saying.

"If you had said you had this trick up your sleeve earlier, would we have needed to go through all this trouble? My Soul Tools, oh!"

"With strength like yours, let alone a mere reserve team, even the position of captain of the main squad should be yours without question!"

"You really are an Evil Soul Master to the core; your heart and brain are rotten, and your conscience is even worse."

"With such heaven-defying abilities, you still act like you're pitiful, pretending to be weak."

Lin Yun shrugged and said.

"Whether I'm weak or not is one thing, but my grievance regarding the double standards is real. Not to mention anyone else, Xue Lin (the Snow Empress's alias), who came with me, is also a Level 3 Soul Master and a 4-ring Soul Ancestor. Why did she get matched against a Level 4 Soul Master?"

"I don't believe there wasn't some rigging going on behind the scenes."

The Soul Master did not respond to this, merely silently signing a certificate for him to enter the reserve team.

After taking the certificate, Lin Yun did not continue to make things difficult for him; he cupped his hands in a salute and turned to leave.

On the other side, the Snow Empress had just finished her final assessment.

Lin Yun asked curiously.

"Did you get the qualification directly, or did you just get points?"

The Snow Empress said calmly.

"I originally intended to just get points, as it's better to keep a low profile given my situation, but I sensed Bing'er's aura, so..."