First Victory

As a Support Type Soul Master, Zhao Haochen naturally stood at the rear. He shouted, "Come on, my Big Chicken Legs!"

A yellow Soul Ring rippled out beneath his feet, and two flashes of yellow light appeared in his hands, forming two braised Big Chicken Legs.

He swiftly handed the chicken legs to Wang Dong'er and Huo Yuhao. Though proud, Wang Dong'er was facing a senior with the strength of four rings, so she did not dare let her guard down. She took the braised Big Chicken Leg and bit into it.

At the same time, her Light Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul Possession activated. Exquisitely beautiful blue-violet butterfly wings patterned with golden lines emerged from her back.

As the braised Big Chicken Leg went down, Wang Dong'er felt her body suddenly become much lighter and more nimble.

Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, focused on the Food Type Soul Master's Soul Skill. After accepting the chicken leg, he took a bite as well. Combining his careful perception with the insight of the Eye of Truth, he discovered its secrets.

The Soul Power arrangement in this Soul Skill is very similar to the structure of enhancement-type Soul Skills like Wrath of Thunder, but it is denser and more stable.

Its Soul Power is also gentler in nature, which is why others can absorb it. But that also wastes most of the energy in this Soul Skill, making it less effective than enhancement-type Soul Skills of the same level.

I haven't seen a Support Type Soul Master's Soul Skills before. I can compare them later. For now, I need to deal with the battle in front of me.

Wang Dong'er charged forward without hesitation. Soul Rings rose beneath her feet as well—one yellow and one purple. The second purple Soul Ring was especially eye-catching.

As the yellow Soul Ring shone, Huo Yuhao saw through his Eye of Truth that Wang Dong'er's Soul Power rapidly flowed into her pair of forewings, forming one golden Rune after another.

Those streams of Soul Power combined with the Runes, drawing specks of light from the surroundings and gathering them onto her forewings.

Golden patterns of light spread from the edges of her originally azure forewings, rapidly expanding outward before forming a circle of golden light blades roughly three inches wide along their edges.

Her hindwings spread forcefully to control the direction of her charge. Her forewings drew together, and she dashed straight toward the senior.

The senior did not move. Golden scales rapidly formed and covered his entire body like a full suit of armor. Aside from his eyes, nostrils, and mouth, not an inch of skin was exposed after his Martial Soul Possession.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple—four Soul Rings in the optimal arrangement appeared around the senior, and his first two yellow Hundred-Year Soul Rings lit up in succession.

In Huo Yuhao's eyes, the senior's Soul Power rapidly circulated through specific meridians and flowed throughout his body, forming two layers of protection. One covered the golden scale armor, while the other covered the skin beneath the scales.

"First Soul Skill: Golden Battle Armor. Second Soul Skill: Golden Hegemonic Body," the senior said slowly.

He did not display any special technique. With only a brace of his hands, he easily blocked Wang Dong'er's attack through the overwhelming gap in their strength.

"Your attack has good force, and your Soul Ring configuration is excellent as well."

Yet Huo Yuhao had not merely been observing. Of everyone present, only the senior standing at the edge of the field, recording the test and guarding against accidents, saw what happened in a blind spot.

Four Bone-Penetrating Nails and four Flying Locust Stones traced arcs from four tricky angles, flying toward the senior who had activated his defensive Soul Skills.

Because they came from his blind spot, he did not notice them, much less defend against them.

Ding, ding, ding, ding.

Clang, clang, clang, clang.

The four Bone-Penetrating Nails struck first. Though they were effective against defensive armor, and Huo Yuhao had aimed at the gaps between the scales around the senior's weakest joints, the difference in strength between them was simply too great. Besides, while hidden weapons could be used, Huo Yuhao naturally would not bring out anything too excessive, such as Dragon Beard Needles. Otherwise, neither side would be able to save face.

But the four Flying Locust Stones followed immediately after, each striking one of the Bone-Penetrating Nails that had hit their target without breaking through and remained lodged against the senior's body.

With the second burst of force, the Bone-Penetrating Nails finally pierced through the gaps between the scales, breaking the senior's skin and entering his body.

They did not penetrate deeply, though. At most, they amounted to superficial wounds.

"Impressive. No wonder your Soul Power isn't high. A specially recruited student from the Tang Sect? Your methods seem even better than that brat Beibei's."

A rare hint of seriousness appeared in the eyes of the senior overseeing the test.

Whether it was because he had underestimated Huo Yuhao or not, a mistake was still a mistake. His misjudgment had allowed Huo Yuhao's attack to work. Though the injuries were minor, breaking through his defenses meant Huo Yuhao could have taken the opportunity to poison him.

The Tang Sect had declined, but Tang Ya and Beibei were still fairly well-known within Shrek Academy. Most students there understood what the Tang Sect's signature techniques were.

"This is humiliating. Looks like I need to get serious. Little ones, be careful!" the senior shouted, and golden light suddenly burst from his entire body.

At the same time, Wang Dong'er, whom he had been holding back with both hands, and the Bone-Penetrating Nails embedded in his scales were blasted away by the force of the golden light.

His third Soul Ring lit up, and large patches of scales shot from his body, leaving behind only a bare body wrapped in golden skin. It looked rather ridiculous.

Yet under the effect of his Soul Skill, those blasted-out scales transformed into tiny specks of light, forming a humanoid phantom nearly ten feet tall around him.

"This is my Third Soul Skill, Golden Scale True Body. Though it can't compare to a true Martial Soul Avatar, it is still a powerful Soul Skill among three-ring Soul Masters."

"I was careless before, which was why you found an opening. But now, I have all-around defense!"

The examiner named He Hengan charged directly toward Wang Dong'er and Huo Yuhao.

As a one-ring Food Type Soul Master, Zhao Haochen was naturally of no use now.

Seeing this, he became somewhat flustered, not knowing what he should do.

As the examiner shrouded in the enormous golden phantom rushed toward them, even Wang Dong'er panicked somewhat. After all, she had never truly fought anyone before.

Back at Clear Sky Fortress, what she had done could hardly be called fighting. It was more like practicing moves. Whether they were experts of the Clear Sky Sect or her Eldest Daddy and Second Daddy, they were all incredibly tough.

Nor could they possibly strike back at the little princess of the Clear Sky Sect. Having never faced a high-level expert head-on, she did not know whether she should fight or retreat.

"What are you standing there for? Use your Second Soul Skill to blast his face and create an opening for me. If your Second Soul Skill isn't for direct offense, use your First Soul Skill. Or are you planning to hold something back here?" Huo Yuhao's calm voice sounded beside Wang Dong'er's ear.

For some reason, when Wang Dong'er heard Huo Yuhao's voice, she instinctively felt as though she had seized a lifeline. Following his instructions, she activated her Second Soul Skill: Light of the Butterfly God.

Of course, Wang Dong'er still could not skillfully control this Soul Skill. It came from a Thousand-Year Soul Ring and consumed a great deal of power.

But this was not a true life-or-death battle. Besides Wang Dong'er, the examiner on the other side also reacted to Huo Yuhao's words.

He deliberately slowed his pace, giving Wang Dong'er ample time to prepare her Soul Skill.

After all, their control over their Soul Skills and the power of those skills were both points the examiners needed to assess.

With his cultivation and Martial Soul configuration, even taking a Thousand-Year Soul Skill from a Soul Grandmaster head-on would not cause him any real trouble.

Yet as the purple Soul Ring beneath Wang Dong'er's feet flared brilliantly, the golden patterns on the Light Goddess Butterfly's wings seemed to light up one after another.

Like tiny suns, they frantically gathered the Light Element from the surrounding environment. Then, as that Light Element concentrated upon her forewings—

Wang Dong'er had undergone plenty of combat training since childhood. Her control over her Martial Soul and Soul Skills far surpassed that of ordinary people.

With the examiner giving her enough time, her yellow Soul Ring lit up in addition to the basic Light of the Butterfly God.

It was her First Soul Skill: Wing Scythe.

Light of the Butterfly God was originally a dispersed attack unleashed after gathering a great amount of Light Element. Due to the nature of the Soul Skill, even Wang Dong'er herself found it difficult to control.

But her First Soul Skill, Wing Scythe, was an attack that condensed and compressed the Light Element into blades of light.

As the great amount of Light Element gathered by activating Light of the Butterfly God was gradually compressed, Wang Dong'er's wings completely transformed into brilliant, rising gold.

Then a massive crescent-shaped golden light blade formed and slashed straight toward the examiner.

By then, Wang Dong'er's Soul Power had already been completely drained. Activating a Thousand-Year Soul Skill and fusing two Soul Skills together was still far too taxing for someone who had only just become a Soul Grandmaster.

Simply managing to launch it in roughly the right direction was already no small feat. Seeing this, the examiner's expression turned grave.

The fourth purple Soul Ring beneath his feet began to shine as well. The ten-foot golden phantom shrouding him rapidly compressed, becoming a humanoid figure around six feet tall.

At the same time, the golden glow around his entire body took on a metallic luster. It was no longer illusory, but solid.

This was his Fourth Soul Skill: Indestructible Golden Body. Enhanced by the first three Soul Skills, the defensive power of this Fourth Soul Skill was enough to rival that of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. It was also his proudest defensive technique.

But the linked enhancement of Soul Skills and the fusion of Soul Skills were fundamentally different.

If linked Soul Skill enhancement was addition, then the fusion between Soul Skills was a multiplicative increase.

Although Wang Dong'er possessed only the strength of a Soul Grandmaster, the fusion of her first two Soul Skills was still terrifying. Under normal circumstances, if the opponent had not given her the opportunity, she would never have had the time to adjust and fuse them.

As the light faded, the examiner who specialized in defense still withstood the attack. However, his originally solid golden body had become much more translucent. A small crack had even appeared where the light blade had struck him directly.

"Hiss... all right, let's end it here. You pass. All of you pass."

"What are you doing, Old He? The time for one incense stick hasn't run out yet," the examiner recording at the edge of the field said in confusion.

"Is there any need to continue testing?" As the solid golden body dispersed, the examiner in charge of the test finally reappeared before everyone.

His clothes were completely intact, but rather comically, two flying needles were embedded straight into his left and right nostrils. Though they were still only superficial wounds, the sight was rather ridiculous.

Moreover, he had been injured even with his defenses fully activated. There was nothing more to say.

"All right, ahem, I'll announce the test results," the examiner said as he pulled out the two flying needles as if nothing had happened.

"Wang Dong'er: outstanding strength, outstanding combat skill, good combat judgment, passing combat experience. Overall evaluation: able to listen to others' advice and act decisively. Passed the fourth assessment."

"Huo Yuhao: poor strength, outstanding combat skill, outstanding combat judgment, outstanding combat experience. Overall evaluation: exceptional observational ability and leadership qualities. Passed the fourth assessment."

"Zhao Haochen: passing strength, good combat skill, passing combat judgment, passing combat experience. Overall evaluation: skilled in using Soul Skills, but lacks team awareness. Passed the fourth assessment."

"Do any of you have any questions?" The examiner swept his gaze across the three of them.

Wang Dong'er had expended the most Soul Power, and her face was somewhat pale. Hearing the evaluation of herself, she bit her lip tightly and said nothing.

Since the battle had ended quickly and he had only activated one Soul Skill, the chubby Zhao Haochen was in fairly good condition. He was beaming with delight at having passed the test.

Huo Yuhao's face was pale as well, though not due to Soul Power consumption. Whether it was identifying the weak points in the examiner's defenses or finding the chance to launch a sneak attack the instant the light blade broke through the second golden body, both had significantly drained his Spiritual Power. After all, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was constantly cultivating to replenish his Soul Power, but his Spiritual Power had no such support.

"All right, since there are no questions, leave the field for now. Don't hold up the others."

The other examiner stepped forward as well. The examiner responsible for recording was unexpectedly a five-ring Support Type Battle Soul Master specializing in healing. With his treatment, the group's already minor injuries and exhaustion quickly recovered.

Huo Yuhao headed straight toward the freshman teaching building. The chubby boy Zhao Haochen had disappeared, likely off to find his friends. However, Wang Dong'er followed Huo Yuhao as well.

"Hey, are you from the Tang Sect?" Wang Dong'er's clear voice rang out behind Huo Yuhao.

"First, my name isn't 'hey.' It's Huo Yuhao. Second, what does that have to do with you?"

Huo Yuhao replied coldly, thinking helplessly, What a nuisance. Sure enough, she's been put under some kind of spell. The moment she hears a keyword, she follows me.