Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, three months had gone by.
Shrek Academy's annual freshman assessment had finally begun.
For Outer Court students, the importance of this assessment went without saying.
It concerned not only class rankings, but also whether they could remain at Shrek Academy in the future and enter the academy's true core training system.
Inside Class One's classroom.
Wang Yan stood before the podium, holding the assessment roster with his usual gentle smile.
"Next, I will announce the rules for this year's freshman assessment."
The classroom, which had still been somewhat noisy, immediately fell silent.
All the students instinctively straightened up.
Wang Yan slowly said, "This assessment will take the form of three-person team battles. Form your own teams."
"Teams with outstanding final results will not only receive academy rewards, but will also be closely observed and have the opportunity to become core disciples."
"Furthermore, those who perform exceptionally well in this assessment will receive preferential resource allocation from the academy."
The moment he finished speaking, the entire classroom erupted.
Core disciples.
Preferential resource allocation.
To these twelve- and thirteen-year-old boys and girls, those words held an almost irresistible allure.
Then, nearly everyone's gaze fell in the same direction.
Mu Tianyi.
After a brief silence, the crowd instantly swarmed around him.
"Brother Tianyi, team up with me!"
"Pick me! I'm in the control type—I definitely won't hold you back!"
"Brother Tianyi, our dorms are close together. You have to look after one of your own, right?"
"I'm in the support type. I can really buff you!"
For a time, the classroom was filled with voices competing for him.
Some students from other classes had even come over specifically to inquire about the situation.
The reason was simple.
Among the freshmen now, Mu Tianyi's reputation was simply too great.
In three months, he had practically become the preordained central figure of Class One.
A top-tier dragon-type martial soul.
The cultivation of a level forty-five Soul Ancestor.
An undefeated record in practical combat classes.
Combined with his nearly crushing frontal combat strength, many people even felt that as long as they could team up with Mu Tianyi, the championship of this freshman assessment was already half secured.
After all, before absolute strength, many tactics lost their meaning.
However, Mu Tianyi did not immediately respond to everyone's invitations.
Because he had long since chosen his teammates.
Gongyang Mo from the support type, and Ling Luochen from the control type.
Mu Tianyi had begun recruiting Gongyang Mo in the second week after school started.
Of course, he had not said much.
He had merely calmly mentioned that he came from the direct lineage of Sea God Island.
Of course, that one sentence alone had been enough.
Gongyang Mo had remained silent for a long time.
Although his background was not poor, compared to a place like Sea God Island, it was still on an entirely different level.
That was one of the continent's true top-tier powers.
Moreover, Mu Tianyi's talent itself was outrageously powerful.
In the end, after weighing the pros and cons, Gongyang Mo chose to join him.
Mu Tianyi was naturally quite satisfied with that.
Since he had decided to recruit someone, he naturally would not be stingy with resources.
Thus, he directly gave Gongyang Mo the Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone Yan Shaozhe had previously given him, along with a Soul Ascension Pill.
Ling Luochen, however, was a different matter.
Over the past three months, Mu Tianyi had attended quite a few practical combat classes with her.
This blue-haired girl's impression on him had always been consistent.
Few words.
Calm.
Decisive in action.
Her control over ice-element abilities was especially precise. It could be said that Ling Luochen was the undisputed queen of control among this year's freshmen.
Many times, she could understand Mu Tianyi's intentions immediately without needing any communication.
That sort of tacit understanding was especially important in team battles.
Moreover, Mu Tianyi knew very well that Ling Luochen's future potential was far greater than what she currently displayed.
Therefore, before the assessment began, he had already decided on the final team.
Very quickly.
The three officially formed their team.
When the roster was announced, quite a few people revealed envious looks.
Mu Tianyi.
Gongyang Mo.
Ling Luochen.
There was practically no weakness to be found in this lineup.
Assault, support, and control were all covered.
Mu Tianyi and Gongyang Mo's combination in particular was absurdly powerful.
After the assessment officially began, that was quickly proven.
The first match.
The moment Gongyang Mo's Rainbow Dragon enhancement lit up, Mu Tianyi charged straight into the opposing formation.
The instant the Bright Sacred Dragon martial soul was unleashed, its intense dragon's might made the opposing team's faces turn pale.
Ling Luochen stood at the rear.
Ice mist spread.
Chill sealed the path.
She almost perfectly cut off every route of escape for their opponents.
The match ended in less than two minutes.
The second match.
The third match.
The fourth match.
They bulldozed their way through every round.
As they continued to fight, the three grew more and more coordinated.
Gongyang Mo was responsible for enhancement and support.
Ling Luochen was responsible for restriction and battlefield control.
Mu Tianyi was responsible for the simplest and crudest task—crushing the enemy head-on.
What left people most helpless was that he really could crush his way through everyone.
Many teams were completely routed before they even had time to execute a full strategy.
It was not as though no one tried to target Mu Tianyi.
Some tried to focus their fire on him.
Some tried to drag out the tempo.
Others had specifically studied the range of Ling Luochen's ice control.
But it was useless.
Before the absolute gap in strength, every attempt at counterplay seemed feeble.
Especially under Gongyang Mo's enhancement, Mu Tianyi's frontal combat power had completely surpassed the freshman level.
He even faintly carried the oppressive aura of an upperclassman.
Xixi, Chen Zifeng, Yao Haoxuan, and Dai Yueheng.
These figures, who had already gained considerable fame among the freshmen, were all defeated by Mu Tianyi's team in succession.
Among them, Dai Yueheng was the most unwilling to accept his loss.
Throughout the assessment, Mu Tianyi had not relaxed his cultivation either.
Over three months, his Soul Power had risen from level forty-five to level forty-seven.
The speed was not particularly astonishing, but it was steady.
Mu Tianyi knew very well that after reaching the Soul Ancestor stage, Soul Power could no longer surge at the same breakneck pace as it had in the early stages.
Rather than blindly pursuing levels, it was better to first thoroughly solidify his foundation. Besides, his plan was to condense a Soul Core at the seventh ring, and he had also begun compressing his Soul Power.
In the end.
The freshman assessment came to an end.
There was no suspense regarding the champions.
Mu Tianyi's team took first place with an undefeated record.
As in previous years, the reward for the freshman assessment was a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone.
However, this time, under the manipulation of some unknown powerful hand, the soul bone had become a thirty-thousand-year ice-element left arm bone.
Quite a few students' eyes turned red with envy.
A reward of this level was practically extravagant for freshmen.
"Here, this thing is for you."
Mu Tianyi took out the soul bone stored in the box and handed it to Ling Luochen.
Ling Luochen was clearly stunned.
She instinctively accepted the soul bone, her mind still unable to process it.
Ling Luochen raised her head, and obvious ripples appeared in those light-blue eyes for the first time.
"You..."
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