"My god." She covered her eyes with the back of her hand. "A Soul Emperor. We actually fought a Soul Emperor for a whole incense stick's time."
Huo Yuhao sat down too. Most of his exhaustion was mental. He had maintained Spiritual Detection Sharing throughout the fight while also creating a perceptual blind spot for Song Teng. The strain of splitting his focus was more agonizing than any physical exertion. His lips were a little pale, but his eyes shone with startling brightness.
"Mu Chen," he said suddenly.
"Yeah?"
"That last moment, the fluctuations in your and Wang Dong's Soul Power..." Huo Yuhao hesitated, as though searching for the right words. "They seemed to have fused."
Mu Chen and Wang Dong fell silent at the same time.
Wang Dong abruptly sat up, her face reddening before their eyes. "N-no way! You were so exhausted from using Spiritual Detection that you imagined it!"
Huo Yuyao blinked and tactfully didn't press her.
Mu Chen didn't explain either.
He merely lowered his gaze to his right hand. The wound in the web between his thumb and forefinger still ached faintly, but the lingering afterglow of his Soul Power merging with Wang Dong's was even clearer in his blood. The door remained shut, but he could feel that more cracks had appeared in it.
Just a little more.
The other groups had already begun their sparring matches on the field. Rings of light flashed one after another, and Martial Souls clashed in the air, sending sparks of every color flying.
Xiao Xiao's group was scheduled for the third match. She paused as she passed Mu Chen and glanced down at the three of them sitting on the ground. Her gaze lingered on Mu Chen for two extra seconds.
"You were really amazing just now," she said softly, then hurried off, her green twin ponytails bouncing with every step.
Wang Dong watched her go, then looked back at Mu Chen.
Mu Chen had already closed his eyes and begun circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill to recover his Soul Power.
Wang Dong watched him for a long time—so long that she didn't even realize she was doing it.
Then she whipped her head around and buried her face in her knees, her ears red as if they might drip blood.
Huo Yuhao sat quietly nearby, closed his eyes, and began meditating to recover as well.
The field rang with shouts, but this corner was as quiet as another world.
The Freshman Assessment three months from now might not be much of a challenge for them after all.
Three months. Ninety days.
Mu Chen's daily routine followed the tides.
He got up at dawn and circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill through nine cycles.
After morning classes, he met Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao beneath the maple tree on one side of the field to practice their teamwork.
In the afternoon came Zhou Yi's combat class. The sparring matches held every three days improved the combat skills of the entire Freshman Class One at a visible pace.
After dinner, he went to Snack Street to help Huo Yuhao sell grilled fish for an hour, then returned to the dormitory to cultivate in fusion with Wang Dong until midnight.
Over the three months, Wang Dong's Soul Power rose from level twenty-two to level twenty-five, while Huo Yuhao's increased from level eleven to level fourteen.
Mu Chen reached level forty-five. Cultivating together with Wang Dong over those three months had made his Soul Power rise quickly.
However, most of that rapid progress had come in the first month of their joint cultivation.
Over the next two months, his progress returned to normal, only slightly faster than when he cultivated alone.
But as his progress slowed, his Soul Power became more solid.
Though cultivating together no longer increased their speed by much, it continued to refine their Soul Power. That was the real benefit.
And the door at the point where their Soul Power converged had developed more and more cracks.
Electrolux remained dormant. The Ice Extreme Divine Crystal and Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow lay quietly in a corner of the Storage Soul Tool Bracelet, waiting for their moment.
Today was assessment day.
Mu Chen stood by the window and fastened the last button on his uniform. Shrek's dark green uniform was tailored to fit, its crisp shoulder seams making him look like a sheathed blade.
"Big brother." Wang Dong's voice came from behind him. "Are you nervous?"
Mu Chen turned around.
Wang Dong was already dressed. For once, her pink-blue short hair was combed perfectly, though one button at her collar was crooked.
Her fingers twisted her collar unconsciously. She looked at him with those beautiful, wide eyes, a dependence in them that even she hadn't noticed.
"Not nervous." Mu Chen walked over, undid the button at her collar, and fastened it properly, one by one.
His movements were casual, as if he were straightening his own collar.
Wang Dong, however, went rigid. Heat rushed from her neck to the tips of her ears. Her lips moved, but not a single word came out.
"Let's go." Mu Chen patted her shoulder and turned toward the door as if nothing had happened.
Wang Dong stood still for two seconds, took a deep breath, then slapped her cheeks hard and hurried after him.
Ten temporary arenas had been set up on the field.
Each had a square, thirty-meter-wide platform built from bluestone. Soul Tool monitoring pillars stood at the four corners, ready to track the fluctuations in Soul Power and record the battle data in real time.
Tiered spectator stands surrounded the arenas, and many people were already seated. The Freshman Assessment was a major event for the Outer Academy. All the freshmen would take part, and many upper-year students would come to watch. Even some Inner Academy teachers had blended into the crowd to observe in secret.
Zhou Yi stood beside Arena One, holding the match schedule. When she saw the three of them approach, she looked them over and, for once, didn't find fault. She simply said, "Do your best."
That was the greatest encouragement she could offer.
Mu Chen nodded and looked past the arena to the waiting area opposite.
Dai Huabin was watching him too.
The twelve-year-old heir of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion had golden hair and golden eyes. He had inherited the Dai Family's fine features, and his handsome face carried an undisguised arrogance.
Behind him, Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie stood on either side. One was cold, the other alluring. All three gave off the aloof air of aristocrats, setting them apart from everyone around them.
Dai Huabin's lips moved in a sneer.
Mu Chen looked away without responding.
"First match of the first round of the Freshman Assessment." The upper-year student serving as referee stood in the center of the arena, his voice carrying across the field through an Amplifying Soul Tool. "Freshman Class One, Team One: Mu Chen, Wang Dong, and Huo Yuhao, against Freshman Class Two, Team One: Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie."
"Both teams, take the platform."
Mu Chen strode onto the arena, with Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao following on either side.
The bluestone rang dully beneath their feet. Morning light slanted in from the east, stretching their shadows long behind them.
Dai Huabin walked over from the opposite side, unhurried. His golden hair looked like a blaze in the sunlight.
He stopped in the center of the arena, less than three meters from Mu Chen. His slanted eyes locked onto Mu Chen's blue ones, and tiny sparks seemed to crackle in the air between them.
The referee gestured for the teams to exchange pre-match greetings.
Mu Chen gave a slight nod.
Dai Huabin did not return it.
His gaze passed over Mu Chen and landed on Huo Yuhao. The corner of his mouth curled upward.
There was no kindness in that smile, only the condescending amusement of a hunter who had spotted his prey.