The battle began in an instant!
The Ghost Shadow Leopard didn't bother testing the waters. It burst forward with extreme speed, its body turning into several blurred black shadows.
It darted around Xu Sanshi, moving so fast that it was almost impossible to track with the naked eye as it constantly searched for an opening to launch a sneak attack.
Xu Sanshi didn't dare let his guard down for a moment. His expression turned grave, and he shouted in a low voice, "Martial Soul Possession!"
Pale blue Soul Power, carrying both water and earth attributes, surged over his body. The phantom of the Black Tortoise of Profound Mystery Martial Soul slowly appeared behind him.
His heavy, steady defensive Soul Power encircled him. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, he swept his sharp gaze rapidly across his surroundings, fully focused on guarding against attacks from the shadows.
Xu Sanshi had just instinctively glanced toward the shadows to the east when a dark figure suddenly lunged from the blind spot to the southeast!
Its claws came at Xu Sanshi's shoulder, wrapped in a piercing rush of wind and moving as fast as lightning.
At the critical moment, Xu Sanshi reacted with astonishing speed. Soul Power erupted within him, and his first Soul Skill activated!
"Black Tortoise Shield Formation!"
Several thick Black Tortoise Shields instantly formed in front of him, firmly blocking the Ghost Shadow Leopard's ambush.
Bang!
A violent collision rang out. The impact made Xu Sanshi stagger slightly, but the Ghost Shadow Leopard, having failed to land its strike, was exceedingly cunning.
It didn't linger to fight. Using the force of the collision to dart away, it vanished into the surrounding shadows once more.
For the next few moments, the Beast Enclosure Arena became the Ghost Shadow Leopard's stage for ambushes.
Using the shadows and blind spots around the arena, it kept circling and lying in wait, occasionally striking with its claws from an unpredictable angle or biting before retreating. It refused to fight head-on, steadily wearing down Xu Sanshi's Soul Power and patience.
Unable to break through Xu Sanshi's defenses despite its prolonged assault, the Ghost Shadow Leopard's savage instincts were fully roused.
The Ghost Shadow Leopard let out a low growl from within the shadows. Its speed suddenly surged, and it stopped trying to stay hidden and attack by surprise.
Dark shadow Soul Power gathered around its body as it charged straight at Xu Sanshi from the front, its posture ferocious to the extreme!
The entire audience held its breath. Everyone couldn't help but worry for Xu Sanshi, afraid he'd be badly injured by this powerful attack.
Even Jiang Nannan, who had remained detached and composed, instinctively clenched her hands. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on the arena, a trace of tension she could barely conceal in them as the battle completely consumed her attention.
Su Ming, standing nearby, noticed this subtle moment.
He sighed inwardly. They really were a pair of lovers, both stubborn on the outside and softhearted within.
They clearly cared deeply for each other. One gave his whole heart to her, showering her with passionate devotion, while the other secretly worried about him and kept him in her thoughts. Yet neither was willing to take the initiative and say so. They just kept tugging at each other, stubbornly refusing to give in.
The instant the Ghost Shadow Leopard closed in, Xu Sanshi's gaze sharpened. Seizing this rare opportunity, he stopped defending passively!
"Black Tortoise Shock!"
His first Soul Skill erupted at full strength!
A vast force of water-and-earth shockwaves exploded outward from Xu Sanshi, and visible ripples swept across the arena in an instant!
Caught off guard, the charging Ghost Shadow Leopard was struck by the shockwaves. Its body stiffened, and the violent impact to its head left it briefly dazed, frozen in place.
Strike while it was down!
Xu Sanshi gave his opponent no chance to react. His second Soul Skill activated at once!
"Power of the Black Tortoise!"
The heavy, surging power of his Black Tortoise Bloodline flooded his body. The water-and-earth Soul Power around him surged several times over, dramatically boosting his physical strength, offense, and defense!
In the next instant, Xu Sanshi stepped in and threw a punch, each blow carrying immense weight. One punch, two punches, three punches!
His heavy fists slammed down one after another on the stunned, rigid Ghost Shadow Leopard. Each blow was infused with rich Soul Power and carried a steady, domineering force.
Several heavy punches landed in a matter of seconds.
With one final, dull thud, the previously ferocious, restless thousand-year Ghost Shadow Leopard's legs gave way. It lost all ability to resist, rolled its eyes back, and collapsed to the ground, completely knocked unconscious.
The battle was over.
The dust gradually settled inside the beast cage. Xu Sanshi panted heavily, drenched in sweat. Though he'd ultimately defeated the thousand-year Ghost Shadow Leopard, their drawn-out fight had cost him a considerable amount of Soul Power. His steps wavered as he walked out of the assessment arena, but there wasn't the slightest trace of fatigue on his face. Instead, he wore a smug grin.
The moment he stepped out, he immediately looked toward Jiang Nannan in the crowd and hurried over. With a hint of fishing for praise, he raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Nannan, how was that? Was I cool just now? That Ghost Shadow Leopard was so tricky, but I still took it down without breaking a sweat!"
Faced with Xu Sanshi's blunt, childish bragging, Jiang Nannan turned her face slightly away. Her expression remained as cool and composed as ever, and she said nothing, appearing completely indifferent.
But Su Ming, standing to the side, saw everything clearly.
The moment Xu Sanshi won, Jiang Nannan's tense shoulders quietly relaxed, and her tightly clenched hands slowly opened. The trace of tension and worry in her eyes vanished completely. She had clearly let out a huge sigh of relief.
But she was stubborn and easily embarrassed. No matter how deeply she cared, she would never show it.
Su Ming smiled to himself. He wondered whether Xu Sanshi, that clueless blockhead, had noticed her subtle tenderness. It didn't matter either way. He'd already made a note of it, and when they got back to the dorm that evening, he'd tease Xu Sanshi about it. That was sure to keep the guy grinning all day.
The assessments continued, with the remaining students taking their turns.
Most of them faced Soul Beasts that were nothing out of the ordinary. There were a few close calls, but no one was in real danger. When Bei Bei took the field, he was calm and composed. Relying on his solid Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, he swept through the arena with thunder and overwhelming force, easily defeating his assessment opponent with no trouble at all.
Jiang Nannan followed right after. She moved with light, graceful steps and exquisite footwork. With her incredible speed and precise control of her Soul Skills, she ended the fight cleanly and efficiently, without the slightest hesitation.
Only Tang Ya's match had a close call.
She drew a violent, powerful Brute Force Ape. Ape-type Soul Beasts were agile and ferocious, with overwhelming strength at close range. Tang Ya was driven back again and again, nearly forced out of the assessment arena and eliminated. At the critical moment, she reacted swiftly, deftly tripping it with her foot and using the momentum of its charge to throw off its balance. It stumbled and fell, and she immediately seized the opening to counterattack, clearing the assessment by the narrowest of margins.
After all the students had finished their assessments, the final person's turn finally came: Su Ming.
In an instant, every eye in the Beast Enclosure Arena turned toward him.
Students, judges, proctors, and arena staff—all of them fixed their gazes on Su Ming as he walked out.
By now, there wasn't a single person in the outer courtyard who hadn't heard of this freshman's astonishing reputation.
That day on the training grounds, he had faced Six-Ring Soul Emperor Zhou Yi head-on and swept the entire field with a Soul Tool Gatling powered by Soul Power. The scene had been branded into everyone's minds.
But everyone had only ever seen him crush his opponents with Soul Tools. They had never seen him fight using nothing but his own Martial Soul, physical strength, and Soul Skills.
And Shrek's Beast Enclosure assessment had preset rules: large-scale, destructive Soul Tools were forbidden in the arena, and everyone had to pass using the power of their Martial Soul alone.
That meant that today, they would finally get to see Su Ming's true strength.
The atmosphere in the arena instantly reached its peak, and countless people were filled with intense curiosity and anticipation.
Soon, the result of Su Ming's opponent draw was announced.
Great Strength Giant Elephant!
A pure strength-type, thousand-year Soul Beast: a towering, thick-skinned brute with power enough to shake the heavens, most skilled at charging head-on and meeting force with force!