The Eve of the Freshman Assessment

Wang Dong'er extended her right hand, placing it in front of the Wind Tiger.

The Wind Tiger sat on the ground, propping itself up with its forelimbs, watching the hands Wang Dong'er extended, not understanding what she meant.

At this moment, Song Mu's command reached its mind. The Wind Tiger immediately complied, lifting its left paw and placing it gently onto Wang Dong'er's outstretched palm.

"Such a good boy." Wang Dong'er stroked the Wind Tiger's head with her left hand. Preparing to reward the Wind Tiger with something to eat, she turned her head to look at Song Mu and asked, "Song Mu, do you have any meat?"

Song Mu replied, "The Beast Fighting Zone should have a designated place for meat; go and ask."

"Alright." Wang Dong'er turned and walked away.

Song Mu called out to stop her: "Wait a moment. Take this." He tossed a ring over.

Wang Dong'er caught it, took a look, and knew it was a Storage Soul Guidance Device. She smiled, waved at Song Mu, and walked away.

Watching Wang Dong'er walk out of the Beast Fighting Arena, Song Mu withdrew his gaze, his soul power surging as he opened his Panel Martial Soul.

A transparent screen appeared before him, and Song Mu looked at the panel, lost in thought.

His Martial Soul still had several functions that remained locked.

For instance, in the Soul Beast Interface, aside from viewing basic information, the second page was the skill page, which contained options to change skill configurations and learn skills, all of which were currently inaccessible.

He guessed that unlocking new functions required his soul power level to increase; perhaps after breaking through level thirty, he would be able to use them.

Excluding the locked functions, the features Song Mu currently possessed included: a team page for deploying soul beasts, a Soul Beast Warehouse for storing captured soul beasts, a backpack for storing Gulu Balls, a task list, and a shop.

The synthesis option could be opened, but there were no available recipes to synthesize; perhaps in the future, he would obtain recipes from special task rewards to unlock synthesis.

There was one more function Song Mu cared about deeply, which was the first option: Mine.

Here, he could view his basic information.

Song Mu could not absorb soul rings, but there was a soul ring column.

After he clicked on it, the avatars of the soul beasts he had already captured popped up. Clicking on an avatar allowed him to select skills, but the skills themselves could not be selected.

It was likely that these could only be unlocked under certain conditions.

This discovery indicated that he could also use soul skills without relying entirely on soul beasts.

Learning a few defensive soul skills in the future would greatly improve his survivability.

For example, the divine skill of the Soft Bone Charm Rabbit clan, the Invincible Golden Body, could even withstand the attacks of a Limit Douluo for a short time after use.

He would see if he could capture one when he traveled across the continent in the future.

Currently, Song Mu had a total of over nine thousand Locke Berry, which included the rewards from completing basic tasks and what remained after purchasing Gulu Balls.

He couldn't even afford a single Advanced Gulu Ball.

The soul beasts he currently possessed, excluding Wang Dong'er, totaled fifteen: ten hundred-year soul beasts and five thousand-year soul beasts.

The hundred-year ones were all over seven hundred years old; the one he summoned during his battle against Wu Feng previously was the weakest among them.

He had tested the limit for capturing; those below seven hundred years were released and turned into cultivation materials.

Of the five thousand-year soul beasts, three were over one thousand years, one was over two thousand years, and one was over three thousand years. They were a lion, a tiger, a bear, a leopard, and a wolf, respectively.

Song Mu did not intend to touch the remaining Locke Berry.

His only means of obtaining Locke Berry now was by completing basic tasks; once spent, they were gone.

He planned to save a bit more, capture every soul beast in the Beast Fighting Zone, and then release them to provide materials for Wang Dong'er's upgrades.

Once he reached a certain level, he would be able to complete that special task and claim a skill stone for a skill called Refraction.

Judging by the name, Song Mu felt this skill should be quite powerful, and he could let Wang Dong'er learn it when the time came.

Time passed day by day, and soon, three months had gone by.

Freshman Class Nine.

The bell for class rang, and the homeroom teacher, Mu Jin, walked in, holding a stack of papers in her hand.

She arrived at the podium and stood still, her gaze sweeping across the entire class. After confirming that no one was absent, she spoke:

"Tomorrow is the freshman assessment. The assessment will determine whether you continue to study at Shrek Academy in the days to come. All of you must do your utmost to pass."

"The rules of the assessment are: groups of three will engage in soul battles against other groups. The winning group earns one point. After the final ranking is tallied, the teams in the top fifty percent of points will pass the assessment."

"After observing you for these few months, I have already divided you into groups. Now, I will announce the groupings."

"Group One: Song Mu, Ning Tian, Wu Feng."

"Group Two: Nanmen Yun'er..."

"..."

After finishing the announcement, Mu Jin put down the list and said:

"Alright, that is all I have to say. Next, students in the same group can get to know each other and prepare for tomorrow's assessment. Class dismissed."

After Mu Jin left, the classroom immediately erupted into intense discussion, and the students quickly swapped seats to sit with their group members.

Ning Tian also brought Wu Feng to the back of the class, sitting in the seats next to Song Mu.

"Classmate Song Mu."

"Class Monitor."

Ning Tian greeted Song Mu with a smile, while Wu Feng looked on with a guarded expression.

"Classmate Ning Tian, Classmate Wu Feng."

Song Mu responded with a smile.

Song Mu suggested, "Why don't we head to the Soul Fighting Arena and familiarize ourselves with each other's soul skills?"

Ning Tian and Wu Feng nodded in agreement.

The three of them stood up and walked toward the Soul Fighting Zone, beginning to introduce their soul skills along the way.

Ning Tian spoke first: "My three soul skills are Speed, Dispel, and Strength. Speed and Strength increase the target's speed and power by thirty percent, while Dispel can remove abnormal status effects from the target."

Wu Feng said: "My first soul skill is Dragon Fire, which ignites flames on my body that can be imbued into my attacks; my second soul skill is Dragon's Fury, which amplifies my flames, power, and defense."

Song Mu said: "My ability is to control soul beasts, which you already know. I can control two soul beasts simultaneously, with an upper limit of three thousand years."

"How much?!" Wu Feng shouted, unable to believe what she had just heard.

Ning Tian's pupils also contracted sharply, though she managed to maintain a composed exterior.

"You heard me right, it's three-thousand-year soul beasts," Song Mu replied calmly. He had long anticipated how shocked others would be upon hearing about his martial soul's capabilities.

"But before, you only used a six-hundred-year one," Wu Feng asked, though she already knew the answer herself.

"If I had brought out a three-thousand-year soul beast, you wouldn't have even been able to fight."

Ning Tian reached out to restrain the restless Wu Feng, then looked at Song Mu with a smile:

"Classmate Song Mu's strength is truly shocking."

"For this assessment, we will have to rely on you to lead us to advancement, Classmate Song Mu."

Song Mu said: "You could pass easily even without me. Besides, there is a tournament phase after the assessment. It would be impossible for me to win the championship alone, but with two powerful teammates like you, I am confident we can take the title."

Just then, the three of them walked into the Soul Fighting Zone.