(Xiao Xiao's beautiful photo)
"I haven't done that in years."
Wang Dong'er froze.
Lin Ye froze too.
Wang Bian gave Lin Ye an awkward wink. The expression looked painfully forced.
"Ah, haha. Sorry to make a fool of myself—"
He clasped his black hand and white hand together and bowed to the crowd. "Thank you, thank you."
Behind him, Lin Ye's mouth twitched.
Was this guy here to launch a mental attack?
Wang Dong'er couldn't stand the sight of him anymore.
Disgust flashed across her delicate face. She swept through the air in an arc, heading straight for Wang Bian!
Take out the one at the back first. He had to be a support or food-type soul master!
Yi Yang Gan Xi reacted quickly, hurling stones at Wang Dong'er in a frantic attempt to disrupt her approach.
Dull gray stones whistled toward her from tricky angles, thick and fast.
Wang Dong'er paid them no mind.
She twisted nimbly in midair and kicked out with alternating legs. The stones flew away one after another like swatted flies.
Then Wang Bian moved.
He pulled two cigarettes from the pack of Furong Wang and tossed them to Yi Yang Gan Xi and Wang Jun Kai.
They caught them instinctively, as smoothly as if they had rehearsed it countless times.
Wang Bian hurriedly took out a lighter and ran over to light Yi Yang Gan Xi's cigarette.
The lighter clicked several times, but the flame went out the moment the wind caught it.
Yi Yang Gan Xi grew anxious. "Jun Kai, get over here and block the wind!"
"Okay," Wang Jun Kai said. He flapped his pair of Orleans Roasted Wings and hurried over. The three of them formed a tight circle, hunching their shoulders against the wind.
Yi Yang Gan Xi held the cigarette between his lips. Wang Bian flicked the lighter again...
Wang Dong'er stopped in midair, speechless.
Were they pretending we weren't here?
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three muffled impacts rang out almost at once.
Wang Dong'er flashed past like a streak of blue-gold lightning, landing three precise kicks.
The three punks flew out of the Assessment Area in separate arcs before they could even scream. They rolled across the ground several times before coming to a stop.
"Class One's Lin Ye team wins."
The referee announced the result without expression.
Lin Ye leaned against a pillar at the edge of the field, hands in his pockets, looking completely at ease.
This assessment really wasn't much of a challenge.
The first round of the Freshman Assessment soon ended.
Today's matches had mainly been meant to help the freshmen get used to combat-based assessments.
The matches would come much faster from here on.
Tomorrow, there would be two rounds in the morning and two in the afternoon, four in total.
The third day would be even more grueling: every team would fight five rounds.
The entire Freshman Assessment would last just three days.
During the first day's matches, Lin Ye had paid special attention to the other teams in his group.
Now his brow furrowed slightly.
Dai Huabin's team had been placed in the same group as theirs.
District 32.
That meant they were bound to face Dai Huabin tomorrow.
Lin Ye leaned against his dorm room bedframe, tapping his knee lightly.
Dai Huabin was a three-ring Soul Elder, unquestionably among the strongest freshmen.
And with Zhu Lu's Nether Civet Martial Soul working alongside him, he could unleash the Hell White Tiger Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
That technique was practically unbeatable in the Freshman Assessment.
Looks like I'll have to step in for this match.
He closed his eyes and felt the Soul Power slowly recovering within him.
After his earlier contact with the Auspicious Beast, he had discovered that he could now share his first soul skill, Lotus Heart Consciousness Sea, with his teammates, much like Huo Yuhao's mental detection.
That was an unexpected bonus.
The next day, the assessment resumed.
Matches in District 32 followed one after another.
Lin Ye's team knocked out their opponents in all three of their opening matches.
Wang Dong'er was the only one who had to fight. Xiao Xiao watched from the side, while Lin Ye yawned at the back.
Five matches, five wins.
Dai Huabin's team was tearing through its opponents just as easily.
The White Tiger Martial Soul's overwhelming attacks, paired with the eerie speed of Zhu Lu's Nether Civet, brought their matches to swift ends as well.
At last came District 32's final match of the day—
Lin Ye's team versus Dai Huabin's team.
Both sides had won all four of their matches so far.
The winner would take the top spot in the district.
The atmosphere in the Assessment Area turned tense.
Students from the other teams, who had been lounging around the sidelines and chatting, sat up straight. Every gaze turned toward the center of the field.
Dai Huabin stood at the opposite end, his deep-blue eyes, each with two pupils, fixed coldly on his opponents.
Beside him, Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie looked ready for battle.
Dai Huabin's team was widely considered one of the strongest contenders to win this Freshman Assessment.
With a three-ring Soul Elder and a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, almost no one thought they could lose.
On the other side, Lin Ye rolled his wrists and walked slowly in front of Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao.
"Follow my lead for this match."
His voice was quiet, but his certainty left no room for argument. The two girls exchanged a glance and nodded.
The match began.
Dai Huabin and his teammates sprinted forward in their usual formation.
Dai Huabin led the charge. As he ran, he shouted, "White Tiger, possess me!"
A fierce, pale light burst from his body.
His arms spread wide and his chest rose. Bones crackled throughout his body as his muscles swelled, pulling his clothes taut.
Every muscle stood out beneath the fabric. Even the air around him seemed to grow restless.
His golden hair turned black and white in an instant, mostly white, with a few black streaks standing out sharply.
Four faint lines appeared on his forehead, three horizontal and one vertical, forming the Chinese character for "king."
His hands changed the most, growing to three times their former size.
White fur covered his palms. As his fingers flexed, claws like short daggers slid out and back.
Each claw was eight inches long and sharp as a blade, glinting coldly in the sunlight.
Dai Huabin leaned forward. All four pupils in his eyes turned a deep, dark blue, and he gave off the crushing menace of a killing machine.
Three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—rose from beneath his feet. As they revolved, his surging Soul Power spread outward in waves of pressure.
Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie completed their own Martial Soul Possessions beside him.
Zhu Lu's eyes deepened in color, her ears rose to points, and her slender body became taut with strength. A sharp blade extended from each finger.
She had not yet reached full speed, but her shifting figure already left a trail of hazy afterimages.
Cui Yajie's transformation was stranger still.
Once she released her Martial Soul, she seemed to age three or four years. Her long pink hair became great rolling curls that cascaded down like a waterfall.
Her eyes were clear and luminous. Two long tails had appeared behind her, each about a meter long, their thick pink fur gleaming invitingly in the soft sunlight.
She locked onto Lin Ye at once.
Her pink eyes curved in a sweet smile aimed at him. Her first Soul Ring lit up quietly, so faintly that anyone not watching closely might have missed it.
Charm.
But Lin Ye's pale-gold eyes merely flickered. He did not waver in the slightest.
Cui Yajie shuddered, her expression changing.
Her Charm had never failed her before, yet it had no effect on this boy at all.
Lin Ye's Mental Power was simply too strong.
With his first soul skill, Lotus Heart Consciousness Sea, active, every movement the three opponents made, every flow of Soul Power, and every hint of an attack appeared in his mind like a complete three-dimensional map.
Better yet, Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao shared that awareness too.
Before you continue