Final Assessment

A week later.

Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Ye Guyi arrived at the academy as usual, but this time they did not part ways, instead heading together toward the teaching area. Today was the day of the end-of-term assessment.

It was Xiao Hongchen's first time visiting his own class, Class 1 of Grade 5.

Ever since he had transmigrated, he had been studying in Mingde Hall. Even when he occasionally ate with his younger sister, they would head straight to their "usual spot" in the cafeteria, so he naturally had no reason to visit his classroom.

Moreover, he was already considered a Level 6 Soul Engineer and should have been promoted to the graduating class long ago, but due to Jing Hongchen's instructions, a spot remained reserved for him in Class 1 of Grade 5 on paper.

His peers: Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors, attending classes, crafting basic Soul Tools, and striving for rare metal quotas.

Xiao Hongchen: A Soul King, following the latest sealed Milk Bottle project in Mingde Hall, his hands going numb from handling rare metals.

It was just... you know? (Covers face and laughs)

Because Meng Hongchen loved to sleep in, she had developed the habit of arriving at the classroom at the very last second, and this time was no exception.

The trio walked into the classroom accompanied by the crisp sound of the bell.

The entire class's attention was quickly drawn to Xiao Hongchen.

There was no other reason; he was a rare guest.

Xiao Hongchen scanned the entire classroom as if no one else were there, hoping to find characters who had appeared in the original story.

He actually found two.

The first was a chubby boy, Xiao Xiafeng. His Martial Soul was a steamed bun, and he used the Soul Cannon turret combat style, teaming up with Ma Rulong to face Xiaotao during the "two-two-three" combat format in the first Soul Master tournament.

The other was a handsome, elegant youth with silver hair and brown eyes, Lan Xiu.

His Martial Soul was pure spiritual power, and he was skilled in using a Soul Tool capable of reflecting opponent attacks, the Nine Glories.

As the only control-type Soul Engineer on his team, he had caused Shrek Academy some trouble during the second Soul Master tournament.

Withdrawing his gaze, Xiao Hongchen sat down next to his sister.

Just as they sat down, the homeroom teacher entered and got straight to the point.

"The content of this end-of-term assessment is Soul Tool crafting and actual combat. Everyone, proceed to the Public Laboratory now."

The classroom was instantly filled with wails of despair.

Xiao Hongchen, however, looked indifferent. He stood up and walked out, the three of them walking side-by-side through the corridor, drawing many gazes.

The Public Laboratory was on the first floor of the same building, a large workshop capable of accommodating five hundred people.

Each workbench was equipped with a standard-model carving knife, and the material racks were neatly stocked with various rare metals.

Xiao Hongchen glanced at them; the material specifications were a grade lower than what he usually used, but they were more than enough to handle the end-of-term assessment.

However, what surprised him slightly was that, besides the other classes of their grade, there were also several students wearing graduating class uniforms. He didn't even need to think to know that these were definitely opponents his grandfather had picked out for him.

Once all the students had arrived, the Dean of Academic Affairs, Lin Jiayi, clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention to himself.

"For this end-of-term assessment, you will have two hours to craft a Soul Tool. Each person must craft at least one Level 4 Soul Tool, though you may craft more depending on your own ability. You may use any materials on the workbenches, but the use of any pre-prepared semi-finished or finished products is strictly prohibited. Once discovered, your assessment qualification will be immediately revoked."

Lin Jiayi paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, and continued:

"After the crafting is complete, the homeroom teachers of each class will grade the works of students not from their own class. The grading criteria are: core array precision, material utilization rate, and finished product power—one hundred points for each category."

"After the grading is finished, we will enter the actual combat phase. During combat, you may only use the Soul Tool you just crafted for one-on-one duels, with opponents determined by drawing lots. That is all."

"The timer starts now!"

Following Lin Jiayi's command, the large soul-powered timer lit up, and the two-hour countdown officially began.

The laboratory was suddenly filled with the rustling sound of students gathering materials.

Xiao Hongchen, however, was in no rush to start.

He simply walked to an empty workbench and sat down, scanning the rare metals on the material rack.

After releasing his Martial Soul, Xiao Hongchen did not use a carving knife directly, but instead casually raised his left hand.

His first soul skill, Metal Control, was activated.

Over a dozen types of rare metals on the rack trembled simultaneously, as if grabbed by an invisible hand, and flew rapidly to the workbench in front of him.

In the astonished gazes of those around him, the metal blocks hovered in mid-air and began to shrink visibly.

Xiao Hongchen's spiritual power was highly concentrated; he began purifying the metals on the spot!

The metals, which could at most craft a Level 5 Soul Tool, had their impurities stripped away rapidly under his control, their density and purity constantly increasing.

The entire process took less than ten minutes.

When the last trace of impurity was forced out, the metal hovering before him had turned into a high-purity alloy with a pale golden luster, possessing most of the advantages of its original constituent metals.

"This... will barely suffice."

Xiao Hongchen nodded with satisfaction, and his Dark Gold Profound Blade lit up with a brilliant golden glow.

Next, he began his true high-speed crafting.

The carving knife moved like flowing water, every stroke precise to the millimeter.

The metal deformed rapidly under the blade, core arrays were layered upon one another, and the structure became increasingly complex.

Xiao Hongchen was not crafting a fourth-level Soul Tool at all; he was making one that had clearly reached the level of a sixth-level Soul Tool!

An hour and a half later, the ninth core magic circle was completed.

Xiao Hongchen waved his left hand casually, and the remaining high-purity alloy flew over instantly. Under the shroud of golden light, the hard metal gradually softened into flowing liquid.

This golden liquid enveloped the suspended core magic circle and his own right arm.

"Solidify."

With a low shout, the liquid rapidly cooled and hardened, fusing perfectly with the core magic circle.

With a soft "click," the golden bracer was fully formed, fitting seamlessly against his right arm.

Because he had used his own right arm as the mold, the fit of the bracer was nearly perfect.

This bracer was a Soul Tool that integrated defense, long-range attacks, and melee combat into one.

First, it came with a built-in sixth-level soul shield. Once activated, it could deploy a pale golden light shield that covered the entire body, and it could recharge automatically.

Then, it could fire rapid-fire soul power energy bullets. The user's soul power would be compressed into energy bullets and fired, with each shot having the power equivalent to a standard fifth-level soul ray.

Finally, there was the melee enhancement common to bracers. The outer shell of the bracer was made of high-density alloy, and its metal strength would further increase once soul power was infused, making it excellent for both blocking and striking.

The proctor nearby took the bracer, examined it over and over for a long while, and remained silent for quite some time.

Then, he picked up the grading board and gave it a score of three hundred points directly. There was no other reason; even if he were to make it himself, he certainly wouldn't do as well as Xiao Hongchen—the material processing stage alone would have stumped him.

Meng Hongchen had made a soul-guided rapier, and Ye Guyi had made a soul-guided longsword.

Both works were already among the best in the class; the patterns on the blades were fluid, and the core magic circles were neatly integrated, causing even the teachers grading across classes to take a second look.

However, compared to the ones they usually used, which had been crafted personally by Xiao Hongchen and Jing Hongchen, they were still a cut below.

Not long after, all the students finished their creations, and the scores were settled one by one.

Lin Jiayi clapped his hands, signaling everyone to move to the Soul Fighting Arena.

The surrounding spectator stands were gradually filling up with people.

Lin Jiayi stood at the front of the stage, holding a stack of numbered tags for the draw.

The practical assessment was about to begin.