New Life Assessment

When Lin Shuo arrived at the entrance of the cafeteria, the two girls were already waiting for him.

"Lin Shuo! Over here, over here!" Wang Dong'er waved at him from afar, her powder-blue short hair looking exceptionally bright in the morning light.

"Big Brother Lin, good, good morning." Huo Yu'er stood beside Wang Dong'er, biting her lip and smiling with a hint of shyness.

"Morning." Lin Shuo nodded at them. "Let's go eat."

Wang Dong'er grabbed Huo Yu'er's arm, then used her other hand to tug at Lin Shuo's sleeve, pulling him toward the cafeteria. "Hurry, hurry, hurry! We need to get to the classroom as soon as we're done. If nothing goes wrong, they'll announce the assessment details today. If it really is a three-person team format, we have to be a team! With the three of us, winning the championship will be an absolute breeze."

After finishing their breakfast, the three of them headed toward the classroom.

Not long after they arrived, Wang Yan walked up to the podium.

"Students, you have all been studying at Shrek Academy for three months now. Tomorrow, the freshman assessment will begin." Wang Yan stood on the podium, his gaze sweeping across the entire class. His tone was as gentle as ever, but his words caused the atmosphere in the room to tighten instantly. "Students, take note: only by passing this assessment can you continue to remain at Shrek Academy, and every freshman assessment eliminates about half of the students."

A stifled commotion rippled through the classroom. Eliminating half—this cruel ratio caused the faces of many students to turn pale.

"The specific content of the assessment is actual combat," Wang Yan continued. "After class, you are to form your own three-person teams. The competition will consist of ten matches determined by drawing lots, and rankings will be based on the number of wins. The top sixty-four teams will proceed to a knockout tournament to determine the final champion. The academy's championship rewards are always very generous every year. Furthermore, this assessment will also determine whether you can become core disciples. Core discipleship is crucial to whether you can enter the inner courtyard in the future, so I hope you all take this seriously."

"After the assessment concludes, the academy will reassign classes based on the martial soul characteristics and combat styles you displayed. Assault-type and control-type students will be in one class, while defense-type and support-type students will be in another. Therefore, after class, everyone must submit their future cultivation direction to me."

"We won't have a lecture today; we'll end class here. This will give you all some time to get to know each other and coordinate."

Lin Shuo, Wang Dong'er, and Huo Yu'er left after submitting their team application and cultivation directions. Huo Yu'er was a control-type, while Lin Shuo and Wang Dong'er were assault-types.

After leaving the teaching building, the three of them returned directly to their dormitory. Since they were already incredibly familiar with one another, there was no need for them to conduct any training.

The night passed without incident.

The three of them arrived early at the designated location for the exam. Their opponents for the first match were freshman class three students Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, and Zhao Haochen.

The moment the proctor announced the start, the three of them immediately forfeited.

It was no joke. Although the incident involving Zhou Yi and Lin Shuo in freshman class one hadn't been officially publicized, the news of Lin Shuo instantly freezing Xu Sanshi that day had long since spread throughout the outer courtyard. The three of them, all two-ring Great Soul Masters, were better off just surrendering to conserve their strength for the upcoming matches. They knew that with ten matches to finish in two days, consuming too much energy in this one without a guaranteed win could easily lead to a chain reaction resulting in failure.

Just like that, Lin Shuo's team advanced to the top sixty-four without even releasing their martial souls during those ten matches.

Wang Dong'er lay sprawled on a bench in the rest area, her powder-blue short hair covering half her face. She reached out to brush the hair aside and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"Ugh—so boring!"

Her voice echoed through the empty rest area. In ten matches, she hadn't even released her martial soul once. Every single opponent had surrendered immediately; not a single one dared to step onto the stage to trade blows. The fighting spirit Wang Dong'er had been building up was like a balloon with a hole poked in it—it had all leaked out in a single whoosh.

"My Butterfly Goddess Light..." she murmured, staring up at the tree canopy overhead, "I haven't even shown it off yet."

Huo Yu'er sat beside her with her hands neatly folded on her lap. Seeing Wang Dong'er like this, she couldn't help but curve her lips into a smile. Her own mindset was much more peaceful—to her, being able to participate in the competition with Big Brother Lin and Dong'er was the happiest thing in itself. As for whether she had a chance to strike, she didn't mind at all.

"Tomorrow is the knockout tournament," Huo Yu'er comforted her softly. "Everyone has already passed the assessment, so they definitely won't surrender without a fight. By then, Sister Dong'er will be able to show off her skills."

"Yu'er is right!" Wang Dong'er did a kip-up to sit straight, clenching her fists with her eyes reignited with fighting spirit. "If anyone tries to surrender tomorrow, this young lady will chase them all the way to their dorms to beat them up."

Lin Shuo stood to the side and said to Wang Dong'er with a hint of mockery, "If I make a move tomorrow, you won't have a chance to strike again."

Wang Dong'er opened her mouth to retort, but realized she had no argument. He was telling the truth—once he made a move, the opponents had no power to fight back at all. She had challenged Lin Shuo several times over the past three months, but to this day, she hadn't even forced him to release his martial soul.

"Ya, ya, ya! Lin Shuo, this young lady is going to fight you!"

Lin Shuo pressed a hand on Wang Dong'er, keeping her in place.

Huo Yu'er watched the two of them and smiled to herself.

The round of sixty-four to thirty-two knockout tournament began the next morning.

Du Weilun started the draw after taking attendance.

Lin Shuo's team was matched against students from freshman class one: Xiao Xiao and two one-ring students. Xiao Xiao's martial souls were the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron and the Nine-Phoenix Flute. Aside from Wang Dong'er and Lin Shuo, she could be considered the most talented in freshman class one. Because the freshman assessment only required advancing, she hadn't added any new soul rings to her second martial soul.

After stepping onto the stage, Xiao Xiao stood at the very front, her hands nervously clutching the hem of her shirt. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she glanced at Lin Shuo with shifty eyes before quickly lowering her head.

"Lin Shuo, Dong'er, Yu'er, hello." Xiao Xiao greeted them in a small voice. The two one-ring students behind her looked as if they were being marched to the execution ground.

The three of them greeted her in return.

The match began, and Lin Shuo did not make a move. The trio was essentially Xiao Xiao carrying the other two through the assessment. Huo Yu'er and Wang Dong'er were more than capable of handling them. Soon, after eliminating the two one-ring students, Wang Dong'er used her Butterfly Goddess Light to eliminate Xiao Xiao.

The referee raised his hand: "Team Lin Shuo wins, advancing to the top thirty-two!"

Wang Dong'er retracted her butterfly wings and walked quickly to Xiao Xiao, extending a hand to pull her up from the ground.

"Not bad! You almost managed to hold me off."

Xiao Xiao took her hand to stand up, shook her head, and smiled sheepishly. "Not at all, you probably haven't used your full strength yet. Besides..." She snuck a glance at Lin Shuo, who was leaning against the railing, "...Lin Shuo didn't even make a move."

Wang Dong'er gave a dry laugh; if he made a move, I wouldn't have a chance to strike.

Xiao Xiao looked at Lin Shuo, gathered her courage, and walked toward him. "Lin Shuo, could I have a word with you?"

Lin Shuo shook his head. "Not now. We have another match this afternoon. Your strength is quite impressive." With that, Lin Shuo led Wang Dong'er and Huo Yu'er away from the competition grounds.