When Lin Shuo reached the cafeteria, the two girls were already waiting for him.
"Lin Shuo! Over here!" Wang Dong'er waved to him from a distance, her pink-and-blue short hair especially vivid in the morning light.
"Good, good morning, Big Brother Lin." Huo Yu'er stood beside Wang Dong'er and smiled shyly, lips pressed together.
"Morning." Lin Shuo nodded to them. "Let's go eat."
Wang Dong'er hooked one arm through Huo Yu'er's and grabbed Lin Shuo's sleeve with the other, pulling him toward the cafeteria. "Hurry, hurry! We need to get to class as soon as we're done eating. If all goes as expected, they'll announce the assessment details today. If we really are supposed to form teams of three, we have to be a team! With the three of us together, winning the championship will be a piece of cake."
After breakfast, the three of them headed to the classroom.
Not long after they arrived, Wang Yan walked up to the podium.
"Class, you've been studying at Shrek Academy for three months now. Tomorrow, the freshman assessment begins." Wang Yan stood at the podium, his gaze sweeping over the class. His tone was as gentle as ever, but his words made the atmosphere in the room tense in an instant. "Listen carefully: you can remain at Shrek Academy only if you pass the assessment. Every year, roughly half the freshmen are eliminated."
A wave of subdued commotion rippled through the classroom. Half eliminated—the brutal odds made many students turn pale.
"The assessment will be a series of actual battles," Wang Yan continued. "After class, form teams of three on your own. The matches will be decided by drawing lots, and each team will fight ten battles. Rankings will be based on the number of wins. The top sixty-four teams will advance to the elimination rounds, where the champion will be decided. The Academy gives generous rewards to the champion every year. In addition, this assessment will determine whether you can become core disciples. Core disciple status will affect whether you can enter the inner courtyard in the future, so I hope you'll take this seriously."
"After the assessment, the Academy will reorganize you into classes based on your Martial Soul traits and fighting styles. The Power Attack System and Control System will be placed in one class, while the Defense System and Support System will be placed in another. So after class, submit the direction you intend to pursue in your future cultivation."
"We won't have a lesson today. You're dismissed. Take some time to get to know one another."
After submitting their team application and cultivation directions, Lin Shuo, Wang Dong'er, and Huo Yu'er left. Huo Yu'er was in the Control System, while Lin Shuo and Wang Dong'er were in the Power Attack System.
They left the teaching building and went straight back to their dormitory. The three of them already knew one another inside and out, so there was no need to train together.
The night passed without incident.
The three arrived early at the designated testing site. Their first opponents were Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, and Zhao Haochen from Freshman Class Three.
As soon as the assessment teacher announced the start, the three opponents immediately gave up.
Seriously, even though the story of Zhou Yi and Lin Shuo in Freshman Class One hadn't spread, the incident where Lin Shuo had frozen Xu Sanshi in an instant had already made the rounds throughout the outer courtyard. The three of them were Soul Grandmasters with two rings each. They might as well surrender and save their strength for the matches ahead. After all, they had ten battles to finish in two days. If they used up a lot of energy in one match without winning, it could easily trigger a chain reaction and cause them to fail the assessment.
And so, Lin Shuo's team made it through all ten matches and advanced to the top sixty-four without even releasing their Martial Souls.
Wang Dong'er flopped onto a bench in the rest area, her pink-and-blue short hair covering half her face. She brushed it aside and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
"Ugh—this is so boring!"
Her voice echoed through the empty rest area. Ten matches, and she hadn't released her Martial Soul even once. Every opponent had surrendered outright; not one had dared to step onto the platform and put up a fight. The Battle Intent she'd built up was like air escaping from a punctured balloon—it was gone in a whoosh.
"My Butterfly Goddess Light..." She lay back and murmured to herself, gazing up at the tree canopy overhead. "I haven't even shown it off yet."
Huo Yu'er sat beside her, hands neatly on her knees. Watching Wang Dong'er, she couldn't help the smile tugging at her lips. She was much more easygoing about it. For her, simply getting to compete alongside Big Brother Lin and Dong'er was already the happiest thing. She didn't care whether she got the chance to fight.
"The elimination rounds start tomorrow," Huo Yu'er said softly, trying to comfort her. "Everyone passed the assessment, so surely no one will surrender without a fight. You'll get to show off then, Sister Dong'er."
"Yu'er's right!" Wang Dong'er sprang upright like a carp leaping from the water. She clenched her fists, her fighting spirit blazing anew. "If anyone surrenders tomorrow, this young lady will chase them back to their dorm and beat them up!"
Standing nearby, Lin Shuo looked at Wang Dong'er with a hint of mockery. "If I fight tomorrow, you won't get a chance to do anything again."
Wang Dong'er opened her mouth to argue, but couldn't find a thing to say. He was telling the truth: once he started fighting, the other side had no chance to fight back. She had challenged Lin Shuo several times over the past three months, but still hadn't managed to make him release his Martial Soul.
"Argh, Lin Shuo! I'm going to fight you!"
Lin Shuo held Wang Dong'er in place with one hand, stopping her from moving.
Watching the two of them, Huo Yu'er pressed her lips together and chuckled.
The round of sixty-four began at dawn the next day.
After calling the names, Du Weilun began drawing lots.
Lin Shuo's team drew a team from Freshman Class One: Xiao Xiao and two students with one Soul Ring each. Xiao Xiao possessed the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron and the Nine-Phoenix Flute. In Freshman Class One, apart from Wang Dong'er and Lin Shuo, she could be said to have the best talent. Since the freshman assessment only required them to advance, she hadn't added a Soul Ring to her Second Martial Soul.
After stepping onto the platform, Xiao Xiao stood at the front, nervously gripping the hem of her clothes. Her cheeks flushed as she stole a glance at Lin Shuo, then quickly lowered her head.
"Hello, Lin Shuo, Dong'er, Yu'er," Xiao Xiao greeted them in a small voice. The two students with one Soul Ring behind her looked as if they'd been marched to the gallows.
The three of them greeted her in return.
The match began, but Lin Shuo didn't make a move. Xiao Xiao's team was simply a case of her dragging the other two through the assessment. Huo Yu'er and Wang Dong'er could handle them. Soon, after eliminating the two students with one Soul Ring, Wang Dong'er used Butterfly Goddess Light to eliminate Xiao Xiao.
The referee raised his hand. "Lin Shuo's team wins! They advance to the top thirty-two!"
Wang Dong'er put away her butterfly wings and hurried over to Xiao Xiao, reaching out to pull her up from the ground.
"Not bad! You almost managed to keep me pinned down."
Xiao Xiao took her hand and stood up, then shook her head with an embarrassed smile. "Not really. You weren't even using your full strength, were you? Besides..." She stole a glance at Lin Shuo, who was leaning against the railing. "Lin Shuo didn't even fight."
Wang Dong'er gave an awkward laugh. If he fought, I wouldn't get a chance.
Xiao Xiao looked at Lin Shuo, gathered her courage, and walked over to him. "Lin Shuo, could I talk to you?"
Lin Shuo shook his head. "Not today. We have another match this afternoon. You're very capable." With that, he left the arena with Wang Dong'er and Huo Yu'er.