Daily Life and Newcomer Assessment (Seeking Follow-ups)

(P.S. Brothers, feel free to offer any suggestions. I'll adopt them where appropriate.)

Time flew by.

Early morning, the small courtyard of Homecoming Cottage.

Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves of the plum tree, scattering across the bluestone ground. The dappled patches of light swayed gently in the breeze.

Huo Chen squatted beside the vegetable patch in the corner of the courtyard, watering several newly planted chili seedlings. Droplets landed on the emerald leaves, refracting crystal-clear glimmers beneath the sunlight.

"You're a dignified Limit Douluo, yet you spend all day squatting in the yard growing vegetables. Aren't you afraid people will laugh if word gets out?"

Ice Empress's voice came from behind him. She leaned against the doorframe with her arms folded across her chest, her short ice-blue hair gleaming with a chilly luster in the morning light.

She wore a loose set of casual home clothes and cloth shoes, looking thoroughly languid and carefree.

"What's wrong with growing vegetables?" Huo Chen replied without turning around. "Vegetables you grow yourself are safe to eat. Besides, who says a Limit Douluo can't grow vegetables?"

Ice Empress rolled her eyes and said nothing.

At that moment, Snow Empress came out of the house carrying a pot of freshly brewed tea.

She sat down on a stone bench in the courtyard, poured herself a cup, took a gentle sip, and said blandly, "Bing'er, stop minding him. If he wants to grow them, let him. Those chili seedlings are for us to eat anyway."

"Who wants to eat the chilies he grows!" Ice Empress said, but her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the tender green seedlings, and the corner of her lips twitched slightly.

After finishing the watering, Huo Chen stood up and patted the dirt from his hands. "All right, today's work is done. What are you two planning to do today?"

"No plans." Ice Empress spoke lazily. "Want to take a stroll around the academy? I heard there's a freshman practical combat class today. We could go watch the fun."

"Then go ahead." Huo Chen sat on the stone bench and poured himself a cup of tea. "I need to visit the Academic Affairs Office today to discuss the freshman assessment."

"The freshman assessment?" Snow Empress set down her teacup. "The one held three months after enrollment?"

"Mm." Huo Chen nodded. "Time really does fly. Three months have passed in the blink of an eye."

The freshman assessment held three months after enrollment was a tradition at Shrek Academy. Every year, three months after the new students enrolled, the academy organized a comprehensive assessment to evaluate their learning progress.

The assessment included soul power testing, practical combat, team coordination, and several other components. The results would directly affect the students' subsequent class assignments and resource allocation.

For the students of Class One, this assessment was especially important.

This was Huo Chen's first official assessment since taking over the class, and everyone wanted to see just what sort of students this young Limit Douluo could train.

"Are you confident about your class?" Ice Empress asked.

"They're doing all right." Huo Chen took a sip of tea. "Xiao Xiao has gotten the hang of sonic control, Wang Dong's practical combat skills have improved quickly, Ning Tian's support coordination is becoming more and more proficient, Wu Feng's flame quality has risen by a huge margin, and Cui Yajie has started to find her own combat rhythm as well."

"What about the others?" Snow Empress asked.

"They've all improved in their own ways." Huo Chen set down his teacup. "But honestly, I'm less worried about their individual strength than their teamwork. Zhou Yi made Class One too individualistic before. Everyone only looked after themselves, and they lacked team awareness. I've been working on correcting that for the past three months, but how effective it's been will depend on their actual performance in the assessment."

"So what are you planning to do?" Ice Empress asked.

"I'll arrange a few mock battles for them over the next couple of days," Huo Chen said. "Let them build chemistry through actual combat."

"Do you need help?" Snow Empress suddenly asked.

Huo Chen glanced at her. "You're willing to help?"

"I have nothing better to do." Snow Empress lifted her teacup, her tone calm. "And I'd also like to see how capable the students you trained really are."

Ice Empress became interested as well. "Count me in. I want to see just how good that little girl named Wang Dong is at fighting."

Huo Chen smiled. "All right, then I'll have to trouble you two."

That afternoon, at the training grounds.

The students of Class One stood in several rows, watching the three people standing in the center of the field: Huo Chen, Ice Empress, and Snow Empress.

Neither Ice Empress nor Snow Empress concealed her aura. Although they had suppressed it to the level of Soul Sages, the unique pressure belonging to one-hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in human form still made the students feel an inexplicable sense of oppression.

"This afternoon's arrangement is a mock battle," Huo Chen said without preamble. "You'll form teams of five freely and face opponents played by Teacher Ice Empress and Teacher Snow Empress."

The students looked at one another and began whispering among themselves.

"Teacher, are you serious?" a male student raised his hand and asked. "The two teachers look... really strong."

"Of course I'm serious." Huo Chen smiled. "Don't worry. They'll suppress their strength to the Soul Sage level and won't truly injure you. However, if you let your guard down, it'll be inevitable that you suffer a little."

He paused before adding, "Also, the best-performing team will be my guests tonight. We'll have dinner at the best restaurant in Shrek City."

The students' eyes immediately lit up.

"Then what are we waiting for? Form teams, form teams!"

"Who wants to team up with me? I'm an assault-type!"

"I want to team up with Ning Tian! Having a support-type makes me feel secure!"

The training grounds instantly became lively.

Huo Chen stepped back to the edge of the field. Watching the students enthusiastically discuss their team formations, the corners of his lips curled upward slightly.

Ice Empress walked over to his side and lowered her voice. "You really know how to raise morale."

"These little ones can't be handled with intimidation alone. You have to give them a little incentive." Huo Chen smiled.

"That pink-haired girl." Ice Empress's gaze fell on Wang Dong, who was arguing with her classmates over team arrangements amid the crowd. "She's the one you mentioned... the twin martial soul?"

"Mm." Huo Chen nodded. "But she still doesn't know what her other martial soul is. The seal remains, and the time has not yet come."

Ice Empress gave Wang Dong a thoughtful glance but said nothing more.

Before long, the teams had been formed. The first team to take the field was led by Wang Dong. Its members included a power attack-type, an agility attack-type, a defense-type, and a support-type soul master—a fairly well-balanced lineup.

Their opponent was Ice Empress.

Ice Empress stood in the center of the arena without even releasing her martial soul. She merely crooked a finger. "Come. Let me see what you're capable of."

Wang Dong gritted her teeth and charged forward first.

The wings of the Light Goddess Butterfly spread behind her, golden radiance illuminating the entire arena. She moved with astonishing speed, leaving a golden afterimage in the air as she threw a punch at Ice Empress's face.

Ice Empress shifted slightly aside, dodging the punch. At the same time, she reached out and lightly tapped Wang Dong's shoulder.

Wang Dong only felt a chill rush in from her shoulder. Her body staggered several steps sideways beyond her control. She steadied herself and turned to look at Ice Empress, her eyes filled with shock.

She had not even seen how Ice Empress had made her move.

"Your speed is decent, but your openings are far too obvious," Ice Empress commented calmly. "When you throw a punch, your right side is completely exposed. If your opponent catches that weakness, you've already lost."

Wang Dong clenched her teeth and assumed her stance again. "Again!"

During their second exchange, she deliberately paid more attention to defense, but Ice Empress handled her even more effortlessly.

She did not even move her feet. With nothing but precise blocks and counters, she neutralized all five attacks from Wang Dong's team.

The students watching from the sidelines were dumbfounded.

"She's way too strong..."

"Five against one, and they couldn't even touch the hem of her clothes?"

"How are they supposed to fight this?"

Huo Chen stood at the edge of the arena, his expression calm and unreadable.

After three rounds of sparring, all five teams returned in defeat.

The best result came from the team Ning Tian and Wu Feng were on. They lasted about the time it took to drink a cup of tea against Snow Empress—and that was only because Snow Empress had clearly held back.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Huo Chen clapped his hands, signaling the students to gather. "I know you may be feeling discouraged, but I want to tell you that the purpose of today's sparring was not for you to win. It was for you to see the gap between yourselves and stronger opponents."

He swept his gaze over the dejected students, and his tone softened somewhat. "You've only been enrolled for three months. Being able to perform as well as you did today has already exceeded my expectations. There are three days left before the assessment. Adjust yourselves properly and digest what you learned today. When the assessment comes, I believe you'll be able to perform even better."

The students felt somewhat better and gradually dispersed.

Wang Dong was the last to leave. As she passed Huo Chen, she stopped.

"Teacher Huo."

"Hmm?"

"Teacher Ice Empress... what rank of soul master is she, exactly?" Wang Dong hesitated before asking, "I feel like she's much stronger than Teacher Zhou."

Huo Chen smiled. "Her? She's even stronger than you imagine. But you'll find out the specifics later."

Wang Dong nodded thoughtfully before turning and leaving.

Ice Empress walked over to Huo Chen's side. Watching Wang Dong's retreating figure, she said in a low voice, "That little girl has good combat instincts, but she's too impatient. If she can settle down and polish herself for two years, she'll become promising material."

"Yes." Huo Chen nodded. "Everything about her is good, except she's too impatient."

"Someone as steady as your nephew is rare, after all." Snow Empress walked over as well and said calmly, "But speaking of which, why didn't your nephew take the field today?"

"He's attending class with Electrolux," Huo Chen said. "The foundational course in necromancy magic cannot be interrupted."

"You've really packed his schedule full." Ice Empress snorted. "Aren't you afraid you'll wear the child out?"

"He wants to learn." Huo Chen smiled. "And besides, he can endure hardship far better than I imagined."

The setting sun stretched the shadows of the three of them long across the ground, overlapping together.

In the training grounds in the distance, several students were still practicing extra drills. The faint sounds of fists and kicks slicing through the air carried over, full of youthful vigor.