Jiang Ziming Decides to Put on a Big Show

A moment later, he locked onto a target.

"Found it... the Titan Snow Demon King."

The Titan Snow Demon King was one of the Extreme North's Three Heavenly Kings. Its cultivation was close to three hundred thousand years, making it a powerful existence second only to the Ice Emperor and Snow Emperor in the Extreme North.

Its body was as massive as a mountain, its strength boundless, and it wielded the authority of extreme cold.

Heavenly Dream Iceworm brought Huo Yuhao to where the Titan Snow Demon King was located.

Although Heavenly Dream Iceworm had lost most of his power, his spiritual power was still at the level of a million-year soul beast.

Against a soul beast with less than three hundred thousand years of cultivation, he held an absolute advantage.

If it had been the Ice Emperor, there might still have been a chance to communicate, but the Titan Snow Demon King had an unyielding temperament.

Heavenly Dream Iceworm forcibly suppressed the Titan Snow Demon King's spiritual power, using his vast spiritual power to crush it before forcibly imprisoning it and dragging it into Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness.

"Absorb it."

There was a trace of fatigue in Heavenly Dream Iceworm's voice, but even more determination.

"It will become your second martial soul and your first soul ring."

Huo Yuhao looked at the colossal creature before him and felt the terrifying aura radiating from its body. An indescribable shock rose in his heart.

He gritted his teeth, sat down cross-legged, and began circulating his soul power, guiding that violent force into his body.

Intense pain swept through his entire body, as if every inch of bone were shattering and every tendon and meridian were being torn apart.

Yet the boy clenched his teeth tightly and endured it without making a sound.

This was his only chance to turn his life around.

At Shrek Academy, with the end of the break, the advancement assessment arrived as scheduled.

This was Shrek Academy's usual practice.

At the end of every semester, all first-year students had to take a practical combat assessment. Examiners would score them based on their performance in battle against soul beasts.

The assessment results directly affected resource allocation and class rankings for the next semester. Those who failed could even be expelled outright, so every student took it especially seriously.

The assessment was held in a large beast arena deep within the academy.

The arena was circular, roughly a hundred meters in diameter. Tall stands surrounded it, enough to hold several thousand people.

At its center lay a broad open space paved with hard stone. Several iron gates stood at the edges, leading to the underground cages where soul beasts were kept.

In the stands, the first-year students had gradually taken their seats.

Many wore nervous expressions as they spoke quietly, asking one another what cultivation level of soul beast they planned to choose.

Jiang Ziming sat in Class 1's section, leaning against the railing with a relaxed expression.

Xiao Xiao sat beside him, chatting with Wang Donger and occasionally glancing in his direction.

Just then, a tall, straight figure walked up to him.

Dai Huabin's golden hair swayed slightly.

His face was cold and stern, and his eyes held undisguised fighting intent. Looking down at Jiang Ziming, he curled his lips into a provocative smile.

"Jiang Ziming, dare to make a bet?"

Jiang Ziming looked up at him and replied calmly, "Bet on what?"

"The assessment scores this time."

Dai Huabin's voice was not loud, but it was enough for everyone nearby to hear.

"Whoever gets the higher score wins. The loser..."

"The loser kneels down and admits defeat in public?"

Jiang Ziming took over, sounding amused. How had it become Dai Huabin coming to challenge me to a bet?

Dai Huabin froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Jiang Ziming to raise the stakes himself.

But he soon gave a cold laugh and nodded.

"Fine! It's a deal!"

He turned and returned to his seat, secretly psyching himself up.

He was a beast soul master and possessed the top-tier beast martial soul, the Evil-Eyed White Tiger. He was naturally suited for combat.

He had trained diligently during this time, and his soul power had improved further. He did not believe he would lose to Jiang Ziming. Even though Jiang Ziming had performed brilliantly in the freshman assessment, he still did not think he would lose.

Upon hearing their wager, the surrounding students immediately broke into discussion.

"Dai Huabin actually made a bet with Jiang Ziming? This is going to be interesting."

"Who do you think will win?"

"Hard to say... Dai Huabin is a battle soul master, while Jiang Ziming is a tool soul master. In theory, battle soul masters have the advantage in practical assessments, but you saw Jiang Ziming's performance last time... he was such a freak that normal logic doesn't apply!"

"Either way, the wager of kneeling down and admitting defeat is really brutal..."

Jiang Ziming could not be bothered with the chatter around him. He merely leaned against the railing and boredly counted the clouds in the sky.

Soon, the assessment began.

The examiner was a young teacher dressed in a gray robe. He had a stern face and a booming voice.

Standing in the middle of the arena, he announced the rules.

"Each person will enter the arena in turn and choose a soul beast between one hundred and one thousand years of cultivation as your opponent.

Defeating the soul beast counts as passing. Scores will be based on combat performance, with a maximum of one hundred and fifty points."

The students entered one after another. Most chose hundred-year soul beasts and fought in an ordinary, unremarkable fashion.

A few overestimated themselves and chose thousand-year soul beasts, only to be chased all around the arena in a miserable state.

Laughter and applause occasionally erupted from the stands, and the atmosphere was lively.

When it was Dai Huabin's turn, he strode into the arena with his head held high, confidence shining in his eyes.

"Dai Huabin, what cultivation level of soul beast will you choose?" the examiner asked.

"A thousand years."

Dai Huabin answered without hesitation.

A commotion rose from the stands. Dai Huabin had chosen a thousand-year soul beast—he might actually be able to pull it off.

The examiner nodded and signaled for the staff to open the iron gate.

A massive thousand-year Crimson Flame Lion charged out from behind the gate, its entire body burning with scarlet flames as it let out an earth-shaking roar.

Dai Huabin showed no fear and immediately unleashed his martial soul.

Possessed by the White Tiger, white fur covered his arms, tiger stripes emerged, and three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—lit up around him.

With a shout, he charged straight at the Crimson Flame Lion. Using both fists and kicks, he engaged the massive creature in a fierce brawl.

It had to be said that Dai Huabin truly had some skill.

His fighting style was fierce and sharp. Combined with the formidable physique granted by his White Tiger martial soul, he actually fought the thousand-year Crimson Flame Lion evenly.

After a fierce battle, he slammed a heavy punch into the Crimson Flame Lion's head, knocking it to the ground and claiming victory.

Applause erupted from the stands.

The examiner nodded in satisfaction and announced loudly, "Dai Huabin, one hundred and forty-five points!"

Only five points short of a perfect score, it was an exceptionally high result.

Dai Huabin panted heavily, a smug smile on his face as he shot Jiang Ziming in the stands a provocative look.

The meaning was obvious.

See that? One hundred and forty-five points. Think you can beat that?

Jiang Ziming ignored him.

Not long afterward, his name was finally called.

The boy rose to his feet, brushed the wrinkles from his clothes, and slowly walked down from the stands into the arena.

"Jiang Ziming, what cultivation level of soul beast will you choose?"

Standing in the center of the arena, the boy raised his head and asked calmly, "Can I choose a ten-thousand-year one?"

The entire beast arena fell silent in an instant.