New Student Assessment

"Get up, get up, stop sleeping! It's already the afternoon!"

"The new student assessment is about to start. I thought you'd be up, so I just dozed off for a bit, but I didn't expect to fall asleep!"

Yue Ling slowly opened his eyes amidst the noisy shouting, only then realizing the situation and immediately snapping to alertness.

"Damn it, the new student assessment."

He sat up abruptly, giving Gongyang Mo a fright.

"Hurry, hurry! We'll be late soon..."

"Coming, coming..."

After tidying his clothes, Yue Ling grabbed Gongyang Mo and sprinted away.

Located in the north-central part of the Martial Soul Department, right next to the daily training grounds, was the site for the new student assessment.

Compared to the Soul Fighting District, this place was much larger.

For the outstanding students of Shrek Academy, this was a stage to showcase themselves, but for those with average strength, it was nothing short of a nightmare.

Consequently, a large number of people would be eliminated here.

The assessment area was oval-shaped. Unlike the Soul Fighting District, which resembled an enclosed stadium, this was an open field.

The perimeter was lined with low walls, while the interior was divided into individual zones by partitions that could be dismantled at any time to adjust the size of the areas.

Following the tense grouping process in the morning, the afternoon assessments officially began.

Because today was the first day of the assessment, to allow the new students to adjust, each group only had to participate in one match before they could leave.

The academy dispatched fifty teachers to handle registration across fifty different zones.

The matchups for today's assessment had already been decided by a lottery at noon. They tried their best to ensure that teams from the same class would not encounter each other during the ten upcoming round-robin matches.

Currently, fifty zones were conducting new student assessments.

Each zone was assigned six or seven teams of students to participate.

Not only today, but tomorrow they would also compete in the same zone against the other teams assigned there, until they had all faced each other, at which point they would be regrouped to eventually complete each team's ten matches.

Yue Ling and his two teammates were assigned to Zone Thirteen. The zones were well-marked, and the pair quickly found their location.

At a glance, Ma Xiaotao was already standing there with her arms crossed, waiting with an impatient expression.

Seeing the two of them, she began to complain.

"Why are you so slow? The match is about to start and you're only just arriving."

"We fell asleep, we fell asleep, sorry."

"Sigh, I meant to just nap for a moment, but I didn't expect to fall asleep too. Damn it."

Other students from different classes participating in the competition had also arrived; some looked extremely nervous, while others were full of anticipation.

Everyone was only eleven or twelve years old and couldn't hide their feelings; when they looked at each other, clear hostility was evident.

Most importantly, it was likely that only half of them would remain.

Although the assessment consisted of ten matches, each one was tied to their future.

"Attention all new students, attention all new students. Please enter the assessment area immediately to prepare for the new student assessment."

"There are ten minutes left to enter. Anyone who is late will be considered to have forfeited this assessment."

The announcement repeated once more.

"There are ten minutes left to enter. Anyone who is late will be considered to have forfeited this assessment!"

The booming broadcast echoed throughout the entire Outer Court, loud enough to reach every corner.

Most of the new students' expressions turned serious. Their first assessment was coming, and it would be a lie to say they weren't nervous.

"Yue Ling, do you think we'll be eliminated?"

Gongyang Mo looked at him nervously, clearly fishing for comfort.

"What are you panicking about? One at level thirty-six, one at level thirty-three, and another at level thirty-one—fighting is basically a steamroll, it's a piece of cake." Yue Ling tried to pat his head to comfort him, but Gongyang Mo swatted his hand away.

He looked sheepishly toward Ma Xiaotao, only to be met with a roll of her eyes.

"In a moment, the two of us will quickly finish everyone off. Gongyang Mo is our trump card; it's not good to reveal too much right at the start."

"Fine, then let me make the first move, and you can follow."

"Sure, I'll prioritize protecting him. If you can't hold on, I'll step in."

"Good."

The three of them finalized their tactics and began chatting.

Before long, a teacher approached them in Zone Thirteen. She had graying hair coiled on top of her head, a face full of wrinkles, and skin like a chicken's. She wore a plain white robe, but her eyes were sharp and bright, looking completely out of place with her aged appearance.

She counted the people, and once everyone was present, she said sternly: "My name is Zhou Yi, and I am your assessment teacher for the next few days."

"Hello, Teacher Zhou!" The students in Zone Thirteen bowed in succession; this person looked like someone not to be trifled with.

Zhou Yi nodded and said: "Although this assessment will determine whether you can stay at Shrek Academy to continue your studies, I must remind everyone that this is merely an assessment. You are absolutely forbidden from causing permanent injury to your opponents. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to ask you to leave and report you to the academy."

"Understood, Teacher Zhou!" The students weren't fools; they understood the meaning behind such blunt words and nodded in acknowledgment.

"In that case, let us begin."

"Freshman Class One, Yue Ling, Gongyang Mo, Ma Xiaotao, versus Freshman Class Two, Ling Luochen, Chen Zifeng, Yao Haoxuan. You may enter the field and take your positions in the corners. You may only release your martial souls after I announce the start of the match."

"Enter the field."

"Yes!"

At this moment, Gongyang Mo craned his neck left and right, finally spotting Yao Haoxuan.

Yue Ling followed his gaze out of curiosity and saw a small, thin boy. His appearance was unremarkable, but his eyes were piercing and steady, his demeanor calm and reserved.

"Yao Haoxuan! I didn't expect to fight you in the first match."

"Oh, what a coincidence. I'm afraid you'll experience defeat in your very first match."

"Is that so? We'll see who wins and who loses!"

The two knew each other and seemed quite familiar.

Yue Ling didn't pay much attention to that side, though she felt a bit puzzled.

There were six groups of students in total, and she hadn't expected them to be the first ones up, especially against such a difficult opponent...

On the north side of the assessment area, a high platform had been erected. It stood twenty meters off the ground, supported by six metal pillars. Looking up from below, it was impossible to see how many people it could hold, but there were shadowy figures moving about; it seemed some people were there to watch the matches.

From a height of twenty meters, one could overlook the entire assessment area and see the situation in every zone.

Du Weilun and the other teachers were surprised to see both Elder Xuan and Dean Yan appearing at the round-robin matches.

Elder Xuan pointed toward Zone Thirteen while chewing on a chicken leg, muttering indistinctly: "Oh? Look, look, my disciple is up."

"Indeed, I didn't expect Xiaotao to participate as well."

Du Weilun looked at their opponents in surprise.

"Hiss, this isn't simple. If Yue Ling's team underestimates their opponents, they're going to suffer a big loss!"

"Is that so? That makes it interesting. Otherwise, why would I come to watch? To see that brat Yue Ling, Xiaotao, and his teammates steamroll everyone?"

Elder Xuan finished his chicken leg, took a sip of wine, and began to mumble to himself.

"It's been so long since I've seen him, I wonder if this kid will blame me..."

"Never mind, let's watch the match first."