Time always flew by. While Gongyang Mo was lost in thought, before long, Yue Ling returned, fresh from his bath.
As soon as he came in, he brought with him a faint, grassy scent from his bath.
Gongyang Mo looked up, and his eyes met Yue Ling's warm gaze.
Yue Ling went to his spot and set down his pink toiletries.
"Come on, let's go eat. Afterward, we'll keep cultivating and get ready for the elimination rounds."
"Don't forget, there are still three Spirit Bones up for grabs!"
"Right!" Gongyang Mo stood up after straightening his clothes. "Let's go eat, then cultivate!"
"Okay!"
They wolfed down a hearty meal in the cafeteria, then returned to the Dormitory.
Yue Ling quickly settled down on Little Pink and began cultivating.
Gongyang Mo glanced at him, went to take a bath by himself, and started cultivating too after changing into his pajamas.
At that moment,
Yue Ling's Second Martial Soul seemed to be undergoing a subtle change.
It grew more bewitching, a vivid red like blood. Unfortunately, Yue Ling couldn't see it.
At the same time, the Hundred Flowers Record inside Yue Ling's Soul Tool seemed to sense something and burst into dazzling light. But the light gave off no fluctuations, so Yue Ling would have to notice it himself.
It flashed for a few seconds, and when nobody paid it any attention, it could only shrink back in disappointment, as if nothing had happened.
The sky shifted from light to dark, then from dark to light.
They cultivated for a while, took a break to relax, then continued cultivating.
So they wouldn't be late for the elimination rounds the next day, with their generous rewards at stake,
they cultivated through the entire night.
At daybreak, Yue Ling and Gongyang Mo, having cultivated all night, felt stiff all over.
They did a few simple stretches, yawned, washed up, and ate breakfast before heading to the Assessment Area to assemble.
A row of nearly thirty teachers was already gathered outside the Assessment Area. Their homeroom teacher, Wu Ya, stood among them.
Ma Xiaotao had arrived early too. It seemed she was afraid of being late, so she had waited here ahead of time.
When she saw Yue Ling and Gongyang Mo arrive punctually, the worry weighing on her heart finally lifted.
As soon as the assembly time arrived, Du Weilun stepped forward and began taking attendance.
An elimination round was an important event, and almost no one dared to be late. In fact, it was rare—being late was an unusual occurrence at Shrek.
Not only were a large number of intermediate- and high-ranking teachers there to watch, even the dean had come, apparently to observe the promising students of this year.
Even if someone had already passed the freshman assessment, failing to show up for the elimination round would certainly be seen as contempt for the Academy and leave a bad impression on all the teachers.
Soon, Du Weilun, the Martial Soul Department's director of studies at Shrek Outer Court, finished taking attendance. Next came the draw.
It was only an elimination round, with no unnecessary, elaborate ceremony.
Yue Ling stepped forward and drew a slot on behalf of his team.
A total of sixty-four teams were competing. They would face off in pairs, with all thirty-two matches beginning at once.
The students had rested for the whole day yesterday, and the Academy had also remodeled the Assessment Area. They had simply moved the partitions separating the grounds, dividing the space into sixteen combat zones.
Each zone was several times larger than before, giving the competitors more room to use their Soul Skills.
The elimination round rules were simple: one round every morning, another every afternoon. Losing teams would return to class, while the winners would stay and continue competing.
The rounds would last three days in total, deciding the final top three.
Once the draw was over, the sixty-four-to-thirty-two round began immediately.
All thirty-two battles took place at the same time, shortening the overall schedule and giving the winning teams ample time to rest and prepare for the afternoon's matches.
Yue Ling's team was assigned to Zone Nine.
A different teacher was overseeing their match this time: a kind-looking man in his forties with black-rimmed glasses, named Wang Yan.
When he saw Yue Ling's team approach the grounds, he made a point of giving them a small wave in greeting. Yue Ling and the others politely returned it.
During the draw, the teams had only received numbers, so no one knew what kind of opponents they would face. Once they reached their assigned zones, the other teams from Class One secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, they hadn't drawn classmates. After all, no one wanted to face the powerful team made up of three Soul Elders in the very first round.
The first round officially began.
Yue Ling's team faced three Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters who coordinated reasonably well with one another.
But under the fierce pressure of three Soul Elders, they didn't last long before being defeated. Yue Ling's team secured a smooth victory and advanced to the top thirty-two.
Watching nearby, Wang Yan saw the three finish the battle cleanly and couldn't help but marvel inwardly. As expected of Class One's seeded team: all three were Soul Elders.
One Soul Elder in a freshman class was already a rare achievement. Yet Class One had four.
It was true that one of them had reached that level through cultivation before the freshman assessment, but four was still four.
What's more, all three had exceptionally powerful Martial Soul foundations.
Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul was the Evil Fire Phoenix, which shared its origins with the lineage of the Phoenix God from ten thousand years ago. It seemed she had taken something that had temporarily suppressed the Evil Fire inside her.
Gongyang Mo's Martial Soul was the Rainbow Dragon, a top-tier support Beast Martial Soul. Its weakness was the same as that of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda: it could have at most seven Spirit Rings. But the boosts it granted were extraordinarily powerful.
If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect didn't possess that manual on Heart Separation Control, there would be almost no difference between the two.
The team captain, Yue Ling, had the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum as his Martial Soul: a huge golden-purple chrysanthemum, its petals covered in a fine layer of fuzz and its stamens glowing with a faint golden light.
Judging by his Soul Skills, he clearly followed the assault route. In battle, his petals became hard and razor-sharp, giving him immense offensive power. His close combat also came with the effects of Indestructible Diamond, making his overall combat strength exceptionally formidable.
Dai Mubai, the God of War from ten thousand years ago, had once consumed a Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and gained the ability of Indestructible Diamond.
There had been other Spirit Masters with the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum throughout history, too. Historical records mentioned a Titled Douluo known as Chrysanthemum Douluo whose Martial Soul had been precisely that.
Wang Yan pushed up his glasses, his mind constantly calculating the connections between the Martial Souls and their origins. He soon reached a conclusion.
He truly deserved his reputation as one of the foremost senior teachers at Shrek Outer Court. His theoretical foundation was solid, and his eye for people and their Martial Souls was sharp.
After watching just one battle, he had already figured out nearly everything about the three.
Wang Yan watched the three as they left the grounds.
He wanted to see more, and planned to approach Yue Ling after seeing him use his third Soul Skill.
This young man had an impeccable grasp of both fine Martial Soul control and the timing of his Soul Skills.
What puzzled Wang Yan most was the faint golden light that appeared on Yue Ling's skin during close combat. It looked remarkably like Indestructible Diamond.
But according to the records in the library, Indestructible Diamond could only be fully mastered after reaching the seventh ring—or obtained early by consuming the Immortal Herb Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
Even Shrek Academy hadn't seen this kind of Immortal Herb in a very, very long time...
Wang Yan was full of questions, and all the more curious about the secrets this young man was hiding.
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