If You Won't Come, Plenty of Others Will!

"National Heavy Artifact, Cauldron Shockwave!"

Xiao Xiao unleashed her strongest control skill, briefly pinning Charizard down.

Around Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, the illusory butterflies finally spread their wings. A shimmering golden beam erupted!

Boom—

The brilliant pillar of gold swept forward and slammed into Greninja's green barrier with tremendous force.

Shimmering motes scattered where the two forces met. Greninja poured all its strength into holding back the attack.

"Greninja, hold on!"

Chi Hong shouted encouragement from behind.

"Greninja!"

Spurred on, Greninja gave a fierce cry and somehow held off the Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

The beam faded, leaving a golden streak on the ground before Greninja. It stood panting hard after blocking the attack, but there wasn't a scratch on its body. It was simply exhausted.

"Well done, Greninja."

Chi Hong praised it.

Greninja had learned Protect quickly the night before. To test its defense, he'd even had Charizard stack two ability buffs and unleash Blazing Inferno.

Greninja's Protect had stopped that, too.

Against anything below ten thousand years, that defense was unbeatable. Against something above it, Greninja could at least take its opponent down with it.

It was leagues ahead of Xu Sanshi's turtle shell, at any rate.

Seeing that even their strongest Martial Soul Fusion Skill had failed to defeat Chi Hong, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong ran out of strength.

"We lost."

Huo Yuhao gave a bitter, disappointed smile.

"No, I can still fight!"

Wang Dong gritted his teeth. As a Soul Grandmaster, he had a little more Soul Power than Huo Yuhao and could still use Ring Fusion once more.

Unfortunately, Greninja had already recovered.

It sprang forward, Water Shuriken in hand, and flashed across the arena.

Wang Dong stepped in front of Huo Yuhao. Both his Soul Rings lit up, and he sent out a blade of light combining Wing Blade and Butterfly God's Light.

Whoosh—

The blade sliced through Greninja's body and flew on. But all it left behind was a puff of smoke that quickly vanished.

"What?"

Wang Dong's face drained of color. Greninja was already behind them.

"Watch out!"

Huo Yuhao turned and shouted, squeezing out the last of his strength to launch Spiritual Shock.

But it was no use. Greninja had Psychic Immunity!

Greninja slashed, tracing a blue ripple through the air as it swept past Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.

The next instant,

Greninja coolly slid the Water Shuriken onto its back, folded its arms, and closed its eyes. Its red scarf fluttered behind it as it waited for the crowd to cheer.

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stared at Greninja's back. Unwilling as they were to concede, they had no strength or moves left. Both collapsed.

One slash was all it took to cut you down. One display was all it took to show off.

On the other side, Charizard had made short work of Xiao Xiao.

[You defeated the wild trainers Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao, won the Freshman Assessment, and gained a massive amount of experience.]

[Charizard's age has increased to 6,500 years. It learned the new skill Flare Blitz.]

[Greninja's age has increased to 4,900 years. It learned the new skill Extrasensory.]

Delight spread across Chi Hong's face. The three of them had yielded so much experience. As everyone knew, the higher a Soul Beast's age climbed, the harder it became to raise.

He hadn't expected a little beginner-stomping tournament to get both his Pokémon halfway to ten thousand years of cultivation.

If he had a few ten-thousand-year Pokémon by next year's Soul Master tournament, he could sweep it with a single click and start snowballing all over again.

"Sigh. So that bully won after all. Can nobody stop him?"

"Those two Soul Beasts of his seem even scarier now. Do we outer-court students have any hope?"

"Can we skip straight to choosing the Shrek Seven Monsters? Let him go terrorize the other academies for a change."

Listening to the students wail below, Yan Shaozhe smiled. "Chi Hong's 'reputation' has grown again. What do you think, Elder Xuan? Looks like you were proven wrong again."

Xuan Zi snorted:

"I admit the boy has some talent, but my judgment isn't wrong. I'm a level ninety-eight Hyper Douluo. I've seen more geniuses than you've had meals. That boy will never become one of the Shrek Seven Monsters. He can't work with others."

Yan Shaozhe sighed:

"You have a point. How could someone who spends every day with Soul Beasts and constantly fights Soul Masters learn to cooperate with people?"

With that thought, Yan Shaozhe flew over and appeared before the students.

"Congratulations to all our freshmen on completing this assessment. I will now announce the outstanding students selected as core disciples."

Chi Hong looked up.

So that's the dean of the outer court's Martial Soul Department—a Hyper Douluo with the Bright Phoenix Martial Soul, and Mu En's disciple. His presence really is formidable.

Yan Shaozhe announced the students chosen as core disciples. Chi Hong was among them, but Huo Yuhao, just as in the original story, was not.

Huo Yuhao forced himself to his feet, fists clenched, his heart full of resentment.

Chi Hong had no interest in Huo Yuhao's feelings. All he wanted to know was what he'd get for winning.

So he raised his hand. "Dean Yan, is there a prize for the champion?"

Yan Shaozhe's mouth twitched at the interruption, but he kept smiling and explained patiently:

"Of course, Chi Hong. As champion, you're a core disciple of our Martial Soul Department, and that comes with many benefits.

"First, there are dedicated classes. Core disciples study and compete alongside the academy's finest students. Second, you'll receive guidance from our most experienced and powerful teachers. Finally, you'll have access to better cultivation facilities within the academy."

Chi Hong frowned:

"Huh? You're saying it's useful to be classmates with students who won't even fight me? Or that a lousy teacher like Zhou Yi counts as top-tier faculty? Which part of that helps me?"

"I'd rather you just give me some money."

Not far away, Zhou Yi nearly coughed up blood. How dare the brat humiliate her in front of the dean?

"Hahaha! Zhou Yi, now it's your turn."

Mu Jin had been miserable after his class lost yesterday, but hearing this today cheered him right up.

Yan Shaozhe's smile stiffened. Why wasn't this fellow following the script?

Every student who joined Shrek was supposed to be grateful. They practically begged to get in.

What kind of student kept demanding benefits? Wasn't he supposed to pay his fees, work hard to grow stronger, and leave if he couldn't? If he could, he should compete for the academy, win championships, and bring it glory!

What, you think recruiting across the continent means we've snapped up all the best students?

With the Shrek name behind us, if you won't come, plenty of others will!