In a northern section of the Star Dou Great Forest, toward the Far North, a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear collapsed helplessly to the ground. Astonishment still lingered in its eyes; clearly, it had never imagined it would lose in the very strength it took such pride in.
Huo Yuhao watched the black Soul Ring float out, then reached down to check both of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's claws for a Soul Bone. His luck was good: it had actually yielded a ten-thousand-year right claw bone.
After digging out the Soul Bone, Huo Yuhao ran his fingers over its keen edges, then reached out and guided the black Soul Ring onto his Qiongqi martial soul.
Having witnessed the entire battle, the Snow Empress once again affirmed the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's eye for talent.
When Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, he raised a hand and examined his palm, then stood up and stretched his limbs.
His newly acquired soul skill was a medium- to long-range attack. Huo Yuhao had yet to think of a name for it, but its effect was to unleash dark red claw marks with a wave of his hand.
Those claw-mark attacks could suppress the circulation of soul power in soul beasts and people with beast martial souls, with an additional suppressive effect against dragons.
Clearly, this was the result of awakening that trace of Behemoth bloodline within the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
On its own, it was a ranged attack resembling an energy wave. Combined with the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's right palm bone, however, it could imbue his original dark gold-red claws with this soul skill's effects, creating a new close-combat soul skill.
Strictly speaking, it could be considered half a self-created soul skill. Unlike ordinary self-created soul skills, which could be taught to others, this one could only be activated through a specific combination of soul skill and soul bone skill.
After absorbing the Soul Ring and the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's Soul Bone, Huo Yuhao's soul power had also naturally broken through to rank fifty-five.
Although he had yet to reach Dai Yueheng's Soul Emperor level, if Dai Yueheng learned Huo Yuhao's current soul power level, he would probably have to find a block of tofu and bash his head against it.
After all, there was an age gap of nearly ten years between them.
Once he finished absorbing the Soul Ring and Soul Bone, Huo Yuhao set off from the Star Dou Great Forest toward Shrek Academy.
Fortunately, the Star Dou Great Forest was not far from Shrek Academy. After roughly two or three days of travel, he arrived at the academy gates.
When Huo Yuhao finally made it into Shrek Academy and reported in, Wang Yan looked at him with a complicated expression and said,
"You really know how to pick your timing. The advancement assessment is about to begin, and here you are. If you'd come back two days later, our whole class would have been unable to advance."
Huo Yuhao smiled at Wang Yan and said,
"How does that old saying go? The protagonist always appears last—the grand finale!"
Huo Yuhao's words left Wang Yan rolling his eyes. He then said,
"What old saying says that? You just made it up, didn't you?"
Putting on a serious expression, Huo Yuhao said to Wang Yan,
"Ah, you're mistaken there, Mr. Wang! The first half might not exist, but I didn't just make up 'the grand finale.' That expression already exists."
Wang Yan rolled his eyes helplessly and said to Huo Yuhao,
"All right, all right. Save whatever you have to say until after the advancement assessment. I only have one requirement for you: don't perform below your usual standard. Just show me the results."
Huo Yuhao nodded, then took a step forward. Five Soul Rings—one yellow, two purple, and two black—slowly rose from beneath his feet. Their dazzling radiance instantly filled the office, making it impossible to keep one's eyes open.
Wang Yan was a Soul Emperor, after all. Although Huo Yuhao's soul ring configuration startled him, he quickly recovered. He could not help placing both hands on Huo Yuhao's shoulders as he said excitedly,
"You actually made another breakthrough over a single vacation! Your talent simply defies the heavens!"
Huo Yuhao smiled, then said to Wang Yan,
"Don't worry, Mr. Wang. Leave the assessment to me. There won't be any problems."
The following day, the students of Freshman Class One and Class Two had gathered at the entrance to the beast-fighting area beside the Assessment Area. As both classes consisted primarily of Battle Soul Masters, they would naturally undergo a practical combat assessment.
There was only one task in this assessment: choose a soul beast of an appropriate age according to one's strength, with a maximum age of one thousand years. Scores would be assigned based on each student's performance against the soul beast.
Leaving aside the scoring's biases and scientific validity, this particular task was indeed meaningful. It was also an important part of what set Shrek Academy apart from other academies.
What was the most important thing in the soul master world? Soul hunting, of course. It was a subject almost no Soul Master could avoid before becoming a Titled Douluo.
For Soul Masters with twin martial souls, even becoming a Titled Douluo did not free them from it.
Facing a soul beast in battle and fighting another Soul Master were two completely different dimensions of combat. Soul beasts released much denser soul power than Soul Masters did.
A vicious aura would gather within a soul beast, forming a presence that made people uncomfortable.
This was also why, although someone with two rings could theoretically defeat a thousand-year soul beast, the vast majority could not fight one at that stage.
Their different living environments created a psychological gulf that was difficult to cross.
Most academies on the Douluo Continent paid no attention to this issue.
Ordinary academies also lacked the resources to keep large numbers of thousand-year and ten-thousand-year soul beasts for their students to train against.
Freshman Class One and Class Two would be assessed separately. Today, Freshman Class Two had mainly come to register; the focus was still on assessing Freshman Class One.
If Freshman Class One completed its assessments quickly enough, a few students from Freshman Class Two could also start ahead of schedule.
When Huo Yuhao's turn came, however, the whole tone suddenly changed. He walked up to the examiner and was about to choose the age of his soul beast when the examiner shot him a stern look.
"Oh, give it a rest. You're the top freshman, and you have five rings now. Have you got the nerve to pick a thousand-year soul beast and coast through? If you actually kill it, you'll have to pay compensation."
The corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. He then said to the man,
"It's not as though my old man can't afford a thousand-year soul beast. What's the big deal? Sure, an ordinary family couldn't afford to run a soul beast enclosure this big. But most people here could grit their teeth and pay for one or two of the beasts inside, couldn't they?"
"All right, I'm not questioning your finances. I'm simply protecting the academy's property. The academy has made other arrangements for your assessment. Just go inside."
At worst, they'll send out a ten-thousand-year soul beast, Huo Yuhao thought. He immediately strode into the arena.
Unexpectedly, the three gates in front of him did not open together. Instead, the middle gate slowly rose, and a red figure walked out. Huo Yuhao's eyes instantly went wide.
Wait, what do you mean my assessment is Ma Xiaotao?!
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