Three months

Jiang Hai wanted to refuse, but he no longer had Lin Youtian's corpse, so any further growth in his soul power would have to come from his own efforts. Ma Xiaotao, however, was a Soul Emperor whose soul power had already reached level 69, only one step away from becoming a Soul Saint. She was far stronger than Lin Youtian.

With Ma Xiaotao cultivating inside the Golden Coffin, even if Jiang Hai only got a sip of the broth, his soul power would still grow rapidly.

Jiang Hai's only concern was that, with breasts that big, Ma Xiaotao surely couldn't have much of a brain. Would the Golden Coffin drain her into an idiot?

But Ma Xiaotao was simply offering too much.

"All right!" Jiang Hai answered with a nod.

"Then it's settled! Let's start now. Out you go-I'm going to cultivate!" Ma Xiaotao was the kind to act swiftly and decisively. The moment she said it, she did it. After driving Jiang Hai out, she began cultivating, and Jiang Hai could feel his soul power growing at a speed he could scarcely have imagined before. His soul power, already at level 18, began rising rapidly again. If this continued, he would probably break through in eight or ten days. His strength and intelligence were also increasing constantly.

Still, Ma Xiaotao couldn't spend all her time cultivating inside his martial soul, so although Jiang Hai's soul power grew quickly, it couldn't truly defy the heavens.

Sitting cross-legged inside the Bronze Coffin, Jiang Hai began his own cultivation as well.

Ma Xiaotao's efforts were hers; he couldn't abandon his own cultivation. Besides, after taking two Mystic Water Pills in succession, his aptitude had improved considerably. As the days and months accumulated, his own cultivation would bring progress that couldn't be overlooked.

In the blink of an eye, the freshmen's first three months had passed, and Jiang Hai's strength had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Ma Xiaotao emerged from the Golden Coffin looking radiant, without the slightest sign of exhaustion. Over these three months, this was far from the first time she had come to cultivate with Jiang Hai.

As the number of sessions increased, Ma Xiaotao's intelligence didn't seem to change at all, which put Jiang Hai somewhat at ease.

Ma Xiaotao looked at Jiang Hai and asked, "You've been at level 20 for over a month now. Have you decided when you're going to hunt the soul beast you need for your second soul ring? As it happens, my soul power reached level 70 a few days ago, so I can take you along."

Ma Xiaotao's talent was astonishing. Without her evil fire interfering, she had broken through to level 70 in less than three months.

Of course, that was also inseparable from her diligence. Over those three months, Ma Xiaotao had spent well over half her time cultivating inside Jiang Hai's Golden Coffin.

Thanks to Ma Xiaotao's diligence, Jiang Hai's soul power had reached level 20 a month and a half earlier, after he took his last Mystic Water Pill. He could go absorb his second soul ring whenever he wanted.

But Jiang Hai hadn't done so. To him, there was no essential difference between one ring and two right now. He was also at the stage of laying his foundations, and hunting a soul ring would cost him at least ten-odd days. Since his soul power would continue accumulating anyway, Jiang Hai was in no hurry. He could take his time hunting his second soul ring during the break after the freshmen's first assessment. Ma Xiaotao breaking through in the meantime, however, had caught him by surprise.

He still had an unused Soul Ascension Pill, which could directly raise a Soul Master below level 30 by one level. His progress could certainly be called remarkable.

"Let's wait. The freshmen's first assessment is coming up soon. It won't be too late to go after it's over," Jiang Hai said.

Ma Xiaotao considered it, then nodded. "Oh, right. I actually forgot the freshman assessment was about to begin. Then I won't come looking for you over the next few days. Once your assessment is over, I'll take you to hunt a soul ring. Oh, and I heard my teacher mention that the rewards for first place in this freshman assessment are extremely generous. You're one of mine now, so don't embarrass me. I'm waiting for you to take first place. If you don't, just see if I don't teach you a proper lesson. I'm off. Make sure you give it your all!"

Ma Xiaotao left in a whirlwind. Jiang Hai couldn't help shaking his head with a smile before heading to Class One's classroom.

After three months, Freshman Class One had changed completely. What surprised the academy's leadership was that Freshman Class One still had fifty-eight students, far more than their estimate that fewer than a third would remain.

At that moment, everyone in Freshman Class One had already gathered in the freshman classroom.

Among the crowd, Wang Dong, Chen Yong, Sun Yunhai, and the others were brimming with confidence, their bearing utterly different from three months earlier. Chen Yong and Sun Yunhai had both absorbed their second soul rings within those three months, officially becoming Soul Grandmasters. They were unquestionably among the finest freshmen.

However, the person who had changed most was Huo Yuhao. With two Mystic Water Pills likewise obtained from Xu Sanshi, as well as a Soul Ascension Pill, his soul power had reached the peak of level 17, only one step away from level 18. He had also grown taller and sturdier, looking like a completely different person from the sallow, scrawny, malnourished boy he had been.

Yet Huo Yuhao's own diligence, rather than outside assistance, was the most important reason he had made such progress.

In all of Class One, Zhou Yi was most satisfied with two people: Jiang Hai and Huo Yuhao.

Even with Zhou Yi's strict standards, Jiang Hai and Huo Yuhao were the only two in the entire class who could fulfill her requirements to the letter. Jiang Hai had his strong foundations to thank, but Huo Yuhao had genuinely exceeded her expectations. Not only did he carry out her assignments meticulously in class, he also trained alone afterward.

After walking up to the lectern, Zhou Yi said, "Today's physical training class is suspended. Three months have passed since you enrolled, and you're about to face your first assessment at Shrek Academy. Only after passing will you count as official first-year students of Shrek Academy and truly become members of the academy. Barring any surprises, you'll then be able to stay and cultivate at Shrek Academy until the end of your first year. The assessment officially begins tomorrow. Today, I'll explain its key points!"

All fifty-eight remaining students sat perfectly straight below her, not one making any unnecessary movement. Zhou Yi was quite satisfied. At the very least, this was one of the better classes she had taught, with considerably stronger willpower than her previous classes. Huo Yuhao, a specially admitted student, had undoubtedly taken the lead in that regard. More than once, Zhou Yi had even considered stripping Jiang Hai of his position as class monitor. There was no question that Jiang Hai had enough talent and diligence, but the boy had plenty of ideas of his own and openly favored the members of his little group. He treated Chen Yong and the others very well, but was indifferent toward everyone else. He also dumped all the little chores onto other people.

"Huo Yuhao!"

"Present!" Huo Yuhao instantly stood and answered respectfully.

Zhou Yi said, "After the freshman assessment, your instruction will be tailored to your aptitudes. Write down the direction you want your future cultivation to take and hand it to me later."

Everyone had a different martial soul and a different direction of development, and their training methods varied greatly as well. Dividing them into systems was therefore necessary. Broadly speaking, these were the power attack system, control system, agility attack system, defense system, food system, and support system, along with the Soul Tool Department.

"Boss, which system are you choosing?" Chen Yong leaned straight over. When he saw the words Jiang Hai had written on his paper, he couldn't help questioning everything he knew.

"Su... support system?" He knew his boss was different, but he hadn't expected him to be this different. What about that huge coffin of his boss's looked like a support-system martial soul?

Seeing that Jiang Hai had no intention of changing his choice, Chen Yong gritted his teeth, filled in his own paper, and handed it in.

The others also whispered among their friends before filling in their choices. After all, three months had passed, and everyone had made new friends.

Zhou Yi said, "You're all students I've taught. Although you'll be reassigned to classes after the freshman assessment, I hope you little brats won't forget what I've taught you. Hand in those papers when class ends. For now, I'll explain the assessment!"

Zhou Yi turned and wrote "Combat" on the blackboard. "Shrek Academy has always assessed its students through combat. Although Shrek Academy cultivates people with well-rounded abilities, combat ability is what it values most. I told you on the first day of class that the emergence of soul tools has blurred the line between offense and defense among Soul Masters. But can a support-system Soul Master survive on the battlefield simply by picking up any soul tool? Obviously not. The ability to survive on the battlefield can only be honed through combat. Therefore, every one of you must participate in combat."

"Of course, the academy will never make support-system Soul Masters face power attack-system Soul Masters head-on. That would be unfair to you. Therefore, the academy's first assessment will take the form of team battles, with three people per team. Students from each class will form their own teams, but there is one requirement: no team may contain two power attack-system Soul Masters!"

In the early stages, power attack-system Soul Masters were still stronger in combat than other types of Soul Masters. This rule was also meant to balance the teams' fighting strength and prevent situations where three support-system Soul Masters ended up together.

At this point, Chen Yong seemed to have guessed why Jiang Hai had chosen the support-system path, and couldn't help admiring him even more. But if I choose the support system too, won't that clash with the boss? Chen Yong cast a timid glance at Jiang Hai.

Jiang Hai remained expressionless as Zhou Yi continued, "The freshman assessment will be conducted across the entire year. There are more than nine hundred freshmen, forming three hundred teams, but this time only the teams ranked in the top half will be allowed to stay. In other words, only the top one hundred and fifty teams may remain. These rankings will be determined by your teams' points."

"Matchups will be drawn by lot, and every team must compete in ten rounds. The top sixty-four teams in the final rankings will then enter the elimination tournament. The top four teams will all receive rare rewards from the academy, and the champion team's rewards will be even more generous."