Xuan Zi

The morning matches were over, but there was still some time before the afternoon matches. Rather than going straight to the cafeteria, Jiang Hai and the others went to the shore of Sea God Lake to cultivate while discussing their morning match, examining what they had done poorly and where they could still improve.

Master Zeng once said, "Each day, I reflect on myself three times!"

Reviewing the old to learn the new was also a good way to improve quickly.

The air around Sea God Lake was fresh and rich in spiritual energy. With Sea God Island, the heart of Shrek Academy, nestled within it, the lake was an excellent place to cultivate. However, most Shrek Academy students held an instinctive awe of the Inner Court. Sea God Island and Sea God Lake were also sacred grounds of Shrek Academy, so few dared to cultivate near the lake for extended periods.

But Jiang Hai feared neither heaven nor earth. He cultivated on the shore of Sea God Lake every day, and sometimes even sank his coffin beneath its waters to cultivate.

Cultivation was arduous, and repeatedly meditating and circulating soul power was tedious work. Young people were at an age when they loved to move about. Even knowing that soul power could change their destinies, very few actually cultivated for more than eight hours a day. Yet Freshman Class One had gained two kings of the grind, who spent over twelve hours cultivating almost every day.

Aside from the time he needed to eat, rest, and attend classes, Huo Yuhao could cultivate for roughly sixteen hours a day. Jiang Hai pushed even harder, managing about seventeen hours without ever letting up.

With the two kings of the grind, Huo Yuhao and Jiang Hai, setting the pace, along with Zhou Yi's instruction, Class One's freshmen improved their soul power noticeably faster than those in the other classes.

Again, cultivation was hard, dull, and tedious. But Jiang Hai and Huo Yuhao both had reasons they had to cultivate. Since that was the case, why shackle themselves with so many restrictions and make cultivation even more bitter?

Cultivating beside Sea God Lake allowed them to draw on the abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth within it, making their cultivation a little faster. They could also take care of washing and eating at the lake.

It had to be said that the fish raised in Sea God Lake were truly big and fat. The ducks someone kept on the lake also had wonderfully plump, delicious meat. Unfortunately, Jiang Hai's cooking skills were only average. It would have been perfect if Huo Yuhao prepared them, but after Jiang Hai tricked that model student into coming once, Huo Yuhao never dared return. Sun Yunhai and Chen Yong, on the other hand, despite their honest, kindly faces, came here quite often.

By noon, they had more or less finished their discussion. Liu Gang and the others had to return to classes that afternoon, so they said no more and ran to the cafeteria together for a hearty meal, with Jiang Hai treating everyone.

Shrek Academy's cafeteria was quite affordable. Jiang Hai had hardly eaten there since arriving, and he still had plenty of the protection money he had collected at the start of the term, so everyone could eat to their hearts' content.

That afternoon, in the assessment area.

The class bell rang, signaling the official start of the afternoon matches. Compared with the morning, the number of participants had halved, leaving the assessment area much more spacious. With sixty-four teams and over a hundred and ninety people competing that morning, space had been rather limited. That afternoon, thirty-two teams amounted to only ninety-odd people.

After the draw, the matches began.

The three members of Jiang Hai's team drew Arena Nine again, as though they simply could not escape that number.

"Both sides, state your names and prepare for the match!" the referee said expressionlessly.

The further the competition progressed, the stronger the students became. This time, Jiang Hai and his teammates again faced a combination of one Control System and two Power Attack System soul masters. In these early clashes between small teams, that lineup was clearly much stronger than other combinations.

Unsurprisingly, all three were Soul Grandmasters, but the highest soul power among them was only level twenty-three, while the other two were level twenty-one. Anyone who could reach Soul Grandmaster within the three months leading up to the Freshman Assessment was already outstanding even among geniuses.

However, the three clearly had not watched Jiang Hai's team compete. That was understandable. They were not weak, but neither were they particularly strong. Their victory yesterday had been a narrow one after a long struggle, and their arena had not been adjacent to Arena Nine. Thus, they knew nothing of Jiang Hai's team's strength. Upon hearing that the team still had a One-Ring Soul Master, they instinctively felt a trace of contempt.

Although Level 20 could also be called a Soul Grandmaster, whether they possessed a soul ring made an enormous difference for low-level soul masters, who still had very few rings.

And that was the end of that. Everyone who dared underestimate Jiang Hai's team had paid the price, and this time was no exception.

Chen Yong charged alone into the enemy formation and activated Black Iron Body. Yet beneath the concealment of Seven-Colored Cloud Illusion, the tall, imposing Chen Yong seemed to become a little lamb, making for an extremely deceptive sight.

With the opposing Control System soul master failing to restrict Sun Yunhai, the ever-shifting Seven-Colored Cloud Illusion worked in tandem with Chen Yong, a burly, brutal soul master with a brown bear martial soul. Before long, all three opponents had been swept out.

Even when the match ended, the three were still lost in clouds and fog, unable to understand what they had faced.

Those dazzling, multicolored soul skills had looked incredibly intimidating, yet they were soft and powerless. Meanwhile, a seemingly slow, feeble punch had struck with earth-shattering force, utterly beyond prediction.

"Jiang Hai Team wins!" the referee announced expressionlessly.

He was also the examiner who had presided over Arena Nine that morning and had witnessed their team's strength. When left unrestricted, Sun Yunhai played an almost unimaginable role in team battles. Shrek Academy had not encountered such an interesting soul master in a long time.

Perhaps Sun Yunhai was not strong in single combat, and his soul skills lacked destructive power, but under certain circumstances, he could have an enormous impact. Truth and falsehood mingled like clouds and mist, impossible to grasp.

The day's matches ended. The trio they faced that afternoon had put less pressure on Jiang Hai's team than Liu Gang's team had that morning. Had Liu Gang's team not encountered them, they might have achieved a decent result, but luck was also part of strength.

Take those three unlucky souls on Huo Yuhao's team. After encountering Ning Tian's team on the afternoon of the first day, they faced the second team with a Soul Elder above Level 30, Xie Huanyue, during the assessment on the following morning.

Jiang Hai's luck in the draw remained as good as ever. In the round of sixteen, he once again encountered a weak team.

Of course, calling them weak did not mean they were truly that weak. A day of elimination matches had weeded out most of the mediocre teams, and those remaining all possessed some genuine ability.

In the stands, Ma Xiaotao spotted a slovenly old man with tattered clothes, bare feet, and disheveled hair. He was holding a large red wine gourd and several roasted chicken legs, gulping wine and taking great mouthfuls of meat. Wang Zhe, an Outer Court instructor, was speaking quietly into his ear.

"Elder Xuan!" Ma Xiaotao leaped onto the raised platform and bowed respectfully to the old man. The platform was occupied entirely by Shrek Academy's teachers and leaders. Since she disliked feeling constrained, she had never gone up there before.

"Oh, Xiaotao!" Xuan Zi took a swig of wine and glanced at Ma Xiaotao. That glance, however, brought a flash of intense surprise to his eyes. "Xiaotao, you've already reached this realm? Right, I think I heard someone say your evil fire has been suppressed. It makes sense that you've cultivated to Level 70!"

Level 70?!

At Xuan Zi's words, the teachers on the platform all looked profoundly astonished. Ma Xiaotao was not yet twenty, but she had already broken through to Level 70. She truly deserved her reputation as the second-greatest genius in Shrek Academy's Inner Court.

Xuan Zi nodded, sighed with feeling, and asked, "Would you like me to help you hunt for your Seventh Soul Ring?"

Ma Xiaotao's Seventh Soul Ring would have to be a top-quality ring from a soul beast at least fifty thousand years old, yet Xuan Zi spoke of it casually, as though they would be facing an ordinary soul beast.

Ma Xiaotao smiled. "There's no need, Elder Xuan. I've already invited my eldest senior sister to help me hunt the soul beast for my Seventh Soul Ring. After the Freshman Assessment ends, we'll enter the Star Dou Great Forest to find a suitable soul beast."

"That girl Lexuan? True, she's already reached the late stages of Soul Douluo. She isn't much weaker than an ordinary Titled Douluo, so having her help is fine!" Xuan Zi nodded, then seemed to recall something and asked curiously, "I heard the one who helped suppress your evil fire is also a little fellow among this year's freshmen. He should be in an arena too, shouldn't he? Where is he?"

Xuan Zi sounded very certain. Anyone who could resolve Ma Xiaotao's evil fire was certainly no ordinary person. Reaching the top sixteen would be no problem.

Ma Xiaotao's gaze settled on Jiang Hai, and she pointed. "Elder Xuan, he's over there, in Arena Eight."

However fondly Jiang Hai remembered Arena Nine, he could not possibly have been assigned to Arena Six anymore. Only sixteen teams remained in the third round, competing across eight arenas for places in the top eight.

Xuan Zi followed the direction of Ma Xiaotao's finger. His gaze pierced through the layers of cloud illusions at a glance and first landed on Chen Yong. Two yellow soul rings trembled around Chen Yong as, supported by Seven-Colored Cloud Illusion, he single-handedly kept all three opposing soul masters pinned down under his attacks.

Xuan Zi's gaze moved away from Chen Yong first, then turned to Sun Yunhai before finally settling on Jiang Hai, who had remained at the edge of the arena. As though sensing something, Jiang Hai suddenly raised his head and met Xuan Zi's eyes. After seeing Ma Xiaotao and Xuan Zi, he immediately withdrew his gaze, but inwardly he marveled. Xuan Zi... Shrek Academy truly harbored crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Its depths were unfathomable.

Xuan Zi suddenly laughed. "An interesting boy. Strong bones and abundant soul power. It looks like he reached Level 20 quite some time ago and has been holding himself back for a good while. His actual soul power should already be at level twenty-two, approaching level twenty-three. Suppressing his soul power during the Freshman Assessment—is he so confident that he has nothing to fear, or does he simply not care? Interesting. Truly interesting!"

Hearing Xuan Zi's words, Ma Xiaotao could not help being startled. "Elder Xuan, are you sure you're not mistaken? Jiang Hai's soul power is already approaching level twenty-three? Then once he obtains a soul ring, its power might bring him to the peak of level twenty-three, or even level twenty-four?"

Ma Xiaotao knew Jiang Hai's soul power had reached Level 20 long ago, but she had never imagined it was already approaching level twenty-three.

Xuan Zi nodded. "This boy has talent. Your teacher has picked up a treasure! You're planning to take him along to obtain his second soul ring, aren't you? You're an impatient girl, but Lexuan has always been steady, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"..."

Ma Xiaotao was speechless, then protested coaxingly, "Elder Xuan, am I really that unreliable?"