Shrek Academy's Assessment Zone lay in the north-central part of the Martial Soul Department, adjacent to the Soul Fighting Zone.
For some students of the Outer Academy, this place was their nightmare. Every year, large numbers of students were eliminated because they failed the academy's assessments, most of which were held here.
The Assessment Zone was oval-shaped. Unlike the Soul Fighting Zone, which resembled an enclosed stadium, it was an open expanse of ground.
A low wall encircled its perimeter, while partitions divided the interior into separate areas. These partitions could be dismantled at any time to change the size of the areas.
Now, this Assessment Zone, covering a full twenty thousand square meters, had been divided into fifty areas of roughly four hundred square meters each. After all, the freshmen had limited destructive power and attack range, so they did not need much space to demonstrate their abilities.
The assessment officially began that afternoon. On the first day, each team of freshmen could leave after a single match. Apart from Freshman Class One, which had only five teams participating, the other classes generally had more than thirty teams each.
Whether by coincidence or some unseen inevitability, Huo Yuhao's trio had been assigned to Zone 33. Finding their designated area was easy, as every zone was clearly marked.
The other freshmen in the same zone looked at Huo Yuhao's trio with undisguised hostility. After all, perhaps only half of them would be allowed to stay.
"Attention, all freshmen. Attention, all freshmen. Please enter the Assessment Zone immediately and prepare for the Freshman Assessment. You have ten minutes remaining to enter. Anyone arriving late will be considered to have forfeited this assessment match."
The booming announcement rang out throughout the Outer Academy, and most of the freshmen's expressions turned solemn. Faced with the brutal Freshman Assessment, few could avoid feeling nervous, apart from the handful whose strength far surpassed the rest.
A teacher who appeared to be around forty arrived at Zone 33. His appearance was utterly ordinary, and he had no overbearing air about him. With a smile on his face, he seemed very amiable.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Wang Yan, and I'll be overseeing your assessments over the next few days. A reminder: injuring or crippling your opponents is strictly forbidden during the assessment. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll have to ask the offender to leave and report the matter to the academy."
Seeing the students before him nod in understanding, Wang Yan smiled and opened a folder. After glancing at it, he looked up and said, "First round, first match: Huo Yuhao's team from Freshman Class Nine versus Ouyang Junyi's team from Freshman Class Three. Once you enter, take your positions in opposite corners. You may only release your martial souls after I announce the start of the match. Please enter."
As the three had agreed beforehand, Wu Feng took the lead at the front, while Huo Yuhao and Ning Tian stood behind her on either side, forming a triangle. Their three opponents stood shoulder to shoulder in a row.
Once both sides were in position, Wang Yan nodded and said, "Begin the assessment."
The instant his words fell, Ning Tian extended her right hand and called out clearly, "Seven treasures turn, and glazed tiles appear!"
She turned gracefully in place, and dazzling seven-colored light immediately poured from her body. Where that radiance gathered, a seven-colored pagoda more than a foot tall appeared in her right palm.
The pagoda shimmered with flowing colors from every angle and seemed studded with countless gems. The moment it appeared, it drew the eyes of everyone watching.
Three soul rings, two yellow and one purple, rose from Ning Tian's palm and pulsed rhythmically around the seven-story pagoda in her hand.
"The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?" A gleam flashed in Wang Yan's eyes. "A successor of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect with Soul Elder cultivation, no less. This year's freshmen truly hide crouching tigers and sleeping dragons!"
Wu Feng completed her Martial Soul Possession at that moment as well, her slender figure abruptly growing taller. Scorching heat surged around her body, making the surrounding air ripple.
"Hmm, judging by those crimson dragon scales, that should be a top-tier fire-attribute dragon martial soul. Freshman Class Nine is very strong. They definitely have a chance of taking the championship!" Wang Yan offered another word of praise.
Huo Yuhao glanced at the people around him, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes. A gleaming white soul ring quietly rose beneath his feet. Aside from that, his body showed no unusual changes.
"Uh..." Wang Yan immediately fell silent. And he was not the only one-the students watching nearby were dumbstruck as well.
A Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Master with Soul Elder cultivation, paired with a Grand Soul Master possessing a top-tier power attack system beast martial soul. What an explosive lineup.
Yet the teammate of those two girls was actually a Soul Master with only a ten-year soul ring? And he even looked like a support system Soul Master?
What gave a Soul Master with a ten-year soul ring the right to team up with two beautiful girls this powerful? The watching students thought it over a hundred times and still could not figure out where they fell short.
Damn it, this really was two fresh flowers planted in cow dung!
Yet after Huo Yuhao connected them through Spiritual Detection Sharing, Wu Feng's and Ning Tian's expressions abruptly changed.
Spiritual Detection penetrated every nook and cranny, discerning even the slightest changes with perfect clarity. The two girls felt as though they had gained an extra brain, one that could make judgments automatically while they focused on the battle before them.
Under Spiritual Detection, every minute detail within a fifty-meter diameter was laid bare, without a single blind spot. It was like having countless extra eyes observing everything from every angle with the utmost care.
Suddenly, Wu Feng's eyes lit up. She sensed a change in the soul power fluctuations coming from the little chubby boy standing at the back of the opposing team.
"Come forth, my big chicken drumsticks!"
In Ouyang Junyi's three-person team, Zhao Haochen, the Soul Master with a food-type martial soul, shouted. A yellow soul ring rippled upward beneath his feet, and two streaks of yellow light shone in his hands.
Two large braised chicken drumsticks immediately appeared in his palms, and he quickly handed them to his two teammates in front.
"Seven treasures turn, and glazed tiles appear. Seven Treasures Have Names. First: speed!"
In Ning Tian's palm, the first soul ring around the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda lit up. The rich yellow glow made the pagoda look even more magnificent.
A dazzling beam of light instantly shot from the pagoda and landed on Wu Feng.
"First soul skill, Dragon's Fire!"
The first soul ring around Wu Feng's body lit up. With Ning Tian's support, her speed surged, leaving a string of afterimages behind her.
In the blink of an eye, Wu Feng appeared before Ouyang Junyi's three-person team.
She sprang into the air, her long legs wreathed in rising red flames, and drove savage kicks into the chests of the two standing at the front.
The two had only just received their drumsticks and had yet to put them in their mouths when Wu Feng's kick sent them flying.
Although they had already tried to dodge, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection had shown Wu Feng every trajectory of their movements, allowing her to predict exactly where both would evade.
Boom!
The kick, carrying unparalleled speed, instantly sent the two opponents tumbling across the ground like rolling gourds.
Only Zhao Haochen, the food system Soul Master, remained where he stood. He had just summoned another drumstick for himself, but before he could put it in his mouth, he was already staring in stupefaction.
What the hell? Where were my teammates? Somebody help me!
At the edge of the field, Wang Yan watched with gleaming eyes. Several other three-person teams were watching from the sidelines as well. After witnessing this match, every one of them wore a grave expression, and all of Zone 33 fell so silent that not even a crow or sparrow could be heard.
She was overwhelmingly powerful. What a terrifying power attack system Battle Soul Master!
Then came the jealous looks these people directed at Huo Yuhao.
Seriously, what gave him the right? I wanted beautiful big sisters to carry me soaring to victory too!
Clearing his throat lightly, Wang Yan announced loudly without hesitation, "Huo Yuhao's team from Freshman Class Nine wins!"
Before you continue