The Upgrade Assessment resumed, and the classes answered the academy's summons, returning to the Soul Beast Arena.
This time, Xiao Zi did not separate from Dai Huabin. He returned to his original position as a follower, trailing behind him as he made a low-key entrance.
After talking with Dai Yueheng that day, he had used the smart Communication Watch from Swallowed Star to call Dai Huabin back, and the two had "made up."
Wang Dong was the first to take the stage this time. Three soul rings rose slowly beneath her feet-she had actually reached the Soul Elder realm, with one yellow ring and two purple ones!
Her configuration fell short of Li Lezi's, but her soul power was several levels higher. In terms of potential, she was no less impressive, and Yan Shaozhe's eyes lit up again. He had found that ever since the second academic year began, good things had come one after another. Heaven was smiling on Shrek!
The competition was divided into two teams. Class One consisted of Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. Xiao Zi had replaced Cui Yajie from the original story, so Class Two consisted of Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Li Lezi.
The winner would be determined by the highest combined team score. Having learned from the previous incident, Shrek prohibited Huo Yuhao from using his second soul skill, Simulation. He was not allowed to use a ferocious beast aura to pass.
The most worried person was not Dai Huabin, who would have to kowtow if he lost, but the soul beast keeper, Gong Changlong. Terrified of a repeat of the last incident, he mustered every ounce of vigilance and kept his eyes fixed on Huo Yuhao.
Yet despite all his precautions, he had still overlooked one person-the one who had replaced Cui Yajie. It was destined to be another sorrowful day.
The rules were as follows: the maximum score was 150, divided into basic points (100) and advanced points (50). The two were added together for the total score.
Wang Dong had thought that with her Light Goddess Butterfly martial soul and Soul Elder strength, she would surely earn full marks. The other team members would not even need to take the stage before the contest was over.
But in her battle against the Millennium Bloodthirsty Demon Bear, she ultimately fell one move short. She exhausted her soul power too early and exposed an opening, prompting Yan Shaozhe and Du Weilun to deduct fifty points. Only her basic points remained, giving her a total of one hundred.
Although she passed the assessment, Wang Dong was not happy. Not only had she lost her advanced points, but she had also shown weakness in front of Li Lezi. Without realizing it, drawn by some unseen force, she had come to care more and more about his opinion, wanting only to show him her best side.
Xiao Xiao was next. She chose a soul beast approaching a thousand years old. With her soul power below rank thirty, her twin martial souls, the flute and the cauldron, lacked offensive strength. She finished the battle panting for breath and ultimately earned a score close to one hundred.
Both girls' results had come with Huo Yuhao secretly cheating by activating Spiritual Detection.
As the final contender, Huo Yuhao was the last from Class One to take the stage. He immediately chose a thousand-year-old Flame Lion King. This time, he followed the rules and fought with his Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion martial soul. The Ice Empress happened to awaken, and he used Ice Emperor's Protection, belonging to one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, to win with ease.
Knowing about Huo Yuhao's artificially created twin martial souls, and seeing his performance today, Dean Yan Shaozhe was thoroughly satisfied and awarded him the full 150 points.
He had reversed the disadvantage left by Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. If no one in Class Two earned full marks, victory was already assured.
Then it was the turn of Class Two's trio. Dai Huabin went first, choosing a thousand-year-old Wind Tiger. For the sake of his master's plan, he did not strike this soul beast mercilessly. He stopped after severely wounding it, completing a flawless battle.
Yan Shaozhe approved of his decisive, ruthless style. After a small deduction for technique, Dai Huabin's total score was 145.
Zhu Lu took the stage second. Her Nether Civet martial soul excelled at agility attacks rather than power attacks. Like Xiao Xiao, she chose a soul beast approaching a thousand years old, and naturally received a similar score.
"Next from Class Two, Li Lezi!"
His turn had finally arrived. Carrying the hopes of both sides of the wager, Xiao Zi slowly stepped into the arena. At the same time, someone else entered the stands and approached the teachers.
Upon seeing him, Yan Shaozhe gave a surprised exclamation. "Yueheng, why have you come here instead of preparing for the competition in the Inner Court?"
The newcomer was none other than Dai Yueheng. Following Xiao Zi's advice, he had come in person and casually explained, "I heard Huabin was taking his assessment, so I stopped by to have a look. I hope you'll look out for him a little, Dean."
This was the backup plan Xiao Zi had prepared. To keep Dai Huabin from kneeling and kowtowing, only Dai Yueheng's personal intervention could stop it.
Yan Shaozhe's gaze grew meaningful as he quickly weighed the pros and cons.
To him, the Soul Master Tournament took precedence over everything. Never mind Huo Yuhao alone-even with Li Lezi, Wang Dong, and the others added in, they did not carry as much weight as Dai Yueheng. As one of the current Shrek Seven Devils, his importance went without saying. With the tournament looming, everything else had to give way.
"All right, I understand."
Back in the Soul Beast Arena, Xiao Zi had finished his preparations as well.
He had considered his future and ultimately decided to remain at Shrek a while longer. Aside from the Golden Tree's source essence, the continent's foremost academy possessed abundant resources. With wool ripe for the shearing, why not shear it?
He chose a thousand-year-old Golden Lion-Tiger. It looked thick-skinned and meaty enough to make a filling meal, which ought to satisfy his first martial soul's cravings.
Then he released the Golden Horned Beast. A screech shook heaven and earth, and the black horn on his head stood proudly poised to pierce, as though it would tear open the sky. Golden markings spread across his body, like a suit of armor woven from gold and black.
Moreover, his dark golden eyes were cold to the marrow, gleaming with merciless ferocity. The pair of wings on his back blotted out the sky and sun, covered in large, thick armored scales. Each was as sharp as a blade, sending chills down the spine.
As in Swallowed Star, Xiao Zi's first martial soul was a juvenile Golden Horned Beast, with only a single horn on his forehead. As he matured, he would grow more horns, and his golden secret markings would become more intricate until he turned pure gold.
Under his martial soul's influence, Xiao Zi's eyes filled with brilliant gold, and strange runes appeared in his pupils, lending him an incomparably sacred air. Two purple soul rings rose beneath his feet. His soul power, rank twenty-six when he enrolled, had risen again, reaching rank twenty-eight.
He did not activate Five Hearts Facing the Sky, relying only on a plain, unadorned attack. As the opposing soul beast charged, his first soul ring lit up-
"First soul skill, Devour!"
At the command, the Golden Horned Beast rubbed his hands in anticipation, unleashing a presence several times more terrifying than the thousand-year-old Golden Lion-Tiger's. With a single slap, he sent his opponent flying into the air. His body rapidly expanded, and his gaping, blood-red maw became an abyss.
By the time everyone realized what was happening, it was already over. The Golden Horned Beast had swallowed the Golden Lion-Tiger whole, and the chewing sounds coming from his stomach made their scalps prickle.
Only when the Golden Horned Beast stopped chewing and let out an earth-shaking belch were their thoughts dragged back to the present.
The entire arena was silent as the grave. The keeper, Gong Changlong, was the first to recover. Seeing the soul beast he had raised eaten without so much as a scrap remaining, he could not help letting out a long, anguished howl...
"No-!"