"Roar!"
Xiao Lin let out a low wolf's howl. The first Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up, and a faint gray glow veiled his body.
First Soul Skill, Wolf Transformation.
Its specific effect was to enhance his speed and attack power.
After using Wolf Transformation, Xiao Lin exuded an extremely ferocious presence, his wolf claws lunging straight for Charmander.
Facing the charging Xiao Lin, Lin Mo stood where he was, silently issuing a command to Charmander in his mind.
The flame on Charmander's tail flared brighter with a whoosh. Facing the Demon Wolf Martial Soul Master hurtling toward him,
he opened his mouth and spat out a string of scorching, fist-sized fireballs, precisely blocking Xiao Lin's path forward.
This was one of the skills Charmander had mastered, Ember!
Xiao Lin reacted extremely quickly. He immediately twisted aside to dodge most of the fireballs, swinging his wolf claws in succession to swat apart the scattered fireballs he could not evade.
With several soft pops, he scattered the fireballs, but his forward momentum also faltered. The searing heat in his hands made him frown deeply.
These flames were far hotter than he had expected!
Yet the instant he scattered the fireballs, Charmander moved!
He kicked off the ground hard with all four limbs. His sole Yellow Soul Ring suddenly lit up, and dazzling flames instantly enveloped his entire body.
His whole body seemed to become a blazing meteor as he slammed toward Xiao Lin at tremendous speed-Flare Blitz!
Xiao Lin had only just dealt with Ember's attack and was caught at the moment when his old strength had ebbed and fresh strength had yet to rise.
The scorching heat and powerful impact made his heart pound. It was already too late to dodge completely.
He could only hastily cross his arms in front of himself and pour all his Soul Power into them, preparing to take the blow head-on with the physical enhancements granted by his Demon Wolf Martial Soul and first Soul Skill.
Boom!
Charmander slammed squarely into Xiao Lin's crossed arms. Xiao Lin felt an immense force strike him, and agonizing pain shot through both arms, as though they were about to snap.
He staggered backward uncontrollably. The Soul Power protecting his body rapidly dwindled beneath the scorching flames, his sleeves were instantly charred, and a sharp burning pain stung his skin.
He could not help feeling deeply shocked. The power and impact of these flames far exceeded his expectations.
That single blow had put him at an absolute disadvantage.
Having landed his blow, Charmander did not pause at all. After landing, he opened his mouth again, firing another dense barrage of Ember at the unsteady Xiao Lin's head and face.
Xiao Lin's arms were numb and his footing unsteady. Faced with the Ember attack following right on its heels, he had nowhere left to dodge.
The Soul Ring on Charmander's body erupted with dazzling light once more, and his entire body shot forward like lightning as he unleashed Flare Blitz again.
He clearly looked ready to finish Xiao Lin off in one vigorous push.
At this moment, when everything hung by a thread, a figure appeared before Xiao Lin like a phantom.
It was Director Xue!
He merely raised his hand and waved it gently, and an icy chill instantly spread across the entire arena.
A snow-lotus-shaped ice shield formed from countless crystalline snowflakes appeared out of thin air, blocking the space in front of Xiao Lin.
"Pop, pop, pop, pop..."
The dense barrage of Ember struck the ice shield with a series of soft sounds, stirring up clouds of white mist, yet failed to shake the shield in the slightest.
The cold naturally radiating from the ice shield extinguished every last ember.
At the same time, Director Xue flicked the fingers of his other hand. White motes of light radiating cold and the breath of life flew out and merged into Xiao Lin's burned arms.
Xiao Lin felt a cool sensation wash over his arms. The fiery stinging quickly faded, and his skin, burned bright red, recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Only after saving Xiao Lin and healing his surface burns did Director Xue turn around. He looked at Lin Mo and Charmander with a complicated gaze and announced loudly:
"The assessment is over. Lin Mo wins!"
He could not help marveling inwardly, feeling somewhat fortunate that Dean Wang Zongchang of Nuoding Academy had recommended Lin Mo here rather than to academies such as Blazing Fire or Exotic Beast.
The strength Lin Mo had just displayed, especially the formidable explosive power of his Charmander Martial Soul, absolutely warranted the word genius.
In just two moves, even while holding back most of his power, he had forced a Soul Emperor like himself to intervene and save someone.
Facing everyone's astonished gazes, Lin Mo remained utterly calm.
Xiao Lin's strength was indeed quite good. Although he and Nuoding Academy's Xiao Chenyu were both One-Ring Soul Masters with wolf-type Martial Souls, he was stronger by far more than just a little.
If his Soul Power Level today had been ten levels higher, with another Hundred-Year Soul Ring, he might have had a chance to compete with Charmander.
But if this was all he had, it was nowhere near enough!
Xiao Lin looked at his rapidly recovering arms, then raised his head to look at Lin Mo opposite him, who had already withdrawn Charmander and still looked calm. His face was filled with defeat and disbelief.
He hesitated, but still could not help asking, "Lin Mo... are-are you perhaps someone with the legendary innate full Soul Power?"
Hearing Xiao Lin's question, the other four students watching also pricked up their ears, wanting to hear what he would say himself.
Lin Mo shook his head, his tone as even as before. "No. My innate Soul Power was level six." He paused, then added,
"And when my Martial Soul first awakened, it was even classified as a trash Martial Soul."
"Innate level six? A trash Martial Soul?" Xiao Lin cried out involuntarily, his eyes widening into perfect circles. He felt as though he were listening to a heavenly scripture.
A Martial Soul with innate level-six Soul Power talent had actually been classified as a trash Martial Soul? How was that possible? This completely overturned his understanding.
If the Charmander Lin Mo had just released was a trash Martial Soul, then what did that make him, someone Charmander had easily crushed at the same cultivation level?
Was he worse than trash?
He instinctively turned toward Director Xue, his eyes full of a plea for confirmation.
Looking at the thoroughly shaken Xiao Lin, Director Xue nodded gently, confirming Lin Mo's account. "That is indeed what is recorded in his Soul Master booklet."
With Director Xue's confirmation, Xiao Lin and the other four students fell utterly silent. They looked at Lin Mo as though looking at a monster.
Today, they had finally seen what a true genius was. No, this already went somewhat beyond their understanding of the word "genius."
The fleeting glimpse of the snow-lotus-shaped ice shield and healing light when Director Xue intervened also made Lin Mo more certain of his earlier guess.
Snow Lotus Martial Soul, the surname Xue... this Director Xue was most likely a member of the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family.
In his memories, during the Peerless Tang Sect era ten thousand years later, the Heaven Dou Empire had split into the two great empires of Heaven Soul and Dou Ling.
Although he was not sure what the Dou Ling Imperial Family's hereditary Martial Soul was.
But judging by the two Martial Souls possessed by Vina, the Heaven Soul princess with Twin Martial Souls—the Snow Lotus and Brain Martial Soul,
the hereditary Martial Soul passed down by the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family should have been the Snow Lotus, rather than the Swan Martial Soul of the current Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
Now it seemed very likely that, in this present era, the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family passed down both the Swan and Snow Lotus hereditary Martial Souls.