When this part of the assessment ended, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Only Gu Yue, standing beside Yu Longyue, glanced in puzzlement at Tang San in the distance. Sweat was pouring down his face, and he had only just straightened up.
Then she looked at Yu Longyue.
"Do you have a grudge against that man?"
"What?" Yu Longyue stared blankly. "Who are you talking about? I'm so kind and gentle to everyone, and I believe harmony brings wealth. How could I have a grudge against anyone?"
Gu Yue leaned close and whispered, "Then why did you use your Spiritual Power on him just now and make him perform so poorly?"
"It must be a side effect of my Spiritual Power only recently reaching the Spirit Abyss Realm. A mistake, a mistake." Yu Longyue chuckled. "I'll apologize to him when this is over."
Gu Yue nodded slightly and said no more.
She didn't care about these people anyway. She had only been curious why Yu Longyue had done it.
The only person she cared about was Yu Longyue.
"Your Spiritual Power reached the Spirit Abyss Realm?" Gu Yue finally caught on. "That fast?"
Yu Longyue looked surprised. "That's fast? My dad always scolds me for being as stupid as a fool. I spar with a Titled Douluo every day, and under the pressure of a Titled Douluo, with all sorts of delicious food and drink to nourish me, my Spiritual Power has only barely reached the Spirit Abyss Realm..."
Gu Yue: "..."
Well, it seemed people really were different. At the same time, her heart ached for Yu Longyue.
It was too tragic. Such a gifted child had been suppressed so miserably.
Meanwhile, Tang San raised a hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"What's going on? Why would a mere painting put so much pressure on me? This pressure is even greater than when I climbed the steps for the Sea God Island assessment..."
Tang San's Spiritual Power was too weak now. Even if he had once been a God King, that was in the past. Without his strength restored, he was only a fairly capable Soul Elder.
How could he possibly detect someone with Spiritual Power greater than his secretly putting pressure on him?
Even some of the Shrek teachers present didn't have Spiritual Power as strong as Yu Longyue's...
The elder looked around and announced:
"Next is the second assessment. Everyone, please get ready and line up to take it one by one."
"Let's go together. They obviously want us to form teams." Huo Yuhao brought the Class Zero students over to Yu Longyue.
Yu Longyue paused, a playful look on his face. "Aren't you afraid I'll make it harder for you if I join?"
"Now that you mention it, I am a little afraid." Huo Yuhao smiled wryly. "But it shouldn't be that much harder, right?"
"Hard to say. My dad personally spoke to the Sea God Pavilion Master about it. I reckon... it'll be tough." Yu Longyue shook his head.
"Ahem, Boss Yue can definitely pass on his own. Riding those coattails might burn our hands." Xie Xie wiped away his sweat.
"Then good luck to you." Huo Yuhao felt rather helpless. He didn't know how much harder Yu Longyue would make it for them either.
"It's fine. I'm sure you'll pass." Yu Longyue gave them a thumbs-up.
Gu Yue had remained silently at Yu Longyue's side the whole time, never showing any intention of leaving.
As a result, Yu Longyue and Huo Yuhao tacitly understood each other and didn't ask where she was going.
She was obviously going with Yu Longyue.
By the time it was Yu Longyue's turn, they were already the last group.
"Come on, it's your turn." The elder walked over, glanced at the two of them, and led the way.
Yu Longyue and Gu Yue exchanged a glance. They had barely taken a few steps when their vision began to warp, making them dizzy.
They worked together seamlessly. Realizing something was wrong, they took each other's hands almost instinctively.
Yu Longyue held Gu Yue's small hand tightly, but in the next second, their surroundings changed.
The hall had become something like a primeval forest, with a small hill in front of them.
Most importantly, a giant dragon was coiled atop the hill.
It was white from head to tail and gave off a faint, sacred white glow. Its body was enormous; one glance was enough to tell that this dragon was terrifyingly powerful.
"Radiant Sacred Dragon..."
Yu Longyue identified the dragon at once.
"And a ten-thousand-year-old Radiant Sacred Dragon at that. Its combat ability isn't much different from an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's," Gu Yue added quietly.
"They really think highly of me." Yu Longyue shrugged. "To hold me back, they even brought out a ten-thousand-year-old true dragon Soul Beast."
Gu Yue said mildly, "I think if you keep running your mouth, it's going to charge over and bite you."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Radiant Sacred Dragon let out an earth-shaking roar, like a thunderclap exploding through the entire forest.
Its massive body soared from the hill and swooped down toward Yu Longyue and Gu Yue with tremendous pressure.
Yu Longyue had just released his Martial Soul, and five disguised white Soul Rings had flashed into view, when the Thunder Dragon's voice rang out in his mind:
"Don't be anxious, Master. Let this little dragon go a few rounds with it. It'll save you some effort."
Yu Longyue stopped. "You're that strong in a fight?"
"This little dragon isn't very capable, but I'm still a dragon of the Thunder Dragon bloodline. Even as a Soul Spirit, I have considerable fighting power. I can even help you unleash Soul Skills, Master."
The next moment, a Thunder Dragon the size of a small snake emerged from Yu Longyue's body. In an instant, it grew even larger than the Radiant Sacred Dragon.
The Thunderbolt Sacred Dragon bellowed at the Radiant Sacred Dragon, which immediately slammed on the brakes in mid-dive. A moment later, when it recovered, it flew into a rage and roared back.
Then the two true dragons began to grapple with each other.
Gu Yue was completely at a loss. Her five black Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings were already out, but now she had no idea where to start.
How had this turned into a battle between two dragons?
Yu Longyue offered an explanation. "Ahem, I reckon my Soul Spirit's been cooped up too long. It finally got a chance to come out and move around, and its claws were itching. It told me it could deal with this dragon, so let's leave it to it."
Gu Yue nodded, then examined Yu Longyue's five white Soul Rings. She looked at the Thunderbolt Sacred Dragon helping them fight and muttered:
"Playing the pig to eat the tiger."
A few minutes later, the Radiant Sacred Dragon was bruised and battered, howling beneath the Thunderbolt Sacred Dragon. Then a claw smashed its head, and it vanished instantly.
"Hehe, it's a shame this Radiant Sacred Dragon wasn't real. Otherwise, taking it down would have taken this little dragon quite some effort. I'm glad I didn't fail you, glad I didn't fail you."
The Thunderbolt Sacred Dragon returned to Yu Longyue's body, sounding rather as though it wanted credit. Yu Longyue didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Thank you. You saved me some effort."
"It was my duty. I'm glad I could help you, Master."
Their assessment over, the two returned to the hall, where several elders frowned deeply at them.
"How do we score this?"
"Forget it. A Soul Spirit is part of a person's fighting strength too. Give them both ten points."
Huo Yuhao came over and looked at Yu Longyue. "How hard was it?"
"A ten-thousand-year-level true dragon Soul Beast, a Radiant Sacred Dragon," Yu Longyue replied quietly. "It's no weaker than an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. It'd be hard to deal with without the fighting strength of a Titled Douluo. Luckily, it was fake, so its actual fighting strength wasn't all that high."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao felt a lingering fear. He breathed a sigh of relief, looking like someone who had just survived a calamity:
"Good thing I didn't go with you, or I'd have been in for a world of pain. Your family went way too far trying to hold you back."
"..."
The third assessment began. It was a test of how quickly they could get through six guillotine gates.
When it was Yu Longyue and Gu Yue's turn, they briefly discussed it.
"Mine will definitely be a different weight, but it shouldn't be much of a problem." Yu Longyue looked at Gu Yue. "Can you manage?"
Gu Yue hesitated for a moment. "Your family will definitely make things difficult for you to hold you back. Even your physical strength might not be enough, so I have even less chance."
"How about this? You carry me on your back, and I'll use an ice wall to block it for you. I'll leave the rest to you."
"No problem." Yu Longyue turned around and crouched slightly. "Hop on, then."
Looking at Yu Longyue's back, Gu Yue blushed, then jumped on and held him tightly.
"Gah... ow, ow, ow! Don't hold me so tight! My ribs, my ribs... And why are you so heavy?"
Gu Yue immediately tightened her grip and gritted her teeth. "If I couldn't pinch you to death... I'd really like to ask just what part of me is heavy."
At the first guillotine gate, Gu Yue raised her hand and released an ice wall to block the falling blade. It shattered almost immediately, and it was Yu Longyue's turn to act.
With Martial Soul Possession, he caught it firmly with the dragon claw on his right hand.
"Not too bad. Only five or six thousand kilograms." Yu Longyue curled his lip and shoved the blade back up with a burst of strength.
They passed through all six gates in six seconds, the fastest of everyone present.
Since they had been the last to take the test, and because of their simple, forceful way of getting through the gates, everyone present stared dumbfounded, exclaiming, "What kind of monstrous strength is that?" and the like.
Even Tang San's face darkened at the sight, and he no longer looked down on them in the slightest.
"Yu Longyue, ten points. Gu Yue, ten points." The elder conducting the assessment shook his head repeatedly. They had talked about making it harder for him, but in the end, he had still passed with ease.
The fourth test was of their special talents.
Everyone was brought into a large room, and several teachers went to consult the assessment teachers.
Before long, five or six people arrived.
Yu Longyue glanced at them, and a bad feeling immediately rose in his heart.
Oh no, there's an old woman here too.
She can't be the Silver Moon Douluo who likes making things difficult for people, can she?