"Attention, all freshmen. Attention, all freshmen. Please proceed immediately to the assessment area to prepare for the freshman assessment. You have ten minutes left to enter. Anyone arriving late will be considered to have forfeited."
The announcement rang out in every corner of the outer courtyard. The freshmen hurried toward the assessment area, their expressions solemn.
Wang Dong'er gripped Huo Yuhao by the collar as she rushed anxiously toward the assessment area. Behind her, Huo Yuhao was actually still sleeping soundly, without the slightest sense of urgency.
Looking at the still-sleeping Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er seethed, but time was running out.
Her dazzling, beautiful butterfly wings shone. As they beat, stirring the air, Wang Dong'er slowly rose off the ground, gathered Huo Yuhao into her arms, and flew toward the assessment area.
Inside the assessment area.
Xiao Xiao kept glancing toward the entrance, her face anxious. The assessment was about to begin, yet Yuhao and Wang Dong still had not arrived.
Wang Dong'er complained, "Huff, huff, huff... Huo Yuhao, you're way too heavy."
Huo Yuhao groggily opened his eyes and looked at the scenery flashing past beneath him. "Huh?" He instantly panicked, kicking his legs wildly.
"Hey, hey, hey! Huo Yuhao, stop moving!"
Two black dots wobbled through the air toward the assessment area.
Xiao Xiao narrowed her eyes at the two approaching black dots, finally making out Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er.
She hurriedly jumped up and down, waving for them to come over quickly. There was less than a minute left before the assessment began.
Wang Dong'er also realized how little time remained. She circulated her Soul Power at full strength, and her butterfly wings blazed with dazzling blue light as she abruptly accelerated through the air.
The two black dots grew steadily larger in Xiao Xiao's pupils.
Thud!
The two shot straight past Xiao Xiao and fell to the ground, their tremendous momentum sending them rolling forward without stopping.
"Ow! Wang Dong, you really need to lose some weight..."
Huo Yuhao's eyes were lifeless, his expression that of someone with nothing left to live for. Wang Dong'er lay sprawled in his arms, pinning him down so he could not move.
Wang Dong'er rubbed her head. It felt soft beneath her. She glanced around and saw Xiao Xiao running toward her, while on the other side, the freshmen had already lined up in pairs.
Wang Dong'er breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Good thing we made it. Otherwise, we'd have forfeited outright. Yuhao? Yuhao, where are you?"
"Wang Dong, before you start looking for someone, could you check where you're sitting?" A weak voice came from beneath her. Huo Yuhao stared helplessly at the sky, his eyes almost rolling back.
Wang Dong'er jumped in surprise and hurriedly got off Huo Yuhao, blushing to the tips of her ears and not daring to say another word.
Xiao Xiao hastily pulled Huo Yuhao up from the ground. Only after making sure the fall had not injured him did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Huo Yuhao and the others were in Area Thirty-Three. Among the students from other classes competing here, some were apprehensive, while others rubbed their fists and flexed their palms eagerly. This assessment concerned their futures.
Even though Shrek had now suffered an attack and lowered its assessment standards, those who performed poorly would still be asked to leave the academy.
In the assessment area, a female teacher in her thirties stepped onto the raised assessment platform and began explaining the precautions for the freshman assessment.
Huo Yuhao and the two girls hurried into line, listening as the teacher emphasized the assessment precautions.
The female teacher took a folder from behind her, opened it, and glanced inside before looking up. "First round, first match: Freshman Class One, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao; Freshman Class Three, Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, Zhao Haochen. You may enter the field. Take one corner each."
"You may only release your Martial Souls after I announce the start of the match. Prepare to enter."
The students whose turns had not yet come headed to the stands. Huo Yuhao and the two girls walked straight to the northwest corner of the field and took their places.
Still shaken, Wang Dong'er patted her chest. "Thank goodness, thank goodness. If I hadn't flown fast enough, we'd have forfeited outright."
To think we were actually the first group. We really can't let Huo Yuhao sleep in again.
Wang Dong'er shot Huo Yuhao a fierce glare before taking the position they had agreed upon yesterday.
Somewhat bewildered, Huo Yuhao scratched his head and stood at the back of the team.
Xiao Xiao stood between them, ensuring that she could both protect Huo Yuhao and assist Wang Dong's attacks.
The three students on the other side naturally went to the southeast corner and took their places.
All three students were boys, and all were reasonably good-looking. Their leader, Ouyang Junyi, was the tallest and largest, and also the best-looking of the three. Chen Junfeng beside him was not short, but he was very slender.
The little fatty, Zhao Haochen, was sheltered behind the two, his belly round and a simple, honest smile on his face.
Once both sides had taken their positions, the female teacher checked that no one was interfering and said, "Begin the assessment."
Both sides immediately released their Martial Souls, and rings of Soul Rings appeared across the field. Only the longsword in his hand left its sheath, lengthening as Soul Power poured into it. Its tip pointed down and plunged straight into the field. He sat down against the sword, a sharp gleam flashing through his eyes.
A three-dimensional image of the field immediately appeared in Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao's minds, allowing them to observe their opponents' every movement completely.
Wang Dong'er took the lead, charging out in a flash. While airborne, she unfurled a pair of magnificent blue-purple wings. Their glittering golden patterns and brilliant colors instantly drew everyone's attention.
Under cover of Wang Dong'er's radiance, Xiao Xiao released her Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron. A great black cauldron swiftly formed above her head. As it slowly rotated, two more large cauldrons split off from it and circled around her.
Standing at the back of his team, Zhao Haochen shouted, "Come quickly, my big chicken drumsticks!" A Yellow Soul Ring rippled out beneath his feet.
Two yellow lights flashed in his hands, and two large braised chicken drumsticks appeared. He quickly handed them to the two in front.
While releasing their Martial Souls, Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng swiftly bit hard into the drumsticks and gobbled them down.
Huo Yuhao really could not hold back. He clutched his stomach and laughed. This Soul Skill incantation was truly rather embarrassing. Xiao Xiao beside him could not help laughing either.
The Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron circled beside her, with no sign that she intended to act.
Ou Yan Junyi and Chen Junfeng attacked simultaneously, one possessing the Sword-Billed Hummingbird Beast Martial Soul, the other the Spirit Snake Soft Sword Tool Martial Soul.
Ouyang Junyi and his two teammates were all One-Ring Soul Masters. Apart from Zhao Haochen, who belonged to the food system, the other two both belonged to the agility attack system.
After eating the drumsticks, the two Agility Attack System Battle Spirit Masters charged at Wang Dong'er like arrows, their speed completely exceeding her reactions.
She instantly realized that the drumsticks' effect was probably a speed boost!
Fortunately, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection was already prepared. Their movement trajectories, how they exerted force, their attack directions, their openings, and their vulnerabilities all appeared in Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao's minds.
Wang Dong'er immediately experienced the exhilarating ease Huo Yuhao's skill brought to battle. With this Soul Skill's assistance, she now had complete confidence that she could deal with all three opponents alone.
She beat her butterfly wings and abruptly retreated a meter, causing both opponents' sharp attacks to miss entirely.
Before the two could react, Wang Dong'er's First Soul Ring lit up. Golden patterns spread over her wings, and her arms overlapped with her forewings as her wing guillotines slashed straight toward the two airborne opponents.
Looking at Wang Dong'er slightly above him, Ouyang Junyi condensed a spike in his hand and thrust it out several times. To his horror, he discovered that he could not pierce her butterfly wings at all.
He was just about to twist around and land, but Wang Dong'er gave him no opportunity. Her butterfly wing abruptly accelerated and slammed down viciously.
Bang!
Ou Yan Junyi plummeted straight down, falling face-first into the dirt. The terrifying force against his back nearly made him cough up blood.
Seeing the situation turn bad, Chen Junfeng immediately activated the First Soul Skill beneath his feet, and sword light flashed over the Spirit Snake Soft Sword. Just as Wang Dong'er's attack descended, he actually tried to use the momentum to rush toward Huo Yuhao, who sat there.
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes and looked at Chen Junfeng in midair.
As their gazes met, Chen Junfeng felt a jolt in his heart, and his circulating Soul Power stopped for a second.
And in that very second, thanks to Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection, Wang Dong'er had already seen through his intentions.
Her other butterfly wing blocked Chen Junfeng's direction of attack like a phantom. Relying on her exceptional flexibility, Wang Dong'er twisted an uncanny three hundred and sixty degrees in midair, then swept a long leg straight across his chest.
Chen Junfeng had no time to react at all. He flipped halfway over in the air and crashed straight into Zhao Haochen behind him. The two rolled out of bounds together.
Wang Dong'er spread her wings in the air. Blue and purple flashed alternately across her Light Goddess Butterfly wings as their golden patterns faded. She floated down to the ground and smiled smugly and proudly at Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao.
In the stands, Zhou Yi watched the three fight and nodded in satisfaction.
The surrounding students stared at the battle, which had ended in less than a minute, too shocked to speak.
Powerful. Simply far too powerful!
After confirming that all three opponents were no longer able to fight, the teacher announced the victory.
"Freshman Class One, Huo Yuhao's team wins!"