Freshman Assessment

"Students, tomorrow is the Freshman Assessment. This assessment is extremely important, and I hope you will all take it seriously from the bottom of your hearts."

As he spoke, Wang Yan wrote the four words "Freshman Assessment" on the blackboard.

About Three Months had passed since Dai Huabin's withdrawal incident, and the academy's annual Freshman Assessment was beginning once more.

"This year's Freshman Assessment will take the form of three-on-three practical combat matches, so the first thing we need to do is divide you into groups. I'll arrange the groups based on my understanding of you all. If anyone is dissatisfied, you may raise an objection. First group: Tang Wulin, Huo Yutong, Zhou Sichen."

At Wang Yan's call, the three of them rose from their seats.

The gazes of Class Seven immediately focused on them.

Three Months had passed, and all three had changed considerably. Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong in particular were virtually unrecognizable compared to three months ago.

With the help of the unlimited supply of premium ingredients provided by Mu En, Tang Wulin's body had developed rapidly. He had now grown taller than Huo Yutong, and no one outside would be able to tell that he was only nine years old. Not only that, but his demeanor had become much more composed. His several performances in actual combat over the past few months had long since convinced the entire class, and not a single person dared question why he could be the class monitor anymore.

Huo Yutong had also shed her former malnourished appearance. If she had once seemed somewhat gaunt, she was now simply petite and adorable in a way that suited her style. Sea God's Pavilion had likewise directed its resources toward her, and together with the pills she had obtained before, her soul power had now reached rank seventeen. She was no longer at the bottom of the class.

Looking at the trio standing before him, Wang Yan said seriously, "I believe everyone can see that these three are essentially the strongest group in our class. They are our seeded team. Tang Wulin, I have no other purpose in putting the three of you together except to make you win the championship. It does not matter how the other groups perform, but if the three of you fail to take the championship in the end, then prepare to be punished."

He was not exaggerating. Over the past Three Months, he had thoroughly grasped the strength of Tang Wulin's trio. In terms of raw strength, their lineup was absolutely the strongest among the freshmen. Moreover, Wang Yan had taught First Year Class Seven plenty of Combat Classes. If they could still lose under those circumstances, the only explanation would be carelessness or a lack of effort.

The students of First Year Class Seven had initially looked at them with a trace of envy, but that envy instantly vanished.

They had heard that other classes also had Soul Elders. Winning the Freshman Assessment championship would not be easy.

Next, Wang Yan assigned the students of First Year Class Seven into groups one by one.

It had to be said that Wang Yan understood his students well enough. After observing them for Three Months, he had gained a thorough understanding of every student in the class. Of all ninety-nine students, not one was dissatisfied with his groupings.

After finishing the assignments, Wang Yan tapped the desk on the podium.

"Tang Wulin, come help me hand out these papers. Once you complete the Freshman Assessment, you will be reassigned to new classes. At that time, you will be placed according to your future development paths, so your choice of path is crucial. I should have taught you quite a bit about this over the past Three Months, so you may decide for yourselves. I hope you will not make choices you will regret."

As Wang Yan spoke, Tang Wulin had already finished handing out all the papers.

He returned to his seat and, without hesitation, wrote the two words "Assault System" on his paper.

Just as Wang Yan had said, his fighting style was all about overpowering others with sheer force and breaking all techniques with strength. Making someone like him join the Control System would be an utter waste.

Besides, with Huo Yutong, a top-tier controller, already on the team, he naturally no longer considered himself part of the Control System as he had before.

Soon, the entire class had filled out their choices. Tang Wulin stood again, collected all the papers, and handed them to Wang Yan.

After roughly reviewing the students' selections, Wang Yan nodded in satisfaction.

"Very good. It seems there are no troublemakers who wrote Assault System when they should have chosen Support. Although a few of your choices differ somewhat from what I expected, I respect them. By the way, does anyone in our class want to join the Soul Engineering Department?"

Ever since Yan Shaozhe stepped down as dean and the largely hands-off Gong Changlong became the new dean of the Martial Soul Department, the Soul Engineering Department had begun developing rapidly with Mu En's support.

The previous rule had been that only in the third year could the Soul Engineering Department select some poor students unwanted by the Martial Soul Department, and those students could even refuse on their own initiative.

But things were different now. Starting from First Year, students in the Martial Soul Department who wished to enter the Soul Engineering Department could apply to do so. The third-year group was even required to join by force, and the Soul Engineering Department's stagnant development had finally begun moving forward again.

Upon hearing Wang Yan's question, Huo Yutong raised her hand without hesitation.

Every evening, she studied knowledge related to Soul Tools under Qian Duoduo's instruction. She had already vaguely touched the threshold of becoming a first-rank Soul Engineer. She was genuinely interested in Soul Tools, so naturally she was the first to raise her hand.

Wang Yan was not surprised by this. He had long known from Huo Yutong about her plans for the future, and her soul skills and Martial Soul were indeed suited to studying Soul Tools.

"Alright, that makes one for Huo Yutong. Does anyone else have aspirations in that direction?"

With Huo Yutong taking the lead, two more students soon raised their hands.

Three students in the class were interested in joining the Soul Engineering Department.

Wang Yan noted down their names and instructed them, "Alright, I will submit your names to the academy. Later, you may report to the relevant Teacher at Office Building Number One of the Soul Engineering Department. However, before your third year, you must still study the foundational knowledge of Martial Souls in the Martial Soul Department. You will officially transfer to the Soul Engineering Department after your third year. Sit down."

After saying that, Wang Yan set down his notebook, picked up his chalk again, and said, "There is still time, so I will go over the precautions for the assessment. After Three Months of study, I believe you all have gained ample experience fighting opponents of the same rank. Next, I will explain how to deal with powerful enemies who are difficult to defeat—given our circumstances, that means how to struggle when facing teams with Soul Elders."

Listening attentively to Wang Yan's explanation, Tang Wulin's expression grew increasingly serious.

Mu En had told him the previous night that as long as he won the Freshman Assessment championship, he could freely choose three herbs from those the academy had prepared for him.

Combined with the wealth he had earned through forging during this time, he could purchase one more herb. In other words, if he won the Freshman Assessment championship, he could secure the materials needed to unseal the next seal.

This was simply too important to him. He was determined to win.

Author's Note

Regarding the difference between the combat systems of Douluo Dalu 2 and Douluo Dalu 3, I personally believe the greatest distinction is that Douluo Dalu 2 remained in the realm of Martial Souls and soul skills, while Douluo Dalu 3 had already entered the realm of bloodlines and Self-Created Soul Skills.

A reader once said that Douluo Dalu 2 emphasized mechanics, with everyone having some form of control, while Douluo Dalu 3 emphasized raw stats, with almost everyone being an assault type. I do not think that statement is wrong.

After all, if you think about it carefully, there seemed to be very few among the Shrek Seven Monsters of Douluo Dalu 3 who relied on soul skills as their main means of combat. Almost all of them relied on Sword Techniques, Fist Techniques, or Innate Abilities like Xie Xie. The only one among the Shrek Seven Monsters of Douluo Dalu 3 who used soul skills as her primary combat method was precisely Xu Xiaoyan, Douluo Dalu 3's number-one mechanics monster.

From this, one can see that soul skills emphasize mechanics, while bloodlines emphasize raw stats. That is roughly how it works, and this is also the root of the difference between the combat styles of Douluo Dalu 2 and Douluo Dalu 3.