The next afternoon, unlike usual, Wang Yan kept all the core students of Class One after class. He didn't explain much, only saying that the academy would be holding a core student assessment. There would be no punishment for failure, but he didn't mention any rewards either.
So, under Wang Yan's lead, the students, still confused, left the teaching building and arrived at the Soul Dueling Zone. Along the way, they noticed that core students from other classes were also being brought there by their teachers.
It wasn't just the second-years—core students from the third, fourth, and fifth years were there too. Altogether, there were twenty-eight people, with second-years making up nearly half. These were all from the Martial Soul Department. The Soul Tool Department had sent only one representative, someone Huo Yuhao had heard of—He Caitou, the top talent of the Soul Tool Department.
"Core student" sounded impressive, but in reality, it just meant the academy saw potential in them. It didn't reflect their current strength. Of the twenty-nine students present, most had two or three soul rings. Only Huo Yuhao, and the fifth-years Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan had four soul rings.
While everyone was whispering and speculating about the purpose of this assessment, a wobbly old man approached. He held a wine gourd in his right hand and a large chicken leg in his left, gnawing at it as he walked. His mouth was greasy, his hair a chaotic bird's nest, and his clothes couldn't be more plain.
If you gave him a bowl and a stick, he'd look just like a professional beggar.
Of course, no one really thought he was a beggar. Who could be a beggar and still show up at Shrek Academy?
The old man staggered in front of the students and looked at Wang Yan with his cloudy eyes.
"Xiao Wang, is everyone here?"
Wang Yan quickly took two steps forward and bowed slightly.
"Elder Xuan, everyone's here. Twenty-eight core students from the Martial Soul Department, and just one from the Soul Tool Department."
"Mhm, the teacher is waiting outside. The rest of them, come in."
Elder Xuan took a swig of his wine, then swayed his way inside.
The core students followed him in. The teachers stayed behind.
Elder Xuan led the group to the center of the Soul Dueling Zone.
"Listen up. Today's assessment is simple. We're calling it a 'Massive Free-for-All.' In this area, you're allowed to attack freely—no rules. Anyone who yields or gets rescued is considered eliminated. The last seven standing are the winners. That's it. Begin."
And just like that, Elder Xuan vanished. Everyone was left dumbfounded.
What kind of assessment was this? What could it possibly test? Obviously, the strongest ones would be ganged up on, and the rest would just peck at each other like headless chickens. What was the point?
One quick-thinking student snapped to attention and shouted:
"Take out the four-ring seniors first!"
Everyone suddenly came to their senses and released their Martial Souls. In an instant, dazzling soul rings lit up all over the place.
Huo Yuhao revealed one yellow and three purple soul rings. He had always concealed the true age of his third and fourth rings, and this time was no exception. The other students couldn't tell, but Elder Xuan noticed he was using some kind of concealing technique—though even he couldn't determine the actual age of the soul rings.
"Time to run. No way I'm tanking all that."
Huo Yuhao decisively opted for guerrilla tactics, picking off the two-ringed students first.
Bei Bei and the others took a similar approach. The gap between Grandmasters and Soul Elders was too large. Anyone targeted by several Soul Elders went down in a couple moves. Surprisingly, the fastest elimination wasn't from the Soul Elders but from the three-ringed Wang Qiu'er.
She was devastating in melee combat. Wielding her Golden Dragon Spear like a staff, she struck with such ferocity that students were either sent flying out of the arena or had to be rescued by Elder Xuan.
Everyone understood that if your ally dies, your lips get cold too—a poetic way of saying they were screwed if the strong were picked off. So whenever a four-ring student attacked someone, others would rush to help. Still, within just a minute, eleven students had been eliminated.
This left eighteen people on the field, and they had naturally split into two factions. One side was made up of the four-ring powerhouses: He Caitou, Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan.
Their team also included Wang Qiu'er and Wang Dong. Wang Qiu'er was easily Soul Elder level. Wang Dong, despite only having three rings, was incredibly strong thanks to his top-tier Martial Soul.
He Caitou, another four-ring student, had massive area-of-effect attacks. Whenever Huo Yuhao and the others charged in, He Caitou would launch Soul Tool Artillery rounds to block the other students.
Suddenly, the situation reversed. Nine students huddled together in a circle, backs to each other, visibly tense.
The opposing seven—the Soul Elder faction—spread out to form a surrounding net.
Two remaining students used their speed to sneak around the perimeter, clearly planning to survive by lurking.
"Attack!" shouted Huo Yuhao, activating his first soul ring—Spiritual Interference. He had spotted four students in that group capable of using Martial Soul Fusion Skills, so he couldn't give them the chance.
Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan, and the others were already familiar with Huo Yuhao, so when he gave the order, they immediately charged in. This time, they didn't hold back—soul skills lit up the arena in an explosion of color.
Dai Huabin looked grim. He had planned for the four-ring students to tire each other out before showing off with a fusion skill. Fusion skills drained massive soul power, so he wanted to avoid using it unless absolutely necessary.
Just as he was about to activate it, he was struck with sudden dizziness—Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Interference had hit. Though brief, it was enough to disrupt him. Before he could recover, a wave of attacks descended.
Huo Yuhao launched his Spiral Sphere.
Bei Bei used his fourth soul skill: Thunder Dragon Head.
Xu Sanshi charged in with his shield.
He Caitou bombarded them with Soul Tool Cannonballs.
Wang Qiu'er used her Golden Dragon Head.
Wang Dong unleashed his third soul skill: Butterfly God Slash.
The arena erupted in explosions. The flashing soul skills turned the battlefield into a chaotic rainbow.
After the explosions faded, only three students were left outside the Soul Elder faction: Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, and one agile-type soul master.
Huo Yuhao and his team didn't rush to finish them off—they simply waited for them to surrender.
The three looked disgruntled but stayed silent. After a brief pause, they admitted defeat.
....
(End of Chapter)