Chapter 17.4: First Time Cooperating; Two People Control the Battlefield
Other than Class 1, which only had twenty-two teams, the other classes generally had at least thirty teams. Unless there were students that had performed extremely poorly during their first three months at Shrek Academy, teachers in charge of the freshmen classes would generally always give them a chance to take the freshman assessment.
There were a total of three hundred and ten teams participating in the freshmen assessment, which meant a total of nine hundred and thirty people. Out of these three hundred and ten teams of students, only a hundred and fifty of them would be able to remain and formally become first-year students to continue studying. The rest of the teams would be eliminated.
Whilst studying in Shrek Academy, the competition was undoubtedly fierce and cruel. However, this also resulted in students working even harder under this intense atmosphere, allowing them to stimulate even more of their potential. This had, in turn, allowed Shrek Academy to survive ten thousand years without becoming weak at all.
There were a total of fifty arenas for the freshmen assessment, which meant that every single arena would have six or seven teams within it. It wasn’t just today; they would also compete with other teams from the same arena tomorrow, up until they’d finished competing with all the teams in the same arena as them. Afterwards, the winners would be redistributed into new groups, allowing them to finish their ten-round competition.
Huo Yuhao’s team of three was assigned to the 33rd arena. After the three ate lunch, they returned to their respective dorm rooms in order to meditate for a while, then met back up when it was time to. The arenas with the Examination Area were extremely easy to look for, since each arena was quite obviously labeled. They managed to find which arena they were supposed to be in quite quickly.
The students from the other classes who were also meant to be in the area had already arrived. Some of them looked nervous, while some of them seemed eager to begin. All of them were only kids, around eleven or twelve years old, so they couldn’t really conceal their thoughts. When they looked at each other, their eyes clearly exposed the hostility they had for one another. After all, only half of them would continue to remain within Shrek Academy. Even though the freshmen assessment only had a total of ten rounds, every single round would affect their future.
“New students, please pay attention. New students, please pay attention. Please immediately enter the Examination Area to participate in the freshmen assessment. There are still ten minutes left for you to enter. Any students that are late will automatically forfeit their assessment.”
The booming voice from the loudspeaker rang throughout the entire academy; it was loud enough to travel through every nook and corner of the academy. At this moment, most students’ expressions became quite serious. Everyone’s first match was about to begin; they’d be lying if they said that they weren’t nervous.
Huo Yuhao unconsciously clenched his fists, then felt the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges on his waist for reassurance. The freshman assessment prohibited the usage of soul tools, but hidden weapons were still classified as ordinary weapons, which weren’t prohibited. Soul masters would rarely use any weapons, unless they were soul tools. However, as a disciple of the Tang Sect, Huo Yuhao was clearly an exception to this rule.
Wang Dong placed his left hand on Huo Yuhao’s shoulder and leaned towards him. “Don’t be nervous, this will be trivial to us.”
Xiao Xiao didn’t call Wang Dong out for being arrogant this time. Instead, she nodded towards Huo Yuhao. Although Wang Dong hadn’t been able to show off his full power when the three of them had fought earlier, she had still been able to see that his cultivation wasn’t any lower than that hers, based on the resolute words he spoke at the very end. Combined with the class monitor’s mystical Spiritual Detection Sharing, there were an extremely small number of students within their age group who could be their opponents.
Huo Yuhao whispered, “We’ll be the champions.”
Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong simultaneously nodded. The three then placed their palms above each other’s once again. Although they were young, they knew one thing: Although simply passing the assessment might not be that hard for them, if they wanted to become champions of the assessment, teamwork would be key. Because of that, even Wang Dong restrained his pride.
The freshmen assessment was extremely important, so the academy’s announcement wasn’t really that useful. All of the freshmen had already arrived at their designated arenas in order to make preparations for the upcoming assessment.
A teacher that looked to be around forty walked into the 33rd Area. He looked like an extremely average person; he didn’t give off any sort of threatening aura. He had a smile on his face, as well as an extremely friendly appearance. As such, he was as different as heaven and earth when compared to Zhou Yi. After counting the number of people present, he smiled slightly. “Very good. We have a total of six teams participating in the freshmen assessment today, and it seems that you’re all present. Allow me to introduce myself first. I’m Wang Yan, and I’ll be your proctor for the next two days.
“Greetings, Teacher Wang.” The students hurriedly bowed in respect.
Wang Yan chuckled. “No need to be so polite. I’ve always treated everyone as a friend while I’m teaching, and from now until the end of our time together, you’ll all be my little friends. As such, I don’t wish to see anyone get hurt. Although this assessment determines whether or not you can continue to study in Shrek Academy, I have to remind you that this is still only an assessment. You absolutely mustn’t hurt your opponents too badly. If that happens, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask him to leave and report the incident to the Academy.”
He spoke with a very gentle tone and downplayed the entire matter. Although he didn’t mention the consequences for crippling one’s opponent, every single student that was able to enter Shrek Academy was a child prodigy. They naturally understood the implications behind his words, and nodded to express their understanding.
Wang Yan smiled. “Since that’s the case, we can start now. If we end earlier, you can go back early to train for tomorrow. A slight sense of urgency is definitely a good thing for you youngsters.”
As he spoke, he took out a sheet of paper and glanced over it. Afterwards, he raised his head and said, “For the first match of the first round of the freshmen assessment—Class 1: Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao. Class 3: Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, Zhao Haochen. The six of you can enter the battlefield and take your sides. When I announce the start of the battle, you can release your martial souls. Enter.”
There were six teams of students, thus three matches would be held within the 33rd arena today. However, Huo Yuhao never thought that they would be the first team to go out. The three of them glanced at each other, then quickly walked towards the northwestern corner of the arena.
The three of them positioned themselves quite carefully. Wang Dong stood in front, while Xiao Xiao stood behind him. Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, stood behind both of them, in the the corner of the arena. As for the the other team of three, they naturally chose to stand at the southeastern corner of the arena.
The three students from Class 3 were all boys—they even looked quite handsome. The tallest person of the three was Ouyang Junyi, who was also the most handsome of the three. Although there was still a gap between him and Wang Dong, his body looked much sturdier than Wang Dong’s. The person next to him, Chen Junfeng, was extremely slender, even though he wasn’t that tall. Finally, Zhao Haochen was a little fatty who had a plump stomach, as well as a straightforward smile on his face.
Seeing that both parties were in position, Wang Yan nodded. “Start the assessment.”
The two parties instantly released their martial souls. Although Huo Yuhao was standing in the corner, with his meticulous control, he was able to prevent his Spiritual Detection Sharing from covering what was behind him. Instead, he merely covered the arena in front of him with his Spiritual Detection Sharing. Xiao Xiao also released her Threelives Soulcrush Cauldron, causing an enormous black cauldron to rapidly form in midair.
Wang Dong’s movements were even more direct. With a flash, he charged straight into the air, his pair of dazzling blue and purple wings already unfurled. A brilliant golden pattern traced them. No matter whether it was his opponents, or their proctor Wang Yan, they were all astonished by his beautiful pair of wings. His wings were simply too beautiful! It was even to the extent that Xiao Xiao and Huo Yuhao’s limelight was completely overshadowed.
Their three opponents had already made their preparations; they had released their martial souls the instant the battle had started.