Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Competition

Huo Yuhao had a very clear plan for his future.

Strength is king; everything else is secondary.

Why would he spend time learning about soul tools when he could use that time to increase his soul power rank? Soul tools could be learned later in life, but could soul power? Every moment before the age of thirty was incredibly precious; one never knew if a bottleneck would suddenly strike once that age threshold was crossed, trapping one for a lifetime.

"Soul tools, even if I have to learn them, should wait until I reach the fifth or sixth ring," Huo Yuhao estimated the growth rate of his total soul power. "By then, the speed of cultivation will likely slow down. Perhaps exploring other fields during my downtime will have unexpected benefits?"

"Fifth or sixth ring? Hmph, hmph~" Tianmeng shook his head. "Now that you’ve broken through to the twentieth rank, it’s time to head to the Far North. The sooner, the better. It would be best to leave immediately after the assessments conclude in a few days."

"The Far North?" Huo Yuhao’s mind went blank for a few seconds.

He knew of the place, but his teacher had heavily emphasized the dangers of the Far North during class. As one of the few forbidden zones yet to be developed by humanity, it was home to numerous powerful soul beasts unknown to the world, compounded by extreme climatic conditions. Even a Soul Saint would have to tread carefully upon entering.

"Have you forgotten about the Ice martial soul I added for you?" Tianmeng chuckled. "Since you have the opportunity to choose your own martial soul, you naturally have to aim for the best!"

Is that so... That is truly something to look forward to. Huo Yuhao’s eyes shimmered.

...

Because the Shrek Academy Soul Fighting Area had such a long history, its original designed capacity was not particularly large. It could not accommodate the more than nine hundred freshmen participating in the assessment, so a separate area had to be partitioned off with low walls for the freshman trials.

At this moment, the nearly twenty-thousand-square-meter assessment area had been divided into dozens of sections by partitions, waiting for the matching results to be announced so the battles could begin.

"Are you nervous?" Huo Yuhao looked at his teammates.

Both of them were currently at the seventeenth rank. Presumably, they had just crossed the fifteen-rank threshold when they first enrolled, and in these three months, they had only managed to increase their soul power by two ranks.

"Of course I am," the somewhat slender girl said with a wry smile. "I heard from the teacher that nearly a quarter of the freshmen are already at the second ring. For people like us, we’ll only hold you back in battle."

She belonged to the type whose martial soul and physical condition hindered each other. She possessed an assault-type tool martial soul, but her own body was pitifully weak; adding a first soul ring over three hundred years old had nearly caused her physical injury.

"By the way, Brother Huo, why did you choose us?" The boy scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Even though the teacher told you to pick other teammates, you didn't have to bring us two dead weights onto the field, did you?"

"Just call me Huo Yuhao." Huo Yuhao patted his shoulder, offering them a reassuring smile. "If you must have a reason, it's this—I want to help you. Set your minds at ease. Once the battle begins, leave the rest to me."

"But... why help us..." The girl’s voice was a bit hoarse.

"Because~" Huo Yuhao paused, "it is a virtue."

"Freshman Class One, Huo Yuhao’s team, Zone Thirty-Three!" the person on the platform announced the results.

"Let’s go. Don’t be so sentimental." Huo Yuhao leaned on his cane and tilted his head. "Are you going to stay behind and hold me back at a time like this?"

The two looked at each other.

"I’ll open the path!" The boy shouted, taking the lead.

...

Assessment grounds, Zone Thirty-Three.

"Hello everyone, my name is Wang Yan. I will be your assessment teacher for now."

Unlike Zhou Yi, Wang Yan smiled gently at the students, counting the number of people in the arena. "Very good, all six members are here."

"By the way, my teaching habit has always been to treat everyone as friends. So, don't be formal or nervous. If you have any questions during the assessment, you can ask me at any time, and I will do my best to answer them."

"Of course, during the assessment, I do not wish to see anyone get hurt, and I will do my best to avoid that result. If anyone intentionally harms an opponent, I will enforce punishment according to school rules."

As he finished, Wang Yan’s expression became more serious. "Furthermore, Shrek does not support personal vendettas. If you are dissatisfied with the assessment results, you must not seek revenge through methods outside the arena! Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

"Good." Wang Yan pulled out a form. "Then, Class One, Huo Yuhao’s team, and Class Three, Ouyang Junyi’s team, enter the arena!"

All six were at the first ring.

*These two teams should be locked in a long struggle, right?* Wang Yan thought to himself. "The match begins!"

His cultivation talent was not particularly high; after graduating from the Inner Court, Wang Yan had chosen to pursue a career in martial soul and soul beast research. Through years of study, he had developed a keen eye. For these youngsters with only one or two rings, he could usually infer the outcome of a battle just by looking at their ranks and martial souls.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The three on the opposite side fell to the ground one by one.

"Teacher." Huo Yuhao turned back with a calm expression. "We’re finished."

"..."

Wang Yan adjusted his glasses and looked down at the form again, his gaze darting back and forth.

*Twentieth rank, no soul ring added yet.*

*He has this kind of strength? No, how did he instantly knock down the three opponents? This makes no sense!*

"N-next group, please enter the arena..." Wang Yan stammered, only to be interrupted by a loud bang from the neighboring area.

"Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron!"

Accompanied by a resonant, shrill cry, a figure holding a giant cauldron leaped into the air. Even over the partition, one could see her awe-inspiring demeanor.

"Clang—!"

The entire ground shook violently from the impact. The two teammates following behind Xiao Xiao, who were essentially winning without effort, stood obediently at the edge of the arena; their bodies bounced half an inch off the ground with the impact of the cauldron before landing firmly again.

After waiting for a dozen seconds, a dazzling beam of light shot up from a more distant arena, gradually condensing into a blade.

"Butterfly God Light Slash!"

Along with He Youyou’s roar came the light and heat generated by the explosion. The breeze from the shockwave blew the form out of Wang Yan’s hands.

With these two powerful attacks unleashed, the entire freshman assessment site seemed to have turned into a competitive arena. One after another, grand and imposing attacks echoed, undisguisedly displaying their strength and provoking others.

"Hiss~"

Wang Yan took a deep breath, speechless for a long time.

*Is something wrong with this year’s freshman assessment? How can the freshmen of this generation be capable to this extent?*

*Especially...*

Wang Yan and Huo Yuhao both looked in a certain direction. There, a giant white tiger wreathed in dark energy flashed by, its presence formidable. That aura was even comparable to a five-ring Soul King.

"A martial soul fusion skill that hasn't been fully unleashed," Wang Yan whispered.

"Netherworld White Tiger." Huo Yuhao’s eyes shimmered. "That must be Dai Huabin, right?"