"The second-years this year… the talent pool's impressive."
Inside his office the day before school started, Du Weilun flipped through a stack of reports. His eyes lingered on the list.
Three Soul Grand Masters. Four Soul Elders. One of them even a core disciple of the Soul Guidance Department.
"Dai Huabin and Huo Yuhao… they must have absorbed soul bones." He murmured to himself.
He reached into a drawer and pulled out the original upgrade assessment plan he'd prepared.
It was solid, but seeing the caliber of this group, Du Weilun hesitated. Would it still challenge them enough? Would it separate the best from the rest?
Probably not.
"In that case, let's raise the bar."
He made up his mind. Instead of individual tests, the assessment would now become a class-level upgrade evaluation.
While rare for second-years, it was within the academy's rules. And Shrek had never been known to coddle the weak.
He scribbled down the updated challenge parameters, then brought them to the Inner Courtyard for approval.
…
Inner Courtyard, Dean's Office
"Go for it," Yan Shaozhe said after reading the file. "You're in charge of the outer courtyard. If you think this is the right move, I won't stop you."
But his eyes narrowed slightly as he skimmed the assessment's special challenge component.
The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Tournament was approaching. Perhaps… this would be the perfect opportunity to integrate outer courtyard students with the tournament's preliminary selection team.
"Du Weilun," he said, tapping the folder, "revise the content like this. We'll extend this model across all grades, not just the second-years. You'll just need to scale the difficulty accordingly."
Du Weilun nodded. Understood loud and clear.
By the end of the day, the announcement had gone out to the teaching staff: this year's upgrade assessments would be done as class trials, starting immediately.
…
The Next Morning — Start of the New Term
With Dugu Xin officially withdrawn, Chen Junting headed to the yellow teaching building alone after breakfast.
As he walked into the classroom for Class 1, Grade 2, he noticed the numbers were down.
Not from failures.
From transfers—to the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect.
"Class rep's here!"
Heads turned the moment he stepped in. Cao Jinxuan quickly made his way over.
"Man, we've lost a lot of people."
Chen Junting leaned back in his seat with a calm smile. "Everyone has their own path. If you're tempted, say the word. The Nine Treasures Glazed Sect is always open to you."
Cao Jinxuan just laughed and left it at that.
They moved on to more important things—like the upgrade assessment.
"We're not worried," Jinxuan said confidently. "I'll just take on a hundred-year soul beast, use my martial soul to stall it, easy pass. Lao Zhou's even more ridiculous—his skills are like cheating."
Zhou Sichen struck a pose, clearly enjoying the compliment.
But across the room, Dai Huabin sat in silence, glaring at Chen Junting.
During the break, he'd learned a lot—about the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect, Chen Junting's role in it, and the gap between them. Furious and desperate to catch up, he threw himself into brutal training, begged his mother for help, absorbed a prepped soul bone, swallowed rare soul-enhancing pills, and emerged with a brand-new 6,000-year soul ring.
He was ready.
Ready to challenge Junting again. And this time, to win.
What he didn't realize?
Chen Junting didn't even consider him competition.(Damn!!)
Behind Dai Huabin, someone else was watching with equal intensity: Huo Yuhao.
His memories of his past life still burned in his heart.
This year, he'd start settling scores.
…
Just then, the classroom door opened.
Wang Yan and Mu Jin stepped inside.
But their expressions were tight.
"Something's up," Cao Jinxuan muttered.
He was right.
"I'll get straight to it," Wang Yan began. "There's been a change."
The room tensed.
"You may remember me telling you that the entrance exams emphasize actual combat. Normally, students are tested individually. But this year, the academy has decided that the entire grade's upgrade assessment will follow a different format."
He paused.
"It's now a class-level challenge."
"WHAT?!" gasps and chatter exploded across the room.
Even Chen Junting blinked in surprise.
"The whole grade!?" he muttered.
"QUIET!"
Mu Jin slammed a hand down on a desk, silencing the room with a sharp crack.
"What's with the panic? You've got complaints, take them to the teaching department—not us."
Then she looked to Wang Yan. "Go on."
Wang Yan nodded, speaking more gently.
"The assessment's been scaled to match your year. You'll be grouped with Classes 2, 3, and 4 to select the top 28 students. Those chosen will then enter a special trial in the Soul Beast Arena."
"Your opponents? Students from the Inner Courtyard."
A collective breath was held.
Everyone knew what that meant—Inner Courtyard students were all Soul Kings or above. Facing them was no small feat.
Wang Yan continued, "You'll be split into four teams and sent into different parts of the arena. Your goal: protect your badge for two hours. Lose it, and you're out. Soul beasts will be released as obstacles, and Inner Courtyard students will actively try to take your badges."
"If at least 10 badges remain after two hours, the challenge is passed at 100%. If only 9 make it, the lowest 10% of scorers will be eliminated. Fewer than 9? The cutoff gets stricter."
"One more thing: if you're strong enough to take a badge from an Inner Courtyard student, it's worth four. Do that, and you'll earn bonus points toward your outer courtyard graduation score."
But that last part didn't register for most.
They weren't thinking about bonus points.
They were thinking about survival.
Wang Yan went on to explain the personal assessment and safety procedures, but much of it fell on deaf ears. The students were already in their heads, calculating risks, bracing themselves.
After he wrapped up, Mu Jin dismissed them early.
"Go. Get ready. You'll need to be in top condition by this afternoon."
None of them needed to be told twice.
The upgrade trial had begun.
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(End of Chapter)
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