Afternoon, Beast Battle Zone
The second-year students of Class One and Class Two filed into the beast battle zone for their individual advancement assessments.
This zone was split into two main sections. One was the beast enclosure—where soul beasts were specially raised—also referred to as the "Soul Beast Forest" by Instructor Wang Yan. The other section was the battle arena.
As Shrek Academy's largest specialized training facility, the beast battle zone demanded enormous yearly upkeep, particularly for the beast enclosure. Housing dangerous soul beasts under strict soul tool restrictions—including the rare ten-thousand-year ones—meant the operating costs even surpassed those of the ancient Soul Hunting Forests once maintained by the great empires and Spirit Hall.
After receiving their assessment forms, Classes One and Two split up to begin testing separately to save time.
Class One's Chen Junting was the first to step up. Under the watch of twenty instructors, he stunned everyone by selecting a ten-thousand-year soul beast as his assessment target.
Even Du Weilun hesitated. A ten-thousand-year soul beast, no matter how weak, rivaled a Soul King in strength. But considering Chen Junting's level 45 cultivation, he should at least be able to hold out long enough for the instructors to intervene if needed.
After careful discussion, the Colosseum supervisor Gong Changlong finally agreed, selecting the weakest available ten-thousand-year beast: a wind baboon.
The outcome defied expectations.
Chen Junting summoned his ten-thousand-year soul ring, and with a massive transparent sword descending from the sky, he pinned the wind baboon to the ground. Then, a barrage of sharp swords fell like rain, precisely controlled to only trim the creature's fur—leaving it unharmed.
Finally, a deceptively light palm strike infused with his Seven Kill Sword intent knocked the beast unconscious.
Chen Junting stood unscathed. Calm. Composed.
Two moves. That's all it took to subdue a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
Even if the beast was caught off guard, its age was no lie. The instructors were floored. Dai Huabin, who had secretly hoped for Chen's failure, felt his confidence shatter like glass. All that remained was despair.
In contrast, the rest of the students were filled with awe. With a class monitor that strong, maybe this group assessment wouldn't be such a disaster after all.
Unsurprisingly, Chen Junting earned a perfect score: 100 points.
One by one, the other students took their turns.
During his trial, Huo Yuhao revealed his second martial soul. The academy responded quickly, officially recognizing him as a twin martial soul user, but made no other fuss—clearly prepared for this reveal.
As the individual assessments wrapped up, the results from Classes Three and Four were announced. Only three students received perfect marks: Chen Junting, Huo Yuhao, and Ning Tian.
Out of all four classes, only 30 students failed and were eliminated. The rest passed but would face one final hurdle.
The top 28 scorers, along with the head teachers and Instructor Wang Yan, gathered at Shrek Square to prepare for the group test.
Wang Yan addressed them directly:
"Due to the special nature of this trial, there are no restrictions on martial souls or soul tools."
Most students nodded—until Chen Junting's eyes gleamed.
Unlike others, he had spent his break mastering the use of soul tools with formation arrays, allowing him to use Level 5 soul tools with Soul Ancestor cultivation. That gave him a major edge.
Wang Yan continued, "The academy wants you to form your own teams. However, I recommend this strategy: group the seven strongest students together. The other three teams act as decoys. The goal is for the main team to survive for two hours. With your current power, you might even match the Inner Court seniors."
His eyes swept to Chen Junting, Ning Tian, and the others.
"A Soul Ancestor who defeated a ten-thousand-year beast… a pair with a martial soul fusion technique… the Ultimate Ice martial soul… and the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. You seven are equivalent to three Soul Kings. That team will be our core."
No one objected—even the students placed in "bait" teams accepted the plan.
"Alright," Wang Yan nodded. "Team One will consist of Chen Junting, Ning Tian, and five others. Chen Junting will serve as team leader."
At those words, Dai Huabin's fists clenched, but under Zhu Lu's quiet gaze, he ultimately said nothing.
Just then, Chen Junting raised his hand.
"Teacher Wang," he said, "I suggest we remove Yuhao from Team One."
The crowd fell silent. Not out of outrage, but confusion.
Wang Yan frowned slightly. "Why? His first soul skill is ideal for detecting enemy movements. It would greatly benefit your team."
Chen Junting nodded. "Exactly. Which is why he should be in another team."
He continued, "You mentioned that the Inner Court will send seven seniors—one Soul Emperor and six Soul Kings. Out of pride, they'll likely split up. Probably three teams of two Soul Kings and one team with the Soul Emperor."
"If our team runs into a senior team early, with Ning Tian's buffs, we can likely hold our ground. But if Yuhao joins another group instead, he can guide them away from danger and regroup with us. That raises our chances of a perfect run."
A moment later, Mu Jin applauded, even before the other teachers reacted.
"Well said. That's the mindset Shrek's monsters should have."
Wang Yan smiled faintly. "And the rest of you?"
The students looked around uncertainly. Yuhao was strong, but could he really lead a weaker team to safety?
Then, Chen Junting gave Huo Yuhao a look.
Understanding immediately, Yuhao activated his first soul skill—Spiritual Detection. A panoramic, real-time battlefield vision spread across the minds of every student.
Doubts vanished.
"We agree."
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Later, on the way back to the dorms...
"Brother Junting, I…" Huo Yuhao caught up, clearly uneasy.
"What's wrong?" Chen Junting asked with a smile. "No confidence?"
Yuhao nodded, honest as always. "Even with my detection, once we're discovered, I don't think we can escape from a Soul Emperor…"
Chen Junting stopped walking and narrowed his eyes.
"I never asked you to protect everyone."
That stunned Yuhao. Wu Feng, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were just as confused—until Ning Tian smiled knowingly.
"Yuhao," Junting said quietly, "Wang Yan's strategy was to use the three weaker teams as sacrifices to guarantee our team's survival and a 70% completion. I disagreed and suggested a plan to reach 100%."
"But…" Wang Dong blinked. "That wasn't your real plan?"
"Of course not," Ning Tian answered for him, wagging a finger.
"You forget—each Inner Court senior equals multiple assessment points. Two Soul Kings? That's eight points. If we can take them down, we'll collect their badges."
Chen Junting grinned. "Exactly. With our setup, we can defeat a team of two Soul Kings. That's 15 points already."
Wang Dong was shocked. "Wait—you mean we're going after them?!"
But just then, Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up.
"No," he said slowly. "Not just chase them…"
He raised his head. "Brother Junting's real plan is to defeat all the Inner Court seniors one by one."
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(End of Chapter)
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