"Zhu Ziyang's team wins."
The examiner who announced the result was quite confused. Zhou Tianhe's team had clearly held the advantage after launching the first attack. How did things suddenly reverse in less than a second?
So strange!
The middle-aged examiner scratched his head, puzzled.
"This..." On the podium, Du Weilen looked at Yan Shaozhe with a questioning expression and said.
"Hmm!" A trace of shock also appeared on Yan Shaozhe's face as he nodded and said, "That was a fluctuation of time attributes! I just can't tell whether it was a soul bone skill, a soul skill, or a natural ability of his martial soul."
Despite Yan Shaozhe's vast knowledge, he couldn't quite determine the source.
"Should we call Zhu Ziyang over to ask?" Du Weilen suggested.
"Not yet." Yan Shaozhe waved his hand, eyes thoughtful before regaining calm. "Let's not disturb their competition now. We'll ask after the assessment is over."
"Yes!" Du Weilen nodded. He had a feeling that he was about to witness the rise of a new star at Shrek Academy!
Zhu Ziyang had no idea that he had already drawn the attention of Yan Shaozhe. But even if he knew, he wouldn't care—he had been prepared for it. With his talent, if he didn't catch the eye of Shrek Academy's top brass, that would be the real surprise.
They left the assessment area.
"Zhu Ziyang, how did you appear behind Zhou Tianhe in an instant during the match?" Tang Ya, full of curiosity, chased after Zhu Ziyang after they left the area. "You should have seen his expression—it was like he saw a ghost! Hehehe!"
"All right, Xiaoya, don't you see your big brother is tired?" Jiang Nannan pulled Tang Ya aside, halting her curiosity.
"Is he? I didn't notice." Tang Ya gave Jiang Nannan a helpless look but didn't continue pestering Zhu Ziyang.
Zhu Ziyang's eyes did show a trace of fatigue. Using time-stopping ability in actual combat for the first time had taken quite a toll on his mental energy. He now needed to recover.
"Let's go back to the dorm and rest. We still have the semifinals this afternoon!" Zhu Ziyang said, then walked toward the dormitory.
Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya followed close behind.
When they entered the dorm building, Muen, who usually lay sunbathing on the bench at the entrance, was nowhere to be seen.
Zhu Ziyang went straight into meditation upon returning to the dorm.
"Teacher Muen, that's what happened," Yan Shaozhe stood respectfully in front of Muen, recounting everything that had happened that morning.
"Time attribute ability, huh?" Muen's clouded eyes showed a trace of curiosity. "Even you can't be sure. Interesting. Now I'm curious too."
"Then should I..." Yan Shaozhe hesitated, testing the waters with his tone.
"Sigh," Muen suddenly let out a long sigh. "Forget it, let's keep observing for now. You may go."
"Yes!" Yan Shaozhe replied respectfully and took his leave.
"Light... time... and faint traces of dragon aura... Shaozhe still lacks boldness... Sigh." Muen muttered to himself, then sighed deeply again.
Zhu Ziyang woke from his meditation. The mental energy he'd used that morning had almost fully recovered and wouldn't affect his performance in the afternoon match.
He got up and checked the time—there were only five minutes left before his lunch appointment with Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya. He quickly tidied up and left the dorm.
When he arrived at the dormitory entrance, Muen was once again sitting on the wooden bench at the door. From an angle where Zhu Ziyang couldn't see, Muen quietly observed him.
"Brother, are you all recovered?" Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya arrived together. Seeing Zhu Ziyang at the entrance looking energetic, Jiang Nannan happily asked.
"Yes, it wasn't a huge drain anyway. One midday meditation, and I'm good as new!" Zhu Ziyang replied with a radiant smile.
"That's great! If we win this afternoon's match, we'll be in the finals. And once we're in the finals, the championship is just around the corner!" Tang Ya said excitedly.
"Of course!" Zhu Ziyang said. "Let's eat. After lunch, it'll be about time for the match."
"Mhm!" Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya nodded and went to lunch with him.
After lunch, the three arrived at the assessment area.
Since the top four teams had already been determined in the morning, there were actually fewer students outside the area now compared to teachers. Twelve students from the four teams lined up in four groups, but more than thirty teachers surrounded them—almost every outer-court teacher without a class was present.
Facing so many teachers, all twelve students behaved obediently and didn't dare to speak. These were Shrek teachers, after all—over thirty senior soul masters, at least Soul Emperor level. Such a gathering of Soul Emperors to watch children with only two or three rings fight was something only Shrek Academy could pull off on the entire continent.
Two teachers stepped forward from the crowd, clearly of high status. One was the well-known Martial Soul Department director, Du Weilen. What shocked the students was how respectfully this powerful director followed behind an elderly man in white. The elderly man had a kind face, calm steps, and an air of warmth in every gesture.
The students immediately guessed the identity of the middle-aged man.
In the Martial Soul Department, the only people Du Weilen would show such deference to were the two deans. The vice-dean was said to be a woman, while the dean was a man—leaving no doubt about the white-clad elder's identity.
Shrek Academy's Dean. Level 95 Super Douluo. Bright Phoenix Douluo, Yan Shaozhe!
The students who recognized him grew excited, and Zhu Ziyang's eyes sparkled with emotion.
Bright Phoenix Douluo Yan Shaozhe—Shrek's strongest publicly known Titled Douluo. But the academy's enemies knew that he wasn't even close to the true strongest. The Sea God Pavilion alone housed several stronger individuals!
Zhu Ziyang hoped that Dragon God Douluo Muen was still alive.
Yan Shaozhe stepped forward and, under the respectful, curious, and awed gazes of the twelve students, began to speak slowly:
"Children, hello. I am Yan Shaozhe, the 261st Dean of Shrek Academy."
All the students, both those who had guessed and those who hadn't, instinctively straightened up, their eyes locked on the elder whose status rivaled that of emperors.
Yan Shaozhe noticed their reactions. Smiling gently, he continued warmly:
"I know you're curious about why I'm here. Normally, even in the final stage of the Freshmen Assessment, a vice-dean would be enough to show how much the Academy values you. But I must say—this year's freshmen, especially the twelve of you here today, have impressed me greatly. You are the most gifted class in nearly a hundred years. I am very interested in you, so I came. I'll be watching all of today's matches. I hope you'll surprise me. All right, let's begin the drawing."
After Yan Shaozhe's words, even Zhu Ziyang felt his blood boil—let alone the other 11- or 12-year-old kids. This was the Dean of Shrek Academy. His praise carried great weight.
Du Weilen brought out the box of drawing lots and called:
"Freshmen Class One, Chu Hua's team."
A girl stepped forward, visibly excited. Noticing Yan Shaozhe watching her, her hands trembled as she struggled to draw a lot and handed it to Du Weilen.
"Freshmen Class One, Chu Hua's team, Number One."
There were only two arenas for the semifinals. Drawing Number One meant they'd face whichever team also drew Number One.
"Freshmen Class Five, Yu Beibei's team," Du Weilen continued.