Chapter 133: The Fifth Soul Skill and the Freshman Assessment
Time slipped by like flowing water, and the next three months passed quietly amidst a rhythm of intensive, disciplined cultivation and study.
Furina's soul power successfully broke through to rank 52, and she acquired her fifth soul ring—a black ring with a cultivation age of fifty thousand years.
The resulting fifth soul skill was named Nut Cake, and its effects were far from ordinary: the consumer gains a sturdy protective barrier capable of absorbing damage, with the barrier's maximum capacity scaling in direct proportion to the consumer's own soul power level. Additionally, the soul skill grants the consumer a one-hundred-percent increase in defensive power. The barrier effect lasts for three full minutes, while the defense amplification persists for an entire hour.
Similar to the Golden Doughnut Vanilla Cake, the daily production limit for Nut Cakes was capped at a mere fifteen, and the soul power consumption was immense—by no means lighter than creating the former.
Wang Dong's soul power had steadily risen to rank 28, and Xiao Xiao's to rank 29. Huo Yuhao's progress was the most remarkable of all—his soul power had already climbed to rank 34.
On this day, the atmosphere within Class One's classroom carried a touch more solemnity and anticipation than usual.
Zhou Yi stood at the podium, her gaze sweeping over the students below, who had shed much of their initial naivety and gained a measure of steadiness. She declared in a clear, ringing voice: "Three months have passed since the start of the term. You are about to face your first official assessment at Shrek Academy. Only by passing this assessment will you become true first-year students and earn your rightful place as members of Shrek Academy."
She paused, then continued: "Barring any unforeseen events, as long as you pass the assessment, you may remain here to cultivate in peace, at least until the end of your first year. The assessment will officially begin tomorrow. Today, I will first explain its key points and its rules to you in detail."
"Following the freshman assessment, the academy will, based on your performance and individual characteristics, 'teach according to aptitude.' Your future cultivation direction..."
Zhou Yi trailed off mid-sentence, a hint of awkwardness flickering across her face. She waved her hand dismissively. "...Oh, regarding that—didn't you all already submit your self-assessments? That time when student Furina temporarily presided over the class... Then there's no need for repetition. When the time comes, I will summarize and synthesize your assessment results with your actual situations."
She swiftly steered the topic back on track: "Now, let's focus on the specific regulations of the freshman assessment. This assessment will be conducted in the form of team battles. Taking into account the collaborative capabilities of your age group, the team size is set at three members per team—this is currently the standard configuration that best reflects coordination ability. In terms of team composition, each team is permitted at most one assault-type battle soul master. The professional configurations of the remaining two team members are relatively flexible."
"The principle for grouping is as follows: first, roommates from the same dormitory will naturally form teams. For those who are not yet grouped, affiliation will be determined by drawing lots. Shortly, I will provide you with a preliminary grouping suggestion that is relatively reasonable."
"The freshman assessment will be conducted uniformly across the entire grade. In recent years, the academy has expanded in scale, and the number of freshmen is not insignificant. It is projected that the number of teams participating in this assessment will approach three hundred. However, in the end, only the teams ranking in the top one hundred and fifty will remain. The elimination rate is approximately fifty percent. The ranking will be determined by the points you accumulate in the round-robin matches."
"Opponents will be determined by drawing lots. Each team must fight at least ten battles. The final overall ranking will be based on victory points. The sixty-four teams with the highest point totals will advance to the elimination tournament stage. The top four teams in the elimination tournament will receive rewards issued by the academy. And the reward for the championship team will be particularly precious."
Zhou Yi then proceeded to announce the grouping assignments. A slender, slight student named Song Qinghan was directly assigned by her to the Soul Tool Department's development track. He accepted gladly as well, clearly having long since planned for this path.
Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were naturally and unambiguously placed in the same group. Furina's placement, however, was somewhat special.
Originally, Zhou Yi had considered inserting Furina into Huo Yuhao's group. But regardless of which member she replaced, it always seemed unreasonable, and would disrupt their existing synergy.
In the end, Furina privately consulted with Zhou Yi and proactively proposed forming a solo team of her own. Her reasoning was more than sufficient: although she was a support-type soul master, she possessed a powerful second martial soul, as well as multiple weapon options beyond soul tools.
The freshman assessment explicitly prohibited the use of soul tools, but it did not forbid the use of other types of non-soul-tool weaponry. Moreover, her current soul power had already reached rank 52, far surpassing the other freshmen. Even as a support-type, a gap of this magnitude in raw levels was sufficient to form an overwhelming, crushing advantage.
If she were to team up with others, it would almost inevitably become a scenario of "one carries two"—or even "one carries the entire team"—gravely disrupting the balance of the assessment.
Furina herself held no particular attachment to the competition itself. In her view, if she were to wield the divine artifact Splendor of Still Waters or summon the three members of Salon Solitaire, the battles would likely end in mere moments. Even back when her soul power was much lower and she had yet to acquire soul rings, she was already capable of demonstrating considerable combat strength. All the more so now.
After announcing the groupings, Zhou Yi looked at the students below, each with their own distinct expressions in their eyes, and added a final remark: "Although I know it may be somewhat demanding to expect every single team to advance, I still hope that all the groups from our class can successfully pass the assessment—everyone advancing."
"After all, in the past three months, thanks to the extra guidance from a certain attentive classmate and your own hard work, what you have learned and practiced may well be more solid and comprehensive than what students in other classes have. And you have also mastered some special techniques. If you still lose after all that... then it won't just be my face on the line."
With the exception of Furina, who still wore her signature faint, unruffled smile, practically all of the other students answered in unison with a resounding: "Yes!"