Beibei walked out from the crowd under everyone's gaze, stepping into the arena. The smile on his face remained unchanged, and his calm demeanor made Yan Shaozhe's eyes light up. He couldn't help but say, "Not bad, young man!"
Upon hearing the praise, Beibei bowed politely and then reached out to draw their lot.
"Freshmen Class Five, Beibei's team, number two."
Hearing this, Chu Hua's trio from Class One clearly let out a sigh of relief, but soon became worried again. They had avoided one of the two undefeated teams—Beibei's team—but they might still end up facing Zhu Ziyang's team, the strongest freshmen. Both Chu Hua's team and the team from Class Three silently prayed that the two undefeated teams would be drawn to face each other.
Interestingly, out of the four semifinalist teams, only two had remained undefeated during the ranking matches.
The captain of Class Three stepped forward to draw their lot. All eyes were on him, as his draw would determine the outcome of the semifinals.
Du Weilen took the lot, glanced at it, and his expression turned strange as he announced:
"Freshmen Class Three, Zhao Lei's team, number one!"
As soon as the words fell, both Beibei's team and Zhu Ziyang's team looked directly at each other. Their eyes were filled with burning fighting spirit—nothing else. The teachers present were all surprised and excited. Everyone knew that Zhu Ziyang's and Beibei's teams were the top contenders for the championship. No one had expected them to meet in the semifinals.
This wasn't a semifinal—this was the final match in disguise!
The other two teams were secretly relieved. After all, not facing Zhu Ziyang or Beibei meant they had a real chance at making it to the final. If the two powerhouses exhausted themselves during their battle, one of the remaining teams might even snatch the championship!
The draw ended, and the match was about to begin.
Zhu Ziyang's and Beibei's teams didn't speak to each other. There would be plenty of time for that after the match. Before it began, they were simply rivals.
The teachers all entered the assessment zone, crowding around Arena Two. Clearly, a battle between Soul Elders was much more exciting than one between Soul Grandmasters.
"Villen, who do you think has the better odds of winning?" Yan Shaozhe stood on the main platform near Arena Two and asked Du Weilen.
"Although Zhu Ziyang's soul power is as high as level 36, Beibei's team is also strong. Beibei's martial soul is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Xu Sanshi's is the Xuanming Tortoise Shield—both famous and powerful martial souls. Just relying on Zhu Ziyang's mysterious and unknown martial soul makes the result unpredictable," Du Weilen said. "And the girl in Beibei's team has an impressive martial soul too—it's the Huangjing Mystic Deer, which has a Slowing Domain! In comparison, Zhu Ziyang's teammates Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya, with their mutated Soft Bone Rabbit and mutated Blue Silver Grass, are less remarkable."
"I see..." Yan Shaozhe's eyes glowed with even more anticipation. "In that case, this match should be very interesting. Very good, very good."
He looked at Zhu Ziyang and thought: Let me see what you're truly made of—don't disappoint me.
Yan Shaozhe's expression remained calm.
"Semifinal match of the freshmen assessment, Arena Two. Both teams, state your names!"
A middle-aged teacher in Arena Two announced.
Both Zhu Ziyang's and Beibei's teams stepped forward.
"Freshmen Class Five, Beibei!"
"Freshmen Class Five, Xu Sanshi!"
"Freshmen Class Five, Xue Weiwei!"
Beibei's team stood on the north side of the arena.
"Freshmen Class Four, Zhu Ziyang!"
"Freshmen Class Four, Jiang Nannan!"
"Freshmen Class Four, Tang Ya!"
Zhu Ziyang's team stood on the south side.
With introductions complete, the battle was on the verge of breaking out.
Once the referee declared the match start, Beibei's team didn't immediately attack. Instead, Beibei spoke.
"Ziyang, I've waited three months for this moment. I finally get a chance to fight you!" Beibei said, his handsome face filled with excitement and intense fighting spirit.
As an undisputed genius, Beibei had always been the best among his peers—until he met Zhu Ziyang. Only then did he realize that there were even greater geniuses in the world. Instead of being discouraged, it ignited his will to fight and prove himself.
"I'd be glad to," Zhu Ziyang replied. "You and Xu Sanshi are the only ones among the freshmen who've stirred my fighting spirit. So don't expect me to hold back!"
"As it should be!" Beibei and Xu Sanshi's eyes lit up. As proud young elites, they wouldn't want to be underestimated in such an important match.
Their brief conversation ended. The real battle began.
Beibei's body glowed with a flash of blue light. Blue-purple lightning, like small serpents, coiled around him. His right arm swelled into a fearsome dragon claw, and two yellow soul rings hovered behind him.
Behind him, Xu Sanshi emitted black light. A dark green-black tortoise shell shield appeared in his hand, also with two yellow soul rings glowing behind him. Under the martial soul's glow, his bronze skin seemed even paler.
But what caught Zhu Ziyang's team's attention the most was Xue Weiwei—the girl who had never used her martial soul during the assessment and was assumed by many to be just a pretty face. This time, she finally revealed her martial soul: her body glowed with shimmering golden-yellow light, a pair of crystalline antlers sprouted from her forehead, and her figure grew taller and more mature. Two yellow soul rings floated beside her antlers.
"So this is the Huangjing Mystic Deer?" Zhu Ziyang murmured. Then he gave orders to his teammates:
"Nan Nan, Xiao Ya, focus on taking down Xue Weiwei first!"
"Yes!" the two girls replied.
They also released their martial souls. Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya's forms were as before. But what truly drew the teachers' attention was Zhu Ziyang, who, for the first time, revealed his soul rings in a show of respect toward two level-28 Soul Grandmasters.
Once again, it was the Reaper's Judgment Scythe—but this time, its aura was fully unleashed: radiant holy light mixed with chilling death energy. His soul ring configuration—one yellow and two purple—was eye-catching and overwhelming.
"This…" On the main platform, Yan Shaozhe shot up from his seat. For the first time, shock, excitement, and exhilaration filled his normally calm face. His fiery gaze locked onto Zhu Ziyang as he turned to Du Weilen.
"Villen, keep an eye on things here. I'm heading back to the Sea God Pavilion!"
Ultimate Light! It was Ultimate Light! To stir his own Light Phoenix martial soul, it had to be true Ultimate Light!
He had to inform his teacher! Yan Shaozhe left without looking back.
An ultimate light-attributed martial soul! As the dean of Shrek Academy, Yan Shaozhe knew all too well what this meant. Light itself was already one of the superior elemental attributes. Ultimate Light was even more formidable. If Zhu Ziyang were to grow into a Titled Douluo…
Yan Shaozhe was trembling with excitement.
Why were the soul beasts of the Star Dou Forest so dominant? Because of the Beast God, Di Tian, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King—an existence with Ultimate Darkness!
His teacher, Mu En, once said that in terms of sheer individual power, he was inferior to Di Tian. Mu En was a Level 99 Limit Douluo with a Holy Light Dragon martial soul possessing near-Ultimate Light attributes—and yet, he still wasn't Di Tian's match. That alone proved the might of ultimate attributes!
Ultimate Light had shocked him so greatly that he momentarily overlooked Zhu Ziyang's overconfigured soul rings—and the most terrifying aspect of his martial soul: the coexistence of Light and Death.