All the students of Class One and Class Two of the second grade were now inside the Grand Soul Arena, preparing to take part in the advancement assessment.
Every student taking the assessment first had to receive an assessment form, and their results would be recorded on it.
While collecting his form, Xu Zihuang ran into a few familiar faces from Class Two.
They were Nanmen Yoon'er, Yalu, and the strongest among Class Two—Xie Huanyue.
The homeroom teacher of Class Two was also a relatively young female teacher.
After receiving their forms, under the guidance of the two class teachers, the students entered the interior of the Grand Soul Arena.
Since this was an advancement assessment, they would not be going up to the spectator stands. Instead, they lined up neatly outside the combat zone, waiting for their turn.
There were over a hundred second-year students from both classes combined taking part here. Because it was the first time most of them had come to the Grand Soul Arena for an assessment, the academy placed great importance on safety. Twenty teachers had already been stationed there early on.
They were in charge of guiding the soul beasts, protecting the students, grading the assessments, and other tasks. Although the number of examinees was large, the arena was not divided into multiple sections. Instead, each student would be tested one by one. This also made it easier for the grading teachers to clearly observe.
Dean Du Weilen was also present. He was the chief examiner for the day, standing together with four other senior teachers responsible for grading. All of them were on a high platform to the side, from where they could clearly oversee the entire arena.
Xu Zihuang and Dai Huabin, as the two class monitors of Class One, stood at the very front of their team. Over in Class Two, Xie Huanyue and Long Xiangyue stood in the lead. In terms of cultivation, Xie Huanyue was not much weaker than Dai Huabin.
By contrast, Long Xiangyue's cultivation and strength were much lower. The only reason he had become the monitor of the Agility Attack System was that, among agility-type soul masters, there really wasn't anyone particularly outstanding in strength.
Although there was no strict hierarchy among the various types of soul masters, Control and Power Attack types were generally considered the two categories most likely to produce top-level powerhouses. Defense-type soul masters were comparable to Power Attack in importance, but the Agility Attack type had always occupied an awkward position.
Among soul masters of the same level, unless they had a martial soul with overwhelming advantage, agility-type soul masters were heavily restrained in one-on-one combat by Control types, were inferior in burst strength compared to Power Attack types, and found it extremely difficult to break through the defenses of Defense types.
Ever since the profession of soul master had come into being, the Agility Attack branch had rarely produced figures renowned across the continent. The lack of talent was the norm.
Dai Huabin's gaze kept shifting toward Xu Zihuang, intentionally or not, while Xu Zihuang remained calm, looking straight ahead.
At this moment, Du Weilen's voice rang out from the high platform.
"Let the assessment begin. Class One of the second grade will first send out five students. Then Class Two. Alternate in turn."
Standing nearby, Wang Yan glanced toward Xu Zihuang and Dai Huabin after hearing Du Weilen's words.
"According to the usual rules of the advancement assessment, the class monitor must take the first turn, setting an example for the rest. So, which of you will go up first?"
"I'll go first!" Dai Huabin answered immediately. Eager, he strode out with his assessment form in hand. He handed it to a teacher assigned to collect them, who placed it in the lift platform beneath the judging stand. In no time, the form was in Du Weilen's hands.
Seeing that the first student to be assessed was Dai Huabin, Du Weilen focused his attention slightly more. After all, Dai Huabin was the second most talented student of the year, surpassed only by Yu Tianhuang.
Dai Huabin walked to the center of the field. Two teachers were acting as referees, mainly to better protect the student's safety.
The chief referee on the left asked, "What is your main specialization?"
Dai Huabin replied in a deep voice: "Power Attack System."
"Choose the soul beast for your assessment. Remember, you only have one chance. Choose carefully. Soul beast levels are measured in centuries, from one hundred years up to a maximum of one thousand years."
All the students of Class One and Class Two fixed their attention on Dai Huabin. For the vast majority, it was their first time facing a soul beast alone. To say they weren't nervous would be a lie. Naturally, everyone hoped to learn something from Dai Huabin's example.
After all, passing the advancement assessment determined whether they could continue studying at Shrek Academy.
The only ones who looked calm were Xu Zihuang and Xie Huanyue, standing at the front of their respective classes.
"It looks like Dai Huabin will most likely choose a thousand-year soul beast."
Xie Huanyue chuckled. It wasn't clear whether he was speaking to himself or to Xu Zihuang beside him.
Just as he said, a fierce gleam flashed in Dai Huabin's eyes.
"I choose a thousand-year soul beast."
"A thousand-year soul beast, are you sure?" The examiner was well aware of Dai Huabin's strength, second only to the top of the grade, so he wasn't particularly surprised. The question was purely routine.
Dai Huabin nodded, and the examiner said no more.
A massive figure slowly emerged from the dark beast pen. Unlike lion- or tiger-type beasts, it did not roar thunderously upon entering.
Everyone in the arena went silent, the only sound being its heavy footsteps.
When it stepped into the open, they saw it was a baboon.
Its body was enormous, comparable to bear-type beasts, its muscles bulging, its imposing frame terrifying to behold. Its face was deathly pale, in stark contrast to its jet-black fur.
Most chilling of all were its blood-red eyes.
A Blood-Red Baboon. Few other baboon-type beasts ranked above it. Its hand-to-hand combat ability was extremely formidable, and it possessed the innate soul skill Bloodlust, which could instantly amplify its attack and defense power.
The Blood-Red Baboon was a very troublesome soul beast. Not only did they live in groups, but individually they were also fearsome. Renowned for their "copper skin and iron bones," their physical defenses were formidable, their strength immense, and they could tear apart tigers and leopards with ease. They also had strong resistance against soul power of all attributes. Their hard, iron-like fur was their best armor.
Most terrifying was their innate Bloodlust skill: once activated, not only did attack and defense surge, but they lost all sense of pain and fought without fear of death.
This Blood-Red Baboon was not only ferocious but also highly intelligent. Sensing the dangerous aura emanating from Dai Huabin, it did not recklessly attack like most savage beasts. Instead, it began to circle sideways, probing cautiously.
But Dai Huabin, who had long awaited this assessment, would not give it the chance.
With a tiger's roar, he instantly released his White Tiger martial soul and charged the thousand-year Blood-Red Baboon.
Because of personality and martial soul differences, every soul master had their own fighting style.
For Dai Huabin, it was undoubtedly ferocity—favoring direct clashes, crushing his opponents with sheer strength. Power Attack beast soul masters valued momentum most of all. Overreliance on technique was often inferior.
Especially against thick-skinned beasts like the Blood-Red Baboon, dragging the fight out would only harm him.
As the most gifted son of the White Tiger Duke, Dai Huabin was no rookie lacking combat experience. With one glance, he had already seen the key to victory.
As he charged, his first and third soul rings lit up simultaneously.
First Soul Skill: White Tiger Barrier.
Third Soul Skill: White Tiger Vajra Transformation.
The aura of the White Tiger burst from him, causing the Blood-Red Baboon to falter slightly.
Lion- and tiger-type martial souls were innately superior to many others, and his White Tiger's aura suppressed even this thousand-year beast.
Empowered by his third soul skill, Dai Huabin's body expanded, entering peak combat state in an instant.
The golden-white glow of the White Tiger Barrier enveloped him, and the claws extended from his hands gleamed gold.
In a single breath, the distance between them closed.
The arena was wide, but the baboon had been standing near the edge. With Dai Huabin charging head-on, it had nowhere to retreat.
Already suppressed by his aura, its reaction lagged half a beat.
In desperation, it bared its protruding fangs, raising its long arms overhead and clasping them together to smash down with a hammer blow.
Dai Huabin did not dodge. At the instant before impact, a cold gleam flashed in his eyes as his second soul ring shone brightly.
A beam of pale White Tiger Light Wave shot forth. The recoil propelled his body sideways nearly a meter, just enough to evade the blow. At the same time, his golden claws raked viciously across the baboon's waist.
Sparks flew, accompanied by a piercing screech as his claws scraped its iron-hard fur.
The beast's defenses were indeed formidable, but Dai Huabin's White Tiger martial soul was a top-class beast soul, and his cultivation was superior. Moreover, he was attacking with full force, while the baboon had only reacted hastily.
Even though it managed to avoid a fatal strike, a large patch of flesh and fur was torn away.
The examiners on the high platform, including Du Weilen, all showed a trace of admiration at the sight.
Dai Huabin was not as reckless as he appeared. His combat quality and experience surpassed even some senior students.
Roaring in pain, the Blood-Red Baboon released a mist of blood around its body. Its already massive frame swelled further, its black fur glowing with a crimson sheen, filling the air with nauseating blood stench.
Its muscles bulged grotesquely, its fangs lengthened, and its powerful form seemed to make the very air tremble.
"ROAR—!"
The beast's name came not just from its crimson eyes. Once it smelled blood, it became uncontrollably feral, its rationality slipping away.
Normally, the best response to such a berserk state was to avoid direct confrontation and drag the fight out.
Bloodlust, though powerful, lasted only a short time and left the beast weak afterward.
But Dai Huabin did not retreat. He chose the most direct, savage approach: head-on combat!
With the White Tiger Barrier and Vajra Transformation empowering him, he became like a humanoid beast, his fearlessness shocking all the students watching.
Each crushing blow from the baboon cracked his protective barrier, but each slash of his claws left fresh wounds on its body.
The thousand-year Blood-Red Baboon's Bloodlust skill could last only three minutes, and with blood loss hastening its weakness, the time was even shorter.
In the end, Dai Huabin endured until the beast's frenzy ended.
His whole body was drenched in blood, gasping heavily.
The baboon's enormous form collapsed to the ground, powerless to rise again, weakened by both backlash and its many injuries.
The gruesome scene left most students from both classes pale, some girls retching.
Only Zhu Lu's eyes shone with fervor. To her, this was the man she admired most. She liked Dai Huabin's raw strength.
After nearly a year of silence, the confident, arrogant boy she remembered had returned.
The baboon was quickly taken away by arena staff. With the vitality of soul beasts, half a month of rest would be enough for it to recover.
Du Weilen's frown finally eased.
"Dai Huabin, you faced the highest level thousand-year beast. Your combat displayed the advantages of a Power Attack battle soul master, so you receive the full base score of 100. However, your technique was lacking, so you score 40 out of 50 in combat skill. Your final score is 140. You pass the advancement assessment."
In this assessment, the base score depended on the beast's level. A hundred-year beast gave only 10 points, two hundred years 20, and so on. Combat skill was scored out of 50.
In other words, if you chose a hundred-year beast, the maximum possible score was 60. To pass, you would have to fight flawlessly to earn the full score.
Of course, that was only theoretical. In the history of Shrek Academy, no student had ever passed by challenging only a hundred-year beast.
By contrast, a thousand-year beast gave a base of 100 points, plus up to 50 in skill, for a maximum of 150. But this did not mean facing one guaranteed success. If you performed poorly, like being instantly defeated or needing to be rescued, you could even receive negative skill points.
Hearing his final score of 140, Dai Huabin's emotions surged. Standing in the center of the field, he cast a piercing gaze toward Xu Zihuang at the head of Class One's line.
It was as though he were demanding an answer:
"Give me time to catch up?"
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