Douluo Continent II: The Dragon King Suppresses the World!

Chapter 10 Freshman Assessment

In the blink of an eye, the first three months of study for the freshmen have passed. Under Zhou Yi's strict, almost obsessive, guidance, the first class of freshmen has undergone three months of rigorous training, and as many as sixty-five students remain.

In these three months, the student who changed the most in Class One of the freshmen was none other than Huo Yuhao. When he first entered the school, his soul power was only level eleven. However, three months later, Huo Yuhao was a completely different person. His talent was not particularly outstanding, nor was his ability exceptionally superior. But he was always the most diligent one among everyone.

Huo Yuhao's soul power broke through three levels in succession, and then broke through a bottleneck, settling at level seventeen. At this point, Huo Yuhao's cultivation had reached the average level of the students in his class. Through his relentless training, his soul power continued to improve over the past three months, and now, three months later, Huo Yuhao had reached the peak of level seventeen and was about to break through to level eighteen.

Compared to Huo Yuhao, Ye Qi'an's cultivation level has also improved significantly. He cultivated with Gu Yuena for three months, and his soul power level broke through one after another. With the assistance of spiritual objects, his cultivation progress can be described as rapid as a thousand miles a day. He is already close to the peak of level twenty-eight and may break through at any time. Even when facing the third layer of seal, he passed through steadily.

Meanwhile, Ye Qi'an was also developing new soul skills. With the power of his Golden Dragon King bloodline, developing new skills was not difficult. At first, Ye Qi'an deliberately practiced his self-created soul skills in front of Dragon God Douluo Mu'en, but Dragon God Douluo didn't pay much attention and was always drowsy.

However, under Ye Qi'an's repeated insistence, the Dragon God Douluo would occasionally offer some guidance to help him improve his self-created soul skills.

Gu Yuena's benefits were obvious; her injuries were healing at a visible rate. However, every time Ye Qi'an increased his soul power by one level, she would be one level higher than him, which left Ye Qi'an quite helpless.

"A true man walks between heaven and earth; how can he remain subservient to others for long!" Whenever Ye Qi'an uttered these words, Gu Yuena would make him experience the "perils" of life.

"Physical education class is suspended today." Zhou Yi stood behind the podium, her aged face still displaying that indifferent expression.

"Three months have passed since the start of the semester. You are about to face your first test to enter Shrek Academy. Only by passing the test can you officially become first-year students and truly become a member of Shrek Academy."

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, you should be able to continue your training at the academy at least until the first-year graduation exam. The assessment begins tomorrow, and today I will first explain the key points of the assessment to you, Huo Yuhao."

"Here." Huo Yuhao stood up instantly and responded respectfully.

Zhou Yi waved to Huo Yuhao, who quickly walked to the front of the class, took the stack of papers Zhou Yi handed him, and distributed them to every classmate without waiting for Zhou Yi's instructions.

Zhou Yi said, "After the freshman assessment is over, we will teach according to your individual aptitude. Write down your future cultivation direction and hand it to me later."

Huo Yuhao returned to his seat and was the last to write down his goal. Naturally, he wrote "control-type battle spirit master" and signed his name below. However, he didn't notice that Wang Dong next to him glanced at what he had written before starting to write down his own inclination.

Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena have different inclinations: one is the Golden Dragon King who excels in strength, and the other is the Silver Dragon King who excels in elemental control. Going in other directions would be putting the cart before the horse.

Zhou Yi said, "Now I will tell you the key points of the freshman assessment."

As she spoke, Zhou Yi turned and walked to the blackboard, sketched a few lines on it, and wrote the two large characters "battle" in the center of the blackboard.

Zhou Yi said calmly, "Our class currently has sixty-five students, which can be divided into twenty-one groups, leaving two people remaining. I have categorized you according to the characteristics of your respective martial souls, and after careful analysis, I have completed the group assignments for you."

"Let's start with the group assignments. The first group is Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena; you two will be in one group."

Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena got up almost at the same time. They had originally planned to be a pair, since they were already quite familiar with each other.

"The second group consists of Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao."

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stood up almost at the same time, along with a short and petite female student sitting in the front row.

"The third group consists of Zihao, Ma Qingshuang, and Leng Leng."

"Group Four..."

Zhou Yi may seem assertive, but after she announced the group assignments, every student felt a sense of relief.

"Alright, that's settled. If you have any objections, please raise them as soon as possible. I'll give you a day to consider them. Hand me the papers you have, and then you can go home. My ultimate goal for the new student assessment starting tomorrow is for all twenty-two groups to advance."

"Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao, the three of you stay here."

After Ye Qi'an, Gu Yuena, and the other students handed in blank sheets of paper with their future cultivation inclinations written on them, they all left the classroom and went back to their dormitories, leaving only Huo Yuhao and the other two behind.

Ye Qi'an could easily guess that Zhou Yi had kept the three of them behind because they had all written down the control element. Zhou Yi nearly fainted from anger after receiving the note. However, Zhou Yi also discovered that Xiao Xiao possessed twin martial souls, and among the three, only Wang Dong was truly unpredictable.

On the way back to the dormitory, Gu Yuena looked at Ye Qian and asked, "Are you capable of handling this competition?"

"If you don't make a move, even I will find it quite troublesome." Ye Qi'an shook his head slightly and said that there was indeed a problem in this freshman competition. Even he found it quite troublesome to deal with the Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

Gu Yuena pursed her lips and said, "I thought you didn't need my help."

Ye Qi'an smiled helplessly, "Of course I hope to fight alongside you and face challenges together. If the two of us join forces, who dares to say we are invincible?"

Nothing happened that night; Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena spent their time cultivating. The next morning, after breakfast, the two went to the teaching building. As soon as they entered the classroom, they felt a lively atmosphere.

After Zhou Yi's grouping yesterday, today every three students huddled together, whispering to each other.

"Bang, bang, bang." Three knocks rang out, and in the next instant, the whole class fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Zhou Yi stood at the classroom door, her right hand just lowered, the sound of her pounding on the door coming from just now.

Walking slowly to the podium, Zhou Yi maintained her icy expression. "I've submitted the participating teams' applications. The competition officially begins this afternoon. In the ten rounds, you won't meet each other, only students from other classes. My only instruction to you is this: whoever gets in your way of passing the assessment, beat them to a pulp. Alright, everyone disperse. Meet at the assessment area this afternoon." With that, she turned and left.

Shrek Academy's assessment area is located in the north-central part of the Spirit System, adjacent to the Spirit Battle Zone. Compared to the Spirit Battle Zone, the assessment area is much larger, and every year a large number of students are eliminated for failing the assessments. Most of these assessments are conducted in this assessment area.

The assessment area is oval-shaped, unlike the Soul Fighting Area which resembles an enclosed stadium; it is an open space. A low wall surrounds the area, while the interior is divided into sections by partitions that can be disassembled to resize the areas.

The annual freshman assessment is always the time when the assessment area is divided into the most areas. This is not only because there are a large number of freshmen, but also because the freshmen's destructive power and attack range are limited, so a large area is not needed for them to display their abilities.

The entire assessment area covers approximately 20,000 square meters and has now been divided into fifty zones, each about 400 square meters in size, forming a square with sides of 20 meters. For freshmen who generally only have cultivation levels of the first or second ring, this area is more than sufficient.

After a tense morning of group assignments, the afternoon assessments officially began. As today was the first day of the assessments, to allow the new students time to adjust, each group only completed one assessment session before leaving. The college dispatched fifty teachers to conduct assessment registration in fifty different areas. The teams competing in today's assessments were drawn into groups at noon. Efforts are being made to ensure that teams from the same class do not meet in the upcoming ten round-robin matches.

In the end, a total of 310 groups of students, comprising 929 individuals, participated in the new student assessment. Of these 310 groups, only 150 groups were able to remain and officially become first-year students to continue their studies; the rest were eliminated.

There are fifty regions for the new student assessment, with six or seven teams assigned to each region. Not only today, but they will also compete against other teams assigned to the same region tomorrow, until all teams have met, at which point they will be regrouped and each team will complete ten matches.

Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena were assigned to the 33rd district. If Ye Qi'an wasn't mistaken, they might encounter the same teams that Huo Yuhao's team faced in the original story. The district divisions were easy to find; each district had clear signs, and the two quickly found their assigned district.

Students from other classes who are also participating in the competition have arrived. Some are nervous, while others are eager to compete. It is likely that only half of them will be able to stay.

"Attention all freshmen! Attention all freshmen! Please proceed to the assessment area immediately to prepare for the freshman assessment. There are only ten minutes left to enter. Failure to do so will be considered a forfeit of this assessment." The loud announcement resounded throughout the entire outer courtyard, its sound carrying to every corner of the courtyard.

Most of the freshmen's faces turned serious. Their first assessment was about to begin, and it would be a lie to say they weren't nervous. Of course, there were exceptions. Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena were not nervous at all.

Although Gu Yuena had sealed her true strength, her control over her soul skills was almost effortless, while Ye Qian could simply overpower his opponents with brute force. Against beast-type soul masters, both of them possessed a natural bloodline advantage; against weapon-type soul masters, they could simply charge straight in.

Gu Yuena placed her left hand on Ye Qi'an's shoulder, leaning against him sideways. "Nervous?"

Ye Qi'an smiled slightly and said in a low voice, "Faced with the two of us, it is our opponents who should be nervous."

Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena exchanged a smile, their eyes filled with confidence and composure.

The freshman assessment is extremely important, and the academy's broadcast reminders via soul guide devices are actually not very effective, as all the students have already arrived at their designated areas and are ready.

A teacher who appeared to be around forty years old arrived in District 33. He had an ordinary appearance, no domineering air about him, and a kind smile on his face, making him seem very approachable. After counting the number of people, he smiled and nodded, saying, "Very good. We have six groups of students participating in the assessment, and everyone is present. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Wang Yan, and I will be your assessment teacher for the next two days."

"Hello, Teacher Wang." The students quickly bowed to him.

Wang Yan chuckled and said, "My coaching style has always been to treat everyone as friends, so I don't want to see anyone get hurt..."

The students who were able to enter Shrek Academy were all shrewd and naturally understood the meaning behind his words, nodding to show that they understood.

Wang Yan smiled and said, "In that case, let's begin. It's a good thing for you young people to feel a sense of urgency."

As he spoke, he took out a folder and opened it. He paused for a moment when he saw the team of only two people, but quickly recovered and looked up, saying, "First round, first match: Class 1: Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena; Class 3: Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, and Zhao Haochen. You may enter the arena now. Take your positions in the corners. You may release your martial spirits only after I say the match has begun. Enter the arena."

Six groups of trainees will be holding three matches in this 33rd district today. Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena quickly walked into the field and stood in the northwest corner.

The three students from Class 3 of the freshmen program were all boys, and all were good-looking. The tallest was Ouyang Junyi, who also had the best appearance. Next to him, Chen Junfeng was not short but very slender. At the very back was Zhao Haochen, a chubby boy with a round belly and a憨厚 (honest and simple) smile on his face.

Seeing that both sides had taken their positions, Teacher Wang Yan nodded and said, "The assessment begins."

The three students from Class 3 immediately released their martial spirits. Zhao Haochen, who was standing at the back, shouted, "Come on, my big chicken leg!"

A yellow soul ring rippled around his feet, and two beams of yellow light flashed in his hands. Instantly, two braised chicken drumsticks appeared in his hands, which he quickly handed to the two people in front of him.

While releasing their martial spirits, Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng quickly took the chicken legs and took a big bite.

Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng made their moves at the same time. One of them had a beast spirit and the other had a weapon spirit, but both were agility-type battle spirit masters.

Ouyang Junyi's martial soul is a sword-beaked hummingbird. After releasing his martial soul, a sharp spike quickly appeared on the front of his right arm. His martial soul is a bird, but he did not have wings until his cultivation level was high enough. Chen Junfeng's martial soul is a soft sword. All three of them are one-ring soul masters and possess yellow hundred-year soul rings.

.........

(End of this chapter)