NOVEL WEB Chapter 55: Chapter 58: The Noob-Stomping Begins
The next morning, Huo Yuhao reluctantly left the bed. When he walked out of Ma Xiaotao's residence, his feet couldn't help but feel a sense of weak-ness and buoyancy. Fortunately, it wasn't as intense as the time with Zhongli Yu, so at least it wouldn't affect today's assessment.
The academy's new student assessment area was located in the north-central part of the martial soul department, adjacent to the Soul Dueling Area. Compared to the Soul Dueling Area on the other side, the assessment area was much larger. For the students of all grades in Shrek Academy's outer court, this place was a paradise for outstanding students to show themselves, but also a nightmare for low-cultivation students. Every year, a large number of students would be eliminated because they couldn't pass the new student assessment or the annual assessment, and most of these assessments were conducted in this area.
The academy's assessment area was oval-shaped, unlike the enclosed stadium of the Soul Dueling Area. The assessment area was an open space, with a low wall around the periphery, and the interior was divided into individual areas by partitions made of special stone. The size of these areas could be changed by controlling the partitions with soul tool facilities.
In previous years, the new student assessment was when the assessment area was divided into the most sections. This was not only because of the large number of new students, but also because the destructive power and attack range of one or two-ring new students were limited, so they didn't need a very large area, which was enough for them to display their abilities.
The entire assessment area of the academy was about 20,000 square meters, divided into fifty areas, each about 400 square meters, forming a square platform with sides of twenty meters. For new students who generally only had one or two-ring cultivation, this was already enough.
After the tense grouping and registration in the morning, the assessment would officially begin in the afternoon.
Because it was the first day of the assessment, in order to let all the new students adapt first, each group only needed to conduct one match today before they could leave. The academy would dispatch fifty teachers of Soul Emperor level or above to conduct the assessment registration in these fifty areas respectively.
The opponents for today's assessment duels had already been matched by drawing lots at noon. The academy also tried its best to ensure that in the future ten-round robin matches, teams from the same class would not meet. Except for New Student Class One taught by Zhou Yi, which had less than twenty groups of members, the other classes generally had more than thirty groups. Unless they were students who performed particularly poorly during the new student period, the teachers of the new student classes would generally not easily eliminate them before the new student assessment, and would always give them a chance to be assessed.
Studying at Shrek Academy, the competition among students was undoubtedly fierce and cruel. But it was precisely because of this that the students worked harder under the tense atmosphere, stimulating their own potential, thus forming the ever-victorious situation of Shrek Academy that had not declined for ten thousand years.
The three members of Team Shi-Hi-Kai were assigned to Area Sixty-Six. After Xie Huanyue and the other saw Huo Yuhao in the waiting area, they came over together. The area division was not easy to find, but fortunately, each area had a clear sign. After some time, they found their own combat zone.
The other students from various classes who were also participating in the competition had also arrived. Some looked apprehensive, while others were rubbing their fists together, eager to start. After all, they were all still eleven or twelve-year-old children and couldn't hide their feelings at all. When they looked at each other, they very clearly showed hostility. After all, it was very likely that only half of them would be able to stay. And although the assessment had as many as ten matches, each match was equivalent to being related to their future.
"All new students, please pay attention! All new students, please pay attention! Please enter the assessment area immediately and prepare to participate in the new student assessment! There are ten minutes left to enter. Those who are late will be considered as having forfeited this assessment!"
A huge broadcast sound echoed throughout the entire outer court, loud enough to be heard in every corner. The faces of the new students immediately became serious. Their first assessment was about to begin. It would definitely be a lie to say they weren't nervous.
Huo Yuhao wore a loose black robe and had his Soul-Slaying Blade strapped directly to his back. Soul tools were not allowed in the assessment, but the Soul-Slaying Blade was a weapon affiliated with his martial soul and was not on this list. Generally speaking, soul masters rarely used weapons, unless they were using soul tools. Huo Yuhao, who possessed a divine weapon, was clearly an exception.
Xie Huanyue's left hand rested on Huo Yuhao's shoulder, his body leaning diagonally against him. He chuckled, "A piece of cake. Just stomping noobs."
This time, Cui Yejie did not say that Xie Huanyue was being arrogant. She turned her resentful gaze towards Huo Yuhao. It was clear this girl still remembered what Ning Tian and the other two girls had said yesterday.
When the three of them displayed their abilities, although they did not use their full strength with each other, their configuration was undoubtedly at the pinnacle of the new students. Xie Huanyue alone was enough to deal with most teams. Coupled with Huo Yuhao's strange abilities, there was indeed no one among the students of the same grade who could be their opponent.
Huo Yuhao had long known that the championship reward was nothing more than three ordinary soul bones. He smiled and said in a low voice to the two of them, "We don't necessarily have to win the championship."
Xie Huanyue and Cui Yejie both nodded at him. They were both led by Huo Yuhao. If he didn't care about the final ranking, then they might as well let it go. It was not difficult for them to pass the assessment at all. Even if they wanted to win the final championship, it probably wouldn't be too much trouble.
But how important was the new student assessment to the other students? The reminder from the soul tool broadcast wasn't really necessary. All the students had already arrived at their designated areas and were well-prepared.
At the same time, a teacher who looked to be about forty years old came to Area Thirty-Three, where Wang Dong's team was. He had a very ordinary appearance, without any intimidating aura, and always had a smile on his face, looking very amiable, an absolute world of difference from Zhou Yi.
He counted the number of people and then nodded with a smile. "Very good. We have a total of four groups of students for the assessment here, and they have all arrived. Let me first introduce myself. My name is Wang Yan, and I will be your assessment teacher for the next two days."
"Hello, Teacher Wang," the students hurriedly bowed to him in salute.
Wang Yan was not a person who cared much about etiquette, otherwise he wouldn't have shown his affection to a female student in the subsequent original novel. He chuckled and said, "No need for so many formalities. My teaching habit has always been to treat all new students as friends. From now until the end of the assessment, you are all my lovely little friends. So, I don't want to see anyone get hurt."
"Although this assessment will decide whether you can stay in the academy to continue your studies, I must remind everyone here that this is just an assessment. You must not intentionally injure or maim your opponents. Otherwise, I can only ask him to leave and report it to the academy."
Wang Yan spoke very gently and understatedly, and he didn't even say what the consequences of injuring an opponent were. But in order to pass the academy's assessment, even though these students were all very cunning, in the assessment duel, for themselves and for their partners, they could only go all out. They just nodded one after another to show that they understood.
Wang Yan was very satisfied with the recognition these students gave him and said with a smile, "In that case, let's begin. The sooner the competition ends, the sooner you can go back and cram. Having a sense of urgency is actually a good thing."
As he spoke, Wang Yan took out the folder he was carrying and opened it. After a glance, he looked up and read, "First round, first match of the assessment. New Student Class One: Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Cao Jinxuan. New Student Class Three: Ouyang Junyi, Chen Junfeng, Zhao Haochen."
"You may enter the field, each in a corner. You can only release your martial souls after I say the match begins. Alright, enter the field."
Four groups of students. Today, this Area Thirty-Three would hold three matches. Wang Dong and his team didn't expect to be the first to go up. After exchanging a glance, they quickly walked into the field and stood still in the northwest corner.
After a period of cooperation, the positioning of the three of them was also well-thought-out. Wang Dong stood at the very front, Xiao Xiao second, and Cao Jinxuan stood in the corner at the very back. And the three students on the other side naturally chose the southeast corner.
The three students from New Student Class Three were all boys, and they all looked quite good. The tallest one was Ouyang Junyi, who had the best looks. Although there was still a gap compared to the new student school grass, Wang Dong, his figure looked much stronger. Chen Junfeng beside him was not short but very slender. The last one, Zhao Haochen, was a little fatty, his belly round and rolling, with an innocent smile on his face.
Seeing that both sides had taken their positions, a serious look appeared on Wang Yan's face, and he said, "Assessment, begin."
Both sides instantly released their martial souls at the same time. Although Cao Jinxuan was standing in the corner, under his deliberate control, the Time Elapsing Clock was coincidentally blocked by Wang Dong and the other in front. Xiao Xiao in front also released her Three Lives Soul-Calming Cauldron at the same time, and the large black cauldron quickly took shape above her head.
Wang Dong, confident in his own strength, acted even more directly. With a flash of his figure, he rushed out. While he was in mid-air, a pair of dazzling blue-purple wings had already spread out. The sparkling golden light patterns and the dazzling wings shocked both his opponents and Wang Yan, who was supervising the match. His pair of wings was too beautiful and eye-catching, so much so that the limelight of Xiao Xiao and Cao Jinxuan behind him was completely overshadowed.
Their opponents were also well-prepared and had all released their martial souls at the first moment: a chicken leg, a Sword-Beaked Hummingbird, and a soft sword.
It was clear that these three pitiful one-ring bugs were all cannon fodder to be served up, and it wouldn't be long before they became stepping stones for Wang Dong's team of three.
On the other side, Huo Yuhao's team of three also entered in the sixth match under the supervision of the responsible teacher of the area. Compared to the cannon fodder fish on Wang Dong's side, their opponents were a team composed of three two-ring soul masters.
"New student first round, sixth match assessment. Team Shi-Hi-Kai versus Team All-Star! New Student Class Nine: Huo Yuhao, Xie Huanyue, Cui Yejie. New Student Class Eight: Cai Xudi, Ma Baoguo, Gou Luanshi."