Chapter 57: Three Months, the Freshmen Examination

Time is much like a woman’s youth: in the morning it ascends, brimming with fragrance, but by evening, looking into the mirror, the reflection has withered and grown sallow.

In the blink of an eye, nearly three months had passed.

Today was an important day. For once, Ning Wuque skipped his usual training regimen. The "non-existent entity," who had vanished from the classroom ever since the semester began, finally made his presence known in a classroom that felt almost unfamiliar to him.

"Look, Ning Wuque actually came to class! That violent maniac."

"I will not allow you to speak of Lord Wuque, the embodiment of might, in such a manner! You have simply never witnessed his grace and brilliance during a soul duel. That is not violence; that is the very wind of supreme might!"

"I want so badly to form a team with him. If we did, passing the freshman assessment would be an absolute certainty, and taking first place would be as easy as reaching out and grabbing it."

"Stop dreaming. He belongs to Ning Tian's camp. Although they are technically young sect master and bodyguard, their dynamic is unexpectedly, unbelievably shipping-material-level sweet, ahhhhh!!!"

Three months were enough to change many things.

Although the academy's journalism club lacked the courage to openly publicize the delicate relationship between Ning Wuque and Ning Tian, their usual daily interactions had long since surpassed anything ordinary friends might do.

Almost every day, during the grand soul duels, one could see that young maiden stepping forward to offer her tender care to Ning Wuque the moment the match concluded.

There were also the times they strolled hand in hand along the shores of Sea God Lake, shopped together in Shrek City, and shared delicious food amid peals of joyful laughter.

While they might not have been utterly inseparable, intimate interactions could be observed between them on a daily basis.

Therefore, rumors concerning the two of them had spread far and wide over the past three months, yet this only served to make Ning Tian even bolder! She had not the slightest intention of toning things down.

After all, the brilliance radiating from Ning Wuque nowadays was simply too dazzling—so dazzling that she could find no reason whatsoever to keep hiding it.

He held an unassailable, cliff-like lead in first place—a first place earned by crushing senior students with sheer physical prowess!

Refraining from kissing Ning Wuque outright was the absolute greatest concession she had ever made to her father!

"Tomorrow is a most crucial day. It concerns whether or not you will be able to continue your studies here at Shrek Academy. Only by passing the freshman assessment can you become official students of the academy!"

Mu Jin stood upon the podium, her expression solemn, both hands pressed flat against the desk. Her gaze flickered toward Ning Wuque, who was seated at the desk beside Ning Tian. The corners of her mouth curved upward as if recalling something immensely amusing, and she continued:

"The assessment will be conducted in the form of team battles with three members per group. Each group of students will undergo at least ten high-intensity battles, and rankings will be determined based on the number of victories.

"In total... leaving the academy... knockout rounds... The top four teams of this freshman assessment will all receive extra rewards from the academy. Right, class assignments will be reorganized after the freshman assessment, so please write down your future cultivation path and hand it in. Ning Tian, if you would be so kind."

***

With that, Mu Jin asked Ning Tian to distribute a stack of small slips of paper.

The latter stood up, took the stack from Mu Jin's hands, divided them into several portions, and handed them to the students in the first row to pass backward.

After receiving his slip of paper, Ning Wuque had no intention of playing any clever tricks; he obediently wrote down "Assault System" and handed it back in.

"As for how you form your teams, handle it amongst yourselves. Teacher will take her leave now; there will be no class today, so make the most of this time to relax, and remember to be at your absolute sharpest tomorrow!"

Mu Jin announced after collecting the slips of paper, and then, amidst the cheerful laughter of her students, she left the classroom with a beaming smile.

Originally, she hadn't held out much hope when the neighboring class produced two Assault System Soul Elders this year, but who could have anticipated a sudden, pleasant surprise that promised her a promotion and a raise? With Ning Wuque around, claiming the championship of this freshman assessment was as easy as reaching out and taking it!

Most importantly, she would finally be able to march right up to her former archrival and romantic rival to gloat in person. Hahahaha! How utterly delightful!

Humming a light tune all the way, Mu Jin walked happily toward her office, leaving behind a group of young soul masters who had already begun pairing up into teams.

Mu Jin had already explained the rules of the competition beforehand, so there was no danger of anyone committing the blunder of having three Auxiliary System soul masters team up.

"Wuque~"

Without any exception, the moment Ning Wuque stood up and walked over to Ning Tian's side, she rested her chin in her hands, propped her elbows on the desk, and looked up at him with a beaming smile.

On her other side stood Wu Feng, one hand on her hip. As expected, the three of them would form a team.

A team whose sheer paper-stat strength alone was enough to plunge every other team in the entire grade into despair!

Ning Tian: Level 32 Auxiliary System Vessel Soul Elder, possessing three auxiliary soul skills that each amplified basic attributes by thirty-two percent.

Wu Feng: Level 26 Assault System Battle Soul Master, whose actual combat capability rivaled that of a regular three-ring Beast Martial Soul Soul Elder.

Ning Wuque: Level 23 Assault System Battle Soul Master, an absolute bug-like existence whose full burst could match or exceed the stats of at least a top-tier four-ring Beast Martial Soul Soul Ancestor, and a monster capable of trading blows evenly with Soul Elders under normal conditions.

With a lineup like this, even if their opponents included a top-tier Soul Ancestor, that opponent might still be brought to bitter defeat!

"Right, soul tools are not permitted in the freshman assessment, so I won't participate in matches that don't pose any real difficulty. I'll leave those to you, Wu Feng. That's fine by you, isn't it?"

With a helpless expression, Ning Wuque turned to ask Wu Feng. He had no desire to repeatedly remove his heavy training apparatus and put it back on; doing so would somewhat compromise his imposing demeanor.

Aside from the teams belonging to Pipi Xiang and Dai Huabin, Wu Feng should be more than enough to handle the rest. As for Huo Yuhao...

***

As an aside, Ning Wuque had already spoken with him about Wang Dong's martial soul two months ago, so things shouldn't go awry there.

Even so, just to be safe, he would still step into the arena to hold down the fort when the time came.

"Very well, leave it to me, you can rest assured! Ning Tian and I are invincible together! By the way, when are you planning to upgrade this set of training gear?"

"Let's wait until it's almost stopped being effective. Being frugal is always the right choice."

Reaching out to touch his shoulder, Ning Wuque replied.

A Level 6 soul tool generally lacked long-range storage capabilities, and Zhangang hadn't considered that issue at the time, failing to have the soul tool artisan who forged this training suit incorporate an auxiliary long-range storage soul array.

Although Ning Tian had wanted to upgrade it for him from the very beginning, after much thought, Ning Wuque had declined.

In any case, this set of soul tools would have to be replaced sooner or later; getting a new one then would not be too late.

Moreover, compared to storing and releasing things with a mere flick of the wrist, the heavy thud and vibration of the gear falling directly to the ground upon being removed on the spot was far more effective at shocking people, wasn't it?

Only by hearing its true weight with their own ears could people truly feel a sense of awe toward him!

"Mhm, just let me know when the time comes. My second older brother runs trade routes in the Sun Moon Empire and knows several Level 8 soul tool artisans. If we're going to buy, we should buy the best."

"Good!"

Ning Wuque nodded without declining. A Level 9 or even ultimate training gear was naturally an extravagant dream; such an item might eventually require troubling that fellow Huo Yuhao in the future, or paying a heavy price to place a custom order with Jing Hongchen in the Sun Moon Empire.

As for a Level 8 one, though... well, enjoying the perks of being kept wasn't shameful at all!

The three of them settled the matter right then and there.

In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived.

At eight o'clock the following morning, Shrek Academy's annual freshman assessment officially began!

Taking the stage first were Ning Tian's team—consisting of only two members stepping onto the platform—and three unfortunate souls hailing from Freshman Class Three.