SWNOVELXO Chapter 94: Chapter 101: The Simp's Awakening
Time flew by, and soon it was time for the academy's promotion assessment. Regardless of whether Huo Yuhao returned, Xie Huanyue and the others had to undergo their own promotion assessment.
Just as in the original novel, the second-year promotion assessment was held in the Beast Dueling Area. As the largest exclusive area in the entire Shrek Academy, and also its largest structure, the Beast Dueling Area occupied as much land as all the martial soul department's teaching buildings, dormitory buildings, and Shrek Plaza combined.
The Beast Dueling Arena was a place specially provided for the students of Shrek Academy to conduct practical combat training and assessments. The second-year students were to receive their promotion assessment in the Beast Dueling Arena.
Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Cao Jinxuan had all obtained their third soul ring during this vacation. Facing an ordinary thousand-year soul beast was not a big problem, and they won easily. Dai Huabin, as the only four-ring Soul Ancestor in the class, was even more so like in the original novel, directly killing a thousand-year soul beast with forceful means to pass the assessment.
Xie Huanyue and the others in the auxiliary Class Three did not need to participate in this assessment. Their soul power levels were sufficient to be directly promoted to the second year. And even if they didn't participate in the beast dueling assessment, no one would question their combat power.
Excluding Huo Yuhao, who could unleash a Soul Sage-level strike, Xie Huanyue and Cui Yejie were invincible among the first-years. After all, in the new student assessment half a year ago, the two of them had single-handedly dominated the four-ring Dai Huabin.
After the promotion assessment, everyone still couldn't wait for Huo Yuhao's return. Instead, they waited for the invitation to the Treasure Appraisal Fair, which only core disciples could attend.
As a grand event opened by the higher-ups of Shrek for the academy's core disciples, there was naturally no shortage of good things at the Treasure Appraisal Fair. In the original text, Wang Dong's Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone was also obtained here. It was just that the consumption during this period was based on the students' future advance payments, which was also a means for Shrek Academy to rope in talented but poor students.
Xie Huanyue and Cui Yejie were very clear about this and had been told by Huo Yuhao long ago, so they just turned a blind eye to it.
In contrast, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Cao Jinxuan's group enthusiastically participated in this year's Treasure Appraisal Fair. Because the academy had guessed Cao Jinxuan's background, the credit limit assessed for him at the fair was extremely low, so he couldn't take anything away.
Wang Dong still smoothly obtained that left arm bone. It was just that Xu Sanshi had stepped forward to get it for her. This made Wang Dong feel grateful to him, and at the same time, a different kind of emotion rose in her heart.
Xu Sanshi also didn't understand his own psychology. He just felt that he was inexplicably attracted to Wang Dong, even though Wang Dong was still a boy on the outside.
Since the start of the new school year, Xu Sanshi had been pursuing Jiang Nannan as usual. The latter still had that appearance of not giving him the time of day. This made Xu Sanshi feel constantly frustrated, and the heart he had placed on her gradually lessened.
He was a simp, that's true, but he was also one of the twin stars of the outer court alongside Bei Bei, and a relative of the Dou Ling imperial family. How could he not have pride in his heart?
That night, he had not actually gotten Jiang Nannan's body, which caused his legacy martial soul to only evolve halfway. Afterward, out of guilt for her, Xu Sanshi had even been taking care of her family to this day, but this still failed to win the beauty's heart.
Later, sometimes Xu Sanshi couldn't help but laugh at himself. For a girl who acted pure after doing that, was it really worth it for him to be like this? If it were someone else, would Jiang Nannan also sell herself for money?
Every time he thought of this, Xu Sanshi's heart couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Ever since that day Wang Dong had thrown herself into his arms and cried, he had begun to pay attention to this cross-dressing student. Before the end of the last school year, he had even proactively joined the Tang Sect. Who knows what he was after? Every day, gathering with Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Bei Bei and Tang Ya's group, he felt particularly relaxed and comfortable.
He didn't have to compromise himself to be that simp, nor did he have to pretend to be reserved to maintain a good image in front of Jiang Nannan.
After the Treasure Appraisal Fair, the five of them—Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Cao Jinxuan, plus Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi—along with Jiang Nannan who had come to visit Tang Ya, and including He Caitou, a disciple of the soul tool department who often hung out with them because of his relationship with the Zhou Yi couple, the seven of them gathered together to discuss the melee selection to be held in the Soul Dueling Area three days later.
Bei Bei was the only one who knew the inside story. After all, his great-grandfather was the current master of the Sea God Pavilion. Through his mouth, he explained the true meaning of this melee selection to the other six—
The spots for the preparatory team for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament!
The moment this news came out, the other six couldn't sit still. One must know, this was not just an opportunity to broaden their horizons and train themselves, but also a default spot for the official team in the next Soul Dueling Tournament four years later!
At their age, who wouldn't want to show their style in front of all the soul masters on the continent? What's more, they could even get the qualification to compete for the title of Shrek Seven Devils in the future because of this!
The glorious title of the Shrek Seven Devils had been passed down for a full ten thousand years! It was said that the original Seven Devils had eventually ascended to become gods one after another, leaving behind endless legends.
In order to win the seven spots in this selection tournament, even someone as self-righteous as Jiang Nannan had to temporarily abandon her prejudice against a certain someone and join in the discussion of the combat plan.
Three days passed quickly. After class this day, all the core disciples were re-energized. They knew that the selection tournament was about to begin. However, what was different from what they had imagined was that the assessment did not take up their class time but was held after school in the afternoon...
The number of core disciples in Wang Dong's year was extremely large, more than in any previous year. In their Class One alone, there were more than a dozen people including her. Adding the few from Class Two and Huo Yuhao's group from Class Three, that was more than twenty people. This was extremely rare in the outer court of Shrek Academy.
The third and fourth years above them, added together, were only about this number.
Leaving the classroom, Wang Dong's group of three saw Xie Huanyue, Cui Yejie, and the three girls from Wu Feng's group also leaving their classroom on the other side of Class Three. Under the leadership of their head teacher, Mu Jin, they also walked outside.
Cao Jinxuan was worried he wouldn't have a chance to wash away his previous shame. He wanted to let the students of Shrek understand that his Body Sect's second-awakened body martial soul was the strongest on the continent!
All twenty-something core disciples of the second year, under the leadership of the three teachers, left the teaching building and went all the way to the Soul Dueling Area.
After waiting for a short while, Wang Dong's group saw the people from their Tang Sect appear.
Senior Brother Bei Bei, Second Senior Brother Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan appeared in their line of sight one after another. They were all fifth-year core disciples.
The most eye-catching were still the twin stars, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi. In the fifth year, there were of course more than just the three of them as core disciples, but they were the only three who had not yet passed their fifteenth birthday. Apart from Huo Yuhao's team, they were the strongest in cultivation among all the core disciples of the outer court.
A cultivation level of a three-ring Soul Elder was still very common in the outer court, but when it came to the four-ring Soul Ancestor level, there were almost very few students below the fifth year who could reach it.
In fact, besides Bei Bei's group of three, among the core disciples who had arrived today, there were no other four-ring level existences. The core disciples of the third and fourth years arrived one after another. And on the soul tool department's side, indeed only He Caitou had come alone. The total number of people finally settled at thirty-five. Among them, the second-year core disciples accounted for a large half.
The students of different classes from each grade all stood behind their own class teacher, waiting quietly. Although this core disciple selection assessment had come somewhat inexplicably, and there was no penalty, to be able to become a core disciple, which one of them was not an exceptionally talented person? The better the talent, the stronger the confidence naturally was. No one was willing to lose easily.
Just then, a swaying, aged figure slowly walked over from a distance. Looking at the way he swayed every three steps, it seemed as if he could fall at any moment.
The visitor was none other than the number one fun-lover of Shrek Academy, the Taotie Douluo, Elder Xuan. He casually greeted Wang Yan and was the first to walk into the Soul Dueling Area.
Everything in the Soul Dueling Area was still the same, but today there seemed to be no teachers here, nor were there any students here for soul dueling.
Elder Xuan walked all the way to the center of the Soul Dueling Area before stopping. The core disciples also stood still under the leadership of their teachers.
Just like in the original novel, Elder Xuan said in a muffled voice, "All you core disciples, listen up. The content of the core disciple selection assessment you are about to undergo is very simple. This old one calls it a collective great melee! Within this Soul Dueling Area, you can attack at will. Fight however you want! There are no rules! Those who surrender or are rescued out are considered eliminated. In the end, only seven people can remain, and they will be the victors. In a moment, when this old one shouts start, you can start fighting."
"This is okay too?" Hearing Elder Xuan say this, these students couldn't help but widen their eyes, looking at each other in dismay. They had never seen this kind of assessment method before. This was thirty-five people! And everyone's cultivation and specialty were different. What could be assessed from such a chaotic battle?
Only the seven from Wang Dong's group, who knew the inside story beforehand, secretly exchanged a glance, knowing what was going on.
The teachers of each class all withdrew from the Soul Dueling Area. Before the students in the Dueling Area could react, Elder Xuan suddenly raised the wine gourd in his hand and shouted, "Begin!"
With a "swoosh," Elder Xuan's body disappeared. In the Dueling Arena, only these thirty-five outer court core disciples were left. The change was simply too sudden. So much so that the moment after Elder Xuan shouted "begin," all the students except for Wang Dong's group of seven appeared briefly dazed.
However, they were after all the leaders among their peers. Each of them immediately made a different choice.
Cao Jinxuan's reaction was the fastest. He reached out with both hands at the same time, grabbing the hands of Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao respectively. The Time Elapsing Clock martial soul behind him suddenly shone with a great light, taking the two people beside him and quickly rushing towards Bei Bei's direction.