Cang Jingkong was utterly speechless.
This trial was originally designed to test the candidates' adaptability, reaction speed, and—most importantly—courage.
When faced with those massive guillotine gates, with such a short window to react, one's adaptability had to be razor-sharp. And adaptability was always built on the foundation of courage.
Many of the examinees were strong enough in raw ability—plenty of them had the speed to dash through the guillotine gates without issue.
But when confronted with those enormous blades, the sheer fear in their hearts shattered the nerves of most under-fifteen-year-olds on the spot. Many froze completely, paralyzed with terror, unable to move forward at all.
For many of the candidates, this was the hardest trial of all.
The time limit, combined with the mortal danger, left them with no chance to pass.
In fact, in this single round alone, nearly half of the examinees were eliminated. In the first trial, the spiritual assessment, most could still pass, since they were all carefully selected elites from major cities, and their spiritual power wasn't too weak.
The second round, the Beast Arena, also allowed them to display their combat power. Overall, the scores were decent.
But here—faced with a test of courage, survival, and judgment—the majority failed. Only those with strong hearts could hope to get through.
And then Forse…
She simply turned into a bolt of lightning, streaked across in a single breath, and was done. Courage? There hadn't even been a chance to test it.
"Four seconds!"
That was Forse's final clear time.
"If it were Kamui, I could've gone even faster," she thought to herself as she landed.
"Teacher Cang, this round should be full marks, right?" Forse asked with a bright smile.
"Yes… full marks, ten points."
Cang Jingkong tried her hardest to keep her expression calm, not wanting to look utterly stunned, and answered lightly before moving on ahead.
A moment ago, she had been worrying whether to secretly make things a little easier for this girl. Continuous assessments were no easy feat, after all.
But now, she realized her worry was pointless. Forse had cleared three rounds in a row—and every single one with full marks. For most students, the third trial was a nightmare. For her? She hadn't even blinked.
That terrifying speed—Cang Jingkong couldn't even guarantee she could match it in such a short distance. This was very likely the fastest passing record in the entire history of Shrek Academy.
Gravity manipulation, spatial movement, water and earth fusion marsh, ice element mastery, and now the ability to transform into lightning!
What in the world was this girl's Martial Soul?
Cang Jingkong's curiosity was burning out of control. But as the examiner, she couldn't just openly ask. Fortunately, the next round of testing might reveal some answers.
With that thought, her steps unconsciously quickened. She led Forse back inside the building, walking down the corridor until they reached the second floor.
Here, the décor changed. The walls were white, the ceiling the same, but inscribed with strange golden patterns.
"These are… soul tool schematics."
Forse only glanced at them briefly before recognizing what they were.
That was thanks to her original body, which had once studied soul tools in an attempt to gain more self-protection methods. Later, after becoming a half-god and abandoning science for mysticism, the research was dropped.
But as a kind of memorial to that dream, her body had once parasitized a senior figure in the Skysea City Soul Tool Association—an eighth-rank Soul Engineer.
As Forse's second profession was Designer, she had even sought out her body's memories and insights as an eighth-rank soul engineer. Because of that, she could now understand these schematics with ease.
To note—Forse's secondary profession was: Rank 5 Designer.
Lost in thought, she followed until they arrived in a large room.
Cang Jingkong pointed to a chair off to the side.
"Wait here for a moment. I'll go invite the examiners. This round tests your specialty.
Only one specialty will be tested, so think carefully about which one you want to display. It should be your primary specialty—something tied to your own strength."
With that, she turned and left.
She didn't even bother to ask if Forse needed rest. Having seen her clear the first three rounds with her own eyes, she knew the girl had barely spent any energy.
And given her personality, even if Cang Jingkong suggested resting, Forse would only insist on finishing the assessment quickly.
Within five minutes, Cang Jingkong returned—this time bringing three people. Two middle-aged men and one elderly woman.
The old woman leaned on a cane as she slowly entered, taking the central seat behind a long table. The two middle-aged men showed her great respect, only sitting once she was seated. Cang Jingkong remained standing at the side.
Forse, on the other hand, looked at the three calmly, her expression unchanging.
The old woman studied her composure and nodded.
"Not flustered under pressure. A fine seedling indeed. Little girl, we will be your examiners for this round. Remember—you only have one chance. Show us what you're best at."
Forse stepped forward. She didn't bow, just gave a slight nod as if greeting ordinary people.
"I'll begin."
Even Cang Jingkong felt a little nervous on her behalf. This was probably the most arrogant examinee Shrek Academy had ever seen—treating the examiners as equals instead of showing due respect.
The old woman narrowed her eyes, leaning back in her chair.
"Go ahead."
Forse lifted her hand slightly—but did not summon her Martial Soul.
To her, there was no need. She only summoned it when she needed to replicate another's abilities. Using her own powers required no such formality.
And then—
"Black, black, black, black…"
Four pitch-black soul rings rose from beneath her feet.
Even Cang Jingkong, who had already seen them once, found her breath hitching at the sight again.
"Ten-thousand-year soul rings!"
All three examiners, including the old woman, shot to their feet in shock.
The elderly examiner—Cai Yue'er—immediately furrowed her brow and extended her spiritual power to probe carefully.
A moment later, she exhaled slowly.
They were real. Absolutely real. With her level of spiritual power, there was no possibility of error.
And that made it all the more unbelievable.
A Soul Ancestor's fourth ring being ten thousand years—this wasn't unheard of at Shrek Academy. Geniuses had achieved it, especially now with the Spirit Ascension Platform helping boost ring age.
But a Soul Ancestor with all four rings at the ten-thousand-year level?
In the entire history of Shrek Academy, this had never once happened!
This wasn't someone who had raised her rings later through the Ascension Platform. No—she had all four soul rings at the ten-thousand-year level right now.
That meant the girl before them had at least Spirit Sea Realm spiritual power as a baseline… and a physical body not inferior to a Soul Sage.