As the last round of matches concluded in the evening, the first phase of the new student assessment officially came to an end.
Zhu Ziyang's team won all nine matches, making them one of the few undefeated teams, and they entered the knockout rounds as the seeded team of Assessment Venue Twelve!
"Sigh, so many classmates have left!" Tang Ya exclaimed as they left the classroom, a hint of sorrow on her delicate face.
"Yes, I really didn't expect the Academy to show no mercy at all!" Jiang Nannan also looked shaken, recalling the grim expression on Teacher Xia Yu's face in the classroom just now, and the painful, sad expressions of the classmates he called out. The kind-hearted girl couldn't help but feel sad.
After the ranking matches, all new student classes held class meetings. After the meetings, ten teams, a total of thirty students, from New Student Class Four left Shrek Academy.
The entire first year saw a hundred teams, three hundred students, leave!
"Don't worry about it," Zhu Ziyang said, seeing clearly, "For them, it's not entirely a bad thing. After all, with their aptitude, even if they were lucky enough to stay at the Academy, they would live extremely suppressed lives. The vast majority of people in the class are stronger than you, and their cultivation speed is faster than yours. You want to catch up, but you can never catch up. How desperate of a situation would that be!"
"..." Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya shivered slightly as they listened to Zhu Ziyang's words. Indeed, just thinking about it was oppressive.
Especially Tang Ya, who could already feel that pressure. After seeing Yu Beibei and Jiang Nannan successively break through to level 27 and 28, while she remained at level 22, she could clearly feel the gap between herself and true geniuses. The pressure was truly immense!
"I don't want to talk anymore!" Tang Ya said with a wry smile.
Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan exchanged glances, then helplessly waved their hands.
"Xiao Ya!" Yu Beibei called out to Tang Ya. Xu Sanshi and Xue Weiwei followed beside him.
"Bei Bei, how many people left your class?" Tang Ya asked.
"Fifty-one," Yu Beibei didn't speak, because Xu Sanshi answered for him.
"Why is the Academy so heartless!" Xue Weiwei's face was sorrowful, clearly dissatisfied with the cruel system.
"You'll get used to it," they could only say.
—
After the ranking matches, all students had one day of rest.
However, for teams that entered the knockout rounds and wanted to achieve a certain ranking, this day was not a rest day, but a tense day of preparation.
In the morning, Zhu Ziyang and the other two were called to the office by Xia Yu.
"Yu-ge, we're here." Zhu Ziyang, familiar with the routine, knocked on the office door, then pushed it open and walked in. Only Xia Yu was in the office.
"You're here!" Xia Yu's face immediately broke into a smile when he saw Zhu Ziyang and the other two, and he greeted them warmly.
"Yu-ge, what do you need us for? Is it to give us a reward?" Tang Ya said with a playful smile, teasing him.
"Hahaha!" Xia Yu couldn't help but laugh at her words, saying, "What good things are you thinking of?"
"If it's not to give us a reward, then why are you looking for us?" Tang Ya wasn't discouraged; it was just a joke, so why would she get angry? she said.
"Naturally, it's about tomorrow's knockout rounds!" Xia Yu's expression became serious as he spoke.
"So that's it!" Zhu Ziyang and the other two also became serious, no longer joking.
"You are the most promising team in our class to win the championship," Xia Yu said, his gaze sweeping from Zhu Ziyang to Jiang Nannan, then to Tang Ya, and finally returning to Zhu Ziyang, his face filled with hope, "If you have the ability, you must win this new student assessment! Because this may be the only new student assessment in your life, so don't leave any regrets."
"Don't worry, Yu-ge! Our goal was always the championship!" Zhu Zi Yang said, representing the three of them.
"Mm! That's best!" Xia Yu was very satisfied with Zhu Ziyang's statement. The serious expression on his face disappeared, and he smiled again, saying, "Didn't Xiao Ya ask if I had any rewards? While I don't, the Academy has prepared very generous rewards for the champions of this new student assessment!"
"Really? What kind of rewards?" When Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan heard about rewards, both their eyes lit up simultaneously. Jiang Nannan excitedly asked.
"I'm not clear about the specific rewards, but I can guarantee that this year's rewards are absolutely the most generous in fifty years!" Xia Yu swore, "It's said that Dean Yan of our Martial Soul Department personally selected them from the Inner Courtyard's treasure vault!"
Mentioning Yan Shaozhe and the Inner Courtyard, Xia Yu's face showed a hint of longing and reverence.
Hearing Xia Yu's words, Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya's excitement grew even more, while Zhu Ziyang's eyelids twitched slightly, his heart calm.
"Yu-ge, did you call us here just to talk about rewards?" Zhu Ziyang helplessly patted Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya, who were already immersed in the thought of rewards, then said to Xia Yu.
"Not really." Xia Yu smiled and handed out a form, saying, "This is the information for the top sixty-four teams from other classes. Take some time to study it. Although I have confidence in your strength, it's always better to be careful. It's good to do more work."
"Mm! I understand, thank you, Yu-ge!" Zhu Ziyang took the form and replied.
"Alright, I won't delay your time anymore. Go on," Xia Yu said.
"Goodbye, Yu-ge!" Zhu Ziyang and the other two left the office.
After leaving the office, the three found a quiet spot near Sea God Lake.
"Zhu Ziyang, let me see the team information," Tang Ya said.
"There's nothing to see. Besides Yu Beibei's group, which poses a threat, the other teams aren't worth mentioning," Zhu Ziyang said, but still handed the form to Tang Ya.
"What is the Spirit of that girl in Yu Beibei's team? I didn't see her fight last time," Jiang Nannan asked.
"Xue Weiwei, Spirit Yellow Crystal Profound Deer, a Level 25 control system Spirit Grandmaster," Tang Ya read.
"Yellow Crystal Profound Deer? What kind of Spirit is that?" Jiang Nannan looked at Zhu Ziyang in confusion.
"A very rare Spirit. It seems to be a control system Spirit that achieves its effect by applying negative statuses to opponents. We need to pay attention to her," Zhu Ziyang said, his eyes flashing with thought, "Although I'm not sure what the specific effects of Xue Weiwei's two Spirit Abilities are, if we encounter them, Nannan and Tang Ya, you should prioritize dealing with her."
"Mm! I understand," Jiang Nannan nodded.
"So what do we do now? Practice?" Tang Ya returned the team information to Zhu Ziyang and asked.
"No, go back and rest," Zhu Ziyang decisively refused.
"Ah?" Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya both looked at Zhu Ziyang in surprise, not expecting him to make such a decision.
"Hey!" Zhu Ziyang smiled helplessly as they looked at him, explaining, "We've been in intense combat for three consecutive days. Don't you understand the principle of balancing work and rest? Let's rest today. Tomorrow's knockout rounds are bound to be even more intense and tense, so we need to maintain our condition!"
"Alright!" Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya nodded. Tang Ya said, "Then I'm going back to the dorm to sleep. I haven't slept well these past few days!"
"What do you mean? Didn't you sleep very well yesterday, even snoring!" Jiang Nannan immediately exposed her, a teasing look on her face.
"Ah! Jiang Nannan, why did you say that!" Tang Ya immediately bristled and pounced on Jiang Nannan, while Jiang Nannan deftly turned and dodged her hand. The two girls playfully ran towards the dorm, with Zhu Ziyang following behind, a smile on his face.