As the referee announced the victory, more and more gazes fell upon Lu Cheng.
"Isn't he a soul engineer? I remember him being a Rank 3 Soul Engineer. Is he actually a freshman? Did he come from the Dou Ling Empire?"
"I also thought he was from the Soul Tool Department. To think he's a freshman—are all the freshmen this year such freaks?"
"A Devil King of the Outer Academy coming to compete for the top spot in the new student assessment... this is getting interesting. If I were the Dean, I'd just designate him a core disciple and be done with it..."
Many Shrek students discussed among themselves.
To put it bluntly, Shrek Academy was an academy for nobles, boasting no shortage of imperial princesses and princes. Consequently, the average level of attractiveness was staggering, with handsome men and beautiful women everywhere. Among them, many noble ladies and royal princesses looked at Lu Cheng with eyes that shone brightly.
Even if Jiang Nannan was the number one beauty of the Outer Academy, so what?
It was still uncertain who would end up devouring him.
"My dear Dean... are you still not going to act?" Du Weilun stood at the very front of the assessment area, shaking his head with a look of regret.
"In a little while, I'm afraid the Soul Tool Department will come sniffing around."
On the first day of the New Student Assessment, there was only one match for the whole day to allow the Disciples to familiarize themselves with the arena.
Starting from the second day, the frequency of the assessments increased to twice a day.
Lu Cheng and Ning Cong practically tore through the entire field, crushing everyone in their path with no rivals in sight.
Most of the time, Lu Cheng would act, and before Xue Linger could even tank any damage at the front, the opponents would already be on the ground or surrendering.
To use a bow and arrow as a long-range soul master and exert such suppressive force—Lu Cheng was truly one of a kind in recent years.
Four days passed in the blink of an eye.
The final assessment.
...
"Whew..."
Ma Xiaotao stood up from the spring water, crystal-clear droplets splashing and slowly sliding down her graceful and proud, fair body. The hazy mist obscured most parts, but the partial concealment made it exceptionally beautiful.
The young woman gently exhaled a puff of white mist and casually took a soft towel from the wall to wipe her body. She absentmindedly weighed her pair of snowy-white mounds, a hint of bashful annoyance flashing in her beautiful crimson phoenix eyes.
"That guy hasn't even touched them yet... That wretched scoundrel. During the three years I spent in the Holy Spirit Cult, I was clearly long since ripe for the taking, yet he insisted on acting like a gentleman. Hmph."
Ma Xiaotao bit her silver teeth lightly and muttered to herself.
"But Teacher said to go check out the New Student Assessment area... Sigh, if I weren't concerned about the Inner Court Graduation Assessment so I could leave early to travel the continent, I wouldn't be in the mood to watch a bunch of brats playing around."
"What 'Lu Cheng'? Only after coming out of the dream did I realize there are so many people named Lu Cheng—if not ten thousand, then at least eight thousand."
"He didn't even leave me any important information. Just searching for 'Lu Cheng' will take forever. Honestly..."
Ma Xiaotao grumbled while skillfully putting on her clothes.
The classic red and white uniform of the Inner Court.
Pushing open the dormitory door, two wings suddenly sprouted from her back as she rushed toward the Outer Academy like a meteor. Being able to enter Shrek Academy already filtered out the vast majority of 'Lu Chengs'; the probability was at least better than casting a net across the entire continent. Her mouth grumbled, but her body was very honest. After all... what if?
...
"It's the final knockout match." Du Weilun rubbed his chin, his eyes sparkling.
"In that case, we might as well make the match more intense."
With that, he made some changes to the schedule.
He adjusted the position of the original Yu Linglong team, placing them opposite Lu Cheng's team.
"I must get the Dean to pay attention as soon as possible. Those guys from the Soul Tool Department have already come sniffing around these past two days..." Du Weilun thought to himself, then looked up and nodded with a smile at Fan Yu, the director of the Soul Tool Department, who was watching from afar. "The weather is nice today."
"Hehe, looking at this little fellow, it seems his attainments in the Martial Soul Department aren't weak either." Fan Yu stood with his hands behind his back, a look of surprise in his eyes. They had actually noticed Lu Cheng long ago, but in their subconscious, given this young man's terrifying talent, he must have already become a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department... Though he didn't have the title yet, he must have already entered the vision of higher-ups like Yan Shaozhe. They were just waiting for this assessment to end to grant him core disciple status.
Thus, they didn't dare to come forward and snatch him directly.
Seeing Fan Yu's probing remarks and thinking of Dean Yan's laxity, Du Weilun felt frustrated. Fearing the dean's attitude would be discovered by the other side, he could only pretend to be nonchalant.
"Naturally..."
"Oh, Xiaotao, you're here too?" Du Weilun looked slightly surprised as a red silhouette suddenly appeared beside him.
"Teacher said to have me serve as one of the referees for this match, invigilating on his behalf," Ma Xiaotao said indifferently.
"Then what about the past few days?" Du Weilun was stunned.
"I forgot..." Ma Xiaotao's expression remained calm.
"Hehe, it's fine. It just so happens to be the finals today." Du Weilun's eye twitched. Ma Xiaotao was originally a direct descendant of the Sea Gods Pavilion in the Inner Court. Now that her Martial Soul had evolved, her status was approaching that of the next-generation successor, Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan. Dean Yan's move was likely intended to have this disciple take over his position.
He had no intention of "moving up." He knew his limits; his strength wasn't enough, and his seniority was lacking. Therefore, he was quite amiable toward this future superior.
"That... where is the guy named Lu Cheng?" Ma Xiaotao went straight to the point.
Although she didn't hold much hope, she at least wanted to take a look.
"Arena Area Seven?" Du Weilun's lips curled up.
Finally… Finally!!
Is Dean Yan finally taking this seriously?
As his disciple, the first thing Ma Xiaotao did upon arriving to invigilate was to observe Lu Cheng. As expected, the dean was shrewd. As soon as he saw the Soul Tool Department coming to snatch people, he sent his disciple to exert dominance.
This scene was meant to tell Fan Yu, "Lu Cheng belongs to our Martial Soul Department, and no one else can have him!"
Sure enough, Fan Yu let out a soft sigh upon hearing that.
Ma Xiaotao was straightforward and never noticed these intricacies. After learning the arena area, she headed straight there.
...
"Arena Area Seven."
"Lu Cheng's team versus... Yu Linglong's team!"
The two teams stood on opposite sides of the arena, facing each other from a distance.
The smell of gunpowder was thick in the air.
The surrounding Disciples watching the match stared intently, fearing they might miss the first meeting between the two Devil Kings among the freshmen.
One was a spirit elder, and the other had strength no less than a spirit elder. Who was stronger and who was weaker would soon be decided.
And at the same time.
Ma Xiaotao also appeared at the back of the spectator stands, her eyes scanning the surroundings. She was slightly surprised that a new student assessment could attract so many people...
It really was a bit strange.
Forget it; it's better to finish things quickly and return to the Inner Court to cultivate.
Ma Xiaotao thought to herself, her gaze sweeping through the crowd on the arena.
She quickly scanned a few people, habitually expecting disappointment, and turned to leave.
But her body suddenly stiffened.
She slowly turned her head back again.
A young man's figure stood tall and upright in the middle of the field. Flames soared into the sky. Just like the boy in her memories…
Notes:
🎉🎉Congratulations!!!🎉🎉
The first review's goal is achieved; here is the promised chapter.
ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
Read advanced chapters at p@atreon/holyangelicdemon
🎯Goals🎯
5 Reviews (Achieved) 1 chapter
10 Reviews 2 chapters
15 Reviews 3 chapters