Among the nine trials, Arthur noticed a girl.
He didn't need to check the candidate files. Just from her martial soul alone, Arthur could already guess who she was.
Wu Siduo.
Children, here comes the sneakiest one yet.
Wu Siduo possessed twin martial souls, the Netherworld Spirit Cat and the White Tiger, and the compatibility between the two was extraordinarily high, allowing her to perform a self-body martial soul fusion skill: the Netherworld White Tiger.
A self-body martial soul fusion skill!
The first time Arthur had heard of such a thing, he'd been utterly stunned.
You could even do that?
Now, watching Wu Siduo's performance in the trials with his own eyes, Arthur was even more convinced that self-fusion skills were sneaky beyond measure.
Throughout the nine trials, Wu Siduo went through everything alone. When she needed power, she had the White Tiger. When she needed speed, she had the Netherworld Spirit Cat.
And whenever she ran into something truly troublesome, she simply activated her self-fusion.
The moment the Netherworld White Tiger emerged, it was nothing but screaming and chaos from her opponents.
She crushed everything in her path.
Arthur felt a twinge of envy. Why couldn't his Holy Sword and Holy Lance perform a self-body fusion too?
Led by Gu Yue and Na'er, two walking rule-breakers of raw stats, Class Zero was the first to clear all nine trials.
That brought them to the tenth and final trial: the Tribunal of Three Elders.
The academy's three elders would give the final, comprehensive scores.
The hall where the tribunal was held was solemn and imposing, three coiling dragon pillars rising straight up to pierce the domed ceiling. On the high platform at the center sat three figures side by side: two elderly men, and one small patch of yellow fuzz.
The members of Class Zero, who had been more than a little nervous walking in, froze the instant they spotted that all-too-familiar tuft of yellow hair.
"Arthur?"
Snapping out of his shock, Xie Xie blurted without thinking, "Didn't you say you already had a guaranteed spot? What are you doing here?"
Tang Wulin couldn't help but ask too. "Arthur, you're one of the judges?"
"Quiet!" Arthur slammed the table, showing no mercy. "Address me as Elder!"
Na'er had already lit up with delight and was about to rush over. "Arthur, big brother, you were here the whole time!"
"Who said anything about big brother." Arthur's expression turned stern, utterly serious. "During the assessment, no getting friendly with the judges. Right now, I am your evaluator!"
"Oh." Na'er stopped in her tracks, lowering her head with a pout of disappointment.
Gu Yue's face darkened wordlessly.
"Ahem." Arthur cleared his throat, forcing his features into what he hoped was a dignified expression. "Right, this elder bears the weighty responsibility of the academy, and I've come specially to oversee the final scoring of this assessment. I am most certainly not here to catch up with old friends."
Beside him, Zhuo Shi was struggling so hard not to laugh that his beard trembled, while Elder Li could only rub his temples helplessly.
"Alright, let's get to business." Elder Li spoke up, cutting through the little commotion in the hall. "Na'er's performance was outstanding. For this trial I give her a ten, full marks overall. Gu Yue's elemental control was excellent as well, his tactical planning meticulous. Also full marks."
He picked up Xie Xie's scoring scroll, his tone flat. "Xie Xie: decent speed, but he grows impatient against strong opponents, and his overall strategic awareness is lacking. Overall score, seven points, for a total of sixty-nine."
"Xu Xiaoyan: effective support, resilient temperament, but her soul power foundation is still somewhat thin. Seven points, total sixty-six."
"Tang Wulin: cultivating the Blue Silver Grass to this degree is no small feat. Eight points, total seventy-three."
"Wang Jinxi: shows promising potential. Six points, total sixty-five."
"Zhang Yangzi: didn't stand out much, but luck is part of strength too. Six points, total sixty-three."
They had all passed, but with most scores hovering in the sixties, the members of Class Zero couldn't help feeling a little deflated.
But it was fine.
They had Arthur.
"Ahem!" Arthur cleared his throat and loudly announced the scores he was giving.
"Na'er, full marks!"
"Gu Yue, full marks!"
"Xie Xie, full marks!"
"Xu Xiaoyan, Tang Wulin!"
"Full marks, full marks! Everybody gets full marks!"
Elder Li was so furious his beard bristled and his eyes bulged, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Arthur genuinely had the authority to do this. It had been specially granted by the Holy Spirit Douluo himself.
Next came Zhuo Shi's turn to score.
His numbers were also inflated. After all, they were all students of Wu Changkong, so naturally he leaned a little in their favor.
He just wasn't as shameless as Arthur, handing out full marks outright.
In the end, once the three judges' scores were combined, the members of Class Zero all ended up with totals above seventy-five.
"Brother Arthur, I love you!" Xu Xiaoyan cheered with delight, unable to hold back even under the weight of Na'er's murderous glare.
"Keep it down, keep it down." Arthur waved a hand.
Once the members of Class Zero had left the hall, Arthur waved his hand again. "Next group!"
A girl walked in, long wavy hair, fair skin, eyes cool and sharp.
Tall and slender, with striking curves, her narrow gray eyes carried a proud, frosty air that warned others to keep their distance.
Wu Siduo?
Arthur's interest was piqued. He laced his fingers together, propping up his chin, tilting his head just enough that no one could quite read his eyes.
"Introduce yourself first. Go on, tell us why you've come to our company, ah, I mean, our academy."
Wu Siduo looked at the small tuft of yellow hair sandwiched between the two elderly men, faintly puzzled.
This was an elder?
Probably some upperclassman roped into the job.
That was what she assumed, and so she spoke, her tone calm and even. "Wu Siduo. Twin martial souls, the Netherworld Spirit Cat and the White Tiger. I heard Shrek gathers the most talented soul masters on the continent, so I came."
The moment her words fell, the hall went quiet for an instant.
Her answer was blunt, even arrogant, without a trace of pleasantry.
Zhuo Shi stroked his beard and laughed aloud. "Well now, good lad, ah, I mean, good lass! That kind of bold confidence, I like it!"
Elder Li's expression stayed as calm as ever, though he gave a faint nod.
Arthur, meanwhile, put on the air of a wise elder, sighing with feeling. "The young ones today are truly formidable. Such vigor."
Wu Siduo found the whole thing distinctly awkward. She couldn't shake the feeling that this "upperclassman" was probably younger than she was.
Then came the scoring from the three judges, and Wu Siduo passed, still faintly unsettled by the whole exchange.
After a long, exhausting day, Master Arthur was finally off duty.
Once he'd helped the members of Class Zero get familiar with Shrek Academy, they all gathered at a nearby drink shop.
"Come on, come on, to celebrate Class Zero clearing the trials with top scores across the board, this elder is treating everyone, order whatever you like!"
Arthur dropped himself into a seat, waved his hand grandly, and slid the menu across the table toward them, the little tuft on his head bobbing with the motion.
Xie Xie's eyes lit up, and he snatched up the menu at once. "Really? Then I want the top-tier iced flame fruit drink, with three extra scoops of pearls!"
"I want the star-frost berry mousse!" Xu Xiaoyan chimed in eagerly, sneaking a glance at Na'er.
Na'er sat beside Arthur with her arms crossed, murmuring, "I want the same thing as Arthur, big brother."
Huh? Xu Xiaoyan's jaw dropped instantly.
Oh, Na'er, are you still scheming even now?
Gu Yue, meanwhile, said quietly, "Do they have desserts? Get me one of each."
As for Tang Wulin, he had already popped open the boxed lunch he'd brought from the cafeteria and started eating.
"Simple." Arthur snapped his fingers. When the server came over and took their order, he added casually, "Send the bill to the Sea God's Pavilion."
The server's smile turned instantly strained. "Are you joking, sir?"
"Oh." Arthur seemed to catch himself. "I didn't make that clear. To be specific, bill it to His Excellency the Holy Spirit of the Sea God's Pavilion."
The server's face darkened further.
"I'll just cover it," Gu Yue sighed, turning to the server, who looked about ready to lose it entirely. "I'll pay when we're done."
I really couldn't hold back my laughter the first time I read this part with Wu Siduo. That self-body martial soul fusion setup is genuinely devious.