In the distance, a swaying figure slowly approached. He staggered with every step, the wine gourd in his hand swinging along, looking as if he might topple over at any moment.
Furina recognized him at a glance—the Chicken Leg Douluo, Elder Xuan, the Grand Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult.
She wasn't surprised. In the original story, he was the one who presided over this assessment. It would have been truly strange if Elder Mu had come personally.
Just as she thought this, she caught a glimpse of Yan Shaozhe slowly pushing a wheelchair behind Elder Xuan. An elderly man sat in the wheelchair, his face aged and his expression serene.
Furina and Bei Bei were both stunned for a moment.
Elder Mu?
Why was he here?
The surrounding students also began to whisper among themselves, stealing glances at the old man being personally pushed by the Dean of the Martial Soul Department.
"Who is that?"
"I don't know... but if he's being pushed by Dean Yan, he definitely can't be simple, right?"
"Hey, why does he look a bit familiar? On the day of freshman registration, wasn't there an old man sunbathing by the dormitory entrance?"
As soon as these words were spoken, many people were stunned.
On the day of freshman registration, there indeed had been an old man sunbathing at the dormitory entrance. He looked ordinary, with nothing special about him. At the time, no one had spared him a second glance.
But now...
Some people began to feel regret. If they had been a bit more polite and respectful to that old man back then, showing off a bit of their talent and character, maybe they would have been remembered?
Elder Xuan staggered in front of the group of students, let out a yawn, lifted his eyelids to take a look, and lazily called out, "Little Wang."
"Elder Xuan!" Wang Yan hurriedly stepped forward and gave a respectful bow. Then he looked toward Yan Shaozhe and the elderly man in the wheelchair behind him, quickly preparing to bow again.
Yan Shaozhe waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for formalities.
Only then did Wang Yan straighten up and look back at Elder Xuan.
"Is everyone here?" Elder Xuan asked.
Wang Yan nodded and spoke quickly, "Everyone is here. Martial Soul Department Core Disciples, from second year to fifth year, a total of twenty-seven people. Only one came from the Soul Tool Department."
"Then let's go in." After Elder Xuan finished speaking, he turned and walked toward the Soul Fighting Area, his steps still swaying, the wine gourd swinging at his waist.
Most of the Core Disciples had never seen Elder Xuan, and even fewer knew Elder Mu. But Yan Shaozhe's appearance made them realize—these two elderly men were definitely not ordinary people.
Dai Huabin couldn't help but lower his voice to ask Xie Huanyue beside him, "Who are those two?"
Xie Huanyue shook his head and didn't say a word.
Huo Yuhao's gaze fell on the elderly man in the wheelchair, thinking secretly: As expected, this old grandpa is not simple!
The Soul Fighting Area was empty, with no teachers or students coming for soul fights.
Elder Xuan didn't stop until he reached the center. The Core Disciples stood still under the guidance of their teachers, forming a loose semi-circle.
Yan Shaozhe pushed Elder Mu to a spot with the best view and stopped. He leaned down slightly and whispered something; Elder Mu nodded, and he then straightened up, standing quietly to the side.
Elder Xuan cleared his throat and spoke in a muffled voice, "Listen up, you little rascals. The content of the upcoming Core Disciple assessment is simple—I call it the Collective Melee."
Everyone looked at each other.
"Right here in this Soul Fighting Area, you can fight however you want, against whoever you want, with no rules. You can use spirit tools. Those who admit defeat or are knocked out of the arena are considered eliminated."
He scanned the crowd, his tone as casual as if he were talking about what to eat today: "The last seven remaining will be the winners. Alright, teachers, all of you head out. When I shout start, you can begin."
"This... this works too?"
The students' eyes widened as they looked at each other, their faces full of disbelief.
Twenty-eight people, with varying cultivation levels and all sorts of Martial Souls, just fighting in a melee? What could that possibly assess?
But the teachers obviously wouldn't disobey Elder Xuan's orders. They all withdrew from the Soul Fighting Area, leaving only the students standing where they were.
Inside the Soul Fighting Area, only the twenty-eight students remained, along with Elder Xuan, Elder Mu, and Yan Shaozhe in the distance.
Before everyone could react, Elder Xuan suddenly raised the wine gourd in his hand and shouted, "Start!"
As soon as the words fell, he vanished with a 'whoosh', his speed so fast that people couldn't see him clearly at all.
In the Soul Arena, only the twenty-eight students were left, staring at each other blankly.
Everything happened too suddenly. After Elder Xuan disappeared, almost everyone was stunned, standing frozen in place with their minds blank.
But Furina was already prepared.
She unhurriedly took out a piece of Nut Cake and ate it slowly. A faint layer of golden light rose from her body, forming a shield that enveloped her entirely.
Then she pulled a bag of potato chips from her storage spirit tool, sat down right there, crossed her legs, and watched the others leisurely.
"Good luck, everyone." She tore open the potato chip bag, pinched a piece, and put it in her mouth with a crisp crunch. "Come find me to fight when there are only seven left."
She scanned the crowd with a smile: "If anyone wants to fight me now, I can send them out of the arena immediately."
No one moved.
No one dared to move.
With her Spirit King level cultivation, combined with the eerie Spirit Abilitys she had displayed during the New Student Assessment and those inscrutable Soul Bone Skills, and not knowing if she had even more powerful spirit tools in her hands, who would go looking for trouble with her? Wouldn't that be asking for it?
On the other side, Huo Yuhao's reaction speed was extremely fast.
He reached out with both hands at once, grabbing Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao's hands. Light burst from his back, pushing the three of them rapidly toward Bei Bei's direction.
From second year to fifth year, there was definitely a gap in cultivation. But as long as that gap wasn't at Furina's freakish level, it could never make up for the advantage of numbers.
So after the brief daze, everyone's first thought was—find allies.
Huo Yuhao was no exception. He immediately locked onto Bei Bei.
Bei Bei also instantly understood his meaning. He let out a low shout, "Sanshi, Nannan, let's join forces!"
There were only three of them in the fifth year, and all were four-ringed. In this situation, they would easily become targets for everyone. Fortunately, their relationship was already good. Although things were a bit subtle between Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi, for the sake of cooperation, Jiang Nannan should be able to tolerate it temporarily, as long as Xu Sanshi didn't act like a jerk.
When Xu Sanshi heard this, his heart was practically blooming with joy.
He silently gave Bei Bei a thumbs-up in his heart: Good brother! So supportive! I can finally fight side-by-side with Nannan!
When Jiang Nannan heard Bei Bei's call, she also heard the name "Xu Sanshi." She frowned slightly, but without hesitation, she quickly moved toward Bei Bei.
She knew that at a time like this, the big picture was more important.
Soon, the crowd began to differentiate rapidly. Small teams formed quickly, maintaining their distance from each other warily.
Besides Furina, there was one other person left alone—He Caitou.
In the distance, Elder Mu watched this scene, a trace of a smile appearing on his aged face.
"A bit interesting," he said softly.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"