Afternoon,
The finals of the freshman assessment were about to begin.
This match would determine which team would claim the championship. Any team that won the freshman assessment would, without exception, become core disciples of Shrek Academy.
The academy allocated far more resources to core disciples. For example, at Shrek City's Treasure Pavilion, core disciples could enjoy significant discounts and even credit privileges.
Not to mention anything else—Shrek Academy naturally possessed far more valuable resources than anywhere else. After all, wasn't coming to Shrek precisely about gaining access to these treasures?
The two teams competing for first place were:
Team Su Yunlin: Su Yunlin, Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao
Team Dai Huabin: Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Cui Yajie
Su Yunlin glanced at Huo Yuhao. "How is it? Have you adjusted yourself?"
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, but his brows remained tightly furrowed. Clearly, he still hadn't let it go.
Wang Dong nudged Su Yunlin. "Is he okay? Will his Spirit Ability affect us?"
Su Yunlin snorted. "Doesn't matter. It's just the Netherworld White Tiger."
"Just the Netherworld White Tiger? How arrogant!"
Su Yunlin hadn't lowered his voice at all. Dai Huabin naturally heard him.
Born into the White Tiger Duke's Mansion—a lineage that once belonged to the Star Luo Empire's imperial family—the Netherworld White Tiger was a symbol of the entire empire. To have it dismissed like this…
"Arrogant? Arrogance requires strength—and I happen to have it. Let me show you what I'm capable of, you paper tiger."
Su Yunlin's voice was bold—borderline domineering.
On the spectator stands, many of the academy's higher-ups, including the two deans and the heads of the Martial Soul and Soul Tool Departments, looked at him in surprise.
In their impression, Su Yunlin was someone reserved and composed. What was with him today?
Su Yunlin turned to Wang Dong and extended his fist. Wang Dong immediately understood and bumped his fist against his.
The referee coughed lightly and explained the rules before addressing both teams.
"State your names."
"Su Yunlin."
"Wang Dong."
"Huo Yuhao."
"Dai Huabin."
"Zhu Lu."
"Cui Yajie."
The referee nodded, raised his right hand, and brought it down sharply.
"Begin!"
Whoosh—
"Ah!"
The moment the referee's voice fell, a shrill scream rang out.
"What?!" Dai Huabin whipped his head around.
Su Yunlin had already appeared behind him—where Zhu Lu had been standing. She had been knocked out of the arena instantly.
Dai Huabin's greatest trump card—the Netherworld White Tiger—was gone!
"Don't get distracted!"
Not only Dai Huabin, even Cui Yajie was stunned. But in that brief opening, Wang Dong, glowing with golden light, rushed forward and punched Cui Yajie square in the face, sending her flying out of the arena.
Su Yunlin slowly turned around, a faint smirk on his lips. "You're the only one left."
"What did you just do?! That speed wasn't something a Spirit Elder should have!" Dai Huabin roared.
Boom—
Su Yunlin didn't bother answering. His fist slammed into Dai Huabin's abdomen, making his eyes roll back.
At that moment, a deep purple-black radiance surrounded Su Yunlin, while Wang Dong shone with brilliant golden light.
Wang Dong flew in, delivering a lightning-fast sweeping kick to Dai Huabin's waist, sending him flying.
Su Yunlin stepped forward, his figure ghost-like as he appeared at Dai Huabin's landing point ahead of time, launching another side kick that sent him flying again.
Wang Dong followed closely, smashing a heavy punch into Dai Huabin's face.
Like that, Dai Huabin was tossed around between the two of them like a spinning top.
Huo Yuhao stood there, stunned.
Watching Dai Huabin being beaten like this, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. Unfortunately, his strength was insufficient—he couldn't join in.
Spectator Stand,
The expressions of the Shrek Academy teachers were almost identical—shock and astonishment. Almost simultaneously, they turned to watch Dai Huabin being battered.
Yan Shaozhe's pupils shrank as he observed the two in the air. With his spiritual perception, he noticed something unusual.
"Old Qian! Look at those two kids—use your spiritual sense!"
Qian Duoduo, Vice Dean of the Soul Tool Department, immediately extended his spiritual perception. His glasses nearly slipped off in shock.
"What the hell?! Old Yan, am I seeing things? Their Spirit Power fluctuations are completely identical! That means—"
Yan Shaozhe nodded. "It means they possess a Martial Soul Fusion Skill—and an extremely high fusion degree. Their coordination is also exceptional to achieve this level of synchronization!"
"No… it's not that simple."
A shabby old man walked over—it was Xuan Lao.
"Elder Xuan!" Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo quickly greeted him.
Xuan Lao waved them off and looked toward the sky.
"These two definitely have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill—and their fusion degree has reached 100%. The Radiant Goddess Butterfly and the Night Sovereign Moth—these two Martial Souls are naturally compatible!
"I searched through the Sea God Pavilion's ancient records overnight and found descriptions of these two Martial Souls. The results were… terrifying.
"What they're displaying now is another state of their Martial Soul Fusion—Dual Resonance State!
"In this state, their Martial Souls resonate at a special frequency, drastically enhancing their combat power and speed. They can even share the amplification effects of their Spirit Abilities. That's why that Wang kid can achieve such speed.
"As for when they completed the fusion—remember their fist bump before the match? That's when it happened. That's why they could end things so quickly.
"Incredible… if these two reach the level of Spirit Douluo, their Martial Soul Fusion Skill might even surpass me."
Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo were stunned.
A simple fist bump—and they had already completed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill of such magnitude?
Yan Shaozhe frowned as he looked at Su Yunlin. "If I recall correctly, that Night Sovereign Moth kid has the surname Su—from the Night Duke's Mansion of the Tianhun Empire. Could it be…"
"Exactly," Xuan Lao said with a teasing grin while gnawing on a chicken leg. "That very Night Duke's Mansion. That kid's mother is that Xu girl—the one who beat you so badly back then."
Qian Duoduo suddenly understood and smirked. "Oh~ that fierce woman? Old Yan, you're in trouble. You definitely can't offend this kid. With her temperament, she'd come straight to the academy and teach you a lesson!
"I remember Elder Mu had to pay quite a price back then to settle things and save you. The Night Duke's Mansion is far stronger than the White Tiger Duke's Mansion."
Yan Shaozhe's face darkened.
That incident had indeed been his fault. A single remark from him had triggered a chain reaction that nearly plunged the three empires into chaos, almost allowing the Sun Moon Empire to take advantage.
In the end, it was Elder Mu who stepped in, offering a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Bone as compensation to the Night Duke's Mansion to settle the matter.
Yan Shaozhe sighed.
Back then, as a Titled Douluo, he had been defeated by an eight-ring Soul Douluo woman wielding a strange scythe.
It was a stain on his history.
The Bright Phoenix Martial Soul, disciple of the Sea God Pavilion Master, a Titled Douluo—defeated by a Soul Douluo.
...
"Time to end this."
Su Yunlin slammed a punch into Dai Huabin's face, knocking him to the ground. Dai Huabin was already battered beyond recognition.
Su Yunlin grabbed him and lifted him up. By now, Dai Huabin's consciousness was fading.
"This little game is over."
He tossed Dai Huabin aside like garbage.
"The champion of the freshman assessment is—Team Su Yunlin!"