Douluo Continent: The Eternal Dawn

Chapter 83 Final Encounter
At dawn, the warm and gentle sunlight shines from the east.

The semi-finals will begin this morning, and the final champion will be decided this afternoon.

Unlike the usual bustling atmosphere, the assessment area was unusually quiet today. Although it was the last day of the new student assessments, no students were there to watch.

Shrek Academy's assessment system aims to ensure the privacy of each student's martial soul abilities as much as possible, especially for freshmen whose abilities are not yet fully developed. Therefore, assessments before the first year are never open to other students from other academies to watch.

It will only gradually open up when these new students move on to higher grades and become more familiar with each other.

Ultimately, this is to prevent students who are not capable enough and are eliminated during their freshman or first-year stage from leaking information about Shrek Academy students outside, thus allowing them to be exploited by those with ulterior motives.

Of course, cases like Huo Yuhao secretly watching from a distance are another matter. After all, no one would pay attention to the abilities of his martial soul, and who would know that he could see what was happening in the assessment area from so far away?

On the freshman side, all the students who did not participate in the assessment continued to attend classes in the classroom. Today, there were only the four teams that made it to the final four in the assessment area, a total of twelve freshman students.

However, fewer students does not necessarily mean fewer people. Almost all the teachers from the Foreign Languages ​​Department who were not teaching gathered in the stands of the assessment area to watch the competition.

Four freshman teams stood side by side below the stands. The head instructor of the outer academy stood in front of everyone with the lottery box in his hand and said in a deep voice, "Freshman Class 7, Ye Xixuan's team, please come forward to draw lots."

Ye Xixuan stepped forward, first politely nodding slightly to Du Weilun, and then drawing a lot from the box.

"Class 7, Ye Xixuan's team, draw number one." Du Weilun, usually serious and rigid in front of outsiders, gave Ye Xixuan a friendly smile. The box he was holding contained only four numbers: two numbers one and two numbers two.

The two teams that draw the same draw number will be each other's opponents in the morning's semi-finals.

"Class 1 of the new students, Tang Wutong's team will draw lots."

Just as Ye Xixuan turned around to return to the group, he came face to face with Tang Wutong, who was walking over.

Unlike Ye Xixuan's calm expression and eyes, Tang Wutong stared intently at Ye Xixuan with slightly red eyes.

This scene instantly attracted the attention of a group of teachers from the Foreign Languages ​​Department. The reason they came to the assessment area to watch the competition today was partly because the overall quality of this year's freshmen was indeed far superior to that of previous years, but it couldn't be said that the gossip between Tang Wutong and Ye Xixuan was completely irrelevant.

Especially young female teachers like Nan Ruyao, whose eyes were full of kind, maternal smiles. As if to retaliate against Ling Luochen for hiding Ye Xixuan's true talent and cultivation from her, she deliberately did not tell Ling Luochen these things either.

The Evil Moon team from Class 2 of the freshmen and the last team from Class 10 of the freshmen to advance to the final four were more concerned about the results of the draw.

If Ye Xixuan and Tang Wutong draw different lots, it means they will inevitably face one of them in the semifinals.

Just then, Du Weilun announced Tang Wutong's lottery results.

"Class 1 of freshmen, Tang Wutong's team, seat number two."

"It's over! It's over!" Zhou Sichen, the captain of the freshman class 10 team, immediately turned pale and reached out to hug his two good brothers, Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue.

"Looks like we're really going to be eliminated in the semifinals this time. But we can still have a little hope. Since we're going to lose anyway, it's better to lose to Ye Xixuan. Losing to the final champion is better than losing to the runner-up; at least it's more respectable, and we'll have more face to show for it later. What do you guys think?"

"Agreed." Cao Jinxuan and Long Xiangyue exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

As luck would have it, Xie Huanyue from Class 2 of the freshmen class had just finished drawing lots and, just as Zhou Sichen and the others had said, was matched against Ye Xixuan.

"Class 2 of Freshmen, Evil Illusion Moon Team, Number One."

Xie Huanyue had naturally overheard Zhou Sichen and the other two's murmurs. She walked over to them and said irritably, "If you're so eager to face Ye Xixuan, how about we switch our draw positions with you?"

"No, no." Zhou Sichen and the other two shook their heads repeatedly. They said it, but they didn't really want to go up there and be tortured. If they faced Tang Wutong's team from Class 1 of the freshmen, they might still have a sliver of a chance.

"The lottery ceremony was presided over by Director Du. The three of us brothers don't really care, but we're mainly concerned that doing so might affect Director Du's authority."

"Now you're considering Director Du's authority?" Xie Huanyue rolled his small eyes on his chubby face, too lazy to pay any more attention to these three guys who were just talking nonsense.

The assessment area was divided into two extremely spacious fields, with two matches taking place simultaneously. Even the proctors, who served as referees, were replaced by two elderly men in their sixties, exuding a powerful aura and whose strength was immediately apparent.

This was clearly a deliberate arrangement by the academy to prevent accidents during the competition.

The proctor on Ye Xixuan's side of the exam said in a calm tone, "Both sides should state their names."

Like a small mountain of flesh, Xie Huanyue braced himself and walked onto the field, patting his chest, causing his fat to jiggle.

"Class Two of Freshmen, Evil Illusion Moon."

"Class 2 of Freshmen, Luo Tianlong." "Class 2 of Freshmen, Luo Tianba." The two thin male students next to Xie Huanyue had rather imposing names, but they couldn't hide the fear and timidity in their eyes.

Ye Xixuan and his two companions announced their names one by one, and then, at the proctor's low shout, the semi-final officially began. Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena, Tang Wutong's team and Zhou Sichen's team were also engaged in a fierce competition.

Xie Huanyue cupped his large stomach in his hands, and three spirit rings—two yellow and one purple—appeared, becoming even clearer as they moved across his enormous body.

As his martial soul was released, his body instantly expanded, his height increasing from 1.7 meters to 1.9 meters, and his skin turned completely black. His first and third spirit rings lit up simultaneously.

Xie Huanyue's already enormous body swelled up again, becoming round like an inflated balloon. A strong purple halo erupted from his body, making him look like a giant purple ball.

As someone who possesses the top-tier defensive beast spirit, Pipi Elephant, he went all out from the very beginning.

First Soul Skill: Elephant Body. Third Soul Skill: Elephant Fury.

With Xie Huanyue blocking their way, the Luo brothers behind them seemed to have gained more confidence. Their forearms transformed into silver-white mantis blades, and they nimbly and swiftly circled around to Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo beside Ye Xixuan.

Ye Xixuan continued to walk forward calmly, but Xie Huanyue and the other two suddenly stopped.

His first purple spirit ring shone brightly, and a long, dark spear instantly materialized in his right hand. The spearhead was sharp and deep, faintly gleaming with a cold light.

Xie Huanyue's body sprang up from the ground and began to spin rapidly in the air, the arrow already on the bowstring, ready to be released.

A giant purple ball descended from the sky, while Ye Xixuan, wielding the Shadow Spear, leaped up and thrust it horizontally.

At that moment, the scene seemed to freeze, losing its original colors.

The pitch-black Shadow Spear easily pierced through the purple sphere formed by the Evil Illusion Moon in the air, causing it to deflate instantly and be forced to disengage from its Martial Soul Possession state, falling from the sky.

"Wow—" A mouthful of blood gushed from Xie Huanyue's mouth and nose, and then his fat body crashed heavily to the ground. His face trembled violently, as he watched Ye Xixuan land not far in front of him.

"So strong! Such extreme attributes and sharpness, I'm completely outmatched..."

The Pipi Elephant martial spirit possesses extremely powerful innate defense. Ordinary attacks certainly won't break through its ball-like defense. Only extreme attribute attacks, such as high-temperature flames and ultra-low-temperature freezes, or extreme sharpness, will suffice.

The weapon created by Ye Xixuan using his first soul skill, Shadow Condensation, possesses both of these characteristics, making it a perfect counter to the Evil Illusion Moon Elephant Martial Soul.

The Ye Xi and Xuan Lan sisters clasped hands together, and countless crystalline strands of hair, as fine as needles, completely blocked the Luo brothers' escape route, with sharp tips aimed directly at their vital points.

Second Soul Skill: Stab.

Compared to Nanmen Yun'er and Wu Feng, the Luo brothers' martial soul, the Silver Blade Mantis, was ultimately far inferior in quality. The core of the Freshman Class Two team consisted solely of Xie Huan Yue; the others were at best his subordinates.

With Xie Huanyue defeated by Ye Xixuan's spear, the outcome of the match was no longer in doubt.

The proctor announced loudly, "In the semi-finals, Ye Xixuan's team has won."

"Tang Wutong's team wins the semi-final." The results were announced almost simultaneously on the other side.

Tang Wutong once again single-handedly blasted Zhou Sichen and his two companions out of the arena. The three guys were now lying sprawled on the ground, looking at the disheveled and weakened Xie Huanyue, and their mental state instantly returned to normal.

"Anyway, there are people who are worse off than us. Haha, it's not a loss."

Standing in the center of the venue, Ye Xixuan subconsciously glanced to the side, and his gaze met Tang Wutong's in mid-air.

As if by fate, the two will eventually meet in the final round of the freshman assessment.

On the high platform, Du Weiren officially announced the results of the semi-finals and decided to personally serve as the proctor and referee for the afternoon's final.

The crowd then dispersed from the assessment area.

It was still morning, and the members of the two eliminated teams had returned to their classrooms for lessons. Xie Huan Yue, who was injured, was taken to the outer academy's infirmary by the proctor. There, a high-level healing-type Soul Master from Shrek Academy was on duty. Because Ye Xi Xuan had held back, his injuries were not serious, and he would recover by the next day at the latest.

The teams that advanced to the final round, Ye Xixuan's team and Tang Wutong's team, unexpectedly met in the freshman cafeteria.

　I'm now updating 6 words a day, I really haven't been slacking off!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)