The Peerless Tang Sect: Possessing Huo Yuhao at the Start

Chapter 11 Freshman Assessment

"Xiao Tao, do you still remember what you encountered after you rushed out of the Sea God Lake?"

Ma Xiaotao was slightly bewildered. "I...don't remember. At that time, everything in front of me was red, and then I felt some kind of deadly threat appear. Then I fainted, and when I woke up, I was here."

Yan Shaozhe frowned slightly as he approached her and said in a deep voice, "How could you not tell me that you couldn't suppress the evil fire within you? Do you know that this almost caused a major disaster?"

Ma Xiaotao was stunned. "I... I didn't know it would be this serious. I thought I could control it. But..."

Yan Shaozhe sighed and said, "The longer you suppress it, the more powerful it will be when it erupts. Xiao Tao, from now on, you should suspend your cultivation."

Xiao Tao stubbornly said, "No, teacher, I want to cultivate. I promise I won't do it again. I can feel that the evil and scorching heat of the evil fire has been completely suppressed. There definitely won't be any more problems in the short term."

"But what kind of power is that that can completely suppress my Phoenix Evil Flame?"

After listening to Ma Xiaotao's words, Yan Shaozhe pondered for a moment and said, "I have already sent people to investigate those outer court students. I originally thought they were people sent by their families to protect them."

"But after investigation, we found that this was not possible. We also investigated everyone else in the academy. It's really strange. There are quite a few students and teachers in the academy with ice-attribute martial souls, but none of them match what you've encountered at all."

Ma Xiaotao asked, "Teacher, what are the names of the students from the outer academy?"

Yan Shaozhe paused for a moment, then said, "The two new students from the outer academy, Huo Zhanji and Wang Dong."

Xiao Tao said, "Teacher, forget it. You don't need to investigate anymore."

Yan Shaozhe immediately flew into a rage: "How can I not investigate? If we can find out that the ultimate ice-attribute soul master is male, then he and you will be a perfect match."

"That would have neutralized the negative effects of the Evil Phoenix Martial Soul within you. But now, you are completely restricted. Not only has your cultivation speed decreased, but your life is also in danger."

Xiao Tao blushed. "I don't want to get married, and I certainly don't want to marry someone I don't like just for the sake of a martial soul."

Yan Shaozhe sighed, "The problem is, once the urge to seduce arises, it's impossible to suppress!"

Xiao Tao snorted and said, "I'll keep it to myself. I just won't get married."

Yan Shaozhe angrily said, "Ma Xiaotao, if you continue to be willful, I will no longer acknowledge you as my disciple."

Ma Xiaotao said, feeling wronged, "But, teacher, I..."

Yan Shaozhe patted her head. "Silly girl, life is only once. No matter what, your teacher will find you a good home."

……

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. During these three months, Huo Zhanji became famous in Shrek Academy for his superb grilling skills.

Whether they are freshmen or senior students, they all got to know them.

Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and others also became loyal customers of Xiao Huo's grilled fish. Xu Sanshi seemed to have changed his ways and stopped bothering Jiang Nannan. He waited at Huo Zhanji's place every day to eat grilled fish. Jiang Nannan finally got to eat Huo Zhanji's grilled fish. She had queued up to buy it herself. After eating it once, she immediately fell in love with the taste and became one of Huo Zhanji's loyal customers.

Under Zhou Yi's abnormal guidance, Class 1 of freshmen was completely transformed. After three months of trials, only about sixty people remained. It wasn't that Huo Zhanji didn't want those eliminated to stay; it was simply because they didn't put in any effort. Even if Huo Zhanji had the will, he didn't have the strength. In Huo Zhanji's opinion, eliminating those students was truly not unjust.

"Physical training class is suspended today. Three months have passed since the start of the semester. Next, you will face Shrek Academy's first assessment."

"Only by passing this assessment can one officially become a first-year student, truly join Shrek Academy, and become a member of the academy."

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, you will all be able to stay at the academy and continue your training, at least until the graduation assessment for the first-year students."

"The assessment will begin tomorrow. Today I will talk about the key points of the assessment." Zhou Yi glanced at the sixty trainees below.

Huo Zhanji stood up immediately.

"Here." Huo Zhanji stood up, took the stack of papers Zhou Yi handed him, and quickly distributed them to every classmate.

"After the freshman assessment, we will start teaching according to your aptitude. Write down your future cultivation direction and hand it to me later." The cultivation direction Zhou Yi was referring to was the original classification of Soul Masters, and different categories of Soul Masters have different cultivation tendencies.

"To make a long story short, the freshman assessment will mainly focus on combat, and everyone will have to participate in it. You will be divided into teams of three, with each team having a maximum of one power-attack type Soul Master, and the other two will be randomly assigned."

"Finally, I'll explain the assessment rules. The competition will use a draw system, and each team of trainees will have to play at least ten battles. The final ranking will be based on the number of wins."

"The top 64 teams will compete in a knockout tournament. The top three teams in the knockout tournament will receive different rewards from the academy."

"Let's start with the group assignments. The first group is Huo Zhanji, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao."

"The second group consists of Zihao, Ma Qingshuang, and Leng Leng."

"The third group..."

"Alright, that's it. If you have any opinions, speak up quickly. I'll give you a day to think about it. Hand over all the papers you have, and then you can go home from school."

After handing in the blank sheets of paper in which they had written down their future cultivation inclinations, the other students left the classroom and went back to their dormitories.

After leaving the classroom, Huo Zhanji heard a mechanical voice in his mind.

[Ding! System has issued a task: Win the freshman assessment and receive a Soul Ring Age Cultivation Method as a reward.]

"The spirit ring's age has been increased? That's a good thing. The championship will be a piece of cake now, won't it?" Huo Zhanji said with a smile, then walked towards the dormitory.

……

Outside the east gate of Shrek City, Huo Zhanji's grilled fish business was as booming as ever. Wang Dong was in charge of collecting money, and there was a constant stream of customers queuing up to buy Huo Zhanji's grilled fish. Although there were many people, everything was in good order. Just then, a woman dressed in red walked out of the gate. When she came out, the students in front of Huo Zhanji's stall naturally made way for her.

Ma Xiaotao had a slender, even slightly exaggerated, figure, full and voluptuous, exuding youthful beauty from head to toe. However, a red veil concealed her face, and her pale pink eyes were captivating, yet the gaze within them was utterly cold, creating a stark contrast.

Huo Zhanji naturally recognized the person who had come; it was Ma Xiaotao, who had gone berserk that day. As Ma Xiaotao looked at Huo Zhanji, who was busy at work, she felt a subtle attraction to him.

"Are you the freshmen this year?" Ma Xiaotao asked.

Huo Zhanji nodded and said, "Senior, is there something you need?"

Ma Xiaotao nodded and said, "I heard from others that your grilled fish tastes really good, so I came to try it."

Ma Xiaotao raised her right hand, and a large ruby ​​on her right index finger flashed with light. A handful of gold soul coins appeared in her hand, which she handed to Wang Dong. "Give me a few."

Wang Dong glanced at Huo Zhanji and then reached out to accept the gold soul coin.

Huo Zhanji looked at Ma Xiaotao and said, "Five copper soul coins for each grilled fish."

Ma Xiaotao said calmly, "Just consider it as depositing it with you for now. You won't charge me if I want to eat it later."

"Okay." Huo Zhanji nodded in agreement as he carefully grilled the fish.

A moment later, the grilled fish was ready, and Huo Zhanji handed them to Ma Xiaotao. Ma Xiaotao took the grilled fish and slowly lifted her veil, revealing her beautiful face, and began to eat slowly.

As Ma Xiaotao ate her grilled fish, she pondered to herself, "Could it be that Huo Zhanji is the one who suppressed her evil fire with ice that day? I came here on purpose, and I didn't expect to have such a pleasant surprise right away."

The grilled fish sold very well. Near the end of the season, Bei Bei and Tang Ya wanted to come along. Xu Sanshi seemed to have some kind of telepathic connection; he arrived as soon as Bei Bei came. Huo Zhanji took out the prepared stock and treated them to grilled fish.

Nothing happened that night; Huo Zhanji and Wang Dong spent their time cultivating. The next morning, after Zhou Yi's grouping the day before, the students gathered in groups of three, whispering to each other.

Xiao Xiao arrived earlier than them and was already waiting there. When she saw the two of them come in, she quickly waved to them.

Huo Zhanji and Wang Dong walked over, and the three of them discussed tactics. Huo Zhanji didn't really want to discuss it; his strength was there for all to see, so they could just charge in.

"Bang, bang, bang." Three knocks rang out, and the whole class fell silent instantly, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Zhou Yi stood at the classroom door and slowly walked to the podium. "I've already registered the participating teams. The competition officially starts this afternoon. In the ten rounds, you won't run into each other, only students from other classes. Alright, everyone can leave now. Meet at the assessment area this afternoon."

Huo Zhanji extended his right hand, and Xiao Xiao smiled and placed her right hand on top of it. Wang Dong walked over and placed his right hand on top of hers.

Huo Zhan said quickly, "From now on, we are partners, and we have only one goal..."

"We want the championship!" the three shouted at the same time.

Shrek Academy has a separate area for assessing new students, located in the north-central part of the Martial Soul Department and adjacent to the Battle Soul Zone. However, the assessment area is much larger than the Battle Soul Zone, since one is for individual training and the other is for team combat.

Every year, a large number of students at Shrek Academy are eliminated because they cannot pass the freshman assessment. Even Huo Zhanji, who transmigrated here, understands this situation. Survival of the fittest is an absolute rule in that world. Without sufficient strength or a powerful enough background, why would others respect you?

.........

(End of this chapter)