Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 53 On the Eve of the Freshman Assessment! (Part 2)

"Next, we'll discuss the rules for the freshman assessment," Xia Yu continued.

"The freshman assessment is undoubtedly an assessment for the entire grade. Our class will have 27 groups, and with students from other freshman classes, the final number of participating groups will be exactly 200 groups."

The assessment will be divided into two stages. The first stage is a points-based ranking competition. This stage will involve several rounds of matches played by drawing lots. Each participating group will need to play ten matches, with one point awarded for each win and no points for each loss. After several rounds of matches, teams will be ranked according to their total points. The bottom one hundred teams will be eliminated! Xia Yu's tone was very cold as he said, "Although I know that not all eighty-one of you can stay, I still hope that you will fight hard for your future!"

All the trainees tensed up, feeling a sudden increase in pressure.

"The second stage is the knockout stage. The top sixty-four groups will compete in the second stage knockout rounds. The top four groups in the knockout stage will receive rewards from the academy. The value of the rewards will be determined based on their ranking, but without a doubt, the champion's reward will be the best!" A hint of reminiscence flashed across Xia Yu's face as she said, "Teacher, I came in second place in my freshman assessment. I hope a champion team will emerge from among you!"

As Xia Yu spoke, his gaze fell upon Zhu Ziyang. If the information he had gathered was accurate, Zhu Ziyang had a very high chance of winning the championship—no, he was 100% certain of winning it.

He really couldn't imagine how a Soul Master could lose in a competition full of Great Soul Masters and Soul Masters.

"Furthermore, I want to remind the top-performing students to showcase their abilities as much as possible during the freshman assessment, as this will be relevant to the selection of core disciples for the outer academy!" Xia Yu reminded them. "As for what constitutes a core disciple for the outer academy, you will find out once you are selected. Alright, now I will announce your group assignments."

"Group 1: Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya."

"The second group consists of Lin Ziwei, Li Yue, and Luo Minmin."

"..."

"Group 27: Yan Ziyue, Luo Luo, Shangguan Jie."

As Xia Yu read out the group list, the trainees began to stir.

"Great! Nannan, Zhu Ziyang, we're a team!" Tang Ya exclaimed excitedly, holding Jiang Nannan's hand.

"Mmm! That's great." Jiang Nannan also held Tang Ya's hand and said.

"I'm a power-attack type Soul Master, Nan Nan is an agility-attack type Soul Master, and Tang Ya, you're a control type Soul Master. You two are roommates, and I don't have any roommates. It's not surprising that Teacher Xia put the three of us in a group," Zhu Ziyang analyzed with an expression of surprise.

Xia Yu quickly finished reading out the group assignments.

"That's the group assignment. If you have any objections, come find me immediately after class. Otherwise, once I submit the list to the academic affairs office tomorrow, there won't be a chance to back out," Xia Yu reminded her finally. "If there are no objections, then you can start preparing. The freshman assessment begins tomorrow!"

-

After class.

Zhu Ziyang and his two companions met up with Yu Beibei and headed towards the cafeteria.

"Beibei, has your homeroom teacher mentioned the freshman assessment?" Tang Ya asked.

"Yes, I told you." Yu Beibei nodded and replied, "I'm in a group with Xu Sanshi and another girl. What about you?"

Xu Sanshi is Yu Beibei's roommate.

"Hehe, of course I'm teamed up with Nan Nan and Zhu Ziyang!" Tang Ya said proudly. "We're a combination of one Soul Master and two Soul Venerables, so you'd better pray you don't run into us!"

"Oh, that's great!" Yu Beibei smiled immediately upon hearing this, teasingly adding, "I was worried that Xiaoya's abilities might be too weak, preventing her from passing the freshman assessment!"

"Ahhh! Yu Beibei, what do you mean? I'm the leader of the Tang Clan, how can I be as worthless as you say?" Tang Ya was furious when she heard Yu Beibei's teasing, and her little fists rained down on Yu Beibei.

Yu Beibei laughed as she reached out and grabbed her arm.

Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan were already used to Tang Ya and Yu Beibei's playful fighting, and they usually chose to ignore it, walking hand in hand in front of the two.

"Brother, after the freshman assessment, will we be divided into different classes?" Jiang Nannan asked with a worried expression.

"Don't worry, I asked Brother Yu, and he said that as long as we win the freshman assessment, we can stay in the same class," Zhu Ziyang said, gently stroking Jiang Nannan's hand to comfort her.

"Really?!" Jiang Nannan's face lit up upon hearing this, and she said, "That's wonderful! With your strength, brother, plus Xiaoya and me, we're sure to win the championship!"

"Hmm!" Zhu Ziyang smiled and nodded.

During these two months, Zhu Ziyang was not idle. He cultivated, read books, and refined pills, keeping his schedule full.

Instead of refining the Gathering Yuan Pill, he refined a new type of pill. Of the first batch of Gathering Yuan Pills he refined, the hundred he sold to the Flowing Cloud Merchant Guild and the twenty he sent home were more than enough for him and Jiang Nannan. So he found a new pill formula in the library: the Body Spirit Pill.

Body Spirit Pill, a mid-grade pill, is a precious pill that can enhance a Soul Master's physique, improve their aptitude, and also slightly increase their Soul Power.

Because the Body Spirit Pill is extremely difficult to refine, it is in a class of its own among mid-grade pills. For Zhu Ziyang, a novice who had only refined the Gathering Yuan Pill before, it was practically a hellish task. After spending hundreds of thousands of gold soul coins on materials, he only managed to refine three pills by sheer luck.

He ate one himself, gave another to Jiang Nannan, and the third was bought by the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce for 600,000 gold soul coins. The 600,000 gold soul coins made up for the nearly 500,000 gold soul coins he wasted on Body Spirit Pill materials.

Thanks to the effects of the Gathering Essence Pill and the Body Spirit Pill, Zhu Ziyang's soul power has reached level 36, just a step away from level 37. This means he has increased his soul power by nearly two levels in just two months, a speed that is absolutely rare in the world.

Having also obtained Gathering Essence Pills and Body Spirit Pills, Jiang Nannan naturally benefited from Zhu Ziyang's improved soul power. Two months ago, Jiang Nannan reached level 26; today, she's already level 27. According to information obtained from Xia Yu, Jiang Nannan, at level 27, is already among the top five new students in terms of soul power level alone.

For Jiang Nannan, the increase in soul power was the most ordinary improvement; her real progress lay in her combat ability. In the fifteen rounds of practical training battles over three months, Jiang Nannan was the only one to achieve a perfect record. Her combat skills had also improved from initially relying on overwhelming opponents with soul skills to now being able to win through combat techniques.

As Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan's teammate, Tang Ya was quite mediocre compared to them. Although she corrected her soul ring configuration in time, her progress was still very slow due to the limited aptitude of her Blue Silver Grass martial soul. Even though she worked very hard, her soul power level only reached the peak of level 22.

Although Tang Ya is usually all smiles, Zhu Ziyang can sense that she is under a lot of pressure.

Seeking investment! Seeking monthly votes!

(End of this chapter)