Shrek Academy.
The fourth trial.
"This trial will test your personal strength. Only one of your specialties will be examined, so consider carefully what you will present. Your greatest specialty is directly related to your strength."
'That witch should be here. Where is she? There are just two old man here.'
Fan Lin didn't know that due to protagonist and his friends being late Shen Yi had asked the administrators to come for them specially. Elder Cai came with them for free since no one was coming to her stage.
It was also easier to judge with just two judges as they both can give out of five and the score of the students is the total of there points. Hence there were only two judges in the beginning.
Fan Lin's turn soon came. He showed them his crystal control.
He was given 9 points as one of the judges said that it could not be used in battle, it was just a showy move. If Fan Lin was not fearful that this judge would turn out like Elder Cai, he would have thrown a crystal spear at him.
'I didn't show you my full power and you belittle me. I will remember your face old fogey!'
The fourth trial. 9 points. Thank my love I didn't spike him.
The fifth trial
"The fifth trial tests your talent. Well, more like your second profession," the staff person said.
'Huh. They have a secondary profession test at Shrek's. I didn't know... So ten points gone. I am done. So done.'
Now where was the random memory surge that should have come?
What's the point of even blaming someone who forced me in this to begin with. Plus I am fool, I should have researched on what could be on the exams.
Not proud of myself!
Wait! Shrek's exams changes everytime. I am not the one at fault.
I am proud of myself. Yet again.
And coming to the present, since I didn't knew it, I never practiced or paid attention to it.
Although I have still speculated and should have done some research on the matter but I didn't. I never thought about the possibility of the test being held, even though it was quite apparent that Tang Wulin was a genius in his secondary occupation.
That should been a huge clue but looks like all the killings and such had occupied my mind too much that I couldn't look at the simple but straight fact that the world revolved around Tang Wulin and would most likely challenge him in prospects that he was good at.
Or how else was he going to become even better? A big blunder.
The fifth trail. 0 points. No comments.
The sixth trail
The sixth trial was truly strange. It tested their capacity… to eat.
That's right, it was a trial of eating.
In front of every person was a giant silver tray, and on top of that tray was a mountain of… steamed buns!
To one side was a sign that listed the requirements to receive points. It said that eating fifteen buns was a passing score and for every additional five buns eaten, another point would be rewarded. However, they weren't permitted to circulate their soul power while eating and could only rely on their own stomachs.
This trial was truly strange, but then again, this was expected from an academy as monstrous as Shrek! In truth, what this trial tested was willpower.
'Rubbish!'
They had to eat until their stomachs burst! For a normal fifteen-year-old, fifteen steamed buns was an enormous amount of food. Furthermore, by restricting the use of soul power to aid digestion, it was almost impossible for most people to finish! One would need willpower to overcome one's bodily limits! Of course, there were medical staff supervising this trial to ensure that the examinees wouldn't become sick from overeating( and it was totally fine for them to die in the guillotines trail!) The sturdier-than-normal bodies of soul masters prevented their stomachs from exploding, but that didn't mean they couldn't fall ill from overeating. This seemingly simple trial was, in fact, a devil in disguise, innocently dragging examinees through the depths of hell and making them wish for the sweet release of death.
For Fan Lin, this trial was hard. Due to his training in the past 7 years, his body has evolved from his cells to the tissues everything had enhanced, far stronger than his peers. It has one downside, his body needed energy far less than normal. That was also the second reason he never stopped his first spirit soul ability and even went as high to ask for permission to use it even school. If the excess energy was not depleted, he will be remembered as the kid who died.
What a cruel life I was living. Ain't it?
There was another problem. He didn't know if the steamed buns were veg or not. It would have not mattered to others but to him, it did... a lot at that. He would rather not take the exams then eat what he didn't want to eat and meat was too nutritious for him, looking at the size, eating more than three without using his soul skill would be a human bombing in the Shrek examinations.
Hence he politely asked the staff.
"Excuse me, are the buns available in veg. I am a Vegetarian. I don't eat meat. I don't want to."
The moment he said that all eyes turned to him. For the other students, Fan Lin's performance was quite spectacular in the guillotine runs and it was impressive. But now this... was unthinkable.
In the Spirit Masters World, a Spirit Master who was Vegetarian was an unheard situation. Fortunately Fan Lin was the first to face this kind of dubious gaze. The Spirit Masters were looking at him like he was a mentally retarded person but still chose to relay the message to the other staff.
He replied a few seconds later, "we do have them student but there are only twenty. It was made for the monks. Would that be fine with you?"
"Yes. It would be." I replied and went eat the steamed buns that he pointed me to.
The steamed buns were really veg and it was tasty at that. But it was still too big in size and it was hard for me to put it in my mouth. Even then, I persevered and swallowed everything without leaving any drops, I mean crumbs. Crumbs. I didn't leave any crumbs.
While he was eating, all the people were looking at him with a weird gaze, as if they saw an exotic animal of a new kind.
Sixth trail. 7 points. The buns were tasty with juices overflowing at the slightest of biting.
The seventh trail
The first trial tested spiritual power, the second, combat ability, while the third tested for adaptability and courage. The subsequent fourth, fifth, and sixth trials tested talent, a second profession, and willpower. As for the seventh trial, it was a marathon of endurance!
Indeed, it would push their bodies to the very limits!
'When I heard of the trail of endurance my mind suddenly went elsewhere. I hate my mind. But I couldn't be anymore happy with this trial.
Time mattered less for this trial of endurance. It was split into three tests: running ten kilometers, squatting fifty kilograms one thousand times, and one thousand chin-ups. Any exam taker who finished all three tests would be awarded six points, while finishing within an hour would net them full marks. Every additional ten minutes would cost them one point, down to a minimum of six.
These tests would be the same no matter what type of soul master the examinee was. Beyond a shadow of doubt, power-type soul masters held the advantage in this trial.
Fairness was not a concern. Had the trials been fair, the first one would not have tested spiritual power, seeing how power-type soul masters clearly lacked in that area. Just like in the first trial, this one would see many souls master eliminated from the exam. It was difficult for any single soul master to score well in all of the trials since they each favored different types of ability. This was also the reason why Shrek Academy's acceptance rate was so low.
Even so, this trial was kinder than the others in that it had no hard restriction on time. Thus, hours after the exam started, there were still some examinees working hard to obtain those six points.
Fan Lin had been doing training that was far more difficult than these requirements, but that was secondary. He had just eaten huge amounts of food and he needed to process the energy before the inevitable. Not Thanatos by the way.
He completed the run in under 3 minutes. The thousand squats and one thousand chin ups were done in another 9 minutes.
The seventh trail. 10 points. I have endured harder.
All the other contestants were looking at him like he was a monster. To complete all of this in just less than half an hour didn't just needed strong body but it also required strong mind... and stamina.
And after finishing his trial, Fan Lin immediately use his Energy body and relieved himself of the death that was certain.
He waited half an hour before proceeding with the next trial.
The eighth trail.
"The eighth trial is a comprehensive battle. You will fight a current student of Shrek Academy. The available opponents are random, so your luck will also be a factor. Last ten minutes against your opponent to pass. Defeat them, and you will receive full points. Alternatively, marks between six and ten will be awarded based on your performance." the staff informed us.
"There will be ten opponents for you all to choose from, so it isn't just your strength being tested, but also your judgement. There are both strong and weak people hidden among the ten. Some may naturally restrain you, while others may be restrained by you. This means a large portion of your performance will be determined by your choice of opponent."
"Yes."
'Who said that?'
They now found themselves in a large, circular room, much larger than the previous few trial rooms.
"You may begin selecting your opponents. Once you've made your choice, you may no longer change your mind—all selections are final. This trial's only rule is that you are not permitted to use soul devices during battle. You have ten minutes to choose." the staff said.
Fan Lin chose number 3 and waited for his turn.
After 15 minutes, his turn came.
He and his opponent came inside the fighting ring. The referee started the match once they were both ready.
Fan Lin used his second soul skill. Two rings, one purple, one green showed themselves. The opponent was immediately incased in crystal with just a thought. The battle ended and he calmly returned to his previous position.
There was silence in the field. Many students didn't even get to watch the match before it was over.
The match was over. The opponent didn't even had a chance to use his soul skills, heck he didn't even get the chance to move. He was defeated just like that.
The battle had ended in a complete landslide.
The eighth round. 10 points. What a breeze or should I say - Crystal freeze?
'This one was good right?