13: Chapter 13 First In-School Assessment

Seven days after awakening, Nanjiang No. 7 High School organized its first on-campus practical combat assessment.

It wasn't a Simulated Rift; it was a real person-to-person duel.

All Awakened in the school were grouped by grade, randomly drawn for slots, and subjected to single-elimination.

Upperclassmen and underclassmen were mixed together—the rules claimed it was "random," but everyone knew it was a deliberate arrangement.

It was meant to let the newly Awakened freshmen witness the practical combat standards of their seniors and understand the meaning of a gap in strength.

Shen Ye was assigned to the third group.

His first opponent was named Zhao Duo, a senior one year ahead of Shen Ye.

B-grade talent, Kingdom attribute: Lava Land.

Having Awakened last year and developed for over a full year, his Kingdom's area had expanded from the initial one hundred square kilometers to nearly three hundred square kilometers, and the number of his followers had grown from one thousand to several thousand.

His main combat followers were Lava Giants—elemental creatures composed of magma and rock that had reached the top ten in the school-level assessment during his junior year.

When the drawing results were announced, a wave of whispers erupted in the stands.

“Zhao Duo? That Zhao Duo from the Lava Land?”

“Shen Ye is finished. What’s the use of being S-grade when he’s only been Awakened for seven days?”

“Zhao Duo has been developing for over a year. Lava Giants have thick hides and tough flesh; a flying sword at the Qi Refinement Stage won't even leave a mark on them.”

“Not necessarily, S-grade is S-grade after all...”

“S-grade means a high ceiling, not a high starting point.”

“What can one do in seven days?”

“The time inside the Kingdom would only be a dozen or so years. It’s already good if his followers can cultivate to the mid-stage of Qi Refining.”

“Zhao Duo’s Lava Giants have genuine Foundation Establishment Level combat power.”

Shen Ye sat in the preparation area, listening to the surrounding discussions with an expressionless face.

Liu Yang sat next to him, looking more nervous than he was.

“Do you know what rank Zhao Duo got in the school-level assessment last year?”

“Seventh.”

“One of his Lava Giants is a mutant, twice the size of a normal one. Last year, it smashed right through an opponent's Kingdom Projection.”

“Mm.”

“Just an 'mm'?”

Shen Ye didn't respond.

His consciousness sank into his Kingdom.

In the Land of Cultivation, Jin Lin sat cross-legged before the sword stele.

His flying sword was inserted into the stone slot at the highest point of the sword stele, the golden dragon patterns on the blade slowly swimming about.

Seven days of awakening equated to fourteen years in the Kingdom.

Jin Lin's cultivation had broken through from the early stage of Qi Refining to the late stage, only a hair's breadth away from Foundation Establishment.

The phantom of the small golden dragon on his shoulder was more solid than a few days ago; it was no longer a faint outline, but a complete form where the dragon's whiskers, horns, and scales could be clearly seen.

Mu Sheng was by the spiritual field, the vines on her arm having grown a section longer than a few days ago.

The white flowers at the ends of the vines bloomed and withered, withered and bloomed; with each cycle, the number of flowers increased by one.

Her cultivation had also reached the late stage of Qi Refining, and her vine net weaving speed was twice as fast as a few days ago—seven nodes, forty-five-degree intersection angles, forming in an instant.

Elder Quan sat cross-legged by the Superior-grade Spiritual Spring, the phantom of the spiral spiritual spring in his palm already half-solidified.

Water gushed from the spring eye, spiraling upward, turning into mist, and settling back into the spring eye—with every cycle, the phantom solidified a bit more.

His cultivation was likewise at the late stage of Qi Refining. Occasionally, a second spiritual spring projection would emerge in the mist around him; he was attempting to replicate the Spiral Technique into the newly completed Superior-grade Spiritual Spring.

Fourteen years.

Seven days in the outside world, fourteen years in the Kingdom.

Shen Ye hadn't given them many instructions.

He had placed down the spiritual spring, the spiritual field, the sword stele, and the Scripture Pavilion.

Then, Jin Lin forged a sword from ore himself, Mu Sheng realized the net from the vines herself, and Elder Quan saw the spiral from the whirlpool himself. Three people, three Daos.

It was enough.

“Group three, Shen Ye versus Zhao Duo.”

Shen Ye stood up and walked toward the dueling platform.

Zhao Duo was already waiting on the platform.

He was half a head taller than Shen Ye, with broad shoulders and arms crossed over his chest.

Seeing Shen Ye take the stage, he grinned.

“S-grade? Seven days?” His voice was loud, audible even in the stands. “Junior, don't be nervous. I'll go easy on you.”

Shen Ye said nothing and took his position.

The referee raised a hand. Both sides simultaneously deployed their Kingdom Projections.

Zhao Duo's Lava Land spread out on the other side of the platform. It was a scorched volcanic plain, the ground cracked with dark red magma veins.

Three Lava Giants rose from the magma. The tallest one was nearly four meters high, with scorching magma flowing all over its body, leaving charred footprints on the platform floor with every step.

The other two were slightly smaller but still three meters tall, flanking the sides.

A low cry of surprise rose from the stands.

“Three! He could only summon two last year!”

“That big one—it's a mutant! It's even bigger than last year!”

Shen Ye deployed the Land of Cultivation.

There was no sky full of sword qi, no Five Elements Great Array.

He only summoned three followers.

Jin Lin.

Mu Sheng.

Elder Quan.

The three walked out of the Kingdom Projection and stood before Shen Ye.

Jin Lin's hand rested on his sword hilt, vines hung from Mu Sheng's sleeves, and Elder Quan kept his hands tucked inside his sleeves.

Three Qi Refining late-stage followers facing three Foundation Establishment Level Lava Giants.

The stands went silent for a moment, then erupted in even louder discussion.

“Just three?”

“Qi Refinement Stage fighting Lava Giants? Is he crazy?”

“Does he not know how high a Lava Giant's defense is?”

“A Qi Refinement Stage flying sword hitting them is like an itch.”

Zhao Duo was also stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud.

“Junior, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the Lava Land?”

“Three Qi Refining followers against my Lava Giants?”

He shook his head. “Fine then, let's make this quick.”

The three Lava Giants moved simultaneously.

The mutant in the lead charged forward, each step making the platform vibrate.

Its right arm was raised high, magma condensing into a scorching lava ball on its fist, smashing toward Jin Lin with a searing wind pressure.

Jin Lin did not retreat.

He stepped aside and struck with his sword.

The sword tip tapped against the Lava Giant's wrist—it wasn't a hard clash, but an Deflection Sword technique.

The lava ball deviated from its trajectory, grazing past his shoulder and smashing into the protective light screen at the edge of the platform, splashing a large area of sparks.

Jin Lin used the momentum to spin, his second strike piercing into the Lava Giant's elbow joint.

He wasn't attacking the bone armor, but the joint.

The flying sword pierced into the gap between magma and rock; Jin Lin twisted his wrist, and the blade sliced in horizontally.

The Lava Giant's right forearm lost its strength, and magma gushed out from the joint crack.

One strike.

He had neutralized the main attacking arm of the mutant Lava Giant.

Zhao Duo's smile froze.

Mu Sheng acted at the same time.

The vines on her arm extended instantly; it wasn't a net of seven vines, but fourteen—after seven years of cultivation, the number of her vines had doubled.

The fourteen vines split into two groups: seven wove into a main net to trap the Lava Giant on the left, and seven wove into a secondary net to entangle the legs of the one on the right.

The nodes of the main net were reduced from seven to five, making the structure simpler.

But its stability was actually stronger—the Lava Giant struggled in the net, the vines sizzling as they were scorched by the magma, but they simply would not break.

The secondary net didn't provide a frontal restraint; it just entangled the right Lava Giant's ankles, making it stumble with every step.

Elder Quan was the last to act.

He pushed out the spiral spiritual spring from his palm, expanding it into a water curtain before him.

The water curtain itself had no lethality; it even seemed insignificant compared to the Lava Giant's magma.

But when the Lava Giant's fist smashed into the water curtain, the Spiral Water Curtain climbed up the arm—not blocking it head-on, but wrapping around it.

The water seeped into the cracks in the magma and vaporized under the high temperature, its volume instantly expanding a thousandfold.

The Steam Explosion forced open the Lava Giant's rock armor from the inside—cracks spread from the arm to the shoulder, and from the shoulder to the chest.

Jin Lin's third strike arrived.

The sword tip emerged from the steam, piercing into the crack on the Lava Giant's chest.

It wasn't the brute force armor-piercing of metal-attribute spiritual power; it was slicing along the crack, injecting sword intent into the Lava Giant's core.

A dark golden sword light erupted from the mutant Lava Giant's chest—the sword intent Jin Lin had nurtured for fourteen years before the sword stele tore the Lava Giant's core apart from the inside.

The giant collapsed.

Jin Lin withdrew his sword and turned toward the second one.

Mu Sheng tightened the vine net, pulling the left Lava Giant toward Jin Lin's sword edge.

Elder Quan's second Spiral Water Curtain had already expanded, enveloping the stumbling giant on the right.

The battle was over.

From Jin Lin's first strike to the collapse of the last Lava Giant, barely a few minutes had passed.

Silence filled the venue.

Zhao Duo stood on the other side of the platform, his Kingdom Projection already dissipated.

His three Lava Giants had all lost their combat capability—it wasn't just the projection dissipating; these were genuine Kingdom followers who, after being defeated, returned to the Kingdom's origin to await rebirth.

He looked at Shen Ye, his lips moving, but nothing came out.

Shen Ye recalled his three followers, nodded to Zhao Duo, and turned to walk off the platform.

In the stands, Qin Shu sat in a corner, his data tablet glowing.

He looked down and wrote a line on the recording board: Combat instinct far exceeds his level.

Then he crossed it out and rewrote: Combat instinct surpasses the vast majority of Demigod-level Awakened.

He looked up, watching Shen Ye's back as he disappeared into the preparation area tunnel.

Seven days.

Seven days in the outside world, fourteen years in the Kingdom.

Jin Lin's Deflection Sword, Mu Sheng's Differentiation Vine Net, and Elder Quan's Spiral Water Curtain Steam Explosion—these three tactics weren't taught by Shen Ye; they were developed by the followers themselves during those fourteen years.

And Shen Ye's daring to use three Qi Refining followers to head-on clash with three Foundation Establishment Level Lava Giants in actual combat wasn't recklessness; it was because he knew his followers could do it.

Qin Shu added another line on the data tablet: Extremely precise judgment of follower combat power, never overestimating, never underestimating.

This was the most important quality on a battlefield.