Final Assessment, Those Scribbles

One month later

Su Yu had finished telling both Journey to the West and Creation of the Gods. They had also gained some understanding of Buddhism and Taoism. Of course, they understood Taoism more deeply, since both books mainly featured Taoism.

After Su Yu finished the stories, he handed everyone ten Buddhist classics for them to study on their own. If there was anything they could not understand, they could come ask him.

After another month, Su Yu had already arranged the class schedule.

From Monday to Friday, they meditated in the mornings and studied Buddhist classics in the afternoons. They had no holidays on Saturdays or Sundays either. They had to go to the Star Dou Great Forest to hone themselves. Students from other classes envied this method of training students, but their teachers did not dare take them into the Star Dou Great Forest.

After all, the teachers of the other classes were only Soul Saints. They were nervous enough entering the Star Dou Great Forest alone, let alone taking students with them.

While at the academy, class one students usually had a book in hand, studying it constantly. This made the students of other classes think class one had gone mad. Everyone else was desperately cultivating and fighting, yet class one was reading books!?

Some even wondered whether class one went out to play on Saturdays and Sundays. A few people asked around about what they did outside, and class one always answered with a smile, "Playing."

The news immediately spread, and everyone thought class one had gone crazy. In truth, though, they really did go out to train on Saturdays and Sundays.

However, Su Yu had told them to treat everything as play. They could train without restraint. Even if they died, he could bring them back.

Su Yu was afraid they would not believe him, so after directly strangling a Soul Beast to death, he demonstrated reviving it. At the sight, they all burst into excited cheers. Every time they went out, they trained themselves desperately. That was why they answered others by saying they were playing.

As time passed, Class One soon discovered that Xu Xing was Su Yu’s disciple. One after another, they tried to build a good relationship with Xu Xing. After all, there was a huge difference between a disciple and a student.

Once they took the initiative to interact with Xu Xing, they discovered his overly kind nature. Many people told Xu Xing that he could not go on like this. Kindness was a good thing, but kindness to Xu Xing’s extent was not.

So whenever they went out, they made Xu Xing take the lead. Since Xu Xing would never actively hunt Soul Beasts, if they did not push him, he might not even want Soul Rings in the future.

One semester passed, and Class One already had forty Soul Elders. Their progress had been so fast because Su Yu played the Origin Nurturing Heart Calming Melody for them every time they cultivated, increasing their cultivation speed by several degrees.

There was a final assessment at the end of every semester. However, this final assessment was not an exam within a class, but an exam for the entire grade.

Calling it an exam would be less accurate than calling it a competition. Each class within a grade could send people to challenge other classes. They could send one person, three people, or seven people.

The winners received no tangible reward, yet every year, there were classes that challenged classes above their own. Moreover, the challenges took place before the eyes of everyone in the Outer Academy.

Class Two of the first year was itching to challenge class one. In their eyes, class one had completely wasted the entire semester, so they believed they had an excellent chance of winning.

Training Ground

This day was the day of the final assessment. The assessment lasted six days, one day for each grade. The first years went first. That day, students from every first-year class sat at the front, while students from the other grades sat behind them.

Seven Soul Elders from Class Two stepped forward and looked toward class one. "We challenge class one."

No one was surprised that Class Two had challenged class one. The upperclassmen from the other grades were not surprised either. For some reason, class one and Class Two in every grade were always the two classes that disliked each other most. Every year, either Class Two challenged class one or class one challenged Class Two.

They would only find it strange if class one and Class Two in every grade ever stopped fighting each other.

The referee looked toward class one. "Class one, quickly select seven people."

Class one’s class monitor looked at everyone. "Anyone who wants to go can go. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go home. Staying here is a waste of time. I still need to study the Diamond Sutra."

Everyone nodded, and seven Soul Elders casually stepped onto the Soul Arena. The seven looked at Class Two’s students. The leader said, "Hurry up and start. We have things to do."

The referee announced, "The match begins!" After speaking, he flew to the side. The auras of class one’s seven students changed instantly, and a crimson aura surged from their bodies.

Class Two’s students were startled, but quickly calmed down and released their Martial Souls and Soul Rings.

All fourteen had the same configuration: two yellow and one purple. This was Shrek Academy, after all. Those without the optimal Soul Ring configuration were not even qualified to enroll.

The seven from class one exchanged glances. Then, each chose an opponent and charged forward. In truth, class one still did not coordinate very well. They had barely ever worked together. Whenever they encountered Soul Beasts, a glance was enough to divide up the beasts, and then each fought on their own.

Seeing class one charge forward, Class Two refused to back down and met them head-on. Then they were all defeated in a single move. Because class one used the Fight Heaven Battle Art, the power of a Soul Skill they used at Soul Elder rank was equivalent to that of a Soul Ancestor using it.

A single move from a Soul Ancestor was naturally more than Class Two’s Soul Elders could endure. Everyone watching was stunned. They had never seen a class one from any other grade instantly defeat Class Two, because class one and Class Two in the other grades were nearly equal in strength every year. They had not expected the first-year class one and Class Two to differ so greatly in strength!

The seven Class Two students who had entered the arena were dumbfounded as well. They had clearly felt that the Soul Skills class one struck them with possessed power as though they had been unleashed by Soul Ancestors.

Seeing how fierce Class One was, the other classes immediately cast aside any thoughts of challenging them, sending those thoughts beyond the nine heavens. Seeing that no one would likely challenge them, every Class One student directly took out a Buddhist book and began reading.

Everyone was instantly speechless. Reading books again? You guys were all reading books, so why were you still so damn good at fighting!?

Out of curiosity, some people quietly came behind class one to sneak a look. The moment they saw the title, they were dumbfounded. The cover read, "Prajāpāramitā Hdaya."

Everyone looked bewildered. What the hell were these scribbles?