Douluo Continent: The Ruler of Time, Reigning Supreme

Chapter 62 Freshman Assessment
It is said that in just three months, more than 30 freshmen in Class 1 were expelled by their homeroom teacher, Zhou Yi.

These expelled students were all geniuses with advanced martial souls, under twelve years old, and soul power exceeding level fifteen. They would be treasures in any other academy, which shows the abundance of Shrek Academy's students and the strictness of Zhou Yi's teaching methods.

That day, in the classroom of Class 6 of the freshmen, Han Ruoruo finished explaining the last knowledge point and closed the book in her hand.

"That's it for today's lesson."

Her gaze swept over the nearly one hundred young faces in the audience, her voice clear and steady.

"Three months have passed since the start of the semester, and you will soon face the first major hurdle in your journey to Shrek Academy—the freshman assessment."

The classroom fell silent instantly; you could hear a pin drop.

All the students held their breath, knowing that the moment that would determine their fate was about to arrive.

"Only by passing the assessment can you officially become a first-year student of Shrek Academy and truly become a member here. If nothing unexpected happens, you will be able to continue your training at the academy at least until the first-year graduation exam."

Han Ruoruo continued.

"The assessment will begin tomorrow. Today, I'll explain the key points of the assessment to you."

She explained the assessment model for new students in detail.

The main focus is combat, specifically team battles involving three players per group.

Nearly a thousand freshmen from the entire grade will form more than three hundred teams to compete in a round-robin tournament.

Ultimately, only the top 150 teams will remain, while the other half will be ruthlessly eliminated and leave Shrek Academy.

"The opponents for the competition will be determined by drawing lots. Each team will play at least ten battles and will be ranked according to the number of wins. The top sixty-four teams will enter the subsequent knockout stage. The top four teams in the knockout stage will receive different rewards from the academy, and the reward for the champion team will be exceptionally rare."

All the students in Class 6 listened intently, their eyes filled with tension and determination.

This is about whether they can stay in this sacred land of soul masters, and whether their three months of hard work will bear fruit. No one is willing to fall at this moment.

Looking at the tense faces of the children below the stage, Han Ruoruo softened her tone and spoke with encouragement.

"The teacher hopes that all the students in our Class 6 can advance smoothly."

That's what she said, but she knew in her heart that it was almost impossible.

Although Class Six has three Soul Masters—Yin Chen, Gu Yuena, and Ye Guyi—the strength of the other students varies greatly, ranging from level seventeen or eighteen to over level twenty. Other classes also have hidden talents, making it extremely unrealistic for all students to advance.

These words were more of a comfort and encouragement.

Next, based on her observations over the past three months, Han Ruoruo selected a student who showed interest and talent in soul tools and announced that he would be specially admitted to the Soul Tool Department without having to take the freshman assessment.

This is a special channel for the academy to select talents for the Soul Guidance Department, which is recommended by the class teacher.

In this way, the remaining number of students in Class 6 is exactly ninety-nine, which can be perfectly divided into thirty-three three-person teams.

Next came the crucial group formation stage.

Almost all the students were secretly praying that they would be assigned to a group with Yin Chen, Gu Yuena, or Ye Guyi.

If this is possible, it almost certainly means a guaranteed advancement.

However, Han Ruoruo's next words dashed everyone's expectations.

"First group." Her voice carried clearly throughout the classroom.

"Yin Chen, Gu Yuena, Ye Guyi."

The moment those three names were read aloud, the entire classroom fell into an eerie silence.

Yin Chen, Gu Yuena, Ye Guyi!

These three people form a team?
Everyone was stunned, and then a sense of powerlessness and relief welled up inside them.

How is this played?
I doubt you could find a team that could rival these three even if you searched the entire grade.

This is practically a guaranteed championship.

Han Ruoruo looked at the complicated expressions on the students' faces below the stage and understood.

She knew perfectly well that "the strong helping the weak" could help more students in her class advance to the next level.
But doing so would be unfair to Yin Chen and the other two, as well as to the students who were not selected.

The rewards for winning the championship are too tempting for low-level Soul Masters; she must ensure that Class Six has the strongest competitiveness.

Moreover, the combination of Yin Chen and Gu Yue Na's dual control system with Ye Gu Yi's top-tier offensive system is practically perfect, with almost no weaknesses.

Combining the three strongest students to ensure the championship belongs to Class 6, while also allowing other students to compete fairly based on their own abilities, was the most reasonable decision she made as the homeroom teacher after weighing the pros and cons.

Yin Chen was not surprised by this grouping. He glanced at Gu Yuena, who still had no expression, and Ye Guyi, whose lips were slightly upturned, clearly satisfied with the combination.

He knew that for their team, the journey of the new student assessment had probably lost most of its suspense from the moment they were divided into groups.

Their goal is singular—the ultimate championship prize.

Although neither Yin Chen, Gu Yuena, nor Ye Guyi might truly value the small reward for winning the freshman assessment, their inherent pride wouldn't allow them to lose in any competition among their peers.

Yin Chen and Gu Yuena, in particular, both harbor the ambition to take charge of the Sea God Pavilion in the future. This means that they must demonstrate absolute dominance at every stage and surpass all their peers with overwhelming force in order to eventually enter the vision of the academy's higher-ups and stand out from the crowd.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, with the rising sun, the new student assessment officially began.

The assessment area is located in the north-central part of the Martial Soul System, adjacent to the Battle Soul Area.

However, unlike the Soul Fighting Zone, which is mainly used for high-level students to spar, have fun, and earn credits, the Assessment Zone is much larger.

For the students of Shrek Academy's outer court, this is the best stage for outstanding students to showcase themselves, but it is also a nightmare place for countless people who lack cultivation and are not well prepared.

Every year, a large number of students fail here and are forced to leave the academy.

The entire assessment area is a huge circle, and its interior is evenly divided into fifty identical fan-shaped areas, each with its own independent boundaries and simple protective measures.

The ground in the area is paved with hard oak, which is enough to withstand the impact of soul skills at the level of a Great Soul Master.

The areas are separated by wide passageways to facilitate the movement of trainees and referees.

There are no stands here, and the assessment process is relatively closed off, mainly to reduce external interference and allow trainees to give their best.

To help the new students adapt to the pace of the assessment, the schedule for the first day was relatively relaxed, with each team only needing to play one match.

The college dispatched fifty experienced teachers to be responsible for the assessment registration and judging work in these fifty areas.

(End of this chapter)