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.'
He thought while searching for an old female woman among the judges. There were none.
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 as no one was coming to her stage at that time since most of the participants had already finished their exams.
The forth trial only had two judges who can give a score out of five and the score of the students is the total of their points. And the two judges were actually quite lenient and polite. Fan Lin didn't see a single person get less than a 8 and they were also offered some pointers on their martial soul and skills.
His turn soon came and he decided to show them his crystal control.
He was given 9 points as one of the judges said that it could not be used in battle as 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 to validate the truth of the judgement.
And unbeknownst to himself, Fan Lin was the one in the wrong here. He had created a tea set and fake cookies and dining utensils with exquisite designs and patterns, showcasing his extreme and unprecedented control over his crystals.
That really didn't show anything else except its fanciness. They were also not informed about what his ability actually was.
In their fair judgement, Fan Lin's skill was like a Jade Vear related skill that provides limited crystalline generations that could presumably be used as throwables, or in control department tactics except Fan Lin hasn't showcased that and they were to give points on what was shown, not what it could be or was.
And this doesn't discredit his showcase. They were quite impressed with the intricate details of the items. It did show his precise control over his skill and he was rated on it.
The words by the judgement were in fact a suggestion in hiding that if Fan Lin was going to ever take a test like this again for an Academy that wanted to create powerful Spirit Masters, he should, at least, showcase some form of weaponising or combat related use of their skills.
'I didn't show you my full power and you belittle me. I will remember your face old fogey!'
As it was clear as the day in a tornado, someone decided to take their words at face value and got mad.
Regardless, the fourth trial ends. 9 points. Thank my love I didn't spike him - Anonymous (Fan Lin)
The fifth trial
"The fifth trial tests your talent. Well, more like your second profession," the staff person said, taking them to a room with lots of things, of which, Fan Lin recognised few.
'Huh. They have a secondary profession test at Shrek. 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 then. I wouldn't have known.
I am proud of myself. Yet again.
And coming to the present, since I didn't knew it, I don't know anything. I don't even have an apprentice badge. I would have gotten a point just for that.
I 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 have been the clue. It's all related to him.
Yeah.
Class Zero was also focusing on the secondary occupations.
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 and not vomit.
That's right, it was a trial of eating. Who was good at eating? Tang Wulin! You could never have guessed. I didn't.
In front of every person was a giant silver tray, and on top of that tray was a mountain of… steamed buns!
Who liked steamed buns? Tang Wulin!
It's like the trial was made for him to get admitted or something. Who could have guessed. I didn't.
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.
'Yes, yes, why not. There were really important reasons for this trial. Otherwise how could Shrek even get kids admitted?'
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. Add in the passivity effects of his Energy Body, 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 without a body.
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. His entire existence was based on hus sanity and that was quite fragile. If it broke, he would break as well and...
He would rather not take the exams then eat what he didn't want to eat and, adding to the fact that the the food was definitely too nutritious for him, looking at the size and ingredients, eating more than three without using his soul skill would be a human bombing in the Shrek examinations.
Hence he politely inquired the staff.
"Excuse me, are the buns available in veg and with any soul power infused ingredients. I am a Vegetarian. I don't eat meat. I don't want to."
The moment he said that all eyes turned to him. He wasn't talking quietly. 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. They couldn't even think how could he be that?
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.
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 passable. The gazes weren't.
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!
'Trial of Endurance... heh. I hate my younger self.'
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 looked at the trial requirements and didn't even have the sarcasm to taunt himself again.
Whatever. Petrosapien Physique to the day. He completed the run in under 3 minutes. Both 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~
'Tsk.'
And after finishing his trial, Fan Lin immediately use his Energy body to get rid of the excess energy and 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."
"What judgement?"
'Who said that?'
Fan Lin looked around to see the owner of the voice who said the words he was thinking.
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 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?