"Dean Yan, don't leave after the meeting!" Su Wen stopped Yan Shaozhe, who was trying to slip away, and said expressionlessly, "I remember you once said that when I graduate from the inner court, you'd personally assess me, right?"
"..."
The surrounding elders all clicked their tongues, eager to watch the drama unfold.
Zhang Lexuan nodded earnestly, "I can testify. Dean Yan did say that. I was there at the time."
Yan Shaozhe's mouth twitched.
If this had been a year ago, he could have confidently said, "Bring on the assessment, I can easily handle you." But now...
He was facing someone who had fought through the Sun Moon Empire, escaped from Ultimate Douluo Ye Xishui, avenged himself by slaying eight titled Douluo on the opposing side—two of whom were Super Douluo...
"In fact, with your strength, apart from Elder Mu, there's no one in the academy who can act as your inner court graduation examiner anymore." Yan Shaozhe said sincerely.
"So congratulations, Xiao Wen, you've already graduated!"
"..."
The atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Xian Lin'er snorted, "Tsk, Yan Shaozhe, you can only fool idiots with that. Xiao Wen's still so young and only been in the inner court for a few years, and you say he's graduated?"
"In the inner court, strength is what matters. Regardless of age, once you reach the required strength, you graduate automatically." Yan Shaozhe replied calmly.
"It's still better to test him." Mu En smiled, interrupting Yan Shaozhe's sophistry.
"It's been a tradition for so many years, Shaozhe. Since you're the Martial Soul Department Dean, you should take responsibility. We old bones can't take the punishment anymore."
"Oh..." Yan Shaozhe looked miserable, his face full of reluctance.
Su Wen's growth was just too fast.
Maybe... a quick fight?
Yan Shaozhe gritted his teeth.
Right now, he still had a slim chance of winning (though it was minuscule), but if he waited a few years until Su Wen became a Titled Douluo, he'd really be doomed.
He had just broken through to Rank 96, was in peak condition.
Let's give it a try!
"Then Xiao Wen, let's head to the advanced battle arena in the inner court." Yan Shaozhe adjusted his glasses, showing a faint smile.
"Sure! It's a deal!" Su Wen grinned.
"Tsk tsk, this will be a good show."
Seeing Yan Shaozhe and Su Wen leave together, Xian Lin'er excitedly put her arm around Zhang Lexuan, "So, Lexuan, interested in watching?"
"I'd better not..." Zhang Lexuan felt guilty.
After all, Yan Shaozhe was her direct superior. If she saw him get beaten up badly, it wouldn't be good.
"Really? Then forget it."
"Old Qian, come on, let's go!" Xian Lin'er pushed Qian Duoduo.
"Ah." Qian Duoduo shrank his neck.
He had also fanned the flames in the meeting just now. What if the kid went crazy, beat up Yan Shaozhe, and then found him not satisfied, and beat him up too? His martial soul was a turtle, super resistant to beatings, probably even more satisfying than Yan Shaozhe.
…
"Teacher, you must watch him carefully, don't let that kid beat me to death." Yan Shaozhe pulled Mu En aside, looking miserable, like a beloved disciple about to be thrashed.
"Hehe, don't worry." Mu En laughed.
"The side effects of Nirvana are huge, using it once drains me a lot." Yan Shaozhe continued to play the victim.
"Don't worry." Mu En repeated.
"..."
"Teacher, take care. When I'm bedridden in the future, remember to eat on time, don't overwork..." Yan Shaozhe's voice choked.
"Mm, I will, go ahead." Mu En smiled.
Yan Shaozhe: "..."
No love left.
So many years of master-disciple affection, yet it still couldn't compare to Su Wen.
Since that's the case...
I'm not a pushover!
As the Martial Soul Department Dean, he had his own pride. Though he hadn't fought in years, his Rank 96 power was not to be underestimated—top five in Shrek Academy for sure.
Su Wen's achievements, he could mostly replicate.
For example, escaping from Ye Xishui—he could do that too. The eighth soul skill of the Bright Phoenix: Nirvana Rebirth, could easily help him escape from encirclement, even Ye Xishui couldn't stop him.
As for killing several top-tier Titled Douluo...
His martial soul was inherently bright, countering evil soul masters. With Rank 96 Super Douluo power, he could 1v3 ordinary Titled Douluo, and even solo a Super Douluo evil soul master.
But Shrek seniors care about face, right?
They do.
If a department dean ties with a student, where's the dignity?
Not to mention the risk of losing.
He really didn't want to fight.
But he had no choice—he'd brought this on himself, and running away wasn't an option.
He simply gritted his teeth and flashed into the spacious arena.
This was a venue for high-level soul master battles and training. The floor and walls were made from extremely rare and expensive diamond—capable of withstanding a full-powered fight from an ordinary Titled Douluo, and even Super Douluo-level battles.
The arena was empty.
Only Mu En stood smiling on the referee's stand.
On the vast dueling stage, only Yan Shaozhe and Su Wen faced each other from afar.
"Begin!"
With Mu En's light shout.
A dazzling golden light surged around Yan Shaozhe, condensing a magnificent golden phoenix above his head. "This is my martial soul, Xiao Wen. I'm going all out, be careful..."
The joking expression vanished from Yan Shaozhe's face.
The full might of a Rank 96 Super Douluo erupted.
"Mm, I will, Dean." Su Wen nodded seriously.
"Since this is my inner court graduation assessment, I'll give it my all."
"..." Yan Shaozhe's eye twitched.
Why did something feel... off?
"Xuan Ji!"
Su Wen's face grew fierce.
If I don't avenge this grudge now, when will I?!
"Roar!!!"
A colossal golden beast appeared in everyone's sight—even Mu En's eyes flashed with interest, let alone the shock of those looking up at the suddenly appearing behemoth...
A hundred meters tall, filling the entire underground training field, its head lowered to avoid hitting the ceiling, a terrifying bloodline as if from the ancient wilds, its beastly eyes fixated on Yan Shaozhe.
Its palm came down.
"Damn! Xiao Wen, where did you get this ultimate beast?!" Yan Shaozhe dodged awkwardly, trying to end this "reverse assessment" by chatting.
But he clearly underestimated Su Wen's determination.
"Bloodthirst!"
"Sky-Rending Claw!"
"GOLDEN! LEFT! ARM!" (shouted loudly)
"Boom—!!"
"..."
…
"Wood Style! Bind!"
In another advanced testing ground, Zhang Yi used rising wooden stakes to avoid Han Ruoruo's Shaking Gold Rope, looking down with a grin.
"Ruoruo, after all these years, your rope is still a bit lacking."
"Now, it's my turn!"
"Ten Thousand Woods Ascend!"
With his palms together, countless thick tree roots rose from the ground. Han Ruoruo had nowhere to hide, forced to stand on a stake, and the increasing gravity pinned her in place.
Vines followed.
"Forest of Ten Thousand Trees!"
Zhang Yi grinned, pressing the advantage.
The entire testing ground became a sea of trees.
"Senior Zhang Yi, I surrender!" Han Ruoruo's face turned pale.
"..."
"Not bad, you've improved a lot." Zhang Yi put his hands on his hips, wiping sweat with a smile.
He was quite satisfied with his strength.
In ten years, he had advanced from Soul Sage to Soul Douluo, and he was only thirty-seven! Becoming a Titled Douluo was almost guaranteed, and even reaching Super Douluo wasn't out of the question.
But the inner court was full of strong people.
A Rank 79 Han Ruoruo forced him to use his trump card.
And that kid...
Zhang Yi sighed. When he first saw him in the Star Dou Forest, he was only six and very weak, but now he'd even joined the Sea God's Pavilion. In a flash, the gap between them had become insurmountable.
"Clap clap! Let me try Senior Zhang Yi's Wood Style." Ma Xiaotao grinned.
Fire counters wood.
And she wielded the ultimate fire, with the support of the Fire Dragon Pill and the eighth soul skill from a 100,000-year sacrifice. At Rank 84, she was already comparable to a Titled Douluo.
"Hiss... better not." Zhang Yi waved his hand, clearly intimidated by Ma Xiaotao. He used to be able to bully her, but now her strength was on par with the Pavilion Elders.
Bei Bei watched from the corner, a bit relieved and a bit sad as he looked at the doll-like, blank-eyed Tang Ya beside him.
Although Su Wen said Tang Ya could be healed, he still felt guilty. If only he'd been stronger and kept her, she wouldn't have ended up like this.
But luckily there was Su Wen...
Xiao Hongchen was eager to try.
Though he'd just become a Soul Emperor, he was the Sun Moon Empire's last tournament reserve team captain and its top soul tool genius, able to spar with ordinary Soul Sages.
"Hey... you!"
Zhang Yi pointed at Xiao Hongchen.
While he was in good form, might as well go a few more rounds.
"Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, Ning Tian, you too... I just became a teacher in the inner court, so let's give you new guys a lesson. See how long you can last against a Soul Douluo-level expert."
"Su Wen joined the inner court at the same time as us!" Wu Feng crossed his arms, a bit dissatisfied. "So he's a new guy too?"
"Uh..." Zhang Yi looked embarrassed.
Forgot about that monster Su Wen.
"Boom!"
The next moment.
A deafening roar came from outside, and the diamond-paved underground training ground shook violently.
"It's next door!" Han Ruoruo's eyes were grave.
"A top expert is fighting next door!"
"They even broke the testing ground? How much grudge do they have?" Ning Tian exclaimed.
"Enough talk, let's go watch!" Ma Xiaotao couldn't hide her excitement, turning into a streak of fire as she rushed out.
"Hurry!" Everyone scrambled to follow.
Anyone who could cause such a commotion in the academy...
And at the Titled Douluo level? How could they miss this?
…
Outside.
Xuan Ji's massive head burst through the underground testing ground, neck level with the ground. A huge patch of turf, along with the diamond ceiling below, was easily torn apart by claws sharp enough to slice space itself.
"Roar!!!"
Xuan Ji roared at the sky.
He tore the grand Bright Phoenix phantom behind Yan Shaozhe in half, then pinned Yan Shaozhe's body to the ground and rubbed him in.
Simple, brutal.
This was the incomprehensible beauty of pure numbers.
Now, Xuan Ji's cultivation was about 500,000 years, between Rank 97 and 98. Beating Yan Shaozhe was easy.
At this moment, the inner court disciples who rushed out stared, dumbfounded.
Su Wen stood calmly atop the head of the ultimate beast, arms folded.
And that beast was one-sidedly pummeling Dean Yan.
Even in their eyes, the mighty Martial Soul Department Dean, a Super Douluo, was helpless under the golden Behemoth's claws.
"Su Wen?!!" Xiao Hongchen's eyes widened.
"Su Wen? Call him Young Pavilion Master! Or Little Pavilion Lord! Or at least Vice Dean." Zhang Yi smacked him on the head, snapping out of his shock.
Genius didn't equal strength.
Many geniuses fell on the road to power. No matter how monstrous Su Wen was, everyone still saw him as a fellow inner court student.
But today.
After a complete and overwhelming victory over Yan Shaozhe...
It finally set the tone for everyone's view of Su Wen's strength.
"Oh, oh." Xiao Hongchen rubbed his head, eyes still wide at the scene.
The calm Su Wen.
Standing atop a beast of legend, crushing everything.
"No wonder he survived the Sun Moon Empire's siege..."
"He's already this strong..."
Xiao Hongchen gulped.
Only now did he truly realize that the person he once strove to catch up to was now standing on the clouds, forever out of reach.
"I... I admit defeat..." Yan Shaozhe said bitterly.
He raised his hand shakily.
Coughing and spitting blood.
Damn, if this kept going, he'd be beaten into an egg (phoenix's nirvana).
"Dean Yan, this isn't a match." Su Wen smiled, gritting his teeth, "It's my inner court graduation assessment, so I should be the one asking—did I pass?"
Yan Shaozhe: "..."
"Damn, you really hold grudges!" Yan Shaozhe cursed.
"Right back at you." Su Wen summoned Azure Luan to heal Yan Shaozhe.
…