"Next, are the rules for the freshman assessment," Xia Yu continued.
"The freshman assessment is undoubtedly a school-wide assessment. Our class will have twenty-seven groups, and with the addition of students from other freshman classes, the total number of participating groups will be exactly two hundred.
The assessment will be divided into two phases. The first phase is the points ranking competition. This phase will involve several rounds of matches conducted through a lottery system. Each participating group will need to compete in ten battles. The winner will receive one point, and the loser will receive no points. After several rounds of competition, a ranking will be determined based on the accumulated points. The bottom one hundred teams in the overall points ranking will all be eliminated!" Xia Yu's tone was very cold as he said, "Although I know it's impossible for all eighty-one of you here to remain, I still hope you can fight for your future with all your might!"
All the students' expressions became solemn, and the pressure on them instantly increased.
"The second phase is the knockout round. The top sixty-four groups in the points ranking will proceed to the second phase of the knockout round. The top four groups in the knockout round will receive rewards from the academy. The value of the rewards will depend on the specific ranking, and it goes without saying that the champion's reward will definitely be the best!" A hint of recollection flashed across Xia Yu's face as he said, "When I took the freshman assessment, I got second place. I hope a champion team can emerge from among you!"
As Xia Yu spoke, his gaze fell upon Zhu Ziyang. If the information he had was correct, Zhu Ziyang had a very high chance of winning the championship—no, a hundred percent chance of winning the championship.
He really couldn't imagine how a Spirit Elder could lose in a competition full of Spirit Grandmasters and Spirit Masters.
"Furthermore, I want to remind a few of the more powerful students to display their abilities as much as possible in the freshman assessment. This will be relevant to the selection of Outer Courtyard core disciples!" Xia Yu reminded, "As for what Outer Courtyard core disciples are, you'll naturally know once you're selected. Alright, next, I will announce your group assignments."
"Group one, Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya."
"Group two, Lin Ziwei, Li Yue, Luo Minmin."
"…"
"Group twenty-seven, Yan Ziyue, Luo Luo, Shangguan Jie."
As Xia Yu read out the group list, the students began to stir.
"This is great, Nannan, Zhu Ziyang, we're in the same group!" Tang Ya said with excitement and joy, pulling Jiang Nannan's hand.
"Mm-hmm! That's really great." Jiang Nannan also clasped Tang Ya's hand and said.
"I am an attack system Spirit Master, Nannan is an agility-attack system Spirit Master, and Tang Ya, you are a control system Spirit Master. You two are roommates, and I don't have a roommate, so it's not surprising that Teacher Xia put the three of us in one group," Zhu Ziyang analyzed with an expression that showed he had expected it.
Soon, Xia Yu finished reading out the group list.
"That's the grouping situation. If you have any objections, come find me immediately after class. Otherwise, once I submit the list to the academic affairs office tomorrow, there will be no chance to regret it," Xia Yu finally reminded, "If there are no objections, then you can start preparing. The freshman assessment begins tomorrow!"
—
After class.
Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, and Tang Ya met up with Yu Beibei and walked towards the cafeteria.
"Bei Bei, did your homeroom teacher mention anything about the freshman assessment?" Tang Ya asked.
"Yes, he did." Yu Beibei nodded and replied, "I'm in a group with Xu Sanshi and another girl. What about you?"
Xu Sanshi was Yu Beibei's roommate.
"Hehe, of course I'm in a group with Nannan and Zhu Ziyang!" Tang Ya said proudly, "We have a combination of one Spirit Elder and two Spirit Grandmasters! You better pray you don't run into us!"
"Is that so? That's really great!" Yu Beibei immediately smiled upon hearing this and teased, "I was worried that your strength, Xiaoya, might be too weak, preventing you from passing the freshman assessment!"
"Ah ah ah! Yu Beibei, what do you mean by that? I'm the Tang Sect Master, at least. How can I be as useless as you say?" Tang Ya immediately bristled at Yu Beibei's teasing, and her small fists rained down on Yu Beibei.
Yu Beibei laughed while reaching out to hold her.
Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan were already accustomed to Tang Ya and Yu Beibei's bickering. They usually chose to ignore it, walking hand-in-hand ahead of the two.
"Brother, after the freshman assessment, will we be separated into different classes?" Jiang Nannan asked with a worried expression.
"Don't worry, I asked Yu-ge, and he said that as long as we win the freshman assessment championship, we can stay in the same class," Zhu Ziyang said, gently stroking Jiang Nannan's delicate hand to comfort her.
"Really?!" Jiang Nannan's lovely face brightened upon hearing this, and she said, "That's truly wonderful. With your strength, Brother, plus me and Xiaoya, we will definitely win the championship."
"Mm!" Zhu Ziyang smiled and nodded.
During these two months, Zhu Ziyang had not been idle. His schedule was packed with cultivation, reading, and alchemy.
He hadn't refined any more Juyuan Pills. Instead, he had refined a new type of pill. The seventeen remaining Juyuan Pills from his first refinement, besides the hundred sold to the Flowing Cloud Merchant Association and the twenty sent home, were entirely sufficient for him and Jiang Nannan. So, he found a new pill formula in the library, for the Body Spirit Pill.
The Body Spirit Pill, a mid-grade pill, is a precious medicinal pill that can enhance a Spirit Master's physique, improve a Spirit Master's aptitude, and also slightly increase spirit power.
Due to the extreme difficulty of refining the Body Spirit Pill, it was in a league of its own among mid-grade pills. For Zhu Ziyang, a novice who had only refined Juyuan Pills, it was practically hellish. After spending hundreds of thousands of gold coins on materials, he was lucky enough to refine three pills.
He took one himself, gave another to Jiang Nannan, and the third was acquired by the Flowing Cloud Merchant Association for six hundred thousand gold coins. The six hundred thousand gold coins just about compensated for the nearly five hundred thousand gold coins worth of Body Spirit Pill materials he had wasted.
Thanks to the Juyuan Pill and Body Spirit Pill, Zhu Ziyang's spirit power had already reached level 36, and he was only a hair's breadth away from level 37. This meant that he had increased his spirit power by nearly two levels in just two months, a speed that is absolutely rare in the world.
Since Zhu Ziyang's spirit power had improved with the help of the Juyuan Pill and Body Spirit Pill, Jiang Nannan was naturally no exception. Two months ago, Jiang Nannan had just reached level 26, and today, two months later, she was already level 27. According to the information obtained from Xia Yu, Jiang Nannan, at level 27, was already among the top five of all freshmen in terms of spirit power level alone.
For Jiang Nannan, the increase in spirit power was actually the most ordinary improvement. Her true progress lay in her combat ability. In the fifteen rounds of practical combat classes over three months, Jiang Nannan was the only one who achieved a perfect winning record. Her practical combat level had also improved from initially relying on Spirit Abilities to overpower opponents to now being able to win by relying on combat techniques.
As a teammate of Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya was quite ordinary compared to the two. Although she had corrected her spirit ring configuration in time, limited by the aptitude of her Blue Silver Grass Spirit, Tang Ya's progress was still very slow. Even though she worked very hard, her spirit power level had only just barely reached the peak of level 22.
Although Tang Ya was usually cheerful, Zhu Ziyang could feel that she was under a lot of pressure.