"Haha! That would be for the best," Yu Beibei said with a smile, "I've also wanted to spar with Ziyang for a long time to see the gap between us."
"Count me in!" Xu Sanshi also said.
"Alright, I'm ready anytime," Zhu Ziyang replied with a slight smile.
"I heard from Xiaoya that Bei Bei, you're already at Level 28, aren't you?" Jiang Nannan asked doubtfully.
"Yes, that's right," Yu Beibei said, not intending to hide it, "I just broke through a few days ago."
"Isn't that thanks to me?" Xu Sanshi boasted from the side, "If it weren't for the Juyuan Pill I gave you, how could you have broken through so quickly!"
"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Young Master Xu, for your generosity," Yu Beibei said, smiling as he retorted to the boasting Xu Sanshi.
They paid no attention to the strange expressions on Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan's faces.
"Sigh, you two are almost Spirit Elders, while I'm still struggling at Level 22. It's so hard!" Tang Ya sighed, her expression dejected, and said.
"Xiaoya…" Yu Beibei wanted to comfort her but didn't know how to start. He thought of what Mu En had told him, and a sense of urgency welled up in his heart, hoping to get that item soon.
"Oh, right, Bei Bei, you're almost a Spirit Elder. Why don't you let Zhu Ziyang help you with your spirit ring selection?" Yu Beibei was still worrying about Tang Ya's matter, but Tang Ya herself had long since cast aside her earlier dejection, her thoughts jumping to another topic.
Such a free-spirited personality, no wonder she's so lively. Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi, and Xue Weiwei all marveled simultaneously.
"Oh, that, I won't trouble Ziyang with it," Yu Beibei politely declined Tang Ya's suggestion, "The elders in my family have already chosen the Spirit Beast for my third spirit ring; I just need to break through."
"Is that so? Alright then," Tang Ya nodded, looking thoughtful.
"As far as I know, the first three spirit rings of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan are fixed, so there's no need for a half-baked person like me to give blind advice," Zhu Ziyang also said, his expression a little helpless. This Tang Ya really treated him like one of her own.
"Sigh! You noble children have it so good; someone specially finds Spirit Beasts for you, unlike us, who have to search for them ourselves," Xue Weiwei, who had been silent, couldn't help but sigh after hearing Yu Beibei's words.
Jiang Nannan deeply agreed, nodding her head as well.
"Haha," Yu Beibei could only smile in response to such words.
"Don't worry, as long as we enter the top three, we will also receive such treatment," Zhu Ziyang said, holding Jiang Nannan's hand and comforting her, "You're also almost a Spirit Elder; when the time comes, you must let the Academy help you find a Silver Moon Golden Armor Beast for your spirit ring!"
All members of the top three teams in the new student assessment, when in need of a spirit ring, can request Shrek Academy to help them obtain one that they can withstand and is of a specified Spirit Beast. Such a reward can be said to be very precious, as this opportunity is always reserved, even if they graduate in the future and leave Shrek Academy, it remains valid. If they desire a 100,000-year spirit ring, Shrek Academy will do its best to fulfill it. This is a privilege only enjoyed by Shrek Inner Courtyard Disciples!
"Mm!" Jiang Nannan immediately perked up, full of anticipation.
—
The new student assessment was in full swing.
Zhu Ziyang's team easily won all six matches on the second and third days. Their current record was eight wins and zero losses, firmly holding the first place in Assessment Area Twelve. Now, they only had one last match left.
The fourth day of the new student assessment was also the last day of the points ranking competition.
Morning.
Zhu Ziyang and his two teammates arrived at the assessment area; the last day's matches were about to begin.
Since twelve matches were held in a day, they woke up especially early. After a hurried breakfast, they rushed to the assessment area. Everyone on the sidelines looked sleepy; these three days had been exhausting, and such days were about to end.
Today's first match quickly began.
"Ranking Match Thirty-Four, Class Three's Lu Shaoyou, Du Shaofu, and Wang Shaowei versus Class Five's Ou Zeyu, Wang Bao'er, and Li Xia," Liu Xue read aloud.
Watching the two competing teams walk onto the field, Zhu Ziyang and his two teammates went to a corner.
"Same old rule, as long as it's not a team of all Spirit Grandmasters, I won't make a move," Zhu Ziyang said to Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya.
"No problem, you can rest assured, leave it to Nannan and me!" Tang Ya said, confidently patting her chest while holding Jiang Nannan's arm.
Except for their first match against Lu Shaoyou's team, which was a full Spirit Grandmaster team, in the subsequent seven matches, excluding the fifth match, only two of the other teams they encountered had Spirit Grandmasters, and they were both newly promoted Level 21 Spirit Grandmasters. Zhu Ziyang didn't need to make a move at all; Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya alone could handle them.
Therefore, starting from the second match, except for the fifth match where Zhu Ziyang made a move when they encountered the second full Spirit Grandmaster team in Assessment Area Twelve, he did not make a move in the other matches. He still had a bit of arrogance about him.
Not long after, Zhu Ziyang's team's last match began. They already knew their opponents, as only one of the nine teams had not yet faced them.
Liu Xue didn't waste time with pleasantries and directly said to the students from both teams: "Assessment Area Twelve, Ranking Match Thirty-Nine, Class One's Gao Hongyue, Qiu Ning, and Jiang Yutong, versus Class Four's Zhu Ziyang, Jiang Nannan, and Tang Ya. Both teams, please enter the arena."
Zhu Ziyang and his two teammates, as usual, walked to the left side of the assessment area, with Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya in front and Zhu Ziyang behind.
Their opponents were three girls. From the moment they arrived until now, the expressions on their faces had not relaxed at all, full of tension and gravity. They hadn't expected to be so unlucky, encountering winning streaks for three consecutive matches. To be honest, they were almost numb.
The three girls, looking worried, walked to the other side of the assessment area and lined up.
"Assessment begins," Liu Xue announced.
Gao Hongyue and her two teammates immediately released their Spirits. Although they knew in their hearts that their chances of winning were slim, if they didn't even have the courage to fight, they would definitely be expelled directly by their homeroom teacher!
Gao Hongyue's Spirit was actually a Needle Tailed Swift, with only one yellow spirit ring behind her. Qiu Ning's Spirit was a type of spider Spirit; from the eight spider legs with yellow lightning patterns growing from her back, it was easy to guess her Spirit was a Thunder-Patterned Spider, and she also had only one yellow spirit ring. And the last girl, named Jiang Yutong, her Spirit was a plant Spirit, Water Vine, an aquatic plant with water-attribute Spirit. She was also a one-ring Spirit Master.
When Zhu Ziyang and his two teammates saw their opponents, they responded. Zhu Ziyang retreated a few steps, moving to the edge of the field. Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya, however, stepped forward, simultaneously releasing their Spirits. Four yellow spirit rings shimmered behind them, confronting the opponents' three yellow spirit rings.
"Sister Hongyue, Zhu Ziyang doesn't seem to be planning to make a move again!" Qiu Ning said with some surprise.
"Then let's first work together to defeat Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya, and then see if we can work together to defeat Zhu Ziyang!" Gao Hongyue showed no surprise on her face; instead, she still looked very serious, because even Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya had more spirit rings combined than they did!
"Tongtong, control. Ningning, let's go!" Gao Hongyue shouted, her first spirit ring behind her lit up, and her body instantly became illusory, transforming into four of her, surrounding Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya. Needle Tailed Swift's First Spirit Ability, Illusion!
Qiu Ning and Jiang Yutong also released their Spirit Abilities. A large web of lightning-intertwined spider silk and a large web of water-intertwined vines flew out simultaneously, pouncing towards Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya.
Facing the opponents' offensive, Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya remained unhurried. Jiang Nannan's first Spirit Ability lit up, activating Moon Shadow Body, her speed instantly doubled, and she easily rushed out of the range of the two large webs and Gao Hongyue's encirclement, then charged straight towards Jiang Yutong. Tang Ya also flexibly dodged the attacks of the spider silk web and vine web using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, then her second spirit ring lit up, a Blue Silver Grass shimmering with starlight wrapped around her body, and then she rushed towards Gao Hongyue.
Jiang Yutong discovered Jiang Nannan attacking her and immediately released her Water Vine Spirit to try and stop her. Qiu Ning also assisted her from the side, her eight spider legs behind her crackling with electricity, rushing towards Jiang Nannan. Jiang Nannan didn't pay attention to Qiu Ning at all, easily and gracefully bypassing her, dodging a few more Water Vines, and in Jiang Yutong's horrified gaze, she rushed in front of her, then grabbed her waist, directly throwing her away.
Liu Xue skillfully caught Jiang Yutong.
On the other side, Gao Hongyue looked at Tang Ya, who was charging straight at her, and was stunned. Wasn't this Tang Ya a control system Spirit Master? How could her fighting style not resemble a control system Spirit Master at all, but rather an attack system Spirit Master! She didn't dare to meet her head-on, after all, the Needle Tailed Swift's body was notoriously fragile. At such high speed, even two ordinary people colliding would cause trouble, let alone two Spirit Masters! She didn't dare to gamble; her speed couldn't help but slow down, wanting to avoid Tang Ya's charge, but it was this deceleration that directly allowed Tang Ya to seize the opportunity.
"Haha, you fell for it!" Tang Ya couldn't help but smile, stopping directly, her first spirit ring instantly lit up, and a large net woven from Blue Silver Grass flew from her hand, netting Gao Hongyue in the blink of an eye. Immediately after, Tang Ya's hand shook, and a Blue Silver Grass instantly flew out, wrapping around the Blue Silver Net, and despite Gao Hongyue's struggles within it, she flung her away.
The three girls were instantly left with only Qiu Ning still struggling. Facing the combined attack of Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya, how could she, with only one spirit ring, possibly resist? She only symbolically resisted for a moment before choosing to surrender, and was thrown out of the battlefield by Jiang Nannan.
"Match over, Class Four's Zhu Ziyang's team wins!" Liu Xue caught Qiu Ning and immediately announced.
Then she recorded the result of this match on the schedule in her hand. A smile was on her face, and she thought to herself, indeed, nine consecutive wins; it seems this year's new student champion will most likely be Zhu Ziyang and his teammates.
The three walked off the field.
"Not bad, very clean and swift!" Zhu Ziyang praised Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya, smiling.
"That's natural!" Tang Ya said proudly. She stretched, "It's finally all over; I'm so tired!"
"Yes, it's finally over!" Jiang Nannan also sighed.
"Haha, it's still early, isn't there still the elimination round waiting for us?" Zhu Ziyang said, dampening their Spirits a little.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya replied in unison, rolling their eyes at Zhu Ziyang.