Shrek Academy.
After Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan arrived at the Academy, they immediately reported to Xia Yu. At the same time, Zhu Ziyang also requested to participate in this year's Inner Courtyard assessment.
Xia Yu was not surprised by his request and readily agreed, jokingly saying that if he didn't pass, he must return to Class One to continue being the class monitor.
Zhu Ziyang smiled. How could he not pass? To be honest, he was just going through the motions. If it weren't to uphold the rules of the Inner Courtyard, he wouldn't need to bother participating in the Inner Courtyard assessment.
The Inner Courtyard assessment time is the same as the Outer Courtyard enrollment time. Generally, first-year students of the Outer Courtyard and first-year students of the Inner Courtyard are both considered new students. However, the vast majority of first-year Inner Courtyard students are from the Outer Courtyard. Only a very small number of people directly skip the Outer Courtyard and enter the Inner Courtyard. Such people are rare and difficult to get in, unless they are truly exceptionally talented.
On this day, Zhu Ziyang arrived at Sea God Island, the Martial Arts Arena. This was the examination venue for the Inner Courtyard assessment. The content of the Inner Courtyard assessment was very simple: actual combat, one-on-one actual combat. Only those who met the combat objectives would pass the assessment.
In the Martial Arts Arena, the students participating in this year's Inner Courtyard assessment had already gathered. Zhu Ziyang, dressed in a yellow second-year uniform, was very conspicuous, appearing out of place among the black and purple uniforms. Many students participating in the assessment fixed their gaze on him, curiously observing him. Zhu Ziyang, however, remained expressionless, ignoring their gazes.
At this moment, an assessment was underway in the Martial Arts Arena. The examinee was a tall male student in a black uniform. The male student had golden hair, a rebellious smile on his face, exaggerated muscles, and his hands had transformed into huge tiger paws covered in white fur. However, Zhu Ziyang's gaze lingered on the male student's unique heterochromatic pupils.
The male student's name was Dai Yueheng, a sixth-year student of the Outer Courtyard, a level 51 attack system Spirit King, with a White Tiger Spirit. He was the eldest son of the Star Luo Empire's Duke White Tiger and possessed an extremely arrogant personality. Although he had long met the standards for the Inner Courtyard assessment, he insisted on waiting until he reached the Spirit King realm in his sixth year before participating in the Inner Courtyard assessment.
It is worth mentioning that he was Ma Xiaotao's classmate in the Outer Courtyard and had once participated in the Pan-continental Elite Soul Master Competition with Ma Xiaotao as part of the reserve team.
Dai Yueheng's examiner was an Inner Courtyard senior, a seven-ring Spirit Saint. Dai Yueheng needed to hold out against him for fifteen minutes without defeat to pass the assessment and become an Inner Courtyard Disciple.
"Roar~" Dai Yueheng let out a tiger's roar. His first, third, and fifth spirit rings lit up simultaneously. His body instantly swelled and expanded by a circle, muscles bulging on his arms and chest. A terrifying aura emanated from his entire being, as if the surrounding air had been driven away.
"Is this the Spirit Ability honed by the White Tiger clan over tens of thousands of years? It's truly extraordinary!" Zhu Ziyang's face showed surprise, and he was secretly astonished.
The White Tiger Dai family, their White Tiger Spirit, after tens of thousands of years of research and honing, had formed a rather complete Spirit Ability system. From the first Spirit Ability to the seventh Spirit Ability, offense and defense were integrated. While not the strongest Spirit Ability combination, it was definitely the most suitable for everyone. With this Spirit Ability combination, as long as a Dai family member had decent talent, they could basically reach the Spirit Emperor or Spirit Saint realm.
Dai Yueheng was indeed a member of the Dai family, with an exceptionally arrogant personality, actually taking the initiative to attack the examiner. He leaped up, soaring into the air, and raised a huge tiger paw, striking towards the examiner.
The examiner, seeing Dai Yueheng initiate an attack, remained expressionless, but his body swiftly retreated. At the same time, his Spirit was instantly released: a long spear, dark and shiny, with a ferocious serpent carved on its shaft. The serpent's mouth was wide open, and its tongue transformed into a winding spearhead, glinting with a chilling light.
Blackwater Snake Lance!
Behind the Snake Lance Spirit Saint, two yellow, two purple, and three black spirit rings—seven in total—rose. His first spirit ring lit up, and the spearhead was instantly covered with a layer of cold water ripples. Then, he thrust his hand forward, and the Snake Lance flew out instantly, directly striking Dai Yueheng's tiger paw.
The tiger paw and spearhead collided, producing a crisp metallic clang. Then Dai Yueheng retracted his palm, performed a roll, and delivered a side kick, hitting the Blackwater Snake Lance. The Snake Lance Spirit Saint, holding the spear with both hands, instantly exerted force. The long spear moved in his hands like a flexible snake, its spearhead like a serpent's head, continuously striking Dai Yueheng's body.
Dai Yueheng, bothered by the attacks, directly leaped backward, increasing the distance between himself and the Snake Lance Spirit Saint. However, the Snake Lance Spirit Saint pursued relentlessly. His second spirit ring lit up, and his speed increased significantly. The long spear instantly shot out like a striking venomous snake, piercing straight towards Dai Yueheng. Seeing this, Dai Yueheng could only stop retreating, closing in. His second spirit ring behind him lit up, and a scorching white light wave burst forth, directly engulfing the Blackwater Snake Lance.
However, before Dai Yueheng could even sigh in relief, the Snake Lance actually broke through his White Tiger Light Wave, unexpectedly piercing towards his nose. His hairs stood on end. Without time to think, he immediately arched backward, falling to the ground, narrowly dodging the Snake Lance's assault.
Lying on the ground, Dai Yueheng's eyes lit up. Taking advantage of the Snake Lance Spirit Saint's momentary stiffness before he could retract his long spear, Dai Yueheng performed a carp jump, sprang to his feet, and then raised a leg, kicking towards him. Seeing this, the Snake Lance Spirit Saint directly raised his left hand, grabbed Dai Yueheng's leg, and with a gentle push, sent him away.
Dai Yueheng was not annoyed. After stabilizing himself, he immediately unleashed his fourth Spirit Ability. Golden light orbs, each the size of a fist, flew out around his body, overwhelming the Snake Lance Spirit Saint. Facing the dense golden light orbs, the Snake Lance Spirit Saint directly spun the long spear in his hand. The spinning spear formed an impenetrable barrier, easily blocking Dai Yueheng's attack.
The two continued to exchange blows, back and forth. One gave his all, the other intentionally held back. Fifteen minutes passed quickly.
Dai Yueheng successfully passed the assessment and became an Inner Courtyard Disciple. No one present, neither students nor examiners, expressed any dissatisfaction. After all, Dai Yueheng's strength was evident to all. The Inner Courtyard assessment was merely a formality; taking it too seriously would truly mean losing.
After Dai Yueheng, several other sixth-year students followed. They all passed the assessment without major incident. Although they were not at the Spirit King realm like Dai Yueheng, they were all quite good. Chen Zifeng had the highest spirit power at level 45, and Yao Haoxuan had the lowest at level 42. They were all outstanding students of the Outer Courtyard.
Time passed quickly, and it was Zhu Ziyang's turn to enter the arena.
All eyes in the arena converged on him. Everyone wanted to know what kind of genius this second-year student was, capable of participating in the Inner Courtyard assessment at the age of twelve or thirteen.
Zhu Ziyang remained expressionless as he walked onto the Martial Arts Arena. Then, he saw someone emerge from among the examiners. Upon seeing that person, Zhu Ziyang's expression instantly became strange, because his examiner was actually a familiar face.
"Ziyang, you really didn't disappoint me, big sister! You're so impressive!" The examiner's face was beaming with a smile, and her gentle voice made people feel good. It was Han Ruoruo!
"Sister Ruo Ruo, why is it you?" Zhu Ziyang asked with a smile, waving his hand helplessly, "Shouldn't my examiner be a Spirit Emperor? You are a Spirit Saint. Are you going to make me, a small Spirit Ancestor, fight against you, a Spirit Saint?"
"Hehehe, don't worry, how could I make things difficult for you, little brother? Your assessment is very simple. As long as you can get within one meter of me within five minutes, that's it," Han Ruoruo said with a light chuckle, covering her mouth.
"Oh, that's simple!" Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.
"Very good, then let's get ready to start." Han Ruoruo said, then immediately released her Spirit. Shaking Golden Ropes appeared with her spirit rings, instantly dividing the space around Han Ruoruo into small sections.
"Sister Ruo Ruo, please watch me closely!"
Zhu Ziyang also didn't hesitate. The Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe instantly appeared in his hand. One yellow, two purple, and one black spirit rings shocked the surrounding students. His right leg glowed faintly. Zhu Ziyang moved, taking a step, and walked through the air. With each step he took, the surrounding space would vibrate once. As he walked step by step to a height of three meters, Han Ruoruo was already a little confused, not understanding what Zhu Ziyang was preparing to do.
However, when Zhu Ziyang took his last step, Han Ruoruo instantly understood. As Zhu Ziyang's right foot gently landed after stepping out, a spatial vibration instantly reached Han Ruoruo. Han Ruoruo's mind relaxed, and the Shaking Golden Ropes around her immediately loosened. Zhu Ziyang, without hesitation, seized this opportunity. Activating his second Spirit Ability, he raised the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe and leaped down from the air, directly cleaving through the wall of Shaking Golden Ropes and landing steadily beside Han Ruoruo.
Han Ruoruo's face showed a helpless smile. She had actually been outsmarted.