72 Shrek Exam Begins
All of the exam takers were together, making the place cramped. It felt intentional. Shrek wanted to see the students compete with one another.
Far in the front, a teacher from the academy led the way. For all they knew, they were being led to the exam area. Karni, Siduo, Tai and Tian were all somewhere in the middle. They've separated from the other group from Star Luo City now.
The crowd started becoming tighter… And tighter. People started pushing each other. Barely managing to move forward, they were greeted by a giant mural in the distance. It depicted a beautiful black dragon who's golden eyes seemed to oversee everything.
Karni narrowed his eyes at Siduo, who nodded. Those in front of the mural were leaning, some sitting, but some could hardly breathe. All the while the teacher from the far front disappeared.
"Careful. The exam has started already. Prepare your minds."
The exact specifics of the exams have long disappeared from Karni's memory. He remembered some parts, but not all. All he remembered was that this was a spiritual challenge.
The group of four stepped in front of the mural. Aggressive pressure descended upon them. Karni, prepared for this, started circulating his Soul Power. Noting the surroundings, a few of those that first entered collapsed, but most of them were meditating. Only a select few pushed on with difficulty.
Karni and Siduo stood straight, fighting the pressure. Meanwhile Li Tai and Yu Tian quickly sat on the ground and focused.
Siduo has reached the Spirit Sea level in her training on the Star Luo Continent, while Karni has long since been a Soul Master in the Spirit Sea Realm.
Karni organised his thoughts. He went to the back of Li Tai, who was clearly struggling more and circulated his blood as Hu Jie had thought him.
He put his palms onto Li Tai infused with his Soul Power mixed with the blood essence. While his Soul Power and Bloodline had yet to work perfectly in tandem, Karni had grown tremendously during his time on Star Luo Continent. Li Tai's breathing quickly softened, and soon, he opened his eyes. Karni's Aura affected him.
Hu Jie had long told him that his bloodline felt soothing and unaggressive, friendly even. Affecting more than just creatures, but even its surroundings. Back then he first realised that his Bo Staff wasn't the only one with secrets.
Siduo needed a bit more time to collect herself. She focused on her two Martial Souls and softly fused their essences. Her own core strengthened and the burden lifted somewhat. Seeing that Karni was helping Li Tai, she stepped next to Yu Tian, who actually wasn't really sweating, only concentrating.
Yu Tian was a defensive Soul Master. Even if his spiritual sea wasn't more developed than Li Tai's, his body's resilience to withstand any sort of pressure was better. His mind was struggling, but his body kept strong.
Siduo infused some of her Martial Souls' energy around him. She wouldn't dare actually input her own Soul Power into a friend without practice. When put together, her Martial Souls were incredibly resilient on all fronts. It seemed to block enough pressure for Yu Tian to come to his full senses.
Both of the boys stood up with a bit of struggle. While the pressure was lighter, it was still there.
But this was Shrek! They couldn't just give up on the first test.
They walked together. Karni had his palms on the back of Li Tai, but he was clearly struggling more than Li Tai. He had to work twice as hard.
Siduo was encountering a similar problem. She was standing in the way of the weird mural after all. She was actually sweating more than Karni.
They made it about three quarters through and Siduo suddenly started to waver, she was losing a lot of Soul Power. Half Fusion already took a toll, applying it to someone else was even worse.
Karni quickly put one of his hands on Siduo, infusing her with his Relaxing Aura as well. She refocused.
They made it to the end. They noticed an elder from the Shrek Academy closeby and approached him.
Karni was still the most stable of the four. His strong Spiritual Power served him well. There were other students next to the elder.
"Congratulations on passing the first trial. I'm Elder Li, I'll be telling you your scores."
He started giving out points. Most of the people here got 10. They were one of the first batches of students to make it through, so it was natural.
He then turned to their group. More and more students started coming through behind them.
"You two truly impressed me. Both of you get 10 points." He looked at Karni and Siduo. "As for your friends, despite getting help, to receive it in such a way can be considered praiseworthy as well. The two of you get 8 points each."
Karni and Siduo bumped fists. Yu Tian and Li Tai hugged in excitement. They thought they would get a much smaller score due to the help they received. It seems that it wasn't as simple as that. Their first test wasn't long, but it was tiring nonetheless.
Karni looked back at the mural. It was so familiar to him. Its design reminded him of something, but he couldn't place it.
A Titled Douluo painted the mural. And the reason Karni found it so familiar was that it depicted a Gold-Eyes Black Dragon King Di Tian. 8 years he has been in this world. There were many things he had forgotten. Including such an important character of this time.
"Each of you get 1 hour time for rest, approach that section. Some of your fellow examinees have already begun their next exam. But you should hurry, the faster you are, the better impressions you can make."
The four sat in front of the entrance of the next test area. The man was right, they might want to recover fast, but not at the cost of their own ability to perform with quality.
They weren't the only ones who sat down. Many of the groups did as well, despite getting the same speech. No one dared to underestimate a Shrek Exam.
Due to Siduo's exhaustion, they stayed for a whole hour. Siduo managed to regain most of her Soul Power by then.
They had to continue. Surprisingly they were still among the first. Many groups chose to use the full hour given. The first test was spiritually exhaustive.
They entered into an enclosed space. Multiple corridors appeared in front of them. Some of them were closed. Their best guess? These led to the next exam area.
Karni summoned his Bo Staff. Just in case. He checked out the difference between the three open corridors with his first Soul Ring. After a few seconds, he stopped his Soul Skill, but kept his Bo Staff ready. There didn't appear to be any difference between the entrances.
They chose randomly. The third one, next to the wall, seemed most appealing without any particular reason.
The next area had sturdy walls of metal. High grade metal. The room felt dry and somewhat cold. As soon as the four of them walked further inside, the gate behind closed. They were left locked inside the cold desert-like room.
They instinctively formed a circle. Karni immediately activated his first and second Soul Rings, sharing his vision with everyone.
Li Tai and Yu Tian haven't gotten much of this ability in the past, but everytime they did, they found it miraculous. This ability single-handedly made Karni one of the most annoying opponents to battle against, while at the same time making him an incredible ally.
From the opposite side of what they now considered an arena, a steel door opened. A single goat walked out.
It was completely white. It should be said that it really just looked like another white goat. Yet all of them were on edge. These types tended to be most surprising.
Siduo was the first to notice its hooves. They looked to be made of pure ice. An unnatural contrast to the dry room, yet fitting with its cold nature. They all saw it move through the Golden Insight at the same time. It slid on the dry dirt.
"Tian!" Siduo screamed.
He reacted immediately. The shield in front, his third Soul Ring shone without reservation.
The shield enlarged, but not too much. He controlled it. It looked more buff instead.
In a split second, the goat was in front of them. It bit into the giant shield.
Yu Tian grunted, muffling a scream. It bit off a part of the shield.
By gods. It was the Chomping Goat! Everyone realised just what kind of monstrosity they were facing right now. The name of the goat would be funny to those not familiar with its terrifying characteristics.
A worse realisation hit Karni. These things lived in packs. He looked to the side and another goat slid towards them.
Another shield in front. It got bitten much more easily.
Karni shouted. "The front one first!"
Siduo Hell Rushed, Karni Shifted, Li Tai threw something, then jumped.
They weren't used to working together in a four man team. Karni and Siduo were usually put against Li Tai and Yu Tian. Duo vs Duo. Even during Spirit Ascension Platform training, they preferred to keep themselves teams of two. On the rare occasion that they found each other, they would team up.
But right now, it has been a year since they last truly worked together.
Thankfully, Karni's second Soul Ring was keeping their coordination afloat.
A third shield appeared between the two goats. Karni and Siduo surrounded the front one in a perfectly executed pincer attack, but it managed to slide back with great speed. It looked like it was surfing on land.
These goats were known to live in the far northern lands. Resilient to the extreme weather conditions, gaining sliding hooves for mobility and extreme biting power for attack. It was a perfect Blitzkrieg Soul Beast.
But they had a Blitzkrieg tactic of their own. As it was sliding backwards, its leg was slit. It stumbled, though it barely lost control.
"Stand back!" Siduo shouted. Her fourth soul ring was shining. It was an split second opportunity, but an opportunity nonetheless.
At the same time, dragon roars were heard from the other end of the shields. Yu Tian was painstakingly keeping the other goat busy all by himself. Occasional tear of metal made Karni sensitive ears uncomfortable. Will he be alright?
Li Tai called his third Soul Ring, quickly tapping his sword onto his feet. Feet changed into clouds. He flew backwards at extreme speed. Karni simply swung his bo staff while his fourth Soul Ring shone, teleporting him out of harm's way.
A single massive meteor that seemed like the falling sun came falling onto the goat.
But they underestimated its speed. This was a thousand year old Chomping Goat! Its jaw was strong, but his speed was nothing to scoff at!
It slid away with ease… then suddenly reappeared before the meteor. Karni's fourth Soul Ring was shining, but this single act immediately made him pale. He not only used the skill twice in quick succession, but he used it on a powerful Soul Beast. It was incomparable to Shifting long distances. He hadn't had the chance to Shift others often. This was done on his instinct alone.
An explosion resounded. The goat in the middle of it.
Li Tai had his sword at the ready to throw, while Karni caught his breath, ready to prepare his own next attack as soon as possible. Normally, Siduo's Sun Tiger Meteor would destroy a Soul Beast. But this was Shrek. And they had ample experience in the Spirit Ascension Platform. They knew better than to think a Soul Beast was dead only because it took a hit head on. They had to see the body.
Their experience didn't betray them. The goat was alive, if heavily injured. While it didn't specialise in defence, it was still a thousand year old Soul Beast! As it started sliding away, slower this time, Li Tai threw the invisible sword, slicing its other leg, it stumbled and fell.
This was immediately followed by a giant blade of black energy, cutting into its neck. Cutting off the head. It was Siduo's third skill of her Hell Cat, Hell Slash, fused with her Hundred Hell Blades.
On the other hand, Karni teleported to Yu Tian's side. Yu Tian was pale, deathly white. His Martial Soul was heavily damaged right now. The shield bitten at multiple points. This injury would take long to heal. Hopefully he would have enough strength in his next tests.
Karni nodded at him. And Yu Tian understood. The two of them had an old trick as well.
Yu Tian's first ring shone as he pointed it directly at the second, still living goat that was currently chewing through his shields at an incredulous rate.
They had very little time. A 10.000 year old Chomping Goat could even eat through a Three-Word Battle Armour given enough time!
The Dragon Roar was released and at the same time, Karni's third Soul Ring shone. Sonic Rhythm. He hit the back of the shield.
The Dragon's Roar suddenly amplified. It threatened to rupture the ear drums. The goat stopped in its tracks completely, staring into nothingness.
Siduo took advantage of this and with her second Martial Soul, jumped from above with murderous intentions. Li Tai followed behind, a sharp edge at his side. Siduo's second Soul Ring shone with her first one already activated. Li Tai followed with his own first Soul Ring, Cloud Cutter, aiming for the neck.
White Tiger Intense Light Wave from one side of the neck, and Cloud Cutter from the other. The sword got stuck half-way, while the Light wave only got a quarter through. They didn't manage to cut the neck. This goat might have been mentally stunned from the amplified Dragon Roar, but it wasn't yet physically hurt.
The Chomping Goat came back to its senses and looked at the sword. Mission: Chomp. But the Sword vanished, along with Li Tai.
Karni appeared on top of it instead. Sonic Rhythm activated again.
A swing from above, followed by another Light Wave from the side. They hit the goat at the same time.
It would Chomp no more, for the food would have nowhere to go, now that the head wasn't connected to the rest of the body anymore.
The four teens sat on the ground. Tired. They went all out from the beginning. These were the types of Soul Beasts that they couldn't let live for long. Yu Tian held on back for a short time and his Martial Soul was greatly wounded. This was just the second trial!
This time, a voice sounded inside the arena as opposed to a teacher.
"Val Karni: 10 points. Wu Siduo: 10 points. Li Tai: 10 points. Yu Tian: 10 points."
They all scored full points? They looked at each other. Next to exhaustion appeared happiness.
"Please exit the arena. Resting area is outside." The voice sounded again.
They all performed wonderfully. Siduo dealt the highest amount of damage, Yu Tian kept a goat occupied single handedly, Li Tai slowed and attacked at opportune moments, and Karni connected it all together. Without everyone doing their part, they couldn't defeat this trial in only a minute.
Yes. Only a minute. Their release of skill was instantaneous and intense. With Chomping Goats, it had to be.
In fact, this trial had a limit of a minute necessary to survive. Most people weren't capable of holding back the goats, nor hitting them due to their immense speed. Their surprise attacks with invisible weapons and Shifting was the major factor for their victory.
The four noticed a group of people in the resting area. They looked no better then their own group. They stood behind a line. And what followed the line were… guillotines.
Karni cursed. "Great. We're in France now."
Siduo clicked her tongue. "Wrong world, wrong reference."
Of course they kept the chat private.
A single person stood in front of the line, breathing with anxiety, behind him, in a line, were another three students. There was a countdown. The group slowly progressed.
Karni's group of four immediately realised what their next trial entailed.
"We… Can't actually die… right?" Li Tai asked.
Karni looked at another course, it had more guillotines than the others, though they felt more predictable. There was some blood.
"I think we can." Siduo said before he could.
"Shit."
"Alright, let's just rest first. My Dragon Shield is screaming at me to sit down." Yu Tian grumbled and started meditating before anyone could complain. Not that they would. He was arguably the MVP of the previous match. Without him isolating a goat, they would have been overwhelmed.
The rest followed soon. Their tactic for this was simple. Karni would give everyone Vision Bestowal and each of them would progress individually.
They heard the scoring of this test from other students. You had 30 seconds to go through the course. A particular guy in a fancy dress told them about it. Karni and Siduo recognised him from before. Luo Guixing of the Space Element.
Luo Guixing told them about the test, because he recognised them too. Despite Karni not being on the youth ranking, it was well known among those who knew about it that Karni accompanied Siduo and was considered her equal.
Karni himself was curious what would happen when he felt this guy's control over the space element, seeing as his Bo Staff also had it to a degree.
This time they rested mostly because of Yu Tian. He did some emergency treatment, but his Martial Soul still wasn't fully fixed.
They stepped over the line. The previous group was already gone.
"One-Minute countdown begins." A voice was heard. Only they could hear it.
Karni activated his first and second Soul Rings.
As soon as it hit zero, he used Shift and disappeared. Siduo's first Soul Ring of her Hell Cat shone and she was gone as well. Similarly, clouds instead of feet were on Li Tai. The only one going normally was Yu Tian.
Karni suddenly appeared on the other side.
"2.6 seconds. Fastest time in history." A voice sounded. Karni looked shocked. Has no one ever just teleported to the other side?
He could understand why Luo Guixing wasn't as fast as him, his range seemed to be limited and he was taking care of his team as well. But no one else?
Really, his perspective was skewed. He only had to turn his Bo Staff and he teleported. It required quite extensive Spiritual Power, but little to no Soul Power. It was a Black Soul Ring. Besides that, he didn't truly realise that, limits like his, that allowed to push the body to extremes in exchange for effectiveness, were extremely left.
If used by force, he could technically use it like a Berserk version of a teleportation ability, heavily damaging himself, perhaps even killing himself, if he overextended.
Right now though, it was merely a bit more exhaustive. It wasn't such a great distance. The point of the test wasn't the speed, but overcoming fear of the guillotines. Not that he knew that.
More than that, rarely would people have such an ability as a fourth Soul Skill. Perhaps it wasn't rare with the higher stages of Space Type Martial Souls, but at his stage, he might be the only one with it.
"8 seconds." Siduo appeared next to him.
"10 seconds." Li Tai finished as well. This trial really was a joke when one could see the future of the falling guillotines. It was fixed as well, it's not like the guillotines were making conscious decisions.
They did have a quirk. The closest one was, the faster they fell, but that wouldn't change the future. It was a certain element after all. One that they could predict thanks to Karni.
They watched as Yu Tian progressed, running at times, and stopping at others. He was going through it leisurely and a bit slowly.
"20 seconds." The voice sounded as Yu Tian arrived.
"Slow, but steady." He said.
If anyone heard him, they would puke. Slow? Sure, he wasn't breaking records, but some people needed a whole hour and then didn't even get any points!
Each of them got 10 points. They moved to the next trial. Yet again, they rested. Yu Tian still had to heal himself a bit. Karni also needed to replenish some Spiritual Power.
On the other hand, after this rest, Siduo was fully rested and ready to rumble.
The fourth trial was introduced: Talent. They had to showcase what they were truly capable of. Three teachers greeted the group.
When he saw them, Karni let out a sigh of relief. There was one thing that he remembered from these trials when he read about them. There was a certain Elder Cai that was a true petty bitch. The one who gave the speech from before. She was the Headmaster of the Outer Court and nothing would make him happier than her not being here.
Now they had to make a plan on how to present themselves.
They all gathered in a group. Yu Tian immediately raised his hand. "I should go first. While my abilities are strong, they don't look like anything special."
"I think I should go second. My abilities are quite peculiar, but your self fusion," Yu Tian pointed at Siduo, "and Karni's future sight are more special."
Karni and Siduo looked at each other. Siduo was the first to voice her opinion at Karni. "Honestly, your future sight, visions and what not, they sound more impressive than my own self fusion."
"We can go in that order then." Karni didn't argue. "Yu Tian, Li Tai, Sisi, me. But we should think of a way to present ourselves. This needs to look good."
