After Shen Yi announced the rules for the class leader selection competition, all the students displayed eager expressions. Those who could enter Shrek Academy were all ambitious young geniuses. Although they might not voice it, each of them harbored some degree of ambition in their hearts.
"Alright, you now have fifteen minutes to prepare," Shen Yi said, observing the students' expressions with satisfaction. She decided to stoke the flames further, adding, "You can form alliances or teams; it's entirely up to you. We will only look at the final results!"
What? Fifteen minutes to form alliances?
The students present were no fools; each one was sharp-witted and immediately understood the true essence of this class leader selection competition. To be a class leader, one not only needed the strength to command the class but also the intelligence to lead the masses!
As a result, the majority sprang into action, calling friends and making promises. Those with outgoing personalities and good social skills undoubtedly held a significant advantage. In just a few minutes, several formidable teams had already formed.
Even those who had not known each other before quickly became familiar in such a specific and enthusiastic atmosphere.
Jing Shaoyu, Gu Yue, and Xu Xiaoyan remained seated, calm and composed, as if everything around them was irrelevant. They had no intention of recruiting others, as their strength meant that bringing people into their group would only be a disadvantage, with no benefits.
However, their lack of interest in recruiting did not mean others were not interested in them. Sure enough, someone approached them, specifically extending an olive branch to Jing Shaoyu.
"Hello, you must be Jing Shaoyu, right?" A boy with an ordinary appearance, build, and demeanor approached Jing Shaoyu, speaking arrogantly, "Our Xu Shao wants to invite you to join his team. Come with me."
"?" Jing Shaoyu slowly raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to look at the boy as if he were looking at a fool. "Who is Xu Shao? I don't know him."
"You don't know Xu Shao?" The boy displayed an exaggerated expression of surprise, as if he couldn't believe it. "Xu Shao, Xu Yucheng! He's one of the strongest freshmen in our class, only thirteen years old and already a four-ring Soul Master, ranked nineteenth on the Young Talents List! A true genius!"
"Sorry, I can't remember that many names," Jing Shaoyu replied with a gentle smile.
"Oh!" The boy felt a warmth from Jing Shaoyu's smile but sensed something was off. After a moment, he reacted with anger, "Are you messing with me?"
"Kid, get lost. Can't you see he doesn't want to join you?" A deep voice interrupted, and the boy was suddenly lifted and tossed aside.
Yang Nianxia.
Jing Shaoyu looked at the sturdy young man with a simple smile on his face and felt a stir in his heart. This big guy was indeed not what he seemed; he appeared carefree and foolish, but the shrewdness in his small eyes indicated he was no simpleton.
"Hey, I'm Yang Nianxia. Brother, are you really a Level 5 Repair Master?" Yang Nianxia asked with a grin.
"Yes, I am," Jing Shaoyu replied with a slight smile. "Do you need something?"
"Of course," Yang Nianxia nodded. "I want to team up with you. I'm a power-type assault Soul Master, and my martial soul is the Dark Gold Bear!"
"You actually have the Dark Gold Bear martial soul!" Jing Shaoyu exclaimed in surprise. "That's a branch of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear; that's impressive."
"Hehe! Not bad, not bad," Yang Nianxia said, feeling a bit proud at Jing Shaoyu's compliment. "So, can we team up?"
"Sorry!" Jing Shaoyu's smile remained warm. "I only team up with girls."
Xu Xiaoyan waved cheerfully at Yang Nianxia.
"..." Yang Nianxia's expression froze, and he helplessly said, "Alright, I'll take my leave."
The big guy seemed quite disheartened as he turned to leave.
"Brother Yu, that big guy seems really sad," Xu Xiaoyan said with a smile. "He won't cry, will he?"
"Don't worry, he won't," Jing Shaoyu chuckled. This Yang Nianxia was interesting.
At that moment, Gu Yue spoke up, "Should we formulate a strategy?"
"A strategy? Do we really need one?" Xu Xiaoyan replied. "When the time comes, Brother Yu and I will directly use our martial soul fusion technique. We'll immobilize everyone, and then you, Sister Gu Yue, can unleash your big move to finish it, right?"
"Hehe!" Hearing Xu Xiaoyan's words, Jing Shaoyu couldn't help but laugh. "However, the assessment location doesn't seem to be a large arena. It's unlikely everyone will gather together, so that strategy won't work."
"Then how about I summon the Origin Divine Dragon, carrying Xiaoyan to search for targets, while Xiaoyan controls them, and then we strike? What do you think?" Gu Yue suggested a plan that was surprisingly viable, making Jing Shaoyu chuckle.
"Alright, it's just a friendly competition among classmates; there's no need to go that far," he said. "We'll adapt as we go, using flexible tactics. With the three of us, we can easily crush our way through."
"Okay." The two girls nodded in agreement.
The fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Under the guidance of Shen Yi and Wu Zhangkong, all one hundred and two first-year students marched out of the classroom, traversing the hallway toward the depths of the main teaching building.
The size and structure of the main teaching building in the outer courtyard had always been one of Shrek Academy's ten unsolved mysteries. Some students had lived in the outer courtyard for over a decade and still couldn't figure out the layout and size of the main teaching building. For regular students, understanding the various classrooms on each floor would take at least five or six years; otherwise, it was just wishful thinking.
Shen Yi and Wu Zhangkong led the class into a spacious circular classroom. Although it was called a classroom, it resembled more of a hall. With over a hundred people entering, the space quickly felt a bit cramped.
The students displayed puzzled expressions. Were they going to engage in a free-for-all here? That wouldn't work!
Shen Yi didn't give the students a chance to ask questions. She directly stated, "Soon, you will enter a virtual world, similar to the Ascension Platform. Um, everyone should know what the Ascension Platform is, right?"
"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.
"Good, then I won't waste time," Shen Yi nodded. "Now, everyone step back, retreat to the area outside the white circle on the ground."
The students looked down and indeed saw a circle of white lines, so they retreated, clearing the center of the hall.
Wu Zhangkong walked to a certain spot on the wall of the hall. It was unclear what he did, but the patterns on the wall slowly lit up. These glowing patterns resembled a kind of soul guide formation, filled with mysterious and obscure energy.
As these patterns illuminated, cracks appeared on the floor within the white circle. Following that, egg-shaped pods began to emerge from the ground. Each of these oval-shaped pods stood about two and a half meters tall, with the thickest part exceeding one meter and the thinnest part still around eighty centimeters. As they appeared, they slowly opened, revealing strange seats inside.
"Everyone, choose any simulation pod to sit in," Shen Yi instructed. "Soon, you will find yourselves in a forest. The area of the forest is limited, so you will easily encounter others. Students who wish to cooperate can choose adjacent landing pods. You have three minutes to complete this, and after three minutes, the class leader selection competition will officially begin."
Jing Shaoyu, Gu Yue, and Xu Xiaoyan immediately chose three adjacent landing pods to sit in. As they fastened their seatbelts, the pods automatically closed, leaving Jing Shaoyu in complete darkness.
His breathing was steady, unaffected by the dark environment. About three minutes later, points of starlight appeared in his perception, creating an illusion of being in the night sky. A gentle wave of energy enveloped him.
Outside, where all the students could not see, the egg-like landing pods began to spin.
The students inside the landing pods felt a wave of dizziness, their consciousness starting to blur, their minds going blank. Just as they felt the urge to vomit, a solid sensation of the ground beneath their feet returned.
Jing Shaoyu instantly opened his eyes. What greeted him was a dense and flourishing forest. The lush greenery and fresh air immediately dispelled his discomfort, and a faint smile appeared on his face. The forest was his home ground; fighting here truly gave him an advantage.
Without any hesitation, he directly summoned the Origin Spirit martial so
ul. Immediately, the scenery around him materialized in his mind, and he saw Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan.