At the forefront of the lines, Caelus and Xie Huanyue stood at the head of their respective classes.
As Class Monitors, they would be the first to taste the crab, setting an example for all the students behind them.
Under the gaze of thousands, Director Du Weilun stood up on the high platform. He did not use Soul Power to amplify his voice, yet his steady and authoritative tone clearly reached every corner of the entire Beast Fighting Arena.
"The assessment, begin."
He was concise, his gaze sweeping over those below.
"Second Year, Class One, send out a student first, followed by Class Two."
As the Chief Examiner's words fell, the gaze of everyone instantly focused on the white-haired figure at the very front of Second Year, Class One.
Caelus stepped out from the line.
Holding the thin assessment form in his hand, he walked calmly into the vast sandy ground.
He handed the form in his hand to a teacher specifically responsible for relaying information.
That teacher took it and quickly walked to the base of the judges' high platform, placing the form into a specially designed metal lift compartment.
Accompanied by the soft sound of mechanisms, that assessment form belonging to Caelus was soon delivered into the hands of Chief Examiner Du Weilun.
Du Weilun picked up the form. When he saw the two characters 'Caelus' in the examinee column, the light in his eyes noticeably brightened on his usually stern face. His entire body involuntarily straightened, and his focus sharpened to its utmost.
As the Head of Teaching for the Martial Soul Department and the top lieutenant under Dean Yan Shaozhe, he understood better than anyone how much importance Yan Shaozhe placed on this youth named Caelus.
That level of importance had even surpassed the cultivation given to a Core Disciple, reaching a degree of almost placing high hopes upon him.
Du Weilun had also long wanted to see with his own eyes what the true strength of this legendary Genius was like.
Unlike the measured sparring between students, actual combat with Soul Beasts was a completely different concept.
Soul Beasts inherently harbored intense hostility towards human Soul Masters. Their every attack would be without the slightest restraint, presenting the student with a genuine life-or-death crisis.
Only under such extreme pressure could a Soul Master's true caliber be revealed.
Caelus walked unhurriedly to the center of the arena. Ahead of him, two teachers responsible for acting as referees were already in position.
Having two referees was also to maximize student safety, allowing for simultaneous rescue from two different directions in case of an accident.
The main Referee Teacher on the left looked at Caelus who had walked before him and asked in a deep voice, "What is your main focus?"
Upon hearing this, Caelus pondered for a moment in his heart.
Before obtaining the Ice Emperor Spirit, his Regent of Time Martial Soul, while bizarre and powerful, indeed leaned towards the control system.
But now, after fusing with a top-tier attack system Beast Spirit like the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, his combat system had undergone a change.
He raised his head and replied calmly, "I combine both attack and control."
"Attack and control?"
The Main Referee's brow instantly furrowed.
Biting off more than one can chew was an unshakable truth in the Spirit Master's world.
Cultivating two directions simultaneously, especially during the crucial foundational stage, often meant mastering neither.
However, he soon recognized the identity of the youth before him.
He knew Caelus and was aware of the attention the academy's higher-ups paid to him.
The future path planning for this youth was not something an ordinary teacher like him had the right to comment on.
Moreover, for a true Genius, common sense was meant to be broken.
He smoothed his brow, nodded, and said in a businesslike tone:
"Alright. Then, according to the rules, choose the Soul Beast you wish to be assessed against. Since you declared the Attack-Control System, during the assessment, you must not only demonstrate control over the Soul Beast but also have defeating it as your ultimate goal. You must choose carefully. The Soul Beast's level is in hundred-year units, from one hundred years to a maximum of one thousand years. The choice is yours."
These words made all the students from Second Year, Class One and Class Two outside the arena focus their attention with unprecedented intensity.
Their hearts were in their throats.
Facing a Soul Beast alone was a first-time experience for the vast majority of them. To say they weren't nervous would be a lie.
Naturally, they all eagerly hoped to glean valuable experience from Caelus, the first to take the stage.
Under the gaze of over a hundred pairs of tense and expectant eyes, Caelus's voice rang out clearly.
"Maximum thousand years? Then, thousand years."
A simple sentence, spoken as if discussing the most ordinary of matters.
However, when these words fell into the ears of the other students outside the arena, it was no less than a thunderclap.
"Thousand years... He actually chose the highest difficulty directly."
"My heavens... Being the first to go already carries the greatest pressure. And he dares to choose a Thousand-Year level Soul Beast?"
"Too... too bold."
After a brief, deathly silence, suppressed, low exclamations of amazement erupted from the crowd.
Admiration, shock, disbelief... various emotions intertwined.
They had originally thought Caelus, as the first, would choose a safer option like a five-hundred or eight-hundred-year Soul Beast. They never expected him to directly challenge the ceiling.
This powerful mental fortitude that ignored pressure, this confidence that looked down on everything, was alone worth learning from for everyone present.
A thought simultaneously surfaced in the minds of many:
No wonder he's a prominent figure in the Outer Court. No wonder he's the top of the 'this scoundrel must be executed rankings'. He really is different.
"A Thousand-Year Spirit Beast? Good. Then prepare yourself."
The Referee Teacher showed no surprise at this. Given Caelus's strength and reputation, choosing a Thousand-Year Spirit Beast was well within expectations.
He gave Caelus a deep look, then retreated several steps. Towards an observation port on the distant high wall, he gestured a signal to begin.
"Assessment, begin."
With a heavy, grating sound of mechanisms turning — "Clank clank clank!" — on a wall at the far end of the Beast Fighting Arena, a massive black iron gate, a full ten meters high, began to slowly rise.
A pitch-black, bottomless tunnel appeared before everyone's eyes.
All the discussions among the students outside the arena ceased abruptly at this moment.
The air seemed to solidify, leaving only a heavy atmosphere named danger pressing down, making it hard to breathe.
"ROAR—!!!"
A roar filled with savagery and fury suddenly erupted from the depths of the dark tunnel. The sound waves transformed into tangible shockwaves, making the entire Beast Fighting Arena hum.
Immediately after, a torrent of violent, dark-red flames surged out from the passage like a breached dam.
A wave of scorching heat that distorted the air rushed forth, causing the students in the front rows closest to the arena to feel a stinging sensation on their skin.
Following it came a towering, ferocious aura and a dense, nauseating stench of blood.
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