"I thought it was mine," Feng Wuya said, flicking his small handkerchief. "Shengyi, look, my rank is higher than Chu Tianle and Luo Feihua, so I can definitely protect you. Choose me."
"Grass! Feng Wuya, are you looking for death?" Chu Tianle, furious, got up and started fighting with Feng Wuya.
Zhu Wu grumbled in a low voice, "I also want to team up with Daoist Bai. She has such good luck."
"Me too," Chen Qiyang, who appeared calm and unpretentious, also wanted to. After all, acting with Daoist Bai gave a full sense of security!
However, there was only one Bai Shengyi. She said with a wry smile, "You all calm down. I attract a lot of trouble, and being on my team will increase the danger and the possibility of elimination. So I think..."
"We don't mind!"
"We are all capable people, and we're not afraid!" Luo Feihua and Chu Tianle both interrupted Bai Shengyi.
Bai Shengyi was taken aback. In her time in this world, this was the first time she had felt such pure and simple support, leaving her momentarily stunned. A sweet, joyful, and excited emotion surged through her heart. The trust and support from her teammates made her feel that meeting these friends had already made this assessment worthwhile.
Bai Shengyi said, "Thank you, everyone! Then let's work hard together to pass the assessment!"
"Of course!" Chu Tianle said, then resumed fighting with Feng Wuya. "Feng Wuya, do you understand seniority? I am Shengyi's best teammate..."
They fought for a full hour, and Chu Tianle eventually won. Luo Feihua, Zhu Wu, and Chen Qiyang, seeing Chu Tianle's fighting spirit, decided to let it go this time. So Chu Tianle teamed up with Bai Shengyi, Luo Feihua with Feng Wuya, and Zhu Wu with Chen Qiyang. However, even though they were divided like this, they were still on the same team, and whether they would act together would be decided by the academy's rules later.
However, it was clear that the academy would not give everyone the chance to form large groups this time.
Two days later, Mu Xing's solemn voice echoed in everyone's ears.
"Everyone, the fifth stage of the assessment officially begins. This assessment values strength above all else. The assessment method is a擂台赛 (arena competition). The assessment location is at five斗战台 (fighting stages) in Qianlian City. The assessment rules are as stated in the respective recommendation posts."
Everyone quickly checked the recommendation posts.
"As expected, it's two people per team."
"The academy is getting harsher. This assessment is clearly designed to eliminate those who passed the fourth stage by luck."
"It's bad, my teammates have all been eliminated. Who should I find for help now?"
According to the rules on the recommendation posts, the examinees needed to finalize their teammates before dusk that day and report them to the academy. The academy would randomly match participants for the arena competitions based on quotas. The examinees would then proceed to the fighting stages to compete according to the matching results shown on the recommendation posts.
There were two hundred and fifty teams participating in the assessment, but there would be no byes. This was because throughout the assessment, each team would earn 1 point for each victory and enter the next round of matching. Whoever reached 100 points first would pass the fifth stage. Only the top fifty teams would pass this assessment.
"Meaning, whoever wins 100 arena matches first can pass the assessment?" Bai Shengyi exclaimed, "These rules are really simple and crude!"
It couldn't be said to be fair or unfair, only brutal.
"Who said it wasn't? And according to these rules, only the top twenty-five teams can pass. This really is a case of strength above all else," Luo Feihua also sighed.
"We should hurry and register. Since they said the assessment starts today, it means the arena matches should begin today," Zhu Wu whispered.
His words reminded the others, so they wasted no time and rushed to the academy's registration desk to register their team names. Soon after, the match lists appeared on their respective recommendation posts.
"We're up against Jiang Pengyu and his team?" Feng Wuya exclaimed in a low voice.
"We don't know these two. Their names are Zhou Yi and Jin Ruyi," Chen Qiyang said.
Then everyone looked at Bai Shengyi and Chu Tianle, who had remained silent. Chu Tianle said with a complicated expression, "We are against Qin Zhao and Sun Yun."
"Holy crap! The academy is stirring up trouble!" Feng Wuya couldn't help but curse, his small handkerchief no longer being waved as he quickly analyzed for everyone.
"Let's start with me and Jiang Pengyu, no need to say anything, people have already been comparing us. Qin Zhao, that scumbag, also no need to mention him. As for Jin Ruyi, she seems to be a princess of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom. And Sun Yun is the youngest daughter of the head of the Sun family, a hidden clan."
"Tsk, is the academy really bullying us? If we win against these people, it won't end well either," Luo Feihua's clear voice completed Feng Wuya's unsaid words, clearly understanding his meaning.
"Why worry about so much? Just win!" Chu Tianle, with his typical fighter's mentality, didn't care about these complexities.
Zhu Wu, however, was already panicking. "Is my bad luck affecting Daoist Chen again? Otherwise..."
"That's not true, don't overthink it," Chen Qiyang said gravely.
Bai Shengyi also said, "Zhu Wu, I think Feng Wuya and Feihua's guesses might be correct. Don't always blame yourself. Besides, whether it's royalty or a clan, they are all treated the same in front of Shenqi Academy, so don't worry too much."
"Yes, yes," Chu Tianle quickly agreed. "And don't listen to Feng Wuya's nonsense. That Jin Ruyi is just the daughter of a king of a different lineage, with little connection to the Golden Sparrow Kingdom's royal family."
With everyone talking, Zhu Wu was finally reassured, and they prepared to head to their designated arenas. Before leaving, Bai Shengyi said, "Although winning is important, life is also important. This is not an illusion this time. If you lose your life, it's truly lost..."
As she said this, something suddenly flashed through Bai Shengyi's mind, but before she could think about it, it was gone. The timing was not right, so she had to put aside these distracting thoughts and continue, "And there are many more arena matches waiting for us, so everyone must stay calm, stay calm. We will all definitely pass the assessment!"
"Yes! We definitely will!" Chu Tianle, Feng Wuya, Luo Feihua, Chen Qiyang, and Zhu Wu all nodded.
Young people, unrestrained and straightforward, never fearing new beginnings!
The arena matches had time limits, so after high-fiving each other, everyone turned and left. When Bai Shengyi and Chu Tianle arrived at the fighting stage, Qin Zhao and a young girl in a light yellow gauze dress were already on the platform.
"This is Sun Yun," Chu Tianle said. Bai Shengyi nodded and handed the recommendation post to the academy official next to them for identity verification, then ascended the high platform.
Qin Zhao pointed at Bai Shengyi and said to Sun Yun with a smile, "Miss Yun, this is my former fiancée."
"She really doesn't suit you," Sun Yun glanced at Bai Shengyi and sneered coldly, "Bai Shengyi, I heard you're an alchemist. Why don't you treat your eyes? With your appearance, aren't you afraid of scaring others?"