"Holy... shit (cracked voice)!"
Liu Ren let out the most earth-shattering "holy shit" of all time, as if he'd pressed some kind of switch. In an instant, cries of "holy shit" erupted everywhere. Other sounds like "hiss," "damn," and "oh my god" also rang out. They rose and fell like a symphony in an exam hall.
The entrance door opened, and the Fire Crow flew up, looking a bit disheveled. It landed in front of him and let out a weak "caw." Its voice was faint. By now, the Fire Crow had long lost its fiery feather coat. The dark red and crimson feathers had also lost their metallic luster. A few broken feathers drifted down. Its injuries weren't severe, but the countless blade shadows it had unleashed in just a few dozen seconds had drained most of its spiritual energy. With the explosion's tremors and energy impacts, the aftershocks grew fiercer, and the fiery feather form finally couldn't hold up. If the cannon's barrage had been delayed by just half a second more... it would have turned into a bald crow.
But... it hadn't. A bit of dishevelment, in the eyes of others, was an insurmountable achievement. Especially for top students like Bai Hongzhen, whose expressions were complex. He turned to look at the Polar Nine-Tails. "Maybe we should postpone our challenge a bit."
...
"Good job."
Su Hao patted the Fire Crow's wing. It was warm. It came with its own heater. Having the Fire Crow in winter and the Water Kirin Beast in summer was perfect. No matter where he went, he wasn't afraid.
"Hmm... once the Electric Bear learns to output a tiny bit of current, I won't need to bring a charger anymore. Perfect!"
So the question was, what was Die Xiaodie's ability?
...
One by one, spirits stepped down, injured and withdrawing. Su Hao stood above, watching like the other gossiping students. "If used for training, the effect should be pretty good." The energy ball's output steadily increased, gradually putting more pressure on the spirits. The Fire Crow, spurred by the sense of crisis, had unleashed the Thirteen Crow Blades. But Su Hao also knew that using this venue for regular training wasn't realistic. "It outputs energy balls; running it for a day would consume an immense amount of energy. No way they'd let us use it daily."
The defense assessment lasted half a day. The remaining half... was time for the spirits to rest and adjust their state. Tomorrow was the final battle assessment. For many students, the battle assessment was the real showcase of their strength. They valued it the most.
For Su Hao... it didn't matter. What he valued was the special training camp challenge after the finals.
"Our assessment credits have been distributed."
Liu Ren said, checking his spirit ring. "120 credits, not bad."
Su Hao checked his own. 480 credits... "That's quite a lot." It surprised him a bit. "Seems like from C- to A+, the reward is 20 to 180 credits?" Thinking about it, just because the Water Kirin Beast had fooled around and lost 20 credits, it was like... not that much, really. The extra credits put Su Hao in a good mood. Other students mostly had around 100 credits or less. That was equivalent to the reward for a two-star wanted mission. Not a small amount. Two-star mission criminals were trickier. Sometimes they were caught in three to five days; other times, weeks went by without finding them, and it was normal to end up with nothing. The free credits from the finals made everyone very happy.
...
The next day.
Su Hao rode the Water Kirin Beast, bringing along the blade-happy Fire Crow, and arrived at the battle hall. Ten battles! Random opponents!
Zone B.
A referee-like person announced, "Battlefield 013, Su Hao vs. Long Zhuo. Both contestants, send out your spirits."
Standing on one side of the field, the student named Long Zhuo looked at Su Hao with intense shock and despair on his face. When he saw the Fire Crow, his despair deepened. The scenes from yesterday, where the Fire Crow had shown its might and earned an 'A+' score, were still fresh in his mind. He had been amazed then. But today, the Fire Crow stood across from him as a formidable enemy. Not just him; his ace spirit, the Tyrant Bear, was also trembling. The three-to-four-meter-tall giant bear was terrified of the two-meter-tall Fire Crow, like a child barely one or two years old.
"Battle... begin!"
The referee waved the flag. The Fire Crow lunged forward, its feather blade extending, and slashed down once. Leaving a trail of afterimages, it returned to its original spot and folded its wings. At that moment, a thin line appeared on the Tyrant Bear. Its massive body crashed heavily to the ground. The referee, who had just lowered the flag, raised it again. "Battle over. Winner: contestant Su Hao."
The student named Long opened his mouth slightly, his expression frozen from a second ago. He hadn't even had a chance to make a move. Indeed... he was too hopeless!
...
One match, two matches, three matches...
Su Hao sometimes appeared in Zone B, sometimes in Zone A, sometimes in Zones C, F, or G. Each battle ended in one or two seconds. Clean and decisive.
But... Su Hao felt something was off. Yesterday, he had been the center of everyone's attention. But today, most people avoided his gaze in fear when they saw him.
"You don't know?" Liu Ren said. "Old Su, think about it. Whoever gets randomly matched with you in the battle assessment is doomed. Besides the win-loss, the referee gives credits based on performance, but think about your opponents—did they even get a chance to act? A chance to show off?"
Su Hao thought and thought, then thought again. It seemed, maybe, possibly... no. They were all taken out by the one-slash crow.
Liu Ren added, "Some were so badly injured that they couldn't recover and had to fight the next match injured. It was a miserable bunch. So, your Fire Crow now has a nickname: the Crimson Demon. One glare can scare other spirits into not daring to move."
Su Hao glanced at the Fire Crow. It was tilting its head, sharpening its feathers. Su Hao couldn't understand. That was too exaggerated. Wasn't the Fire Crow's gaze just dumb and clueless? And yesterday... everyone was calling it "Crow God." How was it the Crimson Demon today? Too fickle! Hah, fake classmates!
...
Battle assessment.
Sixth match.
A certain student saw Su Hao and his expression drastically changed. But the next second, he let out a "huh?" The referee also asked, "Contestant Su Hao, are you sure you want to send out the Electric Bear? Even if it doesn't affect your score... only the winner gets 10 to 20 credits per match."
"I'm sure," Su Hao said. He was a meticulous person, not arrogant. He had already done the math. If he lost, based on performance, he could get 0 to 10 credits. But usually, posting a mission to hire an elite-level sparring partner also cost about 10 credits. It wasn't a loss to let the Electric Bear practice. More importantly... "I'm a considerate person. I think about others. To let my classmates feel the care from a top student, I have to send out my weakest spirit."
Sure enough, seeing only the entry-level Electric Bear, the opposing student's panic faded, and his back straightened a bit. His just-entered-elite-level Great Ape raised its arms and shouted "Ooh ooh ooh." The one person and one spirit were suddenly brimming with confidence. As long as they could beat Su Hao, even if it was just his weakest spirit... it would be enough to make a name for themselves! And... an elite-level against an entry-level—they had a big chance of winning!
...
Ten seconds later.
"Meatball Thunder Sphere."
Crackle— Crackle—
The Electric Bear's body was surrounded by arcs of lightning, curling up into a giant thunderball that bounced around the empty battlefield. One ball collision slammed into the Great Ape, making its arms tremble, and the jumping arcs left scorched marks on it. The opposing student was a bit surprised but not panicked. He shouted, "Stay calm! The Electric Bear is only entry-level; its attack power is limited! We still have a chance!"
...
Twenty seconds later.
"Hang in there! Hold on to the end, and victory will still be ours!"
...
Thirty seconds later.
"Above!" "Behind!" "Watch out!" "Hold on!" He was already frantic.
...
Forty-four seconds later.
A Great Ape, looking utterly miserable and pitiful, lay sprawled across the battlefield. Its spirit master's mouth hung open. He looked at the Electric Bear, which had dispersed its lightning arcs and was still full of energy, then at Su Hao. He shed the tears of the weak.
...
Battle over.
Su Hao raised his hand, glanced at the watch on his wrist, and shook his head. "Only lasted a few dozen seconds. Did I take a loss?"