188: School team selection

Xu Yan did not pay much attention to the various gazes directed at him. His eyes went straight to Lin Heng, who was waving at him not far away, and he quickly walked over to his side.

As soon as he got close, he heard Lin Heng's voice.

“I knew it, Xu Yan. You would definitely come to participate in the School Team Selection.”

Xu Yan nodded at Lin Heng's words, then asked, “How about it? Do you feel confident about passing the selection and joining the school team?”

In response to Xu Yan's question, Lin Heng chuckled and said, “Since I lost to you last time, I've run through several Secret Realms. The current me won't lose to you as easily as before.”

His words were filled with confidence and fighting spirit.

Xu Yan let out a light laugh.

“In that case, I look forward to your performance.”

After chatting briefly with Lin Heng, the appointed time arrived. Under the direction of the staff, everyone lined up, and then a man and a woman came to the front. The man spoke first.

“Hello everyone. I am Zhang Che, School Team Member #05. This is Shen Min, School Team Member #08. We are the assessors for the preliminary round of the School Team Selection.”

After Zhang Che finished introducing himself, Shen Min's voice followed.

“Next, I will announce the assessment rules to everyone. However, before the rules are announced, students whose personal strength has reached the Monarch Rank and who have not used any forced growth methods, please step forward.”

Hearing her words, Xu Yan glanced at Lin Heng standing beside him, and the two of them stepped out of the queue together.

At the same time, several people stepped out from the other queues. Under Shen Min's direction, they formed a new queue in the designated location.

Xu Yan briefly scanned the group. Including him and Lin Heng, the new queue totaled only thirteen people. This meant that among the hundreds of participants present, only these few dozen people had genuinely reached the Monarch Rank in strength.

Looking at Xu Yan and the others who had lined up, Shen Min said to them, “Alright, you few can skip the upcoming preliminary test and proceed directly to Arena K24. Personnel there will conduct your next round of assessment.”

The crowd present did not react strongly to Shen Min's words; at most, they were surprised that so many people were exempt from the preliminary test this year, and that two of them were sophomores.

After speaking, Shen Min and Zhang Che turned their attention back to the rest of the crowd and began introducing the assessment rules. Meanwhile, Xu Yan and the others, led by the staff, entered the Teleportation Array to head to Arena K24 for the next round of assessment.

A flash of light later, Xu Yan and the others appeared inside Arena K24.

As soon as they entered the arena, they saw many people already waiting there.

Seeing the arrival of Xu Yan and the others, a middle-aged man walked up to them and said, “Welcome, students. I am Kong Ji, the Head Coach of the School Team.”

After introducing himself, Kong Ji pointed to the people behind him and continued, “These people behind me are the assistant coaches and members of the school team. Your next assessment will be to battle against the school team members.

The number plates they are wearing correspond to their ranking within the school team. The combat rules, whether 1+1 or 1+N, will be chosen by the challenger. The arena has activated a Confidentiality Agreement, so there is no need to worry about information leakage. Please fight with all your strength.”

If you win the battle, you can directly pass the assessment and join the school team, replacing the current school team ranking of the member you defeated, and you may continue to challenge those ranked higher.

If you fail the battle, do not be discouraged. The assistant coaches will record your performance during the Spirit Beast battles. If someone performs exceptionally well, they can still pass the assessment, though their school team ranking will have to start from the bottom. If a challenger fails twice and does not receive approval from the assistant coaches in either instance, the assessment is failed.

Your school team ranking will determine the allocation of resources you receive within the school team, and it is also one of the deciding factors in whether you can participate in the University League.

Of course, if you have a purely support Spirit Beast lineup or other special circumstances, you can report to me in advance, and I will arrange a specialized test assessment for you.

Those are the rules. The assessment begins now.

“Since I see that there are two sophomores among the challengers this time, how about you upperclassmen demonstrate the spirit of respecting the elderly and cherishing the young, letting these two challenge last, while the rest determine their challenge order by drawing lots?”

The other eleven people present had no objection to Kong Ji's proposal, so Xu Yan and Lin Heng's challenge slots were ranked twelfth and thirteenth. The rest drew lots from Kong Ji to determine their challenge order.

Unsurprisingly, the challenger who drew the first slot, when questioned by Kong Ji, immediately chose to challenge Member #24—the lowest-ranked school team member in this assessment—using the 1+1 challenge mode.

School Team Member #24 first summoned his Spirit Beast: a Blade Mantis, dual Gold and Insect attribute, with strength at the Mid-Grade Monarch Rank. The challenger summoned a Gale Hawk, dual Wind and Fire attribute, with strength at the Low-Grade Monarch Rank.

The former was slightly stronger, while the latter had an advantage in attributes and species. Furthermore, although both possessed the ability to fly, there was ultimately a difference between high altitude and low altitude flight.

Judging solely by these factors, the latter might even have had a greater advantage. However, the entire process, from the start of the battle until School Team Member #24 claimed victory, didn't even take five minutes.

The Gale Hawk took off. The Gale Hawk applied status buffs while attacking. The Gale Hawk showcased superb flying skills.

Then, as the Gale Hawk lowered its flight altitude, preparing to launch a full-force attack, it was instantly taken out by three strikes from the Blade Mantis, which had suddenly burst forward right in its face.

Although it was called three strikes, two of them were used to block movement, and the only one that actually caused damage was the final strike.

This school team member used extreme output to show the challengers present that even though he ranked lowest among the school team members, he was not a soft target that could be easily defeated.

After this battle, three more people challenged School Team Member #24. The opponent still used the same Blade Mantis.

Among these three, some chose to confront him head-on, while others chose to avoid his edge and tried to wear down the opponent, relying on the Blade Mantis's characteristics of being fragile and having low endurance. Those who fought head-on couldn't match the output, and those who dodged managed to stall for a bit longer, but ultimately, they were caught and taken out with a single strike.