Finally Sleep

The beautiful elder led them to the next room. This was the place of the next trial. The final trial. And the room was… it was… normal? 

Karni, in his already tired state, let his thoughts speak. "It's… just a normal classroom?"

The other children were of the same confusion. The Sea God Elder, Ya Li, chuckled to herself. "Yes. This is the Three Hall Review. We shall look over your progress through this whole exam and give you points based on our impressions as well as give you your overall score."

The group unanimously gulped down their saliva. Three exquisite chairs were in the room. Two of them were already filled. One would imagine, with this being a normal classroom, the chairs wouldn't quite fit in. But they did. This was a classroom, but it was a Shrek Academy classroom.

One of the three seated was the red haired elder they saw in the talent presentation trial. Meanwhile the last seat was filled by a completely new person, yet a familiar one. An older female elder. Her hair was as bright as silver and as shiny as the moon. Karni almost wanted to complain out loud. This was Elder Cai. The damn devil elder.

The middle chair was empty until Ya Li herself sat down on it with a warm smile that contrasted greatly with the somewhat cold "smile" of Elder Cai.

"Ya Li, you don't have to cover for me anymore, you are aware?" Elder Cai addressed her with a mixture of apology and respect.

Ya Li just waved her hand. "I've seen this group reach this far, as well as a few others. I might as well see those groups through to the end, since they're the strongest talents to make it through so fast."

The red haired elder, Zhou Shi, approved. "Seeing as they are also the first to reach this point, they can get a single bonus point in this final trial, I would say."

Elder Cai made a disgruntled expression, but seeing the nod from Ya Li stopped her from voicing an actual complaint. She usually felt like she had a say in letting people through to the Outer Court. She was the headmistress of it after all. But to speak against Ya Li was something she had trouble doing. Especially so when Ya Li did her a favour by replacing her for the start of the exam when she couldn't be here.

Ya Li happily clasped her hand together. "Now then! Let's begin with the rating of this final trial. Li Tai, step forward."

Li Tai gulped. It did not feel good. It felt like they were going from worst to best, if they went the other way around, Karni would've been called first. He was sure of it. Of course, it might also be random, but he wasn't confident enough in that. He felt like he did the worse out of them.

Elder Cai was the one who took over from Ya Li with a nod. "From the Li Family in Star Luo City? The Cloud Sword?"

Li Tai nodded.

"Hm. How is your swordsmanship, is it as narrow minded as that of your family?"

Li Tai frowned. This again. He did realise there was more to his Martial Soul than he expected, but did they have to be so mean about it?

Zhou Shi nodded to Elder Cai's question. "I've asked him that as well during the fourth trial. Li Tai. Have you realised the limits of your family's tradition?"

Li Tai breathed deeply to calm himself down and nodded. "If you'd allow me to present to you the insights I've gained in this short time."

The elders unanimously nodded. Li Tai formed a well-practised stance, one that spoke of the freedom of the swordplay he was about to perform. A classic stance of his family. Though he found it ironic now. Their swordsmanship was meant to be free and adaptive… somehow the traditions, the unbending rules, have held it back all along.

He flowed like the wind, his Soul Rings flashing interchangeably. He threw some objects from his storage ring into the air and slashed them apart. Most of these were food.

His sword invisible, slashing and yet, whatever he slashed into two or three or four, almost seemed to stay and hover in the air, moving freely. He then stopped and threw his sword as well, while it was still invisible. He barely grazed the floating food, yet it started spinning in uncontrollable ways.

Then he recalled his sword, showcasing his swordplay while he himself floated. The techniques were similar, yet required much higher skill. After the presentation, he slowly floated down, standing still as the food slowly fell. He caught the food before it hit the ground and put it back into the storage ring, not wanting to dirty the floor or the food. They were still edible.

Zhou Shi and Ya Li who both witnessed his swordsmanship at the start slightly nodded. Li Tai also wanted to speak. "I can see that there's still a lot I can integrate into my family's swordsmanship with the skills now, it's just that I haven't yet had the time-"

Elder Cai raised her hand. "It's fine child. It's the best use of your abilities I've seen from your family in a while."

Li Tai smiled, but he soon retracted the smile when he heard what Elder Cai said next.

"So why are you so unconfident in yourself?"

Li Tai was confused. Unconfident? Him? Since when?

Elder Cai sighed. "After Zhou Shi first criticised your techniques, you turned mild in the next trials. I saw the videos. Tell me. Why? Even in the ninth trial? Why were you so easily influenced by that girl, Wu Siduo? It was clear you didn't want to kill the Soul Beast, so why were you so unsure about it?"

"I…" He didn't know what to say. Was he really like that? Thinking back on it, he was. If it weren't for Yu Tian saying it's wrong, as well as Karni, what would he have done? But then again, why was this important, wasn't that about survival?

Before he could give a proper answer, the elders interrupted him. Elder Cai specifically. "That's fine then. Let's give him a score. What do you think?" She looked at Ya Li and Zhou Shi.

Zhou Shi was the first to give his opinion. "I'd give him six points. He clearly showed growth during the trial, and worked well with his teammates. Even with the influence during the trials, he still has a good head on his shoulder. Though he was a bit passive overall… And needed help during certain trials where he should've performed well by himself."

Ya Li's words were simple. "I agree."

Elder Cai nodded. "I'm okay with that as well. Since you get a bonus point as well, you get seven points in total."

Li Tai nodded. He didn't dare to complain to these powerful people. He went back.

"Wait." Elder Cai sounded suddenly and Li Tai turned around confused.

"We still have to give you your final score."

"Oh." Li Tai was embarrassed. He forgot about that.

"Let's see. 8 points for the first trial. 10 for the next two. Your fourth trial was the poorest. Only 5 points. You gained another 10 points for your Second Profession, while your willpower was barely passable, 6 points there. Your physical health had no trouble in the seventh trial, 10 points. Similarly you managed to defeat one of ours even if with difficulty in the eighth trial,, 10 points. Your moral character was lacking a little, being influenced by your own greed and friends, but you didn't take any egregious actions, 6 points for the ninth trial. And finally, we gave you 7 points on this review."

Li Tai followed along until the ninth trial. "Wait, my moral character was lacking? May I get an explanation?"

Ya Li made a small smile. "I'm sorry. For the sake of fairness, the ninth trial is presented as survival, when it is, in fact, a trial of your character. You were tempted by the greed of a Soul Ring from a child Soul Beast, hence we deducted some points. But since you never actually did anything, it's still a passable score of six points."

Everyone made surprised expressions, even Karni, though he was faking it. He knew from the start. The one who turned most nervous was in fact Siduo, hearing the words come out of Ya Li's mouth.

"With that," Elder Cai resumed her count, "you have a total of 82 points. Welcome to Shrek Academy's Outer Court." She finally revealed a genuine, if small, smile.

Due to all the criticism he received, he didn't realise that this was a high score. 60 was what he needed to pass, yet he destroyed that minimum by 22 points. But this was how Shrek was. It was especially demanding of those it deemed talented.

"Yu Tian, step forward." Li Tai went back as Elder Cai called forward his closest friend.

"Hm." Elder Cai analysed the boy in front of her. "Good head on your shoulders, you're aware of both your strengths and weaknesses, and are a sturdy pillar of support to your friend. So tell me, why does it feel like you're resigned to not being as good as your friend that ranked below you?"

Yu Tian was taken aback. "I don't know. That's just how it's always been."

"Child. Throughout the whole exam you have been nothing but reliable. Be a bit more confident in your abilities. You always show them to your full potential, a trait not many Soul Masters have."

"Yes." Yu Tian smiled a little. What more could give one a boost of confidence than an elder of the Sea God Pavillion themselves saying it?

"Good. Now then, for the review of your whole performance, I feel like you deserve 8 points." Elder Cai was the first to say. She clearly had a favourable impression of this boy. She liked these people that knew how to support their friends from behind, not standing out.

The Three Hall Review was, overall, to give an overall grade to the students that went through all the trials. How they performed in different situations and grew through it. Almost a culmination of all the points and an average, yet not really.

Ya Li and Zhou Shi agreed with Elder Cai on the points. Elder Cai was satisfied. "This makes it 9 points for you on this trial, because of the bonus."

She looked at the paper sheet of all his scores. "You gained the exact same scores as your friend there on the first three trials. On your fourth, you gained 7. In your second profession, you failed to produce a 1000-refined metal, and even ruined it, yet showed a high grade understanding of 100 refines, hence you get the minimum passing score of 6. Your willpower was decent, as while you were slow, you could've kept going, but it only got you to 7 points. Your physical abilities are a clear 10 along with your comprehensive battle against our own students where you chose a good opponent for yourself and outlasted them with your excellent defence, deserving another 10 points. Finally, your moral character is excellent. 10 points there and 9 points here." She looked at the boy.

"A total of 87 points. Welcome to our Shrek Academy Outer Court." Elder Cai smiled and nodded at Yu Tian.

Karni was starting to feel a bit relieved. Perhaps this person isn't really that scary as she was in the books? But then he stopped. No no. She was still going to act that way with Tang Wulin and his group. They were going to be late.

"Next up, Wu Siduo." Elder Cai called out, and for once, Karni could notice genuine nervousness from Siduo.

"Tell me, Wu Siduo." Elder Cai began. "You're so talented in all of these aspects. Yet why are you so hostile against Soul Beasts? Even those that are children."

Siduo looked down. "I simply never thought of them as our equal… but… I think I was wrong. I've read many… stories of the old days and am a fan of them and well-"

It was Ya Li who stopped her there this time around. "It is true that in ancient days, Soul Beasts were seen as mortal enemies of mankind, yet over the years, we have been proven wrong many times. If anything, it was us humans who have begun unanimously exterminating them. Almost systematically. They never did that against us. Even those of evil nature: they are simply their equivalent of evil Soul Masters, yet evil Soul Masters do not make the whole of the human race evil, no?"

Elder Cai was a bit surprised at how much Ya Li was showing her opinion, why was she so expressive? That girl was talented yes, but there were others, talent was never an issue for Shrek Academy. 

Siduo took Ya Li's words to heart. Perhaps this was the one last thing she truly… truly still had to learn anew. "I had a friend judge me as well in that trial," she glanced at Karni, "I realise I need to change my outlook completely."

Ya Li nodded and then sent a silent message to Elder Cai, who seemed to change her look and glanced at Karni. It was also her who took over the lead now. "Since you never actually crossed the line in the trial, you will get a passing score of 6 there." She gave Siduo a harsh look.

"Just so you know, if you would've failed that trial, you wouldn't have been able to get into Shrek, even if you scored full points on everything else. You should be thankful for having a reasonable friend."

Siduo's eyes widened a bit, though she accepted. That woman… she wasn't going to let her through this originally, was she. She glanced at Ya Li, feeling thankful.

"As for this trial, we won't judge that. Your overall performance was frankly excellent. You also led the group through many trials alongside your friend, so you have shown your other qualities like leadership and calmness as well. You get full points." Elder Cai exclaimed, though she didn't sound happy to say it.

The other two elders nodded.

"Outside the test of willpower, which gave you 7 points, and the ninth trial, which got you 6 points, you have full points everywhere else. This gives you a total of 93 points. Congratulations, welcome to Shrek Academy." Her "congratulations" sounded more like a threat.

Siduo nodded, not daring to complain. She needed to get in here. 

And finally, it was Karni's turn—who was getting impatient. Not because he was excited, but because he couldn't wait to get this over with. He. Wanted. To. Sleep! He was barely keeping himself together after all the talking in this trial! Imagine waiting… just standing there! He almost fell asleep where he stood!

"Val Karni. Step forward."

Karni rubbed his eyes and straightened his back as much as he could.

Elder Cai frowned a bit, seeing this. "Are you bored?"

Karni shook his head. He really wasn't. He was just extremely tired.

"Then why are you like this?"

Karni took a big breath and slapped his cheeks a little to keep himself straight. This got a weirder reaction out of Elder Cai. Genuine surprise. "Because I'm tired and want to sleep. My bloodline has been trying to make me fall asleep since the sixth trial."

Ya Li raised her eyebrow. She took over the conversation, since she was the only one to have felt the effects of his bloodline before. "Explain in greater detail, Val Karni, what exactly is going on? I remember your bloodline having a relaxing and friendly effect on me."

Karni nodded. "Whenever I eat food, I become a little tired until it's fully ingested. This time, because of the sixth trial, my bloodline was extremely irritated compared to the usual and it's been a pain in the ass trying to even keep myself sane."

Zhou Shi, the fiery elder, laughed out loud when he heard Karni say this. "Look at this one. So bold. I like him."

"May I feel your bloodline?" Ya Li turned curious. She wanted to feel how his bloodline was behaving.

Karni nodded and came close, extending his hand. Ya Li placed her own hand on his own and put her Soul Power in.

Her eyes went wide. "Such activity. Cai'er, feel this."

Elder Cai wasn't exactly willing, but since it was Ya Li who asked, she did it anyway. Her eyes went equally wild.

She put her hand away in thought. "Even with that, we have to admit that his performance suffered a bit in the latter half of the exam."

Ya Li smiled. "Sure. How about this? We give him nine points in this trial instead of 10. What do you think, Val Karni?"

They were asking him? "Well, as long as I can go to sleep as soon as possible."

Elder Cai was dumbfounded. "This boy!"

"Now, now, Cai'er. Think about it like this." Ya Li was amused. "Since he'd get full points with the bonus point, it grants him a wish, as per the rules, no?"

"I suppose so." Elder Cai had to admit. Full points did offer a student one wish. "Before that though. Val Karni. What would you have done if Wu Siduo wasn't allowed into the academy?"

Karni was a bit confused at the question, but answered anyway. "I suppose I would leave as well."

Elder Cai glanced at Ya Li, who gave her a 'I told you so' smile. "Fine then. You get 100 points. Welcome to Shrek."

Karni was happy. "Can I sleep now?"

"Yes, yes." Elder Cai waved her hand and Karni's body went limp. Siduo rushed in front to catch him so he wouldn't fall.

Elder Cai glanced at Ya Li again, who this time had a similar look of amazement. The Pavillion elder couldn't help but laugh. "I guess he really was tired. We should take him to bed."

"Actually," Siduo interrupted, "the best place to rest would be somewhere with nature, trees of any kind would suit him better than a normal room. His Panda Martial Soul has an attached element of bamboo on him as well."

"Is that so?" A figure appeared in the middle of the room. The group was unfamiliar with them.

The two elders bowed, while Ya Li went in for a hug. "Pavilion Master."

Pavilion Master? The other three looked in amazement, Siduo especially, since she was the closest.

"Since the boy's only wish was to sleep and not ask much of us, and he has to rest at a tree, how about we give him a little bit of a surprise? What do you think, Ya Li?"

"I think it's a good idea, Yun Ming. He'll have a nice place to rest there."

Siduo looked bewildered. Were they actually talking about what she thought they were talking about?

"Wu Siduo, hold him tight, you're getting an early visit to the Sea God's Island." Yun Ming smiled.