Nobles?

Understanding something did not necessarily mean accepting it.

Seeing that Xu Jie remained silent, Du Weilun raised a dark red longsword from his Storage Soul Guidance Device and said again, "This is a third-class close-combat Soul Tool, compensation for giving up the soul bone."

Xu Jie looked at the exquisite longsword in Du Weilun's hand but still said nothing. Soul bones were precious. At auctions, regardless of their age, soul bones were always valuable items, and they were essentially impossible to buy even at a high price. A third-class Soul Tool was nowhere near as valuable as a soul bone, even one that was only a hundred years old.

One third-class Soul Tool was not enough; the bargaining chip was too light. Xu Jie wanted the academy to add more, so he remained silent.

As time passed, Du Weilun and the old man beside him gradually darkened in expression when Xu Jie still did not speak.

Bang! A half-eaten chicken leg suddenly slammed onto the table. The slovenly old man rose to his feet, releasing a powerful aura that bore down on Xu Jie. Xu Jie's shoulders abruptly sank, and his head was forced down as well.

"Kid, don't be so ungrateful. You're a worthless cripple, and your little brother's talent is terrible too. The academy is already being generous by compensating you with a third-class Soul Tool. What more do you want?"

Crack! With a crisp sound, Xu Jie straightened beneath the pressure, startling all three people present. Smiling, he said, "Elder Xuan, you're right. I was presumptuous."

After saying that, he picked up the longsword and immediately headed for the door.

"Hmph, wait." Seeing Xu Jie about to leave, Xuan Zi's pressure suddenly intensified. Xu Jie staggered from the impact and nearly fell.

"Also, the academy has selected a group of outstanding students to be trained as Core Disciples. You should understand that neither you nor that Huo Yuhao meets the requirements to become a Core Disciple. Your martial soul has a flaw, so the academy will not grant you the status or benefits of a Core Disciple. However, it can give Huo Yuhao the benefits of one."

"Got it." With his back to the three people in the room, Xu Jie gave a brief reply before striding out.

Bang! The door shut. Watching Xu Jie leave, Xuan Zi could not help but feel puzzled. That kid had actually walked out under his aura. Turning to Du Weilun, he said, "Tell me, if his martial soul had no flaw, how great would that have been?"

Though he said that, Xuan Zi did not regret today's decision in the slightest. Shrek Academy was an academy that cultivated monsters. Once a monster became trash, it no longer had any value worth cultivating. That was only natural.

On the way back, Xu Jie wore a gentle smile the entire time. Only when he reached the entrance to the dormitory building did the smile vanish. He tossed the dark red longsword in his hand into a trash bin before entering the dormitory.

Trash belonged where trash belonged.

Back in the dormitory, he saw that the lights were off. He sat alone on his bed, closed his eyes, and rested.

He had long expected what happened today. As long as someone spoke to him properly, he could agree to anything, but what Xu Jie hated most was that condescending attitude.

Click! The door opened, and Huo Yuhao and Dugu Lu entered the dormitory together.

"Brother Jie, are you okay?" The moment Huo Yuhao entered, he noticed Xu Jie's expression. Dugu Lu beside him noticed it as well.

"I need to tell you something." Xu Jie raised a hand and summoned his martial soul, then explained the flaw in it. When he finished, Huo Yuhao looked utterly disbelieving. He raised a hand to Xu Jie's forehead and began slowly sending Soul Power into him.

Xu Jie did not stop him. Before long, Huo Yuhao's Soul Power was nearly depleted. Sensing that Xu Jie's Soul Power had not changed in the slightest, Huo Yuhao asked in shock, "Brother Jie, it's true?"

"Mm, that's right. I already have..." Before he could finish, Dugu Lu moved to step forward and send Soul Power into Xu Jie. Xu Jie stared at him and said, "Don't. It's better not to try. I might not be able to withstand the poison of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor."

"Fine. Is there no way to solve it?" Dugu Lu sheepishly withdrew his hand. He knew his own situation best. The Soul Power of Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul masters carried the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's poison, to say nothing of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor.

Xu Jie thought for a while before slowly saying, "There is."

"That's good." Hearing this, Huo Yuhao suddenly recalled how, not long after school began, Xu Jie had asked the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in his mind to scan his body. A flicker of understanding rose in his heart, and he no longer doubted him. The worry on his face turned to joy.

"There really is?" Unlike Huo Yuhao, Dugu Lu's face was full of doubt. He understood very well how difficult it was to resolve a flaw in one's martial soul.

Xu Jie nodded and looked at Dugu Lu with utter confidence. "There really is."

"But..." Seeing Dugu Lu about to speak again, Xu Jie immediately cut him off and began recounting what had happened in the office that night. Naturally, he did not reveal everything, leaving out a small portion here and there.

"How can the academy do this?!" Dugu Lu slapped the table, producing a loud sound. Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, lowered his head and fell silent.

A glint of cold light appeared in Huo Yuhao's eyes as he clenched his fists. Having suffered misfortune since childhood, he was extremely sensitive. Although Xu Jie's companionship had made his personality somewhat better than in the original story, the improvement was limited.

Dugu Lu did not notice Huo Yuhao's abnormality at that moment, but Xu Jie saw Huo Yuhao's silence and felt somewhat worried. He raised his eyes and gave Dugu Lu a meaningful look.

Dugu Lu looked at Huo Yuhao and could not help asking, "Yuhao, are you okay?"

Huo Yuhao raised his head and tried his best to appear natural. "Brother Lu, I'm fine. Can you let us be alone for a while?"

"Alright." Seeing Huo Yuhao like this, Dugu Lu could not say much more. He took out his family's inherited Soul Power meditation method and placed it on the table. After saying goodbye to the two of them, he left the dormitory, seeming to hesitate over something.

Inside the dormitory, Xu Jie watched Huo Yuhao with concern. Just as he was about to speak, Huo Yuhao's voice interrupted him.

"Brother Jie, if it weren't for the flaw in your martial soul, would I, a soul master with only a ten-year soul ring, not even receive the benefits of a Core Disciple?"

Looking at Huo Yuhao's reddened eyes, Xu Jie answered firmly, "Yes, that's right."

He truly was not wrong about that. From the few memories Xu Jie had of the original story, the original Huo Yuhao had been a champion, but if not for his Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Wang Dong, he probably would not even have received the benefits of a Core Disciple. One could see as much from Xuan Zi's initial attitude toward Huo Yuhao in the original story.

After Huo Yuhao revealed that his second martial soul possessed Ultimate Ice, the academy's attitude toward him changed completely.

Later, he was even cultivated as the Sea God Pavilion's next-generation successor. That was not merely because Huo Yuhao possessed an Ultimate Ice martial soul; more importantly, he had Twin Martial Souls. According to Dugu Bo, twin martial souls were always of the same grade, which meant Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Eye was no weaker than the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion.

Seeing Huo Yuhao remain silent, Xu Jie spoke and repeated a line Zhou Yi often said in class: "If you weren't born a noble, then become one through your own hard work."