Early Grouping, Team Invitation

Shao Wentao gave Shiyu a few extra looks and praised him with a smile. "I heard you made a three-move agreement with Senior Xu Sanshi and even won. Not bad."

"Just luck," Shiyu said modestly.

"Being able to leave a Soul Elder helpless against you isn't something luck can explain," Shao Wentao said.

Shiyu smiled politely and took his seat.

"So you're Shiyu, brother! You toyed with a senior Soul Elder—you're incredible!" Chubby gave Shiyu a thumbs-up.

"Has this matter spread that widely?" Shiyu asked curiously.

"Of course. Xu Sanshi is fairly well-known in the Outer Court. Whenever people mention the strongest students in the Outer Court, his name comes up."

"You made a three-move agreement with him over Jiang Nannan, the number one beauty of the Outer Court, and you won. It'd be hard not to become famous," Chubby said admiringly.

"Keep it low-key, low-key." Shiyu did not want to discuss the matter too much.

"It's your turn," Shiyu reminded him when he saw Teacher Shao Wentao looking at Chubby.

"Oh." Chubby hurriedly stood up.

"My name is Lin Lixuan. My Martial Soul is the Brown Bear, and I'm a level-twenty-four Soul Grandmaster." By the time all 117 students had introduced themselves, only a few minutes remained in the lesson.

"Get familiar with one another as soon as possible. In two weeks, I'll have you form groups of three to familiarize yourselves and build teamwork in preparation for the Freshman Assessment a few months from now," Shao Wentao said.

He cared quite a bit about winning the Freshman Assessment championship and hoped his class could earn that honor.

That was why he wanted the students to develop teamwork as soon as possible. It would certainly give them some advantage in the later assessments.

"Also, we need to select a Class Monitor and a Vice Class Monitor. Those who are interested can speak with me. I'll write down the names of those who volunteer and let everyone vote. Whoever receives the most votes will get the position." After saying that, Shao Wentao dismissed the class and left the classroom first.

The moment he left, the atmosphere in the classroom became much more relaxed. Everyone began talking at once, and the classroom turned noisy.

Shiyu was fairly talkative and easily joined in the conversations.

It was only the start of school, and no one knew each other well yet. At a time like this, everyone was quite willing to chat with unfamiliar classmates.

Before the next class began, he had gotten to know several people.

What annoyed Shiyu was that these people all loved talking about his three-move agreement with Xu Sanshi.

He did not actually like discussing it. What was done was done; continually talking about it would only make him enemies.

The more they talked about it, the more likely Xu Sanshi would hear it, get provoked, and come looking for trouble.

Xu Sanshi's resentment—or even hatred—toward him would surely increase by then. Who knew what he might do to retaliate?

There were two classes that morning. Another teacher came for the second class, responsible for teaching them about Spirit Beasts.

Shiyu listened attentively. He was quite curious about Spirit Beasts and hoped to learn more.

The Spirit Beasts he knew about were only the bare basics. There were tens of thousands of Spirit Beast species in this world, and he still had much to learn.

The class introduced ten Spirit Beasts, and Shiyu felt that he had gained a great deal.

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, Shiyu quickly left the classroom and hurried to the cafeteria for work.

After the official start of school, far more students ate in the cafeteria, and the workload increased.

After serving food, he still had to wash dishes. He remained busy until after one o'clock before he had time to eat.

"Working like this really isn't a solution," Shiyu complained as he walked out of the cafeteria.

The main issue was that the pay was too low. Even if he worked like this for ten years, he would not be able to repay the debt from obtaining his Soul Ring.

"Then do you have any other way to make money?" Jiang Nannan, who had come out with him, asked with a smile.

Shiyu shook his head. At the moment, he really had no good way to earn money.

"Right, Senior Nannan, what does a freshman need to do to learn Soul Tool Crafting?" Shiyu asked.

Soul Tools were the theme of this era. That was the true path to making money.

"You're interested in Soul Tools?" Jiang Nannan looked Shiyu over.

"Even if it weren't for money, I'd still be interested. I think Soul Tools have a bright future," Shiyu said.

Soul Tools came in all kinds: offensive, defensive, and functional. He was curious about all of them and wanted to try making some himself.

"If you truly want to study Soul Tools, you may have to wait until next semester."

"The first half of the first year is mainly focused on studying Martial Souls and Spirit Beasts."

"It isn't until the second half of the year that students are divided into departments. Those without much talent in Martial Souls but with a strong interest in Soul Tools are often assigned to the Soul Tool Department."

"Your Martial Soul talent is very good. I wouldn't recommend that you go directly to the Soul Tool Department to study."

"When the time comes, you could take an elective course from the Soul Tool Department and study it as a hobby. That might be better," Jiang Nannan said.

"Can't I take it as an elective this semester?" Shiyu did not want to wait too long.

"You can, but do you have that much time?"

"This semester's focus is still cultivation and improving your strength. Otherwise, when the Freshman Assessment begins in a few months, insufficient strength will get you expelled from Shrek Academy."

"If you were expelled from Shrek Academy because you took a Soul Tool elective, that would truly be more loss than gain."

"Therefore, the vast majority of students do not take other elective courses in the first semester of their first year. It would affect their Freshman Assessment results to some extent."

"And you still need to work in the cafeteria, so you have even less time to spare," Jiang Nannan reminded him seriously.

"I'll think about it," Shiyu said hesitantly.

When he returned to the dormitory, Dai Huabin was already taking an afternoon nap. Shiyu moved quietly, took off his shoes, climbed into bed, and planned to nap as well.

"For the three-person team, are you interested in joining our group?" Dai Huabin suddenly asked.

Shiyu was startled.

"Us? Who else is there?" Shiyu asked, pretending not to know.

"Zhu Lu. Her Martial Soul is the top-tier agility attack system Hell Spirit Cat, and she's a level-twenty-six Soul Grandmaster. She and I are basically among the strongest in the class. You definitely won't lose out by teaming up with us," Dai Huabin said as he sat up.

Shiyu also sat up in bed and seriously considered Dai Huabin's proposal.

When forming a team, strong teammates were naturally the priority. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's strength was beyond doubt; they ranked among the best of all the freshmen.

Teaming up with them was a good choice, but there was the issue of getting along...

"I'm only a Soul Master in the teens. Wouldn't it be a bit of a loss for you to team up with me?" Shiyu asked Dai Huabin with a smile.

"The fact that a Soul Elder was enraged enough to attack you with three moves yet still failed to defeat you is enough for me to trust your strength," Dai Huabin said.

"Thank you for the invitation. We can form a team, but I hope we can make some things clear in advance. That way, we won't have conflicts after teaming up. It wouldn't be good if things turned unpleasant then," Shiyu said after considering it.

Dai Huabin asked, "What things?"

This is the first chapter today. New Book Sets Sail, and I hope everyone can add it to your favorites and send some Recommendation Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Thank you all so much.