Grouping

By the time the three of them entered the classroom, quite a few people had already arrived.

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong returned to their respective seats, while Xue Lingyun went to sit by the window in the back row.

The classroom was abuzz, with everyone talking about tomorrow's assessment.

The class bell rang, and Zhou Yi pushed open the door and entered.

The classroom instantly fell silent.

Her aged face still bore that neither warm nor cold expression, but whenever it was her class, nearly everyone sat ramrod straight. Not a single person dared make the slightest move.

"Today's Physical Training Class is cancelled."

Delight appeared on many faces. Wang Dong, seated in front, visibly relaxed her shoulders.

Zhou Yi's gaze swept across the sixty-eight students below.

"Three months have passed since the start of the school term, and you will soon face your first assessment since entering Shrek Academy."

"Only by passing the assessment can you remain at Shrek Academy. The assessment begins tomorrow, so today I'll first explain the key points."

She turned and walked to the blackboard, writing the two large characters: "Battle."

"The Freshman Assessment is about fighting, and every single one of you must participate." Zhou Yi said, "I know some of you may be wondering why even the Support System has to take part.

"Because in actual combat, the Support System is also an important source of fighting strength. The boost provided by a good Support System Soul Master is no worse than having another Soul Master of the same level."

Seated in the back row, Xue Lingyun nodded to himself.

That was true. If both sides were fighting in groups, compared to a teammate of the same level, having a support who could apply buffs would make it much easier for him to show off his Body Martial Soul techniques.

Zhou Yi continued, "And with Soul Tools, the Support System also possesses formidable explosive force. But in actual combat, you can't survive just because someone gives you a powerful Soul Tool. You still need to train your practical combat ability."

She paused before continuing, "The Freshman Assessment will be conducted as Team Battles, with three people per group. Each group may have no more than one Assault Department Battle Soul Master."

"The matches will be determined by lot drawing. Each group will fight at least ten matches, and the final rankings will be based on win rankings. There are more than three hundred groups participating across the entire grade, but only the top one hundred and fifty groups will remain."

"After that, the top sixty-four groups will enter the Elimination Tournament. The top four teams in the Elimination Tournament will receive different rewards, while the Champion Team's reward will be exceptionally rare."

The classroom was utterly quiet, every student listening with rapt attention.

Zhou Yi picked up a stack of papers from the podium and handed them to Xue Lingyun. "Class Monitor, pass these out."

Xue Lingyun stood up, accepted the stack, and distributed the sheets one by one to every student in the class.

"After the Freshman Assessment, we'll begin teaching according to aptitude," Zhou Yi said. "Write down the direction you intend to pursue in your future cultivation and hand it in to me later."

"Assault, defense, control, support—think carefully about which path you want to take. During the first three months of school, everyone could stay together, but after the Freshman Assessment, there will be distinctions."

When Huo Yuhao received the form, he wrote "Control System Battle Soul Master" on it and signed his name.

When Xue Lingyun reached him while handing out the forms, he glanced at what Huo Yuhao had written but said nothing and continued distributing them.

The forms were filled out one after another. The classroom was so quiet that only the scratch of pen against paper remained.

After distributing the forms, Zhou Yi looked over the list in her hand and raised her head.

"Our class had one hundred students when we enrolled," she said. "Now there are sixty-eight left. With three people per group, that makes exactly twenty-two groups, with two people left over."

Just as Zhou Yi was about to continue, Xue Lingyun suddenly raised his hand.

Zhou Yi looked at him. "Xue Lingyun, speak."

Xue Lingyun stood and asked, "Teacher, does every homeroom teacher have one Special Enrollment Quota that allows someone to pass the assessment directly?"

Zhou Yi nodded. "That's right."

Xue Lingyun said, "Then it's easy to solve. I'll form a group by myself and give the Special Enrollment Quota to another student."

The classroom erupted in an uproar.

Zhou Yi stared at him and asked, "One against three. Are you sure?"

Xue Lingyun nodded, pointed at himself, and gave a thumbs-up with a blank expression. "If I lose to a bunch of people below my level, I'll head straight to the Extreme North Land to dig for Snow Silkworms and never come back."

The moment he finished speaking, a sneeze suddenly rang out in Huo Yuhao's mind.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's groggy voice followed. "Achoo! Who's talking about me..."

Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched, but he did not dare make a sound.

Zhou Yi stared at Xue Lingyun for two seconds, then revealed a trace of a smile, though it looked even worse than crying.

"Fine," she said. "But you have to win the championship."

Xue Lingyun nodded. "No problem."

The classroom fell silent for a few seconds before whispers broke out. Quite a few people looked at Xue Lingyun with admiration in their eyes.

To ensure every student could be assigned to a team, he had actually chosen to form a group alone and even voluntarily given up the Special Enrollment Quota.

Xue Lingyun stood there expressionlessly, but something else was on his mind.

Unity and friendship? Helping others?

Neither.

Put plainly, he was just being possessive.

If their team won the championship, how would the rewards be divided? Especially on Yan Shaozhe's side, there was an eighty percent chance he would give them extra benefits separately.

How would they divide them? Giving them to his teammates would hurt; taking them all for himself would look bad; secretly giving his teammates the inferior items while keeping the good ones would be even more troublesome if it was ever exposed.

If he won the championship alone, it would be simple. Everything would belong to him. Anything he did not need, he could casually give away afterward and still earn favors.

So the best way was to eliminate the possibility of having to divide rewards from the start, making sure he was the only one who needed to receive them.

Besides, he was confident he could win the championship by himself.

Zhou Yi raised a hand to suppress the discussion and looked toward a thin boy in the front row. "Song Qinghan, you were already planning to join the Soul Guidance Department, weren't you? The Special Enrollment Quota is yours. Report there directly."

Song Qinghan stood up, unable to hide the delight on his face. "Thank you, Teacher Zhou!"

Zhou Yi gestured for him to sit down, then lowered her gaze to the list again.

"Now there are sixty-seven people left. That makes twenty-two groups, with one person remaining. But Xue Lingyun has already volunteered to form a group alone, so it works out perfectly."

She picked up the list and continued, "I categorized you based on the characteristics of your respective Martial Souls and completed the groupings for you. If anyone is dissatisfied, you may raise it before tomorrow morning."

"Group One: Xue Lingyun, solo group."

After a brief pause, she continued reading.

"Group Two: Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao."

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stood up. Rising with them was a female student seated in the front row, Xiao Xiao, their teammate.

Wang Dong blinked and quietly said to Huo Yuhao, "That Xiao Xiao, we've run into her several times already, haven't we?"

Huo Yuhao nodded.

Wang Dong muttered, "Didn't expect we'd end up on the same team."

Xiao Xiao's gaze passed over them, then landed on Xue Lingyun. She froze for a moment before seeming to understand something, and a smile bloomed across her face.

Then, as if recalling something, she lowered her head shyly.

Zhou Yi continued reading, announcing the remaining groupings one by one.

After reading the final name, Zhou Yi set down the list. "All right, that's it. Go back and rest well. When the Freshman Assessment begins tomorrow, the final result I want is for all twenty-three groups to advance. Anyone who gets eliminated will not only have to pack up and leave, but I'll also leave you with some profound memories."

The students began rising one after another and handing their forms in at the podium.

Xue Lingyun walked over and placed his paper down.

Zhou Yi glanced at the words "Assault Department" he had written but said nothing.

After handing in their forms, everyone began heading out.

Zhou Yi looked over the submitted forms and suddenly spoke. "Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, you two stay behind. Everyone else may leave. Rest well today. See you at tomorrow's assessment."

The people in the classroom gradually filed out. Wang Dong stood, waved to Huo Yuhao, and left first.

When Xue Lingyun reached the doorway, his footsteps paused. He looked back.

Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao were walking toward the podium, while Zhou Yi had her head lowered, looking at something.

He withdrew his gaze and continued outside.

Wang Dong was waiting for him in the corridor. The moment she saw him emerge, she hurried over, her face full of excitement.

"Not only do we not have Physical Training Class! We get the whole day off!" She lowered her voice, but she could not hide her joy.

Xue Lingyun nodded and continued walking forward.

Wang Dong followed him and asked, "Hey, why did Teacher Zhou keep Yuhao and that Xiao Xiao behind?"

Xue Lingyun said, "Their cultivation directions."

Wang Dong blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Yuhao's Martial Soul has a spiritual attribute," Xue Lingyun said as he walked. "His First Soul Skill is Spiritual Probe. Based on that, he would normally develop toward the Support System."

"But he wrote Control System just now. Zhou Yi probably wants to ask what he's thinking. Xiao Xiao's situation should be similar."

Wang Dong nodded thoughtfully.

After considering it, she suddenly asked, "That Xiao Xiao, is she the one who always comes looking for you?"

Xue Lingyun said nothing.

Wang Dong continued on her own, "She seems to blush whenever she sees you. Didn't expect she'd be grouped with us."

Xue Lingyun said, "She's in our class too, so it's normal for her to be grouped with you. And she's also a Soul Grandmaster."

After a pause, he added, "Yuhao may have perseverance, and his Martial Soul may be rare, but his level is not very high yet. Being grouped with two Soul Grand Masters like you is fairly suitable."

Wang Dong asked again, "Then what kind of impression does Teacher Zhou have of Yuhao?"

Xue Lingyun glanced at her. "Pretty good."

After a pause, he added, "What teacher wouldn't like an obedient, well-behaved student with perseverance?"

Wang Dong nodded, finding that reasonable.

After saying that, they left the Teaching Building as well.