Rewards

Their crushing defeat in the strongest challenge had struck the first-year students hard.

Meanwhile, Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena's names began spreading through Shrek Outer Court.

Du Weilun said, "This year's new student assessment has concluded successfully. Meet at Shrek Square this afternoon, where we'll announce the rewards. We'll also assign everyone to classes."

The rewards lifted the new students' spirits and helped them regain their fighting spirit.

When they returned to class, a crowd gathered around the two of them.

"Mu Ge, can I ask how you got your Soul Ring? I want one too."

"Na Jie, you're so beautiful!"

Fame brought all sorts of questions.

Some were envious, then worked even harder.

"Brother Sky Dream, could I be like them too?" Huo Yuhao asked his cheat.

Tian Meng sounded uncertain. "I suppose so."

There was no other explanation: Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena had displayed truly terrifying combat power.

Wang Dong snorted. "Don't be discouraged, Yuhao. We have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. We might be able to beat them."

Huo Yuhao sounded doubtful. "Uh, I heard before that senior brother and sister got together because their Martial Souls were compatible. Could those two have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill too?"

At that, Wang Dong said, "No way. If they had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, why wouldn't they use it?"

"Maybe we're just not strong enough to make them use it."

Class One was doing all right, but the other classes were far more dispirited.

The terrifying flames still haunted them.

By the afternoon, they had finally started to recover.

Du Weilun and Yan Shaozhe both came to the award ceremony.

As usual, the top three teams would receive rewards suited to their limits: Soul Rings.

The champions' reward was still the Void Leopard's left leg bone. "The champion team's special reward will be kept confidential until it's claimed."

After the top three rewards were announced, everyone turned to look at Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena.

The two had swept through all the new students. Which of them didn't admire their strength? Even the most stubborn students had been beaten into submission.

Everyone was eager to hear what these two would receive.

Soul Rings? Or Soul Bones?

They might envy them, but they wouldn't resent them. This was what strength and talent earned.

"For our two strongest new students, the Soul Tool Department will provide one custom-made Level 7 Soul Tool from Dean Xian Lin'er, while the Spirit Martial Department, with Dean Yan Shaozhe's assurance, will give each of them a Soul Bone in the future."

Du Weilun announced their rewards.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

A custom-made Level 7 Soul Tool was priceless, and Soul Bones were worth even more.

The two rewards left everyone else green with envy.

Mu Xuanheng curled his lip. A Level 7 Soul Tool? A Level 7 Soul Tool that a Soul Elder could use wasn't so easy to make. By the time it was ready, he might not even be a Soul Elder anymore.

His expression remained disdainful, while Gu Yuena's turned utterly cool.

She wasn't angry that a Soul Bone was being offered as a reward. She simply had no reaction at all.

Gu Yuena noticed Mu Xuanheng's expression. He wasn't as happy as she had imagined. "Aren't you happy?"

Mu Xuanheng said, "It's just a blank check. I don't think there's any reason to be happy."

"What do you mean?"

His heart leapt into his throat. He'd used an idiom out of habit.

He quickly calmed down. "When the academy buys something, it issues a kind of credit note, then pays the bill later. I call it a check. A blank check means the note doesn't have Shrek's name on it. In other words, they're getting the item without paying anything."

"Mm." Gu Yuena didn't notice anything amiss. But he did. He'd said too much.

He immediately changed the subject. "Do you also think the academy's rewards are vague and uncertain?"

Gu Yuena said, "I don't care about those things."

"Then what do you care about?"

After he asked, they looked at each other and fell silent.

Onstage, Du Weilun launched into a long preamble, then began announcing the list of core disciples.

Influenced by Mu Xuanheng much earlier, the Soul Tool Department had become involved in teaching the new students from the start. Huo Yuhao's talent had been discovered, so there was no issue with him receiving core disciple treatment.

"In view of Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena's outstanding performances, we're granting them the status of Inner Court disciples directly."

The crowd erupted with envy once more.

Everyone became a core disciple hoping to make it into the Inner Court. These two had already gained that status.

For the two of them, it was nothing special. Their daily lives wouldn't change.

But to the other students, these rewards were almost beyond imagining.

Even the three members of the champion team envied them.

Xiao Xiao said, "I have Twin Martial Souls, and I don't even get treatment like that."

Wang Dong said, "Hmph. What's so great about them? I'll definitely be stronger than they are someday."

Huo Yuhao said, "It's not just their Martial Soul combat ability that makes them strong, but their talent as Soul Engineers too. You might not know, but I really do."

Once the rewards were over, it was time for the much-anticipated class assignments.

Even though the Soul Tool Department had begun teaching early, that hadn't attracted many students.

Qian Duoduo, who was in charge of recruitment, was quite worried.

Even Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena, whom he had valued most, hadn't joined the Soul Tool Department outright.

Left with no choice, the academy held another round of class assignments and added a dual-study class that also studied Soul Tools.

Only then did the Soul Tool Department's enrollment grow.

Mu Xuanheng, Gu Yuena, and Huo Yuhao were Fan Yu's disciples, so they followed a different procedure.

They were highly talented, and staying in a Soul Engineer class would hinder their growth.

"Becoming a Level 3 Soul Engineer isn't as easy as I thought," Gu Yuena sighed.

"Senior Sister, don't sigh like that." Huo Yuhao had just finished his Soul Engineer test, and Gu Yuena's sigh startled him.

He had just become a Level 1 Soul Engineer, while Gu Yuena had already been Level 2 for a long time.

"He's already Level 3, and it seems he has some special research going on. I want to help him."

It was a perfectly reasonable excuse. She could keep her real reason hidden.

"I can't understand Senior Brother's research, so I'll head out first." Huo Yuhao didn't disturb the two of them and went to find He Caitou to study.

Gu Yuena sat beside Mu Xuanheng. "This metal seems to have come alive."

She picked up the metal Mu Xuanheng had just forged.

Mu Xuanheng sighed. Forging metal was indeed difficult without anyone to guide him. This piece could only be considered Thousand Refinement.

"I want to make the metal into armor that can directly boost a Soul Master's combat power."

"It won't be easy, and we don't have any relevant experience."

Even in Dragon King, Battle Armor had only been developed after ten thousand years. It would be difficult for him to make it now.

The two of them began discussing the matter.

Neither noticed someone approaching.

Fan Yu had brought a woman with him.

The woman's long black hair was coiled up, and her outfit was crisp and practical. She was none other than Xian Lin'er, dean of the Soul Tool Department and a Level 8 Soul Engineer.

"Have you forgotten who I am, Xuanheng?"

"So it's Senior Sister Xian Lin'er. What brings you over here?" He called her senior sister because they both traced their seniority back to Mu En.

"You little rascal. You moved fast." Watching Gu Yuena and Mu Xuanheng together, she felt there was something rather unusual between them.

She'd been about to lecture Mu Xuanheng and tell him not to be like Yan Shaozhe, but then she suddenly felt it wasn't appropriate, so she gave up the idea.

Mu Xuanheng felt helpless. Everyone thought he'd moved fast, without considering how difficult it was to win her over completely.

"I'm here to bring you two your rewards." Xian Lin'er looked quite pleased. "The Soul Tool Department gives out its rewards much earlier than the Spirit Martial Department."

She took two Level 7 Soul Tools out of her Space Soul Tool.

"Azure Flame Sharp Claw. It's a Level 7 Soul Tool based on my Azure Flame Dragon and your Phantom Dragon Claw. The flames around the claws are made from highly compressed wind, and they have tremendous destructive power. They'll greatly enhance the close-combat power of your Phantom Dragon Claw. You can also fire off an attack without using them as weapons, with the power of a Soul Saint's strike. The only drawback is that there's only a right claw."

The weapon fit Mu Xuanheng perfectly when he put it on, and it still had room to grow.

He nodded repeatedly. The weapon could also work in tandem with his External Soul Bone, the Dragon Bear Claw. He couldn't keep calling it an External Soul Bone, so he'd casually named it the Dragon Bear Claw.

Gu Yuena's reward, meanwhile, was an ornament that could improve her control over the elements. It could also unleash an attack with the power of a Soul Saint's strike.

"Thank you, Senior Sister."

Gu Yuena added in her cool, distant tone, "Thank you, Senior Sister."

Xian Lin'er didn't mind Gu Yuena's form of address. "No need to thank me. You two had better study Soul Tools diligently. The Soul Tool Department is counting on you."

These two items had originally been intended as gifts for Mu Xuanheng. Now she had a good excuse to give them away.

The Spirit Martial Department's promised Soul Bones never arrived, not even by the start of the break. That suited Gu Yuena just fine.