Wang Yan, the Martial Soul Research Scholar

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Come in!"

Besides the teaching buildings for each grade, Shrek Academy also had an office building specifically for teachers' offices and dormitories.

The fourth floor—that was the address of the task issuer. The specific requirements had to be discussed with the issuer in person.

Upon entering, Chen Yuan found that this was the standard private office assigned to Shrek teachers. Since its owner was a senior teacher, the office was a full eighty square meters.

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A desk stood just inside the door, along with a table and sofa for receiving guests.

The rest of the room was almost entirely crammed with bookshelves and all manner of books.

"Chen Yuan, is it? What brings you here?"

Wang Yan looked to be around forty. His appearance was entirely ordinary, but he always wore a smile and seemed very amiable.

At the same time, Wang Yan was a senior teacher in Shrek Academy's Outer Court. He had served as Chen Yuan's assistant homeroom teacher for a time during Chen Yuan's Second Grade year and had taught several of his classes.

Wang Yan also had some connection to Xuan Zi, the Taotie Douluo.

"Teacher Wang, I accepted the task you posted, so I came to learn more about it."

"You accepted it? That makes sense. In the Outer Court, you're the only one with sufficient strength who also has free time."

Wang Yan was not surprised by this result. Those sixth-grade students who had not entered the Inner Court yet needed to make one final push or prepare for their graduation examinations, so they had no time at all.

The fourth- and fifth-grade students did have free time, but Chen Yuan was the only one whose cultivation had reached Soul Ancestor.

Wang Yan needed to observe this year's students' Martial Souls in greater detail and accumulate more information for his Martial Soul research.

This time, he was also a referee for the Freshman Assessment Round-Robin.

"This task is very simple. You just need to watch from the side during the Freshman Assessment Round-Robin and record the freshmen's Martial Souls."

"Because I'll be responsible for matches in one area this year, I can't leave freely. I need as many records as possible of the students' Martial Souls in the other areas."

"Uh, can a senior student like me enter the Freshman Assessment venue? And aren't you worried I might record something incorrectly, Teacher Wang?"

"Normally, no. But I can submit an application for you. Don't worry—your theory grades are already far ahead of everyone else's."

"If even you make mistakes, there probably aren't many people who could do a better job."

Wang Yan was quite helpless as well. There were simply too many students whose information he wanted to record. One additional record might prove useful in the future.

If he happened to encounter some rare Martial Soul and recorded information about it, that would be an enormous gain.

Therefore, he definitely needed students with sufficiently strong theory grades for this task, and their strength also had to be high enough. Otherwise, the request to enter the Freshman Assessment venue would not even be approved.

Wang Yan had originally given up hope, but then Chen Yuan came along. He was practically the perfect person for Wang Yan's needs.

There was no helping it. Not only in Shrek's Outer Court, but even in the Inner Court, there were plenty of illiterates. At least half the students found it difficult to even pass their theory classes.

Part of the reason was that theory was not particularly appealing.

Among everyone, Chen Yuan's theory grades had consistently ranked near the top. Otherwise, he would not have received the full amount of his poverty aid and scholarship.

There was another reason as well: every year, Chen Yuan had to awaken the Martial Souls of the children in Small Lake Village. Though after several years, only one child with Innate Soul Power of 2.5 had awakened.

Chen Yuan studied more knowledge because he knew that even if those children from Small Lake Village awakened Martial Souls, unless their Martial Souls underwent beneficial mutations, their Soul Power would definitely not be high.

Since he had access to so much knowledge, he naturally wanted to do everything he could to make the children's future paths easier.

Perhaps one child would be lucky, with a Martial Soul that had some potential for growth. By absorbing a suitable Soul Ring, it might begin to evolve.

Besides, if Evil Soul Masters appeared in Small Lake Village again in the future, a Soul Master with suitable Soul Rings could certainly save more people.

In this era, if commoners did not struggle with all their might to climb upward, they truly were nothing but firewood.

"Since you've put it that way, Teacher Wang, I have no objections. But you won't dock my two hundred Gold Soul Coins a day, right?"

"Don't worry. If your records are good, I'll give you a raise."

"All right. If there's nothing else, just wait near the Freshman Assessment grounds this afternoon. I'll take you in then."

"Actually... Teacher Wang, I wanted to ask about an ordinary Swan Martial Soul with Innate Soul Power of 2.5. How should someone with that Martial Soul and talent be cultivated?"

"Did one of your younger siblings awaken?"

"Yes, a younger sister at home. Her talent isn't very good, and my theory studies are only half-baked, so I wanted to ask."

Yaya's talent was truly poor. Even if every Soul Ring she acquired was suitable, she would absolutely never reach Soul King.

Unless she ate immortal herbs.

With ordinary talent, Chen Yuan could not simply copy his own choices when selecting Soul Rings for her.

He had three Battle Cards and was certain he could reach greater heights, which was why he had chosen enhancement Soul Skills exclusively in the early stages.

But Yaya could not. With only four Soul Ring slots clearly available to her, every single one had to be chosen carefully.

One thing was certain: she absolutely could not follow Chen Yuan's path and choose nothing but enhancements. Though even if she wanted enhancement Soul Skills exclusively, that was probably impossible.

Under such circumstances, it was better to ask Wang Yan.

Wang Yan's willingness, even advocacy, of Huo Yuhao cheating in the original story was indeed problematic, but that was because Shrek's glory of ten thousand years had left him unable to breathe under the pressure.

If the ten-thousand-year championship had been lost in his hands, Shrek's more radical supporters would probably have minced him into meat paste.

Of course, cheating itself was wrong. Chen Yuan could understand the pressure Wang Yan bore, but he absolutely did not agree with his actions.

At present, in Shrek's Outer Court—and even in the entire academy—the Wang Yan before him was already an exceptionally capable figure in Martial Soul research.

Asking him would basically yield a very good answer.

"An Innate Soul Power of 2.5 Swan Martial Soul... Hmm. Every Soul Ring slot must be selected carefully."

"She definitely has no chance of becoming a Soul King. Even Soul Ancestor will depend on luck. She'll most likely only be a Soul Elder in this life, so let's count it as three Soul Ring slots."

"If it's only an ordinary Swan Martial Soul, then the Healing System is basically not an option—unless you can hunt an Emerald Swan for her as her first ring."

"If you can truly do that, her Martial Soul should evolve. Then, no matter how poor her talent is, come find me. I'll definitely let her stay at Shrek."

"An Emerald Swan? Teacher Wang, let's discuss something realistic. That thing is in the Core Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest."

Chen Yuan was speechless. Emerald Swans were Bi Ji's race. After Bi Ji matured, she had gathered all the Emerald Swans into the Core Zone.

Unless someone's fortune was heaven-defying, they could not be found in either the Outer Zone or the Mixed Zone.

"All right, I was joking."

"Perhaps she can try developing toward the Xue Clan's Swan Martial Soul."

"The current Dou Ling Empire imperial family's Swan Martial Soul is the inherited Martial Soul of the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family from ten thousand years ago."

"It possesses a trace of sacredness and the Light Attribute. It can be considered a high-grade Martial Soul. Though it is not particularly strong among high-grade Martial Souls, it is far stronger than an ordinary Swan Martial Soul. It's worth trying."

"As long as she hunts bird-type Soul Beasts with sacred and Light Attributes, the gap between an ordinary Martial Soul and a high-grade Martial Soul will be relatively smaller. They also share common traits, so there is some hope."

"Then there's the simplest route: hunt Soul Rings from birds of prey. She might gain a decent offensive Soul Skill, which would be useful among low-level Soul Masters."

"But I would still recommend hunting swan-type Soul Beasts. You can decide for yourself."

"Though it's unlikely, it would be best if she could fly with her first ring. That way, even if she is only a low-level Soul Master in the future, she still won't fare too badly."

"Mm. Thank you, Teacher Wang."

Chen Yuan had nearly forgotten that swans could fly. They were not domestic geese raised at home.

But for a Swan Martial Soul with Innate Soul Power of 2.5 to grant flight at the first-ring stage, the odds were truly too low. Its Martial Soul Origin was simply far too weak.

With Innate Soul Power so low, even obtaining her first Soul Ring might not be enough to let her fly. Perhaps because her cultivation was insufficient and her Martial Soul Origin too frail, her wings would end up as mere decorations.