The Reason

A few days ago, in the grading teachers' conference room.

Senior students of Shrek Academy were organizing applicant files. Background investigations and ability assessments were being delivered to the examiners, who would then determine their scores.

The scores from several individuals were compared to reach an average, and those with significant discrepancies underwent a second review. Overall, this process was relatively fair and effective at screening for promising talent.

Where there is good, there is naturally bad. Some individuals' martial souls and abilities were completely unsuited for their chosen major, while others saw the special treatment for the Support System and tried to use it as a backdoor to enter Shrek Academy. This severely encroached upon the positions meant for the few, struggling support-type soul masters, which was one of the reasons this checkpoint was established in the first place.

Originally, very few candidates required a second review because Shrek Academy possessed a deep foundation, with most martial souls already documented; there was a general understanding of the limits and development paths for such soul masters. The teachers were all products of the same education, so their knowledge levels were largely consistent.

The inclusion of the Soul Guidance Department shattered this status quo. The standards for students suited for the Martial Soul Department and those for the Soul Guidance Department were simply not the same. This led to massive discrepancies in grading.

Second reviews naturally became more frequent, and debates in the conference room grew heated. However, both sides remained restrained, avoiding physical altercations to settle the argument, as both sides knew the consequences of a fight would be severe—the compensation fees alone would be enough to bankrupt them.

This particular discussion was exceptionally intense, and everyone was already red-faced. Both sides held their ground, refusing to yield, each convinced of their own correctness.

Just as a fight was about to break out, Yan Shaozhe, looking to be entertained, hurried out to calm the situation. If a fight broke out, he, as the dean, would certainly be held responsible and face punishment.

"Ahem, everyone, please calm down. Let's talk things through properly; there's no need for such anger." After speaking, he picked up the candidate's file and began to read. As he looked closer, his brow furrowed. This candidate's file was, naturally, that of Huo Yuhao.

Although the Martial Soul Department did not have much experience in teaching the Spirit System, they were always happy to accept a promising talent when they encountered one. At a glance, Huo Yuhao's talent seemed lackluster. His first soul ring was only a Ten-Year Soul Ring; while a ten-year ring wasn't a major issue—it could be corrected later—it was still telling.

Huo Yuhao's Ten-Year Soul Ring proved that he lacked a sufficiently powerful organization behind him. If he had a traditional beast or tool martial soul, this wouldn't be a problem; every family would be happy to sponsor a top-tier impoverished student from Shrek Academy. However, Spirit System soul rings were extremely difficult to obtain and rare. Since Huo Yuhao was not a prodigy, naturally, few people cared. If he could grow to the level required to participate in the Continental Soul Master Tournament, there would be no shortage of people lining up to offer him money. Unfortunately, he possessed neither the talent nor the background.

The Soul Guidance Department was different. Strong spiritual power meant strong control and memory; for a top-tier Soul Guidance Master, spiritual power was essential. It was the foundation; without it, one could never hope to navigate the ocean of knowledge that was soul guidance.

To craft a soul tool, one must control both oneself and the blade in one's hand; extreme observation could greatly reduce errors and misjudgments. While soul power was important, it was not the most critical factor in the world of soul guidance. If one's soul power was lacking, there were plenty of unorthodox ways to force an increase, and if a suitable soul ring was hard to find, the standards could be lowered—as long as it worked, it was fine. In this era, Soul Guidance Masters still relied on soul tools for output, and most soul ring skills were merely auxiliary functions.

This requirement was significantly lower, meaning the demand for innate talent was less stringent; the most important thing was having sufficient room for growth. Even if a few geniuses emerged in the Martial Soul Department, they were only a minority.

Most students each year were controlled by top-tier martial soul families, leaving no room for commoners to intervene.

Huo Yuhao's situation was the most extreme; he was practically born for the Soul Guidance Department. By the standards of the Martial Soul Department, Huo Yuhao had no qualifications to enter Shrek Academy. It wasn't exactly a dilemma, as the standard was the same for the vast majority of people.

Yan Shaozhe watched the two sides at loggerheads. Seeing the Soul Guidance Department's firm demands, he intended to go along with them. After all, giving the Soul Guidance Department face for a student with mediocre talent was no big deal; this person would never enter the Martial Soul Department anyway and would inevitably belong to the Soul Guidance Department. Letting this person in would mean the Soul Guidance Department owed him a favor—not too big, not too small, just right.

In the future, when the Soul Guidance Department tried to poach students, he could have more leverage to tell them to get lost. The other teachers in the Martial Soul Department were likely calculating the same thing; a single student wasn't worth a major conflict, but the implications behind it were.

Just as Yan Shaozhe was about to seal the deal based on the Soul Guidance Department's score, a teacher from the Martial Soul Department looked at the file and suddenly said, "But this student has a Body Martial Soul, Dean. Are you sure you want to accept him?"

Upon hearing this news, Yan Shaozhe was immediately stunned. He truly hadn't known this; he had only understood the situation by listening to the arguments. He hadn't expected such a twist.

This question left some of the Soul Guidance Department teachers confused. Was this such a big problem? Even if Body Martial Souls were rare, it wasn't enough to reject him, was it?

Most of the Martial Soul Department understood the issue, but few dared to bring it up. If you voiced it, you would lose too much face. You were suspicious of someone's ill intentions just because of their martial soul? It was too embarrassing to say out loud; it would imply that the number one soul master academy on the continent was actually afraid.

Yan Shaozhe understood what the teacher meant, but he didn't want to be the one to say it. It would ruin his own reputation and make him a laughingstock. Consequently, he suddenly didn't want to be involved in this matter anymore. If a fight broke out, he would just get scolded and it would pass, but if he did this, he would be "infamous for generations."

At this moment, both sides said in unison, "Dean, you decide."

Yan Shaozhe cursed inwardly. How was he supposed to handle this? No matter how he handled it, both sides would be dissatisfied.

"The opinions of both sides are completely opposite. As the dean, it's hard for me to speak up; it would easily be interpreted as taking sides. You decide for yourselves."

"If it really comes to it, why don't you compromise? Give him a middling score, and then we'll see how he performs in the Individual Battle before deciding on his admission." Unknowingly, Yan Shaozhe had effectively sided with the Martial Soul Department. After all, he came from the Martial Soul Department, and his standards were naturally similar to theirs.

At this point, a teacher from the Soul Guidance Department spoke up: "Dean, do you really want such a student with great potential to be recruited by another academy just because of internal strife?"

Clearly, this teacher didn't understand what Yan Shaozhe was struggling with, but these words struck a chord. Yan Shaozhe thought: What do I have to be afraid of? The Soul Guidance Department clearly wants this student, but there's a high probability this student won't stay in Shrek for long anyway. Fine, I'll give him a chance. If something happens, it's not like I can't handle it.

"Let's do this. Compromise and give him a chance. The Soul Guidance Department doesn't know the inside story, but that was well said—what does Shrek have to fear? It's just that he truly isn't suited for our academy. If he fails to get in, I'll arrange a suitable sect for him."

Since it had reached this point, the Soul Guidance Department didn't know the true inside story, and they felt too embarrassed to press the issue further.