Mu Chen's hand.
"Sit down." His voice was soft, but Wang Dong's body unconsciously followed the force and sank back into her seat. She turned to look at Mu Chen, her eyes slightly red-rimmed. "But—"
"I know," Mu Chen said. "Leave it to me."
He stood up.
Zhou Yi's sharp gaze shot toward him, but Mu Chen didn't look at her. He inclined his head slightly toward Yan Shaozhe on the stage, then spoke into the deathly silence.
"Dean Yan, I have a question."
Yan Shaozhe looked at him, his brows rising slightly. He had an impression of Mu Chen: the Freshman Assessment champion, a forty-fifth-level Soul Ancestor with a ten-thousand-year fourth ring, hailed unanimously by several Inner Academy teachers as "a genius seldom seen in a thousand years."
Yan Shaozhe had always been willing to show a little more patience toward geniuses.
"Go ahead."
"I'd like to ask what the criteria are for selecting core disciples."
Yan Shaozhe looked at him but didn't answer directly. "You think your teammate should have been selected?"
"Yuhao was a member of the Freshman Assessment champion team. In every match, he served as the tactical command center. Without his Spiritual Detection Sharing, Wang Dong and I wouldn't have worked together so smoothly. If the criteria for core disciples are individual strength, then his Soul Power Level is indeed low. But if the criteria are team contribution and combat value, I believe he deserves a place on that list."
His words were reasonable and well-supported, neither servile nor arrogant.
Yan Shaozhe fell silent for a moment.
"You have a way with words," he said. "But you've overlooked one thing. The selection of core disciples isn't based only on their performance in a few matches. Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul is a Spirit Eye, a control-type Martial Soul. Its potential is naturally lower than that of other Martial Souls. Even if a One-Ring Soul Master at level fourteen has exceptional support abilities, his personal strength will hardly carry him very far. Shrek has a limited number of core disciple spots. I have to give them to those with greater potential."
His words weren't especially harsh, but their meaning was clear: Huo Yuhao's talent wasn't enough.
Huo Yuhao lowered his head.
Then he raised it again, because Mu Chen was speaking.
"Dean Yan, I'd like to ask you something." Mu Chen's voice remained calm, but those who knew him could hear the currents churning beneath that calm. "What is Shrek Academy's motto?"
Yan Shaozhe's brows furrowed slightly. Everyone knew the answer, but Mu Chen's asking at a time like this clearly carried another meaning.
"We don't accept ordinary people. We only accept monsters," Yan Shaozhe said.
"Only accept monsters." Mu Chen repeated the four words, then nodded. "Thank you, Dean Yan."
He said no more and sat back down.
Yan Shaozhe looked at the blue-haired youth below the stage, a hint of amusement entering his eyes. He wasn't angry that Mu Chen had challenged him in front of everyone. On the contrary, he rather admired him. It had been many years since a student at Shrek had dared to reason with the Martial Soul Department's dean in front of all the academy's new students.
But he wouldn't change his decision over a few words, either. The list of core disciples had been finalized after much deliberation. It couldn't be adjusted on the spot just because one student had objected.
Yan Shaozhe put away the list, offered a few more words of encouragement, then announced that the meeting was over.
The crowd began to file out. Huo Yuhao stood and walked out with his head lowered. Wang Dong wanted to follow him, but Mu Chen held her back.
"Let him be alone for a while," Mu Chen said.
As they left the assembly hall, Wang Dong walked beside Mu Chen in silence for a while before suddenly asking, "Why didn't you keep arguing just now? That old Yan clearly looks down on Yuhao."
"Arguing won't help," Mu Chen said. "He won't change his mind over a few pretty words."
"Then what do we do?"
Mu Chen stopped and turned to look into Wang Dong's eyes. "Who says the Martial Soul Department is the only way to become a core disciple?"
Wang Dong froze.
Then she suddenly caught on. "You mean the Soul Guidance Department?"
Mu Chen nodded.
Although the Soul Guidance Department and the Martial Soul Department both belonged to Shrek Academy, the divide between the two branches had existed for a long time.
The Martial Soul Department looked down on the Soul Guidance Department for "relying on external objects," while the Soul Guidance Department looked down on the Martial Soul Department for "clinging to old ways."
This subtle rivalry had led to an interesting result: someone the Martial Soul Department wouldn't accept might still be welcomed by the Soul Guidance Department.
Especially a support-type detection Soul Master like Huo Yuhao. The Martial Soul Department underestimated the tactical value of his abilities in combat, but to the Soul Guidance Department, a skill like Spiritual Detection Sharing was practically tailor-made for operating Soul Tools.
Mu Chen turned and headed for another part of the academy.
The Soul Guidance Department.
The doors to the Experimental Building stood open. Inside came the clanging of metal and the low hum of a Soul Power Furnace.
Mu Chen stopped a student in a Soul Guidance Department uniform in the first-floor lobby and asked whether Teacher Fan Yu was there.
The student looked him over, pausing for a moment on the dark green uniform of the Martial Soul Department, then jerked his chin toward the third floor. "Teacher Fan Yu's workshop is the last room at the end."
Mu Chen thanked him and was about to head upstairs when Huo Yuhao's voice came from behind. "Brother Mu?"
Huo Yuhao stood at the entrance to the Experimental Building, looking distinctly puzzled. He had spent a long time walking alone in Maple Forest and was about to return to the dormitory when Mu Chen had called him over with a mental transmission. "What are we doing at the Soul Guidance Department?"
"Finding you a path," Mu Chen said. "Come with me."
Fan Yu's workshop was at the end of the third-floor hallway. The door was ajar, and the soft rasp of metal being filed came from inside. Mu Chen knocked.
"Come in."
When they pushed the door open, the mixed scent of various metals washed over them.
The workshop was large, with all kinds of unfinished Soul Tools and parts hanging across three walls. Blueprints and tools were piled on the workbench, and a Soul Power Furnace, half a person tall, stood in the corner. A dull red glow still lingered around its opening.
Fan Yu sat at the workbench, holding a carving knife. He was making the final adjustments to a Core Array no bigger than a thumb.
"Is something the matter?" Fan Yu glanced at the Martial Soul Department uniforms worn by Mu Chen and Wang Dong. His tone was indifferent, without the slightest warmth.
"Teacher Fan Yu." Mu Chen stepped aside to reveal the person behind him. "I'd like to recommend someone to you."
Fan Yu set down his carving knife and leaned back in his chair, his gaze passing over Mu Chen and settling on Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao stood at the doorway with his back straight, meeting Fan Yu's gaze without being servile or arrogant.
"What are you recommending?" Fan Yu asked.
"Huo Yuhao, Martial Soul: Spirit Eye, a One-Ring Soul Master at level fourteen." Mu Chen laid out Huo Yuhao's background plainly, without hiding anything.
"During the Freshman Assessment, he served as the tactical command core of our group. His Spiritual Detection Sharing can cover a radius of fifty meters in real time, precisely locating every target within range, predicting their movements, and marking their weaknesses."
Fan Yu's expression didn't change, but he turned a little toward Huo Yuhao. It was an unconscious movement, a sign that he was starting to take an interest.