Yan Shaozhe's Decision

After Mu Jin had explained the general rules of the freshman assessment, her gaze began sweeping over the class.

"Strictly speaking, as your teacher, I should leave forming teams up to you. But for a few of you, I'd like to recommend a team arrangement." Mu Jin took a deep breath before addressing everyone.

The freshmen looked at one another, all curious about the team arrangements Mu Jin was going to recommend.

Mu Jin cleared her throat, then continued, "I'm only recommending arrangements for two teams. Think of them as examples. When you're deciding how to form your own teams, you can use these as a reference. They're two fairly classic setups."

"Team one: Lin Yao, Ye Guyi, and Xu Ye."

Lin Yao had already discussed with Mu Jin his intention to take the Control System path. After checking with Du Weilun and getting his approval, Mu Jin had put Lin Yao and Ye Guyi on the same team.

Of course, Du Weilun had serious doubts about whether Lin Yao could actually take the Control System path. He'd also said that if Lin Yao's performance in the freshman assessment had nothing to do with the Control System, he'd consider disqualifying their team.

Lin Yao, however, was confident. After talking with Ye Guyi about teaming up that day, he'd taken some time to study how to control his dragon's breath after releasing it.

It wasn't quite a Self-Created Soul Skill, but he'd already mastered the use of his dragon's breath to an extremely high degree.

Using his dragon's breath to simulate an effect that combined control and damage was no problem at all.

After all, Huo Yuhao had barely used his Soul Skills openly throughout the assessment, and he hadn't been disqualified. Lin Yao could simply keep a low profile and focus on supplementing his teammates' damage.

Mu Jin was more open-minded than most teachers. After announcing all the details of the freshman assessment, she let the students who'd already formed their teams leave class early.

Lin Yao and Ye Guyi each returned to their dormitory to meditate. Lin Yao didn't open his eyes until evening.

Before returning to her dormitory, Ye Guyi had said she wanted the grilled fish from last time, so Lin Yao headed toward the school gate.

Because of the freshman assessment, there were noticeably fewer people at the school gate this time. Huo Yuhao's grilled fish stall was still packed, though; by now, students across the entire grade loved the taste.

As Lin Yao approached, plenty of students from the outer courtyard still gave up their spots. After all, they knew perfectly well which mattered more: a fish or a beating.

"Big Brother Lin, you're practically infamous throughout the outer courtyard," Huo Yuhao said with a smile as he handed Lin Yao a grilled fish.

Lin Yao took it and replied, "Everyone's just being polite. Society's all about yielding to each other and lifting each other up."

The students from the outer courtyard behind him gave him mournful looks. They didn't want to lift anyone up over this, but they were too intimidated by Lin Yao's strength to say so.

Fortunately, Lin Yao wasn't usually greedy about getting an extra fish. Unlike students from other years in the outer courtyard, he didn't show up every day like he was clocking in for work.

The outer-courtyard students could still accept having to give up a spot once or twice now and then.

Huo Yuhao sounded out Lin Yao's opinion. "By the way, Big Brother Lin, have you formed your team for the freshman assessment?"

Lin Yao nodded, then said, "Of course. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be standing here leisurely buying grilled fish, would I?"

Huo Yuhao smiled and was about to probe him further, but Lin Yao picked up two grilled fish and turned to leave.

Watching Lin Yao walk away, Huo Yuhao couldn't help letting out a sigh. Still, he quickly gathered himself and carried on grilling fish.

Teacher Zhou's goal for him was first place. But with a monster like Lin Yao around, Huo Yuhao had some room to make excuses for himself.

That was a little stroke of bad luck for Huo Yuhao. With an ordinary teacher, this would indeed have been a pretty good excuse.

But Mu Jin and Zhou Yi had a history. If he tried to excuse himself by blaming Lin Yao, one of Mu Jin's top students, who knew whether Zhou Yi would answer him with fine wine or a barrage of attacks.

Meanwhile, in Sea God Pavilion, Yan Shaozhe was massaging Mu En's shoulders. He hesitated before asking, "Elder Mu, I can't help thinking that letting Lin Yao take part in the freshman assessment as usual might be unfair to the other freshmen."

Mu En lifted his eyes to look at Yan Shaozhe. Yan Shaozhe stiffened, then continued, "After all, Lin Yao had already reached the Soul Ancestor level when he first enrolled. He was even able to defeat someone with genuine Soul Emperor-level combat strength. With that kind of power in the freshman assessment, wouldn't he be an unbeatable opponent for the other students?"

Mu En countered with a question. "When we travel through the world, do you think we can guarantee that every opponent we meet will be roughly as strong as us—or even much weaker?"

Yan Shaozhe froze for a moment. Mu En stroked his beard and continued, "Shrek Academy trains people who can survive in the world of Douluo Continent. That's why we have so many school rules that seem unreasonable to outsiders. It's all to help our students adapt quickly to the cruel world of Soul Masters."

Yan Shaozhe gave it some thought. Mu En then said meaningfully, "Go back and think carefully about what I've said. I'll leave Lin Yao's situation entirely in your hands. It'll also let me see whether you've made any progress over the years."

Yan Shaozhe bowed his head. "Understood, Teacher. I'll give it careful consideration."

The next morning, Mu Jin said to Lin Yao, "Lin Yao, Ye Guyi, Xu Ye, the three of you, come out with me."

Lin Yao and Ye Guyi exchanged glances, while Xu Ye looked at Lin Yao in utter confusion. Then all three followed Mu Jin out.

Near the restroom in the hallway was a small storage room. Hardly anyone ever went there, so it was quiet, and the atmosphere was rather chilly. Rumor had it that students from previous years had been confined there as punishment.

Even Lin Yao was at a loss when he saw Mu Jin lead them there. This was entirely beyond the original story, and he had no idea what the teacher intended to do.

Mu Jin looked at the three of them and took a deep breath before speaking. "First of all, congratulations. You won't have to take part in the first round of eliminations. The academy has decided to let the three of you enter the round of sixty-four directly. I don't need to explain the reason, of course..."