Yan Shaozhe's Decision

After Mu Jin finished explaining the general rules for the freshman assessment, her gaze began to sweep across everyone in the classroom.

"Strictly speaking, as your teacher, forming teams should be your own freedom, but there are a few people for whom I would like to recommend a specific team configuration." After taking a deep breath, Mu Jin spoke to the group.

The crowd of freshmen looked at one another, all beginning to anticipate what kind of team configuration Mu Jin was about to recommend.

Mu Jin gave a light cough and continued, "Actually, I am only recommending two team configurations. Consider it a demonstration for everyone; when you are establishing your own team plans, you can refer to these setups. They can be considered two quite classic configurations."

"The first group: Lin Yao, Ye Guyi, and Xu Ye."

Lin Yao had previously discussed his idea of pursuing the Control System with Mu Jin. It was only after Mu Jin confirmed it with Du Weilun and received his approval that she grouped Lin Yao and Ye Guyi together.

Of course, Du Weilun was very skeptical about whether Lin Yao truly had the ability to play the Control System, and he stated that if his performance during the freshman assessment didn't align with the Control System at all, he would consider disqualifying their group.

Lin Yao, however, was quite confident about this. After chatting with Ye Guyi about the team formation that day, he had spent some time specifically researching control after releasing dragon breath.

Although it couldn't be called a self-created soul skill, his proficiency in using dragon breath had reached an extremely high level.

Using dragon breath to simulate the effects of control and damage was not a problem at all.

In any case, like Huo Yuhao, who barely used soul skills in the open, he wouldn't be disqualified. At worst, Lin Yao would just show less and focus on supplementing the damage.

Mu Jin was more open-minded than the average teacher. After announcing the various matters regarding the freshman assessment, she let the students who had already formed their groups leave class early.

Lin Yao and Ye Guyi returned to their respective dormitories to begin meditation, and it wasn't until evening that Lin Yao opened his eyes.

Before returning to the dorm, Ye Guyi had mentioned wanting to eat the grilled fish from last time, so Lin Yao headed toward the school gate.

Because of the freshman assessment, the foot traffic at the school gate had decreased significantly, but Huo Yuhao's grilled fish stall remained popular; after all, this stall now offered a flavor that the entire grade level enjoyed.

When Lin Yao arrived, many students from the outer courtyard still stepped aside to let him through. After all, they knew how to weigh the importance of a fish against a beating.

"Brother Lin, you really have quite a fearsome reputation in the outer courtyard," Huo Yuhao said with a smile as he handed the grilled fish to Lin Yao.

Lin Yao took the fish and replied to Huo Yuhao, "It's just everyone being polite. This society is an environment where you yield to me and I yield to you, a place where people lift each other up."

The outer courtyard disciples behind him couldn't help but show resentful expressions upon hearing this. They didn't want to "lift each other up" in this regard, but intimidated by Lin Yao's combat prowess, they didn't dare to speak out.

Fortunately, Lin Yao didn't usually crave this snack too often, unlike the students from other grades in the outer courtyard who came every single day like clocking in for work.

Occasionally yielding once or twice was something these outer courtyard disciples could accept in their hearts.

Huo Yuhao then probed Lin Yao, asking, "By the way, Brother Lin, have you formed your team for the freshman assessment yet?"

Lin Yao nodded and replied to Huo Yuhao, "Of course it's formed. If it weren't, I wouldn't be here leisurely buying grilled fish, would I?"

Huo Yuhao smiled and was about to continue testing Lin Yao, but Lin Yao simply turned and walked away with the two grilled fish in hand.

Watching Lin Yao's retreating figure, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but sigh inwardly, though he composed himself and continued grilling the fish.

Although the goal Teacher Zhou gave him was first place, with a monster like Lin Yao around, Huo Yuhao had room to excuse himself.

This could be considered a bit of bad luck for Huo Yuhao. If it were any other teacher, this would certainly be a good excuse.

But Mu Jin and Zhou Yi's relationship was what it was; whether using the top student from Mu Jin's class as an excuse would earn him Zhou Yi's fine wine or a "biubiu" blast was hard to say.

Meanwhile, inside the Sea God Pavilion, Yan Shaozhe was massaging Mu En's shoulders while speaking with some hesitation, "Old Mu, I keep feeling that letting Lin Yao participate in the freshman assessment normally isn't quite fair to the other freshmen, is it?"

Mu En raised his eyes to look at Yan Shaozhe. The latter stiffened his neck and continued, "After all, when Lin Yao first enrolled, he had already reached the Soul Ancestor level, and he could even defeat a standard Soul Emperor-level combatant while at the Soul Ancestor level. With such combat power in the freshman assessment, wouldn't he be an invincible existence to the other students?"

Mu En countered with a question for Yan Shaozhe, "Then do you think that when we walk the world, we can guarantee that every opponent we encounter will have strength similar to our own, or even be far weaker than us?"

Yan Shaozhe was stunned for a moment. Mu En stroked his beard and continued, "Our Shrek Academy cultivates talents suitable for survival in the Douluo Continent, which is why we have many school rules and systems that seem heartless to the outside world. They exist only to allow students to quickly adapt to the cruel world of soul masters."

Yan Shaozhe pondered this, and Mu En said meaningfully, "Go back and think carefully about what I said. Lin Yao's matter is left entirely to you to handle; consider it a way for me to see if you've actually made any progress over these years."

Upon hearing this, Yan Shaozhe bowed his head and said, "Understood, Teacher. I will consider it carefully."

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

Lin Yao and Ye Guyi looked at each other, while Xu Ye looked at Lin Yao with a blank expression. The three of them followed Mu Jin out.

Near the restrooms in the hallway, there was a small storage room that few people visited, making it quite quiet and the overall atmosphere rather chilly. It was said to be a place used by previous classes to punish students with solitary confinement.

Seeing Mu Jin lead them to this place, even Lin Yao was at a loss. Since this was a part that completely exceeded the original work, he wasn't sure what this teacher was planning to do.

Mu Jin looked at the three of them, took a deep breath, and said, "First of all, I want to congratulate you. You do not need to participate in the first round of elimination matches. After the academy's research and decision, the three of you will directly enter the competition for the top sixty-four. As for the reason, there is naturally no need for me to say more..."