Dai Huabin didn't realize right away what Lin Yao had mouthed. After studying his lips for a while, he finally figured out the four words: "If you suck, practice more."
The instant he understood, Dai Huabin stumbled backward, the black blood at the corner of his mouth spilling again. Clearly, the internal injuries he'd suffered from anger yesterday hadn't fully healed, and now he'd only worked himself up even more.
Lin Yao merely smiled faintly. Du Weilun, too, didn't pay much attention to Dai Huabin's overreaction. Shrek was simply like that: if you couldn't control your emotions, life or death was your own concern.
"All right. Next, I'll announce the rewards for the top three teams in the freshman assessment. Each member of the top three teams will receive the Academy's standard reward. Whenever you need a Soul Ring, you may request the Academy's assistance in obtaining one that you can withstand and that is best suited to you."
As soon as the reward was announced, the first-year students below erupted in a commotion, envy appearing on everyone's faces.
Quite a few of the first-years present were commoners or members of minor noble families, with very few cultivation resources at their disposal. For them, a reward like this from the Academy could be their chance to turn their fortunes around.
Lin Yao, however, felt little about it. After all, he didn't actually need it.
His strength was already on par with that of an ordinary Soul Emperor. Hunting a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for his fifth Soul Ring would be easy as long as he had the right information. Sometimes, the kind of help Shrek offered him was more of a limitation.
After all, Du Weilun had said they would find the Soul Ring best suited to each person from among those they could withstand.
There was a good chance that "could withstand" didn't mean the Academy would assess your physical constitution. It probably meant that they would look at the Soul Ring you needed and follow the ideal Soul Ring configuration that Yu Xiaogang had worked out.
For Lin Yao, that would be nothing but a hindrance. His own Soul Ring configuration had already smashed that theory of his to pieces. If he really followed Yu Xiaogang's recommendations, he'd just be picking up that bastard's shit and eating it all over again.
Lin Yao obviously had no intention of doing anything that disgusting.
Du Weilun waited quietly for the first-years' cheers to die down before announcing the real highlight.
"Additionally, in view of the outstanding performance of Lin Yao's team, which won every match by an overwhelming margin, the Academy has decided to grant them a special reward of their own. The reward's contents will remain confidential for now. Lin Yao's team, please come with me to claim it after the class assignments are finished."
There was a special reward, too. That was the difference between the champions and the teams in second and third place.
After announcing the special reward, Du Weilun sent the three teams back to their places.
Once they had returned, Du Weilun continued, "Several outstanding freshmen distinguished themselves in this year's freshman tournament. The Academy has specially approved some of them to become core disciples of the Outer Court. I'll now announce the names."
Shrek Square fell completely silent. Core disciples weren't limited to the top three teams. Du Weilun hadn't said it outright, but who didn't know that the Academy's resources would be directed toward its Outer Court core disciples?
With their own interests at stake, the young students listened with rapt attention, afraid they might miss their names.
To Lin Yao's surprise, the core disciple list included not only the three members of his team and familiar faces like Dai Huabin, but also Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, who had been eliminated in the first round.
Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, was completely excluded from the core disciple list. He hadn't even been given a place as a reserve core disciple.
At the result, Huo Yuhao shot a cold glance at the stage. Gradually, his gaze cleared again. It was probably Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in his Sea of Consciousness soothing him, telling him that everything would be settled once he reached level twenty.
As for why Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had also become core disciples, Lin Yao had a few guesses after his initial surprise.
Wang Dong had probably been granted a place out of consideration for the Clear Sky Sect behind her. Shrek's teachers had known from the beginning that Wang Dong was a girl disguised as a boy, yet they still let her move openly into the boys' dormitory. There must have been some deal with the Clear Sky Sect, or with the forces Tang San had left behind on Douluo Continent.
Xiao Xiao, meanwhile, may have been chosen because the Academy didn't want to waste a talent. She had shown that she possessed Twin Martial Souls, as well as the ability to use different Soul Skills from both Martial Souls at basically the same time.
The selection of core disciples had never depended entirely on the freshman assessment rankings. It was based on a comprehensive evaluation of their talent.
From that perspective, it made sense for Wang Dong, with her thousand-year second Soul Ring, and Xiao Xiao, with her Twin Martial Souls, to become core disciples. At least, no one publicly questioned their rankings.
After all, Wang Dong and the others had lost to Lin Yao, a Soul Ancestor capable of elbowing a Soul Emperor to death, not to students at their own level. They'd simply had the bad luck to draw a monster. It couldn't be called a failure in battle.
After making this announcement, the next step was naturally the class assignments. The first-years were divided into four classes. Class One was for Assault System and Control-Type Battle Spirit Masters; Class Two, for Defense-Type and Agility Attack System Battle Spirit Masters; Class Three, for Support-Type Battle Spirit Masters; and Class Four, for Battle Spirit Masters and Tool Spirit Masters with other special attributes, including food and healing types.
Once the classes had been assigned, they moved on to the homeroom teachers. Each class had two. The good news for Lin Yao was that Zhou Yi wasn't one of the homeroom teachers for Class One. In fact, Zhou Yi hadn't shown up at all that day. He had no idea what was going on.
The two teachers ultimately chosen for Class One were Mu Jin and Wang Yan.
Wang Yan was a bit underhanded, but Mu Jin had been the teacher looking after Lin Yao ever since he enrolled. On top of that, Lin Yao had already earned her favor, so she would surely take his side first if anything happened.
As long as there were no major personnel changes, Lin Yao's life in the Outer Court was basically secure.
After a year—or at most, two—his strength would be above Soul Emperor level, putting him roughly on par with the Outer Court teachers. By then, he wouldn't have to worry about any short-sighted teacher targeting him.
Once the class assignments were complete, Du Weilun brought the meeting to a close.
"All right. Go to your respective classes according to the latest assignments. Lin Yao's team, the three of you, come with me to collect your reward."
Afterward, Du Weilun led Lin Yao and the others to his office.
The so-called special reward was exactly the same as in the original story: a Void Demon Leopard's left leg bone. The moment Du Weilun took it out, it triggered a strange reaction from Lin Yao's Martial Soul.
But this strange reaction wasn't a positive one. It was an extreme rejection...
Before you continue