New Student Sorting

Dai Huabin did not immediately recognize the shape of Lin Yao's lips. It was only after a moment of careful scrutiny that he realized the four words being mouthed: "Practice more, you're trash."

The moment he understood, Dai Huabin staggered backward, black blood spilling from the corners of his mouth once more. It was clear that the internal injuries from yesterday's rage had not fully healed, and now, anger had been piled upon anger.

Lin Yao merely offered a calm smile in response. Du Weilun did not seem particularly concerned by Dai Yueheng's extreme reaction; Shrek was simply that kind of place. If one lacked the ability to regulate their own emotions, life and death were matters of indifference.

"Very well. I shall now announce the rewards for the top three teams of the freshman assessment. All three teams will receive a uniform reward from the academy: each individual may submit a request to the academy when they require a soul ring, and the academy will assist them in obtaining the most suitable soul ring they can withstand."

As soon as this reward was announced, an uproar broke out among the first-year students below, and expressions of envy appeared on everyone's faces.

A significant portion of the first-years present were commoners or from minor noble families. The cultivation resources available to them were extremely scarce, and for them, this kind of reward from the academy could be their chance to turn their lives around.

Lin Yao, however, felt indifferent. After all, he did not strictly need this.

His current strength was already equivalent to a standard Soul Emperor. As long as he had the intelligence, hunting a ten-thousand-year soul beast for his fifth soul ring was something he could easily accomplish. The help Shrek offered was, in some ways, a limitation.

After all, Du Weilun had specified the "most suitable" ring within the limit of what one could withstand.

This limit was likely not determined by an assessment of one's physical constitution, but rather by following the "optimal soul ring configuration" previously summarized by Yu Xiaogang.

For Lin Yao, that was purely a hindrance. His own soul ring configuration had already rendered that man's theories complete garbage; if he were to actually follow those recommendations, it would be like picking up what that man had excreted and eating it again.

Lin Yao clearly had no intention of doing anything so distasteful.

Meanwhile, Du Weilun waited quietly for the cheers of the first-year students to die down before revealing the true highlight.

"Furthermore, in view of the exceptionally outstanding performance of Lin Yao's team—winning every match with an absolute crushing advantage—the academy hereby grants a special reward exclusive to them. The contents of this reward are currently confidential. Please follow me to collect it after the class assignments are finalized."

There was even a special reward; this was the difference between the champions and the second and third-place teams.

After announcing this special reward, Du Weilun dismissed the three teams to return to their groups.

Once they had returned, Du Weilun continued his announcement: "In view of the excellent new students who have emerged during this freshman tournament, the academy has specially approved a number of students to become core disciples of the Outer Court. I shall now announce the list."

The Shrek Plaza fell into a dead silence. Core disciples were not limited to the top three teams. Although Du Weilun hadn't explicitly stated it, who didn't know that core disciples of the Outer Court would receive preferential treatment in terms of academy resources?

With their own interests at stake, these young students listened with rapt attention, terrified of missing their own names.

Somewhat to Lin Yao's surprise, in addition to the three members of his own team and familiar faces like Dai Huabin, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao—who had been eliminated in the first round—were also included on the list of core disciples.

Huo Yuhao, however, was completely excluded from the core disciples; he wasn't even given the status of a reserve core disciple.

Upon hearing this result, Huo Yuhao's cold gaze swept across the stage, though it soon cleared. It was likely that the Tianmeng Iceworm in his spiritual sea was comforting him, telling him that everything would be stable once he reached level twenty.

As for why Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were also able to become core disciples, Lin Yao had some guesses after his initial surprise.

Wang Dong was likely there to save face for the Clear Sky Sect behind him. After all, Shrek's teachers had known from the start that Wang Dong was a girl disguised as a boy, yet they still allowed her to reside in the male dormitory. This must have involved negotiations with the Clear Sky Sect or the forces Tang San had left behind on the Douluo Continent.

As for Xiao Xiao, it was likely out of appreciation for her talent. After all, she had demonstrated her twin martial souls and the talent to essentially utilize different soul skills from both martial souls simultaneously.

The selection of core disciples was never based solely on the ranking of the freshman assessment, but rather on comprehensive talent.

From this perspective, Wang Dong with his thousand-year second ring and Xiao Xiao with her twin martial souls entering as core disciples was quite reasonable. At the very least, no one openly questioned their ranking.

After all, Wang Dong and the others had lost to Lin Yao, a Soul Ancestor who could beat a Soul Emperor to death, not to their peers. It was just bad luck to be matched against such a monster; it could hardly be called a failure of combat ability.

After this was announced, the next step was the class assignments. The entire first year was divided into four classes. Class One was for Power Attack and Control System battle soul masters; Class Two was for Defense and Agility Attack System battle soul masters; Class Three was for Support System soul masters; and Class Four included various other special attribute battle soul masters and tool soul masters, including Food and Healing systems.

Following the assignments came the selection of homeroom teachers, with two per class. The good news for Lin Yao was that Class One's homeroom teacher was not that old hag Zhou Yi. In fact, Zhou Yi hadn't even shown her face today, and it was unclear what her situation was.

The homeroom teachers for Class One were ultimately decided as Mu Jin and Wang Yan.

Although Wang Yan was a bit devious, Mu Jin had been the teacher guiding him since he enrolled. Plus, Lin Yao had already maxed out her favorability, so she would certainly prioritize him if anything came up.

It could be said that as long as there were no major personnel changes, Lin Yao's life in the Outer Court was basically secure.

By the time he finished his first year, or at most his second, Lin Yao's strength would reach that of a Soul Emperor or higher, putting him on par with the Outer Court teachers. By then, he wouldn't have to worry about any short-sighted teachers targeting him.

After the assignments were completed, Du Weilun gave the final closing remarks for the meeting.

"Very well, everyone, proceed to your respective classes according to the new assignments. Lin Yao's team, the three of you, come with me to collect your rewards."

With that, Du Weilun led Lin Yao and his team toward his office.

This so-called special reward was no different from the original work: it was a left leg bone of a Void Demon Leopard. The moment Du Weilun brought it out, it triggered a strange phenomenon in Lin Yao's martial soul.

However, this phenomenon was not positive; it was a reaction of extreme rejection.