Problems with the Rewards

Before handing the soul beast hide pouch in his hand to Jiang Yue and the others, Du Weilun looked at Jiang Yue with an exceptionally grave expression. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words caught in his throat.

It was not that Du Weilun was being overly sentimental. He simply did not know how to bring up such a matter. But it was a decision from above, and he had no authority to change it. He was merely the intermediary passing the message along.

"Director Du, if you have something to say, just say it. There's no need to be so hesitant. I believe that news won't affect me."

"Alright, then I'll be direct. Jiang Yue, given the soul ring configuration you've displayed so far, along with your talent, I believe you intend to aim for a ten-thousand-year soul ring as your fourth soul ring?"

"I believe you also understand that spiritual-attribute soul beasts are exceptionally rare, and ten-thousand-year spiritual-attribute soul beasts even more so. On top of that, spiritual attributes are unpredictable and strange. Dean Yan does not believe the reward for a freshman assessment is sufficient reason for the academy to hunt the soul beast you need."

"So..."

"So the academy means that even if I use my freshman assessment reward for my fourth soul ring, they'll only find me a thousand-year soul beast. If I want a ten-thousand-year soul beast, I can only figure it out myself?"

"...Yes!"

"Director Du, I'd like to know whether this is the academy's decision, or Dean Yan's decision alone?"

"Whether it is Dean Yan's decision alone is not important. Dean Yan's opinion represents the entire academy, not just in the outer court, but even in the inner court."

"I can't understand why Dean Yan would do this either. He seems to have his own plans, but I believe he must have his reasons for doing so."

"Is that so? I understand. Thank you, Director Du, for telling me this."

Du Weilun rubbed his forehead, but his body visibly relaxed. It seemed that saying those words had eased his burden considerably.

The moment Du Weilun learned of Yan Shaozhe's decision, he had found it somewhat unbelievable. He did not think spiritual-attribute soul beasts were something worth being stingy over, even if such soul beasts were rare.

For Shrek Academy, it was nothing more than taking a few extra laps through the mixed zone. It was well worth it to earn a genius's goodwill, especially since this was a reward Jiang Yue rightfully deserved.

They could not possibly add a condition like "limited to below ten thousand years" after someone had earned the reward, could they? Du Weilun felt that would be rather shameless, but his position carried little weight, and he had no way to change Yan Shaozhe's mind.

Not only in Shrek Academy's outer court, but even including the inner court, Yan Shaozhe stood among the highest-ranking figures. The Martial Soul Department dean governed not only the outer court, but also the inner court! Du Weilun knew he was incapable of changing the mind of someone so powerful and influential.

"It's good that you understand. It would be best not to spread this matter around, though it truly is rather unfair to you."

"How about this? As long as you have reliable information on the range of activity of a spiritual-attribute soul beast, and it is under twenty thousand years old, tell me the information and I'll take you to hunt it. What do you think?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Director Du. If I truly need your help, I'll definitely let you know then."

Jiang Yue was practically speechless. He had never expected that being too talented could result in the academy refusing to honor his reward. Sure enough, Jiang Yue should never have held even the slightest expectation for Yan Shaozhe, who had never once been mentioned in the original work as actually fulfilling any of the grand promises he made.

Even though Jiang Yue had mentally prepared himself to some extent long ago, he still had not expected Yan Shaozhe to truly do this just to save himself a little effort. Jiang Yue now even felt sorry that Yan Shaozhe had not awakened a Pixiu martial soul.

If Yan Shaozhe had awakened a Pixiu, he probably would have reached the level of a Limit Douluo long ago, right? Perhaps even higher.

"Sigh, it's good that you understand. Tell me anytime if you need anything. Alright, hurry up and take a look at the academy's reward for you."

Although Jiang Yue had long known that the pouch contained the Void Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone, he still felt a faint flicker of anticipation. It was not anticipation for the soul bone itself, but for the Gold Soul Coins it could fetch.

When the cord around the hide pouch was untied, a ball of not particularly dazzling light, accompanied by dense soul power fluctuations, emerged from within without warning. It slowly rose out of the pouch, hovering quietly in midair.

As the light faded, it revealed a small, delicate bone within. Jiang Yue's reaction was fairly calm since he had been prepared, but Zuo Fan and Lu Bei were utterly stunned. Their mouths hung wide open, and they could not say a word for a long while, their eyes fixed firmly on the bone.

Soul bones were incredibly rare. Some soul masters might never see one with their own eyes in their entire lives, so even a left leg bone was enough to draw everyone's attention.

They had all heard what Du Weilun said to Jiang Yue earlier. They had originally thought Shrek Academy was being stingy, yet it had immediately turned around and produced a soul bone.

Upon seeing the soul bone, Jiang Yue quietly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Shrek Academy had not gone so far as to both refuse to honor his reward and withhold the special reward as well.

The original work had not mentioned the exact age of this Void Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone, but it was certain that it could not have reached the ten-thousand-year level. After all, no matter how wealthy Shrek Academy was, it could not possibly give a ten-thousand-year soul bone as the special reward for the freshman assessment champions.

Judging from the light and soul power fluctuations the soul bone had emitted earlier, Jiang Yue could determine that it was likely somewhere between just over seven or eight hundred years old and just over a thousand years old. He could not determine the exact age, only because this soul bone was not particularly complete.

The value of an incomplete soul bone was already cut in half. A complete five-hundred-year soul bone might be worth about the same as this one.

"The right to distribute this soul bone belongs to the three of you. This pouch can conceal the soul bone's aura, so it is included as a gift. Remember, an innocent man gets into trouble because he possesses a treasure. Do not let news of this soul bone leak out."

"Mm, we understand. Then, Director Du, we'll return to the classroom first."

"Go on. Don't expose the soul bone. It would be best to absorb it as soon as possible."

There was no need for any polite back-and-forth. Zuo Fan and Lu Bei had reached the top three and obtained their soul ring rewards largely because of Jiang Yue. Combined with what they had just heard in the office, they naturally had no intention of competing for the soul bone.

The soul bone was indeed precious, but they had obtained it only because they had successfully defeated three Soul Elder teams and won the championship. Without Jiang Yue, they would not merely have failed to obtain this soul bone—they would not even have had the chance to see it.

Besides, Jiang Yue had led the team to the championship, yet his soul ring reward was already gone. Were they supposed to take this special reward too? Would that not mean Jiang Yue had worked for nothing? That would have been rather inhuman.

Thus, the Void Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone went directly to Jiang Yue.

All Jiang Yue needed to do next was find a reliable buyer and sell the soul bone for a good price. Then everything would be perfect.

Class One of the first year was the class formed after the freshman assessment for the assault-type and control-type students. Zuo Fan was in the defense-type department, while Lu Bei was in the agility attack-type department, so neither of them was in the same class as Jiang Yue.

Class One's classroom was the former Freshman Class One classroom. There were not many students in total; even with the two departments combined, there were fewer than seventy.

When Jiang Yue entered, there was no teacher in the classroom. The students were seated with people they knew, but due to the number of students, there were still many empty seats, most of them concentrated in less desirable areas.

Seeing this, Jiang Yue did not think much of it. He was not particularly familiar with most people here to begin with, and there were only a handful of people he could even speak to.

After casually finding a seat, Jiang Yue felt a scorching gaze so intense that it made him uncomfortable land directly on him. Following the gaze, he saw Dai Huabin glaring fixedly at him. It was obvious that the two defeats had not yet made Dai Huabin realize the gap between them.

At that moment, Jiang Yue inexplicably hoped that Zhou Yi would be their new homeroom teacher. At least then, Dai Huabin would surely be thrown out of Class One for questioning Zhou Yi's decision, and Jiang Yue would no longer have to endure that sort of stare from him.

Sitting beside Dai Huabin was Zhu Lu. As an agility attack-type soul master, she should normally have gone to Class Two, but because she possessed a martial soul fusion skill with Dai Huabin, she had been specially permitted to study in Class One.

Dai Huabin's attention remained fixed on Jiang Yue across the room. He did not even notice that something was wrong with the mood of his own fiancée, Zhu Lu.

Jiang Yue could clearly sense the sorrow, shock, and confusion radiating from Zhu Lu. Clearly, when she and Dai Huabin used their martial soul fusion skill yesterday, she had sensed Dai Huabin's emotions, which had led to her current state.

Perhaps by the time he realized it, it would already be too late. A heart that had been thoroughly wounded was not easy to mend, especially in a world like Douluo Continent. If love turned into hatred, Dai Huabin might just get dealt with directly.

With a creak, the classroom doors opened. The somewhat noisy classroom immediately fell silent, and the person who entered was none other than Class One's current head teacher, Wang Yan.

Seeing so many students in the classroom, Wang Yan walked up to the podium and lightly tapped it twice, signaling for them to quiet down.

"All right, all right. I know everyone is excited to be classmates, but please save getting to know one another for after class."

"Now, we'll begin our first lesson after the class assignments. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Wang Yan. Some of you should already know me from the freshman assessment. There's no need to be nervous—just relax. We can treat each other as friends."

"Next, we'll be electing class monitors. There will be one head monitor and one deputy monitor, held respectively by students from the assault and control departments. The positions will rotate every month. I'll be responsible for nominations, while you'll vote by secret ballot."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Yan picked up a piece of chalk and quickly began writing on the blackboard. There was not much to say about the assault department—Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, and Wang Dong were all on the list. On the control department's side, compared to the original story, there was only one additional name: Jiang Yue.

Because Huo Yuhao's first soul ring was a yellow hundred-year ring, no one stepped forward and pointed at his nose to say he was unqualified to run.

"Teacher Wang, can I withdraw from the election?"

"Huh? You can, but are you sure you don't want to run for class monitor?"

"I'm sure. Being class monitor sounds too troublesome. Better leave it to someone else."

Hearing this, Wang Yan gave Jiang Yue a long look. When he could not read anything from his expression, he turned around and erased Jiang Yue's name.

Wang Yan had a few guesses about Jiang Yue's sudden request.

He had also heard about Yan Shaozhe's decision. A reward that had already been granted could not be redeemed—something no normal person could accept. Jiang Yue was using this act to express his resistance!

Wang Yan believed he had seen through Jiang Yue's thoughts. He did not believe anyone in Shrek Academy could be so unmotivated about such positions.

What a good kid. Yet the reward he had earned had somehow become impossible to claim. He could only vent his dissatisfaction this way. Sigh, it was all Dean Yan's doing.

Wang Yan could only silently grumble about Yan Shaozhe in his heart. He did not dare let his thoughts about Yan Shaozhe show on his face.

Without Jiang Yue participating, the final result was obvious. Wang Dong became the assault department's class monitor, while Cao Jinxuan took the position for the control department.

The reason Dai Huabin lost was simple. First, his personality was terrible. Second, the female students in the class had thrown their weight behind the vote. In the end, someone finally joined Jiang Yue in enduring Dai Huabin's gloomy gaze.

When Wang Dong noticed Dai Huabin looking at him, he could not help but shudder. I don't think I provoked him, did I? What's with this guy? Is there something wrong with his head?

After the class monitor election, Wang Yan began the day's lesson. The material was relatively simple, and with Douluo Continent's martial culture, there were truly very few people listening seriously.

As soon as class ended, Jiang Yue immediately headed toward Class Three's auxiliary department classroom.

To avoid complications, Jiang Yue felt that he needed to dispose of the Void Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone as quickly as possible. Only after turning it into stacks of Gold Soul Coins would he truly feel at ease.

If he wanted to sell a soul bone in such a short time while still getting a reasonable price, no one Jiang Yue knew was more suitable than Ning Tian.

Unless the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had suddenly started looking down on low-age soul bones, Ning Tian would definitely be able to offer enough to purchase this soul bone.

"Hm? Jiang Yue? Why did you suddenly come looking for me? We were just assigned to new classes. Don't tell me Feng has already caused trouble in Class One?"

"Don't worry, Wu Feng hasn't done anything out of line. It's like this—I'd like you to appraise something for me. Better yet, I hope you can buy it directly. I wonder if Miss Ning would be interested."

"Oh? You want me to look at something, and you want me to buy it outright? Interesting. But let me make this clear first: if the item isn't of good quality, the price may not be very favorable."

"Fine. Let's go. This isn't a suitable place to take it out. We should find somewhere quiet with no one around first."

Jiang Yue's words piqued Ning Tian's interest as well. She wanted to see what he would produce. According to the intelligence she had gathered, it was unlikely that Jiang Yue possessed anything particularly valuable. Considering the timing, the item was most likely the reward Jiang Yue had received from the freshman assessment.

Ning Tian also wanted to know what special reward Shrek Academy gave to the champions of the freshman assessment.

Thus, driven by curiosity, Ning Tian followed Jiang Yue to a relatively secluded spot within Shrek Academy. After looking around and confirming that there was indeed no one nearby, Jiang Yue took out the leather pouch containing the Void Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone from his storage soul tool.

Ning Tian stared at the leather pouch in Jiang Yue's hand. When she saw a small bone emerge from it, her gaze became somewhat more serious.

"The Void Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone. From my observation, it should be between eight hundred and fourteen hundred years old. I don't know much about soul bones, so I hope you can take a look for me."

Soul bones were not particularly precious to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, at least not to Ning Tian, the young sect master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had been the wealthiest sect in the world since ten thousand years ago. Not to mention the present-day Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which had accumulated wealth for ten thousand years. Calling them rich enough to rival a nation would not be an exaggeration. To them, money truly was no better than dirt.

Feeling the stirrings from her martial soul, Ning Tian could confirm that this was indeed a genuine soul bone. After receiving Jiang Yue's permission, she took the soul bone into her hands and examined it carefully.

"It's roughly a thousand-year soul bone. Overall, it isn't particularly well-preserved; its form is incomplete and damaged. It's also a left leg bone, and its age is not especially high. The quality can only be called passable. But a soul bone is still a soul bone, and this one is suitable for both assault-type and control-type soul masters. Its value cannot be low. Even in its damaged state, it should still be worth several hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."