Issues with the Reward

Before handing the Soul Beast hide pouch in his hand over to Jiang Yue and the others, Du Weilun looked at Jiang Yue with a grave expression. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words caught in his throat.

It was not that Du Weilun was being pretentious. He truly 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 tasked with passing it on.

"Director Du, if you have something to say, just say it. There's no need to hesitate like this. I don't believe that news will affect me."

"Fine, then I'll be direct. Jiang Yue, with the Soul Ring configuration you've displayed and your talent, I believe your fourth Soul Ring is meant to aim for the Ten-Thousand-Year level, isn't it?"

"I believe you also know that Mental Attribute Soul Beasts are extremely rare, and Ten-Thousand-Year Mental Attribute Soul Beasts are even more so. Coupled with the unpredictable nature of the Mental Attribute, Dean Yan does not believe the reward for a Freshman Assessment carries enough weight 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, it will 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 alone?"

"Whether it is Dean Yan's personal decision is not important. Dean Yan's views represent the entire academy, not only 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."

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

Du Weilun rubbed his forehead, but his body visibly relaxed. It seemed that saying those words had relieved him as well.

The moment Du Weilun learned of Yan Shaozhe's decision, he had found it rather unbelievable. He did not think Mental Attribute Soul Beasts were something worth being stingy over, even if they were rare.

For Shrek Academy, it was nothing more than taking a few extra turns through the Mixed Zone. Winning the goodwill of a genius was well worth it, not to mention that this was originally the reward Jiang Yue deserved.

They could not possibly add a condition like "limited to below Ten-Thousand-Year" after someone had already earned the reward, could they? Du Weilun felt that doing so would be rather shameless, but his position was too low to change Yan Shaozhe's mind.

Even within Shrek Academy's Outer Court, and including the Inner Court, Yan Shaozhe stood among the very highest in status. The dean of the Martial Soul Department governed not only the Outer Court, but the Inner Court as well! Du Weilun knew he was incapable of changing the mind of someone so powerful.

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

"How about this? As long as you have accurate information on the range of activity of a Mental Attribute Soul Beast, and it is below twenty thousand years, tell me the information and I'll take you to hunt it. How does that sound?"

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

Jiang Yue was nearly speechless. He had never expected that being too talented could result in the academy refusing to honor a 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 the grand promises he made.

Even though Jiang Yue had mentally prepared himself long ago, he still had not expected Yan Shaozhe to do this just to save himself a little effort. Jiang Yue now almost 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 already knew that the pouch contained the Void Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone, he still felt a faint trace of anticipation. It was simply not anticipation for the Soul Bone itself, but for the Gold Soul Coins it could be exchanged for.

After untying the cord around the pouch, a modest glow accompanied by dense Soul Power fluctuations emerged from within without warning. It slowly rose free of the pouch, floating quietly in midair.

As the light faded, it revealed the small bone within. Jiang Yue's reaction was fairly calm since he had been prepared, but Zuo Fan and Lu Bei were utterly shocked. Their mouths hung wide open for a long while, unable to utter a word as they stared fixedly at 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 attention.

They had heard everything Du Weilun had said to Jiang Yue earlier. They had initially thought Shrek Academy was being stingy, only for it to turn around and produce a Soul Bone.

When Jiang Yue saw this Soul Bone, he 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 never mentioned the exact age of this Void Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone, but it was certain that it had not reached the Ten Thousand Year level. After all, no matter how wealthy Shrek Academy was, it could not possibly use a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone as the special reward for winning the Freshman Assessment.

Based on the glow and Soul Power fluctuations this Soul Bone had emitted earlier, Jiang Yue could determine that it was likely somewhere between just over seven or eight hundred years and just over a thousand years old. He could not be more precise, only because this Soul Bone was not particularly complete.

An incomplete Soul Bone was already worth about half as much. A complete five-hundred-year Soul Bone was probably worth roughly the same as this one.

"The distribution rights for this Soul Bone belong to the three of you. This pouch can conceal a Soul Bone's aura, so it will be given to you as well. Remember, a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure invites trouble. Do not leak news of the Soul Bone."

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

"Go on. Do not expose the Soul Bone. It would be best to absorb it sooner rather than later."

There was no ritual of polite refusal. Zuo Fan and Lu Bei had reached the top three and obtained their Soul Ring rewards largely thanks to Jiang Yue. Coupled with what they had just heard in the office, they naturally had no intention of fighting over this Soul Bone.

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

Besides, Jiang Yue had led them to the championship, yet he had lost his Soul Ring reward. Were they supposed to take this special reward too? Would that not mean Jiang Yue had worked for nothing? That would have been downright inhumane.

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, and everything would be settled.

Class One of the first year was the class that gathered the assault-type and control-type students after the Freshman Assessment. Zuo Fan was a defense-type student, while Lu Bei was an agility-attack-type student, so neither was in Jiang Yue's class.

Class One's classroom was the original Freshman Class One classroom. There were not many students in total, with fewer than seventy between the two departments.

When Jiang Yue entered, there was no teacher in the classroom. The students sat with people they knew, but because there were not many of them, there were still plenty of vacant seats, most of which were concentrated in less desirable areas.

Seeing this, Jiang Yue had no particular thoughts. He was not familiar with most of the people here to begin with, and there were only a handful he could even speak with.

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

At that moment, Jiang Yue unexpectedly hoped their future homeroom teacher would be Zhou Yi. At least then Dai Huabin would definitely be thrown out of Class One for questioning Zhou Yi's decisions, and Jiang Yue would not have to endure that stare anymore.

Zhu Lu sat beside Dai Huabin. As an agility-attack-type Soul Master, she normally should have gone to Class Two, but because she had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Dai Huabin, she had received special permission 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 off with his fiancée Zhu Lu's emotions.

Jiang Yue could clearly sense the sorrow, shock, and confusion radiating from Zhu Lu. Evidently, she had sensed Dai Huabin's emotions when they used their Martial Soul Fusion Skill yesterday, resulting in her current state.

Perhaps by the time he realized it, everything would already be too late. A heart that had been thoroughly wounded was not easily healed, especially in Douluo Continent. If love turned into hatred, Dai Huabin might even be dealt with directly.

With a creak, the classroom door opened. The somewhat noisy room immediately fell silent, and the person who entered was Wang Yan, the current primary homeroom teacher of Class One.

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

"Alright, alright. I know everyone is excited to become classmates in the same class, but please get to know one another after class."

"Now, we will 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 is no need to be nervous. Relax a little. Let's treat each other as friends."

"Next, we will hold an election for class monitor. There will be one main monitor and one deputy monitor, respectively held by an assault-type student and a control-type student. They will rotate positions every month. I will nominate candidates, and you will 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 nothing much to say for the assault-type department: Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, and Wang Dong were all on the list. On the control-type side, compared to the original work, Jiang Yue's name had simply been added.

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

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

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

"I'm sure. Being class monitor is too troublesome. Let someone else do it."

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

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

He had heard something about Yan Shaozhe's decision. A reward that had already been earned could not be fulfilled, something no normal person could accept. Jiang Yue was showing his resistance through this action!

Wang Yan believed he had seen through Jiang Yue's thoughts. He did not believe anyone in Shrek Academy could truly lack motivation for such a position.

What a good child, yet the reward he had earned had inexplicably become impossible to claim. He could only vent the dissatisfaction in his heart this way. Sigh, it was all Dean Yan's doing.

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

Without Jiang Yue's participation, the final result was obvious. Wang Dong became the assault-type class monitor, while Cao Jinxuan became the control-type class monitor.

The reason Dai Huabin lost was simple. First, his personality was terrible. Second, all the female students in the class had put in their effort. In the end, someone finally joined Jiang Yue in enduring Dai Huabin's gloomy glare.

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

After the class monitor election, Wang Yan began the day's lesson. The knowledge was relatively simple, and with Douluo Continent's martial culture, there were truly not many people listening attentively.

As soon as class ended, Jiang Yue immediately headed toward Class Three, the auxiliary-type class.

To avoid any unexpected complications, Jiang Yue felt he should deal with the Void Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone as quickly as possible. Only after turning it into Gold Soul Coins would he truly feel at ease.

To sell a Soul Bone so quickly while still receiving a reasonable price, there was no one Jiang Yue knew more suitable than Ning Tian.

Unless the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had suddenly begun to look down on low-age Soul Bones, Ning Tian would certainly be able to offer enough to purchase it.

"Hmm? 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 some trouble in Class One?"

"Don't worry. Wu Feng hasn't done anything out of line. It's like this: I want you to take a look at something for me, and preferably buy it directly. I wonder whether Miss Ning would be interested."

"Oh? You want me to inspect something, and you want me to buy it directly? Interesting. But let's make this clear first: if the quality is poor, the price may not be very good."

"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. She also wanted to know what he would bring out. According to the information she had gathered, Jiang Yue should not possess anything particularly valuable. Considering the timing, it was most likely the reward Jiang Yue had obtained from the Freshman Assessment.

Ning Tian also wanted to know what Shrek Academy's special reward for the Freshman Assessment champions was.

With that curiosity, Ning Tian followed Jiang Yue to a relatively secluded spot within Shrek Academy. After looking around and confirming there was no one nearby, Jiang Yue took out the hide pouch containing the Void Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone from his Storage Soul Tool.

Ning Tian watched the pouch in Jiang Yue's hand. The moment she saw a small bone emerge from it, her gaze became somewhat more serious.

"The Void Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone. Based on my observations, it should be between eight hundred and fourteen hundred years old. I don't know much about Soul Bones, so I hope you can appraise it for me."

To the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Soul Bones were not particularly precious—at least, not for 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, let alone now, after ten thousand years of accumulation. Calling it as rich as a nation would not be an exaggeration. To them, money truly was nothing but dirt.

Feeling the stir 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 is roughly a Thousand-Year Soul Bone. Its overall preservation is not particularly good, its shape is damaged and incomplete, it is a left leg Soul 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 suits assault-type and control-type Soul Masters. Its value cannot be low. Even incomplete, it would definitely be worth several hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."