The Hell White Tiger was sent flying dozens of meters away. If it crashed heavily into the ground, it would undoubtedly suffer severe injuries.
Du Weilun, the referee who had initially believed Yao Shi's team was bound to lose and had been prepared to step in and save them, instead flew out to catch the still-airborne Hell White Tiger.
Perhaps Yao Shi's strike had been too powerful. Even after Du Weilun firmly grabbed the white tiger's fur, he failed to stop immediately and was dragged another seven or eight meters before steadying himself. He could not help grumbling inwardly.
This is strange. I'm a dignified Spirit Douluo, yet when catching an opponent knocked away by a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, I couldn't stop right away. How utterly embarrassing.
Du Weilun did not dwell on it. Carrying the Hell White Tiger, he flew back to the arena and set it down.
Having taken Yao Shi's heavy blow head-on, the Hell White Tiger had already fallen unconscious. Blood stained both sides of its mouth, and not long after Du Weilun put it down, it separated.
The surrounding students and teachers were all dumbfounded. They simply could not believe that a two-ring auxiliary-type Soul Grandmaster could single-handedly defeat a Hell White Tiger powerful enough to rival a four-ring Soul Ancestor.
Amid the uproar beneath the stage, Du Weilun announced loudly, "Now, I declare the champions of the freshman assessment elimination rounds to be..."
"Yao Shi, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao's team—"
"W-We won?"
Xiao Xiao found it hard to believe. She had thought Yao Shi had told her and Wang Dong to hide behind him so he could make a vine wall to protect them. She had never expected their class monitor to conjure a giant vine club and end the match in one stroke.
"Yes, we won. We're champions."
Hearing Xiao Xiao's words, Wang Dong echoed her. At the same time, she felt a lingering fear in her heart. This guy had hidden himself too well. He actually had a move like that. Fortunately, he had not used it on her on the day they reported in. Otherwise...
With the champions announced, the results of the freshman assessment quickly spread throughout the academy.
"Hey, did you hear? A freshman this year defeated an opponent whose Martial Soul fusion could rival four rings, all with just a two-ring cultivation."
"I heard. Good thing we aren't in the same year as them. This year's freshmen are truly monstrous."
"What? You said someone defeated a white tiger with a giant club?"
"Ah, but what I heard was that someone beat it with a ten-year Lone Bamboo."
As the news spread farther, it became increasingly outrageous, but none of it had anything to do with Yao Shi and the others.
The next day, all students who had passed the freshman assessment gathered at Shrek Square.
First, the top three teams in the assessment were awarded their prizes. Then, the list of core disciples was announced.
Du Weilun opened the folder in his hand and read, "Based on their performances in the freshman assessment, the academy has ultimately approved the following students as core disciples: Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu... Lan Luoluo, Ning Tian, Wu Feng."
All the highly ranked students in this assessment were on the list, except for Yao Shi, who had defeated the Hell White Tiger in a single strike.
"H-How could this be? Why isn't Yao Shi on it?"
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were stunned. They felt that even if they could not become core disciples, Yao Shi should have made it. But why was his name absent from the list?
It was not just them. Even the other students who had become core disciples found it unbelievable. They had personally witnessed the power of Yao Shi's final strike.
Du Weilun had even asked Dean Yan why Yao Shi was absent from the list. Yan Shaozhe's response had been, "His vine attacks are indeed powerful, but the potential of a tree branch Martial Soul is ultimately too low. The academy has no need to waste resources cultivating a student who is only strong early on and weak later." Thus, Du Weilun had not pursued the matter further.
Du Weilun continued, "Given that some freshmen in the assessment had deficiencies in their Martial Souls or abilities but still performed exceptionally, the academy has decided to grant them temporary core disciple treatment until the end of this academic year. If they make breakthroughs in the annual advancement examinations, they may be considered for promotion to official core disciples."
"The list is as follows: Yao Shi, Cui... Huang Chutian, Nanmen Yuner."
After finishing the announcement, Du Weilun dismissed the students.
At that moment, Wang Dong asked quietly, "Yao Shi, are you alright?"
Yao Shi looked calm on the surface, but inside... he was even more excited.
Oh yeah! Now I have a reason to leave the academy!
Yao Shi gently shook his head. "I'm fine. Don't worry."
Wang Dong said anxiously, "It shouldn't be like this. You're so strong. You should obviously have been made a core disciple..."
Yao Shi merely patted her shoulder and said nothing more.
Wang Dong thought Yao Shi had suffered a tremendous blow because he had not become a core disciple, which was why he did not want to speak.
But inside, Yao Shi was thinking.
Heh~ Since I didn't become a core disciple, this is easy. I'll find a chance to grab my things and run right away. It's not that I don't want to stay—it's that the academy looks down on me, so I'm "forced" to leave.
Just like that, after the core disciples were selected, the next step was to reorganize the classes. All the core disciples, along with highly ranked students like Yao Shi, were assigned to Class One under Zhang Lexuan's instruction.
Soon, the freshmen's first semester was nearing its end, and vacation was about to begin.
The day before the break, the other students had already left the academy for vacation, including Wang Dong. Meanwhile, Yao Shi was squatting in the open space beneath the dormitory building, eating Huo Yuhao's grilled fish.
As Huo Yuhao grilled fish, he said indignantly, "Brother Yao, the academy is practically blind. You're so strong, yet they didn't make you a core disciple. That's too unfair."
As Yao Shi ate his fish, he waved dismissively. "Relax, relax, Yuhao. I don't really want to be a core disciple anyway. Besides, I never planned to stay here forever."
"What! Does that mean you're preparing to leave Shrek Academy, Brother Yao?" Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao sprang to his feet and asked in surprise.
"See? You're getting worked up again. What's so shocking about this? Just focus on grilling the fish."
Yao Shi looked perfectly at ease, then added, "Fish must be grilled slowly. If you're impatient, the fish will burn."
After hearing that, Huo Yuhao squatted back down. "Then where are you planning to go after leaving the academy, Brother Yao? Do you want me to follow you?"
Yao Shi thought for a moment. "Uh, I haven't decided where to go yet. I'll travel around first. As for you, there's no need to follow me for now. But I suggest that you eventually go to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy in the Sun Moon Empire. That's where you'll be able to display your true talent."
A day earlier, Huo Yuhao had told Yao Shi that he was now a quasi-level two Soul Engineer. Once he obtained his second soul ring, he could directly become a level two Soul Engineer.
"The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy..."
Huo Yuhao muttered the place Yao Shi had just mentioned.
"Alright, it's getting late. I'm heading back first."
Yao Shi stood up, dusted off his backside, and spoke to Huo Yuhao.
"Goodbye, Brother."
Yao Shi returned to the dormitory. Wang Dong had already left the academy to go home yesterday, and now Room 108 had only him remaining.
"Hehehe, the dorm is empty right now. This is the perfect time to secretly do something fun."
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