The Core Disciple List

At the side, Dai Huabin watched the scene with his head lowered and his teeth clenched. His fists creaked inside his sleeves, his nails digging into his palms. His expression was so dark it could have dripped water. That glory should have been his.

As a descendant of the White Tiger Duke's line, he had been taught from childhood to stand at the very top. Yet now he could only stand below the stage and watch others receive the cheers.

That glory should have been mine! Mine!

Standing below the stage, Huo Yuhao watched Nezha's team step up with envy written all over his face.

He stood in a corner of the freshman formation, his frail figure swallowed by the crowd, but his deep blue eyes stared straight at that figure on the stage.

He could not help wondering how it would have felt if he had won the championship, if he had been the one standing there.

Wang Dong, beside him, was even more indignant. Her pale pink eyes narrowed slightly, and her lips pressed into a thin line. Since she had begun cultivating, she had never suffered such a crushing defeat.

But deep down, her refusal to admit defeat surged within her. Being strong now did not mean being truly strong. She had twin martial souls; the later stages were when she would come into her own. One day, she would take back everything she had lost today, down to the last scrap.

As for Xiao Xiao, she stood behind Wang Dong with her head lowered, wringing her hands in front of her and trying her best to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

Yet even with her head down, her gaze kept straying toward Nezha on the stage.

The image of that spear charging toward her back then rose unbidden in her mind. That suffocating pressure seemed to still weigh on her chest. Her legs weakened involuntarily, and she hurriedly grabbed a nearby classmate's arm to steady herself.

On the stage, Nezha stood before Du Weilun, his gaze sweeping over the dense sea of people below. He turned a deaf ear to the screams and cheers, tilting his head to glance at Ning Tian and Nanmen Yun'er beside him. The lazy smile at the corner of his mouth deepened.

The championship. Just as expected.

Du Weilun continued, "All right, next I will announce the rewards for the top three teams in the Freshman Assessment. All three teams will receive the academy's standard reward. Whenever you reach a bottleneck, each of you may apply to the academy, and we will help you obtain the soul ring best suited to you."

At those words, the first-year students could not help gasping in amazement. To them, this was no small reward.

Soul rings were one of the most crucial hurdles on a Soul Master's cultivation path. Countless people were stuck at bottlenecks simply because they could not find suitable soul beasts. With this move, Shrek Academy had effectively paved their way through the first thirty levels.

Next, Du Weilun turned to another page in his folder. His gaze passed over the expectant eyes below the stage, and he smiled faintly.

"In recognition of Nezha's team's outstanding performance in the competition, the academy has decided to grant them a special reward. Once class assignments are complete, you may come with me to collect it."

A special reward too?

The freshmen's imaginations immediately ran wild. Shrek Academy had always been generous. Anything it gave the championship team as an extra treat was certainly no ordinary prize. Some guessed it was a soul bone, others a high-grade soul tool, and still others cultivation resources.

Standing in the formation, Nezha listened to the whispers around him without letting anything show on his face, though he pondered inwardly. Uncle Ning was right. Coming to Shrek Academy really was worthwhile.

Then Du Weilun waved for the three teams to return to their places. Once they had all rejoined their respective formations, he reopened the file in his hands and cleared his throat.

"The overall caliber of this year's freshmen is extremely high. We have four gifted students at the Soul Elder level alone, as well as many outstanding students at the Soul Grandmaster level. I hope you will continue working hard and not squander your talents. Make entering Shrek Academy's Inner Court the goal you strive toward."

He paused, swept his gaze over the students below, and raised his voice a little.

"Shrek Academy has never been stingy about investing heavily in students who distinguish themselves. We have now selected a number of outstanding students to become core disciples of the Outer Court. Listen carefully to the names I am about to read."

He unfolded another page of the file and read the names one by one.

"Nezha, Ning Tian, Nanmen Yun'er, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Cui Yajie, Xie Huanyue, Wu Feng, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao..."

When Du Weilun finished speaking, some below the stage rejoiced while others despaired. The students who had been brimming with confidence but had not made the list wore increasingly ugly expressions. Heads lowered, fists clenched, and teeth gritted, they cast resentful glances among those whose names had been called. Those who had heard their own names, meanwhile, straightened their backs, unable to suppress the smiles tugging at their lips.

Then Du Weilun turned to another page in the file.

Seeing Du Weilun turn to a fresh page, the students below the stage immediately felt the dawn of hope flare in their eyes again.

"There were also some students in the Freshman Assessment who performed very well but were lacking in certain areas. The academy has decided to grant them the privileges of core disciples for the time being. I hope you will cultivate diligently over the coming year, identify your shortcomings, and make up for them. If you perform well in next year's advancement examination, the academy will consider promoting you to full core disciples. The list is as follows-Liu Ruyan, Shi Huang, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo. That concludes the announcement."

Below the stage, Huo Yuhao stood in a corner of the crowd. Hearing both Wang Dong's and Xiao Xiao's names on the core disciple list, he first breathed a sigh of relief, then felt a pang of guilt.

He knew he had held them back. Otherwise, with Wang Dong's and Xiao Xiao's talent and strength as twin martial soul wielders, they could never have been eliminated in the Top 64. It would have been terrible if he had harmed Xiao Xiao's and Wang Dong's prospects.

Neither Wang Dong nor Xiao Xiao had expected to be chosen as a core disciple after being eliminated in the first round, and both were delighted. Still, if even twin martial soul wielders could not qualify as core disciples, then Shrek Academy would truly have been blind. Across the entire academy, counting both the Inner Court and the Outer Court, there were fewer than five people with twin martial souls. That alone showed just how rare they were.

The Freshman Assessment rankings were only a secondary consideration. What Shrek Academy truly valued was its students' talent and potential.

With the awards ceremony over, class assignments came next.

Following Shrek's tradition, each year was divided into four classes. Power attack system and control system Soul Masters were assigned to Class One to study together. Defense system and agility attack system students went to Class Two, support system Battle Soul Masters to Class Three, and food system, healing system, and various special-attribute Soul Masters to Class Four.

As a power attack system Soul Master, Nezha was naturally assigned to Class One. Dai Huabin, Wu Feng, Wang Dong, and the others were also placed in that class.

As an agility attack system Soul Master, Nanmen Yun'er went to Class Two, while Ning Tian was assigned to Class Three.

Next came the introductions of each class's homeroom teachers. After dividing the students into classes, the academy used a system in which a head homeroom teacher and a deputy worked together to guide them.

Perhaps because Mu Jin had taught Nezha when he first enrolled, he remained Nezha's homeroom teacher after the class assignments-in other words, the homeroom teacher for Class One. The other homeroom teacher was Wang Yan.