Core Disciples

Xuan Zi said irritably, "Don't you know perfectly well how reliable you are? Shaozhe urged you over and over not to cultivate, but you still did it in secret-and nearly caused a disaster!"

Ma Xiaotao playfully stuck out her tongue. The lawless little terror of the Inner Court was remarkably obedient before Xuan Zi. Knowing he meant the incident on Sea God Lake, she said quietly, "If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have met Jiang Hai. Without him, I'd still be suffering from the torment of the evil fire!"

Xuan Zi shook his head. "Fine, fine, do as you please. But be careful how you put him through his paces. That boy has good innate aptitude and inborn superhuman strength. He's a promising seedling, so don't wear him out!"

"I know, Xuan Zi!" Ma Xiaotao said impatiently.

Xuan Zi shook his head. "Since your evil fire problem is resolved, you'll lead Shrek Academy's team in next year's Soul Master Tournament. With a Soul Saint competing, you'd better not lose. Shrek Academy can't afford that disgrace..."

Just as Xuan Zi was about to continue, a fierce golden blade of light appeared on an arena below and hurtled toward Xie Huanyue, a level thirty-one Soul Elder. The blade was incredibly swift. The referee had no time to react and was about to block it with his own body.

Xuan Zi vanished from the stands in an instant and appeared before the blade of light, crushing it with one hand. "Today's chicken legs were a little salty," he murmured.

Then he walked away as though nothing had happened.

The sight sent a faint tremor through Jiang Hai's heart. That simple reach and grasp had embodied a return to the purest simplicity. All flashy soul skills, techniques, and schemes seemed pale and powerless before that single grip.

"Yunhai, let's finish this!" Jiang Hai said to Sun Yunhai beside him, his interest waning.

Sun Yunhai nodded. White clouds gathered, light flickered, and amid a blur, Jiang Hai's body seemed to disappear.

An instant later, an immense force struck. Before one of the opposing power attack system Soul Masters could make heads or tails of what was happening, he was sent flying straight off the arena.

With one opponent gone, the pressure on Chen Yong dropped sharply. He gave a low shout, clenched both fists, and rained down punches like a raging storm. In less than a minute, he broke through his opponent's defenses. A figure flashed into view as the referee swiftly appeared and rescued the student.

Meanwhile, concealed by the Seven-Colored Cloud Illusion, Jiang Hai strolled up to the control system Soul Master as casually as if he were walking through a quiet courtyard. One kick sent the student off the arena without any chance to resist.

"The Jiang Hai Team wins!" The referee gave Jiang Hai a somewhat surprised glance before announcing the result expressionlessly.

Only a minute had passed between Jiang Hai making his move and the opposing team's defeat. Although a support system Soul Master had provided cover, Jiang Hai had eliminated two students with effortless ease without even using his martial soul.

The students who had lasted this far could already be considered the cream of Shrek Academy, yet they still seemed utterly powerless to resist.

It seemed this year's Freshman Assessment still had plenty worth watching.

After watching everyone's performance below, Du Weilun approached the somewhat dazed Zhou Yi and smiled. "Congratulations on raising five excellent students, Teacher Zhou. Submit their names. They qualify to become Core Disciples of our Outer Court."

Besides Jiang Hai's trio, Huo Yuhao's team had defeated two Soul Elders above level thirty in succession, leaving no doubt about their talent and strength. Zhou Yi truly had been lucky this time. Freshman Class One might not have had a single Soul Elder, but its other students were all prodigies.

However, Huo Yuhao was not among the five Du Weilun had mentioned!

In his eyes, although both boys had only one soul ring, he had heard about Jiang Hai's previous performances. Moreover, he had just heard Xuan Zi say that Jiang Hai's actual soul power was at least level twenty-two or twenty-three, which already put him among the best of the freshmen.

Combined with his inborn superhuman strength, his actual fighting ability could probably rival the three-no, two-Soul Elders among the freshmen. Ning Tian, a support system Soul Elder, did not count.

Du Weilun had also observed Huo Yuhao. His soul power truly was only at the one-ring stage, still quite a way from level twenty. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao's first soul ring was white, an undeniable shortcoming. He did not meet the standard for a Core Disciple. Even though his team had performed well, Du Weilun attributed that to the strength of Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, who possessed twin martial souls.

Zhou Yi quickly came to her senses and said urgently, "Director Du, what about Huo Yuhao? He's the team's true core and its captain!"

Du Weilun shook his head. "One ring is still too weak."

"But Jiang Hai only has one ring too!" Zhou Yi said instinctively. After a moment, however, she realized something and fell silent.

Du Weilun smiled. "You've realized it yourself, haven't you? Jiang Hai is a true genius. Dean Yan, the dean of the Martial Soul Department, has already noticed him and is considering taking him as a disciple. To be honest, Huo Yuhao has good talent too, but you've forgotten one thing. He has a mental-type martial soul, doesn't he? Powerful soul beasts with a mental attribute are far too rare on the continent. Growing strong will be extremely difficult for him, and the return on the resources invested will be low."

Truly powerful mental-type soul beasts were stronger than soul beasts with ordinary attributes, but it was far too difficult for Soul Masters with mental-type martial souls to grow strong.

"That's fine. If the Martial Soul Department doesn't want him, our Soul Tool Department does!" Fan Yu gently patted her shoulder, his eyes gleaming. "Powerful mental-type soul beasts may be hard to find, but ordinary ones aren't. With that first soul skill of his, I can absolutely train him into an outstanding Soul Engineer. I'm claiming this Core Disciple."

The coldness in Zhou Yi's eyes vanished as she faced Fan Yu. "No, not yet. If that's what you want, you can wait three years. Yuhao is the most hardworking and dedicated Soul Master I've ever seen. He's a specially invited student of the Tang Sect and probably comes from a poor family. He may have started a little late, but within three years, I'll definitely train him into a powerful Soul Master. Once he reaches level thirty, he'll shine brilliantly. It won't be too late for him to join the Soul Tool Department then."

When she called Huo Yuhao the most dedicated, hardworking student she had ever seen, another boy appeared in Zhou Yi's mind, and she instinctively added one of in her heart. That other boy worked just as hard, but his efforts always seemed buried in the shadows. Like his martial soul, he hid himself in darkness, yet his heart turned toward the light and burned more fiercely than anyone else's.

These two were the most unusual children she had encountered in her teaching career. Yet the latter was more like an adult, with opinions of his own, while the former needed her to nurture and guide him like a mother.

At that thought, Zhou Yi grew a little distracted. Remembering the light in Jiang Hai's eyes when he had said he wanted to become a Soul Engineer, she found herself saying, almost as if compelled by some unseen force, "Fan Yu, Jiang Hai mentioned it to me once too. He also wants to study soul tools. That child is earnest and stubborn, with his own ideas and rules. I tried to dissuade him once, but in the end, I promised that if he took first place in this Freshman Assessment, I'd let him study under you."

"Jiang Hai? Your other student?" Fan Yu fell silent for a moment, then smiled wryly. "You should know that while our academy's Soul Tool Department and Martial Soul Department appear equal in status, most of the pavilion elders came from the Martial Soul Department. Although some elders have decided to reform the Soul Tool Department, we've always had to pick up the talented students the Martial Soul Department doesn't want. I've watched that student of yours. He rarely makes a move, but anyone with discerning eyes can tell he's hiding his strength. Xuan Zi, Dean Yan, and Du Weilun have all paid him considerable attention. Even Dean Qian couldn't arrange for him to study soul tools, but I'll mention it to him."

Zhou Yi nodded and smiled. "You may be my husband, but I'm still a teacher in the Martial Soul Department. I'd truly hate to hand a genius like Jiang Hai over to your Soul Tool Department. He isn't a mental-type Soul Master, and his martial soul is a coffin. It wouldn't help him research soul tools at all. Studying them would be a complete waste of time. With his talent and diligence, he might become another Legendary Douluo of Shrek Academy in less than twenty years. Soul tools are developing rapidly, but who knows how many years it'll take before they can threaten a Titled Douluo..."

"Oh, you!" Fan Yu smiled fondly, not taking the matter to heart. Even he did not think a powerhouse with the potential to become a Titled Douluo should study soul tools. The Sun Moon Empire had so many powerful Soul Engineers, yet hadn't it still lost to Shrek Academy?

"All right, I'll go check on Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao," Zhou Yi said. "Fan Yu, do you believe me? The Martial Soul Department will definitely regret giving up on Yuhao someday."

"Then let's wait and see," Fan Yu said.

Below the arena, Ma Xiaotao found Jiang Hai and the others. Putting on the air of a seasoned elder, she patted Jiang Hai's shoulder and smiled. "You did well this morning. You didn't embarrass me. Keep it up this afternoon and make it into the final four. My teacher will be watching tomorrow's matches too. Do well, and it'll benefit you."

"Xiaotao, who is your teacher?" Chen Yong asked curiously.

Ma Xiaotao smiled mysteriously. "You'll find out during tomorrow's matches. You performed well today. At the very least, you should have secured Provisional Core Disciple status. Do a little better tomorrow, and becoming Core Disciples won't be a problem at all."

"What is a Core Disciple?" Sun Yunhai asked.

Ma Xiaotao smiled. "All I can tell you is that as long as Core Disciples don't die, they're certain to enter the Inner Court in the future. I was once a Core Disciple too. The treatment and benefits they receive are far better than those of ordinary disciples, so..."

"Work hard, boys! Future glory lies ahead of you!"

With that, Ma Xiaotao skipped away, clearly in an excellent mood.

"Core Disciples..."

Sun Yunhai and Chen Yong took Ma Xiaotao's words to heart and could not help feeling excited. Only Jiang Hai sighed softly to himself.

Core Disciples enjoyed privileges ordinary people did not, but they also had to shoulder greater responsibilities!