Yan Shaozhe looked thoroughly displeased. Dai Huabin had made such a mess of his relationships that he could not even use his Martial Soul Fusion Skill. What a piece of trash.
But his eyes shifted, and he still came up with a way to respond.
"Hmph, what contribution could that Spirit Eyes Martial Soul make, standing rooted to the spot the entire match with a ten-year soul ring on display? And that Blue Silver Grass Soul Master used such vicious methods, practically the conduct of an Evil Soul Master!"
"Oh dear, Dean Yan, you mustn't say that. His Blue Silver Grass's second soul skill was clearly Parasite. You know, Sea God Tang San's second soul skill ten thousand years ago was also Parasite."
Seeing Yan Shaozhe slap labels on people indiscriminately, Qian Duoduo hurriedly spoke up.
Yan Shaozhe immediately shut his mouth. Sea God Tang San was the embodiment of political correctness at Shrek Academy. Although he had sent down no miracles in ten thousand years and most people regarded him as a legend, he could not be disparaged within Shrek. Anyone who dared call Tang San an Evil Soul Master would immediately be branded a traitor to his teachers and ancestors.
As for the historical records saying that his External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances, could drain life force? That was a soul bone specially designed to counter Evil Soul Masters. The life force it drained belonged to Evil Soul Masters!
It was a righteous soul bone that specialized in killing evil Soul Masters!
"In any case, I consider that Blue Silver Grass Soul Master ruthless and vicious. No matter what, someone with that temperament is unfit to become a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department." Yan Shaozhe had never wanted to give Lu Yu a core disciple position anyway. Now that he had found an excuse, he naturally had to attack him fiercely.
As for Dai Huabin, who had made his girlfriend injure herself and even attacked her, he was the White Tiger Duke's second son. How could that be the same?
Even if he attacked other students at the academy, as long as the Duke's Mansion paid a small price, Yan Shaozhe could let him continue studying at Shrek without a scratch.
Yan Shaozhe looked toward Du Weilun beside him.
"That settles it. This year's core disciple positions will go to Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Wang Dong, Xie Huanyue, Xiao Xiao, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, and Zhou Sichen."
Having handed out eleven places in one go, Yan Shaozhe sucked in a breath.
"As for those two on the championship team, if they don't make a fuss, give them provisional status. If they do, expel them. I hope those two know what's good for them."
Before leaving, Yan Shaozhe remembered something.
"Oh, and make sure that Xiao Xiao absorbs that thousand-year Voidlight Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone. Tell her it's an advance investment from the academy. If she gives that soul bone to her teammates, take it back... give it to someone else-forget it, save it as a prize for a future competition."
Seeing Yan Shaozhe finalize the list, Qian Duoduo forcibly suppressed his smile.
No, I can't laugh yet. Oh no, I'm about to lose it.
He immediately turned around and vanished in a flash without another word.
In the arena, after Dai Huabin had exposed every last bit of his ugliness and been knocked to the ground by Xiao Xiao, the referee shook him awake.
He lay on the ground in disbelief, only gritting his teeth and climbing up after a long while. Thin traces of blood seeped from beneath his dental crowns.
Ignoring Zhu Lu, he turned and walked away, leaving Cui Yajie supporting Zhu Lu where they stood, at a loss.
Huo Yutong took it all in and clenched her fists in delight. Humiliating Dai Huabin like this was a hundred times more satisfying than killing him outright.
Mom, did you see that? This is only the first step of my revenge. When the time comes, I'll cut off his head myself and place it before your grave as an offering.
"Yutong, we finally won the competition. Grill some fish to celebrate! We've been cultivating so much lately that it's been ages since I had your grilled fish."
Xiao Xiao spoke to Huo Yutong, drool spilling from the corner of her mouth at the mere thought of that delicious grilled fish.
"Grandmaster Lu, we finally won. Celebrating a little should be fine, right?"
"Mm."
Lu Yu nodded. Everyone was in high spirits, and he could hardly bring himself to spoil the mood. Besides, he wanted some of Huo Yutong's grilled fish too.
The three went straight back to the dormitory. Since everyone else was still in class today, they decided to grill right outside the dormitory entrance.
Once the fish was cooked, its fragrance spread everywhere. Even Mu En, reclining in his lounge chair, could not help repeatedly turning his head.
"Senior, have some too."
Noticing Mu En's little movements, Lu Yu smiled knowingly and handed him some grilled fish.
Mu En could hardly wait to take a bite. This flavor was indeed rarely found in the world.
"This is the best grilled fish I've ever eaten."
"If you like it, Grandpa, have another helping."
Huo Yutong did respect the elderly and care for the young. Seeing that Mu En enjoyed it, she handed him another handful of grilled fish.
As Mu En ate the grilled fish, he finally understood why Xuan Zi would rather be called Chicken Leg Douluo than stop clutching chicken legs and gnawing on them all day. If he could eat his fill of grilled fish every day, he would have no problem changing his title from Dragon God Douluo to Grilled Fish Douluo either.
"Children, I watched your matches over the past two days. You all performed very well, and your martial souls aren't simple either, are they?"
Mu En had also followed the New Student Competition. However, to conceal the fact that he was still alive, he had not shown himself nearby, instead hiding on the roof of a distant teaching building to watch.
With his strength and combat experience, he could easily analyze the course of the matches even without watching from the venue.
"Little girl, your Spirit Eyes Martial Soul's soul skill should be a detection-type spiritual soul skill, correct?"
"You're right, Grandpa. My soul skill is Spiritual Detection Sharing."
Huo Yutong demonstrated her soul skill for Mu En. When he experienced Spiritual Detection Sharing, his aged eyes lit up. Although high-ranking Soul Masters could also project their spiritual power outward, their perception was nowhere near this clear.
The little girl's Spiritual Detection Sharing could provide assistance even in battles between Titled Douluo. A soul skill like this was worthwhile even if it came from a mere ten-year soul ring.
Mu En did not care that Huo Yutong's first soul ring was a ten-year one. How much soul power and physical strength could a hundred-year soul ring add anyway? Couldn't Shrek make up the difference simply by giving her a few resources?
"A very impressive soul skill. You'll become an outstanding control-type Soul Master in the future."
After praising Huo Yutong, Mu En turned toward Lu Yu.
"Your martial soul should be able to absorb the characteristics of other martial souls, boy. I saw your Blue Silver Grass change after you defeated those two pretty sisters."
"The way it looked was exactly the same as that Hair Martial Soul."
"You guessed correctly, Senior. I didn't expect you to notice after all."
Lu Yu nodded.
As expected of an old veteran. His eyes are truly sharp.
"You won the New Student Competition, correct? Following the usual practice, you'll soon become core disciples of the Martial Soul Department. When that happens, make sure to visit the dining hall more often to build yourselves up. Eat to your hearts' content. Those thousand-year soul beast delicacies aren't easy to find outside. Eat more and make up for your physical deficiencies."
Mu En spoke proudly. He had personally established this thousand-year soul beast meal subsidy program. Each meal cost over thirty Gold Soul Coins, with the aim of helping talented commoners make up for the physical deficiencies of their childhoods so that they could keep pace with the cultivation speed of disciples from great families.
Back in his youth, he had spent quite some time getting the associated supply chain in place for this.
"Then I won't hold back."
Lu Yu nodded. Shrek's meal subsidy was indeed beyond reproach, a business run at a pure loss. It cost around a hundred Gold Soul Coins a day. Converted into the money of his previous life, the annual subsidy amounted to over three million.
"After becoming core disciples, you can also visit the Treasure Appreciation Pavilion outside. It belongs to the academy. Core disciples of the academy have access to a credit limit, and the loans can be interest-free and deferred indefinitely. There's no problem even if you only repay them decades after graduation."
"Take this card with you when you go. It can raise your credit limit to twenty million. Pick out a better soul bone then, preferably one suited to your martial souls and no younger than fifty thousand years."
"Of course, if it's an exceptional soul bone suited to your martial soul, even a ten-thousand-year one is worth absorbing. The improvement your martial soul gains after absorbing it is far more important than that forty-thousand-year difference in age."
"But remember, you absolutely must not absorb soul bones younger than ten thousand years. Absorbing them will only waste your talent."
"Thank you, Mu En. I'll remember."
The three of them expressed their thanks to Mu En. I knew it. After we won the New Student Competition, how could Shrek not hurry to invest in us?
Look at Mu En. How generous, handing out fifty-thousand-year soul bones just like that. Although Lu Yu still thought rather little of fifty-thousand-year soul bones, they would make decent stopgaps in the early stages. In any case, as long as they were not skull or torso bones, they could be replaced with a little effort.
That middle-aged geezer Fan Yu even said the Martial Soul Department wouldn't give me a core disciple position. He must have gone dizzy trying to poach me. Still, considering his early investment, once I work my way into Shrek's upper ranks, I'll be sure to give him plenty of support.
As for joining the Soul Tool Department or anything like that, sorry, I've always been a disciple of the Martial Soul Department.
Seeing Lu Yu's heartfelt smile, Mu En also beamed. It's settled. With these three geniuses staying at Shrek, this old man finally has successors.
Before you continue