"But...!"
"Enough," Zhou Yi said, raising a hand to stop him. "As for why we're doing this, the academy will explain it to you later."
"Now, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao." She turned her gaze to the two of them, the corner of her mouth twitching despite herself. "Explain this to me: why did you two support types sign up for the assault and control branches?"
Huo Yuhao's explanation was simple and reasonable.
His Spirit Eyes Martial Soul would definitely gain offensive soul skills in the future, so the control branch was better suited to his development.
Zhou Yi nodded, then finally looked at Xiao Xiao, who was hiding behind Lin Mo. Somewhat helplessly, she said, "You little lass, what are you hiding for?"
Only then did Xiao Xiao step out from behind Lin Mo, her face red.
"Tell me, why did you choose the assault branch?"
"I remember your Martial Soul is the Soulstabilizing Cauldron, a very rare tool Martial Soul that can be counted among the top-tier tool Martial Souls. But its primary function is support. Why did you go and pick the assault branch too?"
Yet Xiao Xiao suddenly looked at Zhou Yi with complete seriousness. "Teacher Zhou, the Soulstabilizing Cauldron can smash people to death too."
Zhou Yi: ?
The three of them: ?
"Besides, I have another Martial Soul called the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, which specializes in support and control."
"With both Martial Souls working together, taking the assault route definitely won't be a problem!"
"What?!" This time, not only was Zhou Yi startled, but Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er also widened their eyes.
Meanwhile, as though he had remembered something, Lin Mo looked at Huo Yuhao and the other two, his eyes suddenly brimming with envy, jealousy, and resentment.
The mention of twin Martial Souls had finally jogged his memory.
Of the four people present, everyone except him-Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er, and Xiao Xiao-had fucking twin Martial Souls. Twin Martial Souls were rare across the continent, but here they were as common as cabbages.
Huo Yuhao had twin Martial Souls: Spirit Eyes and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion.
Spirit Eyes had high stats and dirty mechanics, and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's ultimate ice needed no further explanation.
Wang Dong'er had twin Martial Souls: the Radiant Butterfly Goddess and the Clear Sky Hammer.
Moreover, she knew that wielding a hammer as a girl might not be particularly elegant, so her Clear Sky Hammer was not only pink, but also decorated with butterfly wings.
As the saying went, the pinker the thing, the harder it hit.
Xiao Xiao had twin Martial Souls: the Threelives Soulstabilizing Cauldron and the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute.
"A nation's treasured vessel" perfectly captured the authority of the Threelives Soulstabilizing Cauldron Martial Soul. Lin Mo still remembered Xiao Xiao hefting that massive cauldron, formed by merging three cauldrons into one, and smashing it down during the second Youth Soul Master Tournament.
As for the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, Lin Mo did not know much about it. He had only heard that a blue phoenix was sealed inside it, though he did not know whether that was true.
Then he looked at his own Azure Flame Mystic Bird Martial Soul. Among those six Martial Souls, it did not even qualify for a seat at the table.
Mystic Bird: ?
Slander! This was pure slander!
"Sigh..." Zhou Yi pinched the bridge of her nose and waved a hand helplessly. "I know you like that boy Lin Mo and don't want to be separated from him, but assault and control aren't kept apart. Choosing control, which suits you better, would work just as well."
With her feelings exposed in public, Xiao Xiao's little face grew even redder. She hurriedly took the fresh sheet of paper Zhou Yi handed her and swiftly wrote "control branch" in large letters.
Huo Yuhao looked at Xiao Xiao with a slight frown, while Wang Dong'er pursed her lips somewhat unhappily.
Romance? Liking someone or not?
Lin Mo ignored it all.
Right now, he only felt that Huo Yuhao, those other two, and even the entire world owed him!!
Next, Zhou Yi stated that the four of them were the seeded contestants of her first-year Class One, and set winning the freshman assessment championship as their goal.
"All right, you three can go back and rest."
"Lin Mo, stay behind."
Soon, only Zhou Yi and Lin Mo remained in the office.
Zhou Yi looked at Lin Mo and said, "Lin Mo, you may not realize it yourself yet, but the academy can confirm that your Martial Soul is extremely unusual."
"My Martial Soul? Unusual?" Lin Mo froze.
Indeed, he did feel that something about his Martial Soul had changed in this life. Not only was his cultivation speed who knew how many times faster than in his previous life, but even cultivation bottlenecks had disappeared.
Zhou Yi explained, "Yes. Your Martial Soul isn't the Azure Flame Mystic Crow, but another extremely unusual Martial Soul, an existence that surpasses top-tier beast Martial Souls."
"What makes your Martial Soul unusual is that it can affect the people around you, and even the state of your surroundings. Teammates affected by you, and people near you, will all find their Soul Power circulating more smoothly."
"And you yourself, under the influence of your Martial Soul, are essentially a walking medicine."
Lin Mo suddenly felt a chill down his back.
From that description, hadn't he seemingly become Tang Seng from Journey to the West?
"Teacher Zhou, surely eating a bite of my flesh and blood wouldn't grant immortality, would it?" Lin Mo asked weakly.
Zhou Yi looked at him with a somewhat odd expression.
"Although it can't grant immortality, it can regenerate severed limbs, bring the dead back to life, and regrow flesh on bare bones."
Lin Mo: "..."
Oh no. I've really become Tang Seng!
Fortunately, he had come to Shrek Academy in this life. Had he stumbled into the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Church as he had in his previous life, he would practically have been a juicy piece of meat delivered straight to their mouths.
"Think about it. If the outside world learned of someone who could change other people's condition and accelerate their cultivation anytime, anywhere, just how great a storm would that stir up?"
Lin Mo nodded. That was indeed true.
He knew the nature of those people from the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Church all too well.
"That's why the academy listed you as a reserve member: to prevent you from exposing yourself too early during the freshman assessment and jeopardizing your safety."
"Still, you needn't overthink it." Zhou Yi's tone softened somewhat. "Even if you don't take part in the freshman assessment, the academy has already decided to designate you a core disciple and focus on your training."
Lin Mo's eyes instantly widened.
Being designated a core disciple and receiving focused training meant he would be able to enter the inner court in the future!
And as long as he entered the inner court, he could simply lie flat and live a peaceful little life!
Even if wars broke out everywhere in the future and conflict raged endlessly between the Douluo Continent and the Sun Moon Continent, Huo Yuhao and the others would be there to shoulder it. All he had to do was hole up in Shrek Academy.
Yet the good news did not end there.
Zhou Yi suddenly changed tack. "Originally, you wouldn't have needed to take part in the freshman assessment and would have entered the Martial Soul Department directly. But a senior among the academy's higher-ups has taken an interest in you and wants to accept you as a personal disciple."
"So this freshman assessment will be that senior's test for you."
"You must compete in the freshman assessment finals and lead your team to the championship as its captain. Only then will that senior accept you as a personal disciple."
"Lin Mo, it's not that the academy doesn't value..."
Halfway through her sentence, Zhou Yi suddenly stopped.
Because she saw that, at some point, the boy opposite her had developed red-rimmed eyes.
Lin Mo cried, shedding tears of joy.
I knew it, I knew it! What gambler loses every day? What child cries every day? Three whole lifetimes! I've finally lived to see this moment! Black smoke is billowing from my ancestors' graves!