Chapter 32.3. Rewards and the Core Disciples

“Yes, Senior Brother.” Huo Yuhao answered hurriedly. He already had his own plans in mind. After witnessing the domineering might of a stationary soul tool, his interest in soul tools had been piqued. He knew that the target of his revenge was extremely strong, so he needed to use every bit of strength he could. How could he know how strong soul tools were without studying them beforehand?

He didn’t know this at the moment, but his way of thinking would be verified in the not too distant future. The study of soul tools would eventually open a huge door for him.

Tang Ya mused, “Now that I think about it, you might not be able to cultivate in the Soul Tool Department even if you wanted to. Aih, there are many prizes that come along with winning the freshmen assessment, but there are no lack of problems either! Yuhao, you should continue to cultivate properly if you can’t get into the Soul Tool Department.”

Huo Yuhao was briefly stunned, “Teacher Xiao Ya, why wouldn’t I be able to enter the Soul Tool Department?”

Tang Ya replied, “Do you know what the rewards for the freshmen assessment are?”

When they heard the word ‘rewards’, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao’s eyes lit up. They weren’t able to conceal their desire much because of how young they were. Shrek Academy was the number one soul master academy in the world, and they had managed to become the champions of the freshmen assessment. How could their rewards be lacking in any way?

Wang Dong impatiently asked, “Teacher Xiao Ya, what will our rewards be?” He’d already started to call Tang Ya ‘teacher’, just like Huo Yuhao, despite having just joined the Tang Sect.

Tang Ya replied, “There’s a slight difference between each year’s rewards, but they’ll generally be the same. Generally speaking, the rewards are determined based off the quality of the entire batch of freshmen. I don’t know about past years, but I’ve never seen a Soul Elder in a batch of freshmen during the few years that I’ve been in Shrek Academy; you’re the first batch of freshmen I’ve ever seen that has had Soul Elders among them. Because of that, I reckon that you’ll get extremely good rewards. I don’t know about the other rewards you’ll receive, but there’s always a specific reward given to the champions of the freshmen assessment, and that is—the opportunity to become a core disciple.”

“A core disciple?” This wasn’t the first time they’d heard of the term. Teacher Zhou had mentioned it in the past.

Tang Ya nodded. “You’re the champions of the freshmen assessment, so there wouldn’t be any problems for you to become a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. However, once you become a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department, the Academy will give you even more resources in order to ensure that you diligently pursue your studies and become an even stronger soul master. Because of this, the Martial Soul Department will naturally not allow you to enter the Soul Tool Department. After all, the Martial Soul Department has always held a leading role in our academy.”

Only then did Huo Yuhao’s trio understand what Bei Bei had meant. Huo Yuhao couldn’t help but feel happy when he recalled the nutritious meals core disciples ate everyday.

When Bei Bei glanced towards Huo Yuhao, a trace of worry flashed through his eyes. Still, he didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he thought to himself, I hope that I’m just worrying for nothing.

—-

It was another bright and beautiful morning, while the air within Shrek Academy was both clean and extremely moist due to the presence of the Sea God’s Lake.

All of the students who’d passed the freshmen assessment were gathered in Shrek Plaza, waiting for to be assigned to their classes.

The Director of the Martial Soul Department—Du Weilun—quickly walked to the front of Shrek Plaza, alongside ten or so other teachers. Huo Yuhao only recognised two of the teachers who were following him. One of which was naturally their previous class’s teacher, Zhou Yi, while the other was Teacher Wang Yan. He only had a vague impression of the other teachers.

Du Weilun held a folder in his hands and swept his gaze over the small group of students with a smile on his face. “I’m sure that everyone already knows this, but the freshmen assessment’s knock-out tournament has now ended. The top three places have also been decided. As such, I will now formally announce the the top three teams and hand out their prizes. Third place in the freshmen assessment goes to Team Huang Chutian. Team members: Huang Chutian, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo. Please step forward.”

Right, Team Huang Chutian, who Huo Yuhao’s team had previously defeated, had obtained third place in the freshmen assessment. They’d lost to Dai Huabin’s team during the semifinals, but they’d been able to obtain third place by beating Zhou Sichen’s team. In actual fact, they’d been extremely lucky. During their match with Team Zhou Sichen, the Lan sisters had recovered the ability to use their fusion skill, allowing them to defeat their opponents. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to win based on their individual strength alone.

The three walked up to Du Weilun with Huang Chutian standing in front. Their young faces were slightly flushed due to their excitement. Obtaining third place in the freshmen assessment had far surpassed their expectations!

The first year students immediately let out a thunderous applause. After the knock-out tournament, there were only around three hundred students left in Year 1. This was a third of the number of students who’d been present at the beginning of the year.

“Second place goes to Team Dai Huabin. Team members: Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie. Step forward.”

Applause rang out yet again, but Dai Huabin’s team had no traces of excitement on their faces as they stepped forward. This was especially so for Dai Huabin; his expression was clouded, and his head was lowered slightly, as if he had something else on his mind. His eyes were even somewhat bloodshot.

After pausing for a brief moment, Du Weilun used a slightly louder voice to continue speaking, “Next, can everyone enthusiastically cheer for the first place champions of the freshmen assessment! They are—Team Wang Dong! Team members: Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao.”

The crowd immediately burst into enthusiastic cheers, but Huo Yuhao’s trio were somewhat stunned when they heard Du Weilun’s announcement.

According to the name that Class 1 had handed in to the academy, their team should’ve been called Team Huo Yuhao, as Huo Yuhao was the leader of their team! However, the trio didn’t dare to slow down under the cheers and applause from the many Year 1 students. They hurriedly stepped forward, but Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao deliberately slowed down as they walked, allowing Huo Yuhao to remain in front.

A smile appeared in Du Weilun’s eyes as he watched the three of them walk forward, indicating for them to stand in the middle. Huo Yuhao towards Dai Huabin, but Dai Huabin himself was actually looking at Wang Dong. He clearly didn’t think that his loss had anything to do with Huo Yuhao.

Du Weilun said, “Alright, I will now announce the prizes for the top three teams of the freshmen assessment. First, each of the members of the top three teams will receive a prize from the Academy itself. All of them will be able to request assistance from the Academy in order to obtain a soul ring that he or she can withstand when the time arises. Furthermore, it will be a soul ring that is most suitable for them.”

Once he finished speaking, the students of Year 1 immediately let out astonished gasps. This prize was equivalent to the Academy promising them that their next soul ring would definitely be an optimum one. For example, if Huo Yuhao could withstand a seven hundred year soul ring for his second one, the Academy would find a suitable seven hundred year soul ring for him. This would be the case for every single member of the top three teams. This prize was extremely valuable.