Chapter 28 Two Rewards.
It was another bright and sunny morning. Thanks to the Sea God Lake on campus, Shrek Academy's air was not only fresh but also very humid.
All the freshmen who had passed the assessment gathered in Shrek Square, awaiting the upcoming class assignments.
Du Weilun, the Dean of the Spirit Department, led more than ten teachers to the front of the students.
Wu Xuan looked up; these teachers were the class advisors or theory teachers for the ten freshman classes. Only Zhou Yi was missing.
Hmph! Hmph! Wu Xuan sneered twice, assuming Zhou Yi had already been dismissed from the Spirit Department.
Holding a folder, Du Weilun smiled as he surveyed the group of first-year students before saying, "As you all know, the freshman assessment elimination round has concluded, and the top three have been determined. Now, I will formally announce their results and the rewards they will receive. Third place in the freshman assessment: Huang Chutian's team. Team members: Huang Chutian, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo. Step forward."
Led by Huang Chutian, the three stepped forward and stood before Du Weilun, their young faces slightly flushed with excitement. Achieving third place had exceeded their expectations!
A thunderous applause erupted from the entire first-year student body. After the elimination round, approximately three hundred first-year students remained, nearly two-thirds fewer than at the beginning of the semester.
"Second place: Dai Huabin's team. Team members: Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie. Step forward."
Applause rang out again, but the three members of the team showed no excitement, especially Dai Huabin, whose expression was tense, his head slightly lowered, seemingly lost in thought.
Applause rang out once more.
After a slight pause, Du Weilun raised his voice slightly and said, "Now, please give a warm round of applause to welcome the final champions of our freshman assessment! They are the Wu Xuan team from Class 9, consisting of Wu Xuan, Qian Guming, and Nanmen Yun'er."
Immediately, the entire arena erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
Wu Xuan's name had long been renowned throughout the outer academy; he was talented, strong, handsome, and possessed an ethereal aura. He was adept at both control and attack, and even his support abilities were unmatched by ordinary support soul masters. He was practically the legendary perfect teammate. The three quickly stepped forward, with Wu Xuan at the very front, and Qian Guming and Nanmen Yun'er trailing behind by half a step.
Du Weilun smiled at the three, gesturing for them to stand in the center.
Du Weilun continued, "Alright, now I'd like to announce the rewards for the top three teams in the freshman assessment. Each of the top three teams will receive a unified reward from the academy, and each member can request a spirit ring from the academy when needed. The academy will then assist them in obtaining a spirit ring that is within their means and most suitable for them."
Upon hearing this, the first-year students immediately erupted in surprised exclamations. This reward was equivalent to the academy's promise that the next spirit ring for the top nine would definitely be a Limit Spirit Ring.
"Director Du, can we specify the type of spirit beast?" Wu Xuan asked.
Du Weilun was taken aback, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes as he looked at Wu Xuan. But remembering Yan Shaozhe's instructions before leaving, he decisively replied, "For the first-place team in the elimination round, your team can naturally specify the type of spirit beast." Du Weilun smiled, then continued, "Given the outstanding performance and undefeated record of Wu Xuan's team throughout the competition, the academy has decided to award them two special rewards. These rewards will be kept confidential by the academy. After the class assignments are completed, you can come with me to collect them."
Two special rewards?
This is the difference between the champion and the second and third place winners.
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, sitting in the audience, looked rather grim. They had only learned today that their teacher, Zhou, had been expelled from the Spirit Department because of their loss and could only work as an assistant instructor at the Spirit Tool Department, losing even his teacher status.
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao's gaze towards Wu Xuan held a hint of resentment.
"Alright, you can return to your teams now."
Du Weiren waved his hand and faced the crowd again.
"The quality of this year's freshmen is even better than before. I hope you will continue your efforts. No matter how talented you are, you won't reap good rewards without hard work. Shrek Academy is the number one Spirit Master Academy on the continent. I hope you will all graduate smoothly and achieve excellent results. In view of the outstanding freshmen who have emerged in this year's competition, the academy has specially approved a group of students to become core disciples of the outer academy. Now I will announce the list."
Shrek Square fell silent. Core disciples were never just from the top three teams. Although Du Weiren hadn't said it, who didn't know that core disciples of the outer academy would receive preferential treatment from the academy's resources? Concerning their own interests, the young students listened intently, afraid of missing their names.
Du Weilun opened his folder and read aloud, "Based on the performance of the new students in the assessment, the core disciples who have passed the final review are: Wu Xuan, Qian Guming, Nanmen Yun'er, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Xie Huanyue, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Huang Chutian, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng." As soon as he finished speaking, the students below the stage applauded in unison.
Huo Yuhao, who had just recovered from his resentment towards Wu Xuan, exploded with resentment and bitterness upon discovering his name wasn't on the list of core disciples.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's bloodshot eyes, Wang Dong wanted to offer some words of comfort, but Huo Yuhao, in his current emotional state of collapse, cared little for such things.
The applause ended!
Du Weilun continued, "Given that some freshmen, despite lacking in talent and ability, still demonstrated outstanding performance in the freshman assessment, the academy has decided to grant them the status of core disciples temporarily until the end of this academic year. If they make a breakthrough in next year's promotion exam, they will be considered for formal core disciple status. The list is as follows: Cui Yajie, Long Xiangyue, Huo Yuhao." "
Huo Yuhao, who had been emotionally unstable, suddenly calmed down after hearing his name called. Yes! The academy still recognizes my abilities, it's just that my strength is still lacking.
Next is the class assignment. The entire first year is divided into four classes: Class 1 is for offensive and control-type Soul Masters, Class 2 is for defensive and agile-attack-type Soul Masters, Class 3 is for support-type Soul Masters, and Class 4 is for Soul Masters and Weapon Soul Masters with various special attributes, including food-type and healing-type.
Undoubtedly, the strongest class overall is Class 1, and Wu Xuan, Qian Guming, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were all assigned to this class. The strongest in Class 2 is undoubtedly Xie Huanyue, who excels in defense; his Mimi Elephant Martial Soul is truly unique."
As for Class 3, the support system has very few core disciples, such as Ning Tian, the owner of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda spirit.
Class 4 consists of hybrid spirit masters; relatively speaking, they lack combat power but often possess remarkable abilities in specific areas. The two most important systems are food and healing.
Classes are divided in this way for almost every grade, except that the higher the grade, the smaller the number of students in each class. Shrek Academy's dropout rate is always extremely high.
Next came the assignment of class teachers. Theory teacher Wang Yan became the class teacher of Class 1, and after Zhou Yi was dismissed, Mu Jin became the assistant class teacher.
"Alright, everyone, according to the latest class assignments, return to the teaching building under the guidance of your respective class teachers. Wu Xuan, you three come with me to collect your rewards." After Du Weilun announced this, Wu Xuan and the other two followed him to the teachers' office area located behind the senior teaching building.
Du Weilun's office was on the top floor, without much ornate decoration, but with four bookshelves. Each shelf contained a rich collection of books.
After sitting down, a large ruby ring on Du Weilun's right hand flashed, and two wooden boxes and a leather pouch appeared on the table in front of him.
A faint medicinal fragrance wafted over, and Wu Xuan instantly knew what kind of pills were inside.
With a wave of Du Weilun's right hand, under the control of his powerful soul force, the two wooden boxes landed precisely in the hands of Qian Guming and Nanmen Yun'er.
Opening the boxes, a refreshing medicinal fragrance filled the air. The pills were a deep emerald green, with a faint halo of light flowing within, crystal clear and full of life.
Recognizing the pills, Qian Guming and Nanmen Yun'er clearly showed interest.
"These are Soul Ascension Pills. I won't go into the details of their effects. If you don't know, you can ask your homeroom teacher." After saying this, Du Weilun handed a leather pouch to Wu Xuan.
The pouch also seemed to be a soul tool, with dark patterns on the brown leather and subtle fluctuations of soul force.
"Actually, this is the reward I prepared for you three for winning the freshman assessment. There's only one reward, and you three need to decide who gets it, but it's the most precious prize the academy has given out for freshman assessments in at least a thousand years. Open it and take a look."
Wu Xuan untied the rope on the leather pouch.
A pale blue light unexpectedly emerged from the pouch and slowly floated in mid-air under the gaze of Wu Xuan and the other two.
"This, this is... a soul bone?" Qian Guming leaned forward, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets. Although Du Weiren had warned them beforehand that the reward would be high, he never expected it to be a soul bone—a soul bone that was a hundred times more precious than a soul ring for a soul master!
Du Weilun smiled and said, "This soul bone is a right leg bone, taken from a 40,000-year-old wind-attribute soul beast called the Wind Tiger. You should have learned about this soul beast in your freshman theory classes. After the academy's appraisal, the soul master who fuses with this soul bone will gain a wind-attribute attack-type soul skill."
"This skin is also for you. It can conceal soul power fluctuations. Fuse it as soon as possible after you get back. Also, you must keep the fact that you received the soul bone reward a secret from the academy. I believe you know what to do."
Although Du Weilun didn't explicitly say so, Qian Guming and Nanmen Yun'er understood that this soul bone was clearly prepared specifically for Wu Xuan by the academy.
But Wu Xuan didn't care about this soul bone at all. A mere 40,000-year-old soul bone, with only a wind-attribute attack-type soul skill attached, wouldn't be of much help to Wu Xuan. Fusing with such a soul bone would be a complete waste of his soul bone slot.
However, he wouldn't be foolish enough to give it away, after all, a 10,000-year-old soul bone could easily sell for nearly ten million gold soul coins.
Du Weilun's office was on the top floor of the faculty office building. After Wu Xuan and the other two left, they went down the stairs. As soon as they reached the next floor, they were met by Mu Jin, who was waiting there.
"Teacher Mu?" the three exclaimed almost simultaneously.
Mu Jin smiled slightly. "I was promoted to senior teacher a few days ago, and my office has moved here. You all won first place among the freshmen, so I have a prize for you." As she spoke, a silver pendant in Mu Jin's hand flashed, and a leather pouch appeared in her hand.
"No way?" Except for Wu Xuan, Qian Gu Ming and Nanmen Yun'er exclaimed almost in unison.
Mu Jin was also stunned. "What do you mean, 'no way'?"
Wu Xuan coughed lightly and took out the pouch he had just put away.
"This is...? Is it a reward from the academy?" Mu Jin asked in surprise.
Wu Xuan and the other two nodded.
"I see. No wonder Director Du was so mysterious; the reward he prepared for you is so generous." "Speaking of which, Mu Jin couldn't help but shift her gaze to Wu Xuan. Given Wu Xuan's talent, the academy's reward was quite reasonable.
Mu Jin didn't inquire further, and directly opened the pouch. A blazing red light emanated from it.
"Based on my assessment, this left arm soul bone came from a fire ape with seven thousand years of cultivation. Although the quality of this soul bone is relatively poor, it is still a rare treasure for soul masters with fire-attribute martial souls. Also, this soul bone was won in a bet with someone, Zhou Yi from Class 1 of the freshmen. You all deserve credit for winning the competition, so there's no need to feel burdened."
After Mu Jin finished speaking, she put the soul bone back into the pouch and handed it to Wu Xuan.
"How you distribute it is up to you! Alright, you can go back to class now."
"Thank you, Teacher Mu." The three of them bowed to Mu Jin and continued walking down the stairs.
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