Seeing the three of them step forward, Du Weilun gave a small smile and gestured for them to stand in the center. Huo Yuhao glanced at Dai Huabin standing beside him, but Dai Huabin's gaze was focused on Wang Dong instead. Clearly, he didn't consider his defeat to have anything to do with Huo Yuhao.
Du Weilun then spoke, "Now I will announce the rewards for the top three teams in the freshmen assessment. Each of the members will receive a special reward from the academy: they may request the academy's help when they need a soul ring, and the academy will assist in finding the most suitable one that they can handle."
As soon as those words were spoken, the entire first-year class was shocked. This reward was equivalent to a guarantee from the academy that the next soul ring obtained by Huo Yuhao and the nine others would be an optimal one. For example, if Huo Yuhao's second soul ring could withstand a seven-hundred-year-old soul beast, the academy would find one of that age most suitable for him. This was a tremendous reward.
Du Weilun continued, "Due to the outstanding performance and undefeated record of the champion team led by Wang Dong, the academy will also give them a special reward. The details will remain confidential for now and will be presented after class assignments are finalized. The three of you may come with me to receive it later."
A special reward? This was the true difference between first place and the others. Huo Yuhao and his two teammates immediately looked excited. Even the slight awkwardness they felt at being called "Wang Dong's team" eased a bit.
No student voiced any objections to the decision. During the competition, Huo Yuhao's team had defeated strong teams like those led by Ning Tian, Xie Huanyue, and Dai Huabin — all Soul Masters. Their victories were clean and without trickery. So it was only fair that they received greater rewards.
Du Weilun said, "Alright, you may return to your places."
Huo Yuhao and the other nine selected participants returned to their lines, standing neatly.
Du Weilun continued, "This year, the overall quality of our new students is much higher than in previous years. I hope you all continue to work hard. The heavens reward diligence. No matter how gifted you are, without effort, you will achieve nothing. Shrek Academy is the number one soul master academy on the continent. I hope all of you will graduate with excellent results."
He then opened the folder in his hand. "Given the outstanding performances of certain new students this year, the academy has decided to accept some of them as core disciples of the outer courtyard. I will now announce the names."
Shrek's training field instantly fell silent. Becoming a core disciple meant receiving greater academy resources, and it could decide their future. The students listened carefully, hoping their names would be included.
Du Weilun began to read, "Based on the assessment results, the students accepted as core disciples are: Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng."
Upon hearing the names, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao immediately recalled that Teacher Xiaoya's information had been accurate.
The three of them were named first and were overjoyed, hugging each other in celebration.
Du Weilun continued, "Oh right, I forgot to mention. In this assessment, one student has been given a special offer to become a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department. That student is Huo Yuhao. For more information, please consult the Soul Tool Department directly."
The tension in the air suddenly froze. The students who had been holding their breath now exchanged confused glances. Even Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao needed a few seconds to process what Du Weilun had just said.
A core disciple… of the Soul Tool Department? Huo Yuhao?
Huo Yuhao looked stunned. His eyes widened slightly, his mind filled with confusion… and shock. The Soul Tool Department? Why?
Du Weilun continued his explanation without acknowledging the students' reactions.
"Some new students, although not particularly outstanding in terms of talent and abilities, performed remarkably during the assessment. Thus, the academy has decided to give them provisional core disciple status until the end of the academic year. If they can make breakthroughs during next year's promotion exams, they will be considered for formal core disciple status.
The selected names are: Cui Yajie, Huang Chutian, Long Xiangyue, and Nanmen Yoona. That concludes the announcement."
Following that, the class assignment process began. All first-year students were divided into four classes:
Class One: Powerful assault-type and control-type Soul Masters.
Class Two: Defense-type and agility-type Soul Masters.
Class Three: Support-type Soul Masters.
Class Four: Soul Masters with special attributes, including food-type and healing-type systems.
Unquestionably, Class One was the strongest overall. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were all assigned to this class.
In Class Two, the strongest member was Xie Huanyue, who possessed the unique defensive Martial Soul, the Cheeky Elephant.
Class Three housed auxiliary and tool-type Soul Masters who could directly contribute in battle—such as Ning Tian, the owner of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda.
Class Four consisted of mixed-type Soul Masters. While they were less effective in direct combat, they possessed outstanding abilities in specific aspects.
This classification applied to every grade level. However, the higher the level, the fewer students there were in each class. The elimination rate at Shrek Academy was infamously high—each year, fewer than fifty students graduated from the outer academy. That meant only around 20% of the more than 300 new students made it to the end.
After the announcement, Du Weilun summoned Huo Yuhao's team to his office to give them the special reward he had mentioned earlier.
"Children," Du Weilun said seriously, "you defeated three of the top freshman teams one after another and emerged as champions. I submitted a request to the academy for you to receive a truly extraordinary reward.
Though there's only one item, the three of you must decide among yourselves who will receive it. This is the most valuable prize ever awarded in the freshman assessment… at least in the past three hundred years. Open it and see for yourselves."
He handed a leather pouch to Wang Dong.
When it was opened, a yellow light orb floated out and gently hovered in the air. Under the stunned gazes of Huo Yuhao and his two teammates, it revealed its true form—a small bone about the size of a palm, glowing with a faint yellow light.
The aura of soul power it emitted was so powerful that the very air in the room seemed to thicken. All three of them felt their hearts tremble.
"This… is a soul bone?" Wang Dong was shocked.
Although Du Weilun had already said the reward was extraordinary, none of them expected it to be a soul bone. For a Soul Master, a soul bone was even more precious than a soul ring.
Soul rings always appeared after a soul beast's death, but the chance of a soul bone appearing was only one in ten thousand. Only soul beasts that had lived for over 100,000 years were guaranteed to produce a soul bone.
Owning even one soul bone could drastically enhance a Soul Master's strength. A person could possess up to six soul bones: head, torso, and four limbs. Among these, torso bones were the rarest and most valuable, followed by head bones, and then limb bones.
Soul bones were incredibly expensive—costing at least 100,000 gold soul coins if available at auction. But in truth, they were rarely auctioned off, more often exchanged through bartering.
No matter how wealthy Shrek Academy was, its soul bone reserves were limited. Only those who were truly exceptional or had rendered great service to the academy would be awarded such a treasure.
Du Weilun then explained the type, name, and age of the soul bone, and left the final decision to the three of them.