The class bell rang, and Zhou Yi entered the classroom right on time. The sharp-eyed old woman immediately spotted Huo Yuhao, who had been missing for nearly two months.
Seeing that Huo Yuhao was safe and sound, Zhou Yi merely nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then proceeded with the class as usual.
The whole day passed without Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu'er exchanging a single word, as if they were complete strangers.
From then on, Huo Yuhao truly entered a period of peaceful life. Du Busi would drop by every few days to check on Huo Yuhao's cultivation progress, and seeing that he hadn't slacked off, he became even more satisfied with his disciple.
Time flew like a white steed across a crevice; in the blink of an eye, seven months had passed. The students were finally about to enjoy their long-anticipated vacation.
Today, both Wang Yan and Zhou Yi walked into the classroom together. Zhou Yi immediately found an empty seat to sit in, leaving everything to Wang Yan.
As he glanced across the room, Wang Yan noticed that all the students were unusually energetic today, like they had just drunk some potent tonic. Not a trace of their usual dullness could be seen.
"Class, today is your last day of Year One. The academy hasn't assigned any particular tasks, so I'll say a few words, and you can all go pack up."
Upon hearing this, the students all looked delighted. It had been eleven months, and most of them were just twelve or thirteen years old, having never been away from home for so long. Now that they could go home, they all felt an impatient longing to return. Still, with Zhou Yi present, none dared to get too noisy. Even though the break was right around the corner, if they made her unhappy, she might really punish them before they could leave. That's just the kind of person Zhou Yi was.
"Over this past year, I've witnessed your hard work and progress. You are the most outstanding class I've ever taught. Your dedication will bring glory to our Class One."
Wang Yan spoke righteously, but few students were actually listening. Some were daydreaming about the warmth of their family home, some were stuck at bottlenecks thinking about what kind of soul ring to obtain, and a small portion were secretly scoffing at the cliché speech. Glory, my ass. All empty words to fool us. Of course, these were the cunning ones, sitting there stone-faced like they had nothing on their minds.
"However..."Wang Yan paused for effect and continued only after grabbing everyone's attention: "Unlike other academies, Shrek does not conduct final exams. Whether or not you advance to Year Two will be determined by an assessment after the next school year begins. So during the upcoming one-month break, you must not slack off. Everyone in Class One is excellent, and I'll be waiting in the Year Two classroom to see you all again."
"Those who fail the assessment will be expelled."Zhou Yi abruptly added.
This line hit like a bucket of cold water, instantly dousing the enthusiasm that had just been ignited.
Wang Yan's mouth twitched—well damn, are we playing good cop, bad cop now?
He gave a light cough to ease the tension and decided to wrap things up quickly:"As for the contents of the advancement assessment, both I and Teacher Zhou currently don't know. But there is one hard requirement for promotion: your cultivation must reach the level of Soul Grandmaster—meaning you must have two soul rings. If you don't have your second soul ring, even if your soul power has reached level 20, it still won't count. So, if someone shows up next semester without a second ring, I suggest they don't come back. The academy's rules won't change and have never allowed exceptions."
"That was individual advancement. Now I'll talk about class advancement. Remember, you are one unit. Every student in this class is your companion. I believe none of you will abandon your companions to move ahead alone."
Pfft. Not buying that, Teacher Wang. Some students thought sarcastically, openly skeptical.
Huo Yuhao shared the same sentiment, but he still listened. When Zhou Yi allowed him to take leave to obtain a soul ring, she did so on the condition that he would participate in the class advancement assessment.
"Class advancement is also an assessment of my and Teacher Zhou's teaching ability. For this, we will need to select three to seven students from our class to participate in a special test. The results of that test will determine how many students advance. If the test is completed perfectly, the whole class advances. If not, advancement will be based on completion percentage. For example, if the completion rate is 80%, then the bottom 20% of the individually qualified students will still be eliminated."
This revelation darkened many students' expressions. Why the hell are we here—volunteering for someone else's benefit?
Huo Yuhao now understood why Zhou Yi had emphasized her request. Had he refused, they wouldn't have cared at all. As long as he ranked high in individual advancement, he'd be fine. Let whoever get eliminated—hell, let them kick me out, I wouldn't care either.
Wang Yan gave a slight smile. He looked gentle, but his tone held a chilling edge:"I believe the students chosen for the class assessment know this: if someone messes up and causes the team to get a lower score, the entire class will remember them."
Wang Yan thought he was projecting authority, unaware that his veiled threat triggered rebellion in some students' hearts. Several had already decided they wouldn't participate in the damn class test. Legs are on my own body, I go where I want. Screw your team bonding. Most of these students were strong, and like Huo Yuhao, they clearly spotted a loophole.
If Wang Yan had made this kind of speech outside the academy, he probably wouldn't see the next sunrise. Everyone here was a genius, most with powerful backgrounds. A mere Soul King like him didn't impress them.
But Wang Yan was a teacher at Shrek Academy. That gave him the authority to speak this way. Simply put, he was riding the academy's coattails.
"Alright, that's it. Class dismissed. Go pack your things." After that, Wang Yan and Zhou Yi both left.
With that mood-killing announcement, the students no longer felt excited. One by one, they left with lingering gloom.
"Perfect timing. I've put this off for a month. It's time to go obtain my fourth soul ring."Huo Yuhao thought to himself. His soul power had broken through level 40 a month ago, but he had delayed it due to the upcoming vacation.
(End of Chapter)