Douluo: The Gate to Heaven

Core disciples.

The core disciples of Shrek Academy's outer court not only enjoy the most special resource allocation from the Martial Soul system, but also have a very high probability of entering Shrek Academy's inner court, making them true geniuses.

Those who became core disciples this time were almost all the most talented among the freshmen this year, and it wasn't just based on their performance in this freshman competition.

For example, in the team ranked first, only Tu Nan Bu Po made it into the list of core disciples. Tuoba Wu Kong and Song Qing Han chose the Soul Guidance System. Even if they hadn't chosen the Soul Guidance System, given their cultivation speed and the talent they displayed, it would have been difficult for them to make it into this list.

In the team ranked second, only Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong made it onto the list of core disciples, while Huo Yuhao, whose soul power was only level seventeen, was not on the list.

After announcing the list of core disciples, Du Weilun continued, "Given that some students, despite lacking in talent and ability, have still demonstrated outstanding performance in this competition, the academy has decided to grant them the status of core disciples temporarily. A decision on whether to promote them to core disciples will be made after the first-year assessments. These students are: Tuoba Wukong, Huo Yuhao, Cui Yajie, Huang Chutian, Nanmen Yun'er, and Long Yuexiang. That concludes the announcement."

Enjoying the benefits of a core disciple is the same reward Song Qinghan received in the Soul Guidance Department. Core disciples enjoy all the privileges and benefits, but these privileges and benefits will be automatically canceled at the end of the first year. Whether one can become a core disciple depends on the first-year entrance examination.

After the initial assessment, there are no major assessments or eliminations during the first year of study. However, an entrance exam will be held every year thereafter. Only those who pass the exam can enter the next grade to continue their training until they graduate from the sixth grade.

Each year, only about one hundred students graduate from Shrek Academy.

In other words, of these 400-plus new students, less than one-fifth will actually graduate.

If Tuoba Wukong hadn't awakened his Martial Soul and acquired the Soul Skill Heavenly Gate, even if he had managed to pass the freshman assessment this time, the annual entrance exams would have been nightmares that stood in his way, spurring him to keep breaking through.

Tuoba Wukong was somewhat surprised to see his name on the list of those who would enjoy the benefits of core disciples. In his opinion, not only was his talent lacking, but he had also joined the Soul Guidance Department ahead of time and accepted the status of a core disciple of the Soul Guidance Department. He was destined to be a Soul Guidance Department student in the future, and the Martial Soul Department would not spend a lot of money to cultivate him.

Unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise.

On the other hand, for Huo Yuhao, this status as a potential core disciple was a significant blow. Despite his hard work and dedication, he never slacked off while others were slacking off or resting, always focusing on cultivation. He also gave his all in this competition, yet in the end, he didn't even obtain the status of a core disciple...

Tuoba Wukong also saw Huo Yuhao's slightly gloomy face and couldn't help but laugh. The leaders of Shrek Academy's outer court were too opportunistic and had offended the top two teams in one fell swoop.

Of course, without his past life experiences, Tuoba Wukong would not have known that the final reward of the Freshman Competition would be a soul bone, so Shrek Academy's actions were indeed without any oversights.

However, Tuoba Wukong happened to know this, and thus came to understand the "reality" of Shrek Academy.

This world is inherently quite "realistic".

"Now we will begin class assignments. After the class assignments, all students will follow their homeroom teachers back to their classrooms for classes. There are four classes in total for the first year. The students in Class 1 of the first year are..." It was not Du Weilun who read out the class assignment list, but the teacher in charge of each class.

There are four classes in the first year. Class 1 is mainly composed of control and power attack type battle spirit masters, Class 2 is composed of agility attack and defense type battle spirit masters, Class 3 is composed of support type battle spirit masters, and Class 4 is mainly composed of healing and food type battle spirit masters.

Song Qinghan has already joined the Soul Guidance Department and will not be in any class.

Tu Nan Bu Po is an offensive-type Soul Master and was assigned to Class 1, while Tuoba Wu Kong was assigned to Class 2 because of his performance in the Freshman Tournament. Obviously, the teachers of Shrek Academy believed that Tuoba Wu Kong was more suitable for the development of a defensive type.

Indeed, this was the case. In the Freshman Tournament, Tuoba Wukong's performance was textbook-level for a defensive Soul Master. Even Xie Huanyue, a three-ring Soul Master, did not perform as well as Tuoba Wukong in the Freshman Tournament.

The perfect combination of Tuoba Wukong and Tu Nan Bupo, one offensive and one defensive, has become a nightmare for countless opponents.

Moreover, in the eyes of others, Tuoba Wukong's first soul skill was a standard defensive soul skill. Therefore, it was only natural that he was classified as a Class Two, which was represented by agility-based attack and defense-based skills.

From then on, the three members of Tuoba Wukong's group went their separate ways, each going to different places after a brief three-month freshman period.

However, although students study in different classes, they do not need to change dormitories. Moreover, although the content taught in each class is different, Shrek Academy's teaching is never independent or isolated.

Just like the offensive and defensive combination of Tuoba Wukong and Tu Nan Bupo, the agility-based, control-based, power-based, defense-based, and support-based systems are complementary. In the future, there will inevitably be more collaborations between different classes, whether it's competitive practice or cooperative battles.

First-grade students are never isolated from each other or work in isolation.

Each class in the first grade has two homeroom teachers, one head and one assistant, who jointly decide on the learning and teaching of each class. Surprisingly, one of the homeroom teachers of Class 2 in the first grade is an old acquaintance of Tuoba Wukong, Du Ruoshui, and the other is a thirty-year-old woman, Mu Jin, who is Zhou Yi's nemesis.

"Tuoba boy, you didn't expect this, did you? You still ended up in my hands. For the next six years, as long as you're not eliminated, you'll stay under my wing and learn. How about it, are you scared?" After reading out the list, Du Ruoshui also saw Tuoba Wukong's name and said with a half-smile.

Du Ruoshui has a grumpy face, but he is actually a senior teacher at Shrek Academy, just like Wang Yan. He should be teaching upper-grade students, but due to Tuoba Wukong's report, Du Ruoshui was stripped of his senior teacher qualification and demoted to a mid-level teacher, and was put in charge of teaching the second class of the first year.

You could say they became friends after a fight.

Tuoba Wukong said with an innocent expression, "Teacher Du, I trust your professional ethics and I'm sure you'll be fair and just. Why would I be afraid of you?"

When saying the words "teacher's ethics," Tuoba Wukong deliberately emphasized the pronunciation.

"That's right, I am a fair and impartial representative, and I would never take revenge for personal reasons!" Du Ruoshui laughed heartily, seemingly oblivious to Tuoba Wukong's implied meaning.

Then, Du Ruoshui changed the subject, her expression returning to its usual coldness, and said, "Now, all members of Class Two, assemble, put on the iron suits I specially made for you, run one hundred laps around the square, and then go to class. Tuoba Wukong, Xie Huanyue, you two, each wear two..."

"No, three pieces? Forget it, Tuoba Wukong, you have superhuman strength, three pieces seems a bit beneath you. How about this, you get four pieces, and Xie Huanyue gets three. This weight isn't an insult to your superhuman strength, is it?"

Du Ruoshui looked at Tuoba Wukong with a smile, just like a smiling tiger.

Compared to Du Ruoshui's previous icy demeanor and the air of someone who seemed to owe her millions, the current Du Ruoshui, with her smiling tiger-like appearance, is even more detestable.

One piece of iron armor weighs thirty jin, so four pieces would weigh one hundred and twenty jin. Don't be fooled by the fact that Tuoba Wukong's heavy iron shield weighs over two hundred jin. Even Tuoba Wukong would find it difficult to keep up with running one hundred laps around the Shrek Academy track while carrying one hundred and twenty jin of iron armor.

This was blatant targeting, yet Tuoba Wukong couldn't think of a way to deal with it. Du Ruoshui said it wasn't against the rules.

"I want to see you all in the classroom in one hour. Anyone who has run less or is not here within the allotted time will not be allowed to have lunch, although I can't expel you. After one hour, you will have to run ten times more laps depending on how many laps you are short. You can come to my class when you finish."

"Let's begin, what are you waiting for?" Du Ruoshui's smile vanished abruptly, her icy gaze falling on each and every student.

Faced with Du Ruoshui's icy gaze, the students of Class Two donned the iron suits she had prepared with a shout and scattered towards the track, having only one hour to run.

Xie Huanyue tied the three iron armors together and draped them over his shoulders like a mandarin jacket—his obese body simply couldn't fit into ordinary iron armor. He then looked at Tuoba Wukong with pitying eyes, "Good luck!"

After saying that, Xie Huanyue also ran towards the track. After all, he was the only three-ring Soul Master in Class Two. With an extra thousand-year Soul Ring to improve his body, even though he was carrying a ninety-pound iron suit, his speed was still very fast. His strong physique gave him superhuman agility. He was like a cannonball, and with each step he took, he bounced a meter away from the ground. He quickly caught up with the main group and took the lead.

Tuoba Wukong glanced at Du Ruoshui, knowing that this was Du Ruoshui's way of putting him in a tough spot, but he could also foresee that his future studies might not be so boring.

Tuoba Wukong silently put on four iron armors and ran forward without a word. He didn't deliberately speed up or lag behind, but ran according to his own breathing rhythm.

The longer the race, the less you should rush.

Tuoba Wukong understood this principle.

After all the students had run far away, Mu Jin looked at Du Ruoshui with a hint of hesitation and said, "Teacher Du, isn't what you did a bit inappropriate? This is only their first day after being divided into classes. Even if it's just a warning, there's no need to be so strict. Carrying 30 pounds of weight, most students wouldn't be able to keep up, would they?"

At this moment, even Mu Jin began to doubt whether Du Ruoshui was truly using her position for personal revenge.