Chapter 99: The Cursed Spirit Bone

Next, Yan Shaozhe announced information related to class divisions.

Following the traditions of Shrek Academy, the entire first-year cohort was divided into four classes. Class One consisted of Power Attack and Control-type Soul Masters, Class Two was for Defense and Agility Attack-type Soul Masters, Class Three was for Support-type Soul Masters, and Class Four included various special Soul Masters, such as Food and Healing-type Soul Masters.

Although this classification was somewhat crude, it was still a form of specialized teaching.

However, Wang Rui just couldn't understand why Agility Attack and Defense-type Soul Masters had to be grouped together—these two combat styles were completely different. What could possibly be taught by putting high-speed assassins and frontline tanks in the same class?

And then there was the grouping of Control and Power Attack types.

In fact, these distinct developmental paths could have been separated into individual classes.

Would the number one academy on the continent, Shrek, really lack the teachers to do that? This arrangement seemed to exist purely to force Control and Power Attack types to study together.

Wang Rui openly spaced out, staring at the air just to the right of Yan Shaozhe's head.

The defining characteristic of Shrek Academy was its elimination system. Although three hundred students had been admitted, according to tradition, fewer than fifty would successfully graduate from the outer court each year.

Goodness, out of a thousand students admitted across the continent, fewer than fifty would graduate—that was a dropout rate of over ninety-five percent.

What kind of school has a graduation rate of less than five percent? That's insane.

But if one stopped seeing Shrek as a conventional academy and instead viewed it as a sect, it would make a lot more sense.

Shrek Academy was training disciples who carried its influence, not simply producing more talents like an ordinary school. The more graduates, the better—that wasn't its goal.

With only fifty graduates per year, there was no need for overly refined class divisions.

Under this classification system, Class One naturally had the strongest overall strength, as Control and Power Attack-type students were inherently more powerful.

As a Support-type Soul Master, Ning Tian was separated from them and assigned to Class Three, leaving Wu Feng alone and reluctant in Class One.

As for the two homeroom teachers of Class One…

Mu Jin stood in front of the Class One team, strutting around like a rooster that had just won a fight, visibly proud of herself.

The other teacher was Wang Yan, who was staring at Wang Rui like he was a rare specimen.

After completing the class divisions, the students followed their homeroom teachers back to the teaching building.

However, Mu Jin called out Wang Rui, Huo Yuqing, and Ning Tian separately.

"Ning Tian, you are going to Class Three. If you ever need anything, you can come to Class One and find me for help." Mu Jin first smiled and reassured Ning Tian before turning to the three students. "Before the freshman assessment, I mentioned that whoever placed first would receive a reward. Now it's time to make good on that promise."

Originally, she had prepared high-quality pills that would aid in cultivation.

However, getting a promotion and a pay raise were secondary. The most important thing was that Wang Rui and Huo Yuqing's Martial Soul Fusion skill had, by sheer luck, helped her utterly defeat Zhou Yi.

The conflict between Mu Jin and Zhou Yi had long since gone beyond mere rivalry over a man. After so many years, Zhou Yi, who was superior to her in every way, had become a thorn in her side.

As for the original reason behind their conflict—Fan Yu himself…

He had long since become nothing more than a symbolic trophy of victory. Over the years, Mu Jin's feelings for him had faded, leaving behind only a desperate desire to win. This desire had grown into an obsession.

After all these years, her students had finally secured a victory, freeing her from her inner demons. So, she replaced the prepared pills with an even more valuable reward.

Mu Jin pulled out a leather pouch from her storage soul tool.

The pouch was long and narrow, seemingly a soul tool itself, adorned with dark patterns. Huo Yuqing recognized the inscriptions—they were meant to isolate energy fluctuations, which piqued her curiosity.

"This… a spirit bone?"

Ning Tian, well-versed in rare treasures, immediately exclaimed upon recognizing the pouch.

"Precisely." Mu Jin smiled. She untied the cord sealing the pouch, and a subtle dark brown glow immediately seeped out.

A faintly translucent, intricately detailed brown bone floated in midair, its surrounding soul power fluctuations were so intense that even the air seemed to thicken.

However, this spirit bone was incomplete. It was vaguely identifiable as half of a radius bone, with its distal end displaying clear structures such as the radial head and radial tuberosity, while the other end was roughly fractured.

"This—this is too valuable!" Ning Tian stared at Mu Jin in shock.

As the heir of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Tian naturally didn't lack spirit bones. However, being raised in a sect meant she understood just how costly they were.

Nowadays, the Star Dou Forest was extremely dangerous, and even acquiring soul rings was difficult for most Soul Masters, let alone spirit bones.

Even a low-quality spirit bone like this could easily drain a Soul Emperor's entire fortune.

While Mu Jin had access to more resources at Shrek Academy, such a spirit bone was still precious to her.

Ning Tian didn't need this spirit bone but appreciated the gesture. In fact, she was quite pleased—whether Huo Yuqing or Wang Rui received the reward, they would ultimately owe her a favor.

For the heir of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, favors were far more valuable than material rewards!

She assumed that Huo Yuqing, who likely had some background, would recognize the spirit bone and instinctively glanced at her.

However, Huo Yuqing was instead staring at Wang Rui in surprise.

During the final battle of the assessment, after using Blade of Wrath, Huo Yuqing had become more attuned to emotions like anger. She had also been paying close attention to Wang Rui, which allowed her to catch a fleeting burst of fury from him.

The girl was puzzled, but she quietly reached out and brushed her fingers against Wang Rui's in a soothing gesture.

Then, she heard Wang Rui and the voice of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm in her mind speak simultaneously:

"Teacher Mu, isn't this a Secret Art Spirit Bone? I've heard a bit about them before. These are extremely rare—where did you get this one?"

"Damn, this woman's got guts—she actually dares to bring out a cursed spirit bone!"

Wang Rui's expression was perfectly curious, making Huo Yuqing almost doubt whether she had truly sensed that momentary anger.

Mu Jin didn't notice any shift in his emotions. Instead, she gave Wang Rui an appreciative glance and said, "That's right. This is indeed a Secret Art Spirit Bone. You've got sharp eyes."

"A Secret Art Spirit Bone…?" Huo Yuqing hesitated.

Why did Tianmeng call it a cursed spirit bone?

She asked him in her consciousness, but he refused to answer any further.

"Secret Art Spirit Bones aren't naturally occurring; their quality isn't great, and they're slightly less valuable," Mu Jin explained with a hint of embarrassment. She teased, "Natural spirit bones are just too expensive—even if I sold myself, I couldn't afford one! I obtained this left arm bone from a treasure auction hosted for the academy's teachers. Since you're core disciples now, the academy will also host treasure auctions for you. There will be many valuable items, so you should check them out when the time comes."

She then returned to the main topic. "This spirit bone is called the Left Arm Bone of the Secret Soul. Technically, it's not a true spirit bone and doesn't provide a conventional spirit bone skill. Instead, it passively increases soul power by five percent at all times."

She was still giving advice when Wang Rui suddenly reached out and grabbed the spirit bone.

Lifting it slightly, he said, "Since Teacher Mu put it this way, I'll be taking this spirit bone."