Three days after Zhu Ziyang returned to Shrek Academy from the Sun Moon Empire, he was invited by Cai Meier to attend the opening ceremony for this year's Outer Courtyard freshmen.
This opening ceremony was proposed by Cai Meier three years ago and approved by the Tian Yuan Pavilion. This year was the first time it was held, precisely because this year held special significance for Shrek Academy.
Six years ago, Shrek Academy established its first Tian Yuan Academy. Now, six years later, the first batch of students from Tian Yuan Academy have graduated, and many excellent graduates have successfully advanced to Shrek Academy, becoming the freshmen of Shrek Academy's Outer Courtyard this year.
Because Shrek Academy publicly declared its neutral stance, and with the continent currently in a state of war, the number of freshmen this year was just over four hundred, reaching a century-low.
However, the Outer Courtyard high-ranking officials, led by Cai Meier, were not at all flustered; instead, they were very happy and excited. This was because among these more than four hundred freshmen, fewer than fifty entered the Academy through the recommendation letter system. The remaining more than three hundred freshmen all graduated from Tian Yuan Academy, which meant that the Tian Yuan plan had already begun to show initial results.
Among these more than three hundred freshmen from various Tian Yuan Academies, half of them had their Spirits awakened in Tian Yuan Academy. They basically awakened their Spirits on the spot and could enroll with spirit power, which greatly prevented geniuses from being overlooked. This was also the confidence Shrek Academy had in completely clarifying its stance and severing ties with the nobility of the former Douluo Three Kingdoms.
They already had a stable source of students. What Shrek Academy had once lost was returning, and the aristocratic undertones of Shrek Academy were fading. Shrek Academy would eventually become an ivory tower yearned for by all Spirit Masters, rather than a playground for noble scions.
As one of the two Outer Courtyard deans and the dean of the Martial Soul Department, Cai Meier, representing the will of Shrek Academy and the Tian Yuan Pavilion, delivered a far-reaching speech to these destined-to-be-extraordinary freshmen. This speech was regarded as the guiding principle for the reform of Shrek Academy's Outer Courtyard.
The content of the speech was roughly as follows:
First, from now on, Shrek Academy will provide academic subsidies to every student annually. Students with different titles will receive different amounts of subsidies each year, roughly divided into four tiers: Spirit Master students can receive one thousand gold coins annually, Spirit Grandmasters one hundred gold coins annually, Spirit Elders ten gold coins annually, and as for Spirit Ancestors, they will only receive a symbolic one gold coin annually.
Second, establish an outstanding student ranking, providing rewards including but not limited to gold coins, spirit rings (Spirit), Spirit Bones, or heavenly materials and earthly treasures to every student who achieves different rankings. The list for the ranking will be determined through an annual student competition; the specific rules of the student competition are omitted.
Third, abolish the elimination system for the lowest performers, cancel teachers' right to expel students, and at the same time establish a new elimination mechanism: second-year students must exceed level twenty spirit power to advance to the third year, and fourth-year students must exceed level thirty spirit power to advance to the fifth year. If the requirements are still not met three months after the start of the academic year, they will be advised to withdraw. These are very simple, clear, and cruel rules.
Fourth… In short, in a word, the new Outer Courtyard is more friendly to commoner students, more beneficial to genius students, and provides stronger incentives for all students.
Regarding Cai Meier's speech, the freshmen of this year were still in a state of bewilderment. They only knew that Shrek Academy truly lived up to its reputation as the continent's top academy, giving out money at the start of school; wasn't that a bit too generous?
On the podium, Cai Meier was still speaking passionately, while Zhu Ziyang sat in his seat, flipping through the data of this year's freshmen. There were four hundred and twenty-five freshmen, ranging in age from twelve to thirteen. Due to the existence of Tian Yuan Academy, there were no students younger than twelve, as successfully graduating from Tian Yuan Academy and completing six years of education was a basic condition and prerequisite.
The strength of this batch of students, like previous batches, varied greatly, ranging from Spirit Elders at the top to only Spirit Masters at the bottom. Specifically, the difference in spirit power levels was between the highest at level 33 and the lowest at level 15. Overall, the strength of this batch of students was on the weaker side, with only three students at Spirit Elder cultivation, just over one hundred at Spirit Grandmaster cultivation, and the remaining more than three hundred students all at Spirit Master cultivation.
This is actually understandable; after all, most of these are commoner children, so how could they compare to the noble children of previous batches? Even with Tian Yuan Academy trying its best to ensure resources for these commoner students, there is still a certain gap compared to noble children. This is an inevitable objective fact, not worth delving into.
Zhu Ziyang focused on checking the information of the three Spirit Elder freshmen. The one with the highest spirit power was named Zhu Ziguang, from Anyang City Tian Yuan Academy. Uh, well, there was no need to look too closely at this kid. Although Zhu Ziguang's innate spirit power was only level seven, he was still a genius. Coupled with the resources Zhu Ziyang provided him, being level 33 at twelve years old was very normal. In fact, in Zhu Ziyang's estimation, his spirit power should have been at least level 35 by now. This kid must have been lazy sometimes. Good, very good, he would have something to do in the Academy now.
Putting Zhu Ziguang's data aside, Zhu Ziyang picked up the data of the second Spirit Elder freshman. Lei Ting, twelve years old, level 33 attack system Spirit Elder, innate full spirit power, Spirit: Sin-Cleansing Blade, eldest son of Marquis Bai Ye of the Star Luo Empire. This was the strongest noble scion among this year's freshmen. The Lei family, Marquis Bai Ye of the Star Luo Empire, had an excellent relationship with Shrek Academy. Almost every generation's eldest son was an Inner Courtyard Disciple of Shrek Academy, belonging to the staunch Shrek faction.
This child named Lei Ting, with innate full spirit power, had even better talent than Zhu Ziguang and was a promising talent worth cultivating.
The third Spirit Elder freshman moved Zhu Ziyang even more. Yi Yi, thirteen years old, level 31 support system Spirit Elder, innate full spirit power, Spirit: Silver-Scaled White Whale, from Bibo Town Tian Yuan Academy in Vast Sea City, Douling Empire. It was clear that this Yi Yi was a commoner genius discovered by Tian Yuan Academy; her file contained very detailed information.
Yi Yi was born in a small fishing village in Bibo Town, Vast Sea City, Douling Empire. Both her parents were ordinary fishermen who had not awakened their Spirits. Her Spirit was awakened on the day of Tian Yuan Academy's enrollment, when she went with other children from her village. The Tian Yuan Academy teacher responsible for awakening her Spirit speculated that her Spirit belonged to a mutated Spirit, because although the other children from her village also awakened Spirits, they were all common sea Spirits.
Based on the characteristics and abilities of her Spirit, the teacher from Bibo Town Tian Yuan Academy selected a three-hundred-year-old sea Spirit Beast for her spirit ring, and then she obtained a support-type Spirit Ability. Therefore, this commoner girl chose to become a support system Spirit Master.
A support system Spirit Master with innate full spirit power. Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but think of Food God Douluo Oscar among the Original Shrek Seven Devils. If this Yi Yi were properly cultivated, she would certainly become a top-tier support system Titled Douluo in the future, and perhaps even have the chance to become the second support system Limit Douluo, who knows.
Zhu Ziyang became interested in this girl from a small fishing village. He would have the Tian Yuan Pavilion pay more attention to her. If she was worth cultivating, then it wouldn't be impossible for her to become a core disciple of Shrek Academy.
"Tsk tsk!" He suddenly clicked his tongue and muttered, "Looking at it this way, this kid Ah Guang is actually the worst one. No, as my, Zhu Ziyang's, younger brother, he shouldn't be at the bottom, even if he's not invincible among his peers. It seems I really need to increase the intensity for him."
He particularly noted the enrollment numbers for Anyang City Tian Yuan Academy. As the first Tian Yuan Academy, it deserved Zhu Ziyang's attention. Anyang City Tian Yuan Academy had a total of eleven graduates who advanced to Shrek Academy, making it the largest among the forty-plus Tian Yuan Academies in the same batch. Hmm, not bad. Among the eleven graduates, excluding Zhu Ziguang, the one with the highest spirit power was a young man named Xiang Li, at level 24. The other nine were three Spirit Grandmasters and six Spirit Masters.
Soon, Zhu Ziyang finished reviewing all the freshman data, and Cai Meier's speech also concluded, bringing the opening ceremony to an end.
The freshmen, organized by class, left Shrek Plaza in an orderly fashion under the guidance of their respective homeroom teachers. Zhu Ziguang was in Freshman Class Three. Whether by coincidence or intentional arrangement, the homeroom teacher for Freshman Class Three was Xia Yu. That's right, it was Zhu Ziyang's homeroom teacher when he was in the Outer Courtyard. Now he had become Zhu Ziguang's homeroom teacher. Could it be a form of reincarnation?
The other two Spirit Elder freshmen were in Class One and Class Two, respectively. Lei Ting was a young man with an ordinary appearance but a masculine temperament. Although he was a noble, he did not possess the arrogance found in most nobles; instead, he was very open. Zhu Ziyang clearly saw that his palms were covered with calluses, the kind that only come from years of training, just like his own hands once were. Yi Yi, on the other hand, was a somewhat frail young girl, with a delicate face and two fluttering big eyes that made her look pitiful and endearing, though her skin was a bit dark and rough, fitting the image of a fisherwoman.
Zhu Ziyang vaguely looked forward to how far these few would grow. He thought, Titled Douluo should be the worst-case scenario, right.
Perhaps it was because his strength had reached the human extreme, but Zhu Ziyang was filled with the mindset and ideas of an elder guiding the younger generation. Perhaps this is a common human failing, to be eager to teach, and even gods are no exception.