First Meeting

Liu Suxin was slightly surprised, but she quickly recovered. Guessing that Douluo She Long had helped him hunt for it, she asked no further questions and simply nodded.

"It seems Elder She holds you in high regard."

Zhou You knew at once that she had misunderstood, but he didn't correct her. Instead, he nodded in agreement. "Yes, Teacher is a very good-tempered, gentle person."

Earlier, he had only dared say so much to She Long because he could rely on the excuse that "children speak without restraint." After all, where there was no conflict of interest, a dignified Titled Douluo had no reason to target a six-year-old child like him.

Unless his First Soul Ring was ten thousand years old. In that case, She Long probably wouldn't mind dissecting him to see what sort of monster was hiding beneath his human skin.

Behind them, Yang Tianxiong grimaced when he heard this. As She Long's former student, he knew very well that She Long was anything but good-tempered.

He just said he was going to twist my head off and kick it around like a ball!

"All right, don't stand around at the entrance. I'll give you a quick tour. Our academy is very large..."

Liu Suxin took Zhou You's hand and led everyone through the academy gates.

Meanwhile, She Long had returned to Spirit Hall and was reporting back to Bibi Dong.

"Did you meet the child? What did you think of him?" Bibi Dong sat upright, looking down at She Long from the top of the steps.

"I did." She Long's expression was complicated as he summarized and reported what had happened along the way, including some of the arguments he had had with Zhou You.

Bibi Dong listened intently, her expression shifting as well.

"Are you certain the child thought of all this himself? He wasn't passing off someone else's words as his own?"

Bibi Dong questioned it instinctively, but she quickly reconsidered and shook her head, dismissing the thought. "I was mistaken."

He might have been able to borrow the conclusions, but he couldn't have borrowed the entire process of thought and reasoning, especially when the child had been facing a Titled Douluo.

"You took him as your student?"

"Yes."

"Very well." Bibi Dong nodded. She Long was one of her staunch supporters, so Zhou You placing himself under She Long was equivalent to placing himself under her.

At least, that was how she saw it.

As she thought about it, her mind suddenly wandered, and she sank into a memory. After quite a while, she continued, "Since the child has many ideas, don't hold him back. Have the Central Academy open its Library to him."

Zhou You's spirit of inquiry into theoretical knowledge reminded her of someone from her past, and she couldn't help feeling a trace of anticipation.

As for what she was anticipating, even Bibi Dong herself didn't know.

She Long, however, hesitated. "Your Holiness, could this affect the child's cultivation?"

A person's time and attention were limited, after all. Cultivating Soul Power already took a great deal of time, and She Long feared that if Zhou You also diverted his attention to theoretical research, it would hold back his cultivation.

Bibi Dong was silent for a moment. That was indeed a practical concern.

She thought it over for a while and came up with a compromise.

"I recall the academy has a Quarterly Assessment. Have the instructors pay particular attention to whether there are signs of him falling behind in his cultivation. If there are, restrict his theoretical research and have him turn his attention back to improving his strength."

Then, as though something had occurred to her, the corners of her lips lifted in a barely perceptible smile. Her noble, elegant face instantly gained a touch of radiant beauty, a fleeting glimpse that was hard to forget.

She Long lowered his head slightly and cast down his eyes, not daring to look too long.

"You said just now that the child hunted for his First Soul Ring himself?"

"Yes. I personally tested his Soul Power. He's already at level eleven."

Bibi Dong asked in surprise, "And you said his First Soul Ring was seven hundred years old?"

"Yes."

Something seemed amiss. Bibi Dong frowned slightly.

She had spent some time with Yu Xiaogang and knew many of his theories.

According to Yu Xiaogang's theory, an ordinary person could absorb a Soul Ring of four hundred years at most. Zhou You absorbing a seven-hundred-year Soul Ring was already somewhat astonishing.

Since he hadn't died from his body exploding, it could only mean that the child's physique was far superior to that of an ordinary Soul Scholar, or even a Soul Master.

If that were true, the over-limit Soul Ring should have pushed Zhou You's Soul Power Level higher. It shouldn't have been only level eleven.

This child was indeed a little strange, just as She Long had said.

"She Long, since you've taken him as your student, keep a closer eye on him."

Hearing this, She Long knew that Zhou You had registered in the Pope's mind, and he felt a quiet delight.

"As you command."

Angel God Mountain, Spirit Hall's Central Academy.

Liu Suxin gave Zhou You a cursory tour of several places in the academy, then took him to the Teaching Building and into a small classroom.

The layout made Zhou You feel, for a moment, as though he had returned to the real world.

This was so very "school-like," just a little more luxurious.

"This is where you'll attend classes from now on," Liu Suxin explained. "You've only just arrived, so most of your classes for the first few days will be theory."

Zhou You's eyes immediately lit up. "Then, are there textbooks?"

"Oh? You're quite eager, unlike the others. Every one of them hates these classes." Liu Suxin's eyes were full of affection.

"That's not true~" a girl behind them suddenly said in a sweet voice. She stepped forward and hugged one of Liu Suxin's arms. "I love your classes most of all, Teacher~"

Liu Suxin tapped the girl on the forehead, her face full of indulgence.

Then she turned to Zhou You and introduced her. "This is Hu Liena. She's a year older than you and is also a One-Ring Soul Master at the moment. She's been cultivating a little longer than you, though, so you two can talk more in private."

Realization dawned on Zhou You. So it was her.

"Hello."

"Hellooo~" Hu Liena's tone rose as she spoke, and her every movement carried a deliberate charm.

Zhou You could hardly bear to look. You're only a seven-year-old girl, and you're pulling this on me...

But he didn't know that, because of the nature of her Martial Soul, Hu Liena had started specialized Charm Training at a very young age. It was meant to maximize the effects of her Martial Soul.

Although her technique was still very unpolished, the boost from her Martial Soul gave her considerable charm even in her normal state. Few of her peers could resist it.

Not far from her, a boy was staring in a daze, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

Beside him, another boy with delicate features narrowed his eyes, raised an arm, and drove his elbow hard into the leering boy.

"Ow~"

Liu Suxin turned toward the sound, her willow-like brows rising.

"Yan, what are you doing?"

"I..." Yan clutched his chest and looked at his friend beside him with a resentful expression. "I just got a stitch in my side."

"A stitch?" Liu Suxin frowned, her expression growing serious. "How could you get a stitch for no reason? Did something go wrong during cultivation? I remember you only got a new Meditation Method a few days ago. Did you practice it incorrectly?"

"No... that's not the problem."

But Liu Suxin was responsible and particular, and the children she taught were all exceptional talents whom the academy focused on nurturing, so she was even less willing to be careless.

"Yan, if there's a problem, you need to say so. Don't put on a brave front."

"Teacher, I really don't have a problem." Yan was almost breaking into a sweat. Was he supposed to admit that he'd made a fool of himself while stealing a glance at Hu Liena, gotten caught by Xie Yue, and then taken a hard elbow?

What would Hu Liena think of me then?!

Even if you beat me to death, I can't not admit it!

Seeing Yan's aggrieved face, looking like a mute who had eaten bitter herbs, Zhou You could barely hold back his laughter.

From where he stood, he had happened to see the whole thing.

But Yan, already seething, happened to see his expression and immediately flew into a rage.

Mindful that Liu Suxin and Yang Tianxiong were both present, he didn't dare act out. He could only glare fiercely at Zhou You, clearly conveying one message.

"Just you wait!"