Has Xie Yue Lost Confidence?

Zhou You had given Yan the time it took to drink a cup of tea, but the guy took a full half hour to finish tidying the dormitory.

When he was done, he ran out, sweating buckets, and sidled up to Zhou You like an eager lackey.

"Boss, your bed's ready!"

"All right, thanks for the effort." Zhou You patted Yan on the shoulder, leaving him somewhat flattered.

Seeing his expression, Zhou You gained a rough idea of what he was like.

So much time had passed that he had forgotten most of the original novel's contents and details. He remembered even less about supporting characters who had received little attention in the original.

The only thing he could remember about Yan was that the boy was Hu Liena's simp, while Hu Liena was Tang San's simp. Hmm... what a bunch of lovesick fools.

Zhou You shook his head and turned to enter the dormitory. He had spent the whole day traveling and had yet to cultivate.

Skill was honed through diligence and ruined by play. Whenever he had time to spare, he made sure to catch up on the day's missed practice.

Meanwhile, Xie Yue submitted a request to Liu Suxin, asking to take charge of Zhou You's entrance assessment.

Liu Suxin did not agree immediately. Instead, she asked why; after all, it was not normally his responsibility.

Xie Yue had anticipated this and promptly gave her a truthful account of the outcome of Zhou You's spar with Yan.

"You're saying Yan lost, and it was a crushing defeat?" Liu Suxin was surprised.

As the three students' instructor, Liu Suxin naturally knew Yan's strength well. Even Xie Yue would have to put some effort into fighting him.

"No wonder Elder She holds that child in such high regard." In an instant, Liu Suxin seemed to understand something. She looked at Xie Yue, having also guessed something of what her student was thinking.

"Xie Yue, why don't you think it over? Wouldn't it be a little too early to do this now?"

"Early?" Xie Yue shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Oh?"

"Teacher Liu, there are only the two of us here, so I'll speak plainly. I'm not confident I can keep him in check in the future."

Liu Suxin was even more surprised to hear this. It was the first time she had heard Xie Yue say something so dispirited.

Xie Yue, however, was quite calm about it. He had no need to disguise his true self in front of Liu Suxin.

"That new student, Zhou You, doesn't act like a normal Soul Master at all. He's more like a warrior who's been through countless battles. If Spirit Hall's background investigation wasn't wrong, I can only assume he has an instinctive nose for combat."

Xie Yue had not told Hu Liena any of this. His expression was somewhat complicated. "That kind of talent is beyond me, so while I still have the advantage in cultivation realm, I have to establish my position as soon as possible."

He had been working toward becoming a qualified "captain" for a long time, holding himself to strict standards all these years. How could he simply give up so easily?

Liu Suxin saw the determination in his eyes. After some hesitation, she nodded and agreed. Compared with Zhou You, Xie Yue was the one she had watched grow up; their bond was different, after all.

"Since you've already made up your mind, I can agree, but I must personally supervise the assessment."

Both children were precious treasures of Spirit Hall. She could not bear to see either of them injured.

Liu Suxin was an exceptionally rare support-type Soul Master with healing abilities. Her Seventh Soul Ring could almost restore flesh to bare bones, making her the ideal safeguard for a duel between Soul Masters who might not hold back.

"I'll follow your arrangements, Teacher."

Hah, if you really followed my arrangements, you wouldn't fight! Liu Suxin shook her head. These geniuses all had minds of their own; once they decided on something, no one could talk them out of it.

Now she could only hope Zhou You would not be discouraged by it.

Though she was somewhat surprised that the boy could defeat Yan, whose cultivation was higher than his, fighting someone in the same realm and fighting across realms were entirely different matters.

Each time a Soul Master crossed into a major realm, the quality and density of their Soul Power rose by a level. The gap was difficult to bridge with skill and tactics.

Still, she also wanted to observe Zhou You's talent in actual combat. Since he had easily defeated Yan, presumably he could last a little longer against Xie Yue.

For the exacting Elder She to take the boy as a student, he surely had to possess some exceptional quality.

Thus, just as Zhou You had finished his Stake Training for the day and was preparing to sit in meditation to cultivate his Nature Skill, a voice suddenly interrupted him.

"Boss! Your entrance assessment's been scheduled for tomorrow!"

Yan burst noisily into the dormitory, shattering Zhou You's peace and quiet. Zhou You stared at him expressionlessly, his eyes devoid of feeling.

"Uh..." For some reason, Yan suddenly felt a chill.

"Boss?" He grew even more cautious and lowered his voice considerably.

Zhou You sighed, unwilling to stoop to arguing with this lout. It seemed he really ought to find a proper quiet room to practice his Stillness Skill.

He reflected that his cultivation of Stillness was insufficient, then calmed the trace of irritation rising within him and regained his tranquil state of mind.

"What's this entrance assessment about?"

"Huh? You don't know, Boss?"

"Are you being coy with me?"

"How would I dare?" Yan hurriedly said. "The entrance assessment is basically a placement test. The academy uses it to get a general idea of the new students' current level, so they can draw up tailored cultivation plans for future courses."

Zhou You raised an eyebrow. "A combat test?"

"Yep!" Yan nodded at once and said as if it were obvious, "We're Soul Masters. Of course combat ability matters most!"

Then he grinned ingratiatingly. "But a little test like that should be no problem for you, Boss."

"What exactly does the assessment involve?"

"Oh, you just have to last one incense stick's time against a Soul Master one level above you. When I first came here, I was only a Soul Scholar, so my opponent was a Soul Master. For you, Boss, your opponent should be a Soul Grandmaster."

Last one incense stick's time against a Soul Grandmaster?

Zhou You nodded to show he understood.

He had never fought an opponent of that level, so he did not have a clear idea of how strong a Soul Grandmaster was. But he had confidence in the strength of the Heaven- and Earth-Harmonizing Umbrella.

The main issue was that every time someone in the Soul Master system advanced a major realm, their abilities rose across the board. Zhou You did not know how great that increase was, so he could only estimate high.

"All right, I know about it now."

"Right, then, carry on, Boss. I won't disturb you." Having delivered his message, Yan was about to slip away.

But before he had taken two steps, he found that Zhou You had appeared in front of him at some point, giving him a fright.

Zhou You slapped a hand on Yan's shoulder with tremendous force, making him grimace in pain.

He was secretly shocked. His newly acknowledged boss might be young and not particularly tall or sturdy, but his strength was outrageously heavy.

Zhou You, however, seemed oblivious. He merely smiled at him. "Little Yan, I'm free anyway, so how about we practice together some more?"

"N-no need, right...?" Yan's face fell. The marks he had gotten on his face still had not faded, and he did not even know how he was going to face people tomorrow looking like this.

"Look at you, what a sorry sight. I'm teasing you. I'd just started getting a feel for it, and you went and messed it all up. What else am I busy with? Come on, show me around the academy. I only had a quick look around earlier and didn't really make anything of it."

"Oh, Boss, you should've said so sooner! I can definitely help with that! Just say the word. Where do you want to go first?"

"Is there a quiet room, or a library or something?"

"Of course there is! We go to the quiet rooms to cultivate our Meditation Method... Oh! Look at me. You were meditating just now, weren't you? Then I've really messed up. Let me apologize!"

Yan made a wildly exaggerated show of getting down on his knees, prompting Zhou You to laugh, curse at him, and give him a kick in the backside.

"What an act!"

"Hehe!" Yan gave an honest-looking grin. He felt he was beginning to get a vague grasp of his new boss's temperament.