Stealing His Girl Right in Front of Him?

The days that followed were relatively peaceful.

Ever since Zhou You had decisively defeated Xie Yue in front of everyone, his name had spread throughout the Central Academy.

The students who had ignored him on his first day had completely changed their attitudes. They weren't quite fawning over him, but at least they knew how to show respect.

Some began approaching him to strike up conversations, often showering him with praise. Zhou You had patiently dealt with them at first, but eventually he grew tired of it.

Every last one of them was barely in their teens, yet they seemed determined to twist every sentence through eighteen turns. They were scheming from head to toe.

What a hassle!

Compared with those people, Zhou You suddenly felt that the straightforward Yan wasn't so bad after all, and his attitude toward him improved considerably.

But he couldn't be too nice. Give the kid a little sunshine and he'd shine; without someone to keep him in check, he'd get so carried away he'd forget his own name.

Zhou You had been specially recruited as a talent, so he was assigned to a class made up of a select few top students.

That was right: it was the class made up of Xie Yue, Hu Liena, Yan, and a few other Soul Grandmasters. Its average age was under twelve, and it had fewer than fifteen students in total. It was an elite training program through and through.

Competition in this class was fierce, and the lowest-ranked students were eliminated. Anyone who came in last in the Quarterly Assessment three times in a row would be ruthlessly kicked out and replaced by a new outstanding student.

If there was no qualified newcomer to fill the vacancy, it would remain empty. The second-to-last student would automatically drop to last place, and the competition would continue.

Since Zhou You had yet to take his first Quarterly Assessment, he was currently ranked last in the class, but no one dared look down on him for it.

After all, this "last-place student" had beaten up the first- and third-ranked students in the class, one after the other. By now, everyone knew that this refined-looking fellow was a ruthless character.

"Establishing one's might" was quite effective in a society where martial strength reigned supreme.

Not everyone was friendly, though. The student ranked second in the class had taken a dislike to Zhou You all along.

That morning, Zhou You was sitting in his seat, leafing through the Soul Beast Illustrated Guide.

The kinds of Soul Beasts and their ecological makeup usually differed between Soul Beast gathering grounds in different regions.

The book Zhou You was reading mostly recorded species found in the Soul Beast gathering areas maintained in captivity by Spirit Hall. Because the beasts were captive, relatively complete information could be collected.

Just as he was absorbed in his reading, his desk suddenly jolted violently, interrupting his thoughts.

It also interrupted Yan's sweet dream. He shot to his feet in a flash.

"Who? Who the fuck—uh..." The instant he saw Hu Liena's pretty face, Yan's mind snapped awake, and his angry expression turned fawning.

"Hehe, Nana..."

But Hu Liena ignored him entirely and walked over to Zhou You.

Zhou You frowned and looked up to see Hu Liena slam a pile of books onto his desk, her face cold.

She said stiffly, "These are your textbooks!"

She was the only person in the class who openly showed her dislike for him. Zhou You knew the reason, but he wasn't about to stoop to arguing with a little girl like her.

So he lowered his head again and said casually, "Got it." Then he returned to his book.

His attitude made Hu Liena even more indignant. It was like punching cotton; she had nowhere to land a blow.

She gritted her teeth, sorely tempted to use Martial Soul Possession then and there and rake her claws across the hateful fellow's face.

But the academy strictly prohibited private fights, and Liu Suxin had kept withholding approval for Hu Liena's requests for a match, leaving her with no chance to vent.

What she didn't know was that Liu Suxin was actually protecting her. Anyone who had watched that assessment wouldn't think Hu Liena was a match for Zhou You.

Although her Soul Power Level was higher than Zhou You's, their actual combat strength wasn't on the same level at all.

In particular, Liu Suxin could tell that Zhou You's mind was unlike that of ordinary people. She suspected Hu Liena's mental skills wouldn't be able to shake his will at all, so stepping onto the stage would mean nothing but a beating. What was the point of a match like that?

Hu Liena was only seven this year, but she was highly gifted and possessed a Martial Soul with special attributes. Bibi Dong had long been keeping an eye on her in secret and was only waiting until she was a little older and had a higher cultivation level before taking her as a personal disciple. Her future was boundless.

With Xie Yue's experience as a warning, Liu Suxin didn't dare let her face Zhou You. If anything happened, she wouldn't be able to answer for it.

Unable to get her match requests approved, Hu Liena could only resort to deliberately provoking Zhou You like this, trying to force him to strike first.

That way, she could strike back in the name of "self-defense" and avenge her brother.

Yet for several days in a row, Zhou You remained as undisturbed as the water in an ancient well. He ignored every provocation and acted as though she didn't exist.

This left Hu Liena somewhat discouraged, but it also further stirred her competitive spirit.

I refuse to believe you can keep putting up with this forever!

She turned to look at Yan, who was still staring at her with a lecherous look on his face.

By now, Hu Liena's Charm training had begun to show results. Even without revealing her Martial Soul, her innate allure flowed naturally from her.

So it wasn't just Yan. Who knew how many boys and girls in the class were watching her, openly or otherwise?

Hu Liena could sense those furtive gazes. Girls were always especially sensitive to such things. They had once made her uncomfortable, but she had long since grown used to them.

Hu Liena's Charm worked on both men and women, so it had considerable "killing power" against anyone whose Mental Power was weaker than hers.

Even when some people pretended not to look at her, she could sense that they were secretly paying attention, trying to attract her notice by acting differently from everyone else.

She found that behavior somewhat funny.

But Zhou You was different. He genuinely paid her no mind.

She couldn't accept that, and her competitive spirit flared up at once.

"Yan, go sit over there."

"Huh?" Yan froze for a moment. He glanced at his seat, then at Zhou You beside him, and was instantly overcome with grief and indignation.

"Um, Nana, actually, we could sit together..."

"Are you moving or not?" Hu Liena's gaze turned cold, and Yan immediately panicked.

"All right, all right, my lady, I'll move! Isn't that enough?"

Yan dawdled for a long time before finally leaving under Hu Liena's impatient glare. She promptly sat down beside Zhou You and deliberately pressed close to him, bringing them within inches of each other.

Hu Liena tilted her head and saw that Zhou You still seemed lost to both himself and the world. Her eyes darted, and a plan suddenly came to her.

She decided to try a different strategy.

Since you won't yield to force, I'll show you how softness can wrap around a finger!

So, under Yan's furious stare, she edged closer to Zhou You and pretended to be a little hot, fanning the air with her hand. A fragrant breeze, accompanied by a few mischievous strands of hair, drifted toward his cheek.

—Crack!

Yan had unconsciously snapped off the corner of the desk with his left hand, and his eyes had turned red!