Supreme Squad

Huo Wu had no intention of restraining her emotions at all, letting the flutter in her heart spread freely—after all, this was what she had wanted in the first place. She simply ignored everyone's strange looks.

She was only following her heart and saying what was on her mind. What was wrong with that? She was already fifteen, and plenty of people her age had gone through several boyfriends.

She glanced at Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu beside her—three little girls who were only twelve and thirteen, practically still children. When it came to advantages, she clearly had the upper hand!

Ning Rongrong saw right through Huo Wu's undisguised thoughts at a glance. She even suspected Huo Wu was thinking about things unsuitable for children. Judging from what Huo Wu had said, she was not merely planning to repay the "grace of remaking her"—she was clearly already considering "making children" too!

Zhu Zhuqing also frowned thoughtfully—so Huo Wu wanted to make a move on her master?

Xiao Wu, meanwhile, watched Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er's movements and expressions, quietly muttering to herself: Could Fourth Junior Sister, Shui Bing'er, have frozen herself so much that her brain had gone fuzzy? Didn't she see her twisting her hips from time to time? And Huo Wu—could her Martial Soul Advancement Pill have raised her temperature so much that she had caught fire inside? Why was she being so "passionate" right from the start?

Those who knew the truth understood that they had come to become disciples. Anyone who did not would have thought the two girls had come on a blind date to find partners!

She looked at Ye Feiyang again. Seeing his calm, composed expression and that he was completely unmoved by beauty, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Teacher had not been seduced. Otherwise, with soul beasts' nature, there was no such thing as a taboo between master and disciple.

Ye Feiyang caught sight of the five disciples' different expressions, yet he could not guess what they were thinking. Still, he understood that with the bond between master and disciple, their feelings would gradually deepen, and the favorability fed back to him would also increase.

Ye Feiyang had long since grown used to such reactions from them. He merely found them reasonable and natural. He silently endured his disciples' "teasing" without stopping them—as their teacher, he did not want to interrupt their yearning for "beautiful things," so he decided to bear this "liveliness" alone.

But such prolonged silence was ultimately rather strange. They looked at one another, wide-eyed and speechless. Did conversations now have to rely on guessing?

Ye Feiyang cleared his throat, drawing the attention of all five disciples, and slowly said, "Just be yourselves. Live in the present. There is no need to deliberately change yourselves to please anyone."

He paused, and his tone turned serious. "There is one more thing you must remember—since you have entered my school, you are family from now on. And since we are family, there must never be internal conflict. If anyone deliberately stirs up trouble, no matter who it is, I will expel them from the school."

What he wanted was a harmonious, stable rear base. He had no time to deal with trivial squabbles. If someone could cause everyone to fall apart over a little friction, then it would be better not to accept them from the start.

Ye Feiyang understood the personalities of his five disciples to some extent. With his warning, there should not be any trouble, but what needed to be said still had to be made clear beforehand.

As his words fell, his gaze swept across the five girls before him. At that moment, all five had put away their smiles and nodded seriously, their attitudes incomparably obedient. What a joke! Being expelled from the school was absolutely impossible—not in this lifetime!

"Teacher, don't worry. We'll always be your good little girls!" Ning Rongrong said with a smile, then added, "Besides, Huo Wu and Bing'er are now our 'companions through eight defeats.' Even if there are conflicts, they'll probably be because of you..."

As she spoke, she blinked with an expression that plainly said, "You understand."

Ye Feiyang glanced at her, fully understanding what she meant—as long as he treated everyone fairly, there would be no problems.

"Alright, Little Huo Wu, Little Bing'er, go familiarize yourselves with the cultivation techniques you just obtained." Ye Feiyang turned to Ning Rongrong and the other two. "Little Rongrong, Little Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, the three of you no longer need to guard the arena."

The three girls had just been about to ask why—they found guarding the arena quite interesting. Not only could it temper their strength, but they could also "teach a lesson" to challengers who did not know their place.

Ye Feiyang had anticipated their question and explained in advance, "For now, guarding the arena has achieved the intended effect. What you need to do next is focus on cultivation. When you have time, the five of you can spar with one another and build some coordination."

His gaze swept over the five equally outstanding girls, each with her own distinct style, and he smiled faintly. "There is another important matter to announce today—I intend to formally establish a team called the Supreme Squad."

"Ning Rongrong will serve as captain. She will hold the rear and coordinate the overall situation. Do any of you have objections?"

Ning Rongrong had not expected to be appointed captain, and her eyes immediately lit up. She discreetly puffed out her chest and raised her chin, delight blooming in her heart—although she had missed out on the position of Eldest Senior Sister, she had at least become the team captain! This way, she could take another step closer to Teacher.

The other four girls did not object after hearing this. They all understood that given Ning Rongrong's current strength, ability, and the special nature of the cultivation techniques she practiced, the captain's position was indeed well deserved.

"Teacher, I have no objections," Zhu Zhuqing said calmly.

"Teacher, I have no objections either," Xiao Wu said, nodding as well.

Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er had even less reason to object—before this, they could not even defeat Ning Rongrong. What right did they have to question her?

Hearing everyone's response, Ning Rongrong became even more pleased and said with a smile, "Teacher, you have such good judgment!"

"Teacher, my Six Meridian Divine Sword has already achieved some success, and I do not lack offensive methods now. With me stationed in the rear as the 'commander'—oh, no, as the captain—I definitely will not let everyone down~"

She spoke with righteous grandeur, but secretly calculated in her heart: When the time came, everyone would have to strike wherever she pointed. Just thinking about it felt amazing!

As she spoke, she directly planted her hands on her hips and looked at the other four girls. "Hehehe~~ From now on, be more polite to your captain... If I'm happy, I might even reward you."

The remaining four girls looked at Ning Rongrong's smug appearance and all found her rather punchable, unable to stop themselves from clenching their little fists. Smiles remained on their faces, but their minds were already filled with complaints.

Fortunately, Ye Feiyang stepped in to "discipline" her in time—he slapped the back of Ning Rongrong's head irritably. "What are you being so smug about? Do you have any semblance of a captain?"

Ning Rongrong covered her head, stuck out her tongue, and muttered softly, "How is this being smug? This is called confidence, alright... Teacher, when you were showing off in front of everyone, I never interrupted you! Can't I be smug for a moment?"

Ye Feiyang pointed at Ning Rongrong, momentarily not knowing what to say. After all, showing off really did feel good. Forget it, she was just a little kid—he would let her have her fun.

Seeing that her teacher did not pursue the matter further, Ning Rongrong turned to Zhu Zhuqing and the others and said with a smile, "Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters, please guide me from now on. If you have any opinions, you can bring them up with me."

But she silently added in her heart: She wanted to see who would actually dare to raise an opinion! If they dared, they could forget about receiving gifts in the future.

"Rongrong, we all support you being captain, so could you move aside first?" Huo Wu took the opportunity to shove Ning Rongrong aside, then turned to Ye Feiyang with anticipation filling her eyes. "Teacher, my brother Huo Wushuang... he also wants to join Supreme Academy."

After being shoved aside, Ning Rongrong silently added this debt to her ledger—huh, daring to disrespect the captain? Her future gifts would be cut in half! She had always understood the principle of treating herself better. If she could blame someone else, she would never blame herself.

Naturally, Ye Feiyang knew who Huo Wushuang was. He nodded. "If he is willing, he can come enroll at Supreme Academy. But he should forget about becoming a Personal Disciple."

"As long as they are students of Supreme Academy, I will provide cultivation techniques suited to them. You can ask him what he thinks later."

Huo Wu immediately nodded vigorously. This answer already satisfied her greatly, and joy was impossible to hide from her face—being able to join was enough. She did not dare imagine that her brother could receive the same fortune she had. What Teacher had invested in her was already priceless; how could such precious opportunities be available to everyone?

She also knew that Ye Feiyang would only accept nine Personal Disciples, and only Personal Disciples could enjoy such top-tier treatment. Thus, she was immensely glad to have been chosen, with not the slightest dissatisfaction in her heart.

Seeing this, Shui Bing'er spoke at the appropriate moment. "Teacher, my younger sister Shui Yue'er... also wants to join the academy."

"She can, but she likewise will not be a Personal Disciple," Ye Feiyang said directly.

Shui Bing'er immediately understood his meaning and nodded with a smile. "I understand, Teacher. She will definitely be willing. Oh, and Xue Wu and the others... also want to come together."

After hearing Shui Bing'er list a string of names, Ye Feiyang's mouth twitched helplessly—good grief, was Shui Bing'er planning to move the entire Skywater Team to Supreme Academy? Wasn't this clearly helping outsiders at the expense of her own side?

He could not help pondering: Would this offend too many academies at once? But then he thought again, so what if it did? Did they dare come and fight him?

It was not that he looked down on the Heaven Dou Empire. There simply were not many people here who could truly fight. Even Dugu Bo was not someone who would devote his life to the empire. Besides, Ye Feiyang was not afraid—if anyone dared come, he would make sure they lost both their granddaughter and their herb garden.

He had not acted against Xue Beng before not because he feared him, but because he needed to establish himself in Heaven Dou City and recruit disciples. If he had truly killed Xue Beng, the royal family would have lost face and surely caused endless trouble. If he had wanted Xue Beng dead, he would have acted long ago. Fortunately, Xue Beng had been sensible enough not to cause him trouble recently.

Ye Feiyang smiled freely. "Sure. Anyone willing to come is welcome. But even acquaintances do not get a discount on tuition."

People changed—he had once been wholly focused on escaping poverty, but now he was wholly focused on getting rich.

The Supreme Squad was still short two members. Under the simplest, most direct, and most convenient approach, he was more inclined to bring in Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan—after all, according to the system's evaluation, both possessed S-grade aptitude and were the easiest disciple candidates to "acquire" at this stage.

He still had four Personal Disciple slots remaining. If no better candidates appeared, he would be willing to reserve one spot for each of them. Of course, there were candidates more tempting than them, but they would be much more troublesome to handle and far more difficult.

For example, Qian Renxue, also known as Xue Qinghe, had SS-grade aptitude. If he could talk her into becoming his disciple, it would be an absolute steal. But she was too proud, and neither of them had revealed their true identities. Making her acknowledge him as her teacher would not be easy.

Speaking of aptitude, Tang San was surprisingly also SS-grade. Unfortunately, Ye Feiyang and Tang San were not merely unable to be friends—they were enemies who would fight to the death. Even without that grudge, Ye Feiyang had never planned to accept male Personal Disciples. Male disciples would seriously ruin the atmosphere between master and disciple!

After being refined by the Martial Soul Advancement Pill, all five of his disciples now possessed S+ aptitude. In truth, they were not much worse than SS-grade.

Some people might not understand what "aptitude" truly meant—the aptitude ratings given by the system were comprehensive evaluations that included both one's innate foundation and the potential that could be developed later. They were not judgments made along a single dimension. Therefore, the rating was basically reliable.

Bibi Dong was also SS-grade and possessed Twin Martial Souls. If he could accept her, he would definitely obtain a golden soul ring. Unfortunately, Bibi Dong had already reached the pinnacle of the soul master world. How could she possibly take on a teacher? Moreover, she and Xiao Wu shared a blood-deep enmity. No matter how much Ye Feiyang coveted her aptitude, he would not hurt Xiao Wu's feelings for his own preferences.

Besides that, the system's list contained several even more outrageous existences: Snow Empress and Wang Qiu'er were SS+ grade; Ice Empress and Ah Yin were SS-grade; and the most absurd of all was Gu Yuena—SSS-grade aptitude.

Ah Yin having double-S aptitude was something Ye Feiyang had not expected at first. But on second thought, she possessed the imperial bloodline of the Blue Silver Emperor, so it made sense.

Although he also coveted these monstrous resources, he truly did not know where to begin. To accept them as disciples, he would first have to persuade them to transform into humans, right? Yet he had no confidence at all in convincing a group of powerful soul beasts to take human form and become his disciples.

Still... one had to have dreams. When he had time, Ye Feiyang planned to take a trip to the Far North Icefield and meet Ice Empress and Snow Empress. If he could talk those two icy powerhouses into taking human form and accept them as disciples, it would naturally be an enormous profit. He could also change their fates and prevent them from eventually becoming someone else's soul rings.

Some might think their original endings were quite good. But think carefully—didn't they both ultimately sacrifice themselves?

Next, once several of his disciples reached level forty, he also planned to visit the Star Dou Great Forest. While asking Da Ming and Er Ming for soul rings, he would also meet Wang Qiu'er. He did not know how much Wang Qiu'er had grown by now, but as the bearer of Star Dou Great Forest's destiny and the Emperor Auspicious Beast, she was already formidable—a cultivation of fifteen thousand years allowed her to rival a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

If he could intercept her beforehand, he could change Wang Qiu'er's tragic fate of being schemed against by Tang San and ultimately heading toward sacrifice. If Ye Feiyang remembered correctly, after Tang San became a God King, he forcibly stuffed a strand of his daughter's divine consciousness into Wang Qiu'er's body. That was the direct cause of her miserable ending.

Tsk, that bastard... Ye Feiyang could not help complaining inwardly. When it came to Tang San, there was simply an entire basketful of things to criticize—he could talk for three days and nights without finishing.

Tang San was fundamentally a hypocrite who flaunted himself as "justice incarnate." After becoming a god, he claimed that "gods cannot interfere with the mortal world," yet he constantly broke the rules: he meddled in Qian Renxue's divine trial, and later personally entered the fray to slaughter others, tearing the God Realm's entire system of rules to pieces.

He dragged all his brothers up to the God Realm, yet watched Ma Hongjun's wife grow old and die alone in the mortal world. It was not as though Ma Hongjun had never begged him, but Tang San always refused under the excuse of "God Realm rules." Yet when it came to protecting his own son, he could turn his parents into the plane ruler and Life Tree of Douluo Continent.

Ning Fengzhi had also desperately begged him to revive Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo—those two had even died fighting for him—yet he still flatly refused with "God Realm rules." But he could forcibly interfere with the Emperor Auspicious Beast's growth for his beloved daughter, and even force the Sun Moon Empire to change its name to the Heaven Dou Empire...

Douluo Continent being mockingly called "Tang Family Continent" was not without reason.

He could slaughter his way through everyone to avenge his mother's death and consider it perfectly justified. But when Huo Yuhao wanted to avenge his mother, Tang San jumped out to interfere, setting all sorts of trials under the lofty name of "tempering," when in truth his desire for control had simply exploded. If Huo Yuhao had not been blessed by fate, Tang San would have played him to death long ago!

No wonder Tang San was mockingly called an "extraterritorial heavenly demon"... There were many more things like this, but they could not be discussed in further detail. Continuing would make it seem like padding.