Zhou Yi

It was the day classes began.

Huo Yuxi sat on her bed, meditating for the entire night. She could clearly sense that she had reached the threshold of a breakthrough, yet she simply could not break through, leaving her extremely restless.

"Xixi, classes are about to start. We should head over." Xiao Xiao had already changed into her school uniform and was sitting by the bed waiting for her.

"Okay." Huo Yuxi slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, changed into her uniform, and followed Xiao Xiao toward the teaching building.

This teaching building was entirely for first-year students. As far as the eye could see, everything was white, with the green little monster badges on their chests standing out especially clearly.

By the time they arrived, class was about to begin. The spacious classroom was almost full. Huo Yuxi did not spot Huo Yuhao anywhere inside, only his roommate, Wang Dong.

The delicate and elegant girl sat properly in her seat, surrounded by girls on all sides. After searching for quite some time, the two of them finally managed to find two adjacent empty seats.

Huo Yuxi stared blankly at the classroom door. It was not until the bell rang that she saw Huo Yuhao rushing in through the doorway.

After he casually found a seat and sat down, an elderly woman with sagging skin and an aged appearance entered. Her sharp gaze swept across the entire classroom, and the previously noisy room instantly fell silent.

She stopped at the podium, and her hoarse voice rang out. "Good morning. I am the homeroom teacher of Class One, Zhou Yi! I believe that after entering the academy, you have all heard about me. Perhaps you are still harboring a lucky mindset."

"But let me make this clear now. My class only cultivates monsters. Trash that cannot pass the assessments can all get the hell back home."

At those words, the students below all wore unconvinced expressions. After all, those who had entered Shrek Academy had been called geniuses in their own countries, yet now they had been dismissed as trash with a single sentence.

"Don't be so unconvinced. You all think your talents are exceptional, don't you? What good is that? At Shrek Academy, gifted people are a dime a dozen."

"Huo Yuxi."

Zhou Yi suddenly called out a name. Everyone turned curiously to see who was so unlucky as to be singled out by Abbess Extinction during the very first class.

They saw a little girl of around eight or nine years old rise to her feet. Her features were delicate and adorable, her skin carried a sickly pallor, and she was holding a spider plushie in her arms.

Her doe eyes were still filled with confusion. She had not even done anything, so why had she been called on? Remembering Tang Ya's words that this teacher was vicious beyond measure and did not care about a student's status, background, talent, or strength—expelling anyone she wanted to expel—her heart immediately thundered in her chest.

"Tell them your Soul Power Level."

Huo Yuxi breathed a sigh of relief and answered loudly, "My Soul Power Level is rank 29."

"Wh-what?" The jaws of everyone below nearly dropped to the floor. "Shrek Academy's enrollment standard is twelve years old, so she's already rank 29 at only twelve?" "Is she even human?"

"Mm, very good. Sit down." They had actually seen a gentle smile in Abbess Extinction's eyes.

Yet no one remained unconvinced. Xiao Xiao stared at Huo Yuxi in shock. "Shrek's admission requirements are already absurd enough. I never expected your level to be so much higher."

"It's not that impressive. I read before that many people had already become Soul Elders by the age of ten. There are always greater people beyond greater people, and greater heavens beyond greater heavens. We can't limit ourselves to our own little world. There must be many people outside who are stronger than me."

"That's true." Xiao Xiao found her words very reasonable. Her approval made Huo Yuxi secretly praise herself. Reading really was useful.

"Enough. Quiet."

Zhou Yi's tone was neither heavy nor light, yet the students below immediately fell silent and sat upright, staring directly at the podium.

"Now, the students who fought yesterday and Huo Yuxi will remain. Everyone else, get out and run one hundred laps around Shrek Plaza. Anyone who fails to finish within two hours will be expelled immediately." Zhou Yi looked at them expressionlessly.

"Why? I came to Shrek to learn, not to run! And setting Huo Yuxi aside, why don't the ones who fought have to run?"

"Because I am Zhou Yi. Anyone who refuses to accept that can leave right now."

A terrifying force spread from her body. One Soul Ring after another rose from beneath her feet—two yellow, two purple, and two black. A Soul Emperor!

The classroom instantly fell silent. No one dared object, and they all lowered their heads like quails before running out.

Looking at the three students who remained, Zhou Yi's expression visibly softened. "Not bad. You've got some spirit. You two, explain why you fought and who you fought with."

"The two of us are roommates. We had a minor disagreement, so we had a simple spar..."

Only after Huo Yuhao finished did Zhou Yi say unhurriedly, "Fine. Now you two can go run laps as well."

"What?" Wang Dong had just wanted to speak when Huo Yuhao grabbed her and pulled her toward the door.

"A friendly reminder: your running time is the same as theirs. Ten minutes have already passed."

Zhou Yi had not yet made arrangements for Huo Yuxi, so she remained where she was. Huo Yuhao signaled for her to wait first, then turned and dragged Wang Dong away to run.

After everyone else had left, Zhou Yi looked at Huo Yuxi's overly frail body, thin from malnutrition, and rare pity rose within her. Her circumstances were so poor, yet she had still worked so hard to cultivate to this point.

Her voice softened. "What is your Martial Soul?"

"My Martial Soul is the Soul Devouring Spider." The plushie in Huo Yuxi's arms obediently returned to its original form.

To prevent Zhou Yi from being pulled into an illusion like Tang Ya had been last time, Huo Yuxi extended a finger and tapped the spider's back, indicating that Zhou Yi was a good person.

Zhou Yi raised a hand to adjust the glasses on her face. "An actual beast Martial Soul? This should be a mutated Martial Soul as well. There is no record of this kind of Martial Soul in the books."

"I don't know." Huo Yuxi shook her head. She had still read too few books. She needed to find a few more when she went back.

Zhou Yi nodded, intending to visit the library after class. "All right, you should go run too. Proper physical training will benefit your body. Don't force yourself. Just do your best."

"Yes, Teacher."

When Huo Yuxi reached the plaza, all the students were already panting heavily. Since there were no special restrictions and they only had to complete one hundred laps within two hours, everyone used Soul Power to sustain their long-distance running.

At this point, the differences in physical fitness and cultivation had already become apparent. Wang Dong truly had the confidence to back herself up. Although she had started late, she had already caught up to the front.

Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, was not doing nearly as well. His physical fitness was poor, and his cultivation was insufficient, causing him to fall several laps behind the others.

Huo Yuxi persisted for more than twenty laps, but she also began to struggle noticeably. Although her Soul Power was higher than everyone else present, her physical condition was what it was.

Led by Wang Dong, everyone gradually completed their hundred laps and began walking slowly beside Zhou Yi to ease the strain on their muscles.

Though no limit had been set for Huo Yuxi, she still wanted to test where her limit lay. She persisted for several more laps, only stopping when she truly could not continue.

The moment she stopped, her legs went weak and sore. It was only when Xiao Xiao ran over and held her that she barely managed to stay standing.

Zhou Yi glanced at her and knew that she was merely a little exhausted. She then looked toward the track. "Three minutes left. Anyone who fails to finish will be expelled without exception."

Huo Yuhao's clothes had been completely soaked with sweat. The exhaustion in his body nearly made him stop, but Mom, Xixi... No, no, I can't. I can't stop here.