Zhou Yi

Time had come for the first day of class.

Huo Yuxi had spent the entire night meditating on her bed. She could feel the breakthrough point, but she just couldn't push through, which made her extremely anxious.

"Xixi, class is about to start. Let's get going," Xiao Xiao said, already dressed in her school uniform and waiting by the bed.

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

This teaching building housed all the first-year students. At a glance, it was a sea of white uniforms, with the small green monster badge on their chests being particularly noticeable.

By the time they arrived, it was close to the start of class. The spacious classroom was almost full. Huo Yuxi couldn't find Huo Yuhao among the students, only his roommate, Wang Dong.

The delicate and elegant youth sat upright in his seat, with girls filling the seats in front, behind, and to the sides of him. Huo Yuxi and Xiao Xiao had to search for a while before they could find two adjacent empty seats.

Huo Yuxi stared blankly at the classroom door until the bell rang. Only then did she see Huo Yuhao rush in from the entrance.

After casually finding a seat, an old woman with a wizened appearance and loose skin walked in. Her sharp gaze swept across the entire classroom, instantly silencing the previously noisy environment.

She stopped at the podium and her hoarse voice rang out, "Good morning, I am Zhou Yi, the homeroom teacher for Class One! I believe you've all heard about me since entering the academy. Perhaps some of you are still holding onto a sliver of hope."

"But let me be clear now: in my class, we only cultivate monsters. Anyone who fails the assessment will pack their bags and go home."

Upon hearing this, the students in the audience wore expressions of defiance. After all, those admitted to Shrek Academy were considered geniuses in their own countries. Now, here, they were being dismissed as trash by her words.

"Don't be defiant. You all think your talents are exceptional, don't you? What's the use? At Shrek Academy, there are countless students with outstanding talents."

"Huo Yuxi."

Zhou Yi suddenly called out a name, and everyone turned their heads curiously to see who was so unlucky as to be singled out by this "Abbess Extinction" on the very first class.

Then, they saw a little girl, about eight or nine years old, with delicate and cute features, skin with a sickly pallor, and holding a spider doll in her arms, stand up.

Her deer-like eyes held a hint of bewilderment. She hadn't done anything, so why was she called out? She remembered Tang Ya saying this teacher was terrifyingly fierce, completely disregarding students' identities, backgrounds, talents, or strength, and would expel anyone she wanted to. Her heart pounded like thunder.

"Tell them your Soul Power level."

Huo Yuxi breathed a sigh of relief and said loudly, "My Soul Power level is 29."

"Wh-what?" The jaws of everyone in the audience dropped.

"Shrek Academy's admission standard is 12 years old. So she's already level 29 at 12 years old?"

"Is she even human?"

"Mm, very good, sit down." They actually saw a hint of gentleness in the "Abbess Extinction's" eyes.

No one dared to object. Xiao Xiao looked at Huo Yuxi in shock. "The admission requirements for Shrek are already incredibly demanding, and I didn't expect your level to be so much higher."

"It's alright. I read a lot before, and many people were already Soul Elders by the age of ten. There's always someone better, and we can't be confined to our own world. There are definitely many people out there stronger than me."

"That's true." Xiao Xiao felt that what she said made a lot of sense. Huo Yuxi secretly praised herself for her validation; reading was indeed useful.

"Alright, quiet down."

Zhou Yi's tone was neither light nor heavy, but the students instantly fell silent, looking straight at the podium with proper posture.

"Now, the students who fought yesterday and Huo Yuxi will stay. Everyone else, get out and run one hundred laps around Shrek Plaza. If you don't finish within two hours, you'll be expelled," Zhou Yi said expressionlessly.

"Why? I came to Shrek to learn, not to run. And Huo Yuxi is one thing, but why don't the ones who fought have to run?"

"Because I am Zhou Yi. Anyone who disagrees can leave now."

A terrifying power emanated from her, and rings of Soul Rings rose from her feet: two yellow, two purple, two black. A Soul Emperor!

The classroom instantly fell silent. No one dared to object, and they all bowed their heads like quails and ran out.

Looking at the three who remained, Zhou Yi's expression clearly softened. "Not bad, you've got spirit. You two, tell me why you fought and who you fought with!"

"We are roommates. We had a simple spar over a minor disagreement..."

After Huo Yuhao finished speaking, Zhou Yi said unhurriedly, "Alright, now you two go run laps as well."

"What?" Wang Dong was about to speak when Huo Yuhao pulled him and turned to walk out.

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

Zhou Yi hadn't arranged anything for Huo Yuxi yet, so she was still standing in place. Huo Yuhao signaled her with his eyes to wait, then turned and pulled Wang Dong to go running.

After everyone had left, Zhou Yi looked at Huo Yuxi's excessively thin frame, likely due to malnutrition, and felt a rare pang of sympathy. With such poor conditions, she had still managed to cultivate to this level.

She softened her voice and asked, "What is your Martial Soul?"

"My Martial Soul is the Soul Devouring Spider." The doll in Huo Yuxi's arms automatically reverted to its original form.

To prevent Zhou Yi from being pulled into a hallucination like Tang Ya last time, Huo Yuxi pointed a finger at the spider's back, indicating that she was a good person.

Zhou Yi reached up and adjusted her glasses. "It's actually a physical beast-type Martial Soul. This should also be a mutated Martial Soul, as it's not recorded in any books."

"I don't know." Huo Yuxi shook her head. She hadn't read enough books and would need to find more later.

Zhou Yi nodded, planning to visit the library after class. "Alright, you go run laps too. Appropriate physical training will help your body. Don't push yourself too hard; just do your best."

"Okay, Teacher."

When Huo Yuxi arrived at the plaza, all the students were panting heavily. Since there were no special restrictions, only the requirement to complete 100 laps within two hours, everyone was using their Soul Power to support their long-distance running.

At this point, the differences in physical fitness and cultivation became apparent. Wang Dong lived up to his confidence; although he arrived late, he was already ahead of many.

Huo Yuhao wasn't so lucky. His physical condition was poor, and his cultivation wasn't enough, which resulted in him being several laps behind everyone else.

Huo Yuxi had kept running for over 20 laps and was clearly starting to struggle. Even though her soul power was higher than everyone else present, her physical condition was what it was.

Led by Wang Dong, everyone else had finished their hundred laps and were slowly walking beside Zhou Yi, easing the pressure on their muscles.

Although Huo Yuxi wasn't being pushed, she still wanted to test her limits. She persisted for a few more laps, and only stopped when she truly felt she couldn't go on.

As soon as she stopped, her legs felt weak and shaky. It was Xiao Xiao who ran over and hugged her, helping her to barely stay upright.

Zhou Yi glanced at her, knowing she was just a little exhausted, and then looked towards the field. "There are three minutes left. Anyone who doesn't finish will be expelled."

Huo Yuhao's clothes were already soaked with sweat. The fatigue in his body almost made him want to stop, but his mother, Xi Xi... no, he couldn't stop.

He couldn't stop here.