"Confrontation"

"A Spiritual Youth means some poser who dyes his hair bright gold and goes around showing off..."

"...to flaunt his strength, but he's actually the really ridiculous type," Long Yao whispered to Wang Dong.

That warm breath, mixed with the unique, fresh, pleasant scent of a youth, was like the faintest yet most domineering electric current. It raced along Wang Dong's ear and, in an instant, shot through her entire body.

Those few whispered explanations were like a feather, lightly yet incomparably precisely scratching across her most sensitive nerves. Wang Dong only felt that half of her cheek where his breath had brushed past instantly burned as if it were about to catch fire. That heat spread rapidly, even dyeing her delicate earlobes with a layer of adorable, tempting pink.

Her mind could barely think. She only subconsciously bound that strange, funny-sounding term—"Spiritual Youth"—firmly together with Dai Huabin's face, twisted by extreme rage.

She did not dare turn back, or even make any unnecessary movement. She could only stiffly, almost moving her arms and legs on the same side together, follow Long Yao's steps into the classroom that had long since filled with new students and was now a little too quiet.

The instant the three of them walked into the classroom, the few scattered whispers that had still existed came to an abrupt stop. Everyone's gazes, like iron filings drawn by a magnet, all focused on them at once, in perfect unison.

Those gazes were complicated to the extreme. There was awe, curiosity, envy, jealousy... but even more than that, there was a From the Heart acknowledgment of the strong... and distance.

It was as if an invisible wall, named "strength and status," had already separated the three of them from the other forty-some new students.

Huo Yuhao still kept his eyes lowered, but his tightly clenched fists had unknowingly loosened long ago.

As for Wang Dong, she was like a frightened quail the entire time. She lowered her head and followed closely behind Long Yao, watching him from the corner of her eye as he walked to that familiar seat and sat down. Only then did she, like a puppet with a program already set, sit down beside him with stiff hands and feet.

The moment she sat down, she immediately turned her head toward the window, using her soft Pink Blue Short Hair to hide her burning side profile as she pretended to have developed a strong interest in the scenery outside. But her uncontrollably trembling eyelashes and her small hands, clenched so hard they had turned pale atop her knees, exposed the completely uncalmable surge in her heart, as if huge waves were crashing through it.

The entire classroom sank into a strange, ominous silence, like the calm before a storm.

Just then.

"Tap, tap, tap, tap..."

A crisp, regular sound of high heels striking the floor, filled with a cold metallic quality, came clearly from the corridor outside the classroom, drawing closer from afar.

That Voice seemed not to be striking the cold floor, but landing with perfect accuracy, again and again, on every new student's extremely tense heart!

The air in the classroom, already frozen solid, seemed to have the last trace of oxygen drained from it in that instant, becoming incomparably oppressive and heavy. Everyone subconsciously straightened their backs, held their breath, and did not even dare to breathe loudly.

She was here!

The devil was here!

The classroom door was pulled open from the outside with a swish.

Zhou Yi's tall, icy figure appeared in the doorway.

Today, she wore a black, well-tailored, tight-fitting long dress that outlined her mature and fiery figure to the fullest. But her beautiful face was covered in a layer of dark cloud colder and heavier than Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice.

She did not speak. She merely walked up to the podium with her unchanging, elegant yet oppressive steps. Her sharp, blade-like phoenix eyes were like two high-intensity searchlights, slowly sweeping inch by inch over the forty-seven young faces below that had turned deathly pale from tension.

When her gaze swept over Long Yao, it did not pause, as if he were merely an ordinary student.

When her gaze swept over Huo Yuhao, whose face was full of guilt, Huo Yuhao subconsciously shrank his neck.

When her gaze swept over Wang Dong, who was pretending to look at the scenery, Wang Dong's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

In the end, her gaze stopped on the podium. Her voice, like icicles in the depths of winter, smashed into the entire classroom word by word.

"It seems the punishment of one hundred laps yesterday was still too light for certain people."

Her voice was not loud, but it was filled with a chilling penetrative force that made the hearts of everyone in the class sink sharply!

"It seems some people are so energetic that first thing in the morning, they have the leisure to 'spar,' 'exchange pointers,' and 'deepen relations' with students from other classes on the road?"

She spoke the words "spar" and "exchange pointers," but the mockery and chilling coldness in her tone made every new student who knew what had happened feel cold air hissing up the backs of their necks.

It was over!

She really knew!

A bitter smile appeared on Huo Yuhao's face. He had known it. There was absolutely no hiding this petty matter from this Devil Teacher, who could be called all-knowing.

Zhou Yi coldly looked at the faces below, each one silent as a cicada in winter. The corner of her mouth curved into an icy arc filled with danger.

"Very good. Since you all like 'exchanging pointers' so much, since you're so eager to 'fight,' then today, I'll satisfy you."

She suddenly slapped the podium. The crisp sound of "smack" made everyone subconsciously shudder.

"The content of this morning's class is very simple!"

"—New Student Competition!"

"All classes will undergo an unrestricted melee. With each class as a unit, there will be 2v2 team battles. Each class will send out two representatives, draw lots at random, and fight. The team that loses will be eliminated directly. And in the end, the class that can stand until the very end will receive..."

She paused. For the first time, a trace of Blazing Light flashed through those icy phoenix eyes.

"...will receive a reward of a fifty percent increase in all cultivation resources for the next three months! In addition, the guidance teacher of the winning class will personally lead them to the Outskirts of Star Dou Forest to hunt for their next Spirit Ring!"

Boom—!!!!!!

The moment this reward was announced, the entire silent classroom instantly exploded!

In the eyes of every new student, unprecedented greed and desire erupted, burning to the extreme!

A fifty percent increase in cultivation resources?!

Their guidance teacher personally leading them to hunt for a Spirit Ring?!

For new students like them, who had just entered school and lacked resources the most, this was simply the greatest temptation under the heavens! If they could obtain this reward, they would instantly leave the students of the other classes behind and win right at the starting line!

In an instant, everyone forgot the fear and tension from just now. What replaced them was intense Fighting Spirit that was almost boiling over!

Zhou Yi looked with satisfaction at the Students' reactions below the stage. This was exactly the effect she wanted! She wanted to use the most direct, cruelest competition to grind these so-called geniuses into true, bloodthirsty wolves!

"Now," her voice rang out again, this time carrying an unquestionable command, "I'll give you ten minutes to discuss among yourselves and choose... two students to represent our First Year Class One in battle."

After saying that, her gaze drifted, almost imperceptibly and very slowly, to the Black-Haired Youth sitting by the window, calm-faced from beginning to end, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

The meaning in that look was self-evident.

"Then it'll be Wang Dong and me," Long Yao said with almost no hesitation.

That earth-shattering sentence boomed like a thunderclap out of nowhere in the classroom, which was so quiet one could hear a pin drop. In an instant, everyone's eyes locked like searchlights onto the composed Black-Haired Youth who had just stood up.

If Zhou Yi's earlier words had been like throwing a boulder into a calm lake, stirring up towering waves named "desire" and "fighting spirit," then Long Yao's crisp, decisive, unquestionable declaration was like dropping a sea-calming pillar into those chaotic waves!

In an instant, all the noise, all the discussion, all the restless stirring came to an abrupt halt.

The first to react was none other than the "Devil Teacher" on the podium, whose face had been as still as deep water from beginning to end.

The moment Long Yao's voice sounded, an astonishing, blazing brilliance suddenly burst from Zhou Yi's cold, sharp phoenix eyes!

This was what she wanted!

What she wanted was exactly this domineering confidence of "if not me, then who"! It was exactly this sense of responsibility, this courage to shoulder the honor and duty of the entire class alone!

Shrek Academy had never lacked so-called geniuses. What it lacked were true leaders who could lead geniuses to victory!

And the youth before her, from his stunning command during yesterday's punishment run, to his effortless handling of today's conflict, to this moment when he stepped forward without the slightest hesitation—the steadiness and boldness he displayed, far beyond his age, had completely conquered her heart, picky to the extreme though it was!

On her eternally unchanging icy face, even the lines seemed to soften slightly. She did not immediately agree, but slowly shifted her gaze to the pink-blue-haired "youth" still sitting in her seat, clearly somewhat at a loss because of this sudden turn of events.

The meaning of that silent question was self-evident.

—He had already made his decision. Then what about you?

At that moment, Wang Dong felt as if her heart was about to leap out of her throat!

She could clearly feel forty-six gazes from the whole class, along with the most oppressive line of sight from the podium, falling on her like something tangible!

Her mind went blank.

Should she go?

Together with him?

Represent the entire class? Face every powerful enemy? Fight for that supreme honor?

In an instant, her blood seemed to ignite! That innate pride and competitiveness from a princess of the God Realm, from the Goddess of Light Butterfly Martial Soul, was completely awakened in that moment! Almost subconsciously, she was about to stand up and loudly tell everyone that she, Wang Dong, would never be inferior to anyone!

But in the instant before she moved, that soft question that had sounded beside her ear, filled with trust and utter naturalness, flowed through her whole body like the warmest stream, instantly calming the surging tide of emotion that had boiled up from excitement.

"Do you want to go?"

He... was asking me.

He wasn't making the decision for me.

He was... respecting my wishes.

That realization miraculously settled Wang Dong's wildly pounding heart.

She raised her head, meeting the complicated gazes of all her classmates, meeting Zhou Yi's scrutinizing line of sight. In the end, her gaze landed on the back figure standing quietly there, as if waiting for her, giving her an endless sense of security.

Slowly, she stood up from her seat.

She did not speak. She merely straightened her back, which was not particularly strong, yet at this moment seemed incomparably firm. In her beautiful sapphire-like eyes, there was no longer the slightest trace of confusion or shyness. In its place was a clear and resolute high fighting spirit that belonged to a warrior!

A simple action of standing up.

A firm gaze that did not shrink back in the slightest.

This was her reply!

"Good!!!"

The others also let out long breaths of relief, and from-the-heart, gratified smiles appeared on their faces. He knew that sending these two into battle was the strongest, and only, choice for their First Year Class One! Their Martial Soul Compatibility of up to ninety-nine percent was their strongest trump card, enough to sweep aside everything!

Huo Yuhao remained silent, but beneath his lowered eyes, there flickered a faint smile that even he himself did not notice.

And when the other students saw Wang Dong stand up as well, the last trace of doubt and unwillingness in their hearts completely vanished. In its place was a strong, almost boiling anticipation and trust!

"Long Yao! Wang Dong!"

"Do your best! You have to win!"

"The honor of our First Year Class One depends on you!"

No one knew who shouted first, but immediately afterward, the entire classroom was completely drowned beneath a mountain-shouting, sea-roaring wave of cheers filled with trust and entrustment!

On the podium, Zhou Yi looked at this unprecedentedly united, high-spirited scene below, then at the two youths standing side by side like two unsheathed sharp swords. In her cold phoenix eyes, the satisfaction could no longer be concealed.

"Very good."

She slowly spoke, her voice not loud, yet clearly pressing down over all the shouting and cheering.

"Since you have already made your decision, then I, representing First Year Class One, accept this result."

Her gaze finally fixed on Long Yao and Wang Dong, and her voice became more solemn and serious than ever before.

"I don't care what methods you use, and I don't care who your opponents are. I only want... one result."

"—Victory!"

"Do you understand?!"

"Yes!" Long Yao and Wang Dong answered in unison, giving the loudest reply they could!

The two voices—one steady and confident, the other clear and resolute—wove together and echoed through the entire classroom, filled with a power that made hearts submit.

Time: Douluo Calendar Year 2030 Season: Autumn Second day after enrollment Morning 9:15

Location: Shrek Academy, Central Plaza

Audience: 499,916

Equipment: Shrek Academy Uniform x1, True Vast Sea Ring (Divine Artifact), Student Emblem x1

Items: Shrek Academy Uniform x1, Student Emblem x1, Dormitory Key x1

First Martial Soul: Soul Breaking Spear [Traits: Armor Breaking, Soul Devouring, Penetration]

Second Martial Soul: Chaos Holy Dragon (Hidden) [Traits: Strength, Time, Space]

Soul Power: Level 45 (Soul Ancestor) [Status: True Vast Sea Ring Shielding, External Perception is Level 24]

Soul Rings: [Soul Breaking Spear] First Soul Ring (Yellow Hundred-Year), Second Soul Ring (Purple Thousand-Year), Third Soul Ring (Black Ten-Thousand-Year), Fourth Soul Ring (Black Ten-Thousand-Year)

[Chaos Holy Dragon] First Soul Ring (Black Thirteen-Thousand-Year), Second Soul Ring (Black Twenty-Eight-Thousand-Year), Third Soul Ring (Black Forty-Six-Thousand-Year), Fourth Soul Ring (Rose Gold Hundred-Thousand-Year)

Spirit Skills: [Soul Breaking Spear] First Spirit Skill: Swift Shadow Stab, Second Spirit Skill: Whirlwind Spear, Third Spirit Skill: Armor Breaking Spiral, Fourth Spirit Skill: Thousand Spirit Spear Rain

[Chaos Holy Dragon] First Spirit Skill: Star Ring, Second Spirit Skill: Holy Dragon Claw, Third Spirit Skill: Void Claw, Fourth Spirit Skill: Time and Space Roar

Soul Bones: None

Soul Spirit: None

Tip Storage: [Million-Year Spirit Beast Inverse Scale] x1, [Starlight Sapphire Brooch] x1, [Tsundere Princess Strategy Manual Platinum Edition] x1, [God-Bestowed Soul Ring] x1, [Spring of Life] x1, [Calming Incense] x1, [Dragon Blood Body Tempering Pill] x10, [Space Storage Bracelet] x1, [God King Level Space Law Comprehension Crystal] x1, [Super Divine Artifact: Time and Space Wheel Fragment] x1, [God King Godhead] x1