Ability and Aptitude Were Completely Unrelated

After Hu Liena stopped clapping, the other students finally did as well.

"Alright, Long Yu, find yourself a seat first," Teacher Jun said.

"Mm, alright, Teacher," Long Yu nodded.

He then walked down to look for an empty seat.

The classroom was spacious, with desks arranged in rows of three pushed together.

"Junior Brother, sit here," Hu Liena called, waving to him.

Hu Liena's seat was near the upper middle of the classroom, the equivalent of the "top student zone" in the classrooms Long Yu had studied in back on Earth.

With so many people watching, Long Yu could hardly refuse his senior sister's invitation. He walked over. There was another seat to Hu Liena's right, while the seat on her left was empty.

The man on her right was exceptionally handsome, with sharp eyes. The Soul Power fluctuations emanating from him were no weaker than Hu Liena's, and on closer inspection, he bore some resemblance to her.

Xie Yue, Hu Liena's older brother and a member of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation.

Long Yu then sat down beside Hu Liena under the "friendly" stares of the male students.

Long Yu felt a chill coming from behind him and instinctively turned around.

Fiery red hair, an unruly air, and a coldness radiating from his well-defined features.

Damn, isn't that Yan, simp number two? I'm only six years old right now—what the hell is this supposed to be?

As for simp number one, that was naturally none other than Feng Xiaotian.

With a mindset like that, no wonder Hu Liena would never like you! Long Yu inwardly complained.

"Alright, students, continuing from where we left off: when it comes to soul ring configurations, age is not the most important factor. Compatibility is. I'd like to ask: when a Power Attack-type Soul Grandmaster with an Iron Armored Dragon Lizard martial soul breaks through to Soul Elder, how should they choose the age and type of soul beast? Give at least three possible choices. Which student can answer this question?" Teacher Jun continued the lesson before posing the question.

No one in the class spoke. The room was utterly silent.

Their soul rings had all been selected by their elders or people from Spirit Hall. How would they know? Besides, they had no interest in learning such theoretical knowledge.

"The Iron Armored Dragon Lizard martial soul possesses a trace of dragon bloodline. Its soul beast traits develop both strength and defense. If I were that Soul Grandmaster, I would use the third soul ring to enhance my strength. The best choice would naturally be an Iron Armored Dragon Lizard soul beast, which could potentially improve both aspects. However, considering that Iron Armored Dragon Lizards are rare, my top choices would also include an Iron Armored Bear, an Earth-Splitting Lizard, and a Great Strength Barbarian Bear. According to Spirit Hall records, the upper limit for a third soul ring is 1,760 years, but this varies according to the quality of the soul beast. The quality of Soul Power contained in soul rings differs, and these soul beasts are of relatively high quality. I would recommend around 1,500 years, provided that the soul master's physical constitution is strong enough," Long Yu said clearly, word by word. He happened to be quite familiar with information on Iron Armored Dragon Lizards, so it came in handy today.

The entire class fell silent.

A moment later, Hu Liena began clapping, her eyes shining as she looked at Long Yu. Teacher Jun joined in, followed by the other students.

"You're absolutely right. Your analysis was very thorough," Teacher Jun said, looking at Long Yu in astonishment.

These students had never valued theoretical knowledge, but Teacher Jun had been unable to do anything about it.

"Alright, let's continue the lesson. Regarding martial souls..." Teacher Jun resumed teaching.

"Wow, Junior Brother, you're amazing! You know all that?" Hu Liena looked at Long Yu in utter amazement.

Gifted and knowledgeable.

My junior brother is incredible! The morning consisted of theory lessons, mainly covering soul beasts and soul skills. Most students showed little interest, though Teacher Jun had long grown accustomed to it.

Long Yu was the only one listening attentively and taking notes, occasionally comparing them with the notes Bibi Dong had given him.

Yet the more he read, the more impressed Long Yu became by those notes.

As expected of the cultivation insights of the current Pope—they truly were extraordinary, billions of times better than Yu Xiaogang's Ten Great Martial Soul Core Competencies.

Hu Liena, on the other hand, was bored and occasionally looked over at her junior brother. He really was adorable.

The morning class ended quickly, and several students gathered around.

"Long Yu, what's your relationship with Hu Liena? I'm Nana's older brother, Xie Yue. Your performance today was truly astonishing," Xie Yue, who had been sitting beside him, came over and greeted Long Yu.

"Hello. I'm His Holiness the Pope's newly accepted disciple, so I'm her junior brother," Long Yu stood up and said.

Xie Yue drew in a breath. "Then you really are impressive."

Back then, Xie Yue had also tried to become His Holiness the Pope's disciple, only to be rejected by Bibi Dong without hesitation.

"I just got lucky," Long Yu said somewhat sheepishly. Hu Liena also eagerly introduced Long Yu to her brother, telling him just how outstanding her junior brother was.

Watching the three of them chat so happily made Yan feel deeply uncomfortable, and he walked over to Long Yu.

"Nana, why didn't you introduce this junior brother to me too?" Yan forced a smile as he spoke.

"You? Why should I tell you? He's my junior brother, not yours. Watch what you say, or His Holiness the Pope won't be happy if she finds out," Hu Liena said impatiently upon seeing that irritating Yan again.

"Nana, watch how you speak," Xie Yue hurriedly said.

Although Xie Yue knew his sister disliked Yan, he still had a fairly good relationship with him.

"Hmph!" Seeing her brother speak up, Hu Liena no longer wanted to say anything, though she still found Yan extremely irritating.

"Hello, my name is Yan. I'm Nana's friend. I'm thirteen years old, level 35, and my martial soul is the Flame Lord." Yan seemed accustomed to Hu Liena's attitude. He extended his hand toward Long Yu, a trace of hostility flashing through his eyes.

After all, they were classmates. Since Long Yu had only just arrived, it would not have been appropriate for him to refuse outright.

He then held out his small hand and said, "Hello, Long Yu."

"Hm? Why didn't you state your Soul Power Level and martial soul? Are you looking down on me? I challenge you—do you dare fight me? Whoever loses has to stay away from Nana, even if you're Nana's junior disciple!" Yan said arrogantly.

As one of the members of the Spirit Hall Golden Generation, Yan was extremely confident in his own strength. He thought he could beat this little junior disciple with one hand.

"That's enough, Yan. Can you have some shame? You're already sixteen, while my junior disciple isn't even seven yet. And you have the nerve to challenge him? If you're so capable, why don't you challenge my teacher instead?" Hu Liena was getting angry as well.

Hu Liena had a very favorable impression of this little junior disciple. Besides, she had promised her teacher that she would protect him properly.

As for Long Yu's Soul Power Level, Hu Liena had learned yesterday that it was Level 26. As for his martial soul, the Nine-Colored Dragon, she had never heard of it.

Although dragon-type martial souls were generally very powerful, Yan's martial soul was the Flame Lord, an ancient martial soul that was also exceptionally formidable.

On top of that, Yan's Soul Power Level was nearly ten levels higher than Long Yu's, so Hu Liena felt that Long Yu had little chance of winning.

"Only seven years old? How did you get into the advanced class? Was it just because of your status?" Yan said disdainfully.

Of course, he did not dare mention His Holiness the Pope directly. He still had some sense.

"Are you done yapping? You're seriously annoying.

First of all, who my senior sister chooses to be with is her own right. She isn't an object, a gift, much less a wager. You're a very unpleasant person.

And besides, this isn't even a match yet, so why should I reveal my Soul Power Level and martial soul? When my senior sister's brother, Xie Yue, greeted me, did he give me all that information?" Long Yu said with a frown.

Was something wrong with this guy's brain? He saw everyone as a threat!

If my senior sister could ever fall for you, I, Long Yu, would wash my hair upside down!

"You... forget all that. Just answer me—do you dare settle this with your fists?" Yan realized that he had been somewhat rash.

But he had liked Hu Liena since childhood and had always pursued her, only without any results.

Fortunately, aside from her brother Xie Yue, Hu Liena had never been close to any other man. Yan felt that was fine—at the very least, he still had a chance.

But Long Yu's sudden appearance today gave him a tremendous sense of crisis. Though the boy was very young, the way Hu Liena looked at him was clearly different.

Several times, her gaze had drifted toward Long Yu, whether intentionally or not, and it made Yan extremely unhappy! Your reasoning might be impressive, but Douluo Continent valued strength! And I, Yan, had the strength to crush you! Let Nana see just how vast the difference between us was!

After so many years of knowing her, Yan could still tell.

"I accept your challenge, but I won't accept your wager.

Strength has nothing to do with talent!" Long Yu found Yan irritating as well.

He had disliked this guy even in the original story, and now he disliked him even more.

He would also let the whole class see the strength of His Holiness the Pope Bibi Dong's disciple, and bring some honor to his teacher!

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