Zu'an Grand Stage

"I'll take you to Heaven Character Class One first," Luo Chen said. After leading Gu Chen several hundred meters through Spirit Academy on foot, he entered Heaven Character Class One.

Though it was called a class, and one with only nine students at that, the classroom was already large enough to rival the conference hall of Gu Chen's school in his previous life.

There were seven people in Heaven Character Class One: five boys and two girls.

Seeing Luo Chen bring Gu Chen through the door, a seductive and gorgeous girl rose from behind a redwood desk and walked toward the entrance. Yet the disdain on her face did not match her beauty at all.

"You're the new Gu Chen, right? That wild brat from some backwater hole? Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Hu Liena, eighteen years old. My Spirit is the Heavenly Fox Spirit, and I'm a level forty-three control-system Battle Soul Master. I am loyal to the former Saintess, Bibi Dong—my teacher." Hu Liena was breathtakingly beautiful, but her arrogant expression made it impossible for others to feel any goodwill toward her.

When Hu Liena mentioned her loyalty to Bibi Dong, she deliberately emphasized her tone.

"I heard you're loyal to the Pope? Hehe~" Hu Liena burst into laughter and looked at Luo Chen. "Luo Chen, you really are the biggest waste in Heaven Character Class One. You actually became friends with someone loyal to the Pope."

Luo Chen protested, "What's wrong with being friends with him? His talent is even better than yours! Gu Chen is level forty at twelve. You're already eighteen, yet you're only at his level!"

At that moment, a sinister-looking man in the back row stood up. "So what if I, Xie Yue, am level forty-three at eighteen? At least I'm better than a Soul Grandmaster like you. Don't you think so, dead last?"

In Heaven Character Class One, Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and the burly man Yan beside Xie Yue were all loyal to the former Saintess, Bibi Dong.

Meanwhile, a girl around thirteen years old and three boys aged sixteen or seventeen in another corner of the classroom remained neutral. They had not pledged loyalty to either Bibi Dong or Qian Xunji.

Although this kept them out of the factional struggle, it also meant they received far fewer cultivation resources than the others.

The three sixteen- and seventeen-year-old boys were only level thirty-seven or thirty-eight Soul Elders even now. As for the girl of around thirteen, she had relied on her own talent to cultivate to level thirty-six, the same realm as the three boys.

Luo Chen had told Gu Chen all this.

Of course, Luo Chen himself belonged to no faction either. Otherwise, he would not still be only level twenty-nine.

Gu Chen did not respond and simply walked deeper into the classroom.

Hu Liena raised an eyebrow at the sight. "What? Just as expected of a wild brat from some backwater hole. Are you so rude that you can't even answer when someone talks to you?"

Gu Chen turned around. "It's not that I look down on you. I just can't be bothered with you. If the teacher hadn't said not to throw trash around, I'd have tossed you out already. If you're sick, go get treated. Don't come looking for me—I'm not a veterinarian."

Ding-dong! Your friend Zu'an Gu Chen is now online!

"You!" She was clearly furious.

"Brat, are you courting death?" Xie Yue's expression darkened.

Gu Chen did not panic in the slightest. His expression remained unchanged as he shot back, "Do you think everyone in the world is your mother and has to indulge you everywhere? Don't think that just because you look rare, we should treat you as precious. Before I met you, I never knew I had such a bad habit of judging people by their looks."

"Very good, you've successfully caught my attention! You'll suffer during practical combat class later!" Xie Yue threatened darkly.

Gu Chen had once killed a Soul Emperor and seriously wounded even a Soul Douluo. Would he fear a mere Soul Ancestor before him? What a joke.

"Look at that serious face of yours, acting like you can actually understand human speech! There are so many idiots in this world, yet you somehow became the best among them. I only want to curse people, not curse you." Gu Chen continued spewing venom.

"A country bumpkin is still a country bumpkin, full of shit!" Hu Liena finally managed to squeeze out a retort.

Oh?

No one had dared trade barbs with him for a long time. It felt like being back in Zu'an!

A strange thrill of meeting a worthy opponent suddenly rose in Gu Chen's heart. "I don't understand why ropes get knotted when they're too long, but your tongue doesn't. Don't talk to me, because I can't understand you. In other people's eyes, arguing with a pig is a very stupid thing."

"Shut the hell up and sit down!" Yan, standing beside Xie Yue, slapped the table and roared as he rose to his feet.

"Why are you slapping the table? Oh, I get it. You must be picking out coffin boards for your mother?" Gu Chen spoke as if he had suddenly realized something. Even Luo Chen beside him thought he looked especially punchable right then.

At that moment, the classroom door opened again. An unfamiliar girl led Gu Yuena into the classroom. The unfamiliar girl had ash-gray hair cut to ear length. After entering, she did not say a word and appeared very quiet.

"This is my roommate, Feng Xiaoyu. She's thirteen. Her Spirit is the Hurricane Bird, and she's a level thirty-six, three-ring agility attack-system Battle Soul Elder. She currently belongs to no faction." Gu Yuena introduced her, then looked toward Luo Chen beside Gu Chen.

"This is my roommate, Luo Chen. He's twelve. His Spirit is fried rice, and he's a level twenty-nine food-system Soul Grandmaster." Gu Chen introduced him.

"System, inspect Feng Xiaoyu's character information," Gu Chen said.

"Ding!"

"System Character Panel:

Character: Feng Xiaoyu

Age: 13

Strength: 1000

Spiritual Power: 900

Bloodline: Human Bloodline 100%

Level: Level 37 Soul Elder

Spirit Rings: Yellow, Yellow, Purple

Loyalty: 16%

Overall Evaluation: A talented girl. Her attributes exceed those of Soul Masters at the same realm, and she has considerable potential for development.

"

Not bad.

"My name is Gu Chen." Gu Chen extended his hand toward Feng Xiaoyu, entirely lacking the arrogance he had shown Hu Liena earlier.

"Feng Xiaoyu." Feng Xiaoyu extended her hand. It touched Gu Chen's only briefly before she withdrew it. Her voice was cold and clear, like an icy spring.

"Gu Yuena." Seeing that Gu Chen was friendly toward Luo Chen, Gu Yuena also showed Luo Chen a trace of goodwill.

"Luo Chen." Luo Chen smiled cutely.

"Hey, don't ignore us!" Hu Liena and the others, who had been completely treated like background decorations, said angrily.

"Shut up!" Gu Yuena tilted her head, her gaze toward the three incomparably cold, like ten-thousand-year ice.

Hu Liena and the other two froze completely when they saw Gu Yuena's eyes.

All they could feel from Gu Yuena's pupils was a chilling cold that seized the soul, as though offending her would condemn them to fall into the Nine Netherworlds, beyond redemption for all eternity.

"All students of Heaven Character Class One, come out and gather at the training grounds for practical combat class." At that moment, a cold female voice sounded from the classroom entrance.

A female teacher with black hair draped over her shoulders stood there, holding a book. This was not an ordinary book, but her Spirit.

"You must be the new Gu Chen and Gu Yuena, right?" The female teacher looked at Gu Chen and Gu Yuena.

The two nodded.

"My name is Lucy Mei. You may call me Teacher Mei. I'm the homeroom teacher of Heaven Character Class One. My Spirit is the Magic Book, and I am a level sixty-nine Soul Emperor. For the next few years, I will be teaching you here," Lucy said.

More than ten minutes later, eleven people—seven boys and four girls—stood side by side at Spirit Academy's training grounds. Lucy stood directly before them.

"Two new students have joined us today. Introduce yourselves," Lucy said.

"My name is Hua Bu Luo. My Spirit is Cherry Blossom, and I'm a level thirty-seven control-system Battle Soul Elder," said the boy standing at the far left.

"My name is Xuan Mo. My Spirit is the Mountain Shattering Shield, and I'm a level thirty-six defense-system Battle Soul Elder," said the second boy.

"My name is Feng Ming. My Spirit is the Gilded Scepter, and I'm a level thirty-six support-system Tool Spirit Elder," said the third boy.

Next came the introductions of Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena. All three spoke with extreme arrogance, as if they alone reigned supreme over heaven and earth.

"Xue Youyou. My Spirit is the Ice Snow Sword, and I'm a level thirty-eight assault-system Battle Soul Elder." The girl revealed a stunning smile as she spoke.

After Xue Youyou came Luo Chen and Feng Xiaoyu, who had already introduced themselves earlier. Finally, it was Gu Chen and Gu Yuena's turn.

"Gu Chen. My Spirit is the Golden Dragon, and I'm a level forty-one assault-system Battle Soul Sect."

"Gu Yuena. My Spirit is the Seven-Colored Dragon, and I'm a level forty-one control-system Battle Soul Sect."

"Alright, release your Spirit Rings," Lucy told everyone.

A total of thirty-seven Spirit Rings rose into the air, but the rings floating behind Gu Chen and Gu Yuena left everyone stunned.

"Ten-thousand-year Spirit Rings? How is that possible?!" Hu Liena cried out.