Thanks, No Thanks, Not Next Time Either

"That's all for this morning's lesson. Make sure you eat properly at noon. Physical training begins this afternoon. Class dismissed. Qian Chaoguang, Huo Yutong, you two come to my office with me."

After saying that, Zhou Yi turned and left without any hesitation.

At this moment, the morning dismissal bell was still far from ringing.

She had no choice but to leave.

Qian Chaoguang had already covered everything for the first lesson of the school year. There was no point in her staying any longer; she had nothing left to teach.

Even after Zhou Yi walked out of the classroom, the room remained utterly quiet.

Yet the violently heaving breaths of most of the students proved that In Their Hearts, they were anything but calm. Their collective panting was so fierce that it seemed ready to suck all the air out of the classroom.

Qian Chaoguang pulled Huo Yutong to her feet and walked to the podium. Facing the silent students, he said softly:

"Well... from a personal standpoint, I'd like to offer a small suggestion. I sincerely hope none of you resist using Soul Tools, even if that may go against Shrek's traditional education. My forging teacher once taught me something—we are human, and the greatest difference between us and soul beasts is that we know how to use tools. Only good tools in the hands of a good blacksmith can forge good metal."

With that, Qian Chaoguang left with Huo Yutong.

Wang Dong's gaze as she watched Qian Chaoguang's retreating back flickered uncertainly.

Soul Tools...

Soul Tools!

In the corridor, Huo Yutong tugged at her brother's sleeve as she watched the decisive Zhou Yi ahead of them, then quietly asked:

"Brother, why do you think Teacher Zhou wants to see us?"

"She probably wants to know about our martial souls."

"Meow meow meow? How did you know?"

Huo Yutong was Face Full Of question marks as she looked up at him curiously.

Qian Chaoguang smiled. "Because we were the only two who didn't use our martial souls to assist us while running."

"Wow, Brother, you're so observant."

"Not really..."

The siblings followed Zhou Yi into the office beside the classroom.

Zhou Yi gestured for them to close the door, then walked behind her desk and sat down.

"I don't like wasting words. Your martial souls have made me curious, but I can't sense what they are. Now, I need an answer."

Huo Yutong turned to look at her brother, and Qian Chaoguang gave a slight nod.

"Teacher Zhou, my martial soul is the Spiritual Eye, a Spirit Attribute Body Martial Soul."

Upon hearing Huo Yutong's words, Zhou Yi was visibly delighted.

"Eyes?"

Huo Yutong nodded.

Suppressing the excitement In Her Heart, Zhou Yi looked at Qian Chaoguang with a hint of expectation in her eyes.

"What about you?"

Qian Chaoguang smiled faintly. Under Zhou Yi's stunned gaze, he lifted his shirt and pointed at the faintly glowing Extreme Ice Light on his chest.

"Here, take a look. This is my martial soul. I named it Extreme Ice Light. As for what it actually is... I Don't Know Either. That's why I came to Shrek. I came here because I wanted to figure out exactly what my martial soul is."

"This..."

Zhou Yi's breath caught.

Clearly, she Did Not Know either.

Other than being able to clearly feel the temperature in the office dropping, she could sense nothing else.

Zhou Yi looked at the ten-year Soul Ring beneath Qian Chaoguang's feet. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "May I know the effect of your First Soul Skill?"

"Of course. My First Soul Skill is called Light Mimicry."

As Qian Chaoguang answered, he extended his right hand. Zhou Yi's vision blurred, and a longsword condensed from Ice Blue Light appeared in his hand.

The blade was vaguely illusory, like a patch of poorly connected light and shadow.

Simply using Light Mimicry to condense a stable, tangible blade of light suitable for actual combat was still somewhat difficult for Qian Chaoguang.

"That's not all. I can also condense it into rays of light for long-range attacks, but the cost-effectiveness is a little low. I usually prefer to use a real weapon as a base and light as a supplementary means of attack. It's more straightforward that way. Besides, as you can see, my physical condition is quite strong."

"A highly versatile soul skill. I'll need to consult some materials before I can give you an answer about your martial soul. Don't worry, Shrek will tell you the secrets of Extreme Ice Light."

Zhou Yi barely managed to calm herself and offered a brief compliment.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

Qian Chaoguang nodded, holding no hope for this in his heart.

Even Qian Duoduo couldn't make sense of it. It would be truly absurd if Zhou Yi could figure it out.

Zhou Yi looked toward Huo Yutong again, deliberately softening her tone.

"Yutong, can you tell your teacher about your soul skills?"

Huo Yutong glanced at her brother once more. Only after receiving his confirmation did she answer, "My First Soul Skill is called Madness. It can make an enemy dizzy and disoriented for a short time, cause stabbing pain in their mind, and lead them to make incorrect judgments about the current situation."

Clearly, the little girl had withheld the latter half of Madness's effects, and Zhou Yi did not know it was a soul skill with dual effects.

"My Second Soul Skill is called Lock On. It can use Spiritual Power to lock onto one or more targets within my field of vision, ensuring that my next attack hits. If the gap between my Spiritual Power and my opponent's is too great, the chance of hitting will decrease, but it will never fall below fifty percent."

Upon hearing the effect of Huo Yutong's Second Soul Skill, Zhou Yi's pupils instantly contracted, and her emotions fluctuated wildly.

Lock On!

The next attack was guaranteed to hit?

What kind of bizarre skill was this!

After all, Spirit System Soul Masters were precious not only because they were difficult to cultivate, but also because their skills were too strange for ordinary soul masters to deal with.

Didn't this provide a direction for what her husband, Fan Yu, had mentioned last time about Spirit Attribute soul masters operating Soul Tools?

Huo Yutong's Lock On was a perfect match for the many long-range attack methods of Soul Engineers!

At that thought, Zhou Yi could no longer suppress the excitement in her heart.

"I heard that both of you want to become Soul Engineers?"

"Yes."

"Then come with me now. I'll take you—"

"Um, Teacher Zhou, please wait a moment."

Just as Zhou Yi's face lit up with delight and she prepared to take Huo Yutong—and Qian Chaoguang along with her—to the Soul Tool Department, Qian Chaoguang interrupted her.

This naturally made her extremely displeased, and she frowned deeply.

"Please look."

As he spoke, Qian Chaoguang took two Badges from his Storage Bracelet. They were the two that Qian Duoduo had given him before.

From the front, they appeared to be nothing more than two student Badges from the Soul Tool Department.

From the back, however, one could see a tiny Gold Soul Coin symbol, representing Vice Dean Qian of the Soul Tool Department, Qian Duoduo.

Upon seeing the two Badges, Zhou Yi's expression stiffened.

"Soul Tool Department Badges? Where did you get them?"

"When Xiao Tong and I enrolled, a teacher from the Soul Tool Department gave them to us. He told us to find him after school started but before classes were assigned. Today is the first day of school, so we haven't had the chance yet."

Qian Chaoguang remembered Qian Duoduo's words from when he enrolled and did not reveal his identity.

He had not even told Huo Yutong who Qian Duoduo was, only that an expert from the Soul Tool Department was prepared to teach the two of them about Soul Tools.

Of course, what he told Zhou Yi wasn't a lie.

A vice dean was also a teacher in the Soul Tool Department.

Zhou Yi did not doubt the authenticity of the Soul Tool Department Badges, nor did she take them to inspect the details.

Qian Chaoguang had no reason to deceive her about something like this, and no one would dare forge Shrek's insignia.

Not even that of the less-valued Soul Tool Department.

She feigned calm and sat back down.

"So you already have a teacher who values you. That explains it. Your understanding of Soul Tools is indeed unique. If someone from the Soul Tool Department handled your entrance test, it would be possible for you to have been reserved in advance. In that case, you may go back. Don't be late for class this afternoon."