Zhou Yi picked up Lin Yuan's paper and examined it carefully. Sure enough, after "Control System" was a line of small characters: "also Assault System." Her expression eased somewhat, but she still turned to Wang Dong with anger in her eyes. "I won't say anything about Huo Yu Hao. Her Martial Soul is the Spiritual Eye, so she can choose either support or control. But what about you, Wang Dong? You're clearly a Control-Assault System Battle Soul Master, so why did you write Control System?"
Wang Dong poked her head out from behind Lin Yuan, a trace of panic flashing through her pink-blue eyes. Forcing herself to remain calm, she said, "Teacher Zhou, please don't be angry. I think there's nothing wrong with me being a Control Battle Soul Master. Think about it—if I can control the entire battlefield with my attack power, wouldn't that count as control? Besides, I can fly and attack from a distance, so calling it battlefield control makes sense too, right?"
She couldn't exactly say that she had been in such a rush to peek at Lin Yuan's note that she missed the words "Assault System" and foolishly copied down "Control System."
Zhou Yi nearly laughed in exasperation. She shot Wang Dong a meaningful glare. "Don't think I don't know that you just don't want to be separated from Lin Yuan. If I call you foolish, you're still ranked second in cultivation in the class, so you can barely be called a genius. If I call you clever, you can be astonishingly dumb sometimes. When have you ever seen Assault Battle Soul Masters and Control Battle Soul Masters separated? Classes may be divided, but Assault and Control Battle Soul Masters are assigned together. Change it." As she spoke, she tossed the sheet of paper at Wang Dong.
Wang Dong hurriedly caught the paper. Looking down at the words "Control System," the tips of her ears quietly turned red. She secretly glanced at Lin Yuan, only to find him looking at her with an amused half-smile. She quickly lowered her head, picked up her pen, changed "Control System" to "Assault System," and handed the paper back to Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi snorted and turned her gaze toward the last person. "What about you, Xiao Xiao? If I remember correctly, your Martial Soul is the rare Soul Suppressing Cauldron among Tool Martial Souls. It can be considered a top-tier Tool Martial Soul. The Soul Suppressing Cauldron's main function is support, so why did you also write Control System?"
Hearing that, Xiao Xiao glanced at Lin Yuan before explaining, "Teacher Zhou, my Soul Suppressing Cauldron is a Mutated Martial Soul. It combines offense and defense, and it's called the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron. So, for the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron's abilities, I mainly chose offense and defense. But I have another Martial Soul that can handle both control and support."
"Twin Martial Souls?" Zhou Yi's pupils contracted sharply, her tone full of disbelief. She had taught at Shrek Academy for many years and seen countless geniuses, yet this talent that existed only in legends had actually appeared in one of her students.
She quickly walked over to Xiao Xiao, her sharp gaze carefully examining her as she tried to sense the aura of her second Martial Soul. After a long while, Zhou Yi slowly withdrew her gaze, her expression complicated. "No wonder you dared to write Control System. So you were hiding such a trump card. What is your second Martial Soul?"
Xiao Xiao answered softly, "The Nine Phoenixes Arrival Flute. It can use sound waves for control and support, and it can also release soul skills to weaken opponents."
Zhou Yi took a deep breath and suppressed the turmoil in her heart. Her gaze toward the four of them softened somewhat. "You four have given me quite a surprise. Lin Yuan's Elemental Dragon is compatible with both control and assault. Huo Yu Hao's Spiritual Eye is top-tier spiritual control. Wang Dong's assault abilities are top-tier, while Xiao Xiao has Twin Martial Souls and possesses offense, defense, support, and control. The Freshman Assessment may be your first assessment at Shrek Academy, but it will be very important for your future cultivation path. Only by achieving good rankings in the Freshman Assessment will you have a chance to appear on the academy's training roster. Among the students in this class, you are the ones I think most highly of. Work hard and strive for good results. Go on, return and adjust yourselves properly. I believe in your strength."
"Yes." The four answered in unison before leaving the classroom.
The moment they stepped outside, Xiao Xiao seemed to gather her courage. "Class monitor, can I talk to you?"
"Next time for sure. I'm going to eat now, or I'll starve to death." Lin Yuan smiled faintly and waved at Xiao Xiao.
Seeing the disappointment in Xiao Xiao's eyes, Huo Yu Hao smiled at her, and Xiao Xiao reluctantly returned the smile. They were all still very young, and their vague affection for the opposite sex mainly came from appearance. Lin Yuan's rejection left Xiao Xiao somewhat disappointed, but she did not overthink it. She merely encouraged herself in secret.
Before Lin Yuan had even finished speaking, he grabbed Wang Dong and quickly left, leaving only Huo Yu Hao and Xiao Xiao behind. Seeing Xiao Xiao's dejected expression, Huo Yu Hao scratched her head and awkwardly comforted her. "Don't mind it. Lin Yuan is just like that. Whenever it's time to eat, he gets anxious to get food. He didn't mean anything else."
Xiao Xiao forced a smile and nodded. "I know. He's the big eater of our academy." Though she said that, the disappointment in her eyes had not completely faded.
Huo Yu Hao did not linger either. She turned and headed outside the academy to sell grilled fish. If she had guessed correctly, Lin Yuan's "going to eat" meant he was waiting for her grilled fish.
As usual, Huo Yu Hao went to the cafeteria to buy prepared green fish, then headed straight for the academy gate. There were noticeably fewer people at the entrance today. Perhaps because the Freshman Assessment was approaching, most freshmen felt a sense of urgency and had stayed in their dormitories to cultivate diligently.
However, Huo Yu Hao's business was not affected. By the time she arrived, a line had already formed, with Lin Yuan and Wang Dong at the very front.
Lin Yuan leaned against a nearby tree trunk, his silver hair fluttering lightly in the wind as he idly played with a twig. Wang Dong stood in front of the grill, staring fixedly at the green fish that had yet to be cooked, her nose twitching slightly. Clearly, the aroma of grilled fish had already hooked her.
"Yu Hao, grill a few extra today. Little Dong'er and I are both hungry." Lin Yuan spoke with a smile, his voice carrying a hint of laziness.
Wang Dong immediately glared at him, but she did not refute the name "Little Dong'er." She merely added quietly, "Grill mine a little darker. I like the skin crispy."
Seeing how familiar the two were with each other, Huo Yu Hao nodded with a smile. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you're satisfied." As she spoke, she skillfully started the fire, skewered the green fish on grilling forks, and brushed them with special sauce, her movements smooth and practiced.
Just then, Xu San Shi, who was standing behind Lin Yuan and the others, tossed a silver coin to Huo Yu Hao. "Keep the change. Give me a big one."
Seeing this, Huo Yu Hao chuckled. "Big Brother Xu, you really come rain or shine!"
Three months had passed, and the unpleasantness between them had long since disappeared. Now that they met every day, they had become familiar with each other.
Xu San Shi grinned. "Who told me to get hooked on your fish? If I don't eat some every evening, dinner doesn't taste right. I've eaten plenty of grilled fish before, but none of them could control the heat as well as you do. Oh, right. I heard you're participating in the Freshman Assessment?"
Huo Yu Hao nodded. "Yes!"
Xu San Shi said, "Then you'd better work hard. Don't get eliminated, or I won't have anywhere to buy grilled fish."
Huo Yu Hao smiled and agreed. "Don't worry. I won't be eliminated." As she spoke, she turned the grilling fork. The surface of the green fish had already turned an enticing golden color, its fat sizzling as the aroma grew even richer.
"Little Xu." At that moment, a cold voice suddenly rang out.
At the sound of that voice, Xu San Shi shuddered violently. Huo Yu Hao saw a trace of fear in his eyes, but even more helplessness. The others behind Xu San Shi also instantly fell silent.
Lin Yuan, who was sitting at a small table beside Wang Dong, heard the voice as well. Unlike everyone else, though, he was somewhat speechless.
A woman emerged from the academy gate. The people waiting in line naturally parted to make way for her. They did not even dare look at her, all lowering their heads.
The newcomer was a red-clad woman with a tall, well-proportioned figure. Most striking were her slightly exaggerated curves. Her waist was extremely slender before flaring sharply at her hips, and her legs were straight. Yet no one could see her face clearly, as a red veil covered it. Still, from the outline of her eyes and brows, it was not difficult to tell that she was definitely a beauty.
Xu San Shi clearly knew Ma Xiao Tao. He turned around stiffly, but did not dare meet her eyes. Lowering his head slightly, he said, "Sister Xiaotao."
Ma Xiao Tao's gaze did not linger on Xu San Shi. She merely swept over him indifferently before passing over the crowd and landing directly on Lin Yuan in the distance. Her eyes beneath the veil carried a faint pink hue, holding a trace of curiosity and an almost imperceptible heat.
The last time the Evil Fire within her had erupted, it had been completely devoured, freeing her from the disturbance of her Martial Soul's evil aura for the following three months. But as time passed, the backlash of the Evil Fire gradually began to return. She had come to find Xu San Shi because his Mysterious Nether Turtle Martial Soul was currently the most outstanding water-attribute Martial Soul among the students, and she could use its power to suppress the Evil Fire within her.
For Xu San Shi, this process was actually a tempering like steel forged a hundred times, bringing only benefits. However, the process itself was exceptionally painful. That was why Xu San Shi wore such a miserable expression whenever he saw her. This was far from the first or second time he had been "tortured" this way.
Ma Xiao Tao's gaze lingered on Lin Yuan for a moment before she withdrew it and turned to Xu San Shi. "Little Xu, let's go."
Xu San Shi's face was bitter. "Sister Xiaotao, can you go a little easier today?"
Ma Xiao Tao gave him an indifferent glance, and Xu San Shi immediately changed his words. "No problem. I'm completely fine." As he spoke, he quickly stepped forward and made a gesture to lead the way for Ma Xiao Tao.
Ma Xiao Tao said nothing more and continued walking. As she passed Lin Yuan, she gave him another seemingly casual glance, her eyes carrying a trace of investigation, as though she wanted to find some clue on him about how he had suppressed the Evil Fire that day.
Holding a freshly grilled fish, Lin Yuan slowly tore off pieces of fish meat. His purple eyes were calm and unruffled, as if he had not noticed her gaze.
Wang Dong, however, frowned sharply. She moved closer to Lin Yuan and lowered her voice. "Why is she looking at you?"
"Maybe she thinks I'm handsome."
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