Old Hag Zhou Yi, Dai Yu: What's a Soul Emperor?! (Seeking Reads!)

He pushed open the door to Class One's classroom.

The spacious room was already filled with quite a few people.

The classroom, which had been somewhat noisy, fell into a strange silence the moment the two walked in.

Dai Yu's expression was calm as he swept his gaze across the room, quickly spotting Huo Yuhao in a corner, waving at him.

"Yu Ge! Over here!"

Huo Yuhao called out excitedly, with two empty seats deliberately left beside him.

Dai Yu nodded and walked over with Wang Dong.

"Zhou Yi will be here soon."

Dai Yu sat down next to Huo Yuhao, thinking to himself.

At that thought, Dai Yu couldn't help but feel a bit of anticipation, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

He wondered if, faced with absolute power and backing, Zhou Yi could still be so arrogant.

Before long, an old woman appeared beside the lectern.

Her skin was wrinkled like a chicken's, her hair white as snow, and her face deeply lined.

She wore a long gray robe and held a walking stick, which she thumped heavily on the floor.

"Thump!"

The entire class of one hundred students fell silent instantly, their gazes shifting nervously to Zhou Yi.

The infamous "Old Aunt" of Shrek's Outer Court.

Zhou Yi swept her cold gaze across the room: "My name is Zhou Yi, and I am your Head Teacher.

I'm not sure how many of you will make it through this first year with me.

But let me make this clear: in my class, I don't need trash.

Nor do I need useless bookworms."

At these words, the class erupted in uproar.

Many students wore indignant expressions.

Those who had managed to get into Shrek were all prodigies in their hometowns.

Being called trash to their faces—who could take that?

"What? Not convinced?"

Zhou Yi sneered, and her Soul Emperor pressure exploded instantly, enveloping the entire classroom.

"If you're not convinced, then get lost! Shrek Academy has no shortage of geniuses!"

Under this pressure, most of the students turned pale and fell silent like cicadas in winter.

Even Wang Dong's expression shifted slightly, clearly not expecting this unremarkable old woman to be so strong.

Yet Dai Yu, sitting in the front row, remained completely calm, even lazily shifting to a more comfortable position.

This bit of pressure was nothing compared to the primal aura of the Million-Year White Tiger Saint Beast in his Sea of Awareness—a mere drop in the ocean.

Zhou Yi keenly caught Dai Yu's reaction, a flicker of surprise flashing in her eyes, but she quickly masked it.

She withdrew her pressure and spoke again, throwing out the classic question:

"In the past few days, has anyone fought? Or been beaten up? Anyone who's thrown a punch, stand up!"

The classroom fell into dead silence.

Most students shrank their necks, terrified of being targeted by this twisted teacher.

Dai Yu didn't hesitate for a moment and stood up directly.

"Yu Ge..."

Huo Yuhao instinctively looked at Dai Yu.

After all, Dai Yu had fought for his sake.

Just as Huo Yuhao hesitated over whether to stand up too, Wang Dong beside him was taken aback.

He hadn't fought at all.

But seeing Dai Yu already standing, a strange sense of "refusing to lose" and "following the crowd" made her feel that sitting down was shameful.

And so, the tsundere Wang Dong, hesitating and dawdling, also stood up.

Huo Yuhao stood up firmly as well.

Share the all-nighter, share the hardship!

The entire classroom, a hundred people.

Only the three of them were standing.

It looked especially conspicuous.

"Just three?"

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow, her gaze cutting like a blade as it fell on the three:

"A bunch of trash.

A Soul Master who dares not stir up trouble is a mediocrity!

Everyone except the three of them—get out!

Run a hundred laps around Shrek Plaza!

Anyone who can't finish it, expelled on the spot!"

"What?!"

"On what grounds!"

"This isn't fair!"

The classroom instantly erupted like a boiling pot.

Punished for not fighting? What kind of bandit logic was this?

A few bold male students even stood up to protest directly.

"Teacher, I don't accept this!

Was it wrong to follow the rules?"

Zhou Yi coldly stared at the one who stuck his neck out:

"Don't accept it?

Because I say so!

Don't want to run?

Fine, get out of my class!"

That tough and domineering attitude directly cowed everyone.

Though the group of students was full of grievances, to avoid expulsion, they could only hang their heads and trudge out.

Soon, the vast classroom was left with only Dai Yu's trio and Zhou Yi at the podium.

Zhou Yi slowly walked up to the three, her gaze first sweeping over Huo Yuhao, then Wang Dong, and finally settling on Dai Yu.

She could sense that among these three, this black-haired youth was the leader.

"Talk. Why did you fight?"

Zhou Yi's voice betrayed neither anger nor pleasure.

Huo Yuhao was just about to explain when Dai Yu cut in first, speaking calmly:

"Saw him and didn't like it, so I made a move.

In a Soul Master's world, the strong rule.

Since he dared to provoke, I dared to crush.

Is that reason enough?"

Dai Yu's words were calm, yet carried a streak of arrogance.

There was none of that cowering submissiveness one would expect before a teacher.

Wang Dong, standing nearby, was dumbfounded.

This guy, even in front of the teacher, was this showy?

Wasn't he afraid this old hag would slap him dead on the spot?

Zhou Yi was also taken aback for a moment.

In all her years of teaching, she had seen plenty of troublemakers, but someone as "righteous" and "cocky" as Dai Yu was truly rare.

"The strong rule?

Crush?"

Zhou Yi narrowed her eyes, suddenly stepping forward, unleashing the aura of a Soul Emperor once again—

This time, it was focused solely on Dai Yu!

"Kid, how old are you? How dare you speak of being a strong one? In my presence, do you think you're worthy of talking about crushing?"

Terrifying Soul Power fluctuations crashed toward Dai Yu like a tsunami. Even Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, merely caught in the aftermath, found it hard to breathe and their legs went weak. But Dai Yu, at the very center of the storm, didn't even have a wrinkle in his clothes.

The White Tiger Martial Soul within him trembled faintly, and a fierce, murderous aura from an ancient sacred beast flickered in the depths of his eyes. It was the sharpness of Extreme Gold, the proud backbone of the Slaughter Attribute!

Dai Yu lifted his head, meeting Zhou Yi's oppressive gaze directly, the corner of his mouth curling slightly: "Whether I'm worthy or not isn't decided by words, Teacher. If one doesn't even have the courage to face authority, then why cultivate as a Soul Master? Wouldn't it be safer to go home and farm?"

Their eyes locked. The air seemed to freeze solid.

Zhou Yi stared hard at Dai Yu, trying to find fear or retreat in his eyes. But she failed. In those deep, dark pupils, there was only calm—and a hint of... mockery?

[Ding! Detected significant emotional shift in key character "Zhou Yi": surprise and appreciation.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have received a suppression reward: Soul Power control increased by 20%. Acquired passive skill: Intimidation (against targets with lower Spiritual Power than the Host, suppression effect is doubled).]

Hearing the system's prompt, Dai Yu felt a surge of satisfaction. Just as he thought—this Old Aunt was exactly the type to respond to this. The more you went along with her, the more she saw you as trash. But if you stood your ground, as long as you had the strength, she would actually look up to you instead.