A Classic Among Classics: Those Who Dare Not Court Trouble Are Mediocrities!
Zhou Yi's gaze slowly swept across every young face in the classroom.
But the way he scrutinized the new students lacked the gentleness and tolerance that a teacher should have when first meeting a student.
There was only scrutiny, and an undisguised, almost disgusted, critical eye.
After a moment, she spoke.
His voice was hoarse and deep, like sandpaper rubbing against rust, each word carrying a rough, scratching sensation on the eardrums.
"My name is Zhou Yi, and I am the homeroom teacher of Class 1."
"You're unlucky to be assigned to my class."
"Because in my system, no amount of garbage can pass the test."
Her gaze swept across the entire room again, as if to confirm the rapidly fading color on every face and the slight contraction of their pupils.
"What I want to cultivate are true monsters."
She emphasized the word "monster" with extreme force, with an almost morbid obsession.
"Not an idiot."
Quiet.
The entire classroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Even their breathing was deliberately suppressed, to the point that it was almost inaudible.
Dozens of young men and women, who had just gathered here from all over the country as geniuses, were now frozen in place, like fledglings with their throats being choked, silent as cicadas in winter.
As Zhou Yi observed these reactions, her wrinkled face remained unmoved, but a barely perceptible hint of satisfaction flickered deep in her eyes.
This is exactly the effect she wanted.
Awe, fear, and obedience.
This was the Qidian Zhou Yi's teaching career.
"At most only half of you will be able to advance to the second year this year."
Finally, someone couldn't help but gasp, the faint hissing sound unusually clear in the deathly silent classroom.
Zhou Yi ignored her and abruptly changed the subject. "Those who have been in fights at the academy during these registration days, stand up."
Inside the classroom, the freshmen looked at each other, their eyes filled with surprise and confusion.
School just started, and I never expected that the first question my homeroom teacher would ask would be this.
Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered slightly, still unsure of what Teacher Zhou was up to.
On the day he registered, he did indeed take on dozens of opponents by himself at the Academy East Gate.
He stood up calmly, his posture upright, and met Zhou Yi's scrutinizing gaze with a composed look.
Beside him, Wang Dong bit his lower lip.
He recalled the moment last night when he lunged at Huo Yuhao and instantly lost consciousness. Did that count as fighting? It probably did, right?
After all, he did make a move, but he didn't even have a chance to touch the other party...
He stole a glance at Huo Yuhao's upright profile, and then, as if in a fit of pique, he abruptly stood up as well.
Zhou Yi didn't urge her; she just waited quietly.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
No one else stood up.
Finally, Zhou Yi let out a short, cold snort.
"Just two?"
Her voice suddenly rose, sharp with a hint of disappointment. "A bunch of good-for-nothings!"
"Those who dare not cause trouble are mediocre; haven't you heard the saying?"
She slammed her hand on the podium, the dull thud of her withered palm striking the wooden surface sending shivers down the spines of the students in the first row.
"With your cowardly behavior, you dare to apply to the Shrek Academy? You dare to call yourselves Soul Master?"
Her gaze, sharp as a poisoned knife, swept across the room. "You might as well pack your bags and go home!"
The classroom remained deathly silent.
But in that silence, there was no longer just simple fear.
Some felt ashamed, some were indignant, some gritted their teeth, and some clenched their fists.
Huo Yuhao was also taken aback upon hearing this. He had thought that Shrek Academy ten thousand years later was already arrogant and bizarre enough.
He thought things would have been better ten thousand years ago, but he never expected his homeroom teacher to give him such a shock on the first day of school.
It turns out that it wasn't just Shrek ten thousand years later that got sick; it turns out that the teachers at the Shrek Academy ten thousand years ago taught their students in this way.
He suddenly understood.
I've come to understand what it means for those above to influence those below, and what it means for deeply ingrained problems to be difficult to reverse.
The reason Shrek Academy became like that ten thousand years later was not due to a sudden decline, but rather the seeds were sown from this very moment.
Zhou Yi's lips twitched slightly, about to continue her thoroughly satisfying show of force.
"Teacher."
A clear voice, neither too loud nor too soft, steadily interrupted the words she was about to utter.
"I disagree with that statement."
It was Huo Yuhao who spoke.
He stood there, meeting Zhou Yi's suddenly sharp gaze.
"If you provoke an even more powerful being, that's not bravery, that's just asking for trouble."
His enrollment in the Shrek Academy does not mean he will accept the erroneous ideas taught there!
Dozens of eyes turned to that straight back, some in surprise, some in worry, and some with a hint of anticipation—a feeling that had been suppressed for too long and had suddenly been broken through...
Zhou Yi's face darkened visibly.
"You've provoked an even more powerful being?" She enunciated each word clearly, then sneered, "That only proves... you're too weak."
Huo Yuhao was speechless upon hearing this.
This isn't an explanation; it's pure sophistry, utterly illogical!
He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but Zhou Yi did not give him a chance to speak.
"In my class..." her voice suddenly rose. "All you have to do is obey!"
The withered hand slammed onto the podium once more.
"No one... can question me!"
Before he could finish speaking...
A powerful surge of Soul Power, like a tangible giant wave, erupted from her seemingly hunched body!
Two yellow, two purple, and two black Soul Ring swirled and rose from beneath her feet.
The Soul Power fluctuations at the Soul Emperor level were like an invisible mountain, relentlessly crushing down on the entire classroom.
The students in the front row, whose Soul Power was still shallow, felt a tightness in their chests, their breathing suddenly became rapid and difficult, their faces turned pale, and their lips trembled slightly.
This is not a demonstration, this is repression.
With an absolute disparity in strength, we crush any potential resentment.
However, Huo Yuhao, the core target of this Soul Emperor's pressure, remained calm at this moment.
Even, deep within his eyes, a glimmer of light, almost imperceptible, flashed by.
Almost at the same instant, four Soul Ring rose up from beneath his feet!
Two purple, two black.
A deep purple light intertwined with a solemn black color, and an aura suddenly erupted from him!
It collided head-on with Zhou Yi's Soul Emperor aura with overwhelming force!
Two invisible forces collided violently in the center of the classroom, causing the air to distort and ripple visibly, and the desks and chairs to creak and tremble slightly.
They were evenly matched, neither giving an inch!
The classroom was deathly silent.
Dozens of eyes stared wide-eyed, as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.
We are all freshmen who just enrolled today, wearing the same white school uniforms and sitting in the same classroom.
They simply couldn't understand it. They were only Soul Master with one or two rings, while Huo Yuhao, who was the same age, was already Four-Ring Soul Ancestor.
And that Soul Ring configuration—two purple and two black?!
Is this the kind of Soul Ring a human should have? Am I dreaming?
On the podium, a hint of shock flashed in Zhou Yi's eyes, followed by a solemn expression.
She certainly sensed it; Huo Yuhao, this Soul Ancestor, was already no weaker than her, this Soul Emperor, in terms of sheer aura.
Zhou Yi has been teaching for over a decade and has seen countless geniuses.
But those so-called geniuses are no match for Huo Yuhao!
Without a doubt, Huo Yuhao is a real Little Monster!
Zhou Yi should have been happy that a real Little Monster had emerged in the class.
However... Zhou Yi's gaze grew increasingly cold.
Because this Little Monster is currently standing on the opposite side of her.
Unwilling to submit, defiant.
They even dared to defy her on the very first day she established her authority, right in front of the whole class.
That won't do!
If this can't be suppressed today, who in this classroom will respect Zhou Yi in the future?
Her rules, her authority, and her effective, iron-fisted educational methods will all become a joke.
"Not bad," Zhou Yi's voice was low and unreadable, "But that's no reason for you to be arrogant."
Huo Yuhao met her gaze and said calmly, "A teacher using power to intimidate others... is not a means of imparting knowledge and teaching."
The air froze again.
Zhou Yi's pupils suddenly contracted, and the long-suppressed anger beneath her feigned aged face finally tore through the surface calm.
The classroom was completely silent.
Everyone seemed to have forgotten to breathe.
They looked at Zhou Yi, then at Huo Yuhao, their hearts pounding and blood rushing, unsure whether they were gripped by fear or ignited by some kind of expectation.
The first class of the Freshman Class One at the Shrek Academy plummeted to rock bottom in a way no one had anticipated.