Zheng Li's hammer was already pressed against Su Yunqing's temple. How could she possibly fight back? And that wasn't even counting Xiao Nai.
Zheng Li didn't have much Soul Power left, either. If not for the golden light radiating from the golden ring, his pale face would have been visible by now.
The Soul Skill granted by the system's Soul Ring was called Light Sword. It condensed a large number of light swords and attacked a specific enemy from multiple angles.
This Soul Skill also consumed an enormous amount of Soul Power.
With his current Soul Power, he could only use it once. While fighting hand in hand with Xiao Nai, she naturally used his Soul Power.
In this situation, the Soul Skill's power was cut in half. Perhaps because of that, it consumed a little less Soul Power.
He had just barely managed to use it twice.
Still, the first time he used this Soul Skill, it gave Zheng Li a huge surprise.
He had to remember that while in the "Hand-in-Hand Combat" state, the Soul Skill's power was halved. Yet even at half strength, it had left Su Yunqing, a Soul Grandmaster, in such a sorry state.
"System, the Soul Skill you gave me is pretty good."
"Of course. Everything this system makes is top quality!" the system boasted.
"..."
"I lost."
Su Yunqing dismissed her Martial Soul and smiled brightly, not caring about winning or losing at all.
Hearing Su Yunqing's words, Zheng Li dispelled the golden hammer, but didn't dismiss his Martial Soul.
After all, if he dismissed his Martial Soul, he'd be completely naked!
Zheng Li was also glad his Soul Power hadn't run dry. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to maintain his "combat state," and he'd have ended up naked all the same!
Right in front of everyone in Class Five, too.
"I got lucky," Zheng Li replied with a smile.
But inwardly, he felt a little "shameless."
No matter how you looked at it, he and Xiao Nai counted as two people! And they'd only managed a narrow victory. If the fight had gone on a little longer, Zheng Li would have run out of Soul Power and lost.
"Was that adorable girl your Martial Soul?"
Su Yunqing asked the question that had been on her mind.
"I'll explain when we get back."
Zheng Li pointed toward the stands.
Their group was the last of the five teams still fighting. Now that the match was over, they couldn't keep occupying the arena.
On the way back to the stands, Zheng Li noticed everyone in class staring at him, as though paying their respects. Some looked doubtful, others puzzled, and some couldn't believe what they'd seen...
And a few looked as if they'd seen a ghost.
That was how it seemed to Zheng Li.
The corner of Zheng Li's mouth twitched. Was this really necessary? They hadn't looked this way when they saw Dai Huabin.
"Teacher, I have a question. Why did a girl burst out of that student—I forget his name? Doesn't that count as cheating?"
The boy who'd asked the question immediately regretted it. In the next instant, a whole lot of people were looking at him as if he were an idiot.
Shen Lan, the referee, the healing teacher, Ling Nan, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and the others.
If they could explain away the identical outfits, how would they explain Xiao Nai using the exact same Soul Skills? And how would they explain Zheng Li's Soul Ring lighting up when Xiao Nai used a Soul Skill?
Even so, Shen Lan stood up and said, "Zheng Li, since the others have questions, would you be willing to explain? Of course, I know that's an ability of your Martial Soul, so it's fine if you'd rather not."
Though she said that, Shen Lan was extremely curious.
A Martial Soul's abilities and a Soul Skill's capabilities were a Soul Master's private matters. Asking outright would clearly be rude.
Zheng Li frowned slightly and was silent for a moment before giving a brief explanation. "Spirit of Light. It has three combat states, more or less: fighting alone, either me or her, and then fighting together. We were fighting together just now."
After that, he returned to his seat beside Ling Nan. He didn't mention the Soul Skill's power, and there was no need to.
Once Zheng Li had explained, everyone in Class Five understood and began murmuring among themselves.
"Fighting alone, fighting together... What a strange Martial Soul. And setting aside the fact that it takes human form, it seems the platinum outfit ruined his uniform. Does that mean he'll be naked after dismissing his Martial Soul?"
Shen Lan shook her head slightly. Strange, and strange in the most troublesome way! It seemed she'd have to prepare a few extra uniforms for Zheng Li.
As a Spirit Emperor, she had a good eye for these things.
As soon as Zheng Li sat down, Ling Nan threw his arms around him.
"?!"
"Get off! I'm not into guys!" Zheng Li was still in combat state, so he was quite strong. He shoved Ling Nan away, sending him stumbling back several steps.
"A Li, you're so heartless. I just wanted to cling to a strong ally," Ling Nan said mournfully.
"...Talk properly. Why are you clinging to me?" Zheng Li rolled his eyes.
"Obviously, I need a reliable backer! Someone to keep a certain vicious little runt from bullying me!"
Ling Nan sneaked a glance at Su Yunqing.
"Hm?" Unfortunately, Su Yunqing caught him looking. "Dead cat! Are you asking for it?"
"I didn't say you. Do you always have to assume everything's about you?"
Ling Nan grinned.
"Zheng Li, don't stop me. I'm going to beat this dead cat to death today!"
"Don't worry. I won't stop you."
Zheng Li shot Ling Nan a blank look.
Ling Nan's eyes widened. He asked in disbelief, "A Li, you're really just going to let Su Yunqing beat me up?"
Zheng Li turned his gaze toward the Soul Fighting Arena and ignored Ling Nan.
A moment later, Ling Nan's pained cries came from beside him.
Soon, the practical matches were over.
Aside from Dai Huabin, who was a Soul Elder, three other students were Soul Grandmasters: Su Yunqing, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie. Her Martial Soul was a Nine-Tailed Fox, and Zheng Li remembered her.
There was no particular reason. Huo Yuhao had fought her in the freshman finals.
Judging by Soul Power, Su Yunqing was a bit weaker. That explained why she hadn't been included in Class Five's seeded team for the Freshman Assessment.
Besides, Su Yunqing and Dai Huabin were both part of the Power Attack System. In a team, Cui Yajie was more useful.
As for Ling Nan, that gluttonous cat, Zheng Li had no way of knowing.
There was still quite a while before morning classes ended.
Shen Lan criticized their performances, then sent them back to the classroom.
Just as they were leaving, Shen Lan suddenly called from behind, "Zheng Li, wait a moment."
"Is something the matter, Teacher?" Zheng Li asked, turning around in confusion.
Shen Lan didn't answer. Instead, she looked Zheng Li up and down.
"All right, you can go."
About half a minute later, Mu Jin said coolly.
"Hm?"
Zheng Li, Ling Nan, and Su Yunqing all looked completely baffled.
Zheng Li was especially puzzled. He felt a little frustrated. She'd called him over just to look at him for half a minute?
"Hey, A Li, do you think Teacher Shen Lan has a crush on you?" Ling Nan leaned in and asked.
His adorable little face was a bit bruised, courtesy of a certain "little runt."
"Get lost!" Zheng Li shoved Ling Nan away in irritation. "How dare you tease a teacher? Aren't you afraid she'll hear you?"
"I kind of think so too..." Su Yunqing chimed in.
Zheng Li was speechless. He rolled his eyes and asked, "Why would you think that? It's impossible."
"Then why did Teacher Shen Lan look at you for half a minute?" Su Yunqing shot back.
"...She was probably curious about my Martial Soul, so she wanted to take a closer look." Zheng Li thought it over and decided that was the most reasonable explanation.
What else could it be? He wasn't so handsome that the whole world adored him and flowers bloomed wherever he went. He wasn't charming enough to win over Teacher Shen Lan, who was in her thirties.
If Shen Lan found out what he thought, she might get so angry that she expelled all three of them!
She had only been estimating Zheng Li's height and waist measurement so she could have a few uniforms made for him.
Of course, she wasn't going to make them herself. She was just asking one of the teachers in charge of supplies to handle it.
Have the Old Man's Lunch Brought to Him
After class, once they'd finished lunch,
Zheng Li and the others headed toward the dormitory, with Su Yunqing coming along too.
Why? Because the boys' and girls' dormitories at Shrek Outer Court were in the same building, which had six floors. The areas were divided by gender, though. The fourth floor and above were the girls' dormitory, and boys weren't allowed up there. In other words, each gender had three floors.
Zheng Li didn't think there was anything unusual about it now.
But back when he'd been in middle school, he couldn't help thinking it was "wonderful"!
If only they'd had mixed-gender dorm rooms.
Of course, that was just wishful thinking. Back then, the boys' and girls' dormitories had been far apart.
So there was nothing strange about Su Yunqing walking with them.
Thinking about it, Zheng Li felt a little regretful. He should've called up to Su Yunqing from the dormitory entrance that morning. After all, he owed her a Soul Ascension Pill.
Didn't it feel like a college boy standing outside a dormitory with a bouquet, declaring his love to a girl inside?
Though doing it at dawn would have been a bit too weird.
There was no point regretting it now.
The feeling didn't last long. After all, they'd only known each other for two days.
When they reached the dormitory entrance, Zheng Li's pupils contracted slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.
An elderly man sat within his view. He wore plain gray clothes, his face was lined with wrinkles, and his eyes were cloudy. He looked so frail that no one would have been surprised if he died the next moment. (Mu En: ???)
Zheng Li knew who the old man was.
The sun hadn't been so bright yesterday. That was probably why Mu En hadn't been sitting here to bask in it.
Ling Nan and Su Yunqing paid him no mind. Zheng Li walked up and greeted him as casually as he could. "Hello, Grandpa. Are you the dorm manager?"
Mu En opened his eyes at the sound of his voice, though they remained half-lidded.
"No, I just enjoy sitting in the sun now that I'm old. The sunlight in front of the dormitory is quite nice."
Zheng Li blinked naturally and thought, Yeah, right. I don't believe a word of that.
In truth, that was pretty much the reason. Zheng Li just couldn't remember.
Why had he gone over to greet him? Well...
You'd revealed your Twin Martial Souls and planned to use Shrek's resources to reach the top as quickly as possible. Then you suddenly ran into the academy's "big boss." How could you not say hello?
Of course, he was grateful too. Barring some unforeseen circumstances, he'd stay with Shrek. Even if he went to another world in the future, he'd still be able to return whenever anything happened to Shrek.
Would Zheng Li have done the same if Mu En had been an ordinary old man?
Probably not.
In Zheng Li's original world, even helping up an old person who'd fallen could get you in trouble. And Zheng Li had actually run into a case like that himself.
If that old person hadn't been so "unprofessional," and the spot hadn't happened to have a security camera, Zheng Li might really have been framed.
After that, he didn't dare approach elderly strangers to greet them or chat.
"Oh, then enjoy the sunshine, Grandpa. If you need anything, you can ask me for help. I'm from Dormitory 111," Zheng Li said with a smile.
Before you continue