After waiting ten minutes, Chu Mo got no reply. Instead, he heard Zhou Yi speak from the podium, announcing the start of class.
"Good. You're all on time. Let's begin."
She still carried herself with an air of authority, her face cold.
"I don't want anyone causing trouble in my class. If you have something to say, raise your hand. You may speak only when I give you permission."
[Dong'er is Not a Girl: This old woman's acting like such a big shot.]
[Grilled Fish Girl: She really is hard to get along with.]
When Wang Dong'er and Huo Yu'er sent those messages, Xiao Xiao, who had been quietly watching, froze. The Chat Group that had suddenly appeared in her mind included people who were right there beside her.
She hadn't expected that Chu Mo wasn't the only one. There were others, too. She'd just secretly watched Chu Mo and noticed the duel video in the Chat Group.
Of course, she'd also seen pictures of Wang Dong'er and Huo Yu'er. They looked a little different from their male-presenting outfits, so she'd assumed they were their younger sisters. Now she realized she'd been overthinking it.
"Could this be the legendary chatting Soul Tool?"
Xiao Xiao was just an ordinary person. She hadn't heard much about strange and mysterious things, nor did she think a miracle like that could happen to her. So she could only guess at the closest possibility.
Seeing the other students cowed by her, Zhou Yi's face, like a human-skin mask, showed a hint of smugness. Then she resumed her usual expression, turned around, and picked up a piece of chalk. With a few strokes across the blackboard, she wrote two words.
Offense. Defense.
Once she'd finished, Zhou Yi turned back around and casually tossed the chalk aside before pointing at the blackboard.
"These are the topics we'll cover today. A long time ago, Soul Masters were divided into attack, agility, support, control, and food types, among others."
"All Soul Masters developed to the extreme in one direction."
"Wang Dong, explain this to me..."
Wang Dong'er's mouth twitched when she was called on. She'd just been complaining about Zhou Yi in the group, and now she was the first one picked to answer a question.
"Well, attack- and agility-type Soul Masters are definitely good at fighting and offense. The rest lean toward support and defense."
Chu Mo dug at his arm with his fingers, so embarrassed he could've crawled into a hole.
What kind of question was that? Those categories were already clearly defined. Why ask about offense and defense?
"Wrong. Sit down." Zhou Yi's lips curled slightly as she bluntly rejected her answer.
"I..." Wang Dong'er didn't understand what she'd gotten wrong. She'd just started to explain when Zhou Yi cut her off.
"Sit down!"
Zhou Yi pushed up her glasses and spoke in a deliberate, profound tone.
"Over four thousand years ago, your answer would have been perfectly correct. But not now, because of Soul Tools."
"Once equipped with a Soul Tool, even support-type Soul Masters can fight on the front lines, while purely defensive Soul Masters can also unleash devastating attacks. So the distinction between these two categories has become blurred."
She went on and on.
It was exactly the same as he remembered.
In short, it was all the fault of Soul Tools. But they only had an advantage before level fifty. You were all monsters, so don't think you could rely on external tools.
Starting tomorrow, everyone would have to do running drills with weights. As long as they ran fast enough, their enemies' Soul Tools wouldn't hit them...
It was a really strange thing to say. Never mind that tracking Soul Tools had existed for ages. Even if they hadn't, how much faster could running drills really make you?
Chu Mo stopped listening. The class really wasn't much. He'd only come to find Jiang Nannan, and he'd already seen her. If that got him expelled, so be it. He hadn't expected Shrek Academy to be of any help to him anyway.
Ding~
The notification that someone had mentioned him sounded. His lazy expression changed at once, and he hurriedly opened the Chat Group.
[Ice Frog is Stronger than Poison Frog: @Chu Mo, I discussed it with my grandfather. We can negotiate further. We won't just give you the pill formula—we'll also send at least 200 pills for research. In exchange, Grandpa will give you a Level 8 Soul Tool.]
Meng Hongchen sat on her bed, smiling excitedly as she waited for Chu Mo to reply.
The negotiations had actually been simple. Both sides could see the value of the pills, since they could be produced continuously. The main challenge was getting Jing Hongchen to let her handle the deal.
Jing Hongchen trusted his granddaughter, of course, but he was still afraid she might run into danger. His concern had become a source of pressure for her.
She couldn't tell anyone about the Chat Group. Meng Hongchen had already been shocked twice just now. The sensation had been all tingly, and if her activity level hadn't been high, she might have been shocked black.
That made it hard to explain in a way people would believe. In the end, after a lot of back-and-forth and some fudging of the truth, she'd finally gotten him to agree.
[Chu Mo: Fine.]
He had plenty of pills. Two hundred of them in exchange for a Level 8 Soul Tool was still a good deal.
[Ice Frog is Stronger than Poison Frog: All right.]
After seeing that he agreed, Chu Mo immediately sent her a trade request.
[Trader: Chu Mo, Ice Frog is Stronger than Poison Frog.]
[Chu Mo placed one piece of paper, identified as a pill formula, and 200 pills.]
[Ice Frog is Stronger than Poison Frog placed five Level 9 Soul Tools and one Level 8 Soul Tool.]
[Trade successful. Thank you, group members, for your trust.]
After confirming the trade in his Chat Group inventory, Chu Mo immediately sent a red packet.
["Chu Mo sent a red packet to Ya!"]
[Chu Mo: If you have a grudge, repay it. The sooner, the better. I'll wait for you to come back.]
[Ya: Mm.]
The gratitude she felt in her heart couldn't be expressed in just a few words. In the end, a thousand thoughts condensed into a single "Mm."
[Revenge Girl: !!!]
[Super Flute Player: !!!]
After returning to the inn, Tang Ya paid no further attention to the group chat. She took out the Level 9 Baby Bottle, filled with Soul Power.
Then she began installing it.
Hiss~
The purple-black Demon Puppet warrior powered up. Tang Ya stepped forward and successfully took control of it. She raised her hand and looked at the powerful palm. Her heartbeat, however, was calmer than before.
The helmet didn't hide the hatred in Tang Ya's eyes. Wrapped in purple-black gas, she seemed even more vicious. In a low voice, she said,
"I'm back, Iron-Blooded Sect!"
Whoosh~
A surge of powerful energy burst out around her, and then she vanished from the spot.
The armor released a powerful demonic aura as it activated. The teachers and students of Shrek Academy...
Yan Shaozhe in particular was sensitive to the aura of this nearly evil energy because he possessed the Bright Phoenix Martial Soul.
The hand holding the list trembled slightly.
"Evil Spirit Masters have gone mad! They actually dare cause trouble in Shrek City!"
Many elders at the Titled Douluo level appeared in the sky above Shrek Academy, wanting to see who was invading.
They waited for a while but didn't find any danger. Yan Shaozhe looked tense. He turned and saw Xuan Zi hurrying over with a chicken leg in his hand, and quickly went up to him.
"Elder Xuan, did you sense any Evil Spirit Masters?"
"I—I just checked. There weren't any."
Xuan Zi kept eating his chicken leg as he spoke. With his mouth full, he mumbled out his reply.
The tension on the others' faces didn't ease when they heard that. They were asking...
"Why would an Evil Spirit Master appear in Shrek City?"
That aura had definitely been real. It had even been very close, possibly right outside the gates of Shrek Academy.
If an Evil Spirit Master attacked, they couldn't protect every student. It wasn't because they were kindhearted and couldn't bear to lose any of them. It was because the students who could get into the academy all came from wealthy or powerful families, and they couldn't withstand the pressure.
As they were preparing to think it over, a dignified, aged voice suddenly echoed in their minds.
"Come back."
Tang Ya knew nothing about these complications.
Before you continue