You're Impressive

Huh!!?

Xu Hu stared at him in astonishment. "Do you know what you're saying?"

Xu Yuan looked no older than six or seven. Having just entered Grade Two, he had probably only recently obtained his First Spirit Ring and advanced.

In Xu Hu's eyes, this was a duel that even he, a peak Level 19 Soul Master, barely dared to accept. How did this guy dare say something like that?

Had he not made himself clear enough just now?

The other side had a two-ring Soul Grandmaster!

As the saying went, more rings, more bones, more skills, greater strength; fewer rings, fewer bones—turn around and run.

When others encountered something like this, they usually ran as far away as possible. At most, like the other students in class, they would stand by and watch, neither helping nor kicking someone while they were down.

How was there someone rushing to get involved instead?

The young man sitting on the teacher's desk could not hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. "He doesn't even have the slightest confidence in winning himself.

Your cultivation is even lower than his, and you want to fight for him?"

The other upperclassmen in the classroom could not help laughing as well, their gazes toward Xu Yuan filled with mockery and ridicule.

It was as if they were watching a joke.

Yet Xu Yuan's expression remained calm as he looked evenly at everyone present.

"In a Fair Soul Duel, since you can switch out your fighter, Xu Hu should naturally be allowed to switch his too, right?"

"What are you doing?!"

Xu Hu tugged at him, his fat face filled with urgency.

They had only known each other for one morning, yet when no one else in the class dared step forward, Xu Yuan had firmly stood up.

And he had stood beside Xu Hu. That warmed Xu Hu's heart.

But no matter how loyal Xu Yuan was being, Xu Hu could not drag him down. Naturally, he did not want Xu Yuan to fight.

"Don't worry."

Xu Yuan gave him a calm look, then turned his gaze to the young man at the head of the group. "That's how it works, right?"

Zeng Jingyu, the young man leading them, sneered and nodded.

"That's right!"

"Good."

Xu Yuan smiled, lifting his chin slightly as he looked down on all the upperclassmen present.

"My name is Xu Yuan. I'll be taking over this duel!"

Xu Yuan paused, then kindly reminded them.

"Oh, right. I'm six years old this year and currently Level 12. Since this is a Fair Soul Duel, you wouldn't want the teacher to declare you defeated for breaking the rules, would you?"

"..."

As his words fell, the previously noisy classroom instantly became so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

Everyone stared blankly at Xu Yuan, who had his head slightly raised. His words seemed to continue echoing through their minds, leaving them unable to calm down for a long while.

Six years old, Level 12!

There were students in Grade Two who were shorter than Xu Yuan, so when he first arrived that morning, no one had paid much attention to him.

Everyone had assumed he had advanced from Grade One.

At Spirit Academy, as long as your Soul Power met the requirement, you could move up a grade at any time.

But under these circumstances, being six years old and Level 12 represented not only talent, but another piece of information as well.

Everyone immediately turned to look at Zeng Jingyu, who was sitting on the platform.

Since they had signed a contract for a Fair Soul Duel, now that Xu Yuan was fighting for Xu Hu, the ten-year-old Soul Grandmaster they had originally planned to send out could no longer compete.

Neither his cultivation nor his age matched Xu Yuan's.

And if they tried to exploit an age loophole again, they would only be asking for trouble. Among six-year-olds at Spirit Academy, no one had cultivation comparable to Xu Yuan's.

If they made an issue out of cultivation, they could at most send out a Level 19 Soul Master.

Whether he could win or not was another matter.

Against a six-year-old Level 12 genius, losing would naturally leave them with nothing to say.

But if they won...

Not only would they offend a genius, but what would the teachers think when they saw it?

Could it be that you couldn't stand Spirit Academy producing a genius?

We finally got someone with decent talent, and you pull something like this?

Then the vice principal and the dean of studies would team up, one filing a report and the other approving it, then with a wave of their hands, label him as an undercover agent from those two idiot empires next door.

Who the hell could argue with that?

The difference in how the academy treated ordinary students and genius students was plain for all to see.

Just look at the campus belle Hu Liena and the others.

Zeng Jingyu's expression shifted unpredictably. He could neither fight nor refuse to fight; he had been put directly over the fire.

After hearing Xu Yuan's words, Xu Hu finally understood what was happening.

His back no longer hurt, his legs no longer shook, and he straightened up even more, a bright smile returning to his face.

"Little Yu, what do you say?"

What the hell was there to say?

Zeng Jingyu snorted through his nostrils, his face dark as he glanced at Xu Yuan beside him. Gritting his teeth, he waved his hand.

"You win. Let's go!"

With that, he jumped down from the teacher's desk and led his group out of the classroom in disgrace.

Just as they reached the door, Xu Hu's voice rang out from the classroom again.

"Don't forget. Once it's past midnight, if none of you show up on the platform, the teacher will declare you defeated."

Zeng Jingyu stopped short, his fists clenching with cracking sounds. He had said those exact words to Xu Hu earlier, and now Xu Hu was throwing them right back at him.

It was simply the greatest possible mockery.

As if someone were slapping his face again and again.

He stiffly said, "I don't need your reminder," then started walking again, though he was clearly moving faster than before.

Once the upperclassmen had disappeared and only the students of Grade Two, Class Six remained in the classroom,

the previously tense atmosphere immediately became light and cheerful.

"Hello, Xu Yuan. My name is Zhang Xinzhe."

"I'm Wang Qiang!"

"Li Bin!"

"Now that we're all classmates, let's hang out sometime?"

"By the way, it's already noon, and none of us has eaten yet, right? Come on, come on, my treat! We can welcome our new classmate properly!"

The students who had previously stood far away now crowded around Xu Yuan, shoulder to shoulder with him.

Some were older, already fourteen or fifteen, while the younger ones were eight or nine. Every one of them wore an eager smile.

Xu Yuan responded neither too warmly nor too coldly.

He understood perfectly well that these classmates were acting so enthusiastically because of his current talent.

But talent was still only talent.

If one day, for some reason, his cultivation could no longer advance, these people could swarm over just as easily as they could swarm away.

In comparison, Xu Hu, who had been willing to get close to him and befriend him even before knowing any of this,

was all the more precious.

You did not need many friends. One or two were enough.

"Xu Yuan really brought honor to our Grade Two, Class Six today. You didn't see it—normally, whenever we run into those upperclassmen,

every one of them acts so high and mighty. They won't even spare us lower-grade students a proper glance.

But what happened just now?

With just a few words, Xu Yuan made those guys who always look down their noses at everyone tuck their tails and run away.

What was that called? That was skill!"

Xu Hu gave a thumbs-up, his excitement written all over his face.

Xu Yuan shook his head with a laugh and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hurry up. We wasted quite a bit of time in the classroom just now. If we get there too late, the cafeteria will be closed."