A Habit

"Today's morning classes are over. Make sure you all eat a good lunch. This afternoon, we'll begin physical fitness training."

The moment the bell rang, Zhou Yi tossed out a curt "Dismissed" and hurried out of Freshman Class One without looking back.

That was only natural. She'd made such a fool of herself in front of both students and teachers on the very first day of school. The fact that she hadn't slammed the door on her way out was already something.

Xia Linyuan's Inverted Clone had just started to get up when the students swarmed around him, surrounding him in layer upon layer.

"Teacher Naiya! Where are you from?" Gu Qingqi asked excitedly, her eyes twinkling as she spoke.

Since he couldn't leave, he might as well stay and bond with the students, driving a wedge between them and Zhou Yi.

"Me?" Xia Linyuan smiled. "I'm from the Star Luo Empire."

"Teacher Naiya, what rank is your Soul Power?"

"Rank eighty-six."

"Teacher Naiya, how did you manage to get a legendary Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring as your Eighth Soul Ring?"

"Teacher Naiya..."

Huo Yuhao watched as his classmates crowded around "Big Brother Naiya." He wanted to go over and talk to him, but couldn't squeeze past the others, so he could only watch excitedly as "Big Brother Naiya" chatted warmly with everyone.

He'd thought "Big Brother Naiya" had just been joking around, but it turned out to be true.

Tang Wulin and Wang Dong were much more reserved. They stayed in their seats and watched, rather than crowding around Xia Linyuan's clone like the others.

Gu Yuena nudged Xia Linyuan's arm and lowered her voice. "Your clone's pretty popular. Looks like those brats have completely turned against Zhou Yi."

Xia Linyuan turned to her and said calmly, "That's why people's hearts matter. You should learn from this. I don't want to end up like that certain empire that's obsessed with its own ideology."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

"Is there an empire like that on Douluo Continent?"

"It was just a comparison. Don't worry about it."

Gu Yuena stared at him. "I have a feeling you weren't saying anything nice."

"Heh. You don't need to have a feeling. You're right."

Gu Yuena was speechless. "...You really do enjoy making snide remarks."

"Thanks for the compliment." With that, Xia Linyuan got up and headed outside.

"Where are you going?"

"Classes are over for the afternoon. Where do you think I'm going? Go take a nap, you brain-shrinking idiot." Xia Linyuan's calm voice drifted back from a distance.

The male students nearby thought, "Would a normal man really say something like that?"

Halfway there, Xia Linyuan suddenly realized that because of his interference, Zhou Yi hadn't seemed to notice Huo Yuhao yet.

Fortunately, Zhou Yi had decided to hold physical fitness training that afternoon. If she still hadn't noticed Huo Yuhao by then, he could find an opportunity to get him into the Soul Guidance Department. It didn't matter at all whether Huo Yuhao studied in the Outer Court's Martial Soul Department.

After all, in the original story, Huo Yuhao had barely attended any classes in his second year before going off to compete. When he returned, Mu En taught him, and he never went back to study in the Outer Court.

Xia Linyuan didn't go to the cafeteria. He headed straight back to the dormitory.

At his level, he no longer needed food to maintain his bodily functions. He only ate now and then to keep up appearances and satisfy his appetite.

But to be fair, the food on Douluo Continent really wasn't very good.

The first thing Xia Linyuan did after returning to the dormitory was write down all the Soul Tool core formation runes he'd observed with his spiritual sense in the Soul Guidance Department over the past few days.

He had a habit of learning the unique achievements of every new world he visited, such as the Soul Tools of Douluo Continent.

So, aside from being unable to have children himself, there was almost nothing Xia Linyuan couldn't do, whether he'd thought of it or not.

Unlike other people, he had no limitations on his cultivation. To him, Soul Tool core formations were like soldering circuit boards: once he got used to it, he could handle them with ease. He couldn't rely on Qian Duoduo to teach him everything, or he'd be waiting until the end of time to learn it all.

He didn't write down the Soul Tool core formations because he had a poor memory. It helped him sum up his experience and cut out some cumbersome steps that didn't affect the overall result, saving him a lot of time.

And with the data recorded in his notebook, he'd be able to mass-produce Soul Engineers to serve him in the future.

By the time Xia Linyuan had written down more than a hundred Soul Tool core formations, Tang Wulin had finished lunch and returned to the dormitory.

Seeing Xia Linyuan, Tang Wulin asked in surprise, "Linyuan, why aren't you having lunch? Teacher Zhou's going to put us through physical fitness training this afternoon. If you don't eat, you won't be able to handle it."

Xia Linyuan smiled. "I still have some food I brought from home. I'll eat it in a bit."

"Oh, I see," Tang Wulin said. "I'll go meditate, then. Make sure you eat something later."

"Sure."

After Tang Wulin began meditating, Xia Linyuan climbed straight into bed and soon fell asleep.

With his true body sleeping and cultivating in the Abyss, this avatar didn't need to cultivate. Besides, there was no Abyssal Power on Douluo Continent, so he couldn't cultivate even if he wanted to.

Freshman Class One's classroom.

Five minutes before the bell rang, all one hundred students had arrived.

Tang Wulin and Wang Dong, the two girls, were still sitting together. But this time, Gu Yuena wasn't sitting with Xia Linyuan. Instead, she was sitting with the girl from that morning.

The desks and chairs in the classroom had been arranged according to the number of students, so the person sitting beside Xia Linyuan this time was... Huo Yuhao!

When Zhou Yi entered the classroom, the students who'd still been whispering to their friends fell silent at once.

Seeing that Zhou Yi was alone, they all wondered why "Teacher Naiya" hadn't come to class with her.

Compared to an old, ugly hag, they preferred looking at the young and handsome "Teacher Naiya."

"Everyone, stand up and go to the square." Zhou Yi left as soon as she'd said this.

At her words, the students immediately got moving, forming up in orderly lines on their own and following behind Zhou Yi.

They were proud of themselves and at an age when they were starting to rebel, but that didn't mean they'd stumble around like headless flies.

Teachers had always been respected, and everyone felt a natural sense of reverence toward them. Students usually did their best to carry out a teacher's instructions, even the troublemakers. But teachers like Zhou Yi were an exception—the sort who crushed their students' individuality and tried to control their thinking.