Zhou Yi, Do You Want to Dance Too?

Early in the morning, Huo Yuhao wore his weights.

The instant he pushed open the door, the second hand of the Soul Guidance Clock had just ticked past the final mark.

Perfect timing.

Yet the atmosphere in the classroom was extremely tense.

An elderly woman stood on the podium.

Her skin was wrinkled and her hair was gray, coiled atop her head. Her deeply lined face was filled with harshness.

She wore a white robe, her hands clasped behind her back, her eyes fixed on the doorway.

She looked exactly like Elder Chiyo from Sunagakure in the world of Naruto.

The moment Huo Yuhao stepped into the classroom, Zhou Yi's icy voice poured down on him like a bucket of cold water.

"Boy, you've got some nerve."

Zhou Yi narrowed her eyes. "You actually dared to be late for my very first class."

Huo Yuhao stopped and glanced at the Soul Guidance Clock on the wall.

The minute hand pointed precisely at the hour, while the second hand had only just moved past it.

Huo Yuhao spoke calmly. "The bell had just stopped, and I entered right on time. I don't consider that late."

The entire classroom fell silent.

Everyone held their breath, unable to believe that this new student dared to talk back.

Zhou Yi froze for a moment, then the anger in her eyes intensified.

She did not need a reason. Her goal was to establish her authority.

And the last person to enter was the perfect target.

"If I say you're late, then you're late!"

Zhou Yi slammed her hand on the podium and pointed at Huo Yuhao's nose.

"Shrek doesn't need trash like you!"

"You're expelled! Now, immediately, get out!"

Trash.

Those two words instantly ignited Huo Yuhao's anger.

Huo Yuhao slowly raised his head, and his once-calm eyes turned icy in an instant.

Trash?

That word again.

The servants at Duke Mansion called me that. That damned steward called me that. And now... even you call me that?

Memories of Zhou Yi from the original story surfaced in Huo Yuhao's mind.

This old hag was notorious in the Outer Court for her terrifying expulsion rate, always claiming that strict teachers produced outstanding students. But in reality?

She merely picked out those monsters who had already been blessed with extraordinary talent, then used them to decorate her own graduation record.

As for the futures of the students she had ruined through unreasonable expulsions, she did not care in the slightest.

The reason she dared to act so arrogantly, even disregarding academy rules—

Was simply because her husband, Fan Yu, was an eighth-ranked Soul Engineer.

A classic case of borrowing a tiger's might.

Seeing Huo Yuhao standing there without moving, the disgust in Zhou Yi's eyes deepened as she barked sharply.

"Are you deaf? Get out already!"

At her seat,

Wang Dong anxiously clenched her fists.

If he got expelled...

She had just been about to stand up and plead for Huo Yuhao.

Then something happened that no one expected.

Huo Yuhao neither retreated nor begged for mercy. Instead, he stepped forward, walking toward the podium one step at a time.

A sudden change came over his eyes.

His left eye bore One Tomoe.

His right eye bore Three Tomoe.

Sharingan, activate!

"I do not acknowledge a teacher like you."

"You want to expel me? Who do you think you are?"

Whoosh—!

The entire class erupted.

Wasn't this far too arrogant? He actually dared to confront the homeroom teacher head-on?

Zhou Yi was so furious that she laughed. Her old face twisted with rage.

"Good... very good!"

"It has been many years since a student dared to challenge my authority like this!"

Boom!

A terrifying wave of Soul Power suddenly erupted from Zhou Yi's body.

It was the pressure of a Soul Emperor, like a tangible tide that instantly swept through the entire classroom.

Every student present found it difficult to breathe, and several timid girls had already gone pale with fear.

One Soul Ring after another rose from beneath Zhou Yi's feet.

Two yellow, two purple, two black.

The optimal configuration of a six-ring Soul Emperor!

The phantom of an enormous red fire dragon appeared behind her, radiating scorching heat.

"Boy, do you see it? This is power! This is qualification!" Zhou Yi declared arrogantly.

However.

Standing at the center of that pressure, Huo Yuhao did not even bend his back.

His clothes fluttered without wind, and beneath the Red Dragon's flames, his Sharingan looked even more eerie.

A six-ring Soul Emperor?

Feeling the heat wave rushing toward him, Huo Yuhao curled his lips into an extremely disdainful sneer.

That's it?

This level isn't even comparable to that Duchess I sent to hell.

"Is that all you've got?"

Huo Yuhao spoke lightly, his voice not loud but clear enough for everyone to hear. "I thought the so-called demon teacher would be powerful. Turns out... she's nothing special."

"What did you say?!" Zhou Yi looked as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world.

"I said you're too weak."

"Impudence!"

Zhou Yi was completely enraged.

"Boy, I'll make you understand the most basic principle—respect the strong!"

Zhou Yi took a deep breath and suppressed part of her Soul Power.

"You're merely a one-ring Soul Master. You have no right to shout in front of me!"

"Don't say I'm bullying you. I'll suppress my cultivation to three rings. As long as you can take three of my moves, I'll take back what I said and give you a chance to remain at the academy."

At that, she stared at Huo Yuhao with a sinister gaze.

"Now, are you going to crawl out yourself, or should I beat you out?"

Looking at Zhou Yi's expression as though granting him an opportunity was some great favor, Huo Yuhao felt nothing but disgust.

Charity?

I don't need charity.

"Neither."

Huo Yuhao flexed his wrists, producing a series of crackling sounds.

"Because I'll be the one throwing you out."

"Arrogant! You'll regret angering me!"

Zhou Yi roared and stopped wasting words.

"First Soul Skill: Red Dragon Claw!"

She thrust out her right hand. Her withered palm was instantly covered in red dragon scales, transforming into a flaming dragon claw that tore through the air with a howl as it lunged straight for Huo Yuhao's shoulder.

Though she had suppressed her Soul Power, a Soul Emperor's physical strength and combat experience were still there. Her speed was as fast as lightning!

Just as everyone thought Huo Yuhao would be sent flying with a single slap.

Huo Yuhao moved.

Under the Sharingan's dynamic vision, Zhou Yi's lightning-fast movements were broken down into countless slow-motion frames.

Her left shoulder dipped, her center of gravity shifted forward, and her elbow turned outward.

The opening was far too obvious.

Huo Yuhao shifted his footing slightly, and his body slid to the side at an incredibly strange angle.

Whoosh!

The flaming dragon claw swept past the tip of his nose, its flames even scorching a strand of hair on his forehead.

But at the instant they passed each other, Huo Yuhao's hands shot out like nimble snakes.

His left hand latched onto Zhou Yi's wrist and redirected her force; his right hand formed a blade and chopped toward her elbow joint.

Borrowing force to counter force!

Zhou Yi felt an enormous strength surge through her. Her attack was actually knocked off course, and she staggered forward involuntarily by two steps.

"What?!"

Zhou Yi's expression changed drastically.

How could this brat's reaction speed and strength possibly belong to a one-ring Soul Master?

"Boy, you do have some skill!"

Zhou Yi steadied herself, her expression turning even uglier. "But if that's all you have, it still isn't enough!"

"Is that so?"

Huo Yuhao stopped moving and stood three meters away from Zhou Yi.

He sighed softly, as if somewhat helpless.

"Wearing these things really does make it hard to move freely."

After saying that, amid the puzzled gazes of the entire class, he reached out and unfastened his coat.

Then he removed the wrist guards from his arms, the leg wraps from his ankles, and the thick-looking vest.

"That was just a warm-up."

Huo Yuhao casually tossed the items onto the floor.

Clang—!

Boom!!

That was not the sound of clothes hitting the ground.

It was the deafening crash of heavy metal smashing into the floor!

The hard stone slabs of the classroom floor cracked with fine fissures the moment those weights landed! Dust rose everywhere.

The entire classroom seemed to tremble.

A deathly silence followed.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the lead blocks embedded in the stone floor, then looked at Huo Yuhao as he rolled his neck.

Wang Dong's mouth hung open even wider, completely losing control of her expression.

No... no way, right?

While carrying that kind of weight, he nearly knocked Teacher Zhou, a Soul Emperor, off balance?

How was that possible?!

Was he even human?

Huo Yuhao rolled his neck, feeling so light that he could practically fly.

He crooked a finger at the dumbfounded Zhou Yi. Red light blazed in his eyes, and a fervent smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Alright, warm-up's over."