The First Day of Teaching, Part Two

Hals didn't have to wait long. Yu Xiaoya had already changed and stepped out of the bedroom.

Yu Xiaoya's outfit today was bound to catch the eye: a black, figure-hugging miniskirt and a black-and-white top. She seemed to have applied a touch of light blush, too.

Flicking her hair, Yu Xiaoya walked gracefully up to Hals. "I'm ready. Shall we go?"

Yu Xiaoya stood half a step in front of Hals and to his right, seemingly making a point of showing off her stunning figure. Unfortunately, her feelings were unrequited. Hals, behind her, didn't react in the slightest. He had only glanced at her once when she came out and hadn't looked at her directly since.

Seeing Hals's indifference, Yu Xiaoya was secretly a little annoyed, but his behavior only made her more interested in him.

The two of them went outside. After Yu Xiaoya locked the door, she led Hals toward the teaching building.

"Your task today is to visit your assigned class, get to know the students, and then give them some practical combat training. You only have the morning. You can arrange your afternoon however you like; the academy hasn't assigned you anything for then."

"Mm." Hals nodded, then fell silent again.

"Do you have any plans this afternoon?" Seeing that Hals had only given a brief reply before falling silent, Yu Xiaoya tried her best to find something to talk about.

"No."

Silence again.

Yu Xiaoya was a little annoyed. What was with this block of wood? Was he a conversation killer?

Unwilling to give up, Yu Xiaoya tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, determined to find a topic Hals would be interested in.

"Mm, I heard from the Old Man that you're only thirty-seven this year. You're just four years older than me."

"Oh?" Hals finally showed a hint of interest. A Spirit Saint at thirty-three could certainly be called a genius. Too bad he wasn't a member of Spirit Hall.

"That's already impressive. A Spirit Saint at thirty-three—you have every right to be proud." A hint of praise could be heard in his hoarse voice.

Finally hearing Hals say more than a few words, Yu Xiaoya felt a little excited. She silently cheered herself on.

Well done, Yu Xiaoya. Keep this up, and you'll make this block of wood see how great you are. Then he'll come back and fall at your feet!

No one knew that the usually imposing director of academic affairs was just like a teenage girl on the inside.

After making that dramatic vow to herself, Yu Xiaoya continued the conversation. "Maybe. Before I met you, I really did think I was a genius. But you're only four years older than me, and you're already a Soul Douluo. Do you have some secret to cultivation?"

At the mention of cultivation, Hals finally dropped his cool, distant demeanor. One of his other goals in coming to the Star Luo Empire was to advance to Titled Douluo. Talking with a Soul Master who was just a little weaker than him was a good opportunity, too.

With that thought, Hals became more talkative. "There's no special trick. You need to spend more time understanding your Martial Soul. Don't just meditate to increase your Soul Power; you should do both at the same time."

After a pause, Hals glanced at Yu Xiaoya. Seeing that she was listening intently, he continued, "I don't know how other people see it, but I believe understanding your Martial Soul not only helps increase your Soul Power, it also helps you in actual combat."

"Actual combat?" Yu Xiaoya asked, slightly confused. She hadn't even noticed that the conversation had veered away from her original purpose.

"Right." Hals raised his head slightly. A glimmer of Soul Flame slipped from beneath his hood, and Yu Xiaoya felt a faint dizziness wash over her mind in an instant.

Yu Xiaoya was shocked. She was a Spirit Saint, yet just one glance had affected her. If he kept looking at his opponent during a fight, wouldn't he be able to make them surrender without even fighting?

Fortunately, Hals lowered his head again almost as soon as he had raised it. "You felt it, didn't you? My Martial Soul is Soul Flame. In terms of form, it's just a kind of fire. It can do anything fire can do. But only after studying it more deeply did I discover its other uses."

Hals continued to spout nonsense with a straight face. "You don't need the power of Soul Rings. The Martial Soul itself can develop abilities like this, and those abilities grow stronger as your Soul Power increases."

Yu Xiaoya seemed to be deep in thought, as though she had genuinely grasped something from Hals's nonsense.

Of course, Hals's words weren't entirely wrong. Take Beast Martial Souls, for example. Since ancient times, people had focused on their formidable physical strength and overlooked one thing: Beast Martial Souls were beasts, after all, and naturally possessed an animal's traits—including the wild instincts shared by all wild animals and Soul Beasts.

Wild animals had developed this ability over their long evolution, which helped ensure their survival. Humans, however, had gradually settled into a more stable way of life over the course of their own evolution and lost this precious ability.

If a Beast Martial Soul Soul Master could develop this ability, they would be able to sense the direction of their opponent's attack in advance during combat and react accordingly.

As Yu Xiaoya mulled it over, their conversation came to an end, and they fell silent again until they reached the teaching area.

Reluctantly pulling herself away from her thoughts, Yu Xiaoya straightened her clothes, which had become slightly rumpled during their hurried walk, then turned to Hals with a smile. "This is our academy's teaching area."

At Yu Xiaoya's words, Hals gazed into the distance. With the help of his Soul Flame's passive ability, he could just make out a small building among several low mountains far away. He studied it carefully, doing his best to sketch out a rough map in his mind.

The two entered the teaching area and headed for the teaching building. They were both Soul Masters, so they reached it in no time. Only then did Hals get a proper look at the building.

It was a low, four-story building with white walls all around. It wasn't tall, but it was long and wide. From the front, it stretched for several hundred meters, and from the side, it was nearly fifty meters wide.

Yu Xiaoya led Hals inside. Her heels clicked against the tile-like floor, making a crisp "click, click" sound.

"Yu Hun, the academy has assigned you to the Advanced Class on the third floor. All the students there are Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors. The higher-level Soul Kings and Soul Emperors aren't here right now. Their teachers have taken them out for training. Most are at the Soul Fighting Arena, while only a few have permission to train in the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest."

Yu Xiaoya and Hals walked up the stairs one after the other.

Yu Xiaoya seemed to have switched into work mode. Her expression was cool and serious as she explained the situation to Hals without a hint of a smile. "You've been assigned to Advanced Class Nine. It has thirty-six students in total: fifteen Power Attack System Soul Masters, seven Control System Soul Masters, and fourteen Agility Attack System Soul Masters. Thirty-one are Soul Elders, and only five are Soul Ancestors. Your job is to guide their cultivation and take them out for training. For now, you're the only teacher assigned to this class."

Hals finally spoke. "What about the previous teacher?"

Yu Xiaoya didn't look back. Once they reached the third floor, she said, "The previous teacher was a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He was sent on a clan mission. I don't know if he'll be coming back, and I don't know what the mission was, either."

Hals nodded to himself behind her, whether or not Yu Xiaoya could see him.

The crisp clicking of heels stopped as Yu Xiaoya came to a halt outside a classroom. Hals looked up at the sign on the door. It read: Advanced Class Nine.

"We're here." Yu Xiaoya turned around and looked at the face hidden in shadow beneath Hals's hood. But she couldn't help thinking of the startling glimpse she'd caught earlier. Forcing herself to calm down, she said coolly, "I'll take you inside. Then you can introduce yourself, and I'll be leaving. What you do after that is up to you. Any questions?"

Hals shook his head, his expression as calm as still water. He had been a little excited last night, but his long experience with missions had helped him regain his composure quickly.

Seeing Hals's nod, Yu Xiaoya turned and pushed open the classroom door...