First Day of Teaching Career, Part 2

Hals didn't have to wait long before Yu Xiaoya emerged from the bedroom, having changed her clothes.

Yu Xiaoya's outfit today was undeniably striking—a black form-fitting short skirt, a black-and-white top, and a faint trace of blush dusted across her cheeks.

Yu Xiaoya tossed her hair back and walked gracefully up to Hals. "I'm ready. Shall we go?"

She stood half a step ahead and to Hals' right, seemingly deliberately showing off her impressive figure. But unfortunately, her affection met his indifference. Hals showed no reaction at all; he had only glanced at her once when she came out and hadn't looked directly at her since.

Seeing Hals' lack of response, Yu Xiaoya felt a flicker of annoyance, but his behavior only made her more intrigued by him.

The two stepped out. After Yu Xiaoya locked the door, she led Hals toward the teaching building.

"Your task today is to first go check out the class you've been assigned to, get to know the students, and then guide them in practical combat. It'll only take the morning; you can arrange your afternoon freely. The academy hasn't assigned you any tasks for now."

"Mm." Hals nodded and fell silent again.

"Do you have any plans for the afternoon?" Seeing that Hals only grunted in response and said nothing more, Yu Xiaoya tried her best to find a topic.

"No."

Silence again.

Yu Xiaoya was a little annoyed. What was with this blockhead? Was he a conversation killer?

Unwilling to give up, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and resolved to find a topic that would interest Hals.

"Well, I heard from the old man that you're only thirty-seven this year, just four years older than me."

"Oh?" Hals finally showed a flicker of interest. A thirty-three-year-old Spirit Saint was indeed worthy of being called a genius. Unfortunately, she wasn't a member of Spirit Hall.

"That's quite impressive. A thirty-three-year-old Spirit Saint—you have every right to be proud." A trace of approval could be heard in his hoarse voice.

Having finally drawn such a long response from Hals, Yu Xiaoya felt a surge of excitement. She silently cheered herself on.

Well done, Yu Xiaoya. Keep up this momentum, and you'll definitely make this blockhead see your worth, and then he'll come crawling back to kneel at your feet!

No one knew that the usually dignified and imposing Dean of Academic Affairs was, in her heart, just like a teenage girl.

After making her cringey inner vow, Yu Xiaoya followed up on the topic. "Maybe. Before I met you, I really did think I was a genius. But you're only four years older than me and already a Soul Douluo. Do you have some secret to cultivation?"

When it came to cultivation, Hals finally shed his aloof demeanor. Another goal of his in coming to the Star Luo Empire was to advance to Titled Douluo. Exchanging insights with a soul master slightly weaker than himself was a good opportunity.

With that thought, Hals became more talkative. "There's no special trick. Focus more on comprehending your martial soul. Don't just meditate to increase soul power; you need to do both simultaneously."

He paused, glanced at Yu Xiaoya, and saw that she was listening attentively. He continued, "I don't know what others think, but I believe that comprehending your martial soul not only helps increase soul power but also benefits your practical combat."

"Practical combat?" Yu Xiaoya was slightly puzzled and asked aloud, completely unaware that the topic had strayed from her original intent.

"Yes." Hals lifted his head slightly, and a glimmer of Soul Flame light leaked from beneath his hood. In that instant, Yu Xiaoya felt a sudden dizziness wash over her mind.

Yu Xiaoya was shocked. As a Spirit Saint, she had been affected by just a single glance. If he kept his eyes on an opponent during battle, wouldn't that effectively allow him to subdue them without fighting?

Fortunately, Hals lowered his head again almost immediately. "Did you feel that? My martial soul is Soul Flame. In terms of form alone, it's just a flame—it can do what fire does. But after delving deeper into its comprehension, I uncovered its other uses."

Hals was spouting nonsense with a straight face. "Without even needing the power of a soul ring, the martial soul itself can develop such an ability. And the strength of this ability can grow as your soul power increases."

Yu Xiaoya seemed lost in thought, as if she had actually gleaned something from Hals' rambling.

In truth, Hals' words weren't entirely wrong. Take beast martial souls, for example. Since ancient times, the focus had always been on their formidable physical attributes, but one point was overlooked: a beast martial soul naturally possessed the traits of a beast—namely, the wild instinct that every beast and soul beast had.

Beasts had evolved this ability over long ages to ensure their survival, but humans, in their long evolution toward stability, had lost this precious instinct.

If a beast martial soul master could develop this ability, they could effectively sense an opponent's attack patterns in advance during combat and react accordingly.

As Yu Xiaoya fell into contemplation, their conversation came to an end, and they lapsed back into silence until they reached the teaching area.

Reluctantly pulling herself out of her thoughts, Yu Xiaoya straightened her clothes, which had become slightly disheveled from their hurried walk, and turned to smile at Hals. "This is our academy's teaching area."

At Yu Xiaoya's words, Hals gazed into the distance. Relying on his Soul Flame's passive ability, he could faintly make out a low building nestled among several small, distant peaks. He observed carefully, trying to sketch a rough map in his mind.

The two entered the teaching area and headed toward the teaching building. As soul masters, it didn't take them long to reach the building's base, where Hals finally saw its true appearance.

It was a four-story white building. Not tall, but long and wide enough—stretching several hundred meters from the front and nearly fifty meters from the side.

Yu Xiaoya led Hals into the building. The heels of her shoes clicked crisply against the tile-like floor.

"Yu Hun, the class assigned to you is the Advanced Class on the third floor. The students there are all at the Soul Venerable and Soul Ancestor levels. As for the higher-level Soul Kings and Soul Emperors, they're not here right now. They've been sent out by their class teachers for training—most of them are at the Soul Fighting Arena, and only a few are allowed to train on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest."

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

At this point, Yu Xiaoya seemed to have slipped into work mode. Her expression was cool and serious, and she spoke without a smile as she briefed Hals. "Your class is Advanced Class Nine. There are thirty-six students in total: fifteen in assault, seven in control, and fourteen in agility. Thirty-one are Soul Venerables, and only five are Soul Ancestors. Your task is to guide their cultivation and lead their training. For now, you're the only teacher for this class."

Hals finally spoke. "What happened to the original teacher?"

Yu Xiaoya didn't turn around. After reaching the third floor, she said, "The original teacher was a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. He was called away on a sect mission. I don't know if he'll be back, and I'm not sure what the mission was."

Hals nodded to himself behind her, regardless of whether she could see it.

The crisp clicking stopped. Yu Xiaoya halted in front of a classroom door. Hals looked up and saw the sign: Advanced Class Nine.

"We're here." Yu Xiaoya turned around, staring at Hals' face hidden in the shadows beneath his hood. Her mind involuntarily flashed back to that startling glimpse earlier. Forcing herself to stay calm, she said flatly, "I'll go in with you, and you'll introduce yourself. Then I'll leave. What you do after that is your business. Any questions?"

Hals shook his head, his expression unreadable. Though he had been somewhat agitated the night before, his long experience with missions quickly restored his composure.

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