Zhang Lexuan

As soon as Feng Piaoling entered the classroom, he sensed an eager atmosphere.

After Mu Jin had assigned the groups yesterday, the students had gathered in threes today, whispering among themselves.

Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er had arrived early. When they saw Feng Piaoling, they hurriedly waved him over.

Feng Piaoling walked toward them. Just then, three sharp knocks rang out from the podium. "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

In the next moment, the whole class fell silent.

Mu Jin was already standing at the lectern. She had just been the one to knock.

She glanced over the class, and when she saw everyone had arrived, she said solemnly:

"The Freshman Assessment starts this afternoon. I've already submitted your teams. During the ten rounds of the assessment, you won't face teams from your own class. But remember this: when you run into students from another class, don't go easy on them. Especially if you meet Class One. If you're capable of it, you can beat them to death for all I care. I'll take full responsibility."

After saying this, Mu Jin gave Feng Piaoling a meaningful look, then turned and left.

Nanmen Yun'er gazed at Feng Piaoling's handsome face, the one that had captivated countless girls, and asked dreamily, "The assessment starts this afternoon. Do you have any plans?"

"Nothing special. I'll support you two, and you can steamroll your way through." Feng Piaoling glanced toward the direction Mu Jin had left, then answered Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er casually.

"True. If you fought, the Freshman Assessment wouldn't mean anything to us... Wait, did you say you can support us?"

Nanmen Yun'er nodded, then realized what he had said and stared at Feng Piaoling in disbelief.

Zhu Lu looked expectant, too. After all, whatever this powerful young man called support had to be extraordinary.

"What, want to try it?" Feng Piaoling was curious to see how the two would fare with his Dark Gold Talisman added to their abilities.

"Of course." As she spoke, Nanmen Yun'er disregarded any difference between men and women, linked her arm through Feng Piaoling's, and pulled him out of the classroom.

Zhu Lu followed. She raised a hand, but in the end, she didn't have the courage to take Feng Piaoling's other arm.

She could only follow silently behind them, though she stayed unusually close.

The sight immediately drew envious looks from the boys and girls of Class Nine.

The boys envied Feng Piaoling for having two beautiful girls at his side.

The girls envied Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er for being able to get close to Feng Piaoling, the Outer Courtyard's most handsome man and its strongest student.

It was easy to find a quiet spot outside Shrek Academy. Though the grounds were crisscrossed by numerous roads, thick vegetation grew along both sides of each one.

The three found a relatively level clearing in a small grove. Nanmen Yun'er asked, "Class monitor, how are you going to support us? Could it be your Second Martial Soul?"

Zhu Lu shook her head. "Probably not. Our family has records about cultivating Twin Martial Souls. Setting aside the fact that the class monitor has never admitted to having Twin Martial Souls, and that Old Lady Zhou was just guessing, even if he did have them, with his knowledge, he wouldn't recklessly attach Spirit Rings to his Second Martial Soul. So how could he use it to support us?"

Her words made Nanmen Yun'er give her a surprised look. After all, based on what she knew of her close friend—

Zhu Lu was rather aloof and didn't like talking to people, especially men. But when it came to Feng Piaoling, she had a great deal to say.

And last time, she had even taken the initiative to invite Feng Piaoling to team up with them.

That made things all the more intriguing.

"Don't guess. Why not try it and see?"

Three yellow-purple Spirit Rings suddenly rose from beneath Feng Piaoling's feet. His third Spirit Ring flashed twice, and two dark-gold Talismans appeared in his hands.

Before Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er could react, he gripped one Talisman in each hand and pressed them against their chests.

The two girls were startled and instinctively wanted to dodge. After all, they had seen the power of Feng Piaoling's Dark Gold Talisman before.

It had shattered even Xu Sanshi's turtle-shell shield.

If it hit them, wouldn't it leave them smashed to pieces?

But because they trusted Feng Piaoling, they didn't move. Besides, even if they had wanted to dodge, it was already too late.

The Talismans stuck between the girls' collarbones, just above their chests. In the next instant, their clothes and hair fluttered as if caught in a wind, rising upward, while a transparent, dark-gold energy shaped like a bear enveloped their bodies.

Even the energy around their arms took the shape of bear claws.

"This... This is..."

Feeling the power surging through their bodies, the two girls stared in shock.

Just then, a young woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six stepped out from behind a tree. Her voice was as sweet as the song of heaven:

"Did you get your third Spirit Ring by hunting a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear?"

Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er were startled. They instinctively looked toward the voice, and only relaxed a little once they saw who it was.

The young woman looked to be just over twenty. Her long black hair fell to her waist, and her exquisite face was flawless and pale. She wore a vivid red, close-fitting school uniform. Its elegant, intricate craftsmanship perfectly outlined her graceful figure.

Noble, poised, beautiful—every lovely word in the world seemed to suit her.

Her serene, gentle demeanor was especially striking, impossible to forget after seeing her once.

Unlike Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er, Feng Piaoling had already sensed her in advance with his formidable mental strength. But she showed no hostility, and Elder Yi in his Spirit Sea hadn't sounded any warning, so Feng Piaoling hadn't fled at once.

Even so, his right hand had already gripped the Earth Escape Talisman hidden against his chest. He furrowed his brow, quietly stepped back, and positioned Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er in front of him, ready to retreat at any moment. A red glint flashed in his eyes.

As the Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye activated, he carefully sized her up without making it obvious. Her Soul Power fluctuations were about the same as Fan Yu's had been when he stood beside Zhou Yi that day. She also wore the Inner Courtyard's red uniform. Feng Piaoling immediately guessed who she was.

Zhang Lexuan, the senior sister of Shrek Academy's Inner Courtyard—a tragic soul who had suffered the same fate as him.

"Greetings, senior." The three of them cupped their hands in greeting at the same time.

Zhang Lexuan nodded slightly, then turned her gaze to Feng Piaoling. A hint of approval flashed in her eyes.

"Level thirty-six. It looks like this year's Outer Courtyard freshmen have produced an extraordinary talent. What's your name? Did you get your third Spirit Ring from a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear?"

When Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er heard Feng Piaoling's Soul Power Level, they were startled again. They had assumed he was only around level thirty-one or thirty-two. They hadn't expected his Soul Power Level to be so much higher than they'd imagined.

Feng Piaoling had managed to advance another level in less than three months, of course, because he had cultivated day and night.

He stepped forward and said, "Senior, my name is Feng Piaoling. I was lucky enough to come across a thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear that was badly wounded and near death, and I absorbed its Spirit Ring."