Ning Tian and Wu Feng

Another wave of sighs rippled through the room, but aside from Wu Feng, whose expression remained sour, the others seemed to find this arrangement only natural.

In a place where everyone was a genius, the logic was simple: if you were more talented than me, your voice carried more weight.

Therefore, even though some felt a twinge of dissatisfaction, they remained patient since Wang Yan had already stated that objections could be raised later.

"Vice Class Monitor, Ning Tian, Dong'er!"

It's her... Huo Yuhao thought, confirming his suspicions. Just moments ago, he had seen a golden-haired girl with her face partially obscured pulling Wu Feng back; if anyone could manage that, it was certainly Ning Tian.

Ning Tian, the current young sect master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect, possessed the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, the top-tier support-type martial soul on the Douluo Continent.

Legend had it that if one could obtain a special immortal herb to refine the martial soul, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda could evolve into the higher-quality Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. Yet, in Huo Yuhao's memories, aside from the Nine-Colored Goddess, he had never seen another soul master with a Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul.

But after encountering so many familiar faces these past few days, Huo Yuhao had to keep a wary eye on Ning Tian. Who knew if her talent might have progressed further... and her martial soul had already evolved?

Next, Wang Yan announced the names of the other class officials one after another, but aside from Ning Tian and Wu Feng, who was appointed as the cultivation committee member, he heard no other familiar names. This allowed Huo Yuhao to breathe a temporary sigh of relief.

"Now, are there any objections?" Before Wang Yan's voice had even faded, Wu Feng's hand shot up.

"I have an objection. I doubt Huo Yuhao's strength; I don't think he's fit to be class monitor!"

"The class monitor should be Ning Tian!"

Wu Feng's voice remained loud and clear. The other students had anticipated this result, and their gazes shifted in unison toward Huo Yuhao, curious to see how he would respond.

"Well then, classmate Wu Feng." Huo Yuhao stood up, locking eyes with Wu Feng in the back row, and continued:

"What method would you like to use to verify my strength? Should I display my soul rings?"

"Or, since you are recommending classmate Ning Tian, do you want her to have a match with me?"

"No. Even with soul rings, that only proves you're a one-ring soul master; it doesn't prove your true combat ability," Wu Feng retorted.

"Besides, Ning Tian is a support-type soul master and cannot fight alone. As her... friend, I will test your mettle for her!"

Wu Feng pointed a finger at Huo Yuhao:

"I want to fight you. If I win, you step down from the position of class monitor."

"And what if I win?" Huo Yuhao asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"If you win... I'll accept you. I'll be your lackey for a semester, running errands and fetching your meals!" Wu Feng declared with conviction. To be honest, Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned by the request.

Such a simple... demand?

In Huo Yuhao's view, the stakes for both sides were completely lopsided. He wasn't actually that interested in being class monitor; if she had just asked nicely, he would have gladly given the position to Ning Tian.

As for having a lackey... Huo Yuhao had even less interest in that. He wasn't bored enough to need a servant while attending school. Besides, he remembered that Wu Feng was Ning Tian's attendant—even if he won, would she really have the time to run errands for him?

This was vastly different from his memories. He clearly recalled the twelve-year-old Wu Feng being far less reasonable... she had been dead set on targeting him until he was forced to drop out of the academy.

It seemed that because she was younger, her personality wasn't quite as grating yet, though she was still clearly biased toward her young mistress.

In Huo Yuhao's opinion, if he could beat her into submission in this fight... with a little guidance later, it might not be impossible to befriend her.

"Haha, it seems classmate Wu Feng's fighting spirit is quite high! Very well, the practical combat class this afternoon will be temporarily changed to an observation of the duel between Wu Feng and Huo Yuhao!"

Before Huo Yuhao could answer, Wang Yan had already accepted the challenge on his behalf.

As he walked past Huo Yuhao, he didn't forget to give him a subtle wink.

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Huo Yuhao's forehead. He knew very well that with his current strength, even a twelve-year-old Wu Feng might not be able to withstand a single Mental Shock of his at the thousand-year level.

There was no need to mention Wang Yan; he definitely knew the true nature of Huo Yuhao's first soul ring, or he wouldn't have agreed to this match so readily.

Was this Wang Yan... actually a hidden schemer with a dark heart?

Huo Yuhao recalled the honest man from his memories who was solely focused on theoretical research... well, he had to admit, it would take some time to get used to this change.

He comforted himself internally, thinking that at least on the surface, nothing had changed.

Shortly after, the students arrived at the Spirit Fighting Arena, but to Huo Yuhao's surprise, it was the exact same one where Lang Ya had attacked him a few days ago.

What was this, fate?

After paying the Gold Soul Coins for the temporary rental of the arena, Wang Yan led Huo Yuhao and Wu Feng onto the stage.

To be honest, after experiencing the battles in the God Realm... Huo Yuhao always had the illusion that these Spirit Fighting arenas were incredibly small.

"The rules are simple: falling out of bounds or complete exhaustion counts as a loss."

"No fatal injuries are allowed during the fight. This is merely a friendly spar between classmates, please keep that firmly in mind."

Wang Yan briefly explained the rules, and both Wu Feng and Huo Yuhao nodded to show they understood.

Afterward, both sides retreated to a distance of fifty meters from the center of the arena, which was one of the basic rules of spirit fighting.

Both parties maintained their distance at the start to prevent any sneak attacks during the introduction phase.

Wang Yan was already seated in the spectator stands, his eyes gleaming as he watched the two figures confronting each other on the stage.

"This should be interesting..." Wang Yan muttered to himself. Dong'er and Ning Tian happened to be sitting right next to him—or rather, this was a result of Wang Yan's deliberate arrangement.

"Teacher Wang, you seem to have a lot of confidence in that new student, Huo Yuhao?" Ning Tian had neat, pale-gold short hair, and her eyes were the same shade of pale gold.

She didn't doubt Huo Yuhao's actual Soul Power Level, or rather, she had absolute trust in the academy's selection process.

It was just that before Huo Yuhao arrived, she had always been the one with the highest soul power in the class, having reached level 14 at the age of seven. To say she didn't feel a bit uneasy about having her thunder stolen by Huo Yuhao would be a lie.

"Hmm... not just 'fairly confident,' but extremely confident," Wang Yan said.

"Student Ning Tian, I can give you a hint. Would you like to guess the age of Huo Yuhao's first spirit ring?"

Ning Tian answered almost without a second thought:

"As far as I know... the average age for a spirit master's first spirit ring is three to four hundred years, while the limit was set ten thousand years ago by Pope Chen Mo at three thousand seven hundred years."

"Teacher Wang Yan, could it be that Huo Yuhao's first spirit ring is also extraordinary?" Ning Tian suddenly considered a possibility she herself found hard to believe, but Wang Yan's demeanor made her harbor some doubts.

"Hmm... some things are better seen with one's own eyes." Wang Yan pointed toward the Spirit Fighting Arena, and Ning Tian looked in the direction his finger indicated.

"Wu Feng, level 12, one-ring assault-type battle spirit master, spirit: Red Dragon!"

Wu Feng rolled up the sleeve of her right arm. As a yellow spirit ring appeared around her, dense, crimson dragon scales covered her hand, transforming it into an elegant dragon claw. At the same time, a pair of bright red dragon horns sprouted from her forehead.

"Huo Yuhao, level 15, one-ring control-type battle spirit master."

Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes, purple light shimmering in his pupils, but more than his eyes, it was the purple halo behind his head that drew the attention of everyone present.

"A thousand-year spirit ring... his first spirit ring is actually... a thousand-year spirit ring..." As Ning Tian muttered in disbelief, Huo Yuhao announced his own spirit.

"Spirit: Spirit Eye!"