Freshman Class One's Class Leader

Zhou Yi looked at the students before her, pressed her hands onto the lectern, and spoke to the room in a low, heavy voice.

"Everyone who has fought in the academy over the past two days, stand up."

Huo Yuhao was the first to rise. Wang Dong looked toward Lin Yun, and after weighing the pros and cons, the latter also chose to stand.

Given his own situation, if he didn't seal his Martial Soul, running the full distance would be no problem at all; there was no need to leave an impression of being a slacker in her eyes.

Although, judging by Mu En's attitude, he wouldn't be dying anytime soon, if this woman were to add fuel to the fire, it would ultimately be disadvantageous for him.

Most importantly, Wang Dong had looked at him, effectively outing him unintentionally; even if he didn't admit it, there was a high probability he would be called out anyway.

Seeing Lin Yun stand up, Wang Dong immediately stood as well.

A look of disdain appeared on Zhou Yi's face at this moment. She looked at the room full of people with a sense of disappointment, her tone dripping with dissatisfaction and frustration.

"Just these three? You are truly a bunch of losers, a bunch of people who have lost all courage and backbone."

Lin Yun watched the surrounding students, who looked completely stunned by the scolding, and couldn't help but shake his head. He thought to himself that these people were truly unlucky to have run into a teacher like this.

It was a classic case of a scholar trying to reason with a soldier; there was no way to make sense of it.

Anyone who has been to a boarding school knows that upon arriving at a new place, aside from the few who are natural troublemakers, most people's first reaction is to adopt a wait-and-see attitude, wanting to know what kind of people are around them first.

Fights rarely happen right at the start of the semester; they usually occur between the middle of the first semester and the second year. After that, once everyone is familiar with each other and knows where the boundaries lie, it becomes harder for fights to break out.

Fighting on the first day—Lin Yun wasn't afraid of getting dragged into it, but that was pure recklessness. If you didn't kick an iron plate, fine, but if you did, you'd lose both face and substance.

If Wang Dong hadn't been hounding him, Lin Yun would never have done something so mindless.

Zhou Yi didn't care about their mindset. Her sarcastic remarks poured out like beans from a bamboo tube, one after another. Before anyone could react, she continued:

"Since you lack the backbone to take the initiative and seek out combat, you must be feeling quite cold. No matter, Teacher will help you warm up today. Everyone except these three, run one hundred laps around the track."

"Anyone who doesn't finish within one hour will be expelled. Start now!"

Immediately, the students of Freshman Class One let out wails that echoed far and wide. Zhou Yi merely sneered and placed an hourglass on the lectern.

"Screaming takes time, you know."

As the words fell, the students scrambled to their feet and bolted toward the outside.

Lin Yun watched them go, then turned his gaze back to Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi looked at Lin Yun and said calmly:

"I am very clear about your situation. Although most Evil Martial Souls end up on an evil path, there are exceptions, such as Bone Douluo from ten thousand years ago."

Lin Yun replied:

"Since the name of Bone Douluo hasn't been erased from the world, I am curious why the Bone Dragon Martial Soul is considered an Evil Soul Master's."

Zhou Yi saw that the time was nearly up. After dismissing Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, she looked at Lin Yun and said:

"Because three consecutive Soul Masters with the Bone Dragon Martial Soul became Evil Soul Masters. Most dragons are inherently vicious, greedy, and lustful. The Bone Dragon lineage is a creature reborn from a place of death, carrying an extra layer of evil energy—evil upon evil."

Lin Yun lowered his head in silence and asked Zhou Yi:

"So, it's still empiricism?"

Zhou Yi said earnestly, almost self-righteously:

"Correct. And this matter itself is something that requires vigilance. Your own hometown was ravaged by Evil Soul Masters. Do you think this kind of thing can be handled with hesitation? Or, do you think it's wrong to sacrifice one to protect the many?"

Lin Yun looked up and said:

"Then, if it meant sacrificing a Limit Douluo to protect one hundred people, would you be willing? Could you still be so self-righteous? If it meant sacrificing you to protect the fifty people in this class, would you be willing?"

Zhou Yi was instantly rendered speechless. Lin Yun continued:

"Once life is placed on a scale, the one holding the scale is no longer fit to be called human. Just because an Evil Soul Master once possessed the same Martial Soul, to send a child to the execution ground—is that fit to be called human?"

After speaking, Lin Yun prepared to go down and run, but was stopped by Zhou Yi.

"You don't need to run. Just wait here. You didn't enter through the standard examination, so you don't need to undergo this training."

Lin Yun narrowed his eyes, thinking for a moment before he understood Zhou Yi's logic.

She truly believed that running was useful for a Soul Master's cultivation, so she was reducing his training and not letting him run.

Lin Yun looked at Zhou Yi and asked:

"Then should I go back and sit?"

"Stand on the lectern."

Lin Yun didn't know what medicine Zhou Yi was selling in her gourd, but since he was under her thumb, resistance was meaningless. He stood casually by the edge of the lectern and tilted his head to look at the windowsill.

As the hourglass was about to run out, Zhou Yi picked it up and said:

"Follow me down."

Lin Yun followed Zhou Yi downstairs, looking at the thirty or forty students who were as exhausted as beaten dogs, and the few top performers who still looked somewhat human.

Zhou Yi pointed casually at a few people who were collapsed on the ground.

"You, you, and you. You few, you're expelled."

Those few immediately refused to accept it, wailing at Zhou Yi:

"Why, Teacher Zhou?"

Zhou Yi looked at the group and said, "Because you were lazy, do you dare to swear on your own Martial Soul that you ran the full one hundred laps?"

One of the students, who looked like a wine barrel, grunted at Huo Yuhao, "What about him? He didn't run the full hundred laps himself either."

Zhou Yi crossed her arms and said, "I never said that helping each other was forbidden, nor did I say that using your Martial Soul was prohibited. If you had also completed one hundred laps with someone else's help, I wouldn't be giving you any trouble."

The students still looked indignant, but Zhou Yi curled her lips into a sinister smile. "You don't want to be expelled? Fine, help me cripple him, and we'll call it even."

As she spoke, Zhou Yi pointed sharply at Lin Yun.

Lin Yun was stunned for a moment. How did this end up involving me?

"Teacher Zhou, if that's how you're going to play it, I'll be sure to remember this." Lin Yun narrowed his eyes at Zhou Yi, his tone unfriendly.

Zhou Yi didn't care in the slightest and said to Lin Yun calmly, "Suit yourself. I won't lay a hand on you personally, but if you want to survive here, you'll have to rely on your own strength."

Lin Yun took a deep breath, looked at the six hostile students in front of him, and sighed. "So, you lot are planning to throw hands with me?"

The people before him were all from commoner backgrounds without any real connections; the most impressive among them was merely the nephew of a City Guard squad leader...