The first day of school, Teachers' Office.
Xia Ming sat leisurely on the sofa by the window.
Yet his gaze carried a hint of mischief as it rested on Zhang Lexuan, who was organizing lesson plans across from him.
"Sister Lexuan," a smile played on his lips, his voice bright and clear.
"The academy has stuffed all the best seedlings into our class this time."
Hearing this, Zhang Lexuan paused her pen and looked up at him.
Several years had passed, yet time had left no trace on her face. Instead, it had refined her innate gentleness into something even richer and more captivating.
"It doesn't have much to do with me."
She gently shook her head. A strand of hair slipped across her forehead, and she casually tucked it behind her ear with natural elegance.
"It's purely because you're in this class."
She looked directly at Xia Ming, a trace of imperceptible emotion and pride flashing deep within her eyes.
As her words fell, the air around her seemed to distort slightly for an instant, as though unconsciously.
A vast yet restrained pressure surged silently like a tide, then was swiftly drawn back in.
Several potted plants on the office windowsill stirred without wind, their leaves trembling faintly.
This was a sign that she had only recently absorbed her eighth Soul Ring and had yet to perfectly control the sudden surge in her power.
For this absorption, she had deliberately tempered herself at the threshold of Rank 80 for more than a full year, laying an unshakable foundation.
In the end, her accumulated strength had erupted all at once.
Not only had she successfully formed a contract with a powerful Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Spirit, gaining two exceptionally powerful eighth soul skills.
The immense energy returned during the Soul Spirit's sacrifice