Ten minutes before class, Su Qing finally found the classroom. For some reason, everyone he passed on the way seemed to be drifting toward him, either deliberately or unconsciously, which left him at a loss. He had wanted to get to class early and find an inconspicuous corner to sit in until the lesson ended. Now he could only look for an empty seat.
Sure enough, by the time he reached the classroom, every seat was taken. Fortunately, there was a desk and chair all by themselves in the last row, beside the window. Sitting there made him look like a transfer student, but since he was already here, who could refuse the King's homeland?
The boys had all seated themselves with other boys, and the girls with other girls. It wasn't hard to tell that they had chosen their roommates as desk mates. Yet the moment Su Qing walked in, regret flickered across the faces of several students in unison.
A handsome young man with white hair and violet eyes had just entered the classroom, and he caused quite a stir. People on Douluo Continent generally married early, and eleven or twelve was the age when young hearts first stirred. Su Qing, however, didn't respond at all. He simply walked to the back and sat down. It wasn't that he was aloof; he'd had little experience dealing with people in either his previous life or the one before that, and this sort of situation made him inexplicably nervous around others.
In the life before his last one, he'd been a workaholic who lived alone. In his last life, the people he'd dealt with most were Di Tian and the others. Tossing him into a crowd like this, he truly had no idea how to handle it.
Fortunately, as soon as he sat down, Mu Jin arrived. She wore a finely tailored, small V-neck blazer over a white shirt, a light purple pencil skirt, flesh-colored stockings, and black patent leather heels with red soles. Her beautiful light purple hair was streaked with black, and her well-proportioned figure and gentle features revealed the unique charm of a middle-aged woman.
"Fan Yu's taste really is beyond me. What exactly does Mu Jin lack compared to Zhou Yi?"
Sitting below, Su Qing silently grumbled to himself. The saying that women were like wine, growing richer with age, was absolutely true.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Mu Jin, the homeroom teacher of Freshman Class Nine. Unless something unexpected happens, I'll be your homeroom teacher until the freshman assessment in three months. During that time, I hope we can respect one another and help one another succeed."
Her gentle voice, carried by Soul Power, reached every student clearly. Perhaps it was her gentle appearance, or perhaps the composed, cultured voice of a mature woman, but Mu Jin's words were soothing and put no pressure on the students.
"Since today is the first day of school, I'll leave the rest of the time to you after I've gone over a few things. So, please listen quietly while I speak."
She looked around, and when no one objected, continued.
"The freshman assessment will be held in teams of three, with each team challenging the others. Losing the ability to fight or leaving the battle area both count as a loss. So, over the next three months, I want you to train harder and work with your teammates to develop better teamwork. Aim for a good result in the assessment. At the very least, win five round-robin matches so the academy doesn't eliminate you. After all, everyone here has paid tuition..."
Mu Jin's words set off alarm bells in the hearts of the students who had only one ring. Passing the freshman assessment would be far too difficult for them. They would need not only to be matched with relatively weak opponents, but also to have teammates stronger than the opposing team. Otherwise, elimination would be inevitable.
Mu Jin finished explaining the freshman assessment in just over ten minutes. Then she called on Su Qing and Ning Tian, intending to choose a class monitor from the two Soul Elders. Ning Tian, who was good at reading people, noticed Su Qing's troubled expression and immediately volunteered for the role, citing her management experience.
"Wow, our class has two Soul Elders!"
"Wait, I think I saw that white-haired guy yesterday. Right after he finished enrolling, an older female student from the inner courtyard whisked him away..."
"Lucky guy! I wish I looked like that. An older female student from the inner courtyard, huh..."
"Quiet, please."
Hearing her classmates' chatter, Ning Tian frowned slightly. Muttering about someone right in front of them was rather disrespectful.
Seeing Ning Tian silence the whole class with a single sentence, Mu Jin gave her an approving look. Then she turned to Su Qing and said:
"All right, you're free to use the remaining time as you wish. Su, come with me for a moment."
With that, she turned and left the classroom.
"Sure."
Su Qing answered and immediately followed her.
As soon as they entered the office, Mu Jin spoke earnestly:
"I've read your file. You chose the Power Attack System for your Martial Soul. I originally intended to place you in Ning Tian's group, but she already has Wu Feng, another Power Attack System student. Splitting them up by force isn't how I do things, so I can only have you lead a team on your own."
"I won't hide it from you. I plan to make Ning Tian's team our class's top contender, but I also want as many students as possible to pass the freshman assessment. So, I can only let you choose two teammates with one ring each. I know that's unfair to you, but as a teacher, I have to take responsibility for every student. I'm sorry."
Su Qing was a little surprised. The original story hadn't mentioned how Mu Jin treated her students. He'd assumed she was only a little better than Zhou Yi, but he hadn't expected her to be so responsible. His teammates might be weaker during the freshman assessment, but he didn't take that to heart.
"It's fine, Teacher Mu. I'm not interested in the rankings, and I'm happy to help more students advance."
Su Qing smiled, his expression easing. He'd thought Mu Jin would force him to team up with Ning Tian, but it turned out he'd been worrying for nothing. Mu Jin wasn't the sort of person who would go against her students' wishes just for a better ranking.
"Thank you, Su. If you run into any difficulties at the academy, you can come to me anytime."
Seeing Su Qing agree so readily, Mu Jin looked grateful. She immediately gave him the files of several students with one ring, letting him choose his teammates.
Su Qing didn't hesitate. He chose an auxiliary-type Soul Master named Luo Luo, whose Martial Soul was the Ruyi Disk, and a control-type Soul Master named He Bin, whose Martial Soul was Sandalwood.
As he left the office, Su Qing glanced toward the field. Just as he'd expected, Zhou Yi had already started making the students run laps. Xiao Xiao might have been strong enough to heft a cauldron and had good stamina, because she was running near the front. Huo Gua, on the other hand, was in an awkward position. In the short time Su Qing had been watching, Wang Dong had already lapped Huo Yuhao twice...
He instinctively wanted to give Huo Yuhao a pair of wings to help him, but when he saw Zhou Yi nearby, her face creased like an old woman's, he gave up on the idea.
Forget it. Someone will help him.
Remembering how Wang Dong had helped Huo Gua finish all one hundred laps in the original story, he turned and bought a few bottles of juice.
"Ah, I'm exhausted! If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone to register so early. Who'd want to stay in this awful class?!"
After finishing the run, Xiao Xiao slumped to the ground, miserable. When she'd learned in the Star Dou Great Forest that Su Qing was coming to Shrek, she'd come to register early just to see him. Instead, before she'd even run into Su Qing, she'd nearly been worked to death by the tasks that old woman had assigned.
"You're done? Want some juice?"
A familiar, gentle voice came with a cool breeze, sweeping away Xiao Xiao's exhaustion. The moment she looked up, her delighted eyes were completely filled by the sight of a white-haired figure.
"You... how long have you been here..."