Yan's Jealousy

Standing beside her brother, Hu Liena looked at Zhang Yang, who only reached Dewey's chest, and thought to herself, Is that him?

A person's name is like the shadow of a tree.

Known as the "new student with monstrous talent," Zhang Yang's reputation had reached Hu Liena's ears shortly after he entered the school.

In this past year, the fame of Zhang Yang the "genius" had even outshone the three of them.

However, because they were in different grade levels, Hu Liena had never had the chance to meet Zhang Yang.

Seeing him today, however, left Hu Liena feeling quite disappointed.

He was too ordinary, just like any low-grade student one could see anywhere. Aside from his handsome features, there was still a clear sense of childishness on his face; he lacked any of the special qualities a genius should possess.

As Hu Liena thought this, Yan, standing beside her, spoke up: "No advice, just wondering how the primary department's famous cultivation genius could look like this?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yang sneered: "Then what should I look like? Should I have a head of red hair like you, afraid that others won't know you have a fire-attribute martial soul?"

"Hey, you..."

Yan's temper flared. Just as a string of profanities was about to escape his lips, he was interrupted by Xie Yue standing next to him: "Yan, shut up."

"..." The words died on his lips. Yan's eyebrows were so angry they stood on end, but he dared not defy Xie Yue, so he could only snort in anger and plop back down onto the sofa.

Dewey patted Zhang Yang on the shoulder and said: "This time, these three will assist you in hunting for your third soul ring."

"Them?" Zhang Yang looked at the indifferent Xie Yue and Hu Liena, then at Yan, whose back of the head seemed to scream "I am very angry."

Dewey nodded: "That's right."

Zhang Yang frowned: "Last year, when hunting for my second soul ring, the academy sent two Soul Kings and one Soul Emperor. How did this third soul ring hunt turn into three Soul Elders?"

As soon as Zhang Yang said this, Yan, who had been trying to "look away to avoid annoyance," stood up with a start, his face full of fury, his eyebrows and hair standing on end.

"Yan!" Xie Yue shouted softly to stop him.

Yan, who had been about to point at Zhang Yang's nose and curse, froze before being pressed back into his seat by Xie Yue's hand on his shoulder.

"Hmph!"

"Eh, don't say it like that. Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan are quite capable." Dewey patted Zhang Yang's shoulder: "Sit down first and we'll talk."

Sitting on the sofa, Zhang Yang reclined slightly and said: "It's not a question of whether the three seniors are capable or not; it's that I feel the academy doesn't seem to take me very seriously."

"Eh, don't be impatient, I haven't finished yet."

Dewey reassured him: "For this soul-hunting mission, the three of them are responsible for clearing the surrounding area while you hunt the soul beast, preventing unrelated soul beasts from intruding on the battlefield and interfering with your fight."

"What if we encounter a soul beast over ten thousand years old? The four of us combined probably wouldn't be enough for a single bite," Zhang Yang retorted.

"Look at you, impatient again." Dewey shook his head: "Don't worry, there is someone else responsible for holding the line."

"Who?"

"The Education Committee didn't say, only that it is a Title Douluo from the Pope Palace."

"A Title Douluo from the Pope Palace?"

Hearing this, two figures quickly flashed through Zhang Yang's mind.

Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan.

These two were the Title Douluos with the most screen time under Pope Bibi Dong, and also the two she commanded most effectively.

If Zhang Yang guessed correctly, this soul-hunting mission should also be overseen by one of these two.

"Since a Title Douluo is holding the line, then I am relieved." Zhang Yang nodded and leaned back comfortably against the sofa.

"Mm." Dewey nodded and turned to look at Xie Yue opposite him: "Xie Yue."

"Understood, Teacher Dewey." Xie Yue nodded and looked at Zhang Yang: "Zhang Yang, according to the Education Committee's orders, our team will assist you in hunting for your third soul ring."

"The Star Dou Forest is fraught with danger. Although we have a Title Douluo crown sitting in command, if you seek your own death, no one can save you."

"There is one more thing: the Education Committee also said that unless it is a life-or-death crisis, this crown will not intervene."

"Therefore, after entering the Star Dou Forest, all your actions must follow orders. If you have any questions, you must communicate with other members of the team. Only after everyone agrees is action permitted. Do you understand?"

Zhang Yang patted his chest and said: "Don't worry, I know the difference between what's important and what's not. Besides, isn't this hunting a soul ring for myself? How could I possibly cause trouble?"

Xie Yue nodded: "That's good."

After Xie Yue finished speaking, Hu Liena spoke up: "What direction do you intend for your third soul skill to take? Which soul beasts are you targeting?"

Hu Liena's voice sounded somewhat husky, but it was precisely this huskiness, combined with her tone, inflection, and rhythm, that held a unique charm.

"Area-of-effect damage, I suppose." Zhang Yang blurted out: "I don't care at all about single enemies or enemies of average size. But right now, I lack sufficient means for larger enemies."

"Area-of-effect damage?" Hearing this, Hu Liena's eyes became distant, clearly indicating her brain had already begun to process the information.

"What attribute?" Xie Yue asked.

Zhang Yang thought for a moment: "Fire attribute. For area-of-effect soul skills, there should be a wider range of fire-attribute soul beasts to choose from."

Xie Yue nodded: "Indeed, fire-attribute soul beasts are more likely to yield area-of-effect soul skills."

"When we entered the Star Dou Forest last time, we did encounter many thousand-year fire-attribute soul beasts. We killed one and gave it to Yan," Hu Liena said.

Xie Yue nodded: "That's right, so we can take that same path this time and see if we can run into those soul beasts again."

"Do you remember which spirit beasts they were?" Dewey asked.

"Fire Lizard, Scorching Flame Wolf," Xie Yue said. "Those are the only two I remember that fit the age range."

"What about those that exceeded the age range? There might be some nearby that are suitable," Teacher Dewey asked.

"I don't remember clearly," Xie Yue shook his head. "It's been a while, and since they exceeded the age limit, we didn't pay much attention to them."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be fire-attribute. The main thing is to find spirit beasts that possess area-of-effect or splash damage," Zhang Yang asked. "Sticking strictly to the fire attribute will only limit our options."

"That makes it even harder to recall, because we were hunting for Yan's spirit ring, so we only paid extra attention to fire-attribute spirit beasts."

"We only caught a glimpse of the other spirit beasts and avoided them without conflict, so we have no way of knowing if they had area-of-effect or splash damage."

"Regardless, we have a direction now," Teacher Dewey said with satisfaction. "I'll go back and look through the records to study this, and I'll strive to compile a useful reference guide before you set off."

"That works. We'll meet at the academy gate at 8:00 AM in three days," Xie Yue said as he stood up. Hu Liena stood up beside him, and Yan, looking furious, just lowered his head and walked out.

Zhang Yang and Dewey stood up and walked them to the main gate.

After walking a few dozen meters, Yan could no longer hold it in. He stopped in his tracks and looked at Xie Yue, "Captain, that little brat was looking down on us. Did you hear his tone? He was practically pointing at our noses and insulting us."

"How old are you?" Xie Yue also stopped and looked at the fuming Yan. "Why are you getting worked up over an eight-year-old kid?"

"Being eight isn't an excuse for him to talk like that," Yan retorted. "We're going through all this trouble to take him to hunt spirit beasts, and this is the attitude he gives us?"

"Who cares about his attitude? As long as we can earn the approval of the Pope, everything is worth it," Xie Yue shook his head. "This is a mission assigned to us by the Pope, and we must complete it perfectly."

"I..." Yan was momentarily speechless.

Since Xie Yue had brought up the Pope, what else could he say?

The three of them parted ways at the intersection.

Watching Yan's retreating figure, Xie Yue narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Yan is jealous."

Hu Liena remained silent.

"You mentioned Zhang Yang a bit too often before we came here," Xie Yue looked at Hu Liena beside him. "What are you thinking?"

"It's just that his reputation as a genius is so loud that I couldn't wait to see him," Hu Liena said.

Xie Yue nodded, not dwelling on the issue. "Let's go, then. Let's head back and prepare."