The Affection Level Was Already Maxed Out

"Heh... Are you the Soul Masters applying to teach at our school? What a lively crowd..."

Just then, three teachers from the school came over at a leisurely pace, their steps steady.

Their cheerful laughter broke the silence, dispelling the tense, awkward scene, charged with hostility and a hint of ambiguity.

The three teachers were overjoyed.

To them, the fact that Blue Tyrant Academy could suddenly welcome so many teachers

was like a wonderful surprise falling from the heavens. They couldn't help the corners of their mouths from curling upward.

After all, Blue Tyrant Academy was just a school rooted in a commoners' district.

Among commoners, awakening a Martial Soul was already difficult, let alone becoming a high-ranking Soul Master. There were very few people like that.

Those with outstanding Soul Power and high-ranking Martial Souls were often recruited in advance, for hefty sums, by the major forces of Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empire.

As a school for commoners, Blue Tyrant Academy was already strapped for funds.

Its teaching staff had been stretched thin for years, making even day-to-day lessons somewhat difficult.

Next, the teachers from Shrek Academy exchanged a glance and wordlessly began a dazzling display of their abilities.

They all released their Martial Souls.

Three Soul Saints and four Soul Emperors!

Their overwhelming, surging auras sent the three Blue Tyrant teachers stumbling backward, stunned!

Their eyes widened as waves of shock surged through their hearts.

But Yu Xiaogang, mixed in with the crowd, merely stood with his hands behind his back and didn't release his Martial Soul.

He shamelessly stood among the Shrek teachers,

looking every bit as if he planned to cling to them and share in their glory.

The story that followed was much the same as in the original. The three Blue Tyrant teachers immediately decided to hire all the Shrek Academy teachers as special instructors at Blue Tyrant Academy.

The students they brought along wouldn't need to take any of the tedious entrance exams, either.

They could join Blue Tyrant Academy directly under Shrek's name.

But just as the three Blue Tyrant teachers turned to lead everyone to meet the dean, Liu Erlong,

one of the white-haired teachers suddenly slapped his forehead, remembering Xiao Yexuan, who had been left waiting at the edge of the crowd.

After all, Xiao Yexuan wasn't part of the Shrek group. To enroll officially, he still had to go through the Soul Power test and identity registration.

Xiao Yexuan decided to get straight to the point.

He raised a hand and released his Martial Soul.

It was an ordinary folding fan, decorated with an ink-wash landscape.

The fan slowly opened, revealing a large, dark teal bird circling with its wings outstretched in the painted landscape.

A yellow Soul Ring encircled the bird.

Its light was simply very rich, far denser than that of an ordinary Soul Master's Second Soul Ring.

As its halo flowed, it even looked as if it had an exceptionally high age.

Earlier, Xiao Wu had only vaguely sensed a familiar warmth in Xiao Yexuan's Soul Power aura. It had felt especially comforting.

But the moment Xiao Yexuan revealed that dazzling yellow Soul Ring, her heart jolted as if struck by a heavy hammer, and her body swayed slightly.

She could clearly sense that there wasn't a trace of a Soul Beast's resentment within the Soul Ring.

It was as if, before the Soul Beast had been absorbed by Xiao Yexuan, it had loved him deeply, willingly giving everything to merge with his body without the slightest resistance.

For an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Beast to sacrifice itself so willingly—

As a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast herself, Xiao Wu was deeply moved, her eyes filled with astonishment.

After all, the Soul Rings of everyone else at Shrek had come from Soul Beasts they'd personally hunted in the forest.

Their Soul Rings all contained more or less lingering resentment from the Soul Beasts.

That made Xiao Wu feel uncomfortable whenever she got close to them.

But when she stayed beside Xiao Yexuan, she felt as if she were basking in a spring breeze. Even the Soul Power around her seemed to grow calm.

It was as though she'd returned to the Soul Beast's nest in Star Dou Forest—to the home where she felt safest.

Aside from Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes flickered nearby, while Ning Rongrong's widened. Both girls reacted strangely to Xiao Yexuan's Martial Soul and gentle temperament.

When the boys from Shrek Academy saw this, they were furious. One after another, they clenched their fists.

"So he's just a pretty boy! He's only good-looking, so what's there to stare at? Hmph!"

Ma Hongjun gave an angry, gritted-teeth snort, his cheeks puffing slightly with rage.

"He actually dares to make a move on my woman? He really doesn't know how high the heavens are!

If this kid stays at Blue Tyrant Academy and hangs around us all day, I won't be able to eat or sleep in peace!"

Dai Mubai stood nearby and nodded in agreement.

He'd sensed the danger keenly, and his brows furrowed tight.

After all, the three girls, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong, were acting far too strangely around Xiao Yexuan. It was completely beyond reason.

Dai Mubai could no longer restrain his anger. He clenched his fists and strode toward Xiao Yexuan, each heavy step making the ground tremble slightly.

He was tall and powerfully built, like a moving hill, bearing down on Xiao Yexuan with an intimidating presence.

Xiao Yexuan's mouth twitched, and his eyelid flickered.

He felt more wronged than Dou E, cursing his bad luck inwardly. He hadn't done anything—he'd only stood there and released his Martial Soul—yet somehow he'd provoked Dai Mubai.

Turning to look at the other Shrek boys, he saw Oscar pursing his lips and Ma Hongjun glaring furiously. Every one of them was watching him like a hawk.

He couldn't understand what he'd done to offend them, or what those three girls had said earlier to make the boys so hostile toward him.

But Xiao Yexuan was no coward.

He'd crossed over from the modern world, after all, and had weathered plenty of storms.

Why would he fear Dai Mubai, a mere Soul Elder?

So he took a deep breath and puffed out his chest. With a slight turn of his wrist, he gently waved his folding fan, stirring a breeze that ruffled his ink-black hair.

He raised his eyes to Dai Mubai and spoke without either groveling or bluster:

"May I ask what you want with me?"

Dai Mubai's eyes widened. Still fuming, he continued to advance, Soul Power faintly radiating from his body.

In the distance, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Xiao Wu all changed expression at once.

Afraid Dai Mubai might act rashly and hurt Xiao Yexuan, they hurried over.

Xiao Yexuan's calm, unflinching words, along with his graceful, composed fanning,

made the three girls' eyes light up. They praised him repeatedly, their favor toward him growing even stronger.

Ning Rongrong cupped her soft cheeks in her hands, elbows propped in front of her. Her voice brimmed with lovestruck affection as she drew out her words:

"Wow, he's so polite! Dai Mubai, look at yourself. You're so crude compared with him!

You're a three-ring Soul Elder, yet you're quibbling with a Soul Master who only has one ring.

Don't tell me you're planning to use your strength to bully someone weaker and pick on a newcomer?

If that's really what you're doing, then I'll despise you forever."

Ning Rongrong wasn't afraid of Dai Mubai's intimidation at all. She stuck her chin out as she spoke.

She even raised both middle fingers at him. The disdain on her little face was so intense, it looked as if she might take off her shoes and raise her toes' middle fingers, too!

Ning Rongrong's words nearly made Dai Mubai's head explode. The veins on his face bulged!

Being publicly berated by Ning Rongrong in front of so many people

left him with no face to show. His expression turned red, then white, looking utterly awful.

But when he glanced at Xiao Yexuan's Soul Ring, he saw that he really did have just one. He looked frail and feeble.

After Ning Rongrong said that, Dai Mubai no longer had any reason to attack.

He felt like he'd been put on a spit over a fire, unable to advance or retreat, caught in a terrible bind.

"Even when facing a Soul Elder with two more Soul Rings than him, he's so calm and graceful. He doesn't even avert his eyes."

"A person like that... is no ordinary man."

Just then, Zhu Zhuqing gazed at Xiao Yexuan, her eyes glimmering with unmistakable admiration. Her voice was also gentler than usual as she continued:

"He's just standing there without saying anything, yet it's as if he's telling me, 'My fate is mine to command, not Heaven's.'

No matter how powerful the enemy, they can't shake our resolve.

We're free. We must be masters of our own lives, never depend on anyone, and never bow our heads to fate!"

"So that's it! That's it! Why didn't I think of this before!"

It was as if Zhu Zhuqing had received a sudden revelation. She instantly understood the doubts that had plagued her for so long, as though she'd found the direction her life should take.

She hurried over to Xiao Yexuan, even forgetting to maintain her usual cold demeanor.

She reached out excitedly and clutched his hands tightly.

Her face was full of gratitude and admiration, and her eyes reddened slightly.

"Thank you. Thank you so much!"

"You showed me the way ahead and helped me understand where to go from here!"

As she spoke, Zhu Zhuqing's usually icy face melted in an instant, revealing a charming smile.

A faint blush bloomed on her fair cheeks and spread all the way to her ears.

Her grip on Xiao Yexuan's hands tightened. Shy, she asked in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz:

"My name is Zhu Zhuqing. Thank you so much for your guidance. Are you free tonight?

Could I come to your room so we can have a good, in-depth discussion about cultivation?"

Xiao Yexuan was dumbfounded. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.

He froze in place, inwardly crying that the story wasn't supposed to go like this! This turn of events was way too outrageous!

He'd never imagined Zhu Zhuqing would suddenly become so fond of him, her attitude changing so drastically.

He'd done nothing but stand there, smile faintly at the three girls, and barely say a few words. He'd already "won over" this icy goddess?

That was simply too ridiculous!

Back in his original world, if a beautiful girl suddenly grabbed his hand like this, acting as if she wanted to pledge herself to him,

his first reaction would definitely be to grow wary, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

He'd assume she was after his money or some part of his body. She couldn't possibly have good intentions.

But now that he'd come to Douluo Continent, he knew the original story inside and out, and he knew Zhu Zhuqing's personality. She was proud and aloof.

She would never act like this toward someone she'd just met.

Besides, Xiao Yexuan was completely broke, with pockets cleaner than his face, and he was still very weak.

His only advantage was probably this handsome face he'd inherited from his previous life.

What could she possibly want from him? Could it really be love at first sight?

If so, what was there for Xiao Yexuan to hesitate about? This was an opportunity delivered right to his door. Wouldn't it be a shame to let it slip away?

He wanted to see just what kind of "in-depth discussion" Zhu Zhuqing had in mind.

Sure, it would completely offend Dai Mubai, but why should Xiao Yexuan fear him? At worst, he'd train harder from then on!

So Xiao Yexuan gave Zhu Zhuqing a faint smile, warmth in his eyes, and gently replied:

"Sure. Whatever cultivation questions you want to discuss, I'll tell you everything I know. We could find a quiet pavilion or corridor right now.

There's no need to trouble yourself by coming to my room at night. If a man and a woman are alone in one room, it might harm your reputation and invite gossip."

"Ohohohoho~~ He actually... he actually is so considerate! He thinks of Zhuqing in every way. What a perfect gentleman! If it were any other man, with a beauty like Zhuqing inviting him to be alone together,

he'd have been over the moon and clinging to her hand for dear life, wouldn't he? But he can resist such temptation and think everything through so carefully!"

As soon as Xiao Yexuan finished speaking, Ning Rongrong came strolling over, cupped her chin in her hands, and cried out in feigned amazement.

Her voice was so loud that everyone present could hear her clearly, as if she were afraid someone might miss it.

Then she quickened her pace, her heart full of alarm. No, I absolutely can't let Zhu Zhuqing steal him away. I have to think of something!

At those words, Dai Mubai's face turned black as the bottom of a pot. Ma Hongjun and Oscar's expressions changed as well.

Anyone with eyes could tell that Ning Rongrong, the Little Demoness, was clearly mocking them for their lecherous thoughts and disgraceful conduct!