Two days after the new students reported for enrollment, classes officially began.
Since the homeroom teacher for Class One was that outrageous Zhou Yi, Yang Jian didn't want to give her any excuse to find fault with him, so he and Ye Qingyuan arrived early and sat in the classroom.
When class was about to begin, an elderly woman appeared in the doorway.
She had wrinkled skin and white hair, which was coiled atop her head. Dressed in a white robe and of average build, she looked like an utterly ordinary old woman. But her bright eyes didn't match her appearance at all. Sparks gleamed in her dark irises, and merely meeting her gaze brought an invisible pressure to bear on you.
Of course, Yang Jian knew Zhou Yi hadn't always looked like this. She simply felt that her original, more delicate features didn't intimidate students enough, so she wore a human-skin mask over her face.
At the sight of a teacher entering, the previously rowdy class fell silent, and everyone turned their attention to the lectern.
The old woman's calm gaze swept across the classroom before she spoke:
"My name is Zhou Yi, and I'm your homeroom teacher. I don't know how many of you will make it through the next year with me. But I'll tell you this: in my class, not a single piece of trash will pass the assessment. I'm here to cultivate monsters, not idiots."
Her hoarse voice left the vast majority of the students in the room looking indignant.
Yang Jian, however, didn't feel much of anything. He just wanted to laugh.
Most students in the Outer Court were only here to pad their résumés. Only a few aimed to enter the Inner Court. If Zhou Yi kept so many of them from advancing or graduating, it was only because she had Level 8 Soul Engineer Fan Yu backing her. Otherwise, student complaints alone would have been enough to get her removed.
Zhou Yi didn't care what the students thought. Her next words shocked the entire class again. "Anyone who's gotten into a fight in the past few days since registration, stand up."
The moment she said this, everyone in the classroom looked at one another in confusion.
Was there something wrong with this teacher? She hadn't even introduced herself and was already asking if anyone had been in a fight?
Seeing that no one had stood up, Zhou Yi's face showed unmistakable disappointment.
"Not a single one? You really are a bunch of useless fools. Don't you know that those who dare not cause trouble are mediocrities? Everyone, leave the classroom immediately and run a hundred laps around Shrek Plaza. Anyone who can't finish will be expelled on the spot."
At those words, Ye Qingyuan, who had been frowning the whole time, couldn't help standing up.
"Teacher, you call us useless fools every other word. Are you trying to put students down so you can feel superior as a teacher? Or do you just get some twisted pleasure from insulting students? Maybe you're trying to cover up the fact that you're actually a useless fool yourself?"
The nearly hundred students present all drew in sharp breaths.
They were just as displeased, even furious, at Zhou Yi's words. But she was still a teacher at Shrek Academy. They wouldn't dare stand up to her or even curse at her.
Zhou Yi took in everyone's reaction. Unexpectedly, Ye Qingyuan's words didn't make her angry. She merely glanced at Ye Qingyuan with an impassive expression. "You. Two hundred laps."
"If you don't like it, you can get lost. As the homeroom teacher, I have the right to expel any student. You have one minute. If I don't see you running laps around Shrek Plaza within sixty seconds, I'll expel every one of you."
As her voice fell, a powerful aura surged from her, and rings of light appeared around her one after another.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black. Six Soul Rings. Zhou Yi was a Soul Master at the Soul Emperor level.
Her powerful aura instantly filled the classroom, striking Ye Qingyuan first, since she'd stood up and cursed Zhou Yi. But Ye Qingyuan wasn't affected much; at most, she frowned slightly in discomfort.
Seeing this, Yang Jian slowly rose to his feet.
The moment he stood, the oppressive sensation vanished.
Ye Qingyuan blinked, then obediently sat back down.
Seeing that Yang Jian hadn't been affected at all, Zhou Yi frowned in puzzlement.
This was a tried-and-true method for her. After feeling her powerful aura, every new student eventually slunk off and obediently followed her orders, running laps around Shrek Plaza.
She hadn't expected it to fail this time.
Now that was interesting.
A trace of interest appeared in Zhou Yi's eyes.
"Teacher Zhou Yi, you just said that those who dare not cause trouble are mediocrities, right?"
"Shrek Academy doesn't have many rules. It encourages students to express their individuality. You don't even dare to fight—you don't have a drop of blood in you. What else could you be but mediocrities?"
"And you, bringing a dog to my class. You can run two hundred laps too, just like her."
Zhou Yi's expression returned to normal, still as impassive as before.
But after hearing this, Yang Jian laughed.
He wasn't laughing out of anger. He was amused.
Those who dare not cause trouble are mediocrities?
Setting aside whether that ridiculous line was right or wrong, she actually thought it meant that anyone who didn't dare fight had no backbone?
Fine. He got it.
"Teacher Zhou Yi, fighting these students in my year would be too boring. How about... fighting you instead?"
"What do you think?"
The moment he finished speaking, the students in the classroom all drew in sharp breaths.
She was a Six-Ring Soul Emperor!
This guy was really something—he was challenging a Soul Emperor right off the bat?
Of course, only a few people thought that way. The vast majority thought Yang Jian was just a lunatic. To avoid having this crazy teacher take her anger out on them over that crazy student, quite a few had obediently left the classroom and started running laps.
"Fight me?"
Zhou Yi was taken aback, but soon a faint smile appeared on her face. "All right, kid. I take back what I just said. Compared with those other useless fools, you do have some backbone."
"I'll give you what you want. Come on, let's go to Shrek Plaza."
With that, Zhou Yi didn't waste any time. She strode straight out of the classroom.
The students didn't dare hesitate either. They all followed behind Zhou Yi, and a few of them shot Yang Jian gloating looks as they left.
"Second Brother, are you sure about this?"
Ye Qingyuan tugged lightly at Yang Jian's sleeve, shaking her head with a rueful expression.
"I really couldn't hold back... What she said was just too infuriating. Did I cause trouble for you, Second Brother?"
Cause trouble?
Not at all.
Yang Jian shook his head and gently patted the pale, delicate hand tugging at his sleeve.
"It's fine. Even if you hadn't argued with her, I would have. But you really gave her a brilliant tongue-lashing just now. You said what I was thinking. If I'd been the one to do it, I don't think I could've come up with anything that effective."
"Come on. Let's not keep that old hag waiting."
Before you continue