If he hadn't sold that Soul Bone, he wouldn't have had the money to buy the Life Blade in Star Luo City, and he wouldn't have intercepted Electrolux on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
So saying it was "obtained in exchange for a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone" wasn't exactly a lie. It just left out a lot of steps in between.
But Huo Yuhao didn't need to know those details.
Wang Dong sat beside him, listening to Huo Yuhao praise Mu Chen. For some reason, she felt a little uncomfortable.
She gave a cold snort and turned her face toward the window, pretending to admire the view outside. Yet in the reflection on the glass, her gaze never left Mu Chen's profile.
The discussion about Mu Chen in the classroom didn't die down. Instead, it grew more heated.
Someone vividly described every detail of the previous night's battle. When they got to the part where Mu Chen's trident pierced through the defenses of Xu Sanshi's Mystic Turtle Shell Shield, they acted it out with sweeping gestures, spittle flying.
Someone else swore they had seen Mu Chen's Fourth Soul Ring with their own eyes: it was black, with dark golden patterns on it. That detail was pure invention. Mu Chen's Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring was simply black, without any of those flashy embellishments.
Just as all the different versions of "Mu Chen's Battle Against Xu Sanshi" were reaching their climax, the classroom door opened again.
This time, the classroom fell silent even faster than it had when Mu Chen entered.
Zhou Yi stood in the doorway, dressed in a neat, dark green teacher's uniform. Her hair was combed perfectly and pinned into a bun at the back of her head.
Her face was expressionless. The black-framed glasses perched on her nose reflected the corridor lights, making it impossible to see her eyes behind the lenses.
Yet every student in Freshman Class One could feel the suffocating pressure she exuded.
It was the authority she'd established on the first day of school, when she'd eliminated half the class with a hundred laps of running. This plain-looking old woman was a true demon.
Zhou Yi stepped into the classroom and shut the door behind her. The wooden door didn't make much noise as it closed, but several students' shoulders flinched at once.
She walked to the lectern, set her lesson plan on the desk, then raised her head and surveyed every face in the room from above her glasses.
No one dared meet her gaze for more than a second.
"Good." Zhou Yi's voice rang out, so calm that it was impossible to read her emotions. "No one's late today, and no one's taken leave. Looks like yesterday's run had some effect."
She paused and pushed up her glasses.
"However, I don't plan to make you run today."
Rather than making anyone in the classroom feel relieved, her words only made them more nervous.
From what they knew of Zhou Yi, when the old woman said something like this, it usually meant something even more terrifying awaited them.
Sure enough, Zhou Yi's next words made everyone's heart skip a beat.
"Before we begin today's lesson, I'd like to confirm something."
Her gaze shifted toward the windows, settling on Mu Chen.
"Mu Chen."
Mu Chen looked up and met Zhou Yi's gaze. There was no emotion to be seen in the old woman's eyes behind her lenses, but the corners of her mouth seemed to lift ever so slightly, like an experienced hunter inspecting prey that pleased her.
"I heard you beat up a fifth-year student from our school at the Arena last night?"
Mu Chen stood and replied evenly, "Yes, Teacher Zhou."
"Oh?" The corners of Zhou Yi's mouth lifted a little higher. "I heard that student was called Xu Sanshi, and that his Martial Soul was the Mystic Turtle Shell Shield. He was a level thirty-eight defensive Battle Soul Elder, the top defensive student in the fifth year of the Outer Academy. You knocked him off the platform in just two moves and even made his hand bleed. Is that true?"
The entire class held its breath. Everyone had been spreading the news in private, but hearing Zhou Yi lay it out point by point in front of the person involved felt entirely different.
"It's true." Mu Chen's answer was brief and calm, as if he were responding to the most ordinary question.
Zhou Yi stared at him for a full three seconds.
Then she smiled.
That smile on Zhou Yi's face was more unnerving than when she wasn't smiling.
"Good." Zhou Yi's smile vanished. She beckoned to Mu Chen. "In that case, Mu Chen, come to the front and show your classmates your Martial Soul and Soul Rings."
Mu Chen didn't hesitate. He stepped out from between the desks and walked up to the lectern under the gaze of the entire class.
His steps were neither hurried nor slow, his bearing composed. He showed no hint of nervousness or pride, as if what Zhou Yi had asked him to do were no more than a trivial matter.
Zhou Yi moved to one side of the lectern and folded her arms, leaving him plenty of room.
Mu Chen turned to face the class.
The classroom was so quiet that someone swallowing in the back row could be heard.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Mu Chen, waiting to see whether that legendary Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring was real.
Mu Chen took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the air in the entire classroom had changed.
First came a sound: waves rolling and surging, growing clearer as they drew nearer.
With the sound of the waves came a sea breeze carrying the salty tang of the ocean.
The breeze blew from thin air, brushing the cheeks of the students in the front row, damp and cool with the ocean's unique scent.
Then the phantom image of the ocean slowly emerged behind Mu Chen.
A trident appeared in Mu Chen's left hand.
Its shaft was long and slender, its entire surface a deep blue, shimmering with rippling patterns like water.
The moment he released his Martial Soul, several students in the front row already began to struggle to breathe. The sense of smallness and helplessness one felt before the vast ocean pressed on their chests like a boulder.
Then came the Soul Rings.
The First Soul Ring rose from beneath Mu Chen's feet, a bright yellow ring turning slowly and radiating the gentle light expected of a Hundred-Year Soul Ring. A few students silently breathed a sigh of relief. At least his First Soul Ring was a normal yellow.
The instant the Second Soul Ring lit up, the breath they hadn't even finished releasing caught in everyone's throat.
Purple.
A purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring appeared in the Second Soul Ring's position.
Gasps rose throughout the classroom.
The Third Soul Ring was purple as well. Two Thousand-Year Soul Rings, one after the other, enveloped Mu Chen in a violet glow. Framed by their light, he seemed all the more tall and straight.
Zhou Yi stood to one side of the lectern, watching the Soul Rings beneath Mu Chen's feet intently.
Her expression remained as calm as ever, but her fingers tightened unconsciously around the lesson plan.
Even she had to admit that this Soul Ring Configuration was truly heaven-defying.
Then the Fourth Soul Ring rose.
A black ring spread out from beneath Mu Chen's feet, carrying an indescribably heavy pressure.
At that moment, the air in the entire classroom froze completely.