Showcasing Soul Rings

If that Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone hadn't been sold, he wouldn't have had the money to buy the Life Blade in Star Luo City, and consequently, he wouldn't have intercepted Electrolux on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Therefore, saying it was "exchanged for a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone" wasn't exactly a lie; it just omitted many of the intermediate steps.

But Huo Yuhao didn't need to know these details.

Wang Dong sat nearby, listening to Huo Yuhao heap praise upon Mu Chen, and for some reason, she felt a sense of discomfort in her heart.

She let out a cold snort and turned her face toward the window, pretending to look at the scenery outside. Yet, in the reflection of the window glass, her gaze never once left Mu Chen's profile.

The discussions about Mu Chen in the classroom not only failed to subside but grew increasingly heated.

Someone was vividly describing every detail of last night's battle, gesturing wildly and spitting as they recounted the moment Mu Chen pierced through Xu Sanshi's Mystic Turtle Shell Shield defense with his Trident.

Others swore on their lives that they had seen with their own eyes that Mu Chen's fourth soul ring was black with dark golden patterns. This detail was pure fabrication; Mu Chen's Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone was a pure, solid black, devoid of any such flashy embellishments.

Just as the various versions of "Mu Chen vs. Xu Sanshi" reached their climax in the classroom, the door was pushed open once again.

This time, the classroom fell silent even faster than when Mu Chen had entered.

Zhou Yi stood at the doorway, her dark green teacher's uniform immaculate, her hair combed neatly and twisted into a bun at the back of her head.

There was no expression on her face, and the black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose reflected the lights from the hallway, making it impossible to see the look in her eyes behind the lenses.

Yet, every student in Freshman Class One could feel that suffocating sense of oppression.

It was the pressure established on the first day of school after eliminating half the class with a hundred-lap run. This seemingly unremarkable old woman was a true demon.

Zhou Yi stepped into the classroom and closed the door behind her. The sound of the wooden door shutting wasn't loud, yet it made the shoulders of several students twitch simultaneously.

She walked to the podium, placed her lesson plan on the desk, and then looked up, her gaze sweeping over every face in the classroom from above her lenses.

No one dared to meet her eyes for more than a second.

"Very good." Zhou Yi's voice rang out, her tone so flat that no emotion could be discerned. "No one is late today, and no one asked for leave. It seems yesterday's running had some effect."

She paused and pushed up her glasses.

"However, I don't intend to make you run today."

When this sentence was uttered, not only did no one in the classroom breathe a sigh of relief, but they became even more tense.

Based on their understanding of Zhou Yi, when this old woman said such things, it often meant that something even more terrifying was waiting for them.

Sure enough, Zhou Yi's next sentence made everyone's heart skip a beat.

"Before we begin today's lesson, I want to confirm one thing."

Her gaze turned toward the window seat, landing on Mu Chen.

"Mu Chen."

Mu Chen raised his head and met Zhou Yi's gaze. No emotion could be seen in the eyes behind the old woman's lenses, but the corners of her mouth seemed to lift slightly, like an experienced hunter sizing up a prey that satisfied her.

"I heard that last night in the arena, you beat up a fifth-year student from our school?"

Mu Chen stood up, his tone neither servile nor overbearing: "Yes, Teacher Zhou."

"Oh?" The corners of Zhou Yi's mouth lifted another fraction. "I heard that student is named Xu Sanshi, his martial soul is the Mystic Turtle Shell Shield, and he is a level thirty-eight defense-type battle Soul Elder. The number one defense student in the fifth year of the outer courtyard. You took him down from the ring in two moves and even made his hand bleed. Is that true?"

The entire class held their breath. Although everyone had been whispering about this news privately, having it laid out point by point by Zhou Yi in front of the person involved felt completely different.

"That is indeed the case." Mu Chen's reply was brief and calm, as if he were answering 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 even more chilling than when she wasn't smiling.

"Good." Zhou Yi withdrew her smile and beckoned to Mu Chen. "In that case, Mu Chen, come to the front and reveal your martial soul and soul rings for your classmates to see."

Mu Chen did not hesitate; he walked out from between the seats and stepped onto the podium under the gaze of the entire class.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, his posture composed, showing no trace of nervousness or arrogance. It was as if what Zhou Yi asked him to do was merely a trivial matter.

Zhou Yi retreated to the side of the podium, arms crossed, giving him enough space.

Mu Chen turned around to face the class.

The classroom was so quiet that one could hear someone in the back row swallowing their saliva.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Mu Chen, waiting to see if that rumored ten thousand year soul ring was real.

Mu Chen took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, the atmosphere in the entire classroom changed.

First came a sound—the sound of surging waves, coming from afar and drawing near, growing clearer and clearer.

Accompanying the sound of the waves was a sea breeze carrying a salty, fishy scent.

The sea breeze blew from the void, brushing against the cheeks of the students in the first row, carrying the dampness and chill unique to the ocean.

Then, the phantom of the ocean slowly emerged behind Mu Chen.

The Trident appeared in Mu Chen's left hand.

The shaft was long and slender, deep blue in its entirety, with water-like luster flowing across it.

The mere release of his martial soul was enough to make the students in the front row struggle for breath. That sense of insignificance and helplessness, like facing a vast, boundless ocean, pressed against their chests like a giant boulder.

Then came the spirit rings.

The first spirit ring rose from beneath Mu Chen's feet, a bright yellow halo rotating slowly, radiating the soft glow expected of a century-level spirit ring. Several students breathed a secret sigh of relief; at least the first ring was a normal yellow.

The moment the second spirit ring lit up, that breath they had barely exhaled caught in their throats.

Purple.

A thousand-year-level purple spirit ring had appeared, shockingly, in the second position.

Gasps echoed one after another throughout the classroom.

The third spirit ring was also purple. The two thousand-year spirit rings, one after the other, enveloped Mu Chen in a purple halo. Against the backdrop of these two rings, his figure appeared even more slender and upright.

Zhou Yi stood to the side of the podium, her gaze fixed intently on the spirit rings at Mu Chen's feet.

Her expression remained as calm and unruffled as ever, but her fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around her lesson plan.

Even she had to admit that such a spirit ring configuration was truly heaven-defying.

Then, the fourth spirit ring rose.

A black halo expanded from beneath Mu Chen's feet, carrying an indescribable, heavy pressure.

The air in the entire classroom solidified at that very moment.