Director of Studies Du Weilun

Lin Yaoyang followed the path beside the teaching building toward the dormitory area.

As he passed the notice board, he glanced at it.

It was covered in class assignment lists, with many freshmen gathered around, craning their necks to find their names and homeroom teachers.

He did not stop to look.

Because he had already learned which class he had been assigned to during registration.

Freshman Class One.

Homeroom teacher: Zhou Yi.

The corner of Lin Yaoyang's mouth twitched slightly.

Zhou Yi, Shrek Outer Court's infamous "perverted teacher," was known for being perversely strict. In her classes, students crying for their parents was commonplace, and being scolded into doubting their lives was nothing unusual.

But none of that was the important part.

The important part was that this woman was Yu Xiaogang's die-hard follower.

Her loyalty to Shrek and worship of Yu Xiaogang's theories were practically carved into her bones.

Lin Yaoyang raised his head and looked at the tall dormitory building in the distance, his orange-red hair especially eye-catching beneath the sunlight.

"Since fate has put me up against that old woman Zhou Yi..." he muttered, the curve of his lips slowly widening into a somewhat dangerous smile.

"Then I'll just have to become the Demon Pill."

He strode toward the dormitory building.

Freshman Teaching Building, director of studies' office.

A teacher clutched a file and jogged through the corridor, his hurried footsteps producing a rapid series of taps against the floor. He panted as he shoved open the office door, having forgotten even to knock.

Inside the office, a man in white sat behind a large desk.

He appeared to be around forty, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a small, carefully trimmed beard on his chin. He looked refined and scholarly, yet there was an innate severity in his brows that commanded respect without anger.

The director of studies of the Outer Court Martial Soul Department, Du Weilun.

"What is it? Why are you in such a hurry?" Du Weilun raised his head, his brow slightly furrowed. What he disliked most was this sort of rash behavior.

"Director, there's a monster!"

A monster?

Du Weilun's brow furrowed even more deeply.

What monster? Had soul beasts attacked?

The teacher crossed the distance in two quick strides and handed over the file in his hand.

Du Weilun took it and casually flipped open the first page.

Then his eyebrows shot up.

Twelve years old, Soul Power Level 42.

Du Weilun's gaze remained fixed on that line for a full five seconds as he confirmed that he had not misread it. He looked up at the teacher, then lowered his head and read through the file again.

Lin Yaoyang, twelve years old, a four-ring Soul Ancestor.

Martial soul: Apollo?

Letter of recommendation from Lingxue City, Heaven Dou Empire.

What kind of martial soul was Apollo?

Du Weilun fell silent for a moment, set the file on the desk, and lightly tapped his fingers against the tabletop.

"A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor..." he repeated quietly, surprise and a trace of complicated emotion in his voice.

After teaching at Shrek for so many years, he had seen countless geniuses. But a twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor was exceedingly rare, even in the history of this continent's foremost academy.

"Director," the teacher said impatiently, "although Lin Yaoyang is only twelve, his cultivation is already higher than that of third-year and even fourth-year students. Do you think... should we transfer him into the third or fourth year?"

Du Weilun did not answer immediately.

He leaned back in his chair, tapping the desk now and then as his gaze lingered on the file for a long time.

"Which class has he been assigned to?" he asked.

"Freshman Class One."

The teacher paused, then added in a subtly meaningful tone, "Zhou Yi's class."

Du Weilun's brow immediately knotted into a deep frown.

Zhou Yi.

The name gave him a headache.

Everyone in the Outer Court knew this woman's temperament. Strict, harsh, and utterly unsympathetic. In her classes, students being scolded to tears was commonplace, and being punished with laps until they vomited was nothing unusual.

Even more frightening was how readily she threatened to expel students—and she always meant what she said.

The elimination rate in the classes she taught remained above one-third year after year.

Yet at the same time, the students she trained were also the best. Nearly one-quarter of the students who came from her classes ultimately entered the Inner Court, far exceeding the average of other classes.

That record left everyone angry at her teaching methods, yet unwilling to speak out.

For no other reason.

Only because.

Her husband was the chief teacher and vice dean of the Soul Tool Department, an eighth-rank Soul Engineer.

An eighth-rank Soul Engineer... that was a rare sight at Shrek Academy.

Du Weilun rubbed his temples.

A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor with peerless talent was bound to be somewhat proud.

And if he also had an unruly temperament, then in Zhou Yi's hands...

He did not dare think any further.

"Let's leave it at that for now." Du Weilun stood, picked up the file from the desk, and said, "I'll report this to the dean and discuss what should be done."

The teacher nodded. "All right, I'll be going then."

He turned and left the office, closing the door behind him.

Du Weilun stood by the window, watching the students coming and going across the campus outside, and let out a quiet sigh.

A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor...

Whether he would be a blessing or a curse was still hard to say.

Dormitory building.

Lin Yaoyang walked along a path through the dormitory area and arrived before a gray-white building.

It was six stories tall, square and plain, with no special design. It was simply huge—huge enough to hold all the students.

At the entrance, an elderly man sat in a battered reclining chair.

The old man wore gray cloth robes, and the deep grooves of wrinkles on his face were enough to crush more than ten flies at once.

His eyes were cloudy and yellow, his eyelids drooped low, and he looked like a man at death's door who might breathe his last at any moment.

The afternoon sunlight fell upon him just right. Half-reclined in his chair with his eyes narrowed, he looked quite comfortable.

Lin Yaoyang's steps paused slightly.

He looked at the old man, his gaze resting on him for a brief moment.

Dragon God Douluo, Mu En.

Who would have thought that this old man, who looked as if he already had one foot in the grave, was Shrek Academy's stabilizing pillar, a ninety-ninth-level Limit Douluo?

One could only say that appearances were deceptive.

Lin Yaoyang withdrew his gaze, a faint, calm smile appearing on his face. He gave Mu En a slight nod, counting it as a greeting.

Then he stepped into the dormitory building.

The instant he turned away, Mu En opened his eyes from the reclining chair.

A sharp glint flashed through those cloudy old eyes.

He watched Lin Yaoyang's back disappear through the entrance. After a long silence, a faint smile slowly appeared at the corners of his mouth.

This boy... actually possesses such a dense aura of light?

Mu En's Bright Sacred Dragon martial soul possessed the light attribute, so he was exceptionally sensitive to the aura of light.

And from that orange-red-haired boy, he sensed a power of light that even surprised him.

That aura was too pure.

So pure that it might even be Ultimate Light.

An ultimate attribute...

Mu En closed his eyes again, the smile on his face deepening.

Shrek Academy was about to welcome a monstrous genius.

He reclined in his chair again, already beginning to consider other matters.

Perhaps... someone could inherit my legacy.