Unlike Me, Who Only Knows How to Dote on Big Brother...

He raised a hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Mu Jin sat behind her desk, sorting through a stack of files. When she saw Huo Yuhao enter, she set down what she was holding and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Have you made up your mind?"

Huo Yuhao nodded. His voice was quiet, but resolute. "Teacher Mu Jin, I've decided. Please... recommend me directly to the Soul Tool Department."

Leaning back in her chair, Mu Jin looked at him for several seconds, the corners of her lips curling upward slightly.

She was not surprised.

Among the students who came to Shrek, who would refuse the chance to remain at Shrek if they had it?

"Fine." Mu Jin stood and picked up the keys from her desk. "Come on. I'll take you to meet a teacher from the Soul Tool Department right now."

Huo Yuhao froze for a moment. "Right now?"

"What, do you need to pick an auspicious date?" Mu Jin had already reached the door. She glanced back at him. "Come on, while I don't have classes this afternoon."

Huo Yuhao hurriedly followed her.

Outer Court Soul Tool Department, Experimental Zone 12.

After some discussion and a demonstration.

"Good. I can keep him."

Fan Yu looked at Mu Jin and said, "This student is very valuable to the Soul Tool Department. Thank you, Teacher Mu Jin."

Mu Jin smiled and nodded.

She opened her mouth, about to say something.

"You can't even handle something this trivial? What use are you? Go run fifty laps as punishment!"

A shrill voice rang out from nearby, like fingernails scraping glass, painfully piercing to the ears.

Mu Jin and Huo Yuhao turned their heads at the same time.

At the other end of the corridor, an elderly woman stood at the entrance to a laboratory, harshly berating a student.

The student kept his head lowered, his shoulders trembling slightly. A broken Soul Tool component lay on the table before him. It seemed that he had failed to make it.

Zhou Yi.

Huo Yuhao almost did not recognize her.

Zhou Yi had looked old before, but at least she had seemed normal.

Now, however, her skin was covered in charred black scars, like the bark of a tree burned by fire, layered atop one another in patches.

More than half of her hair had been scorched away, and the few remaining strands of graying hair clung sparsely to her scalp. She looked as though she had crawled out of a fire.

When Mu Jin saw Zhou Yi in that state, the corner of her mouth unconsciously lifted, though she quickly regained control of her expression.

"Oh dear, why is Teacher Zhou still like this?" she said softly, her tone carrying just the right amount of concern. "Still so hot-tempered and strict. Failing to make a Soul Tool is perfectly normal. How could she punish a student like that?"

Fan Yu felt helpless inside.

Ever since Zhou Yi had been expelled from the Martial Soul Department, he had arranged for her to teach in the Soul Tool Department. After all, she was his wife. He could not simply watch her lose her job.

But Zhou Yi had not changed her temper at all. She still cursed at students, punished them, and expelled them after coming to the Soul Tool Department. There were not many students in the Soul Tool Department to begin with, and after her antics, several more had left.

He sighed.

She was his wife, after all. He still had to defend her before outsiders.

"That's just her teaching style..." Fan Yu said somewhat reluctantly.

Mu Jin shook her head. "But isn't that far too harsh on the students? And Teacher Zhou was brought in by you, Teacher Fan Yu. If she keeps acting this way, the students might end up resenting you as well."

She paused, and her tone softened a little. "Sigh, Teacher Zhou really is something. Isn't this making things difficult for me? Unlike me, who only knows how to..."

"Cough, cough!"

Fan Yu hurriedly coughed twice, cutting Mu Jin off.

Mu Jin smiled and did not continue.

She glanced at Zhou Yi in the distance, then at Fan Yu, and suddenly changed the subject. "Teacher Fan Yu, since I brought you such a good student, could you treat me to dinner tonight?"

Fan Yu froze.

He looked at Mu Jin.

Then he glanced at Zhou Yi, who was still berating the student in the distance.

As if possessed, he nodded.

"Fine."

A brilliant smile blossomed across Mu Jin's face.

"Then it's settled. See you tonight! I'll head back first to submit tomorrow's freshman assessment roster."

She turned to Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, come report here in a few days. You can also familiarize yourself with the place over the next few days."

Huo Yuhao nodded. "Thank you, Teacher Mu Jin."

Mu Jin left with light steps, her high heels tapping out a crisp series of sounds along the corridor.

Fan Yu remained where he was, watching her departing figure in silence for a while.

Then he turned to Huo Yuhao. "Come in. I'll show you around the laboratory first."

Huo Yuhao hurriedly followed him.

He looked back toward the other end of the corridor.

Zhou Yi was still scolding that student. Her shrill voice echoed through the empty corridor like a noisy crow.

I'm not going to end up under her again... am I?

Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze and quickened his pace into the laboratory.

The next day. Early morning.

The freshman assessment officially began.

The Assessment Zone was located in the north-central section of the Martial Soul Department, adjacent to the Soul Fighting Zone. Compared to the Soul Fighting Zone, the Assessment Zone covered a much larger area. The enormous oval grounds were ringed by a low wall, while partitions divided the interior into separate sections.

The entire Assessment Zone covered roughly twenty thousand square meters. Today, it had been divided into fifty sections, each around four hundred square meters—a square with sides twenty meters long.

Lin Yaoyang's group had been assigned to Zone 24.

When they arrived, their opponents had not yet come. Wang Dong leaned against the low wall and yawned in boredom, Xiao Xiao squatted on the ground drawing circles with her finger, and only Lin Yaoyang stood there with his hands in his pockets, his expression calm, as if waiting for something utterly insignificant.

"First round, first match of the assessment!" The proctor approached with a list in hand and announced, "Freshman Class One's Lin Yaoyang, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao versus Freshman Class Nine's Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Nanmen Yun'er."

Wang Dong sprang off the low wall, her eyes lighting up. "Class Nine? Isn't that Teacher Mu Jin's other class?"

"Our own people against our own people?" Xiao Xiao blinked.

"What own people?" Wang Dong rolled her wrist. "There are no allies in the arena."

The proctor opened the partition gate. "You may enter the field now. Take a corner each. You may not release your Martial Souls until I announce the start of the match."

The three of them entered the field.

Their formation was utterly casual.

Lin Yaoyang stood at the very front, with Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao behind him on either side like two attendants.

Their stance was equally arrogant. Lin Yaoyang did not even seem to intend to release his Martial Soul.

Three girls entered from the other side as well.

The girl walking in front was rather tall, even slightly taller than Wang Dong. Her short golden hair was neat and sharp, and her aqua-blue eyes were framed by long lashes. A few charming freckles dotted her cheeks.

Her back was perfectly straight, and one could tell from the way she walked that she had received strict etiquette training since childhood.

Behind her, the girl on the left had fiery red short hair, cold, stern features, and a sharp gaze. She did not look easy to provoke.

The girl on the right had long light-green hair cascading down her back. Her dark-green eyes were full of gentleness, and a faint smile always rested on her lips.

Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Nanmen Yun'er.

Ning Tian stepped into position, her gaze crossing the entire field before settling on Lin Yaoyang.

Naturally, she had heard his name before.

Freshman Class One. A twelve-year-old four-ring Soul Ancestor, with three purple and one black Soul Ring. On the first day of school, he had beaten up his homeroom teacher, Zhou Yi.

These rumors had spread like wildfire among the freshmen. Almost no one was unfamiliar with Lin Yaoyang's name.

Today, she was finally seeing him in person.

She took the initiative to speak. "Classmate Lin Yaoyang, I didn't expect us to meet in the very first match."

Her tone was poised and generous, carrying a trace of perfectly measured friendliness.

Class One and Class Nine were both taught by Mu Jin, so there was not much hostility between the two classes.

Moreover, Ning Tian had her own considerations. Someone with Lin Yaoyang's talent was worth befriending.

Wu Feng stood behind Ning Tian. When she heard Ning Tian take the initiative to speak with Lin Yaoyang, her brows furrowed slightly.

She knew that, as the young sect mistress of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, it was Ning Tian's duty to befriend exceptionally talented Soul Masters.

Still, she could not help feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Ning Tian said, "Does Classmate Lin have time to chat later?"