Yan Shaozhe waved a hand and tossed a storage ring to Mu Guiyun. Then, in high spirits, he left the study without giving him the slightest chance to change his mind.
Meanwhile, Ma Xiaotao, usually so fiery and spirited, seemed like a different person. She huddled in the corner, clutching a pillow tightly to her chest. Her lovely face, already touched with a hint of bewitching charm, had turned bright red, and her eyes brimmed with an indescribable shyness.
Cai Mei'er gazed at her with a knowing smile. Her undisguised stare made Ma Xiaotao wish she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
As a seasoned master of the art of tea, Cai Mei'er had coaxed the inexperienced Ma Xiaotao into spilling every last one of her little secrets in just a few minutes.
"Xiaotao, these worries of yours are all in your head. Besides, if we're really going by seniority, Xuan Zi is the same generation as Yan Shaozhe."
Cai Mei'er comforted her in a gentle voice. As Ma Xiaotao's adoptive mother, she would wholeheartedly approve if the two of them really ended up together someday.
Before Mu Guiyun's Martial Soul Awakening, Ma Xiaotao had always been Shrek Academy's prized prodigy. Only Zhang Lexuan had managed to surpass her, and even then, only by a narrow margin—and that was with the Phoenix Evil Fire holding Ma Xiaotao back.
As Ma Xiaotao grew older, the problem with her Evil Fire became increasingly severe. Now, it already showed signs of running wild.
"This is the ring Gui Yun gave you back then, isn't it? Black Emperor Star—that's a lovely name."
Seeing that Ma Xiaotao still wasn't saying a word, Cai Mei'er simply smiled warmly, then took her hand and asked gently, "Xiaotao, do you know where this ring came from?"
Where it came from?
Ma Xiaotao shook her head in confusion and looked at the gorgeous ring on her right middle finger. It was pitch black, set with a ruby.
She only knew that Mu Guiyun had given her the Black Emperor Star as a gift to celebrate her breakthrough to Soul Ancestor.
"Silly girl."
Feeling the ring's cool touch, Cai Mei'er's gaze drifted into the past. "When Gui Yun awakened his Martial Soul, two stones somehow fell off it. He made one of them into this Black Emperor Star."
"If someone is willing to entrust a part of their Martial Soul to you, doesn't that show how important you are to them?"
"Have you heard? We're getting a transfer student in class today!"
"No way. The academy's enrollment period ended ages ago, and even the freshman evaluations are over. Who could have enough clout to get Shrek Academy to make an exception?"
"What do you know? Our class already has a perfect example."
The freshman lowered his voice and subtly gestured toward the back row, the meaning clear as day.
At the back of the classroom, a black-haired girl paid no attention to the hubbub around her. She sat alone in a corner, her delicate face completely expressionless, like a living corpse.
"Everyone, quiet!"
A voice infused with Soul Power rang in their ears, and the somewhat noisy classroom fell utterly silent.
The freshmen all turned to look at the classroom door. Their homeroom teacher, Vivian, appeared with a smile, followed by a handsome young man.
"Today, our Class One, Year One, is welcoming a new classmate. Let's give him a round of applause!"
Vivian smiled warmly and began clapping. The other students hurried to join in, though they still eyed Mu Guiyun with a hint of scrutiny.
When the applause died down, Vivian turned to Mu Guiyun, her voice gentler than ever. "New classmate, why don't you give everyone a brief introduction?"
At that, Mu Guiyun stepped forward and smiled. "Hello, everyone. I'm Mu Guiyun. My Martial Soul is an Elemental Stone, and I'm a Level 29 Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster!"
Level 29! Truly terrifying!
The students drew in sharp breaths. As they studied Mu Guiyun's still youthful face, their pride melted away, replaced by awe.
Vivian was pleased with their reactions. She turned and said gently, "Mu Guiyun, go ahead and find a seat."
Mu Guiyun nodded, then fixed his gaze on the black-haired girl in the corner.
While everyone else had been stunned by his Soul Power Level, this little girl had stayed exactly as she was from beginning to end. She hadn't looked surprised—or even lifted her head.
That stirred a flicker of curiosity in Mu Guiyun.
"Interesting."
Under everyone's expectant gazes, Mu Guiyun made his way to the back row and sat down. A few girls from sects and families couldn't help feeling disappointed.
After arranging his belongings, he looked at the lectern, which was a fair distance away, and nodded with satisfaction.
Since he was going to school, the farther he sat from the teacher, the better, right? Who would actually want to sit beside the lectern?
That was prime territory for the teacher's left- and right-hand men. Mu Guiyun, for one, wanted no part of it.
"As expected of Shrek Outer Court. Compared to the inner court, the surroundings are like heaven and earth."
Mu Guiyun clicked his tongue inwardly. But when he thought of the storage ring Yan Shaozhe had given him, even that tiny bit of dissatisfaction vanished.
What could he say? His senior brother had given him way too much!
While Vivian passionately explained the lesson from the front of the room, Mu Guiyun let his mind wander.
For true geniuses, the inner court was the ultimate destination. The outer court was little more than a social platform for expanding their connections.
"I wonder how much longer it'll take Senior Sister to break through to Soul Douluo..."
Remembering the tragedy in the original story, Mu Guiyun felt a weight in his heart unlike anything he'd felt before.
Eight elite inner-court disciples had fallen, dealing Shrek Academy an unprecedented blow.
And the chief culprit behind it all was Taotie Douluo, Xuan Zi!
Thinking of that unreliable old man gave Mu Guiyun a headache. In the original story, both of Shrek Academy's major disasters had happened because of his negligence.
If Xuan Zi hadn't been so loyal to Shrek Academy, Mu Guiyun would have suspected he was a spy sent by the Holy Spirit Cult!
Judging solely by the damage he'd done to the academy, the Holy Spirit Cult might not even have been as bad as Xuan Zi...
"sigh. I'll see if there's a chance to prevent it."
Mu Guiyun sighed inwardly, then began considering how to handle things. Deep down, he had already come to think of Shrek Academy as his own.
"Class dismissed! You're free to do as you like this afternoon!"
The bell pulled Mu Guiyun out of his thoughts. As soon as Vivian left, a group of girls rushed forward and surrounded him completely.
A petite girl with a pretty face but an unremarkable figure was the first to speak. "Hi! I'm Su Xiaoxiao. Could I... Hey, what are you doing?"
Before she could finish, a girl with a much more voluptuous figure shoved her aside. "Hi there, handsome! I'm Qiu Li. My Martial Soul is a harmonica, and I'm great at playing it with my mouth~"
As she spoke, she made sure to show off her enviable figure.
Mu Guiyun:...