Confronting the Soul Emperor, Reactions from All Sides

"Arrogant brat, how dare you insult me like this!" Zhou Yi's face turned livid. She glared at Huo Yuhao's retreating back, grinding her teeth in fury.

Immediately after, Zhou Yi strode out of the classroom. Her destination was the Spirit Fighting Zone, though she chose a different path, avoiding walking in the same direction as Huo Yuhao.

After Zhou Yi left, the students of Grade 1 Class 1 stared at one another in silence.

The situation had escalated to a point that truly exceeded everyone's expectations.

"So cool! This guy named Huo Yuhao is just too cool!" Xiao Xiao's face was flushed with excitement, her eyes sparkling like stars.

It wasn't just her; the other girls in the class were also looking on with expressions of pure adoration.

The boys didn't say anything, but they were all feeling a sense of inexplicable shock in their hearts.

"If one were born in the same era as me, seeing me should be like a mayfly seeing the azure sky?" Wang Dong muttered to himself.

For some reason, after reciting this line, Wang Dong felt a surge of heroic spirit budding within his heart.

"This guy, he's such a show-off! By what right does he get to say such arrogant things!"

Wang Dong felt extremely annoyed, yet he quietly memorized the line in his heart, intending to put it to use someday in the future.

Wang Dong imagined it: one day, under the gaze of the crowd, speaking those very words aloud—how satisfying would that be?

Just imagining the scene made Wang Dong tremble with excitement, unable to contain himself.

"Hurry up, Wang Dong! Let's go to the Spirit Fighting Arena to cheer for Huo Yuhao."

Coming back to his senses, Wang Dong realized that Xiao Xiao was already standing at the doorway, beckoning to him.

"Wait for me!" Wang Dong hurriedly jogged to catch up with her.

The group marched in a grand, bustling procession toward the Shrek Academy Spirit Fighting Zone.

At Shrek Academy, by the side of Sea God Lake, Zhang Lexuan walked along the path from the Inner Court toward the Outer Court. She was slender and over 1.7 meters tall; paired with the white dress she wore today and her naturally stunning features, she looked like a fairy descending from the nine heavens to the mortal world.

"Sigh, failing to get Yuhao directly into the Inner Court was, in the end, a broken promise on my part. Today is his first day of school, and I have no idea how he's doing. I'll go to the Outer Court to check on him."

"I might as well check on Beibei while I'm at the Outer Court, too. I heard he's been getting very close to the Tang Sect lately; I wonder what he's thinking."

With a trace of guilt on her face, Zhang Lexuan headed toward the Grade 1 Teaching Building in the Outer Court where Huo Yuhao was located.

"Hm? Why are there so many people ahead?" Zhang Lexuan suddenly noticed a large crowd of freshmen moving in groups, marching in a massive wave toward the Spirit Fighting Zone.

She casually stopped a male student and asked with a puzzled expression, "Junior, isn't today your first day of school? Why aren't you in class? Where are you all going?"

The Grade 1 student looked up and saw Zhang Lexuan's face. He blushed instantly and stammered, "Senior, our homeroom teacher has something wrong with her head. A classmate couldn't stand it and got into a conflict with her. The teacher and that classmate went to the Spirit Fighting Arena. If that classmate loses, he'll be expelled, so we're going to cheer him on."

Upon hearing this, a very bad premonition immediately arose in Zhang Lexuan's heart.

"What is your classmate's name?" she asked urgently.

"He said his name is Huo Yuhao," the stopped student replied.

Just as I thought. Zhang Lexuan helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead. Hearing that such a situation had occurred, Huo Yuhao was the first person who came to mind.

"Who is your homeroom teacher?" she asked again.

"Our homeroom teacher is Zhou Yi."

Zhang Lexuan frowned.

That neurotic woman Zhou Yi again? She still hasn't been fired?

Although Zhang Lexuan had lived in the Inner Court since she was a child, she had heard of Zhou Yi's reputation. This person frequently expelled students without cause and had caused Shrek plenty of trouble over the years. If it weren't for the fact that she had a good husband, she would have been kicked out of the academy long ago.

So that's how it is. Zhang Lexuan was lost in thought. If that was the case, then it made sense; given Huo Yuhao's personality, he would never swallow his pride in front of anyone.

Thinking of this, Zhang Lexuan thanked the junior who was still gawking at her, and her figure vanished from the spot.

The male student was left standing there, completely bewildered.

"So tired! Finally back at the academy!" Tang Ya complained with a look of exhaustion, her shoulders drooping as she spoke to Beibei beside her.

"That's because you insisted on lingering in other cities for so long, fussing and crying about wanting to eat grilled fish. Otherwise, we would have been back at school long ago," Beibei said helplessly.

Tang Ya knew she was in the wrong and could only stick out her tongue in a feigned display of cuteness. "I'm sorry, Beibei, but Yuhao's grilled fish was just too delicious. We tried so many shops along the way, but we could never find that same taste again."

"I wonder if I'll ever get to eat that grilled fish again."

Tang Ya wore a look of lingering longing.

The two were none other than Tang Ya and her manservant Beibei, who had just finished obtaining a Spirit Ring in the Star Dou Great Forest.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Tang Ya saw Huo Yuhao's figure right in front of them.

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, then began shaking Beibei's arm incessantly, exclaiming, "Beibei, look! It's the grilled fish—oh, wait, it's Yuhao!"

Beibei looked in the direction Tang Ya was pointing and was also astonished. "How is Yuhao here? Could it be that he joined Shrek Academy too?"

"But the direction he's heading... it looks like Shrek's Spirit Fighting Zone!"

The two watched as Huo Yuhao said something to the teacher at the entrance of the Spirit Fighting Arena and stepped into the competition grounds.

"Is he going to fight?" The two exchanged a look of surprise, then followed him without hesitation.

Huo Yuhao arrived at the entrance of the Spirit Fighting Arena, paid one Silver Soul Coin to the teacher at the door, and walked inside.

He scanned his surroundings and discovered that this arena was about as large as Shrek Plaza, with a vast open space in the center.

Surrounding the center were tiers of seats rising upward, capable of accommodating approximately three thousand people at once.

At this moment, in the center of the arena, Zhou Yi stood waiting for him with a grim expression on her face.

Beside Zhou Yi stood a referee teacher, who was also looking at Huo Yuhao with a strange expression as he stepped toward them.

"This student, Teacher Zhou has already explained the rules of your spirit duel to me. Are you certain you wish to duel her?"

The teacher looked at the two individuals, whose strength gap was as vast as heaven and earth, unable to comprehend why this student would agree to a duel with such a massive disparity in power.

On one side was a teacher from Shrek Academy, a six-ring Spirit Emperor.

On the other was a first-year student, rumored to have only a one-ring cultivation.

Yet, this six-ring Spirit Emperor was restricted to using only the Spirit Power of a three-ring Spirit Elder; no matter how one looked at it, the rules were inherently unfair.

He cast a look of slight disdain toward Zhou Yi.

To be a teacher and make such a wager with a student was, frankly, quite shameless.

"Teacher, I agree." Huo Yuhao nodded without the slightest hesitation.

By now, quite a few people had gathered on the surrounding tiered seats. Aside from the first-year students from Huo Yuhao's class, there were also students from various grades of the Shrek Outer Court who had heard the news and come to watch.

Most of their expressions were filled with astonishment.

An Outer Court instructor dueling a first-year student?

Was there any real comparison to be made in such a match? What kind of student would be crazy enough to fight across so many levels?

Tang Ya and Beibei had also arrived at the spectator stands by this time. Seeing that the person about to duel Huo Yuhao was none other than Zhou Yi, both of them involuntarily gaped in shock.

If they remembered correctly, Huo Yuhao had only just obtained his first Spirit Ring a week ago, right in front of them.

What was happening now? How had he ended up directly challenging an Outer Court instructor?

Zhang Lexuan arrived late and entered the spectator area. The first thing she saw was Huo Yuhao standing in the center of the arena, and a look of worry appeared on her face. However, she then saw Beibei and Tang Ya standing intimately together. A complex, indescribable feeling welled up in Zhang Lexuan's heart, and a bitter smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

Seeing the pure and lovely girl beside Beibei, she suddenly understood why Beibei had become so closely involved with the Tang Sect.

The referee in the arena, seeing that Huo Yuhao had agreed, walked to the center and spoke in a deep voice: "Outer Court instructor Zhou Yi challenges first-year student Huo Yuhao. Zhou Yi may only use Spirit Power at the level of a Spirit Elder; should she exceed this, she will automatically forfeit. If Huo Yuhao loses the match, he must withdraw from the academy. If Zhou Yi loses, she must provide a spirit bone with an age of over 8,000 years."

"The match, begin!"

Thank you to Naiheli for the continued support of 500 coins. Honestly, since you tip me 500 coins punctually every day, if your IP wasn't in Henan, I would have truly thought you were a friend who discovered my author account—I almost died of social anxiety. In short, thank you; you have given me so much encouragement. I also want to thank all the readers who left comments and suggestions in the review section. I have read every single one carefully. Thank you all. Please keep reading and adding to your collections. Love you guys.