Tribbie stepped out through the door first, her skirt lifting in the breeze before settling back down.
Once she had stopped, she gave Ye Qiong a slight nod, then turned sideways to make way.
Immediately after, Wang Sheng strode through.
"Hahaha! I'm back!" The moment Wang Sheng came through the portal, he bellowed excitedly at the top of his lungs.
However, when he noticed Ye Qiong, Phainon, and the others on the square looking his way, he immediately scratched his head awkwardly and gave a sheepish laugh. "Dean, Xiao Bai, you're all here."
Jiang Zhu followed behind him, holding a cloth bundle in both hands. She bowed slightly to Ye Qiong. "Teacher, we're back."
The others also stepped through the door.
The five stood on the square, each with a different expression.
Anaxa had been standing quietly by the fountain, holding a booklet in his hand. Now he had closed it.
His gaze fell on Tribbie, and a faint glimmer passed through his single eye.
This must be Teacher Tribbie, the one the dean mentioned earlier. As expected, she's extraordinary.
Ye Qiong didn't rush to speak. Instead, he activated the system and checked the information on all five, one by one:
[Name: Wang Sheng. Martial Soul: Fire-Patterned Battle Tiger. Power Attack System. Level: 31.] [Name: Jiang Zhu. Martial Soul: Healing Scepter (Enhanced). Support System. Level: 32.] [Name: Jing Ling. Martial Soul: Skeleton (Mutation · White Bone Spirit Pupil). Agility Attack System. Level: 32.] [Name: Huang Yuan. Martial Soul: Berserk Wolf. Power Attack System. Level: 32.] [Name: Bai Chenxiang. Martial Soul: Sharp-Tailed Swift (Mutation). Agility Attack System. Level: 34.]
After reviewing the information, Ye Qiong smiled faintly, dismissed the panel, and nodded to them. "Not bad. Looks like the trip to the Star Dou Great Forest was worthwhile."
Wang Sheng puffed out his chest. "Teacher, you have no idea how fierce the fighting was over there."
Jiang Zhu gave him a light tap. "That was all thanks to Teacher Tribbie."
"Right, right," Wang Sheng said, nodding repeatedly.
"Several times, we nearly got ourselves killed, and Teacher Tribbie had to bail us out."
Bai Chenxiang added, "But we did kill two Soul Beasts ourselves."
Ye Qiong waved a hand. "Did you all absorb your Soul Rings successfully?"
"We all absorbed them, Teacher," Huang Yuan replied.
"My third Soul Ring came from a two-thousand-year-old Shadow Wolf. It's speed-oriented."
Ye Qiong gave a small nod and looked over their faces.
"Good. You've all worked hard. Go back and rest first. Meet on the square this afternoon. I have new arrangements."
They answered and headed toward the dormitory buildings in small groups.
Phainon remained where he was. He glanced at Anaxa by the fountain, then at Tribbie, but didn't move.
Ye Qiong beckoned Anaxa over.
Anaxa walked over at an unhurried pace. His single eye swept over Tribbie and paused for a moment.
Ye Qiong turned slightly and introduced him to the others.
"This is Anaxa, a student who enrolled two days ago."
Anaxa gave a slight nod and said nothing.
Wang Sheng turned around and looked him up and down. "Hello, hello. I'm Wang Sheng."
Anaxa merely nodded, his gaze already moving away from Wang Sheng's face.
Wang Sheng froze for a moment, withdrew his outstretched hand, and glanced at Jiang Zhu.
Jiang Zhu pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Huang Yuan, on the other hand, strode over without a care. "So you're Anaxa, huh? What's your Martial Soul? What level are you?"
Anaxa tilted his head and gave him a cool glance. "You'll find out in time."
With that, Anaxa turned away.
Huang Yuan was left speechless. He scratched his head, his smile turning stiff.
Seeing this, Ye Qiong quickly spoke up. "That's just Anaxa's personality. He only cares about things that interest him. Don't take it personally."
"Oh, is that how it is?" Wang Sheng scratched his head.
Ye Qiong changed the subject.
"All right, go back and get settled. Come to training this afternoon."
"Yes!"
Wang Sheng and the others hurried toward the dormitory area, as if they'd been granted a reprieve.
Anaxa stayed where he was, but his gaze remained fixed on Tribbie.
Ye Qiong noticed and turned to Tribbie.
"Teacher Tribbie, I have something to ask of you."
Tribbie gave a slight nod.
"Please go ahead, Dean."
Ye Qiong pointed at Anaxa.
"He wants to pursue research. For that, I've prepared an empty room at the academy as a laboratory for you and him. You can take him to have a look. As for how you teach him, I'll leave that to you."
A hint of surprise flashed in Tribbie's eyes, but she soon nodded. "All right."
Anaxa's single eye lit up at once.
"A laboratory?" He took half a step forward.
"Does it have equipment?"
Tribbie looked at him and smiled.
"Since the dean called it a laboratory, I imagine it's more or less fully equipped."
Anaxa fell silent for two seconds. Then he suddenly raised his hand and pushed up the black eyepatch over his left eye, revealing a pale green eye.
"There's a question I've been thinking about."
Tribbie listened patiently.
Anaxa spoke slowly and solemnly.
"What exactly is Soul Power? Why does it exist only within living beings, yet resonate with the power of heaven and earth around them? Is its nature that of an energy form that can be quantified and deconstructed? And could it even be the underlying laws of this world?"
Tribbie blinked, then her smile grew a little wider.
"That's a very interesting question."
"Come on. I'll take you to the laboratory, and we can explore the subject together."
With that, Tribbie turned and took a few steps forward.
Anaxa followed without a word, walking twice as fast as before.
After taking a few steps, Tribbie looked back at Ye Qiong.
"By the way, Dean, that training plan..."
At her words, Ye Qiong slapped his forehead, finally remembering. He turned to Tribbie.
"It's all written up. Give it to the students later and have them follow the plan."
As he spoke, he tossed her a ring.
Tribbie circulated her Soul Power, caught the ring, and put it away in her pocket.
"All right, I'll take a look when I get back."
Then Tribbie called Anaxa along and went to the laboratory.
After the two of them left, Ye Qiong looked up at the sky. It was almost noon, so he turned and headed toward the office building.
He pushed open the office door.
Ye Qiong took off his coat and walked to the window.
He was just about to replace the withered flower on the windowsill.
But when he looked outside, he froze at once.
A carriage had stopped outside the academy gates at some point.
A snow-white Horned Horse was pulling it.
There were no guards beside the carriage.
Ye Qiong narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on it.
As he watched, someone suddenly lifted a corner of the carriage curtain from within.
The next moment, two purple-haired girls climbed down from the carriage.
When he saw the two of them,
Ye Qiong's breath caught.
"No way... It's actually them..."