New Recruit Turns Out To Be...

Tribios stepped out of the portal first, her skirt hem rising and falling in the breeze.

She stood still, gave a slight nod toward Ye Qiong, and then stepped aside to clear the path.

Immediately after, Wang Sheng strode out.

"Hahaha! I'm back, baby!" The moment Wang Sheng cleared the portal, he let out an excited roar at the top of his lungs.

However, when he noticed the gazes of Ye Qiong and Phainon fixed on him from the plaza, he awkwardly scratched his head and let out a sheepish laugh. "Dean, Little Bai, you're all here."

Jiang Zhu followed him out, clutching a cloth bundle in her arms, and gave a slight bow to Ye Qiong. "Teacher, we have returned."

The others stepped out one after another.

The five of them stood in the plaza, each wearing a different expression.

Anaxa had been standing quietly by the fountain; he closed the booklet he had been holding in his hand.

His gaze fell upon Tribios, a faint glimmer passing through his single eye.

So this must be Teacher Tribios, whom the Dean mentioned earlier? She certainly looks extraordinary.

Ye Qiong did not speak immediately; instead, he opened his system and scanned the information of the five individuals 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 (Mutated: 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 (Mutated). Agility Attack System. Level: 34.]

After reviewing the data, Ye Qiong smiled faintly, closed the panel, and nodded at them. "Not bad. It seems this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest was not in vain."

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. "It was all thanks to Teacher Tribios."

"Right, right," Wang Sheng nodded repeatedly. "There were a few times we almost wiped, and it was Teacher Tribios who stepped in to save us."

Bai Chenxiang added, "But we managed to kill two soul beasts ourselves."

Ye Qiong waved his hand. "Did you all absorb your soul rings successfully?"

"We all did, Teacher," Huang Yuan replied. "My third soul ring came from a two-thousand-year-old Shadow Wolf, a speed-type."

Ye Qiong hummed in acknowledgment, his gaze sweeping across their faces. "Very good. You've all worked hard. Go back and rest for now; gather at the plaza this afternoon. I have new arrangements."

The group acknowledged the order and headed toward the dormitory building in twos and threes.

Phainon remained where he was, glancing at Anaxa by the fountain and then at Tribios, not moving.

Ye Qiong beckoned to Anaxa at this moment.

Anaxa walked over at a steady pace, his single eye sweeping over Tribios and lingering for a brief moment.

Ye Qiong turned to the side and introduced him to the others. "This is Anaxa, a student who enrolled just a couple of days ago."

Anaxa gave a slight nod but remained silent.

Wang Sheng turned around and looked him up and down. "Hello there, I'm Wang Sheng."

Anaxa merely nodded, his gaze already shifting away from Wang Sheng's face.

Wang Sheng froze for a second, retracted his outstretched hand, and glanced at Jiang Zhu.

Jiang Zhu pursed her lips but said nothing.

Huang Yuan, however, leaned in casually. "Anaxa, right? What's your Martial Soul? What level are you?"

Anaxa tilted his head and gave him a cold, indifferent look. "You'll know in time."

With that, Anaxa turned away.

Huang Yuan was choked by his words, scratching his head with a stiff smile.

Seeing this, Ye Qiong quickly interjected, "Anaxa's personality is just like that. He only pays attention to things that interest him. Don't take it to heart."

"Is that so?" Wang Sheng scratched his head.

Ye Qiong then changed the subject. "Alright, all of you go back and tidy up. Come back this afternoon for training."

"Yes!"

As if granted a reprieve, Wang Sheng and the others hurried toward the dormitory area.

Anaxa stood where he was, his gaze remaining fixed on Tribios.

Ye Qiong noticed this and turned his head to look at Tribios.

"Teacher Tribios, I have a favor to ask of you."

Tribios nodded slightly.

"Please speak, Dean."

Ye Qiong pointed at Anaxa.

"He wants to pursue the path of research. For this reason, I have specifically cleared out an empty room in the academy to serve as a laboratory for him and you. You can take him to see it, and as for how to teach him, you may arrange that as you see fit."

Upon hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Tribios's eyes, and she immediately nodded. "Very well."

Anaxa's single eye lit up instantly.

"A laboratory?" He took half a step forward.

"Are there devices?"

Tribios glanced at him and smiled.

"Since the Dean calls it a laboratory, I assume everything is more or less prepared."

Anaxa was silent for two seconds, then suddenly raised his hand and pushed the black eyepatch over his left eye up a notch, revealing a pale green eye.

"I have been thinking about a question."

Tribios watched him patiently.

Anaxa's tone was slow and solemn.

"What exactly is soul power? Why does it only exist within the bodies of living beings, yet it can resonate with the power of heaven and earth in the outside world? Is its essence a form of energy that can be quantified and deconstructed? Or perhaps, is it the underlying law of this world?"

Tribios blinked, and the curve of her lips deepened slightly.

"That is a very interesting question."

"Let's go. I will take you to the laboratory so we can explore this topic together."

After saying this, Tribios turned around and took a few steps.

Anaxa followed without a word, his pace twice as fast as before.

Tribios walked a few steps, then looked back at Ye Qiong.

"By the way, Dean, that training plan..."

Hearing this, Ye Qiong slapped his forehead, only then remembering the matter, so he looked at Tribios.

"It's all written down. You can distribute it to the students later and have them execute it according to the plan."

He finished speaking and tossed a ring over.

Tribios channeled her soul power, caught the ring, and tucked it into her pocket.

"Understood, I will take a look when I return."

Afterward, Tribios called for Anaxa and headed to the laboratory.

Once the two had left, Ye Qiong looked up at the sky and, seeing that it was nearly noon, turned and walked toward the office building.

Pushing open the office door, Ye Qiong took off his coat and walked to the window, preparing to replace a pot of withered flowers on the windowsill.

But when he looked at the scene outside the window, he froze immediately.

He saw that, at some point, a carriage had stopped outside the academy gate.

The carriage was pulled by a snow-white Horned Horse.

There were no guards beside the carriage.

Ye Qiong narrowed his eyes, his gaze locked firmly on the vehicle.

Just as he was observing it, the carriage curtain was suddenly lifted at one corner from the inside.

Following that, two purple-haired young women stepped down from the carriage.

And upon seeing these two, Ye Qiong's breath hitched.

"Damn, it's actually them..."