Ning Tian spent a great deal of effort explaining before she finally convinced the thick-skinned Wu Feng that she was perfectly fine.
The four of them entered Shrek Academy's administrative building together to register for the new school year.
Ning Tian headed to Class Three's registration point, while Xiao Yan, Xiao Xiao, and Wu Feng went straight to Class One's registration desk.
At the administrative desk, the senior student in charge of registration handed over a feather pen.
Xiao Yan accepted it and signed his name in the registration ledger.
As his gaze moved down the list, he sharply caught sight of a blank sign-in space.
Behind Huo Yuhao's name, there was nothing—no red checkmark indicating that he had registered.
Today was the final day of registration for the new school year.
Logically speaking, if a freshman missed the deadline, there was only one outcome: immediate expulsion from Shrek Academy, with no choice but to pack up and leave.
Xiao Yan set down the pen, understanding the situation perfectly.
That kid Huo Yuhao was probably having a hard time in the Extreme North.
Still, being late was hardly a dead end for him.
Fan Yu and Qian Duoduo had long regarded him as the future of the Spirit Guidance Department. Even if he failed to show up for ten days or half a month, those two would definitely step in to protect him, perhaps even making up all sorts of reasonable excuses to shut the Spirit Soul Department up.
However, Xiao Yan stroked his chin, a hint of anticipation for the show rising in his heart.
He had snatched the Ice Empress away, so Sky Dream Ice Silkworm must have come up empty-handed in the Extreme North Core Zone.
For the sake of its grand god-making plan, it would inevitably have to search for another Ultimate Ice Soul Beast suitable to serve as Huo Yuhao's Second Martial Soul.
The Extreme North had many kinds of ice-attributed Soul Beasts, but very few could truly reach the threshold of Ultimate Ice.
The one Sky Dream Ice Silkworm knew best was definitely the Ice Jade Scorpion.
What if that big bug got desperate and indiscriminately went around deceiving one of the Ice Empress's underlings... When Huo Yuhao revealed his Second Martial Soul in the future, and the Ice Empress, lying around in his Sea of Consciousness, sensed the aura of one of her own kin, the scene would probably be very lively.
By the time his thoughts settled, the three of them had already completed their registration.
They met up with Ning Tian and headed toward the dormitory area together.
The four agreed to go directly to the Beast Fighting Zone at dawn the next day for their advancement assessment, then returned to their respective dormitories.
Pushing open the wooden door to his single dorm room, Xiao Yan found fine dust floating in the air after a month of vacancy, while the wooden tabletop was coated in a layer of pale gray dust.
Xiao Yan did not bother looking for a broom or rag.
He walked to the center of the room, raised his right hand, and lightly pinched the air with his index and middle fingers.
Void Zither Playing, Wind Chant: Dust-Cleansing Melody.
Invisible zither notes rippled out from his fingertips, their precisely controlled sound waves penetrating every corner of the room.
The dust clinging to the furniture shook loose under the high-frequency vibrations, gathering in midair under the guidance of the sound waves into a dense ball of dust, which was accurately flung through the open window onto the muddy ground below.
Fresh air once again filled the room.
Xiao Yan removed his outer robe and hung it up, then sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, closed his eyes, and entered deep meditation.
The Art of the Fuxi Emperor began circulating through its cycle.
The three fundamental forces of essence, qi, and spirit endlessly converged within his body.
Under the command of this supreme cultivation technique, his physical strength, Soul Power foundation, and Sea of Consciousness continued to rise in perfect synchronization.
Moreover, after absorbing Soul Spirits and Spirit Rings during his trip to the Extreme North, his Soul Power had now reached level fifty-six.
Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the Fuxi Bagua Formation Map shone with brilliant starlight.
Xiao Yan could clearly sense that this technique's next qualitative transformation point lay at level sixty.
Once his Soul Power broke through level sixty, his spiritual power would undergo an enormous leap, directly reaching the peak of the "tangible yet immaterial" realm.
At that point, the capacity of his Sea of Consciousness would double, enough to accommodate a Ferocious Beast-level Soul Spirit such as the Ice Empress or the Ice Bear King, Xiao Bai.
Outside the window, the moon drifted westward as the night quietly passed amid his breathing exercises.
The next morning, the breeze carried a touch of coolness.
Xiao Yan and the other three met beneath the dormitory building and headed straight for the Beast Fighting Zone in the academy's northwest corner.
The Beast Fighting Zone was a grand structure within Shrek Academy, steeped in an ancient atmosphere.
Towering gray stone walls formed a massive oval arena, their surfaces still marked by dark brown bloodstains and old claw scratches.
Before they even reached the entrance, they could smell the mingled stench of beasts and metallic rust in the air. From deep underground came occasional muffled beastly roars, the cries of various Soul Beasts imprisoned in refined steel cages below, creating an overwhelming sense of pressure.
The four entered the grounds, where quite a few classes were already lined up and waiting in the stands.
They quickly found Class One's group in an excellent position directly facing the main arena.
At the front of the formation, their homeroom teachers, Mu Jin and Wang Yan, were checking the assessment roster against the number of students present.
Ning Tian waved at the three of them and headed alone to Class Three's preparation area at the side.
Xiao Yan, Xiao Xiao, and Wu Feng walked over and took their places behind the two Class One teachers.
Wang Yan noticed the movement behind him, turned around, and adjusted his black-rimmed glasses.
Seeing that it was the three most talented students in the class, the ever-serious and responsible teacher habitually revealed a gentle smile and casually threw out the three questions that made most students' scalps tingle at the start of school.
"How was your vacation? Did you slack off in your cultivation? Did your Soul Power break through? What level are you at now?"
If ordinary students heard those three questions, they would probably guiltily avoid his gaze.
But for the three of them, who had undergone complete transformations over the break, the questions had no bite at all.
Wu Feng crossed her arms over her chest and proudly puffed out her chest.
"Reporting to Teacher Wang, I didn't slack off much. I just broke through to level thirty-one, Soul Elder."
Hearing that, Wang Yan's eyes lit up, and he nodded with a smile.
Reaching the Soul Elder realm at the beginning of their second year was enough to make someone an outstanding seedling even at Shrek Academy.
Seeing this, Xiao Xiao, standing in the middle, clasped her little hands behind her back, tilted her head up at the gray stone dome overhead, and traced circles on the ground with her toe.
"Ah, my vacation was miserable. I was forced to train my body every single day." Xiao Xiao put on a troubled expression and sighed.
"There wasn't any major breakthrough either. I just casually absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring and barely reached level forty-three, Soul Ancestor. So-so, I suppose. Nothing special."
Her sweet and adorable tone, paired with words so infuriatingly smug, was devastatingly effective.
Watching his sister behave like that, Xiao Yan silently evaluated her performance.
Her acting had indeed improved compared to before, but her body language was still a little too forceful and not natural enough.
The moment Wang Yan heard the words "level forty-three Soul Ancestor," the smile on his face froze, and the hand adjusting his glasses stopped in midair.
The muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably twice.
A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor! And she called that so-so?
Wang Yan forcefully suppressed the shock in his heart, turned his stiff neck, and shifted his gaze to Xiao Yan, who had remained silent all along.
He swallowed dryly, mentally preparing himself for an even harsher blow.
Xiao Yan straightened the sleeve of his moon-white robe. His dark eyes remained utterly calm, and his tone was as composed as if he were discussing the morning weather.
"Level fifty-six Soul Power. Just lucky."
The air fell silent at that instant.
Mu Jin, standing nearby, sucked in a sharp breath, nearly dropping the assessment roster in her hand.
Wang Yan slowly withdrew his gaze, silently lowered his head, and stared blankly at the tips of his shoes.
At that moment, he only felt a tightness in his chest and a sting in his eyes.
He had cultivated bitterly for half his life, yet he was only a Spirit King in his fifties.
As a teacher, his cultivation was actually on the same level as a twelve-year-old student in his class, and his foundation was far less profound than Xiao Yan's.
Being a homeroom teacher was far too humiliating!