After Ning Tian spent quite some time soothing Wu Feng in a soft voice and patting her back to help her catch her breath, the girl, who had been trembling in her arms, finally stopped sobbing as if her heart were breaking.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she looked utterly drained, as though she had just recovered from a serious illness. She slumped in her chair.
Whenever Xiao Yan, seated behind her, shifted in his seat or turned a page with the slightest rustle, Wu Feng's shoulders would twitch uncontrollably.
She kept her head bowed, her eyes fixed on the desk in front of her. She didn't have even the courage to look back.
Ning Tian took a handkerchief from her Soul Tool and gently wiped away the tears at the corners of Wu Feng's eyes, feeling both helpless and confused.
She really couldn't understand what had gotten into Feng, who was usually afraid of nothing and dared to provoke even the elders of their sect.
"Ding-a-ling—"
The crisp ring of the class bell echoed through the entire Outer Court teaching building.
The previously noisy hallway fell silent at once, and the students who had been visiting other classrooms hurried back to their seats.
From the direction of New Student Class One not far away, a stern roar could be heard.
The sound turned many of the freshmen in Class Nine pale. They had long heard rumors that Shrek Academy's teaching style was strict, and they feared their own homeroom teacher would be just as severe.
Just then, accompanied by the unhurried click of high heels against the floor, a woman entered the classroom of Class Nine.
She looked to be around thirty, with fair skin and delicate, striking features.
She wore a pale purple teacher's uniform. Its well-tailored fabric perfectly outlined her mature, sophisticated figure and graceful curves.
Her smooth black hair was simply pinned up at the back of her head, with an exquisitely carved hibiscus hairpin tucked diagonally into her bun.
The moment she stepped up to the podium, the tense atmosphere in the classroom eased.
Mu Jin didn't act like the old hag Zhou Yi from the neighboring class, who came in looking ready to eat someone alive. She didn't bellow at her students to get out to the field and run laps, either.
She placed both hands on the edge of the lectern and warmly surveyed the fresh-faced students below, a friendly smile curving her lips.
"Hello, everyone. Welcome to Shrek Academy. I'm your homeroom teacher, Mu Jin." Her voice was clear and gentle, pleasant to the ear.
"Over the coming days, I'll be responsible for your basic theory classes and combat training."
The freshmen exchanged glances, then let out a long, collective breath.
Her warm, welcoming introduction dispelled their nervousness. Many of the boys even sat up straighter. Having such a beautiful and gentle homeroom teacher felt like a blessing from heaven.
Mu Jin picked up a piece of chalk, turned around, and wrote her name on the blackboard before facing the class again.
"It's the first day of school, so we won't be doing any high-intensity training. You've come from all over, and you'll be studying together for the next few months. After that, you'll team up for the Freshman Assessment, so getting to know each other is the first step." Mu Jin leaned against the lectern and made an inviting gesture.
"So, we'll use this class for introductions. Stand up one at a time, tell us your name, current Soul Power Level, and Martial Soul type. If you can, give us a brief demonstration of your Martial Soul's characteristics. Who'd like to go first?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a short-haired boy in the front row eagerly stood up.
"Hello, teacher! My name is Li Dazhuang. I'm a level-seventeen Battle Soul Master, and my Martial Soul is the Iron-Back Bear!" As he spoke, the boy activated his Soul Power.
His body instantly grew a little taller, and a layer of coarse brown fur emerged across his skin, giving him quite an imposing appearance.
Mu Jin smiled and nodded in approval. "Very good Beast Martial Soul. Your defense and strength should both be excellent. Starting at level seventeen isn't exactly outstanding, but over the next three months, if you develop your stamina and defensive strengths, you'll definitely be the team's most reliable shield in the Freshman Assessment. You may sit."
At his homeroom teacher's praise and encouragement, Li Dazhuang sat down with a flushed face, his eyes full of determination.
With such a good start, the freshmen of Class Nine quickly grew bolder. One after another, they eagerly stood up to introduce themselves in order of their seats.
"Wang Jia, level eighteen Tool Soul Master, Martial Soul: Breeze Sword."
"Zhao Fei, level twenty-one Battle Soul Master, Martial Soul: Gale Wolf..."
All kinds of Martial Souls appeared in the classroom one after another.
The children admitted to Shrek Academy were all one-in-a-hundred talents in their hometowns, but gathered here, they no longer seemed quite so remarkable.
Most of them had Soul Power Levels somewhere between seventeen and twenty-five.
No matter how strong or weak a student's Soul Power was, Mu Jin made sure to encourage them generously.
When faced with students whose Soul Power was on the low side or whose Martial Souls seemed less than useful, she never belittled them. Instead, she patiently pointed out their Martial Souls' hidden strengths and gently reminded them that the Freshman Assessment was still months away, so there was plenty of time to work hard.
This gentle, nurturing approach quickly forged a sense of unity in Class Nine in less than half a class.
Soon, the introductions reached the back rows of the classroom.
Hearing the student in front of her sit down, Wu Feng slowly stood up.
The fiery aura of the Red Dragon Soul Master, who was usually quick to explode and refused to yield to anyone, had vanished without a trace.
She hung her head, her voice hoarse and drained of all energy.
"Wu Feng. Level twenty-five Battle Soul Master. Martial Soul: Red Dragon."
After uttering those few words, she seemed to have used up all her strength and dropped heavily back into her chair.
A few gasps rang out around the classroom.
Level twenty-five, combined with the top-tier Beast Martial Soul, the Red Dragon—this was undoubtedly among the best of the Outer Court freshmen.
But the red-haired girl's current state didn't look like that of a genius at all. She looked more like a defeated rooster—no, a hen.
Ning Tian glanced helplessly at Wu Feng and patted the back of her hand in comfort, then gracefully rose to her feet.
At that moment, the bearing of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect's young mistress was on full display.
She stood tall, her golden-blue eyes sweeping across the classroom. Her voice was cool, yet perfectly clear.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Ning Tian. My Soul Power is level thirty-one, and my Martial Soul is the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda."
As her voice fell, dazzling rainbow light burst from within her.
The light wasn't blinding, but it carried an air of nobility, instantly illuminating the area around several nearby seats.
In the palm of Ning Tian's raised right hand, the light gathered and solidified into a rainbow-colored pagoda, just over a foot tall.
The pagoda had seven tiers and was crystal-clear from top to bottom, each level shimmering with radiant colors.
Its surface seemed studded with countless precious jewels. As the sunlight from outside refracted through it, the pagoda gave off a mesmerizing iridescent glow.
The moment it appeared, the pagoda effortlessly drew almost every gaze in the class.
A string of sharp intakes of breath filled the classroom.
An eleven-year-old level-thirty-one Soul Elder! And her Martial Soul was the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, hailed as the continent's number-one support-type Martial Soul!
A genius of this caliber would be a top-ranked core disciple prospect not only in New Student Class Nine, but across the entire Shrek Outer Academy.
Even Mu Jin, standing at the podium, couldn't hide the brilliance in her eyes.
She had taught many classes over the years, but with a top-tier support-type Soul Elder like this in Class Nine, their Freshman Assessment results were all but assured.
"Ning Tian, I'm looking forward to seeing how you perform in the assessment." Mu Jin's smile grew even brighter.
Ning Tian politely bowed toward the podium, then withdrew her Soul Power. The pagoda vanished, and she smiled as she sat back down.
The entire class's gaze naturally followed the order of introductions and settled on the seat behind Ning Tian.
Xiao Yan placed both hands on the edge of his desk and rose unhurriedly.
As soon as he moved, the atmosphere in Class Nine shifted in a subtle, indescribable way.
Everyone was curious whether this boy, who had drawn the attention of every girl with his breathtaking looks the moment he walked in and had sat quietly in a corner ever since, was merely a handsome facade or some hidden monster.
Even Wu Feng, who had kept her head down and pretended to be dead, couldn't help perking up her ears.
Xiao Yan paid no mind to the curious gazes around him. His eyes went straight to Mu Jin at the podium.
Meeting his homeroom teacher's gaze, Xiao Yan smiled with easy confidence.
Like spring snow melting beneath the sun, that smile struck the hearts of countless girls in the classroom.
Several girls in the front rows blushed without even realizing it, their faces breaking into dreamy smiles.
Mu Jin was taken aback, too.
She had met plenty of talented students from prominent families, but the bearing of the young man before her seemed far beyond his years.
That old-fashioned elegance, as if he had seen through everything after enduring countless trials yet remained pure and untainted, left even the well-traveled, sophisticated teacher utterly impressed.
Then a clear, steady voice echoed through the quiet classroom.
"I'm Xiao Yan. My Soul Power is level forty-six. My Martial Soul is the Fuxi Zither."
The words had barely left his mouth.
The smile on Mu Jin's face froze.
Li Dazhuang, who had been stunned by Ning Tian's level thirty-one moments earlier, had his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg inside. His jaw nearly hit the desk.
Ning Tian had just sat down, confident that no one in the class could have a higher Soul Power Level than her. Now her body stiffened, her golden-blue eyes contracting sharply as she mechanically turned around to stare in disbelief at the white-robed young man behind her.
And Wu Feng, curled up in her seat, went weak in the knees and nearly slid under her desk along with her chair.
Eleven years old.
Level forty-six.
What did that even mean?
It was enough to make the so-called monsters of Shrek Academy's Inner Court leap off a cliff and take their own lives!
He was a nonhuman existence who had completely shattered the laws of Soul Master cultivation on the Douluo Continent!
The entire classroom fell silent.