Before anyone could recover from the mind-shattering shock, Xiao Xiao, sitting beside Xiao Yan, had already risen to her feet.
She clasped her hands behind her back, her eyes curving into a sweet, adorable smile.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Xiao Xiao." Her voice was clear and soft, ringing out especially distinctly in the silent classroom.
"That's right, we're siblings. My Soul Power is level thirty-five, and my Martial Souls are the Nine Phoenix Flute and the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron."
Her words landed like a bomb. The entire Class Nine fell so silent that even the sound of people drawing in sharp breaths vanished.
Everyone's minds had ground to a halt.
Beside an eleven-year-old monster at level forty-six sat another eleven-year-old monster with Twin Martial Souls at level thirty-five.
Were they here to attend school? They were clearly here to crush everyone else's confidence.
Xiao Xiao glanced at Mu Jin, still frozen at the podium, then at her classmates' disbelieving expressions. Her smile grew wider.
"It's the first day of school, so my brother and I prepared a little welcome gift for everyone."
As she spoke, Xiao Xiao raised her right hand. A green-blue glow quickly gathered in her palm.
A slender vertical flute took shape in her hand.
The flute was made of exquisite, jade-green material, crystal clear and translucent.
Nine blue-green phoenixes, wings spread as if ready to take flight, were carved into its surface. The workmanship was exquisite, every line full of vivid life.
A jade-green halo encircled the flute, radiating an endless vitality. It was her instrument-type Martial Soul, the Nine Phoenix Flute.
At the same time, Xiao Yan remained seated. He simply extended his arms, palms turned upward.
The air around him twisted strangely.
A long zither appeared out of thin air before his chest, hovering steadily in midair.
It was the Fuxi Zither.
Forged from the purest spiritual jade and ancient paulownia wood, its body had a smooth, translucent sheen.
Moon-white and purple-gold divine light flowed across its surface in an endless cycle.
Profound, mysterious Fuxi Bagua carvings adorned the zither's head, while intricate, powerful dragon, phoenix, and cloud patterns coiled along both sides of its body.
Seven strings stretched across it, fine and taut, reflecting the twinkling light of the stars.
The instant the Martial Soul appeared, an ancient, powerful, yet refined and otherworldly aura filled the classroom.
The supreme majesty of an ancient divine artifact made every Martial Soul in the room tremble instinctively.
Everyone was still reeling from the shock of these monstrous siblings.
But Xiao Yan had already raised his hands, his long, fair fingers settling naturally on the hovering strings.
His right middle finger hooked the central Star Thread string and gently plucked outward.
"Zheng—"
A clear, sonorous note rippled through the classroom.
It passed through physical barriers and rang directly in everyone's Sea of Consciousness.
The chaotic thoughts stirred by the freshmen's shock were instantly swept away by that single note.
Then Xiao Xiao raised the Nine Phoenix Flute to her lips.
A nimble, lilting melody rose from it.
The zither sounded steady and deep, its lingering notes unfolding into a boundless, profound earth. The flute was ethereal and winding, its melody soaring as a blue-green bird swept through the heavens.
Their melodies met and overlapped perfectly in midair. They clashed not at all, instead creating a wondrous resonance.
Every freshman present closed their eyes without realizing it.
Their tense muscles relaxed, their racing hearts gradually slowed, and their breathing fell into rhythm with the duet.
Even the breeze blowing in from outside seemed to follow a discernible path.
The worldly energy in the air, which they normally had to meditate deliberately to sense, now stirred beneath the pull of the duet.
Threads of energy flowed through their relaxed pores of their own accord, entered their meridians, and circulated smoothly along their individual cultivation paths.
It was an unprecedented, ethereal experience. There were no distracting thoughts, only a pure fusion of soul and nature.
Several minutes passed without anyone noticing.
The flute's final note stretched out, then faded into the air.
Xiao Yan laid both hands flat against the seven strings, damping every vibration.
"Zheng."
One final, short, forceful note rang out, severing the wondrous resonance.
Everyone came back to themselves as if awakening from a dream, and opened their eyes.
The classroom fell quiet for a moment. Then a chorus of astonished exclamations broke out.
Li Dazhuang, in the front row, clenched his fist excitedly. Ning Tian, seated in front of Xiao Yan, stared down at her hands, shock filling her golden-blue eyes.
Before anyone could ask, Xiao Xiao lowered her jade flute and explained.
"My brother and I composed this piece together. It's called Lingshu: Yuan-Gathering Melody." She winked playfully.
"It has no offensive power, but it has a powerful support effect—it can greatly enhance your spiritual perception. Try sensing your surroundings now."
At her words, everyone immediately closed their eyes and focused.
This time, they didn't need to enter a meditative state to "see" the different kinds of worldly energy drifting through the air with extraordinary clarity.
The obscure paths of energy, once difficult to make out, were now as clear as the lines on their palms.
"It roughly doubles your ability to sense the different kinds of worldly energy around you," Xiao Xiao said brightly, delivering the conclusion without hesitation.
"Put simply, for as long as this effect lasts, you'll cultivate Soul Power twice as fast."
The whole class erupted.
Twice the cultivation speed!
For Soul Masters, cultivation time was the most precious thing of all.
An ability that directly changed the efficiency of cultivation at its foundation went beyond the scope of ordinary Soul Skills. It was practically a miracle.
Mu Jin could no longer maintain his composure at the podium.
As an experienced teacher, he understood the strategic value of this support effect better than anyone.
The Freshman Assessment was only a few months away. If the entire class could cultivate at double speed, their overall strength would make a qualitative leap.
He hurried down from the podium and went to the back of the classroom, fixing his eyes on Xiao Xiao. His voice was full of unconcealed excitement.
"Xiao Xiao, how long can the enhancement from Lingshu: Yuan-Gathering Melody last?"
That was the question on everyone's mind. They strained their ears, anxiously awaiting the answer.
Under her homeroom teacher's fiery gaze, Xiao Xiao felt a little flustered.
She scratched her head adorably. She really couldn't say how long it would last. The melody's core was her brother's Fuxi Zither; she only accompanied him and guided the effect.
So she decisively turned her head and gave Xiao Yan an innocent look.
Xiao Yan lifted his hands from the strings. With a thought, the Fuxi Zither dissolved into a streak of light and vanished.
Leaning back in his chair, he remained calm as he gave a fairly precise answer.
"About a week. After seven days, the effect in your Sea of Consciousness will gradually weaken until it fades away."