The instant he finished speaking, two deep-yellow Soul Rings appeared beneath Xiao Mu's feet.
His First Soul Ring lit up, and an invisible energy enveloped his entire body.
Wei Xiaofeng slammed into him.
It felt like crashing into a wall, or into a bottomless swamp.
All his kinetic energy was absorbed in an instant. Even his unstoppable momentum was drained away, vanishing without a trace.
The next moment, it was returned a hundredfold.
That power erupted from Xiao Mu, sending Wei Xiaofeng flying. His body traced an arc through the air before crashing into a parasol tree behind him.
The trunk shook violently, and leaves poured down like rain, burying him beneath a sea of golden leaves.
Xiao Mu stood where he was as the glow of his Soul Ring gradually faded.
He looked a little regretful. This Soul Skill was too solid; he couldn't release it passively.
He brushed at the nonexistent dust on his hem and walked toward where Wei Xiaofeng had fallen.
"Had enough? Still want to fight?"
Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi emerged from beneath the tree's shadow. They exchanged a glance, both wondering if they were seeing things.
Wasn't Wei Xiaofeng the one attacking? So why was he the one flying?
This guy was terrifyingly strong. He was definitely stronger than either of them.
At that moment, Wei Xiaofeng's eyes had cleared, and his intelligence had reclaimed the high ground.
"I quit. This ability is way too unfair."
"Sanitation?"
"It's all mine from now on!"
Xiao Mu stood up and looked at the two nearby. "Do you want to test me too?"
"No need. We have no interest in being the dorm leader," Zhang Yangzi said.
"I'm not interested either," Wang Jinxi chimed in.
"What a coincidence. Neither am I." Xiao Mu didn't care about this stuff either. It was no use to him.
Zhang Yangzi glanced at him. "I never expected all four of us in the dorm to be Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters."
"You too?"
"Yeah." Two Yellow Soul Rings rose beneath Zhang Yangzi's feet. "My Martial Soul is the Dark Phantom Eagle."
Wang Jinxi released his Soul Rings. The same two rings of yellow light revolved beneath his feet. "My Martial Soul is the Bone Dragon King."
Xiao Mu knew these two had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill between them. If he took on both at once, the advantage was his.
Classical mechanics should still be able to handle them.
What he feared most were things classical mechanics couldn't touch.
He was a steadfast materialist, after all.
Of course, if you said you were Zhao the God of Wealth, he might believe you.
Wei Xiaofeng looked up at his three roommates. They were all two-ringers. Were they messing with him? Was he really the only one with a "solid" Agility Attack System Martial Soul?
He'd thought they were all one-ringers. Why were they all two-ringers?
"Come on, let's head back."
Xiao Mu spoke to the three of them.
"By the way, Xiao Mu, what do you play?" Zhang Yangzi asked casually. They were classmates, and a genius too, so they might as well get to know each other. "I play a card game. Do you?"
Xiao Mu knew the game, of course. After all, he'd based it on Yu-Gi-Oh! He still had to make money to support his workaholic dad. His father was a workaholic, sure, but when it came to opening up new markets, his luck... Xiao Mu suspected he was a Lancer.
He always kept a Pot of Dragon Sealing by his side as a lucky charm, just for peace of mind.
He'd also put together a deck based on Yugi's.
As for Na'er, Xiao Mu had made her a Kaiba deck to play with Xu Xiaoyan.
"Sure." Xiao Mu smiled calmly. "But you won't want to play me a second time."
"How could that be?" Zhang Yangzi asked, baffled. It was such a fun game.
But once the four of them got back to the academy, they played just one round, and three of the four had lost their smiles.
Friendship over.
Their friendship was a little boat that capsized at the drop of a hat.
The next day dawned bright and sunny.
The opening ceremony was held in the vast plaza of Eastsea Academy. The Intermediate Division and the Advanced Division only gathered as a whole once a year, on this occasion.
There were around a hundred students in each grade of the Intermediate Division. With six grades, that made roughly seven or eight hundred students in all.
The Advanced Division had far fewer students, fewer than two hundred in total.
Xiao Mu stood among the first-year Intermediate Division students, hands in his pockets and a resentful air about him. Damn it, why couldn't those three handle losing?
He hadn't even used an older version of the game. They'd still lost with the same cards, yet couldn't take it.
Na'er stood beside him, yawning repeatedly.
"Hello, students." A voice carried across the plaza from the rostrum through a loudspeaker, accompanied by a crackling hiss. "Today is our annual opening ceremony. Next, let's welcome Dean Yu to give a speech."
Applause broke out, sparse as a passing shower.
The dean of Eastsea Academy rose from his chair and stepped forward. He looked to be in his sixties, of average height and build, and unremarkable. His hair was gray, and with his glasses and scholarly air, he looked every bit the academic.
The speech lasted a full quarter of an hour. Xiao Mu's mind automatically conjured up another speech, one delivered in a little tavern.
He thought it over carefully. He had money and provisions; all he lacked were people!
A failed rebellion was called treason. Success made it a righteous campaign to restore the throne.
After the dean's speech came the most important part of the opening ceremony: class assignments.
Students who didn't need to be assigned to classes left first. The new Advanced Division students headed to their campus for their assignments, leaving only the first-year Intermediate Division students behind.
The most bewildered person present was Xie Xie. That guy had been assigned to Class Five.
Just then, a figure slowly stepped out of the dense crowd. It was the teacher leading Xiao Mu's group. She stood over 1.7 meters tall, with a well-proportioned figure and light-green hair tied into a neat ponytail. Her eyes were bright and clear, and her fair, oval face was set off by delicate lips.
The woman looked at the boys before her and instructed them, "Come with me."
Xiao Mu and Na'er followed the group. The teacher led the way, her ponytail tracing an arc through the air.
Once they entered the classroom, she went straight to the podium and introduced herself.
"My name is Ye Yingluo. I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next six years. In my class, no being late, no leaving early, and no sleeping."
She paused, her gaze lingering for a second on the students who were yawning.
"Now, introduce yourselves. Starting from the first row."
The students stood up one after another, introducing their names, Martial Souls, and Soul Power Levels.
Xiao Mu sat by the window and looked at the timetable. What kind of bizarre timetable was this?
Had they written down the times wrong?
He must have suffered too much in his previous life. Now he couldn't even enjoy a leisurely life.
Before long, it was his turn to introduce himself. "Xiao Mu. Body Martial Soul. Level twenty-eight."
Na'er stood up and introduced herself. "Na'er. Silver Dragon Spear. Level twenty-seven."
"Zhang Yangzi. Dark Phantom Eagle. Level twenty-one."
"Wang Jinxi. Bone Dragon King. Level twenty-one."
"Wei Xiaofeng. Green Shadow Snake. Level twenty-one."
At the introductions of these five, the once-bustling classroom fell into terrifying silence.
This...
At nine years old, two high-ranked Soul Grandmasters and three who had just become Soul Grandmasters.
Ye Yingluo was just as stunned. At last, she understood what the dean had meant when he told her to "teach them well." She'd assumed they were here through connections, relatives of the school board, but she hadn't expected five geniuses.
In fact, they really were relatives.
Na'er had connections, and Xiao Mu was on the school board.
She fell silent for two seconds, feeling more confident than ever about the upcoming Class Promotion Tournament.
Just how strong a group of students would Wu Zhangkong have to raise to beat her five Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters?
He'd mercilessly rejected her back then. She'd make him regret it.
Xiao Mu still felt bored. He hadn't seen Gu Yue, and his eyes remained calm. There was still some time. If she didn't come, he probably wouldn't get to meet Gu Yue.