"They dropped out?!"
Hearing that, Mu Jin was completely dumbfounded.
His mouth hung open, his eyes wide, his pupils trembling slightly.
Wasn't she supposed to be going home for a visit?
How had his students vanished just like that?!
Was this right?!
He had never imagined he'd get that answer.
He'd been counting on those two to help him get one over on Zhou Yi in the freshman assessment.
Yan Shaozhe had no intention of explaining. He merely gave a cold snort.
"Good riddance."
"It's the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's loss."
His voice turned cold, and his tone brimmed with barely contained anger.
"Did they really think they could come and go from Shrek Academy as they pleased?"
"Starting today, Shrek Academy will no longer accept disciples from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
He paused, as if remembering something, and a chill flickered in his eyes.
"No, that's not right."
"Soon, there might not even be a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect anymore."
With that, Yan Shaozhe turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing from Mu Jin's sight.
Mu Jin was left standing there alone, his face a picture of utter confusion.
What had Dean Yan meant just now?
What did he mean, there might not even be a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect anymore?
He didn't understand.
But there was nothing he could do about it, either.
He was just a lowly homeroom teacher. Whatever the dean said, went.
Mu Jin took a deep breath, temporarily pushing aside the things he couldn't make sense of.
"Forget it. Even without Ning Tian and Wu Feng, there's still that chubby Xie Huanyue."
No matter what, he couldn't let that old witch Zhou Yi sit back and enjoy herself.
And he didn't think Xie Huanyue and the others would lose.
Come on.
Not one person on Huo Yuhao's team was a Soul Elder.
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were both two-ring Soul Grandmasters, while Huo Yuhao was even more ridiculous, with only one ring.
Xie Huanyue was a three-ring Soul Elder, and the other two students were both among the best of the two-ringers.
With a lineup like that, if they lost, Mu Jin would eat the floor of the Soul Fighting Platform.
"Hmph."
Mu Jin looked at Zhou Yi, smiling broadly across the stands, and turned down the corners of his mouth.
"Just you wait. I'm going to see the look on your face when you're miserable."
Meanwhile.
At the city gates of Shrek City.
A streak of fiery light descended from the sky and stopped a hundred paces outside the gates.
Leng Yaozhu let go, and Gu An jumped out of her arms, landing steadily on the ground.
The two of them entered Shrek City.
They stopped a Shrek Academy student at random to ask for directions.
They learned that the elimination round of Shrek Academy's freshman assessment wouldn't take place until tomorrow.
The elimination round was the main event.
The various divisions would come together to determine the ultimate freshman champion.
Gu An nodded, now clear on the schedule.
Since the main event wasn't until tomorrow, there was no need to rush today.
He and Leng Yaozhu strolled around Shrek City at their leisure.
Shrek City really was prosperous. Its streets were wide, shops lined both sides, and crowds streamed back and forth.
There were shops selling Soul Tools, pills, clothes, snacks—everything you could imagine.
Gu An's gaze swept back and forth across the shops lining the street.
He'd wanted to find Huo Yuhao, who set up a stall and sold grilled fish in the original story, and taste what his fish was like.
After all, the original story described Huo Yuhao's grilled fish as so incredible that one bite was enough to win you over.
Unfortunately, they'd walked down more than half the street without finding him.
He was probably too busy with the freshman assessment to set up his stall.
Gu An looked away and was about to suggest to Leng Yaozhu that they find somewhere to stay.
"Eh?"
He suddenly stopped walking.
His gaze fell on a petite girl not far ahead.
She was squatting on the steps by the roadside, her light green hair braided into twin plaits that hung down on either side of her head.
She rested her cheeks in her hands, her lips pursed slightly and her eyebrows knitted together. Her face was full of worry.
Green hair.
Petite build.
A worried expression.
Gu An immediately knew who she was.
Xiao Xiao!
She was one of the reasons he'd come here.
Since he'd run into her, he might as well give it a try.
Leng Yaozhu followed Gu An's gaze and noticed that he was staring at the green-haired girl.
The corners of her mouth curled up. She leaned close to Gu An's ear, her voice tinged with amusement.
"So, Xiao An likes that type."
Gu An rolled his eyes at her.
"No, I prefer older sisters."
He pointed at Xiao Xiao, who was squatting by the roadside.
"She has Twin Martial Souls. She'd be a genius in any era."
"A genius like her belongs at our Spirit Transmission Academy."
"We can't let Shrek Academy ruin her."
After hearing that, Leng Yaozhu's playful smile faded. She gave Xiao Xiao a serious look.
Then she nodded in agreement.
"Is she the little one you told me about?"
"Xiao An is right. We have to save her."
"We can't let Shrek Academy destroy her."
Xiao Xiao squatted by the roadside, completely unaware that she'd already caught someone's attention.
She cupped her chubby cheeks in both hands, her lips pushed out in a pout, her eyes fixed on the ground but staring without focus.
She murmured softly to herself.
"Should I really give the Nine-Phoenix Flute a Soul Ring?"
Her big eyes were full of confusion.
Teacher Zhou Yi's words kept echoing in her mind, over and over, impossible to shake off.
"Xiao Xiao, you're the weak link in your trio."
"Everyone else is working so hard. Do you really want to hold them back?"
"Add a Soul Ring to your second Martial Soul. Then you'll be able to support Wang Dong and Yuhao better."
Xiao Xiao's fingers twisted unconsciously at the hem of her clothes.
She had only recently become a Soul Master, and her understanding of Martial Souls was still shallow.
But she had a vague feeling that giving her Second Martial Soul a Soul Ring just for a freshman assessment might be too rash.
But Teacher Zhou Yi was right, too. If she wasn't strong enough, she'd hold Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao back.
She didn't want to hold them back.
She wanted to help.
But...
But something inside her kept saying that she shouldn't do this.
Just as Xiao Xiao was agonizing over it until her head felt ready to smoke,
a warm voice suddenly reached her ears.
"Of course you shouldn't add a Soul Ring."
"It's only a freshman assessment. Are you really going to gamble with your future?"
Xiao Xiao's body stiffened slightly.
The sudden voice jolted her out of her thoughts.
She abruptly raised her head and warily looked toward its source.
Just one glance.
And she froze.
It was a boy who looked about eight or nine years old.
He was about her height, with black hair and black eyes.
His features were so delicate they looked as if they'd been drawn with a ruler. His skin was fair, and his eyelashes were thick and long.
The corners of his mouth lifted in a faint, warm smile.
His bright black eyes were fixed on her, with a trace of helplessness in them.
Stars practically appeared in Xiao Xiao's eyes.
Her mouth fell slightly open, and her whole body seemed to lock in place.
So handsome.
Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao—what did any of them have on him?
Neither of them could compare to the person in front of her.
He was the most handsome boy she'd ever seen in her life.
Her face visibly reddened, the color spreading from her cheeks all the way to her ears.
Standing to the side, Leng Yaozhu watched Xiao Xiao's lovestruck expression, the corner of her mouth twitching.
Seeing Xiao Xiao like that, Gu An belatedly remembered.
In the original story, Xiao Xiao really had been a bit of a lovestruck girl.
She'd reacted the same way the first time she saw Wang Dong, completely bowled over by his face.
Gu An's own looks were on a whole different level from Wang Dong's.
They were far too potent against Xiao Xiao. It was only natural she'd react this way.
It seemed that in any world, good looks always came in handy.
Gu An gave a helpless smile and waved a hand in front of Xiao Xiao.
"Wake up."
His palm waved a few times in front of her eyes.
Xiao Xiao abruptly snapped back to her senses, realizing she'd just been staring at a strange boy in a daze.
Her face turned crimson, and even her neck went red.
She didn't know what to do with her hands. In the end, she clasped them together over her knees, so embarrassed she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
She looked up at Gu An furtively, then quickly lowered her head, before raising it again.
She stammered.
"W-who are you?"