Twelve-Year-Old Four-Ring Soul Ancestor?

On the assessment platform, Ning Yuan withdrew his Martial Soul, and the glow of his four soul rings—two yellow and two purple—slowly faded.

Yet the shock brought by the moment he released his Martial Soul was far from over.

The entire venue fell silent for a full three breaths before erupting with a buzzing uproar.

"Twelve years old? A four-ring Soul Ancestor?"

"Am I seeing things? Two yellow and two purple? His second soul ring is already thousand-year level?"

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy has been around for so many years. Since when has it ever produced a genius of this caliber?"

"His Martial Soul is some kind of mutated Plant-type Martial Soul?"

"He even took one of Zhou Hu's palm strikes head-on! That was a level sixty-six Soul Emperor! Where the hell did this kid come from?"

The discussions spread through the crowd in wave after wave.

The noble students who had mocked Ning Yuan for being poor earlier now went pale, then green, wishing they could crawl into a crack in the ground.

It took the examiner quite a while to regain his senses. He lowered his head and quickly scribbled a few notes in his booklet, then looked up at Ning Yuan with a trace of gravity in his eyes.

"Lin Yuan, Martial Soul: Shadow Nether Vine, level forty-five control-system battle Soul Ancestor... Evaluation: Heaven Class."

Even as he said the words "Heaven Class," he felt somewhat dazed.

Twelve-year-old Heaven Class students were not unheard of, but a twelve-year-old four-ring Soul Ancestor entering the Heaven Class was unprecedented even in the academy's history.

Ning Yuan nodded calmly and stepped aside, yielding his place to Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing stepped forward, took a deep breath, and released her Martial Soul.

The shadow of a pitch-black Hell Spirit Cat appeared behind her. A cat tail extended from the base of her spine, the tips of her ears sharpened slightly, and three-inch claws sprang from her fingertips. Two yellow soul rings slowly rose beneath her feet.

Level twenty-seven Soul Elder, twelve years old.

In previous years, this result alone would have caused a sensation throughout the venue. Zhu Zhuqing had, after all, been acknowledged as a genius since childhood.

But with Ning Yuan's dazzling performance preceding hers, Zhu Zhuqing's display still drew many glances, though its impact was greatly diminished.

"Twelve years old and nearly three rings. Her talent is pretty good too."

"Too bad she's nowhere near her companion."

"How could she compare? That's a twelve-year-old four-ring Soul Ancestor! You probably couldn't find a second one on the entire continent!"

Zhu Zhuqing heard the comments but paid them no mind.

She knew full well that her talent already ranked among the best of her peers. It was only because the person standing beside her was a monster who could not be judged by common sense.

As she withdrew her Martial Soul, her gaze involuntarily swept over Ning Yuan. He was looking around with bored eyes, seemingly inspecting the academy grounds, his entire body exuding an air of This assessment is so boring. Why isn't it over yet?

The corner of Zhu Zhuqing's mouth twitched slightly, and she looked away.

The examiner wrote down her evaluation in his booklet. "Zhu Zhuqing, Martial Soul: Hell Spirit Cat, level twenty-seven agility-attack battle Soul Elder... Evaluation: Heaven Class."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded and returned to stand beside Ning Yuan.

At this point, the assessment was essentially over. All that remained was the routine process of assigning classes and dormitories.

Ning Yuan was thinking about settling in after receiving his dormitory key, then figuring out how to get in touch with Qian Renxue, when a strange, mocking voice sounded behind him.

"Well, well. Isn't this the new genius?"

Ning Yuan paused and turned around.

A youth in a Heaven Class uniform was leaning against a nearby pillar with his arms crossed, a teasing smile on his lips. He looked fifteen or sixteen, with a sturdy build, short brown hair, and an undisguised look of appraisal in his eyes.

Three others stood behind him, all dressed as Heaven Class students as well. Their faces carried mocking expressions, making it clear they had come looking for trouble.

"Do you need something?" Ning Yuan asked flatly.

The brown-haired youth tilted his head and scratched it, then took a few steps closer. He looked Ning Yuan up and down. "Nothing much. We heard there was a twelve-year-old four-ring Soul Ancestor among this year's freshmen. The boys were curious, so we came over to take a look."

He paused, then sneered. "But judging by the way you're dressed... you must be from some backwater place. You can't even afford a decent set of clothes, yet you dare come to Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

The people behind him burst into laughter.

Though the words were harsh, there was no flaw in their logic.

Ning Yuan's current disguise was that of a wandering Soul Master from a minor border family. His shabby clothes were simply a fact.

Zhu Zhuqing frowned and stepped half a pace forward, only for Ning Yuan to stop her with a raised hand.

Ning Yuan looked at the brown-haired youth without the slightest change in expression, his tone even carrying a hint of casual indifference.

"What does what you wear have to do with strength?"

"If you think expensive clothes make you good at fighting, you might as well find a tailor to be your teammate."

The brown-haired youth choked on his words. The smile on his face stiffened for half a second before he snorted coldly.

"You've got a sharp tongue. Fine. Since you've joined the Heaven Class, there'll be plenty of chances for us to spar in the future."

"My name is Wang Zhipeng, a third-year Heaven Class student. Remember it."

After saying that, he gave Ning Yuan a meaningful look before turning and leaving with the others.

After walking a few steps, one of his lackeys lowered his voice and asked, "Brother Peng, that kid doesn't look easy to deal with. He's a four-ring..."

"So what if he has four rings?" Wang Zhipeng sneered. "A high-quality soul ring configuration doesn't mean he's strong in actual combat. Which third-year Heaven Class student hasn't fought Soul Beasts for real? He's just some snot-nosed kid who just enrolled. In a real fight, he might not last more than a few exchanges."

He spoke with complete confidence, but his pace sped up slightly, clearly not as relaxed as he sounded.

Ning Yuan watched their retreating backs and silently sighed.

Sure enough, there were always idiots like this wherever he went.

Still, this was good. He had been worrying about finding a suitable excuse to catch Qian Renxue's attention.

Although he had already left an impression at the academy gates, that had been passively triggered by a conflict. He still needed more leverage to increase his value.

A convenient tool like Wang Zhipeng, delivered right to his door for him to establish his authority, would save him quite a bit of trouble.

He withdrew his gaze and said to Zhu Zhuqing, "Let's go get the dormitory keys."

But things did not go as smoothly as he had imagined.

When they arrived at the logistics office to collect their dormitory keys, the logistics steward in charge of assignments flipped through his records, then looked up at Ning Yuan with a troubled expression.

"Lin Yuan, right? Heaven Class... Well, this..."

He dragged out his words, tapping a finger against the booklet.

The moment Ning Yuan saw his expression, he understood. Xue Beng's retaliation had come even faster than he expected.

His expression remained unchanged as he asked, "What's the problem?"

"It's not a major problem." The logistics steward smiled, though there was a perfunctory edge to it. "It's just that the Heaven Class dormitory building has been undergoing repairs recently, so there aren't many vacant rooms."

"Right now, there's only one single room left. It was converted from an old warehouse near the back mountain. The conditions are... a bit spartan."

"If you're willing, you can make do with it for now. Once the dormitory repairs are finished, we can transfer you somewhere else."

Ning Yuan thought, So this is meant to put me in my place.

Before Ning Yuan could speak, Zhu Zhuqing had already frowned.

"Converted from an old warehouse? Is this how Heaven Dou Royal Academy treats its Heaven Class students?"

The logistics steward spread his hands. "Can't be helped. Enrollment was expanded this year, and the dormitories really are tight. Why don't you take it up with the dean?"

His words were flawless, but his attitude plainly conveyed, I'm deliberately making things difficult for you. What can you do about it?

Zhu Zhuqing wanted to say more, but Ning Yuan stopped her with a hand.

"Fine. We'll take that room."