So it was him? Ma Rulong

Hearing this, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen still wanted to say something.

But then Ye Fan said, "Brother Xiao, compared to you, I'm still more familiar with my sister."

This time, Xiao Hongchen could no longer find any reason to object.

After that, Ye Fan and Ye Guyi formed one team, while Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen formed another, taking part in their first monthly assessment since enrolling.

Once the teams were settled, the four of them walked side by side into Class 1, Year 3's examination classroom. The moment they crossed the threshold, they sensed an unusual tension hanging in the air.

The classroom, usually noisy and lively, was especially quiet now, its atmosphere completely different.

Xiao Xiafeng, Wang Shaojie, and a group of veteran students were gathered in the center of the room, clustered around a tall, upright figure as they murmured among themselves.

Wang Shaojie spoke in an encouraging tone. "Class monitor, you're finally back from hunting your soul ring!"

"How was it? Did you get your fourth soul ring?"

As soon as he finished speaking, that tall figure replied to the veteran students in an indifferent tone, "Got it."

Hearing that, Wang Shaojie became even more enthusiastic. "Congratulations, class monitor, on advancing to a four-ring Soul Ancestor!"

The others all echoed him as well. "Congratulations, class monitor, on advancing to a four-ring Soul Ancestor!"

Then Wang Shaojie put on a fawning expression and said to the class monitor, "Class monitor, while you were gone, four more transfer students joined our class!~..."

As Wang Shaojie spoke, he added plenty of fuel to the fire, describing Ye Fan and the others as if they had committed unspeakable crimes.

Hearing this, the burly class monitor frowned slightly, but only said, "Got it. I'll handle it."

Ye Fan raised his eyes and looked over. The class monitor surrounded by the crowd was tall and powerfully built, with a square face and neat short hair. His brows and eyes were sharp and fierce, and his whole body exuded a steady, formidable presence. One could tell at a glance that his cultivation and strength far surpassed ordinary people.

Just then, Xiao Hongchen beside him suddenly let out a soft cry, his tone carrying a trace of surprise.

Ye Fan turned his head and asked him about it. Xiao Hongchen's expression changed slightly, and he lowered his voice solemnly.

"His name is Ma Rulong. I've heard Grandfather mention him before. Inside Mingde Hall, people call him a humanoid soul tool. His martial soul is the Big-Headed Spirit Ape."

"I happened to see him once inside Mingde Hall before. This person is extremely powerful, definitely not someone an ordinary student can compare to."

"I just didn't expect him to also be the class monitor of Class 1, Year 3."

"This is going to be troublesome."

Hearing this, Ye Fan frowned slightly, but he was not afraid in the least.

Ye Fan patted Xiao Hongchen on the shoulder and said, "What's wrong, Brother Xiao? Don't tell me you're scared."

As soon as those words came out, Xiao Hongchen immediately flared up. "I'm not scared. I'm taking my opponent seriously."

Seeing Xiao Hongchen like this, Ye Fan did not tease him any further. Instead, he said to Ye Guyi, "Sister, let's go register with the teacher first."

Ye Guyi's tone was completely calm. "All right."

Seeing that Ye Fan and Ye Guyi had already walked away, Xiao Hongchen immediately called after them, "Wait for me!"

When they arrived at the podium, Ye Fan said to their homeroom teacher, Lin Jiayi, "Teacher, my sister and I are teaming up."

Lin Jiayi quickly assigned Ye Fan and Ye Guyi to one team, then pointed and had them enter a workbench. The workbench was covered with all kinds of precious metals.

Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen followed close behind and were assigned to the workbench beside Ye Fan and Ye Guyi.

After everyone in Class 1, Year 3 had arrived.

Lin Jiayi used his soul power and announced, "Class 1, Year 3's third monthly exam begins now."

"First will be the soul tool production assessment:"

"The topic this time is: Invincible Barrier!"

"Students, working in teams, use the metal materials on your tables and the soul tool blueprint to produce a Class 3 Invincible Barrier within four shichen."

As soon as he said this, someone immediately complained, "Teacher, isn't that way too ridiculous? You have to know that among soul tools of every class, the Invincible Barrier is considered one of the hardest to make."

"And this Class 3 Invincible Barrier is actually already as difficult as a Class 4 soul tool."

"Yeah, it's too hard!"

"Can we change the topic?"

Complaints kept coming from among the students.

But what awaited them was Lin Jiayi's icy voice. "If you think it's too hard, you can give up and leave Class 1, Year 3."

When his words fell, the whole room went silent. No one dared say another word.

Most groups gritted their teeth and picked up the blueprints and metal blanks, hastily dividing the work. Before long, the soft sounds of smelting, casting, and polishing rose one after another.

Ye Fan's group of four, however, was in no hurry to begin. Their fingertips brushed over the various precious metals as they compared them with the blueprint one by one, deducing the soul power circuits.

Ma Rulong, Chen Fei, Ju Zi, Keke, and the others also stood quietly before their workstation, calming their minds as they calculated the material ratios, showing no intention of rashly starting.

Half a shichen passed in the blink of an eye. After Ma Rulong finished checking the final set of data, he raised a hand and signaled Chen Fei to activate the smelting furnace. The two of them were the first to begin production.

Almost at the same time, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen exchanged a look, already having divided their tasks.

Xiao Hongchen said, "Little sister, I'll handle the metals. You take care of the core formation."

Ye Fan and Ye Guyi followed close behind and divided the work between them.

Ye Fan said, "Big Sister, you handle the metal. I'll be in charge of the core formation."

Ye Guyi sounded a little worried when she heard that. "Xiao Fan, the difficulty of engraving a tier-three invincible barrier's formation is comparable to tier four. Are you sure you don't need my help?"

Ye Fan, however, was utterly confident. "Big Sister, when have I ever lied to you? Trust me."

His brows and eyes were bright and clear, his gaze filled with certainty and composure. His tone was steady, without the slightest trace of panicked bravado.

Ye Guyi looked at his confident bearing, and the worry in her heart eased a little. She knew well that Ye Fan had always been meticulous and extraordinarily talented, and never did anything he was not sure of.

She nodded lightly and said no more. Raising her hand, she picked up the precious metal materials on the table, focused herself, and prepared to smelt and refine them, fully matching Ye Fan's rhythm.

Only after seeing that Ye Guyi had completely thrown herself into smelting and refining the metal did Ye Fan settle his mind and begin carefully engraving the tier-three invincible barrier formation according to the blueprint.

Time always passed quickly during exams.

Three-quarters of the time soon passed.

The tier-three invincible barrier truly lived up to its reputation as a quasi-tier-four soul tool.

The complaining students, such as Wang Shaojie, were the first to be eliminated, because the formation core he had engraved was already ruined, and the remaining time was nowhere near enough for him to engrave another one.

As a result, he received a straight zero for this assessment.

That meant he was guaranteed to rank at the very bottom in this assessment.

Just as he was drowning in despair, accidents occurred in several more students' groups, and their formation cores were ruined as well.

At that moment, he kept praying, Break. All of you, break. That way, everyone will be at the bottom.

In particular, he prayed toward Ye Fan's group and the others.

To his regret, however, someone was the first to raise a hand at that very moment and say, "Teacher, I'm finished."

The moment those words rang out, every gaze in the room turned toward that person.

That person was none other than Chen Fei, who had teamed up with Ma Rulong, the student who had just returned to class for the monthly exam.

After Chen Fei finished speaking, he did not forget to cast a provocative look toward the workbenches of Ye Fan, Xiao Hongchen, and the others. Seeing that they were still working hard, he could not help giving a soft snort, his face full of smugness.

Hearing this, Ma Rufeng frowned slightly, but he did not say anything.

On the platform, when Lin Jiayi heard a student report that they had finished ahead of time, he was also somewhat doubtful at first.

But when he saw that the one who had raised his hand belonged to Ma Rulong's group, he no longer found it surprising.

He quickly walked over to Ma Rulong and Chen Fei's operating table, released a faint amount of soul power toward the invincible barrier made by Ma Rulong's group, and found that the soul power was completely absorbed and blocked.

Lin Jiayi announced loudly, "Ma Rulong, Chen Fei, full marks."

The moment these words rang out, countless pairs of eyes turned toward Ma Rulong's direction with envy.

Naturally, that included Ye Fan.

Just as Ye Fan's attention wavered slightly, Ye Guyi called out to him in a low voice, "Xiao Fan, focus."

Hearing Ye Guyi's rebuke, Ye Fan finally snapped fully awake. Looking at the carving knife in his hand that had almost fallen and destroyed the formation core, fine sweat instantly covered his forehead.