Martial Arts Heart Method, Class Assignment

"Strange, my Soul Power!"

As Xiao Xiao played, she sensed something was wrong. Her Soul Power had actually begun circulating along with the tune.

This piece actually contained a heart method for cultivating Soul Power, one far more advanced than the Meditation Method she had learned from the city lord who recommended her to Shrek Academy.

"Yuwen Tuo, what kind of tune is this? It's incredible." Xiao Xiao could not help stopping to ask.

Yuwen Tuo lowered the leaf and smiled. "It's called the 'Su Lü Heart Method.' It's a heart method that cultivates Soul Power through music. My master's wife taught it to me, but I'm not skilled in music, so I never studied it in depth."

"You say you... aren't skilled in music? Then what does that make me?" Xiao Xiao scratched her head, looking adorably blank and embarrassed. Yuwen Tuo's mastery of music far surpassed hers.

If he did not count as knowledgeable, then she was practically a complete outsider.

Yuwen Tuo said, "You have good talent. Surpassing me is only a matter of time, so don't put yourself down."

Flustered by the praise, Xiao Xiao blushed. "Oh, right, you mentioned your master's wife. So you already have a master, then?"

"Yes. My master left me a long time ago. He was a very good person—cold on the outside but warm-hearted, and incredibly powerful. Although he killed some people too, probably no more than seven figures or so, he was still rather gentle overall," Yuwen Tuo recalled.

"Mm, he killed seven people..." Xiao Xiao apparently had not heard clearly. She only felt that killing seven people was nothing much. Yuwen Tuo's master had to be a Soul Master, after all. What Soul Master went through life without killing anyone? Seven was not too many, was it? But she quickly came back to her senses. "Wait, did you just say seven... figures?"

As she spoke, she began counting on her fingers. One hand was not enough. "Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million... Your master killed more than a million people? Who exactly was he? No, was he even human?"

Even the most evil Evil Soul Master could not possibly have killed that many people. How could someone like that still be called human? He was practically a peerless, invincible archdemon.

Even the strongest Evil Soul Masters would probably have to call him Ancestor upon seeing him.

How had Yuwen Tuo managed to associate someone like that with the word gentle?

"Haha, I was joking." Yuwen Tuo smiled and waved his hand. He did not want to actually frighten Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao immediately breathed a sigh of relief and patted her undeveloped chest. "That's what I thought. How could such a person possibly exist in this world?" She had truly been afraid that Yuwen Tuo was the disciple of some great villain.

"Then what about your master's wife? If she could teach you such an amazing tune, she must be a great master of music, right?"

"Of course!" Yuwen Tuo nodded.

Back then, he had still been Xiao Tuo. His master's wife had naturally been Dugu Ningke, the incarnation of the Demon Realm's daughter, a figure whose mastery of music was so profound that she could freely control the Fuxi Zither.

Perhaps because she loved him for the sake of someone else, before her true identity was exposed, Dugu Ningke had also doted greatly on Xiao Tuo.

While living as a human, she naturally could not use Demon Realm demonic arts to conceal her identity. Thus, she learned the Martial Arts of a human martial sect, the Heavenly Sound Sect, as a cover.

That martial arts sect fought through music.

It possessed three sets of martial arts heart methods.

The "Su Lü Heart Method," an introductory foundation heart method; "String Sound Formlessness," an advanced technique only elite disciples could cultivate; and "Absolute String Heavenly Sound," the supreme heart method that only high-ranking members of the sect could practice.

Dugu Ningke's status was special. After all, her human identity was that of a royal County Princess. Naturally, she did not need to follow such procedures if she wanted to learn the techniques of any martial sect. With a decree from the Sui Emperor and Yuwen Tuo's Noble Carriage Sword held across the way, that sect obediently sent all three heart methods, along with the rest of its martial arts, straight to Ningke.

Ningke said it was no good for Xiao Tuo to focus solely on sword practice every day, as it would make his hostility too heavy. She said he should learn some music to cultivate his temperament, so she taught him these techniques as well.

What Yuwen Tuo had taught Xiao Xiao today was only the most basic Su Lü Heart Method.

As for the more advanced "String Sound Formlessness" and "Absolute String Heavenly Sound," he had no intention of teaching them to her yet. First, Xiao Xiao's Cultivation Power was too shallow and her attainments in music too low for her to practice such profound heart methods. Second, although he and Xiao Xiao could be considered friends now, they were only ordinary friends. It was fine to give her a small gift, but giving too much would only make things awkward between them. Too much was as bad as too little.

Third, and most importantly, as Xiao Xiao continued cultivating, she would sooner or later feel that this technique was incomplete. At that point, she would definitely want to obtain the subsequent methods. Yuwen Tuo thought that he would have his own faction in the future as well. This little girl was at her most gullible age right now, so if he did not make his move now, when would he?

Shrek had wasted six years of his life. Stealing away one of their Twin Martial Souls should not be too much, should it?

That little ensemble in the woods greatly increased Xiao Xiao's favorability toward Yuwen Tuo. She was no longer merely obsessed with his looks; she now felt that he was a kindred spirit as well. By noon, she could not wait to drag Yuwen Tuo toward the first-year teaching building.

Today, they would finally see their class assignments.

There were too many people, so Xiao Xiao was squeezed outside the crowd. She was too petite to see inside at all, and could only keep jumping up to look. Her twin ponytails flew through the air, making her resemble a little rabbit.

Yuwen Tuo could not help laughing. "All right, Xiao Xiao, stop jumping. I saw your name. You're in New Student Class One, and your teacher is Zhou Yi."

He could see clearly because he was taller than most of the new students here.

At the mention of Zhou Yi's name, many students who had gathered even a little intelligence on Shrek Academy immediately looked at Xiao Xiao with pity. How had such an adorable little girl ended up in that old hag's hands?

Someone could not help saying, "Classmate, you need to be careful. I heard that Teacher Zhou was too harsh while teaching third-year students, causing only one-tenth of her class to advance to the fourth year. The students reported her to the academy many times, and that was why she was demoted to teach new students. There may not be many monster students in Shrek Academy's outer court, but there are plenty of monster teachers, and Teacher Zhou is the worst of them."

"Really? I don't believe you unless you let me see for myself!" Xiao Xiao seized the chance to say.

Everyone immediately made way for her. Xiao Xiao finally managed to squeeze inside, but she did not look at her own name at all. Instead, she kept searching for something, muttering under her breath, "Yuwen Tuo... Yuwen Tuo... Found it, it's here! Yuwen Tuo, New Student Class One! That's wonderful!!!"

Xiao Xiao immediately began hopping around in delight. "Yuwen Tuo, did you see it? We're in the same class!"

"Damn it!" Everyone's faces darkened. They had been played by this little girl. She did not care which teacher she had been assigned to at all; she only cared whether she and this boy were in the same class.

They had kindly made way so the little girl could see her hopeless future, yet now they somehow felt that their own single lives were even more hopeless.

Everyone looked at Yuwen Tuo as if he were livestock, and their eyes conveyed only one meaning.

Not bad, kid. You picked up such an adorable female classmate the moment you enrolled. But she was clearly the loli type—how could you even make a move on her?