Preparations Before Causing Trouble

Zhou Yi stood at the podium, her cold gaze sweeping across the entire class before she announced her decision word by word.

"Everyone, get out and run. One hundred laps around Shrek Square. Anyone who fails to finish will be expelled immediately."

The entire class erupted in an uproar.

One hundred laps? One hundred laps around Shrek Square?

That was Shrek Square. A single lap was at least three or four hundred meters, so one hundred laps meant thirty or forty kilometers.

Forget freshmen like them—even upperclassmen might not be able to finish within the allotted time.

The classroom immediately exploded with commotion. Some complained, some begged, and some tried to bargain.

But Xuan Xiao paid no attention to the noise. He lowered his head as if spacing out, though he was actually rapidly searching through the system shop.

He needed to figure out how to cause trouble next.

That sarcastic performance earlier had earned him a few Deviation Points, but not many. At best, it was an appetizer.

If he wanted to make a real killing, he needed to do something more shocking.

His fingers flew over the virtual panel as images of all kinds of items flashed past his eyes. Then, a name suddenly caught his attention.

[Simulacrum Puppet: 100 Deviation Points per quarter-hour.]

Xuan Xiao's eyes lit up at once.

A Simulacrum Puppet?

This thing sounded pretty interesting.

He tapped into the description, and the more he read, the more he felt that this thing had practically been made for him.

It could perfectly replicate a person's appearance, build, and even aura. As long as a trace of Soul Power was injected into it, it could act according to preset commands, and it lasted for a full quarter-hour.

Most importantly, it was absurdly cheap. A quarter-hour cost only one hundred Deviation Points. It was practically a steal.

A bold idea suddenly formed in Xuan Xiao's mind.

An incredibly insane, incredibly risky idea—but one that would earn him a fortune if it succeeded.

The corners of his lips curled into a smile.

Seeing so many people arguing back, Zhou Yi immediately flew into a rage.

She snorted coldly, and her Soul Power erupted. Six Soul Rings slowly appeared around her body: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black.

The two black Soul Rings in particular radiated terrifying pressure, like a mountain pressing down on everyone's hearts. The students who had still been shouting instantly fell silent.

"Let me remind you: you only have one shichen."

Zhou Yi's voice was as cold as ice, every word carrying unquestionable authority.

"Anyone who hasn't completed one hundred laps after one shichen will be considered unqualified. This is your first assessment after enrollment. Those who fail will be expelled."

Once those words were spoken, no one dared make another sound.

After all, these students were merely freshmen, with the oldest only thirteen or fourteen. When had they ever seen something like this?

Under such pressure, who would dare resist any longer? They all stood up sheepishly and filed out of the classroom one after another.

Some were pale-faced, some had weak knees, and some were already calculating whether they could possibly finish all one hundred laps.

Before long, Xuan Xiao was the only one still sitting in the classroom.

Zhou Yi's gaze fell on him, and she frowned.

"Why aren't you going yet?!"

There was obvious impatience in her voice. Clearly, she was still holding back her anger from Xuan Xiao's earlier retort.

Xuan Xiao raised his head and looked at her calmly, wearing that trademark smile.

"Teacher, I'd like to take a look at the Soul Guidance Department. Do you happen to have any connections?"

Zhou Yi froze for a moment, clearly not expecting him to make such a request.

In the mainstream thinking of the three nations of the Douluo Continent, Soul Tools had always been regarded as clever but frivolous tricks—things that distracted people from proper pursuits.

Orthodox soul masters focused on cultivating themselves. Few took an interest in Soul Tools, much less voluntarily asked to visit the Soul Guidance Department.

Zhou Yi's curiosity was immediately piqued.

She looked Xuan Xiao up and down and asked, "Why do you want to visit the Soul Guidance Department?"

Xuan Xiao leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather.

"The development of soul masters has already reached its limit. Soul Tools are developing the fastest now, aren't they?"

He said it lightly, but the words were like a stone tossed into a still lake, sending ripples through Zhou Yi's heart.

She fell silent for a while before finally nodding.

"Come with me."

Though she was a teacher from the Martial Soul Department, her husband was the director of the Soul Guidance Department. If she sent such a genius over there, even Dean Yan wouldn't dare say anything.

After all, the Soul Guidance Department also had two deans. Its status was no lower than that of the Martial Soul Department.

Xuan Xiao stood up and followed Zhou Yi out of the classroom.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, Mu En watched the scene through the window and nodded in satisfaction.

He had always supported the development of the Soul Guidance Department. In his view, the combination of Soul Tools and soul masters was the continent's future mainstream direction.

But Yan Shaozhe, standing beside him, was in far less pleasant spirits.

Yan Shaozhe's face was so gloomy it looked as if water could drip from it. Watching Xuan Xiao leave with Zhou Yi, his teeth ground together.

He had finally found a prodigy with heaven-defying talent, and before he could even keep him for long, the Soul Guidance Department was about to poach him?

How could he possibly accept that?

But with Mu En present, he didn't dare act out. He could only swallow his anger and stand there sulking.

Meanwhile, Xuan Xiao followed Zhou Yi while rapidly operating the system shop.

He found an option called Complete Guide to Soul Tools. When he opened it and saw the price, he nearly cursed aloud.

One hundred and fifty thousand!

It was ridiculously expensive!

But gritting his teeth, he still pressed purchase.

You couldn't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. If he wanted to make something big happen, he had to be willing to invest.

An invisible light entered his mind, followed by an enormous flood of information pouring into his consciousness like a tide.

The principles, structures, and manufacturing methods of countless Soul Tools—from the simplest Soul Guidance Lamps to the most complex space battleships, from ancient primitive designs to cutting-edge future technology—all of it was crammed into his head at once.

After receiving the infusion, Xuan Xiao felt as if his brain had been stuffed with an entire library's worth of information, swelling painfully.

But once he recovered and carefully savored that knowledge, he only wanted to say one thing.

Damn, that was good.

Because Complete Guide to Soul Tools truly lived up to its name. It even included the blueprints for space battleships from the era of Douluo 4.

The knowledge now stored in his mind, even if he casually took out just a little of it, would be enough to advance the entire continent's Soul Tool research by several decades.

Those one hundred and fifty thousand Deviation Points had been incredibly well spent.

As Xuan Xiao followed Zhou Yi toward the Soul Guidance Department, a group of freshmen on Shrek Square were running themselves ragged.

One hundred laps was simply a nightmare for these children, most of whom only had one or two Soul Rings.

Huo Yuhao was running at the very back. His face was pale, veins bulging from his forehead, while sweat streamed down his cheeks and soaked his collar.

His legs felt as heavy as lead, every step like struggling through a swamp, but he still clenched his teeth and kept running without stopping.

Wang Dong had already lapped him and was not far behind. Watching Huo Yuhao's unsteady yet stubbornly persistent back, an indescribable feeling rose in her heart.

She couldn't help asking, "Hey, are you okay?"

Huo Yuhao panted heavily and answered without looking back.

"I'm fine!"

His voice was hoarse but firm, filled with unyielding stubbornness.

Wang Dong didn't know why, but watching him run forward with every last bit of strength, pushing himself to the limit again and again, stirred a strange feeling in her heart.

The feeling was strange. It seemed like admiration, but also heartache, along with something else she couldn't quite explain.

While they continued running lap after lap, and while Mu En and Yan Shaozhe's attention remained on Xuan Xiao and Zhou Yi—

In an inconspicuous corner, another Zhou Yi silently appeared in the shadows at the edge of the square. Watching the students who were running, she curled her lips into a cold smile.

This Zhou Yi was the Simulacrum Puppet Xuan Xiao had purchased.

And what it was about to do would shake all of Shrek—and even the entire continent.

Because—Xuan Xiao was about to make a huge scene!