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. Run one hundred laps around Shrek Square. Anyone who fails to finish will be expelled immediately."
The entire class erupted into an uproar.
One hundred laps? One hundred laps around Shrek Square?
That was Shrek Square. One lap was at least three or four hundred meters, so one hundred laps meant thirty or forty kilometers.
Let alone freshmen like them, even older students might not be able to finish within the allotted time.
The classroom instantly descended into chaos. Some complained, some pleaded, and some tried to bargain.
But Xuan Xiao paid no attention to the commotion. He lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought, while actually searching through the System Shop at high speed.
He had to figure out how to stir things up next.
That bout of sarcasm had earned him some Deviation Points, but not much. At best, it was an appetizer.
If he wanted to make a real fortune, he needed to do something more impactful.
His fingers slid rapidly across the virtual panel as images of various products flashed past his eyes. Then, a name suddenly caught his attention.
[Simulacrum Puppet: 100 Deviation Points per quarter hour.]
Xuan Xiao's eyes immediately lit up.
A Simulacrum Puppet?
This sounded pretty interesting.
He tapped it open and read the description. 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 infused into it, it could act according to preset instructions and would last for a full quarter hour.
Most importantly, it was absurdly cheap. A quarter hour only cost one hundred Deviation Points. It was practically being given away.
A bold idea suddenly formed in Xuan Xiao's mind.
An extraordinarily insane, extraordinarily risky idea—but one that would earn him a fortune if it succeeded.
The corners of his lips curled up unconsciously.
Seeing so many people oppose her, Zhou Yi immediately flew into a rage.
She gave a cold snort, and Soul Power abruptly erupted from her body. Six Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black—slowly appeared around her.
The two black Soul Rings in particular radiated terrifying pressure, like mountains pressing down on everyone's hearts, instantly silencing the students who had still been shouting.
"Let me remind you, you only have one hour."
Zhou Yi's voice was as cold as ice, every word carrying unquestionable authority.
"Anyone who fails to complete one hundred laps after one hour will be deemed unqualified. This is your first entrance examination. Those who fail will be expelled."
After that, no one dared to make another sound.
These students were only freshmen, with the oldest no more than thirteen or fourteen years old. How could they have ever seen such a scene before?
Under such pressure, who would dare resist? They all rose sheepishly and filed out of the classroom one after another.
Some were pale-faced, some had weak knees, and some had already begun calculating whether they could finish those hundred laps.
Very soon, Xuan Xiao was the only one left sitting in the classroom.
Zhou Yi's gaze fell on him, and she frowned.
"Why aren't you going?"
There was obvious impatience in her voice. After Xuan Xiao had talked back to her earlier, she was clearly still holding in her anger.
Xuan Xiao raised his head and looked at her calmly, that signature smile still on his face.
"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 views of the three countries of Douluo Continent, Soul Tools had always been regarded as frivolous tricks, something beneath serious pursuit.
Orthodox Soul Masters focused on cultivating themselves. Few were interested in Soul Tools, much less took the initiative to ask to visit the Soul Guidance Department.
Zhou Yi's curiosity was immediately piqued.
She looked Xuan Xiao up and down before asking, "Why do you want to go to the Soul Guidance Department?"
Xuan Xiao leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, his tone as casual as if they were discussing the weather.
"The development of Soul Masters has already reached its limit. Soul Tools are what's advancing the fastest now, aren't they?"
He said it lightly, but the words were like a stone thrown into a still lake, sending ripples through Zhou Yi's heart.
She fell silent for a long while before finally nodding.
"Come with me."
She might have been a teacher in the Martial Soul Department, but her husband was the director of the Soul Guidance Department. Sending such a genius over there was something even Dean Yan would not dare object to.
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 and followed Zhou Yi out of the classroom.
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, combining Soul Tools with Soul Masters was the future direction of the continent.
But Yan Shaozhe, standing beside him, was in far less of a pleasant mood.
Yan Shaozhe's face was so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it. Watching Xuan Xiao leave with Zhou Yi, he ground his teeth so hard they creaked.
He had finally found a prodigy with heaven-defying talent, and before he had even had time to keep him close, the Soul Guidance Department was about to steal him away?
How could he possibly accept that?
But with Mu En present, he did not dare vent his anger. He could only stand there, fuming silently.
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 out loud.
One hundred and fifty thousand!
It was genuinely expensive!
But he gritted his teeth and bought it anyway.
You couldn't catch a wolf without sacrificing bait. If he wanted to make something big happen, he had to be willing to invest.
An invisible beam of light entered his mind, followed by an ocean of information surging into his consciousness like a tidal wave.
The principles, structures, and manufacturing methods of all kinds of Soul Tools—from the simplest soul lamps to the most complex space warships, from ancient primitive designs to cutting-edge future technology—were all crammed into his mind at once.
After receiving the knowledge infusion, Xuan Xiao felt as though 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, this was good.
Because Complete Guide to Soul Tools truly lived up to its name. It even contained the design blueprints for space warships from the era of Douluo IV.
The knowledge in his head, even if he casually took out only a tiny portion of it, would be enough to advance the entire continent's Soul Tool research level by 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 were panting as they ran across Shrek Square.
One hundred laps was 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 bulged across his forehead, and sweat streamed endlessly down his cheeks, soaking his collar.
His legs felt as heavy as lead. Every step was like struggling through a swamp, yet he still clenched his teeth and ran forward without stopping.
Wang Dong had lapped him once and was not far behind him. Looking at Huo Yuhao's wavering back, though he still refused to stop, an indescribable feeling rose in her heart.
She could not help asking, "Hey, are you all right?"
Huo Yuhao panted heavily and replied without turning his head.
"I'm fine!"
His voice was hoarse but resolute, carrying a stubborn refusal to admit defeat.
Wang Dong did not know why, but watching him exhaust every ounce of strength to run forward, pushing himself past his limits again and again, stirred a strange feeling within her.
That feeling was strange. It seemed like admiration, yet also heartache, along with something she could not explain even to herself.
While they continued running lap after lap, and while Mu En and Yan Shaozhe had their attention focused 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 run, 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 massive move!
Before you continue