Zhou Yi

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Zhou Yi (周漪)
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Shrek Academy
Occupation/Role	Teacher; homeroom teacher of Freshman Class One, later serving alongside Wang Yan in Class One 20 66
First Appearance	Chapter 20

Background

Zhou Yi is a Shrek Academy teacher known for an unusually severe classroom philosophy. She adopts an elderly disguise to reinforce her authority and has reportedly offended many people through her methods; her students' promotion rate is said to be more than half lower than that of other classes. Her theoretical instructor is Xuan Zi, and she is married to Soul Guidance Department teacher Fan Yu—connections that limit how severely the academy disciplines her conduct 18 25 68.

Her first direct conflict with Gu Shengge begins on his first day in Freshman Class One. After ordering nearly the entire class to run laps because they had not fought since enrollment, she threatens expulsion against anyone who refuses. Gu Shengge publicly challenges both the punishment and her claimed authority, after which Zhou Yi removes him from her class; he transfers to Class Nine 20 21 23.

Appearance

Zhou Yi presents herself as an austere elderly woman, though the vitality she radiates is that of a young woman. Her aged appearance is a deliberate disguise meant to add weight to her authority 18 20.

• Wrinkled skin and white hair coiled atop her head 20
• Black-framed glasses and a shawl over Shrek teacher robes 20
• Straight-backed posture, sharp bright eyes, and a hoarse voice 20
• Her elderly persona conceals unusually vigorous life force 20

Personality

Zhou Yi rules through fear, discipline, and absolute obedience. She considers students who fail to meet her standards unworthy of advancement, and repeatedly treats disagreement as grounds for expulsion. Her first address to Class One establishes this outlook: she intends to cultivate “monsters,” not “wastes” 20 21.

Her severity often becomes personal and impulsive. When she returns to Class One alongside Wang Yan, she removes Gu Shengge from the class monitor position, punishes thirty-seven students for rising too slowly, and throws Huang Chutian from a window after he protests. Her confrontation with Gu Shengge later escalates into an attempted strike and her expulsion of Zhu Lu from the classroom in anger 66 67.

Despite this conduct, Zhou Yi is deeply invested in Huo Yuhao. She worries when he disappears during the break, is unusually lenient when Wang Dong breaks protocol to ask about him, and works to ensure that Huo Yuhao will not be expelled after his late return 102 103 106.

Abilities & Skills

Soul Emperor Cultivation

Zhou Yi is a six-ringed Soul Emperor.

• Possesses two yellow, two purple, and two black Soul Rings 20
• Can release Soul Emperor-level pressure strong enough to leave freshmen struggling to breathe 20
• Her pressure has little effect on Gu Shengge, who openly resists her in Class One 20 67

Student Assessment and Discipline

Zhou Yi uses harsh physical tests and strict compliance standards to evaluate students.

• Orders Class One students to run one hundred laps; later identifies students who lied about completing the test and expels them 20 23
• Uses immediate obedience as a standard of discipline, punishing students who rise even slightly late after an order 66
• Personally enforces punishments, including throwing Huang Chutian and Zhu Lu out of the classroom 66 67

Relationships

• Gu Shengge — Former student and principal adversary. Their conflict begins when he rejects her mass punishment; she removes him from Class One, later targets his class monitor position, and clashes with him again when he defends Wu Feng 20 21 66 67.
• Huo Yuhao — Favored student. Zhou Yi supports his team during the Freshman Assessment, worries over his disappearance, and seeks to protect him from expulsion while arranging his Soul Guidance Department future 40 45 102 106.
• Wang Dong — Student appointed by Zhou Yi as Class One’s class monitor after Gu Shengge is removed. Zhou Yi shows unusual leniency when Wang Dong barges into her office while searching for Huo Yuhao 66 102.
• Fan Yu — Husband and Soul Guidance Department teacher. His status as an eight-ringed Soul Douluo and eighth-class Soul Engineer contributes to the academy’s reluctance to punish Zhou Yi harshly 25 68.
• Xuan Zi — Her theoretical instructor. Xuan Zi favors Zhou Yi’s harsh teaching approach and is willing to intervene during Huo Yuhao’s assessment match 25 43 68.
• Wang Yan — Fellow Class One teacher. He repeatedly attempts to restrain Zhou Yi during her conflict with Gu Shengge and opposes her plan to send Huo Yuhao to the Soul Guidance Department 66 67 106.
• Mu Jin — Rival teacher. Their hostility extends to repeated Soul Bone wagers on contests involving their students; Mu Jin collects Zhou Yi’s wager after Gu Shengge defeats Huo Yuhao’s team 40 45 107.
• Wu Feng — Student Zhou Yi attempts to expel or transfer after Wu Feng objects to the removal of Gu Shengge as class monitor 66 67.
• Zhu Lu — Student caught in Zhou Yi’s anger after the confrontation with Gu Shengge; Zhou Yi throws her out of the classroom despite Zhu Lu’s lack of involvement 67 68.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Freshman Class One Conflict

Zhou Yi begins the freshman term by ordering all students except Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong to run laps for not fighting since enrollment. When students protest, she threatens mass expulsion and reveals her Soul Emperor cultivation. Gu Shengge resists her pressure and challenges the logic of punishing those who did not fight while excusing those who did 20 21.

She declares Gu Shengge expelled from her class, but he rejects her authority to remove him from the academy and transfers to Class Nine. The incident prompts widespread complaints from freshmen and draws the attention of Director Li and Yan Shaozhe 21 22 23.

Freshman Assessment Wagers

During the Freshman Assessment, Zhou Yi supports Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao’s team. She wagers a Soul Bone against Mu Jin on the outcome of their match against Gu Shengge’s team 40.

When Xuan Zi initially declares the match a draw, Zhou Yi is relieved because the result would preserve her wager. After Gu Shengge refuses the draw and the ruling is changed in his favor, Zhou Yi loses the Soul Bone to Mu Jin, though Huo Yuhao’s team receives a revival-round opportunity 44 45.

Return to Class One

When Class One is reorganized under Wang Yan and Zhou Yi, she immediately reasserts control. She punishes thirty-seven students for delayed compliance, strips Gu Shengge of the class monitor post, appoints Wang Dong as monitor, and names Huo Yuhao vice class monitor 66.

Wu Feng’s objection leads Zhou Yi to attempt her removal from the class. Gu Shengge intervenes, verbally condemns Zhou Yi’s conduct, and physically blocks her attempt to seize Wu Feng. Enraged, Zhou Yi takes out her anger on Zhu Lu, throwing her from the classroom 67.

The Academic Affairs Office holds Zhou Yi responsible for creating a hostile class environment. Gu Shengge, Wu Feng, and Zhu Lu are transferred to Class Two, while Zhou Yi receives only a light punishment because of Fan Yu’s influence 68.

Huo Yuhao’s Late Return

When Huo Yuhao fails to return from the Far North during the school break, Zhou Yi worries alongside Wang Dong and investigates his whereabouts 102. Once he returns late after lying about obtaining a Soul Ring, she becomes furious but ultimately works with Wang Yan to protect him from expulsion 103 106.

Zhou Yi explains that Huo Yuhao has become Fan Yu’s core disciple in the Soul Guidance Department and argues that the Martial Soul Department’s leadership failed to recognize his potential. She later instructs him to choose a manageable opponent in the Upgrade Assessment, though he insists on competing first 106 112.

Notable Quotes

“What I intend to cultivate are monsters, not wastes.” 20

“In this class, I am the greatest. Whether my words make sense or not, you all must obey them. If you refuse, you will be expelled.” 21