New Roommate! School Begins

Faced with his rather overfamiliar new roommate, Lu Yi smiled and nodded. "Lu Yi."

Zhou Sichen looked around the tidy dorm room. When he reached his bed and saw that it had been cleaned too, he thanked Lu Yi at once. "Hey, you even cleaned my bed for me, bro. I feel bad about that."

Lu Yi did not take credit for it. "I got here early. It was no trouble, so don't worry about it!"

"I can't let that stand!" Zhou Sichen protested. "I'll handle the cleaning for the next two weeks. Don't you dare fight me for it."

Seeing how insistent Zhou Sichen was, Lu Yi did not stop him. His first impression of his new roommate was good.

Much better than Wang Dong! At least he isn't a spoiled brat.

Still, Zhou Sichen's behavior made Lu Yi curious about his background. He had an earthy, streetwise air about him and might not have come from a Soul Master family.

After all, Lu Yi had not spent both days at the academy shut up in the dorm. Most students he had met carried themselves with a "no one under heaven can match me" arrogance. Someone so approachable was rare.

Before Lu Yi could ask, though, Zhou Sichen finished making his bed, sat down, and started talking.

"Bro, what's your Martial Soul? What type is it? And what level are you now?"

The barrage of questions caught Lu Yi off guard. Why was Zhou Sichen suddenly interrogating him?

Why don't you ask me what my Soul Skills are while you're at it?

A Martial Soul was a secret to a Soul Master, much like an identity card. When out in the world, Soul Masters generally did not reveal theirs unless necessary.

Soul Skills were secrets among secrets—the means by which Soul Masters survived. Letting others learn them was like laying one's trump cards bare.

Lu Yi knew that rule, but Zhou Sichen seemed completely unaware of it.

Then Zhou Sichen changed tack and revealed his own Martial Soul.

A book appeared above his right hand. It bore no elaborate decorations, but the Soul Power pulsing from it was far from weak.

"Bro, don't let the fact that book Martial Souls are almost always Trash Martial Souls fool you. My Tome is different. You'd never guess what it can do!" Zhou Sichen looked proud, then lowered his voice conspiratorially. "We're roommates, so I'll let you in on it. Just don't go telling everyone!"

Lu Yi had no idea what Zhou Sichen was getting at. He simply nodded and settled in to listen.

Pleased to have a roommate patient enough to hear him out, Zhou Sichen launched into an enthusiastic explanation.

From Zhou Sichen's account, Lu Yi gathered that his Martial Soul could summon Beast Spirits to fight. The Beast Spirits came from Soul Beasts he had killed.

"A Beast Tamer?" Lu Yi summed up.

"Exactly!" Zhou Sichen nodded. Lu Yi had hit the nail on the head, but seeing how calm he remained left Zhou Sichen a little disappointed.

Shouldn't he be shocked to hear what my Martial Soul can do?

Why does he barely seem to care?

Summoning Beast Spirits was indeed a rare ability within the Soul Master system, but it was nothing new to Lu Yi.

Just Pals, that's all!

What he was thinking of were the Soul Spirits Electrolux had created according to the laws governing Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent.

Soul Spirits, however, were formed by making contracts with Soul Beasts and preserving their souls in the Sea of Consciousness. When needed, they could help a Soul Master fight.

In that respect, Zhou Sichen's Martial Soul did bear some resemblance to Soul Spirits.

"Bro, to be honest, I heard that a lot of students who passed the freshman assessment in previous years were roommates. They work together better that way. I'm in the Power Attack System. What type are you?"

Since his roommate had been so open, Lu Yi did not hold back either. "My Martial Soul is a Wand. I'm a level-seventeen control-type Soul Master."

"A Wand?"

Zhou Sichen had clearly never heard of such a Martial Soul. He guessed that, like his Tome, it was the result of a beneficial mutation in a Trash Martial Soul.

But when he heard Lu Yi's level, some of the anticipation faded from his face.

His own cultivation was nearing level twenty-four, making him one of the standouts among this year's students. Naturally, he hoped to find a strong teammate—someone at level twenty, at least.

Lu Yi's level-seventeen cultivation was not particularly high. It would be almost impossible for him to reach level twenty within three months and have the academy help him hunt down a Soul Ring.

Teaming up with Lu Yi might weaken the group.

Then Zhou Sichen remembered that he could summon two Beast Spirits with the strength of hundred-year Soul Beasts. Among freshmen who generally had only one or two Soul Rings, that was enough to crush the competition. His confidence returned.

Flowers need green leaves to set them off. Wouldn't leading an ordinary teammate to victory show my strength even better and catch the academy higher-ups' attention?

"Interesting Martial Soul. Keep working hard, and I'll carry you when the time comes!" Zhou Sichen gave Lu Yi an encouraging look.

Lu Yi had noticed the change in Zhou Sichen's attitude after he stated his level, but he was in no hurry to prove himself.

He took a book from his Soul Tool. This time, it was not a magic book, but the Plant Compendium he had bought at a bookstore while exploring Shrek City two days earlier.

He had not bought it because he was bored and wanted something to read before bed.

The main reason was that he had run out of Potions, and brewing more required specific herbs.

He wanted to see whether the Douluo World had plants he could use.

Otherwise, he would have to grow them himself from the seeds he had brought from the Wizarding World.

"Click, click, click~"

A tall young female teacher of about thirty stepped onto the podium in high heels.

Lu Yi sat by the window. As soon as he saw the teacher arrive, he cut off Zhou Sichen, who had been chattering nonstop while rating the girls in their class by looks.

The classroom, noisy just moments before, fell silent at once.

The young teacher swept her gaze over the students. After confirming everyone was present, she nodded in satisfaction.

"My name is Mu Jin, and I'm the homeroom teacher for Freshman Class Nine. I'll be in charge of all your classes for the next three months."

Mu Jin paused when she saw confusion on several students' faces.

"Some of you may be wondering why I said three months instead of a year. Let me tell you: Shrek Academy values competition. Every year, students who fail to meet its standards are eliminated. That is especially true for first-year students."

"In three months, you'll face your first selection: a three-on-three combat assessment. Only a hundred and fifty teams from the entire first year will remain. This year, there are over a thousand freshmen. That means that in three months, perhaps half of you sitting here will leave Shrek."

Mu Jin's words made many students suck in a breath. The classroom seemed to grow stiflingly hot.

The thought that they might be eliminated and slink out of the academy left many of them uneasy.

Mu Jin took in every reaction from the students below. "There are a hundred of you here, and I can't assess each of your abilities yet. But to help me run this class, I'll first appoint a class president and vice president. Stand up when you hear your name."

"Ning Tian!"