"Fine, fine. You geniuses all have minds of your own." Mu Jin rubbed between his brows and waved a hand, looking thoroughly beleaguered.
He sighed, pulled over a chair, and sat opposite Tang Qi, adopting an air of heartfelt sincerity.
"But Tang Qi, let me warn you first. After the Freshman Assessment Tournament ends three months from now, every student who passes will be reassigned to a class according to their chosen martial soul specialization."
"Given your martial soul, you'll definitely end up in Freshman Class One. And Freshman Class One usually has two senior teachers serving as homeroom teachers. As for choosing those teachers, a large part of the decision depends on which provisional class produces the winning team in the Freshman Assessment Tournament."
At this point, a meaningful smile curled Mu Jin's lips, and even the way he looked at Tang Qi grew peculiar.
"Tang Qi, you wouldn't want an old hag who's always stirring up trouble to become your future homeroom teacher, would you?"
Tang Qi raised an eyebrow.
Well, well. The audacity, Mu Jin! You're practically rebelling against heaven.
I've always been the one threatening other people, yet today someone else has me over a barrel.
"If your team wins the Freshman Assessment, then naturally, I'll become the homeroom teacher of Freshman Class One."
Mu Jin continued on his own, "And everyone in the academy knows Zhou Yi and I don't get along. Unless the academy's higher-ups collectively lose their minds, there's no way they'll assign us both to the same class as homeroom teachers."
Even with Fan Yu, a mainstay of the Soul Tool Department, supporting Zhou Yi, she couldn't undermine Mu Jin when he had solid results backing him up.
When both sides were equally capable, connections could add flowers to the brocade, but they weren't the deciding factor.
Of course, that was unless those connections were powerful enough-for instance, if Zhou Yi became a Titled Douluo and Fan Yu became dean of the Soul Tool Department.
Then what could Mu Jin possibly say? It's yours, then. What's even the point of playing?
As for the other homeroom teacher, Mu Jin reckoned it would most likely be Wang Yan.
He had a solid grounding in theory and had studied under an Elder of the Sea God Pavilion, which qualified him to serve as Freshman Class One's homeroom teacher.
"As long as you can help me become Freshman Class One's homeroom teacher..."
He changed tack, staring eagerly at Tang Qi. "I'll give you free rein. Aside from important assessments and essential theory lessons, you can come and go whenever you like. Just give me a heads-up beforehand so I know you haven't gotten yourself into trouble. That's all."
"What do you say?"
Mu Jin leaned back. "I guarantee you won't find another teacher this 'unrestrained' in all of Shrek Academy."
Tang Qi rubbed his chin.
Mu Jin had clearly become obsessed with getting the upper hand over Zhou Yi.
A moment later, he frowned and asked, "You want me to team up with Ning Tian and Wu Feng, but what about those two outside?"
Tang Qi glanced toward the door. "With their strength, passing the Freshman Assessment Tournament probably won't be easy."
"Yutong is only a One-Ring Soul Master, and Xiao Xiao has only just become a Soul Grandmaster. Even if you find another Soul Grandmaster to join them, it'll still be a stretch."
Mu Jin froze, then knitted his brows tightly.
He really had forgotten about that.
The atmosphere in the office grew heavy for a while. After a long pause, Mu Jin's instincts as a teacher reclaimed the high ground, and he sighed.
"Forget it. Let those two girls come in. I'll take a look at exactly what their soul skills do and see whether they can knock Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu off the stage before they unleash their Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
That day in the square, Mu Jin had personally witnessed Tang Qi defeat Dai Huabin in an instant, even after Dai Huabin had used his third soul skill.
Hearing that, Tang Qi wasted no words. He raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
A strand of blue silver wood promptly snaked toward the door, deftly coiled around the handle, and gave it a gentle twist, opening the door with ease.
Mu Jin's eyelids twitched at the sight, and even the corners of his mouth jerked twice.
Even somewhere like Shrek, where geniuses gathered in droves, most plant-type soul masters of Tang Qi's age still relied on soul ring skills to use their martial souls.
Yet this boy clearly controlled his martial soul as naturally as his arm commanded his fingers. It was downright terrifying.
Tang Qi: A little cheating doesn't count as cheating.
The door opened. Xiao Xiao and Huo Yutong stood outside, one behind the other, both their little faces tinged with apprehension.
Seeing Mu Jin and Tang Qi sitting opposite each other in conversation, both girls immediately turned their eyes toward Tang Qi.
"Come in." Tang Qi beckoned to them, his tone relaxed.
Only then did the two cautiously edge into the office.
"Relax." Tang Qi chuckled, and two strands of blue silver wood shot out, deftly curled around two chairs, and placed them behind the girls.
"Have a seat." Tang Qi acted as though he owned the place.
Looking at the two girls huddling like little quails, Mu Jin sighed helplessly and softened his voice.
"I only want to learn about your soul skills. After all, the Freshman Assessment Tournament is in three months. This will help me plan ahead for you."
At his words, Xiao Xiao's tense little face relaxed. "My first soul skill is called Cauldron's Tremor. The Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron can split into three. When all three cauldrons emerge together, they can stun nearby enemies or strike separate targets."
"An area attack and a group stun in one? Not bad." Mu Jin nodded slightly, a flicker of approval passing through his eyes.
"My second soul skill is called Cauldron's Surge."
Xiao Xiao continued, "Black ripples appear over the cauldron. When it rams into an enemy, it can send them flying, and a successful hit also stuns them."
"Both a powerful single-target attack and a control skill."
Mu Jin chuckled, his gaze softening a little. "Xiao Xiao, you're planning to specialize in control, aren't you?"
Xiao Xiao nodded vigorously.
"What about you, Yutong?" Mu Jin turned to Huo Yutong.
The girl instinctively glanced at Tang Qi.
Tang Qi nodded slightly, giving her a look that said, Stick to the plan.
The girl took a deep breath and slowly stood.
A bright yellow soul ring rose from beneath her feet. A faint golden sheen surfaced in her Spiritual Eyes, and a gentle wave of spiritual power spread outward.
Tang Qi had arranged for Tian Meng to handle the hundred-year soul ring beforehand. A little camouflage could save them a great deal of trouble.
Tang Qi had discussed it with her in advance.
Depending on the circumstances, she would reveal Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing. Mental Interference and Soul Shock would remain hidden.
As for why she had two soul skills, they would attribute it to the mysteries of a body martial soul. Even if everything was eventually exposed, they could say it had resonated with Purple Demon Eye.
"Incredible..."
Mu Jin murmured.
Even after Huo Yutong withdrew her spiritual power, Mu Jin remained dazed, staring fixedly at her with a gleam in his eyes.
"It's simply miraculous!"
He sprang out of his chair, breathing rapidly, his gaze fixed on Huo Yutong as though he were appraising a priceless treasure.
In that instant, a name flashed through Mu Jin's mind-Fan Yu.
With Huo Yutong's support, Fan Yu would surely be like a tiger given wings, and Mu Jin would undoubtedly be able to wrest Fan Yu's attention back from Zhou Yi.
At that thought, Mu Jin seemed to receive a shot of pure adrenaline. His face flushed, and he rushed forward with quick strides, reaching to seize Huo Yutong's wrist.
But Tang Qi reacted swiftly and pulled Huo Yutong toward him. The girl stumbled and fell into his arms.
Tang Qi stared at Mu Jin, his expression dark. "What are you doing?"
"Tang Qi, hand Yutong over to me!" Mu Jin urged, his voice trembling.
"You have no idea how gifted she is when it comes to soul tools! She should join the Soul Tool Department! Right now!"
"Enough!"
Tang Qi's voice abruptly rose.
Huo Yutong trembled in his arms, instinctively ducking the head she had just raised. Xiao Xiao sat frozen in her chair, hardly daring to breathe.
Tang Qi's gaze was sharp as a blade as he stared Mu Jin in the eye. "You've lost your mind! You think I don't know what you're scheming? Students aren't bargaining chips for winning someone's favor!"
Before you continue