Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling

"Teacher Qin, sorry for the intrusion."

Qian Baichuan stepped forward, his tone courteous. "This is Ye Han, a newly enrolled student. The Three Education Committee Members specifically instructed me to bring him to your class."

Upon hearing that this was the arrangement of the Three Education Committee Members, most of the displeasure on Qin Ming's face immediately faded,

but his appraising gaze only grew sharper.

After letting his gaze linger on Ye Han for a moment, Qin Ming said evenly, "Since the Three Education Committee Members have spoken, I'm willing to give you a chance. But my class has its own rules. Not just anyone can stay."

He raised a hand toward the other seven boys and girls sitting or standing in the classroom. "See them? I personally selected every one of them. The assessment isn't complicated. Spar with any one of my students for ten minutes without falling behind, and you pass."

As his words fell, all seven pairs of eyes turned to Ye Han, several of their faces bearing amused smiles.

They had seen this sort of thing plenty of times. Most people who tried to join the class through family connections lacked the strength, and very few ultimately managed to stay.

Ye Han studied the seven with interest as well: five boys and two girls, each with a distinct air.

These seven were all the members of the future Imperial Fighting Team.

The tall boy sitting in the front row, with short black hair and a sharp gaze, was their captain, Yu Tianheng of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

The girl beside him, with striking curves, short dark-purple hair, and green-tinged eyes, was Dugu Yan, granddaughter of Poison Douluo Dugu Bo.

The other girl was the Imperial Fighting Team's support Soul Master, Ye Lingling, the sole remaining successor of the Nine Heart Begonia lineage.

There were also two sturdily built boys whose faces bore a strong resemblance. Needless to say, they were the Shi Brothers, Shi Mo and Shi Mo, whose Martial Soul was the Black Tortoise.

Of the remaining two, one was slender with lively eyes, while the other wore a cold, stern expression. They were Yu Feng, the Wind Chime Bird Soul Master, and Osler, the Ghost Leopard Soul Master, respectively.

Ye Han quickly matched each face to a name in his mind.

"Have you decided who to choose?"

Qin Ming prompted him.

"Then... this senior." Ye Han raised a hand and pointed at Yu Tianheng.

Everyone present froze at those words, even Qin Ming.

Shi Mo could not help warning him, "Junior, you'd better think this through. Boss Tian Heng is a rank-thirty Soul Elder. Are you sure you want to pick him?"

Qin Ming frowned slightly too. "Shi Mo is right. Tian Heng is the strongest among them. Are you sure you want to challenge him?"

Ye Han nodded firmly. "I choose Senior Yu."

Seeing that his mind was made up, Qin Ming stopped trying to persuade him. "Then let's head to the sparring grounds. I'll referee. Remember, stop short of causing injury."

The group arrived at an open-air sparring ground.

Thick, solid flagstones paved the ground, and simple protective barriers surrounded the arena.

Ye Han and Yu Tianheng stood at opposite ends.

"Begin the assessment!"

As the command rang out.

Hum!

Yu Tianheng immediately gave a low shout, and three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—spiraled up from beneath his feet.

His right arm abruptly swelled, fine blue scales covering its surface as his hand transformed into a savage dragon claw. This was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's exclusive ability—Dragon Transformation!

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon! Just what I wanted!"

With a thought from Ye Han and a flash of red light, the Fire Qilin appeared out of thin air in the open space before him. Two vivid yellow Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath its feet.

"An external beast Martial Soul?"

The instant Yu Tianheng saw the Fire Qilin, his pupils sharply contracted.

Roar!

The Fire Qilin roared furiously, flames surging over its body as it charged at Yu Tianheng.

"First Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw!"

Yu Tianheng snorted coldly, his first Soul Ring lighting up.

Fine blue arcs coiled around his transformed right arm, crackling as he lunged straight at the Fire Qilin with his claw.

A Soul Elder's speed and strength far surpassed those of every opponent Ye Han had encountered before.

The Fire Qilin reacted swiftly. Rather than meet the incoming Thunder Dragon Claw head-on, it leaped nimbly aside and evaded the strike.

At the same moment, it stamped its right hoof.

Qilin Step!

Bang!

Thunder Dragon Claw collided with Qilin Step, and a dull boom erupted.

Something's wrong. There's more to this than meets the eye.

After that single exchange, Yu Tianheng's astonishment deepened.

Ye Han also used that collision to gauge the difference in their strength.

Roar!

Without waiting for Ye Han's instructions, red light flashed in the Fire Qilin's eyes, and the second Soul Ring beneath its feet suddenly lit up!

Second Soul Skill—Qilin's Breath!

Its speed and strength instantly increased by fifty percent!

The Fire Qilin no longer merely dodged. It even took the initiative to attack.

Its fiery-red figure became a streak of light rushing toward Yu Tianheng. Claw strikes and stomps came in succession, interspersed with blasts of scorching flames, its offensive suddenly turning ferocious.

Yu Tianheng immediately felt the pressure skyrocket.

"What a powerful enhancement Soul Skill!"

At the edge of the arena, Qin Ming watched with shining eyes.

He had initially thought Ye Han merely possessed an unusual external beast Martial Soul. He had not expected the enhancement from its second Soul Skill to be so astonishing.

The Fire Qilin, which had been at a disadvantage moments earlier, now turned the tables and suppressed Yu Tianheng.

"Third Soul Skill, Thunderclap Fury!"

This time, Yu Tianheng held nothing back. His purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring blazed with light!

Vast blue lightning erupted from his body. He became like the very source of thunder and lightning, the power of his lightning doubling and his Soul Power increasing by fifty percent.

Yet Ye Han remained calm as he faced Yu Tianheng's unleashed Thunderclap Fury.

Sensing its opponent's surging aura, the Fire Qilin did not retreat. Instead, an excited growl rumbled in its throat.

Before Ye Han could give an order, the second Soul Ring beneath its feet lit up again.

Qilin's Breath, second enhancement!

The enhancement rose straight to one hundred percent!

"What? There's a second enhancement?!"

Now, not only did Yu Tianheng pale in shock, but Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, and everyone else at the edge of the arena, Qin Ming included, wore expressions of profound horror.

The aura bursting from the Fire Qilin had now surged far beyond what it had been before.

Like a bolt of scarlet lightning whose path was almost impossible to follow, it charged straight at Yu Tianheng, who stood wrapped in lightning.

Boom!

With a tremendous crash, lightning and fire burst and scattered in every direction.

Then, before everyone's disbelieving eyes, Yu Tianheng, with Thunderclap Fury active, was sent flying by the impact.

The lightning flowing around his body dimmed considerably, and several charred marks burned by fierce flames now marred his dragon-transformed right arm!

The sparring ground instantly grew so quiet that a falling pin could have been heard.

Yu Tianheng lowered his head to look at the scorch marks on his arm, then raised his eyes toward the imposing Fire Qilin opposite him. An intense sense of defeat welled up in his heart.

As one of the finest talents of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's younger generation, a full-fledged three-ring Soul Elder, he had been overpowered in a head-on clash by a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, even with his third Soul Skill operating at full strength?

"Stop!"

Qin Ming's voice broke the deathly silence. He looked at Ye Han with an unprecedentedly solemn expression.

"The assessment ends here. Ye Han, welcome to my class."

"According to the rules, new students must register their basic information. Ye Han, briefly state your age, Martial Soul, and current Soul Power rank."

Ye Han immediately reported his information. "Ye Han, just turned ten. Martial Soul: Fire Qilin. Rank twenty-eight... twenty-nine Power Attack Battle Soul Master."

"Holy shit! A rank-twenty-nine Battle Soul Master who just turned ten?"

"Did I hear that right?"

The moment Ye Han finished speaking, sharp intakes of breath sounded all around him.

Even Qin Ming froze, his face filled with disbelief.

He had expected Ye Han to be young, but never imagined he had only just turned ten.

Upon hearing this, Yu Tianheng shuddered violently, as though struck by a heavy blow.

He, a proud genius of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and a three-ring Soul Elder, had actually been bested by a Soul Grandmaster who had just turned ten?

He looked at Ye Han and drew a deep breath. "Ye Han, are you from Nuoding City?"

Before he could say anything more, Ye Han raised a hand and cut him off. "Although I'm from Nuoding City, I don't know your uncle, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang."

Yu Tianheng's mouth fell slightly open. He swallowed the question he had been about to ask, looking dumbfounded.

"I... I haven't even asked yet... How did you know what I wanted to ask?"

Ye Han's tone remained calm. "Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang is renowned throughout Soul Master circles as the foremost authority on theory. In recent years, he's also been the only Soul Master besides me to possess an external beast Martial Soul. It would be hard for me not to learn about him."

Yu Tianheng: "..."