Young Heaven Class Students! (Please Invest! Please Send Recommendation Votes! Please Send Monthly Votes!)

Qin Xu still had no idea that someone had set their sights on his position. He continued studying the Young Heaven Class students' files in earnest.

Just then, Tian Zilai entered the classroom. His gaze first landed on Qin Xu before he strode up to the lectern and gave a light cough, drawing the students' attention.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Tian Zilai, your homeroom teacher. You can call me Teacher Tian. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I'll be spending the next six years with you." Tian Zilai smiled and spoke in a gentle voice.

"It's a great honor to serve as homeroom teacher for Heavenly Profound Academy's first Young Genius Class. In terms of talent, I'm certainly no match for you, but when it comes to knowledge, I'm not boasting when I say you probably can't match me."

"The reason the academy established the Young Genius Class—or rather, its ultimate aim—is to nurture a group of elite students capable of measuring up to Shrek Academy's outstanding students. This is also the goal of every Soul Master Academy on the continent."

"I see tremendous promise in all of you, so I hope you won't squander your talents in the days ahead.

"All right, I won't say any more. We'll slowly get to know one another as we spend time together. For now, please come up and introduce yourselves so everyone can gain a basic understanding of each other. Your name, soul power, and martial soul are required; anything else is up to you."

Having finished speaking, Tian Zilai stepped to one side, his gaze settling on Qin Xu in the front row. Qin Xu nodded slightly, stood, and walked up to face the class.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Qin Xu, a rank-fourteen Power Attack System Soul Master. My martial soul is the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon." Qin Xu's smile was confident and warm. "You probably know who I am, but I hope you can forget my status. Here at the academy, we're classmates, and we stand as equals."

Indeed, Qin Xu's soul power had reached rank fourteen. In the forty-two days since obtaining his first soul ring, he had advanced two ranks. His cultivation speed was astonishing, yet reasonable. At this rate, he would break through rank twenty and become a Soul Grandmaster within a year.

Clap, clap, clap!

The moment Qin Xu finished speaking, spontaneous applause rose from the class. No one knew who had started it, but the applause was enthusiastic.

Qin Xu glanced helplessly at Tian Zilai. With an awkward cough, Tian Zilai silenced the applause and said, "All right, thank you for introducing yourself, Qin Xu. I hope everyone will get along well with you."

Qin Xu stepped down and returned to his seat. Vielvi immediately stood and went up, her face brimming with excitement.

"Hehe, I'm Vielvi, a rank-thirteen Control System Soul Master. My martial soul is the Brain. From now on, call me Big Sis Wei," Vielvi declared with swagger. "I'll have your backs!"

Aside from Qin Xu and Tian Zilai, no one knew Vielvi's identity. Even so, her rank-thirteen soul power alone inspired solemn respect among the students. And since she had arrived with Qin Xu, even the slowest among them knew her background had to be extraordinary.

Then someone called out "Big Sis Wei," and almost everyone followed suit, regardless of age. Vielvi was positively delighted. Her smile shone brilliantly, and she felt as though she were floating on air. Even after returning to her seat, she was still grinning foolishly.

Qin Xu couldn't resist pinching her little cheek before she finally stopped grinning.

"Hmph!" Xue Zhao, seated in the back row, thoroughly disliked this sort of attention-seeking behavior. She rose straight away, ignored the student in the second row who was preparing to go up, and strode directly to the lectern.

Her action immediately drew everyone's attention.

Qin Xu's gaze also settled on her, studying her with a trace of curiosity and appraisal.

"I'm Xue Zhao. Rank fourteen. Snow Woman Martial Soul." Xue Zhao's voice was cool and clear. Her long, narrow eyes fixed on Qin Xu and Vielvi, revealing a hint of arrogance. "I should be the strongest person in this class. Everyone should acknowledge me as their leader!"

The entire class erupted at her words, staring at her in disbelief. Did the girl up front have any idea what she was saying? She wanted to be the boss of the Young Heaven Class? That was far too brazen! Did she think rank-fourteen soul power made her incredible? What mountain hollow had this wild girl crawled out of? She had some nerve!

Xue Zhao paid no heed to what anyone else thought. Her pale blue eyes stared straight at Qin Xu, as though watching for his reaction.

Noticing her gaze, Qin Xu gave her a gentle smile. This little girl came from a remote corner of the Far North and knew nothing of worldly etiquette. That was hardly surprising, and he wouldn't hold it against her. In fact, her behavior only stirred his curiosity further.

Vielvi waved excitedly. She adored good-looking people, and Xue Zhao suited her tastes perfectly. Thus, she failed to recognize Xue Zhao's provocation at all. She merely thought Xue Zhao's eyes were beautiful—slender and elongated, with pale blue irises that made her look both cool and striking.

"All right, Xue Zhao, thank you for speaking," Tian Zilai interjected. "Please return to your seat and let the other students finish introducing themselves."

"Hmph!" Qin Xu's reaction left Xue Zhao rather annoyed. In particular, the smile on that extraordinarily handsome face had actually stirred some inexplicable feelings within her. It was strange, so she gave a petulant huff in response.

Xue Zhao turned, stepped down, and returned to her seat. Then she pulled Ye Guyi to her feet. "Yiyi, your turn."

"Huh? Oh, all right." Ye Guyi walked up in a daze, still immersed in Xue Zhao's domineering declaration. How could anyone have that much guts? Big Sis A Liang was badass!

"Hello, everyone. I'm Ye Guyi, a rank-thirteen Power Attack System Soul Master. My martial soul is the Holy Angel." At first, Ye Guyi's pretty face was earnest and solemn. But when she caught Qin Xu watching her out of the corner of her eye, an inexplicable sense of embarrassment welled up inside her, making her stammer. "Um, that's all."

Without waiting for anyone to react, she hurried back to her seat, as though fleeing something.

"Oh? Isn't that Ye Guyi, the girl we met last night?" Vielvi had just been about to say something when Ye Guyi rushed down from the front, leaving the words caught on her tongue.

Qin Xu's gaze followed Ye Guyi, and he looked thoughtfully at her and Xue Zhao. It seemed the two shared a dorm room. That was an interesting arrangement. Judging by their behavior, Xue Zhao held the leading position, while Ye Guyi had become her follower.

"Yiyi, what was that about?" Xue Zhao asked unhappily.

"Big Sis A Liang, I—I got a little shy," Ye Guyi explained, blushing. "His Highness the Grand Duke is so handsome, and he kept looking at me, so..."

"Shy? What's that?" Xue Zhao asked in puzzlement.

"Uh, I don't know how to explain it either. It's just... when he looks at me, my cheeks get hot and my heart beats faster. I keep wanting to look at him, but I don't dare." Ye Guyi tried hard to put her feelings into words.

"Oh. I don't understand." Xue Zhao shook her head blankly. "Does that serve any purpose?"

"Purpose?" Ye Guyi shook her head as well. "I don't know. I've never thought about it."

The two little girls stared at one another while the introductions continued up front.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Li Xin, from Yaolong City in Tianxing Commandery. My innate soul power was rank nine, and I'm now a rank-eleven Soul Master. My martial soul is the Seven Kill Sword."

Li Xin, who was currently introducing himself, was a refined-looking boy and one of the Young Heaven Class's two students with Ninth-Level Soul Power.

He was the only child with Ninth-Level Soul Power at this year's Martial Soul Awakening Conference in the Black Dragon Duchy. He came from a village in Luohe Commandery, and both his parents were farmers, though his late grandfather was said to have been a Soul Master. Thus, he too had entered Heavenly Profound Academy through special admission.

His Seven Kill Sword martial soul was also a renowned tool martial soul on the continent, and Titled Douluos with it had appeared in history.

It was worth mentioning that the Seven Kill Sword martial soul had deep ties to Bai Jian's Army-Breaking Sword martial soul. Legend had it that both belonged to the same ancient sect, which had long since perished. The truth of that legend was difficult to establish. In any case, Qin Xu knew that Seven Kill Sword Soul Masters had already been living under someone else's roof ten thousand years ago.

Bai Jian came to mind because he intended to take Li Xin as his disciple. He would probably make his move before long.

After several more students finished introducing themselves, Meng Xin, who had spoken with Qin Xu earlier, walked up to the lectern.

"Hello, I'm Meng Xin, a rank-eleven Agility Attack System Soul Master. My innate soul power was rank nine, and my martial soul is the Blazing Demon Steed," Meng Xin announced loudly, his booming voice full of force. "My dad said I'm here at the Young Genius Class to serve as His Highness the Grand Duke's guard. So if anyone dares offend His Highness, I'll beat them flat!"

With that, he brandished his fists, then gave Qin Xu a guileless grin.

Qin Xu naturally returned an appreciative smile.

Just as Meng Xin had said, his innate soul power was rank nine, making him the second of the Young Heaven Class's two students with ninth-level innate soul power.

The Meng Family was a rising Soul Master family in Tianxing Commandery, now only in its third generation. His grandfather, Meng Ao, had been Qin Zhu's personal guard and died in the Heaven Dou Rebellion. His father, Meng Tian, was a Soul King and a senior officer in the Black Dragon Legion.

These were trusted followers of the Qin Family who had stood the test, die-hard supporters of the Ducal Office.

Before long, all twenty-eight students had finished introducing themselves, and Qin Xu had finally matched every name to a face. Of his twenty-seven classmates, ten were boys and seventeen were girls, and not a single one was unattractive.

Appearance had always been an unspoken selection criterion.