Zhou Yi

Biodata

Appearance

• Her face is described as ugly and old-woman-like when she becomes angry; the supplied passages do not establish her actual age 14.
• Her intense gaze makes Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie reluctant to meet her eyes 14.

Personality

Zhou Yi is authoritarian and quick to take challenges to her judgment personally. She invokes her senior-teacher status when students dispute her assessment of Gu Ming, then uses her cultivation pressure to silence Dai Huabin. Comparisons placing her below Mu Jin particularly provoke her 14.

Her severity does not prevent her from encouraging students after a defeat. When Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao, and Xiao Xiao lose to Gu Ming, she recognizes him as a formidable opponent and reassures them that their weaknesses can be improved through training 15.

She initially treats victory over Gu Ming as a way to vindicate her teaching. By the tournament final, however, she is prepared to acknowledge her mistakes if her students lose, and ultimately does so publicly 23 25.

Abilities & Skills

Soul Emperor Pressure

• Releases a Soul Emperor aura that forcibly drives Dai Huabin back during their argument 14.
• The display intimidates Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie into silence 14.

Physical Conditioning and Instruction

• Conducts an entrance assessment in which Freshman Class One students face elimination on their first day 13.
• Uses weighted running and threatens expulsion if students fail to complete their assigned exercise 13 14.
• Identifies insufficient physical strength and immature fighting methods as weaknesses in Huo Yuhao’s trio 15.
• Provides three months of special training; the trio subsequently wins tournament matches and reaches the final 22 23.
• Gu Ming criticizes her weighted-running regimen as outdated and lacking the medicinal baths or recovery support used alongside its original version 14.

Relationships

• Gu Ming — A rejected prospective student who becomes her principal freshman rival. He deliberately avoids her class, challenges her judgment and teaching methods, and ultimately earns her acknowledgment after winning the freshman tournament 11 14 25.
• Mu Jin — Rival teacher and homeroom teacher of Freshman Class Five. Zhou Yi resents unfavorable comparisons with Mu Jin, and their rivalry extends into the tournament, where she eventually concedes Class Five’s victory 14 21 25.
• Huo Yuhao — Student whom she uses as a favorable physical comparison against Gu Ming. She later places her hopes in his team to defeat Gu Ming and vindicate Class One 14 21 23.
• Wang Dong — Student ordered to fight Gu Ming alongside Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao. After their defeat, Zhou Yi reassures Wang Dong that further training can make victory possible 14 15.
• Xiao Xiao — Member of the trio Zhou Yi selects to challenge Gu Ming and trains for the freshman tournament 14 15.
• Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie — Class Five students who defend Gu Ming’s abilities against her criticism. Their support for Mu Jin’s assessment intensifies the confrontation 14.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Gu Ming Avoids Freshman Class One

The registration teacher initially intends to place Gu Ming in Zhou Yi’s class because of his exceptional talent. Already wary of her harsh reputation, Gu Ming threatens to take his recommendation letter to the Sun Moon Empire Soul Engineer Academy. The teacher relents and assigns him to Freshman Class Five 11.

Zhou Yi later overhears Gu Ming expressing relief at avoiding Class One while watching its punishing training. She approaches him and questions his refusal to join her class 13.

The Three-on-One Challenge

Zhou Yi dismisses Gu Ming as physically inadequate and undeserving of being her student. After he challenges her assessment and criticizes her training methods, she orders Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao, and Xiao Xiao to fight him, threatening to double their training if they lose 14.

Gu Ming defeats all three with a single Indomitable Cross Slash. Despite her anger, Zhou Yi does not impose the threatened punishment. Instead, she makes defeating him at the tournament their new objective and extends Class One’s training session by two hours 14 15.

Freshman Tournament and Apology

As Gu Ming dominates the tournament, Zhou Yi reluctantly recognizes his ability. Her wager with him makes the final a test of her teaching: if Huo Yuhao’s team loses, she will apologize and acknowledge her mistakes 23.

Gu Ming’s Ice Soul overwhelms Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s Golden Road, securing the championship for Class Five. Confronted afterward, Zhou Yi admits that Gu Ming is the strongest student she has seen, acknowledges problems with her methods, and agrees that Class Five suits him better. Her students react with astonishment and relief at this unprecedented concession 25.

Notable Quotes

“Run faster! If you don't finish today, every last one of you can get the hell out! Shrek doesn't accept trash!” 13

“You're very strong. You're the strongest student I've ever seen. There are indeed problems with my teaching methods. Freshman Class Five is the best fit for you.” 25