Wang Yan

As Electrolux reverted to his original form, Tian Chen left the Sea of Consciousness.

Beside him stood one of the academy's healing teachers.

"You're awake, Tian Chen!" Seeing Tian Chen wake up, Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong could barely contain the joy on their faces.

"What... happened to me?" Tian Chen asked, rubbing his head.

"You suddenly fainted just now. We were worried sick." Wang Dong watched Tian Chen, genuine concern in her voice, as though afraid something might happen to him again.

Tian Chen shook his head. "I'm fine. There's no need to worry."

The healing teacher beside them also said, "Yes, there's no damage to your body. It was probably just excessive soul power consumption. If nothing else is wrong, you can go to class. Speaking of which, it's just about time for class now. You should head over."

"Thank you, teacher!" all three said in unison.

The three chatted along the way until they reached the Douluo Classroom.

Today, however, was different. Almost the entire class turned to look at Tian Chen as soon as he entered.

There was no helping it. His fight with Zhou Yi yesterday, followed by his soul fight against Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, had made Tian Chen known throughout the Outer Court. He had practically become an idol to the entire class, if not the entire academy.

With Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi joining forces, even some of the lower-year seniors from the Inner Court wouldn't dare claim they could definitely beat them. Yet a new student had defeated both without using a soul skill. How could anyone not be shocked?

In an instant, all the boys in the class looked at Tian Chen with awe in their eyes.

The girls, meanwhile, crowded around him in wave after wave. Some stared straight at him, their eyes blooming with romantic longing, making no attempt to hide their affection. Others even boldly stepped forward to hand him their love letters.

"This is for you!" A pretty girl held a letter out to Tian Chen.

Tian Chen accepted it, briefly stunned, before an awkward smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you!" he replied politely.

The girl practically began steaming from the top of her head upon hearing that, and she covered her face as she returned to her seat.

Xiao Xiao pouted unhappily at the sight.

Wang Dong deliberately teased him. "Oh, a love letter! Aren't you going to hurry up and see what it says?"

Tian Chen scratched his head, trying to cover his embarrassment. "Let's get back to our seats first! Class is about to start."

Yet when he returned to his seat, his eyes went wide.

His desktop, the compartment beneath it, and even the floor were stuffed with chocolates, love letters, and snacks.

There were even letters from girls in other classes inviting him to the Little Woods, small hotels, and places like that.

Seeing this, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao turned their heads away and gave displeased huffs, their movements almost perfectly synchronized.

Tian Chen could only smile awkwardly.

Just then, however, he suddenly noticed a gloomy gaze directed at him.

Huo Yuhao was staring at him with a dark expression, resentment and malice in his eyes.

When Tian Chen looked over, their gazes happened to meet.

After last night's match, Yan Shaozhe had questioned Huo Yuhao and reviewed some surveillance footage from the Soul Fighting Arena, easily uncovering evidence that Bei Bei and the other two had cheated.

In the end, however, only Huo Yuhao received disciplinary action, along with a warning that one more offense would result in immediate expulsion. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi merely received fines.

Their backgrounds certainly played a part, but the main reason was Huo Yuhao's tired old excuse: "I made all these decisions on my own. My eldest senior brother and Senior Sanshi had nothing to do with it."

That was what made him so disgusting. In the original story, he used this excuse every time he did something wrong, making himself seem so noble and grand.

Once after the great explosion in Mingdu, and once after Qiu'er sacrificed herself-each time, he declared that he would shoulder all responsibility. Yet in the end, he hadn't even been made to face a wall and reflect on his mistakes.

Huo Yuhao, however, felt that Tian Chen was to blame. He had only wanted to help his eldest senior brother defend the Tang Sect's honor. Tian Chen was simply bullying him because he was an orphan with neither talent nor backing. Besides, hadn't Tian Chen won in the end anyway? Why couldn't he just open one eye and close the other?

Now he had caused Huo Yuhao to receive disciplinary action and even made his eldest senior brother pay his fine for him.

At that thought, Huo Yuhao's gaze toward Tian Chen grew even darker.

Just then, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice rang out. "Yuhao, don't be upset. Once you raise your soul power to rank twenty, I'll take you to the Far North Ice Plains to obtain your second martial soul. Then you'll become the strongest prodigy."

"Yes, Brother Sky Dream. I'll break through to rank twenty as soon as possible. When that happens, I'll show everyone, including this Tian Chen, what it means to never scorn a young man for being poor!" Huo Yuhao said firmly. He believed that once he obtained his second martial soul, he would turn his fortunes around and become a top-tier genius. Then no one his age would be his match.

Tian Chen knew nothing of any of this. In any case, he had no fondness for Huo Yuhao whatsoever. But as long as Huo Yuhao didn't provoke him, he couldn't be bothered to deal with him. Neither seeking trouble nor fearing it was one of his principles in life.

At that moment, a gentle-looking middle-aged man in his forties walked in.

His appearance was quite ordinary. He wore glasses and a friendly smile, giving him a refined, mild-mannered air that was completely unlike Zhou Yi's overbearing manner.

As soon as he entered, he chuckled and said, "Good morning, everyone. My name is Wang Yan, and I'm your substitute teacher. There's no need to be so nervous around me. My teaching approach has always been to treat everyone as friends. From now until the end of the freshman assessment, you'll all be my young friends. If you run into any problems during your cultivation, you're welcome to ask me."

"Teacher Wang, if we make mistakes, will you expel us like Teacher Zhou?" a slightly bolder student asked cautiously, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Wang Yan smiled and waved a hand. "Of course not. I prefer to help you recognize your own mistakes and then take the initiative to correct them. Naturally, if someone deliberately causes trouble, I won't simply stand by. But I believe you're all clever children who won't disappoint me."

Wang Yan's words put everyone in the classroom at ease and left them full of goodwill toward their new teacher.

Wang Yan could be considered one of the normal people in the original story! Tian Chen reflected as he looked at him.

Indeed, aside from encouraging cheating, Teacher Wang had hardly any other objectionable traits in the original story. He treated his students equally, without discrimination or prejudice, and patiently guided every one of them.

Moreover, even when Wang Yan encouraged cheating, his main objective wasn't victory but ensuring his students' safety.

Wang Yan continued, "All right, today we'll start with the fundamentals of cultivation. I know you've already learned some of this, but the basics will always be the most important."

He picked up a piece of chalk and wrote several large words on the blackboard, then turned around and began explaining them in detail. His voice was gentle and his explanations well organized, keeping the students engrossed.

Shrek Inner Court, Sea God Pavilion.

"Teacher, that student you previously asked me to keep an eye on-calling him talented wouldn't do him justice. His talent defies the heavens. Not only does he possess self-created soul skills, but he also subdued Xiaotao beside Sea God Lake this morning."

Yan Shaozhe stood before Mu En, speaking excitedly.

As soon as he finished, Mu En closed his book and asked curiously, "Could you tell me more?"

"Yesterday, he challenged Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei to a soul fight at the same time. What was astonishing was that he didn't use a single soul skill throughout the fight. In the end, those two had to give it everything they had and use their bloodline fusion skill just to barely force him to reveal his martial soul."

"And that's not all. His soul ring configuration is even more outrageous-they're all ten-thousand-year soul rings."

Mu En nodded after hearing this.

"That child's talent is indeed exceptional. Do your best to win him over and foster his goodwill toward the academy."

"Yes. But, teacher, Xiaotao's evil fire erupted this morning, and she happened to encounter him afterward. He asked us for compensation. He wants... two fifty-thousand-year soul bones," Yan Shaozhe said, cupping his hands.

Hearing this, Mu En closed his eyes and tapped lightly on his chair. Finally, he let out a long sigh and said, "Give them to him. After all, we're in the wrong here, and we can't let a genius like him develop a poor impression of the academy."

"Yes!"

I overslept yesterday. Sorry.