Yu Xinxue

"I'd like to ask you to arrange placements for three students." Zhu Youzhi got straight to the point.

"Huh? Three right off the bat?" Yu Xinxue's face showed displeasure. "This isn't some garbage collection station. Don't dump hazardous waste on me."

"Fine, I admit that some of the people I brought over in the past weren't qualified, but I never interfered with your decisions, did I?"

Zhu Youzhi shrugged. "Before, I only brought people here. Whether you accepted them was up to you..."

He paused, then continued in a serious tone, "But for these three, I hope you'll take them into your class no matter what their talent or conduct is like."

"Important connections?" Yu Xinxue frowned, her delicate brows knitting together.

"A Soul Douluo personally asked."

"Huh? They're connected to someone that important?" Yu Xinxue felt a headache coming on.

"Fine, fine, I understand. I'll handle it as I see fit." She waved a hand to show that she got it. "If there's nothing else, you can leave."

Zhu Youzhi smiled and nodded. "Then I'll be troubling you, Director Yu."

In truth, Yu Xinxue was not difficult to deal with. Nor was she some clueless fool who knew nothing about social etiquette.

But if he did not make the matter sound more difficult, how could he let Amon and Yan Jin know that he had done his utmost for them?

"Oh, right. Tell them that if they're free, they can come over for the assessment today."

Yu Xinxue said this just as Zhu Youzhi was about to leave.

"Alright, I'll notify them right away."

By the time Zhu Youzhi found Yan Jin and the others, Amon had already finished speaking with Walter and returned to their side.

"Student Amon, I've already spoken with Director Yu. You can go over for testing shortly." Zhu Youzhi wore an enthusiastic smile.

He did not know the exact relationship between the three of them and Walter, but since a Soul Douluo had personally spoken up—and gone to such lengths to have them run into obstacles first before making things convenient for them afterward—their relationship was surely not shallow.

He guessed that one of them was Walter's direct descendant. The youngster was proud and at odds with their family, so they had run away on their own. Walter had then deliberately put obstacles in their way to teach them how treacherous society could be.

"Student Vidal, I'll have to trouble you to take them over. It's enrollment season right now, and I still have many things to deal with."

"Alright, leave it to me." Vidal nodded.

"Heh, I wonder what kind of opponents they'll be. Talented Soul Elders from Northland Academy... I can't wait." Yan Jin was eager to try. Her competitive, combative nature was etched into her bones.

When they arrived before the third-year teaching building, they saw a woman in a white dress with a lazy air about her peering down from a second-floor window. Half her body leaned out, one hand braced on the sill as she propped up her chin.

"Eh? Teacher Yu..." Seeing that her gaze was fixed on their group, Vidal somehow felt a little nervous.

"You're... that boy from the Mels family. You only joined our class this year, right? Heh, I heard you're quite ambitious. You started preparing to form a tournament team two years ago."

Yu Xinxue glanced at the mild-mannered Amon again and asked, "Who are these three?"

Vidal replied, "Director Zhu should have told you already. They're the ones taking part in today's assessment."

"Oh, I see... Go to the training ground first. I'll be there in a moment."

Seeing that the three had been brought by Vidal, she changed her original plan of going easy on them. She intended to properly probe their capabilities.

She knew that Vidal was actively preparing for the Soul Master Tournament and often deliberately sought out gifted students.

Since he had brought them here himself and looked like he was enjoying it, they were likely people he had his eye on—targets he intended to recruit into his team. Their talent should not be poor.

She entered the classroom and interrupted the ongoing lesson.

"Sorry to take up a little time," she said to the middle-aged man in black at the lectern.

"It's fine. Go ahead and say what you need to say." The black-clad teacher smiled.

Yu Xinxue clapped twice, then announced loudly, "Everyone, pause for a moment and listen up. Today, three new students who just enrolled have used certain channels to request entry into our class. So I need three examiners to test their strength. Does anyone want to volunteer?"

A boy with short straight hair, two slightly longer locks hanging over his forehead, and black-and-white clothes leaned back with both hands behind his head. In a carefree tone, he asked, "Teacher Yu, are they junior brothers or junior sisters? Are they pretty? Are they single?"

Yu Xinxue could not help laughing. "You're going to be examiners, not going on blind dates... Two boys and one girl. One of the boys is older, around seventeen or eighteen... The other two are children, only a little over ten."

"Tch, kids? Boring." The boy in black and white immediately lost interest.

"Teacher, want me to go welcome the junior brothers and sisters?" a young man seated in the back row asked with a smile.

Yu Xinxue rolled her eyes. "You're a Soul Ancestor, so stop making trouble. Hurry up and graduate already, so you don't keep getting in everyone's way here."

"That won't do. I need to accompany my junior brothers a little farther down the road. I can at least serve as a sparring partner." The young man shook his head.

He was already twenty-three. Though he had reached Soul Ancestor, the Soul Master Tournament would not begin for another three years, so he was not eligible to compete.

"Hey, hey, in such a big class, is there really no one willing to help their teacher solve her troubles? Your teacher will be heartbroken." Yu Xinxue spoke with a hint of grievance.

"What troubles are we solving? Teacher, you haven't even said whether you want them to pass... Should we defeat them cleanly, or deliberately go easy and lose?" asked a youth in short sleeves, his two sturdy arms exposed.

Yu Xinxue rested her chin on her hand and thought for two seconds. "Mm, just fight normally... Winning or losing isn't important. Niu Shaopeng, you seem very confident. Good, you're one of them. We still need two more..."

Her gaze swept across the class before finally settling on a boy in the middle.

He had long golden hair, sea-blue eyes, dry lips, and a high nose bridge. A golden pendant hung from his left ear.

"Brady, are you interested?"

The entire class immediately turned to Brady, their expressions ranging from surprise to amusement.

"Whoa... You're sending Brady? Teacher, are you serious?" the Soul Ancestor youth asked.

"Mm. The one who brought them here was Vidal."

"Vidal?" At the mention of that name, Brady's gaze suddenly sharpened, like a lion patrolling its territory.

"If it were him himself, I'd very much like to have a fight. But if they're merely people he brought here, forget it."

Brady shook his head, then turned to someone behind him.

"Roy, go test their level."

"Alright, Boss. I'll definitely win beautifully!" Roy gave himself a thumbs-up and said with complete confidence.

"That leaves one more..." Yu Xinxue considered who would be suitable.

The boy in black and white who had spoken first said, "Didn't you say there was a little girl? Let a little girl fight a little girl..."

The moment he finished speaking, a layer of frost suddenly formed over the surface of his desk.

"Then I'll go, Teacher," said a girl who looked rather young.

She wore pale blue clothes, and her hair was pale blue as well, so light it was nearly white. Her face was completely expressionless, and she seemed as cold as Ice Cube.

"You?" Yu Xinxue hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Then it'll be you. Be careful not to hit too hard, Bing Lan."

"Mm." The pale blue-haired girl nodded.