"Dean..."
"Hm?"
A trace of sharpness flashed through Yan Shaozhe's eyes.
Startled, Zhou Yi dared not say anything else and hurriedly told the freshmen of Class One to stop and rest.
"Huff! Huff! Huff..."
Many freshmen gasped for breath after stopping, their faces flushed and their bodies aching with discomfort.
"Gu Yunxiao?"
Only then did Xiao Xiao notice Gu Yunxiao standing nearby.
"Xiao Xiao, is that the monster you mentioned?" A clear voice came from beside Xiao Xiao, though it sounded exceedingly proud.
"Yes!"
Xiao Xiao nodded.
The proud girl instinctively looked over and sized Gu Yunxiao up, a flicker of surprise crossing her large pink-and-blue eyes.
"This guy... is pretty handsome," the girl muttered.
"I'm going over to see him. Dong'er, do you want to come?" Xiao Xiao asked.
"No, I'm going to rest. I'm exhausted."
The girl named Dong'er sat on the ground, her head covered in sweat as she panted for breath.
Even in such a disheveled state, her breathtaking beauty remained impossible to hide, drawing repeated glances of admiration from the boys in the distance.
Dong'er noticed those gazes too.
She tilted her head up slightly, her face full of haughty pride and satisfaction.
"Then I'll go by myself."
Xiao Xiao stood up and walked toward Gu Yunxiao.
Although she was tired too, the moment she saw Gu Yunxiao, strength returned to her body.
"Yunxiao!"
Xiao Xiao came up to Gu Yunxiao and bent forward slightly, smiling. "Aren't you in the Soul Tool Department? What brings you over here?"
"Classes over there ended, so I came to take a look."
"And while I was at it, I 'followed' the academy leadership's arrangements and enrolled in the Martial Soul Department too... I chose Freshman Class One."
Gu Yunxiao gave a brief explanation.
Xiao Xiao's eyes immediately lit up. "Then we can be classmates!"
"Yes."
Their conversation did not escape Yan Shaozhe and Zhou Yi, who stood nearby.
Yan Shaozhe looked thoughtful, trying to guess Xiao Xiao's identity.
Zhou Yi, however, was terribly nervous, afraid Xiao Xiao might "let something slip" and reveal the truth about the laps in front of Yan Shaozhe.
But barring any surprises, a surprise was about to happen.
"Xiao Xiao, you all looked exhausted from running. If you really can't keep going, there's no need to force yourselves." Gu Yunxiao brought it up, seemingly in passing.
"We can't do that."
"Teacher Zhou Yi said every one of us had to finish a hundred laps within the time limit, or we'd be expelled from the academy."
"But Teacher Zhou Yi just told us to stop, so she was probably only trying to scare us. In reality, she just wanted to check our physical fitness."
Xiao Xiao explained with a smile.
A hint of amusement flashed through Gu Yunxiao's eyes, and he glanced at Zhou Yi beside him out of the corner of his eye.
At that moment, Zhou Yi stood rooted to the spot as though struck by lightning, at a loss for what to do.
Yan Shaozhe's expression had turned utterly dark.
After this incident, Gu Yunxiao's first impression of the Martial Soul Department had been completely ruined. Who knew how long it would take to repair it?
Zhou Yi would bear the main responsibility for this!
"Whew!"
After taking a deep breath, Yan Shaozhe smiled at Gu Yunxiao. "Yunxiao, take some time to get acquainted with your classmates."
"I still have some matters to attend to. If you need anything else, you can come to my office."
"All right."
Gu Yunxiao nodded.
Then Yan Shaozhe turned to leave, sending Zhou Yi a voice transmission as he did. "Zhou Yi, come to my office at noon."
He needed to deal with this matter.
Otherwise, who knew what might happen next time?
Zhou Yi's expression changed, but she dared not openly contradict Yan Shaozhe. She could only reply through a voice transmission, "Yes."
After Yan Shaozhe left, Zhou Yi shifted her gaze back to Gu Yunxiao beside her. Everything about him rubbed her the wrong way.
"Hmph!"
Zhou Yi snorted inwardly, then looked at the freshmen who were still gasping for breath. "Everyone, you have fifteen minutes to change your clothes!"
The moment she said that,
the freshmen dared not rest any longer. They quickly got up and ran back to their dormitories.
They had already experienced how frightening Zhou Yi could be.
"Gu Yunxiao, introduce yourself to everyone when you get to class." Zhou Yi looked at Gu Yunxiao, a trace of aversion flickering in her eyes.
But she could not let it show.
After all, Gu Yunxiao was a genius the academy valued highly.
"Mm."
Gu Yunxiao nodded slightly, swept an indifferent glance over Zhou Yi, then turned and headed toward Class One.
Seeing this, Zhou Yi grew even more displeased.
She had reason to suspect Gu Yunxiao was deliberately targeting her.
Someone who knows nothing of courtesy won't achieve anything in the future, no matter how talented he is, Zhou Yi thought as she walked back to the classroom.
A few minutes later,
the freshmen of Class One had returned to the classroom one after another.
Although they had fifteen minutes, no one dared use the opportunity to slack off and rest.
When everyone returned to the classroom, most of them looked surprised upon seeing Gu Yunxiao's unfamiliar face.
The girls paid considerable attention to Gu Yunxiao, while the boys sized him up briefly before looking away.
"Let me introduce your new classmate, Gu Yunxiao."
"He is not only a student of the Practical Soul Tool Department, but also of the Martial Soul Department. From now on, he will be studying and improving alongside all of you."
Zhou Yi walked over to Gu Yunxiao and gave a brief introduction.
Hearing this, everyone was surprised once more.
Gu Yunxiao actually held student status in both departments!
Since the academy had permitted it, that alone showed how exceptional his talent was.
"Gu Yunxiao, introduce yourself," Zhou Yi said, looking at him.
Gu Yunxiao slowly stood up, his voice calm. "Gu Yunxiao, rank thirty-seven Soul Elder."
As soon as he finished speaking,
everyone except Xiao Xiao widened their eyes, staring at Gu Yunxiao in disbelief.
Rank thirty-seven?
His cultivation had already caught up with the senior students. Was this some kind of joke?
They were all the same age, so why was he so outstanding?
Under countless gazes, Gu Yunxiao looked at Zhou Yi. "Teacher Zhou, I still have something to do at the Soul Tool Department. I'll head over there."
"Hm?"
Zhou Yi frowned, somewhat suspicious.
However, she did not stop him and nodded to indicate that he could leave.
Gu Yunxiao walked toward the door and soon disappeared from everyone's sight.
"All right, let's begin class."
Zhou Yi spoke.
Although she was teaching, her mind was nowhere near the lesson. Instead, she worried about Yan Shaozhe's order to visit his office at noon.
If things went badly, it could affect her teaching career.
Meanwhile, after leaving the classroom, Gu Yunxiao did not head to the Practical Soul Tool Department. Instead, he left the academy and wandered through Shrek City.
Once I get the Soul Bone, I can request an extended leave and head to the Heaven Dou Empire.
Gu Yunxiao walked down the street, considering his next steps.
Once he had established a firm foothold at Shrek Academy, he would definitely have to put the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Cave and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well on his agenda.
With the support of those two treasure lands, his cultivation could advance rapidly even though he possessed multiple ultimate attributes.
I can also start planning to establish my own faction as soon as possible.
Dragon City is a good choice. Most disciples of the Earth Dragon Sect and the Heavenly Dragon Sect possess Dragon Clan martial souls. It's a good place to poach talent.
Gu Yunxiao's eyes gleamed. He was already thinking about how to begin building his own faction.
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