One vs. Everyone

Class was drawing to a close.

At the lectern, Mu Jin put down his chalk and said, "Li Nezha."

Hearing Mu Jin call his name, Nezha stood up in the back row.

He stood tall and straight, his black hair tied in a bun that framed his sharply defined face. His expression was calm, revealing no emotion.

Mu Jin looked him up and down, a flicker of satisfaction passing through his eyes. Then he turned to the class, his voice clear and ringing. "I've reviewed your enrollment records. Of all of you, Nezha has the highest cultivation, so from now on, he will be the class monitor of Freshman Class Nine. Shrek Academy has always let the capable rise to the top. The position of class monitor isn't permanent. Anyone with the ability can challenge him at any time."

He paused, his narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes sweeping over the young faces before him. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he added, "What I must tell you is that Nezha is already a Soul Elder. Before challenging him, you'd best weigh your own strength."

"A Soul Elder?!"

The moment Mu Jin finished speaking, the spacious classroom, which had just fallen silent, erupted into commotion again.

The way everyone looked at Nezha changed instantly.

However limited their knowledge might be, they knew what it meant to become a Soul Elder at such a young age.

Talent, effort, resources-not one could be missing. Most of these freshmen were only around rank twenty, and not all had even reached Soul Grandmaster. Yet this boy, who was the same age as them, already stood above rank thirty.

The female students' gazes grew even more heated as they looked at Nezha. Before, they had merely been dazzled by his face. Now, undisguised admiration and curiosity shone in their eyes as well.

Most of the male students who had shown some hostility toward Nezha instinctively avoided his gaze, quietly shrinking back into their chairs.

But a few stubborn souls still doubted his strength.

Soul Power cultivation did not necessarily determine combat strength, especially among Soul Masters below rank thirty. Their Martial Souls could hardly be weak if they had made it into Shrek Academy, and some possessed mutated Martial Souls or secret techniques passed down through their families.

A difference of a rank or two did not rule out a reversal if one Martial Soul countered the other. Several male students exchanged glances, the refusal to concede in their eyes burning brighter and brighter, as though someone had set it alight.

Beside Ning Tian, Wu Feng watched the male students itching to try their luck and silently prayed for them. She knew all too well just how strong Nezha was.

Over these six years, she had never won a single Soul Fighting match against him. She had lost miserably, worse each time than the last. If those boys really dared to take him on, their fate would be little better than hers.

Nezha had little interest in this class monitor position. What was so great about being king of a bunch of children? In his previous life as a corporate drone, he had never even made team leader. Now that he had transmigrated, he was supposed to manage a bunch of brats instead. Just thinking about it felt like a headache.

But on second thought, before he came to Shrek Academy, Uncle Ning had taken his hand and urged him to recruit some talented people for the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect if the opportunity arose. The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had never lacked support specialists. What it needed were Battle Soul Masters who could stand on the front line.

Shrek Academy teemed with talent. Who among those admitted wasn't a promising youngster with exceptional gifts? This was an opportunity.

With Ning Tian beside him anyway, he could leave any future class affairs to her. Fine, he would take the job.

Nezha raised an eyebrow as he looked at the boys itching to challenge him.

"I don't have that much time to play challenge games with you."

Hearing this, the boys of Class Nine thought Nezha was afraid, and contempt rose within them. They had just thought he had quite a presence, but apparently he was only an embroidered pillow-all show and nothing inside, good for nothing but talk.

Several boys were already curling their lips, exchanging looks that said, "Just as we thought."

But Nezha's next words sent them straight into a fury.

Nezha raised his chin arrogantly, open defiance in his eyes. His voice was not loud, but each distinct word landed clearly in everyone's ears:

"I'm not wasting my time playing with you one by one. Any boys who aren't convinced can come at me together."

He paused, a faint curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

"I'll beat all of you into submission in one go."

At Nezha's words, the entire class erupted.

What had they just heard?

He would fight all the boys by himself?

It was as though a bucket of oil had been poured over the air in the classroom, setting it ablaze with a roar.

Every boy's face flushed red. Some slammed their desks, some rose to their feet, and others shouted curses, one after another.

Nezha plainly didn't think anything of them. How could they tolerate that? They were geniuses painstakingly selected from all over the land. When had anyone ever looked down on them like this?

"That's way too arrogant!"

"Who do you think you are?"

"Then let's fight! Who's afraid of you?"

The uproar in the back rows grew louder and louder until the whole classroom was boiling.

Sitting beside Nezha, Ning Tian turned her head to glance at him. Her azure eyes remained composed; only the corners of her lips curved slightly, as though saying, "As you like."

Wu Feng, meanwhile, nearly jumped up in excitement. Her fiery-red ponytail swung as she slapped the desk and cheered for Nezha. "Nezha, take them down!"

Hearing Nezha's words, the girls felt as though they were about to ascend to heaven.

So commanding! So handsome!

"Go, Class Monitor!"

"Our class monitor is the most handsome and invincible!"

Every girl's eyes shone, her cheeks flushed crimson. They wished they could throw themselves at Nezha and cling to him right that instant.

A few bolder ones had already stood up, clenching their fists and shouting encouragement. They looked even more excited than Nezha himself.

The classroom's atmosphere had been set ablaze. The boys' roars mingled with the girls' screams, loud enough to be heard throughout the teaching building.

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Mu Jin slammed his hand hard against the lectern twice, his voice rising sharply. "Quiet, all of you! Quiet!"

His voice carried Soul Power, pouring down like a basin of cold water. Only then was the uproar in the classroom barely suppressed.

Yet although they had quieted down, the indignation in the boys' eyes remained like red-hot coals that refused to go out. The light in the girls' eyes was brighter still, almost scorching. They propped their chins in their hands and stared at Nezha, dreamy smiles hanging on their lips.

Mu Jin took a deep breath and rubbed between his brows. Turning to Nezha, he asked with a trace of helplessness, "Nezha, are you sure you want to do this?"

Nezha stood in the back row with both hands in his pockets, looking perfectly relaxed.

He tilted his head, glanced over the boys glaring at him, then looked at Mu Jin and answered honestly with a smile. "Teacher, they're too weak. I won't even need to use my full strength against them."

Those words were a bucket of oil poured onto the flames.

"Teacher, we're fighting him today, no matter what!"

"Teacher, I want to fight him! Let's see how this Nezha plans to knock down every boy in Class Nine all by himself!"

Several boys slammed their desks and sprang to their feet, their faces scarlet and the veins in their necks bulging.

Nezha's remark had enraged them completely. Soul Elder or not, differences in rank-all of it had been flung to the backs of their minds.

At that moment, youthful hot blood and pride overpowered all reason. Who could swallow the humiliation of being told to their face that they were "too weak"?

Mu Jin found himself in a dilemma.

Although he believed Nezha was strong, and the cultivation of a three-ring Soul Elder was indeed overwhelmingly powerful among freshmen.

But one person against every boy in the class? There were more than twenty of them. Even if their ranks generally hovered around twenty, they would be a force not to be underestimated if they swarmed him together. As the saying went, two fists could hardly fend off four hands, and even a fierce tiger feared a pack of wolves. If Nezha lost, failing to become class monitor would be a minor matter. Having his youthful spirit beaten out of him-that would be truly frightening!

Frowning, he was about to try persuading him again when a figure suddenly appeared beside him.

At some point, Ning Tian had left her seat and walked over, quietly taking her place beside Mu Jin. She was more than half a head shorter than him, with platinum-blond hair falling behind her shoulders and clear, calm azure eyes.

She rose slightly onto her toes, leaned toward Mu Jin's ear, and softly spoke a sentence in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Teacher, let them fight. Nezha will win."