Confronting Zhou Yi

"Only two?"

Zhou Yi raised her eyebrows, sweeping her gaze over the two of them as an inscrutable smile appeared on her lips.

Then she turned to the others, her tone abruptly turning cold.

"What a bunch of useless trash."

"Don't you know the saying, 'Those who dare not stir up trouble are mediocrities'?"

"Everyone except those two, get outside and run a hundred laps around Shrek Square."

"Anyone who fails to finish will be expelled on the spot."

The entire class erupted in an uproar.

It was only the first day of school, and before lessons had even begun, they were being punished for not fighting?

Who could accept that?

At once, a boy in the front row stood up, his face flushed red.

"Teacher, I object! Why should we be punished for not fighting?"

Zhou Yi gave him an indifferent glance, her voice as calm as though she were stating the most ordinary thing in the world.

"Because I said so."

"If you don't like it, you can get out."

"As your homeroom teacher, I have the authority to expel any student."

"You have one minute. If I don't see you running around Shrek Square within one minute, you're all expelled."

The boy's face went from red to white. His lips trembled a few times, but in the end, he dared not say anything else. Head lowered, he squeezed out of his seat and walked toward the door.

Once the first person moved, the others rose one after another and filed outside. None of them looked happy, but no one dared utter another word.

"Teacher Zhou."

Zhang Lan spoke.

Zhou Yi frowned slightly and looked at him.

The students who had yet to leave the classroom also stopped and turned around.

"Shrek Academy accepts monsters, not street thugs who know nothing but stirring up trouble."

Zhang Lan's voice was quiet, but every word rang clear.

"Those who dare not stir up trouble are mediocrities; those who stir it up indiscriminately are fools."

"Making those who haven't fought run laps is inciting everyone to bully the weak."

"Stirring up trouble indiscriminately and bullying the weak-how is that behavior any different from that of Evil Soul Masters?"

The classroom fell silent for a moment.

Wang Dong's eyes widened as he stared at Zhang Lan in disbelief.

What was he saying?

Was he talking back to their homeroom teacher?

Seated up front, Nan Qiuqiu pressed her lips together slightly. She said nothing, but her fingers briefly curled against the desk.

Xiao Xiao's mouth fell open. She looked from Zhang Lan to Zhou Yi, her eyes round as saucers.

Zhou Yi clearly hadn't expected anyone to dare talk back to her like this.

In all her years of teaching, she had never encountered a freshman who dared challenge her.

She froze for a moment, then her expression darkened.

"Are you questioning my teaching methods?!"

The instant she finished speaking, a terrifying aura surged from her body.

Those powerful Soul Power fluctuations bore down on every student except Zhang Lan, leaving them struggling to breathe.

Several nearby students went pale, their legs buckling as they collapsed back into their chairs.

Nan Qiuqiu also bent slightly under the pressure, but her Martial Soul began circulating within her on its own, blocking most of it. Though uncomfortable, she could still hold on.

Xiao Xiao had no such easy time. She slumped over her desk, a sheen of cold sweat breaking out across her forehead.

Then, one Soul Ring after another rose from beneath Zhou Yi's feet.

Two yellow, two purple, two black.

A Six-Ring Soul Emperor.

The two Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings radiated a heart-stopping pressure, and even the air throughout the classroom seemed to freeze.

The solid wooden lectern creaked under the vibrations of her Soul Power, while the windowpanes hummed and trembled.

Without exaggeration, dealing with the two young students before her would have been as easy as turning over her hand.

Wang Dong's expression changed, and he instinctively edged closer to Zhang Lan.

His short pink-and-blue hair lifted slightly in the surging Soul Power, but Zhang Lan stood half a step ahead of him, opening a gap in the pressure.

Zhang Lan's expression hadn't changed at all, as though that oppressive aura hadn't affected him in the slightest.

"A Six-Ring Soul Emperor?"

Zhang Lan's voice was quiet, but every word rang clear.

"You use Soul Power to oppress us freshmen. What fundamental difference is there between you, the mediocrities you speak of, and those Evil Soul Masters outside?"

"You're merely relying on your strength to bully others."

Zhou Yi's expression changed completely.

In all her years of teaching, no one had ever dared defy her to her face like this.

"You-!"

Even Zhou Yi's voice was trembling.

"I am your homeroom teacher!"

"I am in charge of this class! Who dares disobey what I decree?!"

She took several deep breaths, suppressing her anger as she spoke.

"Since you're a freshman who dares take responsibility for his actions, I can overlook your insolence."

"Otherwise..."

Zhou Yi's gaze sharpened.

"I'll cripple your Soul Power first, then expel you!"

"And if I refuse?"

Zhang Lan's calm voice rang out, nothing like that of someone facing a Soul Emperor.

Boom!

The solid wooden lectern shattered beneath her palm, fragments flying in every direction.

Wood splinters struck several students in the front row across their faces, but they didn't even dare dodge.

"Do you truly wish to test whether my dragon claws are sharp?!"

Her Martial Soul manifested behind her.

The phantom of a crimson dragon bared its fangs and brandished its claws, radiating scorching heat.

Its head hung low, its eyes crimson. Six Soul Rings revolved around the dragon phantom, exerting even greater pressure than before.

The temperature throughout the classroom rose rapidly, and the leaves of several potted plants by the windows quickly curled and yellowed.

Zhang Lan summoned the Star of Eden, rested the staff's tip on the ground, and placed both hands atop it.

"Mine are no less sharp!"

With that, Zhang Lan's Soul Rings appeared beneath his feet.

Purple, purple, black, black, black.

Five Soul Rings, two purple and three black.

A Five-Ring Soul King.

Two Thousand-Year Soul Rings and three Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings.

The moment Zhang Lan revealed his Soul Rings, a deathly silence fell over the classroom.

Wang Dong's eyes widened, and he couldn't utter a single word. He stared at the five Soul Rings beneath Zhang Lan's feet, his pink-and-blue pupils contracting slightly. His lips moved, but no sound emerged. So... he was this strong.

He recalled being pinned helplessly to the ground two days earlier. He still remembered the pain of his knees striking the stone slabs. Back then, he had thought Zhang Lan had used some underhanded trick, and resentment had simmered in his chest as he vowed to settle the score sooner or later. Now, that resentment vanished completely. Suddenly, he felt there had been nothing unfair about his defeat.

His first Soul Ring was already a thousand-year ring?

Wang Dong clenched his fists.

At Clear Sky Castle, he had practically eaten whale rubber as meals, soaked in medicinal baths since childhood, and consumed heavenly treasures. Only then had he barely managed to obtain a thousand-year second Soul Ring.

But his first Soul Ring was still only a hundred-year ring.

He had always thought his Soul Ring Configuration was outrageous enough. At least among his peers, he had never seen anyone with a more astonishing one.

Yet now, those two purple Soul Rings beneath Zhang Lan's feet told him plainly that Zhang Lan's very first Soul Ring was a thousand-year ring.

How on earth had he done it?

What baffled him even more was the third Soul Ring.

Ten thousand years.

The greatest hurdle in absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring at the Soul Elder stage was the spiritual shock.

The resentment left behind by a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast upon death would assault the Soul Master's Sea of Consciousness. Failure to withstand it meant having one's soul scattered into oblivion.

Shrek Academy had specialized teachers of the spiritual department to help students absorb Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, yet even with their assistance, quite a few people stumbled at this hurdle every year.

Zhang Lan's third Soul Ring was a ten-thousand-year ring. How had he overcome the spiritual shock as a Soul Elder?

The more Wang Dong thought about it, the more outrageous it seemed, until his mind was a tangled mess.

Zhou Yi also looked astonished.

She stared at the five Soul Rings beneath Zhang Lan's feet for several breaths, another emotion suppressing the anger in her eyes.

In all her years of teaching, she had seen plenty of gifted students and had even taught several twelve-year-old Soul Elders.

But a twelve-year-old Soul King with two purple and three black rings? She had never even heard of one.

So that's why this brat dared talk back to me.

He was relying on his Soul Ring Configuration.

Zhou Yi quickly composed herself, pressing her lips into a thin line.

A twelve-year-old Soul King with two purple and three black rings did indeed have reason to be proud.

Even throughout Shrek Academy's history, such talent could be considered utterly unprecedented.

But before her, Zhou Yi, any genius had to do as she said.