Zhou Yi

Biodata

Background / History

First Confrontation with Li Mu

Zhou Yi intervenes when Li Mu attempts to kill Dai Huabin, striking Li Mu with a fire dragon. Her intervention knocks him away, although his attack still leaves Dai Huabin with a severe neck wound 5.

After Du Weilun gives Li Mu a major demerit and strips him of core disciple status, Zhou Yi warns him against killing classmates. Dissatisfied with his indifferent response, she lashes him with a flaming whip. His water barrier weakens the blow but does not completely stop it 6.

Li Mu retaliates with an ice spear powered by the Snow Empress, piercing Zhou Yi’s arm and shoulder. He then punches her in the face with his Golden Dragon Claw, knocking her down and breaking out teeth. Faced with another spear and a warning that he will kill her if she attacks again, Zhou Yi withdraws 6.

The Two-Hundred-Lap Wager

On entering the classroom as homeroom teacher, Zhou Yi calls the students trash and declares that she intends to cultivate monsters rather than fools. Li Mu challenges her talent and teaching qualifications, prompting roughly three-quarters of the class to stand against her 10.

Li Mu proposes a wager: she may assign him a task within the capabilities of a Soul Ancestor, with his withdrawal from Shrek Academy at stake if he fails and her resignation if he succeeds. Zhou Yi chooses two hundred laps around the track, a demand other students condemn as bullying 10 11.

As Li Mu approaches the finish without showing exhaustion, Zhou Yi becomes increasingly agitated by the prospect of losing and by the students’ ridicule. She strikes nearby students with a flaming dragon, then throws a full-power fireball at Li Mu. She expects the attack to leave him effectively crippled and believes Fan Yu’s backing will limit her punishment 12 13.

Li Mu absorbs the fireball with his own flames and retaliates with an ice spear, piercing Zhou Yi’s shoulder and pinning her to a wall. The spear’s cold spreads through her body, leaving her left arm bluish-purple and progressively numb 13 14.

Expulsion and Reinstatement

Mu Jin discovers the injured students, including Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo, and summons Du Weilun and a Tree of Life healer. Despite her injuries and the presence of other teachers, Zhou Yi attacks Li Mu again. Du Weilun disperses her fire dragon, slaps her to the ground, and publicly condemns her conduct 14 15.

Zhou Yi argues that Li Mu seriously injured her, but the students recount her insults, wager, and subsequent attacks. Du Weilun takes the matter to Yan Shaozhe, who orders her to resign. Her expulsion is then announced to the class 15 16 17.

Xian Lin’er challenges the decision and proposes transferring Zhou Yi to the Soul Tool Department. Her intervention is motivated chiefly by her regard for Fan Yu and the department’s shortage of teachers. Yan Shaozhe ultimately reverses the expulsion and approves the transfer 18 19.

Continued Hostility

Zhou Yi later accompanies Du Weilun to question Li Mu about his attacks on Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan. Li Mu challenges her involvement because she now belongs to the Soul Tool Department. Du Weilun agrees that disciplinary matters concerning Martial Soul Department students are outside her authority and asks her to leave 34 35.

Although Zhou Yi remains resentful, she recognizes that she cannot confidently defeat Li Mu. She also declines to involve Fan Yu directly, knowing that his intervention against a child could damage his reputation. After she leaves, Li Mu vows to kill her following the freshman assessment 35.

Mu Jin later recalls Zhou Yi’s suspicion that Li Mu was responsible for the White Tiger Duke’s Mansion massacre, dismissing it because Li Mu apparently possesses only two Soul Rings 37.

Appearance

• Presented as an elderly-looking woman with a stern expression and an exceptionally cold gaze 5 10.
• Her exact age is not established; Li Mu’s suggestion that she is in her thirties or forties occurs while he is taunting her 10.

Personality

Zhou Yi favors competition through fighting but initially states that students must not kill one another. Her discipline relies on intimidation, insults, and physical punishment: she attacks Li Mu for his indifferent response and belittles her class before assessing its members individually 6 10.

Her authority becomes unstable when students openly resist her. During the wager, concern for her position, professional rank, and resource allotment gives way to anger. Rather than accept defeat, she attacks both the students mocking her and Li Mu 11 12 13.

She is vindictive but capable of recognizing practical limits. After experiencing Li Mu’s ice attacks, she continues seeking opportunities to punish him while admitting to herself that a direct fight would offer her no advantage 35.

Du Weilun suspects that she is prejudiced against Auxiliary System Soul Masters. He notes that she expels students almost every year and that those expelled are auxiliary types; Auxiliary and Control System students are also the ones most likely to fail her running exercises 15.

Abilities & Skills

Fire Dragon Martial Soul

Zhou Yi uses her Martial Soul to produce flames, dragon-shaped attacks, and a transformed dragon claw 6 12 13.

• Flaming whip: Used for direct punishment and capable of transforming into a long fire dragon 6 12.
• Fire dragon attacks: Used to interrupt Li Mu’s attack on Dai Huabin and later to attack students and Li Mu himself 5 12 14.
• Fireball: Can concentrate her full strength into a large projectile without using a Soul Skill 13.
• Dragon claw: Transforms her hand for close-range defense, although it fails to stop Li Mu’s enhanced ice spear 13.
• Self-warming: Uses flames to ease the extreme cold invading her body, but cannot fully overcome the lingering effects of Li Mu’s later spear 6 14.

Soul Emperor Cultivation

Zhou Yi possesses six Soul Rings and is described as stronger than an ordinary Soul Emperor 6 9.

• Her attacks can seriously injure lower-ranked students even when she does not strike them with full ruthlessness 12 14.
• Her cultivation does not prevent Li Mu’s Snow Empress-powered weapons from piercing her defenses 6 13.
• Li Mu’s superior flames absorb her full-power fireball, preventing it from reaching him 13.

Relationships

• Fan Yu — Husband and an influential figure in the Soul Tool Department. His standing helps protect her position, and she expects his support to soften the consequences of attacking Li Mu 10 13 17.
• Li Mu — Student turned enemy. Their dispute escalates from corporal punishment into repeated lethal attacks, her temporary expulsion, and his plans to kill her 6 13 15 35.
• Mu Jin — Longstanding rival. Despite their enmity, Mu Jin responds to the classroom incident by arranging help for the injured students 13 14 17.
• Du Weilun — Former disciplinary superior. He stops her renewed attack on Li Mu and later prevents her from interfering in Martial Soul Department discipline 15 35.
• Yan Shaozhe — Dean who orders her resignation, then reverses the decision following Xian Lin’er’s intervention 16 19.
• Xian Lin’er — Secures her continued employment through a transfer to the Soul Tool Department, primarily out of regard for Fan Yu 18 19.

Notable Quotes

“As a teacher, I hope you can foster competition through fighting, but I absolutely don't want to see you killing one another or getting up to this sort of nonsense.” 6

“From now on, I'll be your homeroom teacher. Remember, no trash can pass the exams in my class. I want to cultivate monsters, not fools.” 10