Xu Tianyi came from a good family and had never lacked anything since childhood.
His martial soul was excellent too: the top-tier beast martial soul, the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon.
His first soul skill, "Dragon Brilliant Flash," was also quite good for a power attack system Soul Master.
He himself worked hard enough, too, with the courage to challenge stronger opponents and the determination to keep improving.
But why had Kong Xuan never seen him appear in the original story?
Had he died young in an accident?
The Sun Moon crown prince, Xu Tianran, was particularly fond of striking at his own brothers. A younger cousin was still a younger brother, after all.
But Xu Tianyi's father, Xu Guozhong, seemed to be on Xu Tianran's side.
It was also possible that, like Xu Guozhong, he had been killed in that massive explosion Huo Yuhao caused.
Only after casting these jumbled thoughts aside did Kong Xuan speak. "Xu Tianyi, your biggest problem is your mindset. Your talent and strength have fostered an arrogant disposition. Underestimating your opponent in battle can easily cost you."
Xu Tianyi now understood this point of Kong Xuan's all too well.
He had originally thought he would rank first in the class, yet of the other three people in the Soul Fighting Arena at that moment, he could not defeat even Xu Wei, the weakest.
"Since you've joined the Soul Master class, your future opponents won't just be your classmates. There's also Shrek Academy!"
At the words "Shrek Academy," Xu Tianyi's expression visibly shifted.
Those five characters were like a mountain pressing down on the heads of the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Masters. Not one of them did not want to overturn it.
"There, even among people at the same level, your current strength wouldn't amount to much."
Xu Tianyi did not pursue how Kong Xuan knew all that information about Shrek Academy. He merely clenched his teeth and fists, adding another reason to work hard.
"Besides your daily cultivation, I think what you need to do most is improve your physical constitution."
"As a beast Soul Master, your physical constitution is already pretty good. Even if you can't absorb a thousand-year soul ring for your second soul ring, increasing its age would still be good."
As he spoke, Kong Xuan looked at Xu Wei. "The same goes for you. Spend more time suffering in the gravity room when you're free. It'll benefit your future cultivation."
Xu Wei nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, Brother Xuan. From now on, I'll go cultivate in the gravity room with you every day."
Xu Tianyi said nothing, but Kong Xuan's words kept echoing in his mind.
At that instant, he actually developed an obsession with obtaining a thousand-year second ring!
Although their allotted time in the Soul Fighting Arena had not yet run out, none of them intended to fight again, so they left early.
Life afterward returned to the academy's daily routine.
Kong Xuan had to admit that Ren Jun, their homeroom teacher from Shrek, was conscientious and quite capable.
Some of the cultivation approaches he suggested were nothing special to Kong Xuan, but to the other students, they were like shortcuts pointed out through the fog.
As for actual combat, the class generally organized sessions every few days.
The fighting methods Ren Jun devised based on each person's martial soul and physical constitution also brought a qualitative improvement to the students' combat abilities in a short time.
Before they knew it, the Soul Master class had been established for over a month.
After finishing the morning lesson as usual that day, Ren Jun did not immediately dismiss the class. Instead, he said he had an important announcement.
The twenty-five students in the class focused their eyes on his face, waiting for him to continue.
Ren Jun's fingertips tapped out dull thuds on the lectern as he looked around at everyone. "Next semester, there will be a competition between Soul Master classes. The matches will be fought in teams of three!"
By Soul Master classes, he naturally meant them.
Ever since the Offering Hall issued its order, a wave of free martial soul awakenings had swept across the Sun Moon Empire, and quite a few exceptionally gifted geniuses had indeed been discovered.
Naturally, there was more than one Soul Master class like the one at the Royal Soul Engineer Academy, and next semester, these newly established classes would hold a competition!
The students' reactions varied. Some were eager to try, while others showed little interest...
Just then, their homeroom teacher's voice rang out again. "Find your own teammates and submit your rosters to the class monitor before class tomorrow."
With that, Ren Jun turned and left the classroom.
Rather than using his authority as their homeroom teacher to assign groups based on the characteristics of their martial souls, Ren Jun had let them choose for themselves.
This was not because he was too lazy as a homeroom teacher. Teammates the students found themselves should at least be people they knew, making cooperation easier afterward.
Besides, these teams were only temporary and would be adjusted later.
As for whether they might lose the competition by forming teams so casually?
Ren Jun truly had never worried about that. After all... they had Kong Xuan!
Once Ren Jun vanished from everyone's sight, the previously quiet classroom instantly erupted into lively discussion.
Xu Wei looked at Kong Xuan beside him, whose expression remained unchanged, and chuckled. "Brother Xuan, how about you and Sister Ling carry me, and we just form a team?"
The three of them were relatively close within the class, so forming a team together would be natural.
But Kong Xuan did not immediately agree to Xu Wei's suggestion. Instead, he smiled and said, "There's no rush. Let's see how the others choose."
Without a definite answer from Kong Xuan, Xu Wei felt somewhat uneasy, but he did not ask any further.
When it came to forming teams, the students in the class roughly fell into two types.
One type had no absolute commitment to winning. They sought out classmates they usually got along with.
The other type formed teams with better results in mind, seeking out strong teammates.
When it came to strength, however, the strongest in the class was naturally Kong Xuan.
Yet apart from Xu Wei, not a single person had come over to invite him.
That was also because Kong Xuan was too strong, so strong that he seemed to stand on an entirely different level from everyone else, leaving them hesitant whenever they thought of him.
As a control system Soul Master, Bi Jin had always regarded himself as the brain of a team.
This was not arrogance on his part. He truly did have the ability to coordinate his teammates.
He belonged to the second type, those who thirsted for victory.
His requirement for teammates was that they had to be strong!
Naturally, the first person he thought of was Kong Xuan.
He cast his gaze toward the window seats. Kong Xuan sat quietly, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding clamor.
After a long internal struggle, he still could not muster the courage to approach.
Just as he was about to give up, however, he saw Xu Tianyi appear in front of Kong Xuan.
When it came to thirsting for victory, who in the class could surpass Xu Tianyi?
Among the many students who had set their sights on Kong Xuan, aside from Xu Wei, who enjoyed the advantage of proximity, Xu Tianyi was the first to actually take action.
Xu Tianyi looked at Kong Xuan and asked directly, "Can you form a team with me?"
Usually surrounded by people trying to please him, Xu Tianyi had grown up amid praise and actually had little idea how to get along with others.
When Kong Xuan did not answer, Xu Tianyi continued, "I know that whoever you team up with, you won't be short of a power attack system Soul Master like me. But I want a chance."
In Xu Tianyi's view, one spot among Kong Xuan's teammates would go to his younger sister, Kong Ling.
The remaining spot would most likely go to Xu Wei. After all, not only were they close, but as an agility attack system Soul Master, Xu Wei would not overlap in role with the others.
Yet even knowing his chances were slim, Xu Tianyi still stood there.
Just as he had said, even if there was only a sliver of opportunity, he had to try.
Sensing the anticipation and apprehension in his voice, Kong Xuan found that the genius who had once been arrogant enough to want to fight five opponents alone now seemed to have taken on Kong Xuan's shape.
Kong Xuan smiled and asked, "You want to team up with me?"