"Huo Yuhao, your Martial Soul is a Spirit Martial Soul. It's extremely well suited to the Auxiliary System. Even if you gain offensive Soul Skills in the future, that would make you a Control System Soul Master at most. I wouldn't have said anything if you'd written Control System."
"Tell me, what exactly is this Power Attack Control System of yours?"
Zhou Yi slammed the three sheets of white paper in her hand onto the desk. Her sharp gaze made Xiao Xiao and the others feel as though their bodies had been pierced through.
"Teacher, when I held a sword in my youth, something unseen told me, the moment I picked it up, that I belonged to the Power Attack System. Just believe in me. I'll prove it to you." Huo Yuhao drew the short sword in his hand.
Soul Power poured into it in an instant. The blade remained steady, humming under the impetus of his Soul Power. The short sword, originally only two inches long, actually began to extend, becoming a three-foot longsword. Its tip touched the ground. Though its blade was not large, it gave off a sense of weight.
Huo Yuhao turned his hand, countless streams of force flowing around the blade and stirring the hair of the three people present. Its piercing presence left them somewhat alarmed.
Boundless sword intent was reflected in his calm eyes.
Zhou Yi's eyes widened. This unremarkable display of swordsmanship from Huo Yuhao actually gave her a sense of danger.
Even among the inner court students, those with Sword Martial Souls had never displayed sword intent like this.
While Zhou Yi was still reeling in shock, Huo Yuhao's hand began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Ah-"
Suddenly, the longsword flew straight out of his hand, shooting away with a piercing sharpness and embedding itself firmly in the wall.
That terrifying presence vanished like a balloon that had lost its air, and the streams of force dissipated into the air.
Five kilometers outside Shrek City, a weak Soul Beast rested on a quiet little hill, continually licking its fur. Suddenly, the Soul Beast stood straight up, staring ahead in terror. Its four trembling legs pushed off together as it fled in panic.
Countless birds startled into flight, but it was already too late.
Terrifying Sword Qi arrived in an instant. As the birds' flesh and blood flew, countless sharp streams of Sword Qi swept across trees, grass, and rocks, cutting them into small pieces in a flash before reducing them to dust that dispersed into the air.
The entire hill was enveloped by this inexplicably appearing Sword Qi. In less than half an hour, the hill vanished altogether!
As though it had never existed!
"Uh..."
Everyone was somewhat dumbfounded. They had never expected Huo Yuhao's sword to go flying halfway through his display.
Huo Yuhao walked over to the longsword and channeled Soul Power into it. The blade rapidly contracted, returning to its original two-inch length. He picked it up, wiped it, and put it back into its sheath.
Only a deep mark remained on the wall, along with a little lingering sword intent.
"Teacher Zhou, sorry about that. I couldn't quite keep it under control."
Huo Yuhao gave an embarrassed smile, scratched his head, and walked back.
The corner of Zhou Yi's eye twitched. She sighed helplessly and waved a hand at him, counting that as a pass.
To be honest, Zhou Yi could tell from this display that he only knew a tiny bit. Still, at least it had offensive capabilities. If he switched to a higher-grade Soul Tool in the future, he might occasionally just barely fulfill his wish to be a Power Attack System Soul Master.
Then she picked up her pen and quietly changed Huo Yuhao's entry back to Control System.
Zhou Yi could no longer fuss over these things. She tapped another sheet of paper on the desk.
"Wang Dong, tell me, you're a perfectly good Power Attack System Soul Master, so why did you add Control System? You've even learned to copy answers now, have you?"
Zhou Yi slapped her hand down, nearly smashing the lectern in front of her.
Wang Dong'er hid behind Huo Yuhao in fright, her small hands clutching the hem of his clothes as she poked her little head out to watch Zhou Yi's reaction.
"What are you hiding for? Hurry up and change it back. The Power Attack System and Control System aren't separated. You'll be put in the same class anyway. Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Hurry up and change it back." Zhou Yi gave Wang Dong'er a meaningful glare and tossed the sheet of white paper over.
"Oh, oh, oh! All right, Teacher Zhou. I'll change it back right away!"
Wang Dong'er hurriedly caught the paper, smiled awkwardly, and quickly corrected it before handing it back to Zhou Yi.
"Xiao Xiao, your Martial Soul is the Soul Suppressing Cauldron. No matter how you look at it, it's a top-tier Tool Martial Soul. Its most important function should be support, so why did you put down Control System?" Zhou Yi turned her gaze to Xiao Xiao.
Xiao Xiao then explained her Martial Soul and told Zhou Yi that she had Twin Martial Souls.
"Twin Martial Souls. Xiao Xiao, you've really given me a wonderful surprise." Zhou Yi's gaze shifted. After a moment's thought, she stressed, "I now have a general understanding of all your abilities. Huo Yuhao, although you aren't very strong, I still don't know what your Soul Skill is. Tell me about it."
"Teacher, my Soul Skill is Mental Interference. It can make a Soul Master's attacks go off target." Huo Yuhao yawned and named the least frequently used of his four Soul Skills.
"Mental Interference?" Zhou Yi paused, a hint of a smile appearing on her face.
This skill was quite good. With the right timing, it could sometimes even turn a losing battle around.
In battles between Soul Masters, sometimes the contest came down to how precisely they unleashed their Soul Skills.
When two Soul Masters fought, if one suffered Mental Interference while unleashing a Soul Skill and missed, there was no need to say who the winner would be.
"You three little fellows, listen carefully. I have a task for you. Take first place in the freshman assessment. Can you do it?" When Zhou Yi's aged mask smiled, it really was not a pleasant sight.
"Teacher Zhou, we guarantee we'll complete the mission!"
Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong'er exchanged a glance and spoke in unison.
Huo Yuhao waved his hand and shook his head, his face full of resistance. "Teacher Zhou, something like first place... I can't do it..."
Zhou Yi's gaze sharpened. Her previously gentle smile instantly vanished as she stared straight at Huo Yuhao.
Wang Dong'er immediately covered his mouth and dragged him outside with Xiao Xiao.
"Teacher Zhou, don't worry. We can definitely do it," Wang Dong'er vowed.
Zhou Yi watched the three leave and shook her head, the smile at the corners of her mouth slowly disappearing. In ordinary times, perhaps she could have smiled in relief.
But with Shrek as it was now, she truly had no other recourse. She could only hope her students would hurry and grow stronger. Once they were strong enough to protect themselves, that would be enough.
One explosion had not only inflicted severe losses on the outer court. Some teachers who had voluntarily gone to support the inner court had had no time to escape at all, and had been vaporized outright by that terrifying pillar of light.
Wang Yan, Zheng Moxiao, Lu Li, and others...
A host of outer court teachers had departed in silence.
Zhou Yi helplessly watched the raindrops outside the window. Those beads of rain were like the tears of old friends who had departed, falling one after another, striking her heart bit by bit, before slowly dropping to the ground and vanishing completely.
Stars dotted the sky. May the loved ones who had passed away bless everyone.
Shrek needed to welcome a new life...