Reunion

After Xu Xingyu said "Ziwei Star God Barrier," a circular purple-gold barrier appeared without warning, trapping Xu Sanshi, who had already unleashed his full power.

Xu Sanshi did not stop attacking. Instead, he raised the turtle-shell shield in his hand and smashed it against the barrier trapping him. To his surprise, the instant his shield touched the barrier, a powerful recoil sent his attack bouncing back at him.

Forced to take his own attack, Xu Sanshi adjusted his posture and refused to give up, attempting to break through by force. Unfortunately, no matter how he used his Soul Skills, he could not break the barrier trapping him.

Instead, the barrier's unique reflective property left him seriously injured. After about a minute, the assessment teacher saw that Xu Sanshi was still trapped and could only call a halt, declaring Xu Xingyu the winner.

The result astonished the assessment teacher. Xu Sanshi was among the best of Shrek Academy's senior students, and as a student from Shrek, his combat strength was far greater than that of people at the same level from elsewhere.

Thus, although Xu Xingyu was a Soul Elder just like Xu Sanshi, the assessment teacher had still considered his chances of winning rather low. Who would have thought that Xu Xingyu would subdue Xu Sanshi with just one move?

Based on that move alone, the assessment teacher could say with certainty that Xu Xingyu was a top-tier control-type Soul Master, and that his talent was top-tier even among control-type Soul Masters.

As long as he received proper training from Shrek Academy, his future would be limitless!

This freshman named Xu Xingyu had to be given special attention and investigated. As long as there was nothing wrong with his background, Shrek Academy would undoubtedly attach great importance to him!

With that in mind, the assessment teacher gave Xu Xingyu his freshman uniform and room key, then hurried away, intending to notify Shrek Academy's higher-ups about the freshman named Xu Xingyu.

Xu Xingyu watched the assessment teacher leave, only then realizing that the teacher had been in such a hurry that he had not told him where the dormitory was. Xu Xingyu could only turn to Xu Sanshi, who was still trapped in the Ziwei Star God Barrier.

Xu Xingyu snapped his fingers, dispelling the Purple Tenuity Star God Barrier that had trapped Xu Sanshi. Xu Sanshi landed on his backside.

"Ow, ow, ow! Xu Xingyu, that move of yours is way too unfair, isn't it?" Xu Sanshi felt the injuries he had suffered from the reflected attacks and sighed helplessly. "Right now, I feel like my whole skeleton is about to fall apart."

Xu Xingyu put on a dead-fish face. "Come on, it's not like you're a three-year-old, is it? Your attacks were strong, so the recoil was intense too, but you're a defensive Soul Master. That little bit of recoil would only hurt you a little."

"Easy for you to say. Try suddenly getting trapped in a tiny space where you can't even stretch your arms and legs freely. Just being inside that barrier of yours could easily trigger someone's claustrophobia."

"All right, all right, let's not discuss something so trivial. Xu Sanshi, do you know which way the dormitory is?"

Hearing Xu Xingyu's question, Xu Sanshi dropped his joking manner and confidently declared that he could lead him there. First, though, they needed to see which class Xu Xingyu had been assigned to.

Soon, Xu Sanshi led them to Shrek Academy's notice board. There, Xu Xingyu learned that he was a student in Freshman Class Nine, and his homeroom teacher was named Mu Jin.

Xu Xingyu vaguely remembered from the original story that Mu Jin seemed to be the archenemy of Huo Yuhao's homeroom teacher, Zhou Yi. Although he was always crossing swords with Zhou Yi, he was quite responsible toward his own students. At least he was far better than the Zhou Yi in the original story.

Back when Xu Xingyu had read the original story on Blue Star, he had never been able to like Zhou Yi as a character. Strict teachers producing outstanding students was a fairly normal phenomenon, because only a strict teacher could rein in children's overly restless natures and make them focus on learning the knowledge they needed.

The problem was that Zhou Yi did not meet the standard of a strict teacher who produced outstanding students. In fact, she did not even meet the standard for being a teacher. Every so often, she would expel students over some trivial excuse.

But those students had only just come to study at Shrek. They needed time to adjust; they could not simply be expelled for making one small mistake or slacking off once.

A school was a place where students could improve not only their strength and knowledge, but also their character. They might have a few small flaws at first, but with guidance from the school and their teachers, they would have a chance to wash away those impurities.

Yet Zhou Yi gave those students no chance at all. The moment she spotted a small flaw, she expelled them. Only if a student had exceptionally great talent would she turn a blind eye.

Why did she do that? Simple: it improved her results. Once the class size was reduced, each student received more resources, allowing Zhou Yi to let them improve on their own without putting in much effort.

It would be hard for the students who survived her instruction not to grow strong. As a result, those students were grateful to her. Without those extra resources, they could never have raised their cultivation so quickly.

However, such an education gave the other students no equal chance to learn, while also neglecting to teach students proper conduct. Xu Xingyu believed that very few students who graduated under such instruction would grow up to be anything other than bullies or hypocrites. There might not even be any!

A teacher like that had no right to teach anyone. She was an insult to the teaching profession. The only reason Zhou Yi had not yet been fired was that the students she had not expelled spoke well of her after receiving the extra resources, and that her husband, Fan Yu, was a higher-up in Shrek's Soul Tool Department. Otherwise, any normal educational institution would have kicked her out long ago.

While Xu Xingyu was still inwardly criticizing this Teacher Zhou Yi, he suddenly felt something soft press tightly against his back.

Before he could turn around, a soft, sweet voice sounded beside his ear. "Guess who I am?"

The voice sounded very familiar to Xu Xingyu, and he caught a faint glimpse of golden hair. He knew the answer and smiled. "Who else could it be? It can only be my dear Secretary Jiang!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Xingyu turned his head and saw a blonde girl holding him tightly. She was none other than Jiang Nannan, the Mad Demon Soft Rabbit from the original story.

Hearing Xu Xingyu's answer, Jiang Nannan returned it with a smile of her own. Clearly, she too was delighted to see him again.

After she took leave from the Spirit Contract Pagoda to study at Shrek Academy, Xu Xingyu left the Heavenly Soul Branch for certain reasons. As a result, Jiang Nannan had not been able to see him again when she returned to the Spirit Contract Pagoda during her holidays. It had been two years since they last met.

During these years apart, Jiang Nannan had also taken the opportunity to figure out exactly what she felt for Xu Xingyu. At first, she had felt only gratitude, dependence, and admiration toward him.

After all, he had not only saved her mother, but also forced the factions coveting her to submit to him. Few girls could go unmoved by a story like that of a prince charming on a white horse.

Jiang Nannan was no exception. However, the gulf between their statuses was considerable, and she unconsciously shied away from those feelings. On top of that, Xu Xingyu had lovers and a fiancée of his own, making Jiang Nannan feel more and more that her presence was unnecessary.

But during the two years without Xu Xingyu by her side, she discovered that, no matter what, she could not forget him. At Shrek Academy, she had met many talented young men, but she could not regard them as Xu Xingyu's equals.

Finally, after some words from Zi JI, her teacher at the Spirit Contract Pagoda, Jiang Nannan had come to understand her feelings for Xu Xingyu during this time.

She, Jiang Nannan, was not merely grateful to him, dependent on him, and full of admiration for him. She had also fallen deeply in love with the young man who was younger than her. When her life had sunk to its lowest point, he had saved her, and he had also given her the chance to witness the birth of a new era.

Therefore, she, Jiang Nannan, did not want to retreat again. So what if he had lovers and a fiancée? She knew Xu Xingyu had more than one lover! She, Jiang Nannan, wanted to leave a place of her own in Xu Xingyu's heart too.

Just as Jiang Nannan was about to tell Xu Xingyu how much she had missed him, an ill-timed voice rang out. "Nannan, if you and little brother Xingyu have something to say, couldn't you talk in private? Being all lovey-dovey in a place with people coming and going doesn't seem particularly appropriate, does it?"