"Group one: Wang Dong, Xu Junhao, Tan Nuonuo."As their names were called, Wang Dong and the other two students stood up from their seats. Wang Dong showed no particular reaction, while Xu Junhao and Tan Nuonuo exchanged smiles. Zhou Yi's group assignment had clearly surprised them in a good way.
The rest of the class, seeing that the class monitor was already spoken for, could only place their hopes on Huo Yuhao, praying they'd be the lucky one. Unfortunately for them, Zhou Yi's next announcement was bound to disappoint.
"Group two: Huo Yuhao, Dong Xinyi, Xiao Xiao."
Huo Yuhao and Dong Xinyi stood up. The third member of their group was a girl seated toward the front. She was petite and not exactly beautiful, but pleasant and charming in a way that grew on you. Based on past performance, her strength was likely on par with Dong Xinyi, ranking in the upper-middle tier of the class.
Don't let her quiet demeanor fool you—Huo Yuhao knew it was all a disguise. In the original storyline, Xiao Xiao was one of the new generation of Shrek's Seven Monsters, no way she was just an average student.
"Group three: Zi Hao, Ma Qingshuang, Zheng Jianing."
"Group four…"
Very quickly, Zhou Yi divided all 39 students into 13 teams. Most students were satisfied with her arrangements—they noticed that the teams had been carefully balanced between stronger and weaker members. Initially, some thought Zhou Yi might stack one team with the class's strongest to aim for a top score. That would have made some teams unbeatable while others completely hopeless, even risking failure. But this even distribution increased everyone's chance of passing, though it might lower Class One's overall ranking.
Emotions were mixed. They didn't know how to judge this teacher. Say she's heartless? She'd just sacrificed top results for the sake of getting more students through. Say she's kind? That's bull. In just three months since the semester began, she had expelled over fifty students for all kinds of reasons. Her ruthlessness was well-known.
From a rational perspective, Zhou Yi was an unqualified teacher. Lacked the moral integrity her position demanded. If every teacher at Shrek were like her, the academy would shut down within a year—there'd be no students left.
After leaving the classroom building, Huo Yuhao and Dong Xinyi noticed that Xiao Xiao had followed them. As they turned around to ask her something, she beat them to it.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Xiao Xiao. My martial soul is a mutated Soul Suppression Cauldron—called the Three-Life Soul Suppression Cauldron. It has some control effects and mainly attacks by impact, which causes shockwaves and dizziness."
Huo Yuhao nodded. With the assessment coming up, it was necessary to learn about teammates for better coordination.
"Huo Yuhao. Martial soul: Spirit Eyes. Spiritual attribute. Specializes in mental attacks, but I can fight physically too."
"Dong Xinyi. Martial soul: Violet Thunder Staff. I can control both lightning and darkness elements."As Huo Yuhao finished speaking, Dong Xinyi followed up immediately, flipping open a small notebook.
Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao both looked at her in surprise, but she just smiled. She was used to this reaction whenever people learned what her martial soul could do.
A scepter martial soul with both darkness and lightning elements? Such a unique ability—so why didn't she appear in the original story? Was it a matter of bad luck or missed opportunities? Unable to make sense of it, Huo Yuhao decided not to dwell on it. He'd judge by her actual strength—no matter how rare or cool a martial soul was, if you were weak, it meant nothing.
To avoid drawing attention or getting mobbed like monkeys at the zoo, the three of them headed to a man-made forest outside the academy to spar. After all, nothing beats personal experience.
"To get a clearer sense of our capabilities, I suggest a quick sparring match. What do you two think?" said Xiao Xiao.
Huo Yuhao and Dong Xinyi both nodded. Indeed, combat was the simplest way to measure someone's strength.
"I'll go first. Who wants to spar with me?"Huo Yuhao stepped forward, clearly interested. On one hand, he wanted to gauge the power of this generation's Shrek Seven Monsters. On the other, he was curious how strong his new deskmate really was—and ready to show what he could do, too.
"Hehe."Xiao Xiao twirled in place, placing her hands behind her back with a shy smile."Yuhao, you're the strongest among us. Neither I nor Xinyi could take you alone. How about we team up and take you on together?"
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but laugh. So that was her game. And the way she phrased it was clever—framing it as a challenge raised his status and made it hard for him to refuse.
Unfortunately for him, Dong Xinyi also seemed curious about what it'd be like to bully her deskmate and stepped up next to Xiao Xiao.
"Xinyi, I'll take the lead. You support me," whispered Xiao Xiao, then summoned her martial soul. Two yellow soul rings rose from beneath her feet as a cloud of black mist quickly condensed above her head. In moments, a massive black cauldron—three-legged and two-eared, nearly a meter in diameter—appeared.
Dong Xinyi said nothing, but her actions spoke clearly. Two yellow soul rings flashed as well. That was it, though. No visible change, no martial soul in sight. Just another one of her martial soul's strange quirks.
While the two girls activated their martial souls, Huo Yuhao wasn't idle either. A yellow and a purple soul ring materialized around him. Like the others, his body didn't transform. A faint golden glow flickered in his eyes, barely noticeable unless you looked very closely—assuming he hadn't activated any soul skills yet.
Why yellow soul rings? The Skydream Iceworm's soul ring was platinum, but the original story described it as white. Making it light yellow here avoids standing out too much—it's not about showing off.
We're not doing the whole "mock the weakling until he slaps you in the face with secret power" cliché. This is a feel-good power fantasy, after all.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's purple second ring, both girls were stunned. A thousand-year soul ring?!They'd only seen that on Wang Dong so far. That had already shaken their perception. Many students assumed Wang Dong was stronger than Huo Yuhao because of it. Even Xiao Xiao had thought so.
Snapping out of her daze, Xiao Xiao realized she wasn't the only one hiding her true strength. Her expression turned serious. She might've been right—she and Dong Xinyi together still might not be a match for him.
Dong Xinyi, meanwhile, had stars in her eyes. She was suddenly very intrigued by her deskmate. To hold back power like that, to stay humble despite such talent—it wasn't something just anyone could do. And they were all so young. She was sure that if Huo Yuhao showed off his soul rings, the students who mocked him would shut up instantly. But he didn't. That quiet confidence… she liked it. It made her feel a rare sense of kinship.
"Hehe, Yuhao, you really are full of surprises. Don't go too hard on us, okay?"With a gentle point of her slender finger, the giant black cauldron above Xiao Xiao's head launched straight toward Huo Yuhao.
Dong Xinyi didn't say a word. She stepped back into the shadows beneath a tree and vanished like a wisp of smoke.
Seeing that Xiao Xiao hadn't used any soul skills, Huo Yuhao knew this was just a test. As the black cauldron barreled toward him, he didn't retreat—he advanced. Soul power surged into his hands, and just as the cauldron was about to strike, Huo Yuhao stepped sideways and grabbed it by the rim.
Then came the shock.
Instead of dodging, Huo Yuhao grabbed the massive cauldron with both hands and began to spin—once, twice, three times—on the fourth spin, he let go.
And the giant cauldron went flying back the way it came.
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(End of Chapter)
NOTE:
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