Suddenly, a figure appeared, blocking his path, startling Huo Yuhao so much he nearly jumped. He looked up, and it turned out to be Tang Ya.
"Teacher Xiaoya?"
Tang Ya greeted Huo Yuhao with a bright smile, then mysteriously pulled him aside and whispered:
"Little Yuhao, you don't have any money, do you?"
Huo Yuhao nodded and said:
"Yes! Senior Brother said there are some jobs in the academy. If I do some odd jobs, I'll have money right away. I was planning to go check them out after classes today."
The tuition fee alone was ten gold coins a year, plus daily living expenses. Although Huo Yuhao only wanted to focus on cultivation, he couldn't possibly ignore such essential life necessities.
Tang Ya giggled and said:
"We're both Tang Sect disciples, and I'm also your teacher, so of course, I have to take good care of you. I've already thought of a way to help you. I know the auntie who's in charge of purchasing ingredients for the cafeteria. From now on, I'll ask her to buy twenty fish for you every day. As for me, I'll prepare the seasonings and a grill for you. After classes, you can just set up shop outside the academy gates and sell them. With your cooking skills, you'll definitely sell out, I guarantee it. Let me calculate: each fish originally costs one copper coin, so you can sell each one for five copper coins! See? That way, you'll have money, right?"
Huo Yuhao's eyes immediately lit up:
"Teacher Xiaoya, this is a brilliant idea! I have my Spirit Eyes, so controlling the heat will be extremely easy. Then I'll start trying it tonight!"
Tang Ya nodded repeatedly, finally revealing her ulterior motive.
"Oh, right, since I'm helping you with all this, when you grill the fish, remember to prioritize setting some aside for me. Don't worry, I'll pay. Also, if the things I buy for you run out, you'll have to buy more yourself."
Ever since she tasted Huo Yuhao's grilled fish, she had never forgotten its flavor. After completing her assessment, she had racked her brains to come up with this brilliant idea. Of course, the originator of the idea was Bei Bei.
Seeing Tang Ya's eager expression, Huo Yuhao understood. He smiled and said:
"Alright, Teacher Xiaoya, then we'll meet again tonight."
"Alright, alright. I'll get going now. Oh, I almost forgot, I have some good news for you: Bei Bei and I both passed our fourth-year assessment!"
After Tang Ya finished speaking, she waved goodbye to him, then ran off, looking extremely excited.
After a simple lunch, Huo Yuhao immediately returned to his dorm. No one was in the room at the moment; Wang Dong was out, and he didn't know what he was doing. Zhou Yi had said that their training would begin in the afternoon, so, with a bit of time left during his lunch break, he began meditating to cultivate, while also taking the opportunity to recover his physical strength.
This cultivation session brought him a pleasant surprise. In the morning, his run had pushed him past his limits. Now, as he cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Method, he discovered that after one cycle, the growth rate of his soul power had increased slightly. Although it was only a tiny bit, he was already very satisfied. He thought to himself, it seems pushing his body to its limits had many benefits for cultivating soul power. And since his body was originally weak, training, diligently training, was a good thing!
When Huo Yuhao woke up from his meditation, he was startled again, almost jumping up, because Wang Dong was sitting opposite him, staring intently.
"You're back? Time for class!"
Huo Yuhao said, jumping off the bed and putting on his shoes. After what happened that morning, the relationship between him and Wang Dong had clearly changed significantly.
Wang Dong said in a low voice:
"Huo Yuhao, I've always wondered what your Martial Soul is. You've seen mine today, so can you tell me what yours is?"
Huo Yuhao finished putting on his shoes, stood up straight, and said:
"My Martial Soul is these eyes of mine, called Spiritual Eyes. It's a mental attribute. I know what you're wondering about; thanks to my Soul Skill, Spirit Detection, you couldn't use any feints or tricks on me that day. Because with Spirit Detection, I can clearly see every single one of your actions."
Wang Dong was startled into realization.
"So that's it, I didn't expect your Martial Soul to be a Body Martial Soul. Let's go, don't dawdle anymore. I just went to ask around outside, and our Teacher Zhou really is a monster teacher, utterly abnormal. I heard the number of students she expelled is more than ten other teachers combined. Having a head teacher like that is truly bad luck."
Huo Yuhao shook his head and smiled, saying:
"You can't say that. Teacher Zhou is strict, but as long as we are strict with ourselves, we'll meet her requirements. Oh right, I've seen your Martial Soul, but I don't know its name. Also, your Soul Rings seem to be one yellow and one purple, right? How can your second Soul Ring be a Hundred-Year Soul Ring?"
Wang Dong chuckled and said:
"My second Soul Ring is a secret I can't tell you. As for that Martial Soul, it's the Light Goddess Butterfly, an extremely beautiful species of butterfly. It's no exaggeration to say it's the most beautiful type of butterfly, but unfortunately, it's almost extinct. The rarity of this Martial Soul isn't much different from your Body Martial Soul, you know. You'll find out how powerful it is later! Oh right, where did Teacher Zhou take you today?"
The two of them talked as they left the dormitory and headed towards the Academic Building. Not just them, but probably no student in the freshman Class One dared to be late.
Huo Yuhao didn't intend to hide the fact that Teacher Zhou had taken him to meet Teacher Fan Yu. It wasn't a secret anyway, so he told Wang Dong everything.
"What? Your Spirit Detection can be used on other people too? Quick, let me see you do it."
After all, Wang Dong was only an eleven or twelve-year-old boy; how could he resist his curiosity? He exclaimed excitedly.
Having no other choice, Huo Yuhao released Spirit Detection Resonance, allowing the other boy to experience it.
Everything within a thirty-meter radius began to clearly appear in his mind, causing Wang Dong to be momentarily stunned. He was like a blind person whose eyes had suddenly opened, seeing the world around him clearly. That intense, vibrating sensation was something almost everyone experienced the first time they received Huo Yuhao's Spirit Detection Resonance.
Moreover, as Huo Yuhao continuously used Spirit Detection Resonance, his control over it became increasingly proficient. As he deployed it, he recalled what Teacher Fan Yu had said earlier. Instinctively, he focused his spiritual power in a single direction, then tried to push it further out. Huo Yuhao hadn't expected that at this moment, the golden light deep within his eyes would suddenly glow a little brighter, and his spiritual fluctuations would become much more intense. What had originally been an all-directional scan now gradually narrowed down to just one direction.
Wang Dong, standing beside him, also sensed the change in the Spirit Detection. He noticed that the images to his left and right were no longer appearing, but the image directly ahead remained, and its perceived distance was growing longer and longer.
Yet, these few seconds of alteration were equivalent to several minutes of Huo Yuhao using the ability normally. He suddenly felt his soul power rapidly convert into spiritual power at an astonishing rate, almost depleting it in the blink of an eye.
His body swayed precariously, and it was only with Wang Dong's supporting hand that he managed to stand steady. The Spirit Detection Resonance immediately retracted.
"Huo Yuhao, what's wrong?"
Wang Dong quickly steadied him.
Huo Yuhao's face was pale, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he looked extremely weak. He turned to Wang Dong, waving a dismissive hand to indicate he was fine:
"It's just heavy spiritual power depletion. Wang Dong, what did you see just now? Did you notice how far my Spirit Detection reached?"
Wang Dong thought back for a moment and said:
"I wasn't paying close attention, but it was about fifty or sixty meters. The other directions were no longer visible, only the front, but the distance probably doubled."
Upon hearing Wang Dong's words, Huo Yuhao immediately brightened, and even his fatigue lessened somewhat.
"That's wonderful, I knew it was possible! Though the spiritual power consumption is truly excessive."
Reducing the Spirit Detection's scope could extend its range, but it required ten times the spiritual power. That was why he couldn't sustain it for more than a few short seconds just now. Nevertheless, Huo Yuhao believed this was merely his first attempt, and things could gradually improve with practice; the important thing was to train diligently.
Teacher Fan Yu had said that if he could extend his Spirit Detection's range to one hundred meters, he would accept him as a disciple.
This morning, after listening to He Caitou briefly explain Soul Tools, he had already developed an interest in these miraculous items.
Ten minutes before class, in Class One's classroom, all ninety-one students had gathered, and the room was eerily quiet. Perhaps having a strict teacher wasn't always a bad thing, as it certainly fostered a studious atmosphere among the students.
As seating arrangements hadn't been assigned yet, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong found seats together upon their arrival. Both eleven-year-olds wore pensive expressions. Huo Yuhao was pondering the challenges of his Spirit Detection, while Wang Dong's thoughts remained a mystery.
A moment later, Zhou Yi slowly entered the classroom. The already quiet atmosphere grew even more hushed, and both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong simultaneously snapped back to attention. Although Huo Yuhao had completely depleted his soul power not long ago, his soul power was so meager that more than half of it had recovered in an instant, and the feeling of weakness was now gone.
"Everyone, stand up and gather in the plaza."
Zhou Yi walked into the classroom, uttered an unexpected command, then turned and walked back out.
After hearing Chu Yi speak, not a single student dared to delay. They scrambled out of the room and then orderly followed Chu Yi to Shrek Plaza. None of them noticed the fleeting smile that appeared on Chu Yi’s face at that moment. This twisted teacher was truly unconventional… She had just been thinking that being a freshman head wasn't so bad after all. At least the new students were still naive, easy to mold, and obedient, unlike the upperclassmen who, with their minor achievements, were not only arrogant but also far more rebellious.
At some unknown point, a pile of iron chains had appeared on Shrek Plaza. Chu Yi let out a loud cry, and the students simultaneously halted and stood in neat rows.
"Wang Dong."
"Yes!"
Wang Dong stepped forward.
Chu Yi turned to face all the students and said, "I see that you had the best performance in the selection trial, and you also achieved the best results in this morning's assessment. Therefore, I announce that from now on, Wang Dong is the monitor of Class One. This position can change; as long as you can defeat him, it's yours. Understood?"
"Understood!"
The students answered in unison. Among them, several male students of considerable strength stared intently at Wang Dong. The female students, however, looked at Wang Dong with eyes that seemed a few shades softer.
Chu Yi pointed at the pile of iron chains on the ground.
"These are Iron Vests, specifically for your physical enhancement training. Each of you will take one, put it on, and run around this plaza. From now on, you will run like this every day until the end of class. You may use your soul power freely, but no soul skills. Whoever has the lowest performance will be expelled."
"I repeat, in my class, it's not only during assessments that students get expelled; it can happen at any time. Today there are ninety-one students here; by the end of the session, there will be ninety. Alright, begin."
As Chu Yi finished speaking, she took an Iron Vest and handed it to Wang Dong. Wang Dong quickly took it and put it on. Only after putting on the Iron Vest did he realize with a start that it weighed a full thirty jin!
As soon as they heard that the weakest would be eliminated, all the students quickly rushed to get their Iron Vests. The male students fared a little better, but the female students, upon putting on the Iron Vests, all had their faces drained of color.
Chu Yi said coldly, "I know you are all very dissatisfied with me, thinking this is unfair. After all, there are definite physical differences between male and female students, beast soul masters, tool soul masters, and battle soul masters. But, in my class, everyone is equal. Do you think enemies on the battlefield will spare you because you are girls or tool soul masters? Alright, you can start now. Run."
Even though all the students were secretly cursing Chu Yi in their hearts, they couldn't help but start at her command, not daring to show any resistance. Wang Dong led the group, beginning to run around the plaza. No one wanted to be eliminated, so the students' attitudes had completely changed compared to that morning.
Wang Dong led the charge. Regardless of his martial soul or soul power, he far surpassed his classmates. Even with the Iron Vest on, his speed didn't decrease in the slightest.
A few students who had wanted to compete with him earlier also sped up to chase after him.
Huo Yuhao, however, was different. He maintained his previous pace, fully aware of his own physical condition. With two more hours until class ended, he knew he had to conserve his energy to last that long. He needed to maintain a steady pace now, not rush ahead impatiently, but simply run at a relaxed speed.
After two laps, he had easily fallen to the very back of the group, with all the female students having overtaken him. But he paid it no mind.
By the fourth lap, Wang Dong was already one full lap ahead of him. As he ran past, Wang Dong even stared at him with a look of astonishment.
Huo Yuhao didn't react at all, simply turning his head and offering a small smile.
Zhou Yi stood on the sidelines, observing the students running on the field. No one knew what she was thinking.