"Mm, have a seat."
As Qiangu Yuan spoke, his gaze shifted to his precious daughter, Qiangu Yunying. He noticed that she was staring intently at Yin Zhang, her eyes filled with unabashed curiosity.
"Let me introduce you," Qiangu Yuan said. "This is my youngest daughter, Qiangu Yunying. I've already told you everything else about her before, so I won't repeat it."
Qiangu Yuan glanced at Yin Zhang and saw that although Yin Zhang's gaze seemed slightly evasive, he still couldn't help looking toward Qiangu Yunying.
"Yunying, this is Yin Zhang—the one I often mention to you. Not long ago, I took him to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for a soul ring. After absorbing a three-thousand-year soul ring, his soul power reached level thirty-three, and now he wants to challenge you."
"A challenge? That's great!"
Without questioning Yin Zhang's strength at all, Qiangu Yunying jumped to her feet, clearly excited.
"Yin Zhang? Then I'll call you Xiao Zhang. I'm nine years older than you, so you can call me Sister Yunying. Dad said it's almost certain you'll enter the Elite Class. We might even become classmates in the future."
"By the way—when are we fighting?"
Qiangu Yunying was extremely enthusiastic. Yin Zhang was momentarily stunned, then prepared to answer.
When he had watched her battle earlier on the training grounds, the distance had been far, and his focus had been on her fight against the two Soul Ancestors, so he hadn't paid much attention to her appearance.
Now that he was seeing her up close, Yin Zhang realized that Qiangu Yunying bore some resemblance to a Yunying character from a game he vaguely remembered—though there were many differences in the details.
She had an oval face and a similar hairstyle, wore loose, comfortable clothes that reached her upper thighs, thigh-high stockings, and long boots that extended up to her calves. She looked to be around 179 centimeters tall; standing in front of her, Yin Zhang had to tilt his head all the way up to meet her gaze.
She wasn't talkative or nagging either. Instead, she gave off a quiet, naturally straightforward vibe.
This unexpectedly stirred a strange feeling in Yin Zhang's heart—a boy nine years younger than her.
Before he could speak, however, Qiangu Yuan interrupted.
"Yunying, now isn't the time for the two of you to fight. This morning, I spoke with the dean. Later, he told me that Xiao Zhang should first challenge a Soul Ancestor to qualify for the Elite Class. As for whether he challenges you afterward, that will be discussed separately."
"And this is also the intention of your teacher—the Second Consecrator."
"Huh?"
Qiangu Yunying looked visibly disappointed. She sat back down in the chair in front of Yin Zhang, her blank expression making her look oddly cute.
Yin Zhang couldn't help sneaking a glance at her before turning back to Qiangu Yuan.
"My teacher?"
Qiangu Yuan nodded slightly.
"That's right. This is indeed the intention of the Golden Crocodile Consecrator. So—do you choose to challenge a Soul Ancestor, enter the Elite Class, and then challenge Yunying afterward?"
Yin Zhang nodded quickly. This was the task he had chosen earlier—there was no way he could back out now.
"Very good," Qiangu Yuan said with a nod.
"But even so, you still have two choices."
Yin Zhang asked curiously, "What choices?"
"I've already introduced the Elite Classes to you before. There are three in total. Elite Class One is where Yunying is—it represents our Spirit Hall Academy in the Continental Elite Tournament. The other two are ordinary Elite Classes."
"The method to enter them is the same as with the Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced Classes."
"This also means there's a gap between Elite Class One and Classes Two and Three. Most students in Classes Two and Three are below level forty-five."
Qiangu Yuan explained patiently.
"If you only want to enter an Elite Class, you can choose a Soul Ancestor from either Class Two or Class Three. If you win the challenge, you'll be admitted directly."
"This is also the simplest option. Not long ago, Elite Class Two admitted a new Soul Ancestor who had just broken through to level forty-one. Personally, I think you'd have a very high chance of winning against him."
"Now that I've explained everything, and since you're not foolish, you should understand what I'm getting at. Tell me your choice."
Without any hesitation, Yin Zhang replied, "I choose to randomly challenge a Soul Ancestor from Elite Class One!"
Qiangu Yuan nodded slightly. "Just as I expected. In that case, there's no time to waste. Let's head to Elite Class One right away."
"I've already spoken with the homeroom teacher there. I'll take you and Yunying over now."
Yin Zhang was momentarily stunned. As expected of you, Uncle Qiangu—you really understand me.
"Whoosh—"
Qiangu Yunying opened the door and turned to Yin Zhang.
"Xiao Zhang, shall we go together?"
Naturally, Yin Zhang had no reason to refuse and nodded in agreement.
Walking behind Qiangu Yunying, Yin Zhang exchanged a few casual words with her. She was extremely friendly, asking him about all sorts of things.
With Uncle Qiangu Yuan following closely behind them, Yin Zhang only answered her questions and didn't start any topics himself.
Ever since entering the office, he had felt that Qiangu Yuan's gaze toward him was… a bit strange.
It was as if he were afraid Yin Zhang might steal his daughter away. Really… quite something.
From their conversation, Yin Zhang learned that Qiangu Yunying's temperament was nothing like that of a refined young lady from a noble family. Instead, she was more like a tomboy.
And that was exactly the case.
Qiangu Yunying's tomboyish personality gave Qiangu Yuan quite the headache.
As for Yin Zhang, Qiangu Yunying learned about his background as well—an orphan adopted by an old village chief, whose fate changed completely after his Martial Soul Awakening at the age of six.
Later, he was brought to Spirit City by the Supreme Pontiff and then taken in as a disciple by the Second Consecrator, Golden Crocodile.
After hearing all this, Qiangu Yunying's sympathy toward Yin Zhang rose sharply. She even said bluntly,
"Xiao Zhang, from now on, I've got your back in the academy! If anyone bullies you, just say my name!"
As Qiangu Yunying casually placed her slender hand on Yin Zhang's shoulder, Qiangu Yuan—walking behind them—felt completely helpless.
They had only just met, and her tomboyish nature was already on full display.
Yin Zhang felt the same. He laughed awkwardly and replied,
"Then, Sister Yunying, I'll just say I'm under your protection from now on!"
Qiangu Yunying nodded firmly. "That's how it should be!"
Just as Yin Zhang followed Qiangu Yunying and they were about to arrive at Elite Class One, a notification suddenly rang out in his mind.
[Detected that the host is about to face a challenge. The following choices have been triggered:
Option One: There happens to be a Soul Master in Elite Class One who has just broken through to level fifty. Challenge him. Upon victory, enter Elite Class One. Reward: Power of the Sun (Trait Card)
Option Two: The students of Elite Class One are too strong. Temporarily choose Elite Class Two or Three…]
Yin Zhang glanced over the options and chose Option One without the slightest hesitation.
After all, the Power of the Sun trait would be another massive boost to his strength.
[Congratulations to the host for making a successful choice. Reward: Power of the Sun (Trait Card) has been stored in the inventory. You may view it through your personal attributes interface.]
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