Time flew by, and the month-long holiday passed in the blink of an eye.
In the early morning, Donghai Academy was revitalized, and the door to the Class Zero classroom was pushed open on time.
Huo Yuhao, Gu Yue, Tang Wulin, and Xie Xie each took their seats, waiting for the arrival of their homeroom teacher, Wu Changkong.
Before long, that cold, snow-white figure appeared at the door on schedule.
However, everyone's gaze involuntarily bypassed Wu Changkong and focused behind him.
There followed a little "tail."
It was a girl who looked no more than eight or nine years old, with a pair of playful blue twin-tails that swayed gently with her steps.
She had a fair, tender, and delicate face like a porcelain doll, and her large eyes flickered with a lively childishness, looking extremely cute.
The members of Class Zero were not entirely unfamiliar with her; they had encountered this girl who used an Ice Staff Spirit during the Riotous Spirit Ascension Platform assessment at the end of last semester.
At this moment, Wu Changkong's cold voice rang out, breaking the silence of the classroom: "This is Xu Xiaoyan, a new Transfer Student in Class Zero."
His gaze swept indifferently over the four below, then glanced at Xu Xiaoyan behind him, saying coldly, "Old rules, go to the training ground first."
Having said that, he turned and walked out of the classroom without any delay.
Huo Yuhao and the others were already used to it and immediately stood up to follow.
Seeing that Xu Xiaoyan seemed to be standing still, as if she hadn't reacted yet, Tang Wulin slowed his pace, took the initiative to walk to her side, and explained gently, "Teacher Wu's personality is just like that; you'll get used to it. Don't mind him."
"Mhm! Thank you."
Xu Xiaoyan nodded. Feeling that the gentle and reliable-looking boy in front of her was easy to talk to, she naturally followed by his side as they walked out together.
"My name is Xu Xiaoyan," she initiated the conversation, her voice crisp. "I saw you guys at the Spirit Ascension Platform before, but I don't know your name yet."
"I'm Tang Wulin," Tang Wulin introduced himself, then pointed to the people ahead. "Walking behind Teacher Wu are Huo Yuhao and Gu Yue, and the one walking next to me is Xie Xie."
"Xie Xie?"
Xu Xiaoyan subconsciously repeated it, thinking the name sounded a bit special, even a little fun.
Xie Xie, hearing this, turned his head with some helplessness and explained, "The second 'Xie' is the 'Xie' from 'encounter'."
He sized up Xu Xiaoyan, recalling the experience at the Spirit Ascension Platform, and a mischievous smile appeared on his face. "I remember you. Back then in the Spirit Ascension Platform, you and your brother were eliminated by us, right?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoyan's small mouth immediately pouted in displeasure, feeling that this Xie Xie was really bringing up the one thing she didn't want to talk about, specifically picking her "sore spot."
Xie Xie seemed oblivious and asked curiously, "By the way, how many rings do you have now?"
Xu Xiaoyan snorted irritably and raised her chin slightly. "One ring!"
"One ring?" Xie Xie's eyes widened. "Only one ring? Then how did you manage to join our Class Zero in the second semester? Teacher Wu actually agreed?"
In his view, a one-ring cultivation was really not enough to join Class Zero; Tang Wulin's one ring was an exception.
Xu Xiaoyan put her hands on her hips, putting on a self-righteous expression, and lowered her voice. "I came in through the back door! I have... connections in the academy!"
She winked and gave Xie Xie a "you know" look. "So, don't you dare provoke me!"
It had to be said that Xie Xie seemed to have an innate talent for roasting people.
Along the way, after just a few short sentences, Xu Xiaoyan was already so angry that her cheeks puffed out, her mouth pouting so much it could almost hang an oil bottle.
Seeing her puffed-up look, Tang Wulin, walking alongside, couldn't help but smooth things over, saying gently, "Xie Xie just has a loose tongue and likes to joke; he's not actually a bad person. You'll realize that once you've been around him for a while."
The group soon arrived at the familiar Soul Guidance Training Ground.Wu Changkong stood in the middle of the field, his cold gaze sweeping across the five current students of Class Zero one by one.
Without any opening remarks, he directly announced today's arrangement: "Combat test. Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan—the three of you are one team."
His gaze turned to Huo Yuhao. "Against Huo Yuhao."
Pausing for a second, he looked at Huo Yuhao and added, "You... are not allowed to use any offensive Spirit Abilities."
Huo Yuhao wasn't surprised by this arrangement, nor did he feel pressured, but he still cooperatively put on an exaggerated look of "difficulty," spreading his hands. "Teacher, this is too targeted towards me, isn't it? Not even allowed to use offensive Spirit Abilities..."
Wu Changkong's expression remained unchanged, clearly unmoved. "Don't forget, you are still a Soul Engineer, but today you are only allowed to use a sword."
The term 'Soul Engineer' was rarely mentioned in the era of Ten Thousand Years Ago.
After all, today's Four Major Professions were split from the Soul Engineers of Ten Thousand Years Ago.
He pondered for a moment and added, "Although yours is not a Sword Spirit, if you can comprehend Sword Intent, your own strength can reach a higher level."
Hearing that their opponent was Huo Yuhao again, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie almost simultaneously showed bitter expressions of shared empathy.
The two of them had "enjoyed" the taste of being completely crushed by Huo Yuhao many times before and knew his terror well.
Even if Huo Yuhao was restricted from using offensive Spirit Abilities, it certainly didn't mean the battle would be any easier.
Only the newcomer, Xu Xiaoyan, was unaware of Huo Yuhao's background.
She blinked her large eyes, looking at her team of three and then at the lone Huo Yuhao, and couldn't help but mutter softly, "Three against one... isn't that a bit unfair?"
Xie Xie, hearing this, painfully supported his forehead with his left hand and sighed, "Yeah, unfair... but unfair to the three of us."
"Huh?" Xu Xiaoyan looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Tang Wulin also shook his head helplessly, not explaining much, only saying softly, "In a moment... you'll understand."
...
Last year when he fought Na'er at Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao had not studied swordplay at all.
The soul tool longsword in his hand was merely a pure tool to him.
Although Wu Changkong was only at the Spirit Emperor level, his understanding and skill in the Dao of the sword were already remarkable.
He did not hold back because Huo Yuhao came from the Spirit Pagoda and still taught him everything he knew.
Under Wu Changkong's systematic and rigorous guidance, Huo Yuhao's swordplay had undergone a complete transformation, moving from ignorant hacking to the threshold of exquisite moves and smooth power delivery.
In Wu Changkong's view, Huo Yuhao was equally brilliant in the Dao of the sword, and he sincerely hoped this Disciple could soon touch upon the "Sword Intent" Realm.
The outcome of the following battle was without suspense; Huo Yuhao won easily.
While having the advantage in Spirit Power, Mental Detection was enough to keep him invincible; the result would be the same no matter how many opponents he faced.
When the battle ended, Xu Xiaoyan stood frozen in place, her small face filled with a look of unbelievable daze.
Huo Yuhao gave her a vivid lesson with his strength, making her understand what a true, despair-inducing genius was.
At the same time, she also completely understood where Tang Wulin and Xie Xie's "deeply aggrieved" expressions from earlier had come from.
Couldn't win... they really couldn't win at all!
However, after a brief sense of frustration, the fighting Spirit in Xu Xiaoyan's eyes did not extinguish; instead, an even brighter flame ignited.
She bit her lip, suddenly looked up at Wu Changkong, and said loudly, "Teacher! I request... another fight tonight!"
Wu Changkong's ice-blue eyes moved slightly, keenly capturing the key information in her words, and he asked directly, "Tonight? Does your Spirit... have special effects at night?"
"Mhm!"
Xu Xiaoyan nodded vigorously.
Wu Changkong thought for a moment and agreed decisively, "Fine. Tonight at the training ground, another battle."
Looking at Xu Xiaoyan's refusal to admit defeat, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but smile, teasing her with a bit of kindness, "Even if we wait until tonight, the result... probably won't change much."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoyan immediately acted like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, waving her small fist at him and retorting angrily, "Hmph! Don't talk so big too early! It won't be too late to say that after we've actually fought tonight!"
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.