Douluo Continent: Little Huo Niang Taken Away by Di Tian

"Teacher! Master!" Xuan Ziwen changed out of his protective suit and ran over excitedly to ask for credit.

Kong Deming squinted at his bulging pockets: "Alright, alright, stop trying to take credit. What's bulging in your pockets? Hand it over."

Xuan Ziwen froze instantly, and cold sweat poured down his face.

Under Kong Mingde's murderous gaze, he tremblingly pulled out a lump of something wrapped in layers of soul power from his pocket—a small, crystal-clear piece of extreme ice that exuded a chilling aura.

"Master Kong... I was just thinking of taking it back to study its crystal structure..." Xuan Ziwen weakly defended himself.

"Research my ass!" Kong Deming was so angry his mustache stood on end. "How many times have I told you, experimental products are strictly prohibited from being kept!"

Xuan Ziwen said with a bitter face, "I wouldn't dare, Elder Kong..."

"If there's a next time," Kong Deming brandished his shovel, pointing menacingly at the mess on the ground, "from now on, you'll be responsible for cleaning all the toilets in Mingde Hall!"

The ice shards in the underground laboratory were finally cleared away. Xuan Ziwen rushed back to his workstation immediately, his pen tip flying across the special paper, making a rapid "shush" sound.

"Here you go, Yutong." Xuan Ziwen handed over a drawing still smelling of ink without looking up. "This is the core formation of that 'Extreme Ice Cannon' from earlier. Take it home and look at it tonight. Ask me if you don't understand anything tomorrow."

Huo Yutong took the blueprint, carefully folded it, and put it into her soul-guiding storage ring, her eyes filled with gratitude: "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

The lab returned to its usual bustling state, but for those heavy smokers, life was far from easy.

Kong Mingde issued an order: Smoking is forbidden in front of Huo Yutong.

One of the senior students was craving a cigarette and couldn't resist. While Huo Yutong was in the restroom, he quickly took out a cigarette and lit it.

He had just taken a sip and hadn't even had a chance to swallow when he caught a glimpse of Huo Yutong returning. Startled, his hand trembled, and the cigarette butt burned his finger.

He hurriedly stubbed out his cigarette, looked around, and like a thief, wrapped the ashes in three layers of tissue paper before stuffing them into the deepest trash can.

After the news spread, a researcher from Ye Yulin's lab next door came over mysteriously.

"Hey bro, got it all pent up?" The researcher chuckled, pulled out an exquisite cigarette case from his pocket, opened the lid, and inside were several thick cigars.

"Who said you can't smoke? Confucius said you can't smoke 'smoke,' but he didn't say you can't eat 'food.'"

"What do you mean?" The old smoker senior brother looked completely bewildered.

"Our new labmate, He Caitou, is a food-type Soul Master. His Martial Soul is this thing—a cigar." The researcher proudly handed him one. "Take it and smoke it directly. No need to light it. This is food, not smoke!"

The old smoker put it in his mouth with some skepticism, and the next second, a rich aroma filled his mouth, but there was not a trace of tar or smoke.

After taking the last puff, the cigar actually turned into a speck of light and disappeared.

"A divine object!" The old smoker was so moved he almost cried. "Now Old Kong has no reason to scold us! Is there any more? I'll buy some to share with the brothers."

"That's right, Old Ye said that they've put in the work, so they should be paid. Come on, I'll take you to He Caitou's place to get the goods."

The next morning, as soon as Kong Deming stepped into the laboratory, his brows furrowed.

A faint aroma of cigars filled the air, but not a trace of smoke was visible.

He looked closely and, good heavens, those good-for-nothings were sitting in a row, each with a large cigar in hand, puffing away and looking completely satisfied.

"You lot have been ignoring what I said!" Kong Deming roared, startling the few cigars he was smoking so much that they almost fell to the ground.

Before Huo Yutong could explain, her senior brothers all chimed in with their own excuses:

"Teacher! Please let us explain!"

"This isn't a cigarette!"

"This is food!"

"That's right! A high-energy nutritional supplement made by a food-type Soul Master!"

Kong Deming chuckled in exasperation, then walked over with his hands on his hips: "Fine, then you tell me what's going on, why is this food still smoking?"

After some "rigorous" scientific analysis, it turned out that it was just a group of grown men surrounding an old man and acting like a scoundrel. Kong Deming finally understood.

This thing doesn't need fire; it's a physical entity formed from condensed soul power. Once you absorb it, it's gone. It can indeed be considered "food."

He waved his hand helplessly, but his lips twitched involuntarily: "Fine, fine, you bunch of old foxes, you'd go to such lengths just to have a smoke. From now on... you can eat cigars."

"Thank you, teacher!" everyone cheered.

These past few days, the most bewildered person has been He Caitou.

At first, it was just people from the lab next door asking questions. Later, Kong Mingde's disciples came, and then even Jing Hongchen's disciples came.

Every morning, a long queue forms in front of the main entrance of Mingdetang. A group of people place empty cigarette boxes on his table, with money inside and a note attached with their name: "Brother Caitou, the usual, ten cigarettes, please."

Looking at the mountain of soul coins, He Caitou sighed helplessly, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "Fine, I'm not going to be a soul master anymore. I'll just sell cigarettes instead."

From then on, Mingdetang added an unwritten rule: cigars are served at seven o'clock in the morning, first come, first served, no credit allowed.

Every time He Caitou recalls this experience, he feels an urge to write a book titled "My Years Selling Cigars at Mingdetang".

…………

The atmosphere at Sun Moon Royal Academy is completely different from the practical teaching style of Shrek Academy.

Here, the Soul Master is the core, and everything serves the Soul Tool.

On Monday, Ning Tian and Xiao Xiao's brains were almost overloaded.

The morning session was "Advanced Mathematics and Soul Power Calculus," where the professor taught how to use precise data models to calculate the decay curve of soul power output. This was followed by "Research on Martial Soul Theory and Mutation Mechanism," a dry theoretical course that could lull one into a drowsy state. The afternoon session was an even tougher battle, with "A Complete Explanation of Rare Soul Beast Races on the Continent" paired with "The History of Soul Guidance Device Development," the heavy books slamming onto the table with a thud.

I finally made it to Friday, and the last column on the schedule read: Physical Training.

This was their only solace during the week. However, five minutes after the school bell rang, a burly middle-aged man with a police baton at his waist walked in.

"The PE teacher is unavailable today, so I'll be filling in." The burly man patted the blackboard. "I'm the head of the security department, so this course will be changed to—'Explanation of the College Safety Regulations'."

Below the podium, Ning Tian and Xiao Xiao exchanged a glance, then both collapsed to the ground in despair.

Later they learned that the legendary PE teacher did exist, but only as a name on the final exam papers.

At the Royal Academy of Sun and Moon, physical education classes are never used to train the body, but rather to fill the gaps in academic classes.