Douluo Continent: The Eye of Truth

Chapter 11 A Bizarre Lesson

Soon, after an hour had passed, Huo Yuhao had completed one hundred laps at a steady pace, staying at the front of the group without falling behind or standing out too much.

As is customary, Zhou Yi still selected a few trainees who had not completed the running task and expelled them.

As usual, Zhou Yi selected several students who failed to complete the task. Some of them were spoiled rich kids, while others were students who were unable to persevere due to their weak constitution.

The reason for adopting this method was to demonstrate her iron-fisted approach to the new students, and also to screen out the "chickens" who could be used to "intimidate the monkeys." After all, if no one slacked off, physical ability alone could shut out a few people.

Several students who were named left angrily and went to the academic affairs office to complain.

However, in Shrek Academy, which is hailed as the best in the continent, students' complaints and dissatisfaction often fail to shake the academy's ironclad rules.

Even though some within the academy had reservations about Zhou Yi's actions, they maintained a consistent stance when addressing the students. After all, Zhou Yi was a teacher at Shrek Academy, and her behavior represented the academy's authority and dignity.

The other freshmen, seeing that Zhou Yi had expelled them without any mercy, did not look too good, but they were clearly intimidated by Zhou Yi.

However, Huo Yuhao remained unusually calm about all of this. In his eyes, Zhou Yi's so-called difficulties were nothing more than child's play.

He was not one of those eleven or twelve-year-old freshmen; his worldview and way of thinking were already mature and stable, and he would not be easily swayed by Zhou Yi.

He couldn't possibly be led by the nose by Zhou Yi and end up like Huo Yuhao in the original story, a golden brand promoted by Shrek Academy.

After establishing his authority, he glanced at the group of students with a cold smile and said, "Alright, all of you, go back to your dorms to change your clothes, and then come to the classroom for class. I'm only giving you fifteen minutes."

After saying that, Zhou Yi turned around and walked directly towards the teaching building.

At this moment, all the freshmen scattered like birds and beasts, not daring to delay any longer, and dragged their tired bodies back to their dormitories as fast as they could.

Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were no exception. However, Wang Dong was surprised to find that Huo Yuhao, like himself, had not sweated much. Obviously, the hundred laps he had just completed were nothing to him.

Huo Yuhao even seemed to be in better condition than himself, because he had also consumed a lot of soul power and physical strength after running a hundred laps, while Huo Yuhao obviously still had plenty of energy left. He should have only consumed soul power and had not yet started to exhaust his physical strength.

"How did you do that? Aren't you only at level twelve soul power?" Wang Dong asked like a curious child.

"It's a secret," Huo Yuhao replied calmly, then entered the dormitory. Wang Dong stood at the door, reluctant to go in, but Huo Yuhao didn't say anything more. He simply closed the door, cleaned himself up, and changed into his school uniform.

As he walked out of the dormitory, he casually tossed Wang Dong a clean towel and said, "Alright, go inside. I won't pry into your secrets, and you shouldn't pry into mine, understand?"

Wang Dong hesitated for a moment, but nodded and took the towel into the dormitory. She quickly changed her clothes and came out. Then Huo Yuhao led Wang Dong leisurely towards the classroom.

"Hey, why are you so relaxed? Aren't you afraid that perverted old hag will throw another tantrum?" Wang Dong asked, somewhat puzzled.

"A person cannot stand without integrity. Since she said it would be a quarter of an hour, I believe she won't go back on her word when she needs to establish her authority over everyone. There's still plenty of time before the quarter of an hour is up."

Huo Yuhao answered calmly, while also knowing in his heart that he was not afraid of being expelled, because he had plenty of choices and places to go.

Moreover, if he were really expelled, there would be plenty of places where he could start over. In any case, if that happened, it would be Tang San who would be anxious, not himself.

Upon hearing this, Wang Dong nodded thoughtfully, seemingly digesting the meaning behind Huo Yuhao's words.

"Everyone's actions are aimed at achieving their own goals. Even when dealing with a madman, a calm analysis of his actions can reveal the logic behind his madness."

"By examining his behavioral logic and personality, we can naturally analyze his ultimate goal through his actions."

"The only thing this perverted old hag did in this lesson was establish her authority."

"Think carefully about her aura when she first appeared, how she borrowed Shrek Academy's motto, and how she displayed her cultivation as a Soul Emperor. Then she used physical punishment to influence people's hearts, and finally she used the example of killing the chicken to scare the monkey to intimidate everyone."

"Essentially, all of her actions were for one purpose: to establish her authority. She wanted to use her authority to tame everyone in the class, or at least to break down the arrogance in everyone's hearts."

Huo Yuhao spoke candidly about this, then looked at Wang Dong and said, "But honestly, think about it carefully, do you really think everyone will buy into this? She's just a Soul Emperor, haven't you met her? Do you really think she's good enough for you? So can you tell me, what kind of person do you think Zhou Yi is?"

Wang Dong frowned and began to think, her steps involuntarily slowing down. But before she could speak, they had already arrived at the classroom.

After everyone took their seats, a quarter of an hour passed quickly, and Zhou Yi indeed arrived at the classroom on time as she had said.

He then walked to the front of the classroom and addressed the remaining students, saying, "We'll begin class now. I'm generally satisfied with your performance on the test just now, but this is just the beginning. After all, running is only the simplest assessment."

He then glanced around and said to Huo Yuhao, who was sitting in the corner, "Huo Yuhao, stand up and state your soul power level."

"Level 12." Huo Yuhao stood up and said in a calm and clear voice.

Meanwhile, the other students looked rather strange upon hearing this, but none of them dared to whisper among themselves because Zhou Yi was present.

That is, they all know that the minimum admission standard for Shrek Academy is level 15 soul power, and some students who have noticed Huo Yuhao are even more puzzled.

That is, during the previous running test, Huo Yuhao's ranking was not bad, and could even be considered excellent, which is not something a level twelve soul master could do.

"Huo Yuhao's soul power level is only level twelve, but I can tell you that Huo Yuhao is very outstanding. He originally entered Shrek Academy as a special guest student without taking the entrance exam."

"Even so, he still passed Shrek Academy's practical assessment with an excellent score, as you should have noticed during the run."

Zhou Yi coldly surveyed the crowd once more: "So, even a level 12 Soul Master can complete this task, so why can't you?"

"Those who didn't complete the running task have been dismissed by me, but I hope you remember them and don't become like them, dismissed by me."

"Then, although Huo Yuhao's soul power level is not high, before he was eliminated due to the school's internal assessment mission, he was a Shrek Academy student just like you. No one should bring up this issue."

"Alright, Huo Yuhao, please sit down. Let's begin the lesson now."

Huo Yuhao sat down directly and began to ponder Zhou Yi's intentions.

"It's a bit troublesome, but not a big problem, although I was pulled up by Zhou Yi and used as a target because of my soul power."

"I reckon the other trainees will see me as a major threat. After all, it would be embarrassing if they did worse than me, the lowest in soul power. But there's no need to care about these fellow trainees."

Zhou Yi then began to teach in an orderly manner. She first brought up the theory of the way of attack and defense of soul masters again. Unsurprisingly, the unlucky Wang Dong was chosen to answer the question again.

"Today's first lesson is about the way of offense and defense for Soul Masters. Because of their Martial Soul abilities, Soul Masters have been divided into the Power Attack type, Agility Attack type, Support type, Food type, Control type, and Defense type since ancient times."

"Among Soul Masters, there are schools that specialize in one aspect to the extreme, as well as those that develop in a balanced way, and so on."

"Then Wang Dong, stand up and tell me, among the various elemental soul masters, who is better at offense, and who is better at defense and support?"

After standing up, Wang Dong replied directly: "Naturally, the offensive, agile, and control systems are more inclined towards offense, while the support, food, and defense systems are more inclined towards defense."

"Idiot, sit down." Zhou Yi waved her hand, and then, accompanied by a powerful pressure of soul force, she made Wang Dong shut up and sit back down.

"This answer would have been fine more than four thousand years ago, before the Sun Moon Continent clashed with our Douluo Continent. But today, this answer is utterly wrong."

Zhou Yi looked at Huo Yuhao and said, "Huo Yuhao, tell me why."

Huo Yuhao frowned and stood up: "I think Wang Dong's answer is correct."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow, her gaze turning slightly colder, but she did not interrupt, only gesturing for Huo Yuhao to continue.

"Soul tools have indeed narrowed the gap between soul masters of different systems to some extent, but their essence remains unchanged."

"From a close-combat perspective, give a powerful attack-type Soul Master a powerful close-combat Soul Tool, and also give a support-type Soul Master a powerful close-combat Soul Tool."

"With two soul tools of equal power and two soul masters of similar cultivation levels and soul ring configurations, the outcome is self-evident. A power-attack type soul master can still easily defeat a support type soul master by combining the soul tool with the advantage of their own martial soul."

"It only increases the possibility of being injured by their desperate counterattack, but in terms of both physical attributes and soul skill coordination, offensive soul masters are far superior to support soul masters, so it will not lead to a reversal of offense and defense."

"Even if the battle range is expanded, as long as it doesn't reach a distance where the Soul Master's original Soul Ring combat system and combat skills are completely crushed."

"Therefore, it is beyond doubt that offensive, agile, and control-type Soul Masters excel at attacking, while food-type, support-type, and defense-type Soul Masters excel at defending."

"Even if it really comes down to a situation where the battle can only be decided by a remote soul tool, then at this point, regardless of which element one belongs to, the concept of a soul master has essentially been blurred."

"What is being used now is not the Soul Master's own ability, but the ability to manufacture Soul Tools and the ability to sustain. This cannot be confused with the original six major factions and should be brought up separately."

"If it's for specialization or coordination, the effect of a Soul Master of a certain type using a Soul Tool of that type will definitely be far greater than the effect of a Soul Master of other types using one."

"That concludes my answer." After saying this, Huo Yuhao looked at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi was stunned and speechless. After all, her reason for bringing up the soul tool was simply to belittle soul masters and to promote Shrek Academy's educational policy.

Aside from the occasional mention of soul tools to Fan Yu, she herself was just a traditional soul master and didn't value soul tools much.

If she were to actually debate with Huo Yuhao, she was momentarily at a loss for words.

Finally, Zhou Yi frowned and said stiffly, "Sit down. What you're saying only applies to Soul Masters below level 50."

"However, the cultivation of a Soul Master involves constantly developing and strengthening one's physical attributes, while also choosing powerful and excellent Soul Rings. Soul Tools can only narrow the gap between Soul Masters in the early stages."

"Even powerful soul tools can only be used by strong individuals. When strong individuals are paired with soul tools, they become even more formidable."

"The blurring of offense and defense is what I wanted to say, but what I want to tell you is that Shrek Academy does not cultivate those trashy Soul Masters from the outside world."

"Everyone who leaves Shrek Academy must be the elite of the elite. Over the next three months, my main training for you will focus on physical fitness."

"No matter who you are, what your background is, or how talented you are, if you can't pass my test in three months, then get out of here."

That concludes this morning's lessons. I suggest you have a good lunch. We'll begin physical training this afternoon. get out of class dismissed.

"Huo Yuhao, come to my office with me." After saying this, Zhou Yi turned and left, even though the bell for the end of get out of class had not yet rung.

Watching the other person's departing figure, Huo Yuhao helplessly stood up and followed.

"It started strong but ended weakly. What was she even talking about? What does this ending have to do with the topic she mentioned at the beginning?"

"I thought she might offer some other points to refute it, but I guess she just heard a rough outline from Fan Yu."

As Huo Yuhao passed by Wang Dong, he glanced at Wang Dong, whose eyes were filled with confusion and a clear sense of stupidity. Clearly, Wang Dong was bewildered by Zhou Yi's inexplicable teaching.

"Hopefully you'll understand things better later, at least not like in the original story where you get sold out and then still pay the seller for it," Huo Yuhao sighed inwardly.

(End of this chapter)