Douluo Continent: Apollo, the Sun God King!

Lin Yaoyang turned his head and looked at the person.

It was a boy in a black school uniform, who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old. He was tall and strong, with fair skin, and his slightly chubby face was flushed with anger. The sixth-grade insignia was embroidered on the chest of his uniform.

Xu Sanshi.

Lin Yaoyang's eyes flickered slightly.

Jiang Nannan frowned immediately upon seeing Xu Sanshi, and her good mood vanished instantly.

Tang Ya had already walked over and stood in front of Huo Yuhao: "Xu Sanshi, how dare you bully someone from my Tang Clan?!"

Xu Sanshi pursed his lips, about to say something, when a gentle voice came from the side.

"Xu Sanshi, you bullied my junior brother. You must give me an explanation for what happened today."

Bei Bei arrived at some unknown time. He had a handsome face and a gentle demeanor, but the look in his eyes as he looked at Xu Sanshi was somewhat cold.

"Otherwise, let's go to the Soul Arena and settle this once and for all."

Xu Sanshi snorted, "It's been a long time since we sparred. So what if we go to the Soul Arena? Let's go!"

He turned to walk into the academy, but his gaze inadvertently swept over the small table next to him, and then he stopped in his tracks.

"Nan Nan?!" His eyes lit up instantly, and he strode over. "You're here too! What a coincidence! Want to watch my Soul Battle...?"

"Xu Sanshi," Jiang Nannan's voice was as cold as ice, "I've told you, there's no possibility between us. I already have someone I like, so please don't bother me anymore."

Do you have someone you like?

Wang Dong's eyes darted back and forth between Lin Yaoyang and Jiang Nannan.

Xu Sanshi, however, disagreed. He had heard this sentence many times before, but Jiang Nannan had never said she liked anyone, and had always been alone. He just thought she was making excuses.

"It's okay, Nan Nan, even if you have someone you like, I won't give up!"

After saying that, he turned around and strode into the academy.

Beibei glanced at Jiang Nannan, then at Lin Yaoyang, and followed thoughtfully.

Tang Ya pulled Huo Yuhao, "Little Yuhao, come on, let's go take a look! This level of duel is rare!"

Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment, then packed up his stall and followed Tang Ya.

Lin Yaoyang stood up and reached out his hand to Jiang Nannan.

"Let's go take a look."

Jiang Nannan didn't want to go at first; she didn't want to see Xu Sanshi at all. But when she saw Lin Yaoyang's outstretched hand, she hesitated for a moment, then still offered her own hand.

Back in Lingdou City, Jiang Nannan wasn't bothered by Lin Yaoyang's little actions, but with the Ice Emperor and Snow Emperor watching closely, the two could only hold hands at most.

With both the Ice Emperor and the Snow Emperor absent, Jiang Nannan felt a surge of secret joy, hoping to take this opportunity to advance her career further.

Lin Yaoyang held her hand, and the warmth from his palm made Jiang Nannan's heart skip a beat.

"Let's go," he said.

Wang Dong followed silently behind, watching the two holding hands, and felt a strange tightness in his chest.

Jiang Nannan's classmates wisely did not follow.

The Soul Battle Zone is located in the northwest corner of the Martial Soul System and is one of the liveliest places in Shrek Academy.

The competition here is open to all students; a ticket only costs one Silver Soul Coin.

The arena is hexagonal, with a large open space in the center surrounded by concentric circles of seats that gradually rise in height, accommodating approximately three thousand people. Many people are already seated, all there to watch the duel between Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.

The three of them found a place to sit down.

As luck would have it, Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya were sitting not far from them.

Tang Ya also saw them and curiously came over to ask Huo Yuhao, "Yuhao, how do your two classmates know Jiang Nannan? They seem to have a special relationship."

Huo Yuhao shook his head: "I don't know either. Maybe we knew each other before."

The battle on the field has begun.

Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi are both top students in the outer academy, and their duel is spectacular. Bei Bei's Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Martial Soul is fierce and domineering, while Xu Sanshi's Xuanwu Shield Martial Soul is steady and solid. One attacks and the other defends, making it a close and evenly matched battle.

Lin Yaoyang watched for a while, then his gaze fell on Huo Yuhao.

He saw Huo Yuhao's eyes light up slightly, with a faint white light swirling in his pupils.

Mental detection.

Lin Yaoyang stood up and walked over.

Huo Yuhao was focused on channeling his soul power, preparing to use his mental detection to help Bei Bei find Xu Sanshi's weaknesses.

Suddenly, a hand patted his shoulder.

He trembled with fright and turned around in terror to see Lin Yaoyang's expressionless face.

"Class...class monitor..."

Lin Yaoyang looked down at him, his voice very soft, so that only the two of them could hear it.

"Huo Yuhao, I remember your martial soul is called Spirit Eye, which is an eye, right?"

Huo Yuhao nodded.

"Is your first soul skill a detection-type skill?"

Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat.

How did he know?

Lin Yaoyang continued, "You want to use your first soul skill to help that Beibei, right?"

Huo Yuhao lowered his head, not daring to look him in the eye.

"I...I...just..."

"You're cheating." Lin Yaoyang's voice was calm, without anger or accusation, simply stating a fact.

Huo Yuhao's face turned pale instantly.

"Don't do such despicable things."

Lin Yaoyang patted his shoulder, not too hard, then turned and left.

Huo Yuhao sat there, his lips moved, but he couldn't utter a single word.

His eyes were a little red.

Tang Ya had been focused on the battle on the field and hadn't noticed what was happening here. She excitedly tugged at Huo Yuhao's sleeve, "Little Yuhao, look! Beibei's going to win!"

Lin Yaoyang returned to Jiang Nannan and Wang Dong and said, "Let's go, this match is pointless."

Jiang Nannan nodded; she hadn't wanted to watch anyway. This time, she took Lin Yaoyang's hand proactively.

The two left the Soul Fighting Zone hand in hand.

"What is all this?!" Wang Dong muttered in dissatisfaction, but still followed.

……

After escorting Jiang Nannan back to her dormitory, the two walked back to their room.

Wang Dong lowered his head and remained silent for a long while.

"Hey," she suddenly spoke, "you and that Jiang Nannan... are you really just friends?"

"Um."

"The way she looks at you doesn't seem like she's looking at a friend."

Lin Yaoyang didn't say anything.

Wang Dong waited a while, and seeing that he didn't answer, she muttered again, "Besides, she's quite pretty..."

"It's quite beautiful."

Wang Dong paused for a moment, then quickened her pace to walk ahead of him, saying without turning her head, "Hurry up, we have class tomorrow."

Lin Yaoyang watched her retreating figure, a slight smile playing on his lips, and followed her at a leisurely pace.

Silent all night.

……

The next morning.

Lin Yaoyang and Wang Dong came out of the cafeteria and walked on the campus path.

Wang Dong pulled a loaf of bread from his storage soul tool, took a bite, and said, "I only became bad because I followed you!"

The rules of the college cafeteria prohibit taking food out of the cafeteria. However, there are no tables or chairs in the cafeteria.

So Lin Yaoyang taught her to put the food into a storage soul tool and take it with her.

"You don't have to learn," Lin Yaoyang said, taking a bite of bread. "Nobody's forcing you."

Wang Dong pursed his lips, knowing he couldn't win the argument, so he focused his attention on the bread.

The two ate as they walked. With some time before class, Wang Dong finished his bread, dusted off the crumbs, and said, "Let's go for a walk around Poseidon Lake."

Lin Yaoyang considered the time, then smiled slightly: "Alright, I'll do as you say this once."

The two walked around the freshman teaching building and headed east along the south side of Shrek Square. Soon they arrived at the lakeside path.

After passing through the woods beside the path, the view suddenly opened up before me.

The shimmering Poseidon Lake appeared before them.

The lake water was exceptionally clear, a pure and deep blue, shimmering with tiny golden rays in the morning light. The surface was as calm as a giant mirror, reflecting the blue sky, white clouds, and weeping willows along the shore.

A gentle mist mixed with the fresh scent of herbs and trees wafts over, making you want to take a deep breath.

"So beautiful!" Wang Dong opened his arms and stretched his body vigorously, his face full of rapture.

Lin Yaoyang nodded silently.

Although he didn't have a good impression of Shrek Academy, he had to admit that the scenery here was indeed quite nice.

Wang Dong was admiring the beautiful scenery when suddenly, she seemed to see something.

"Brother Lin, what's that?"

She pointed to a fast-moving red dot on the lake.

It was a red figure, speeding across the water at an astonishing pace. The person hadn't released their martial spirit, yet they moved across the water as if it were flat ground, their speed like an arrow released from a bow.

And judging from the direction they were coming, they were charging straight towards them.

Lin Yaoyang saw it too, and of course he knew who it was.

But he simply said, "I don't know."

Wang Dong's eyes grew brighter and brighter: "This guy looks really strong! Look, he can run on the lake without even releasing his martial spirit!"

She excitedly tugged at Lin Yaoyang's sleeve: "He's so fast! He..."

Her voice suddenly changed.

"Wait! Why hasn't he stopped yet?!"

Wang Dong's eyes widened as he activated his soul power, and azure wings appeared on his back.

Just as it was about to spread its wings and take off, it was already too late.

The red figure was incredibly fast. One second it was in the middle of the lake, the next it was at the shore. The person seemed determined not to stop, hurtling towards them with terrifying heat!

Wang Dong felt a wave of heat wash over her, as if someone had ignited a volcano right in front of her. The vegetation within a radius of dozens of meters instantly turned a scorched yellow, with leaves curling and grasses withering.

Wang Dong's soul power had just been activated when it was shattered by the intense heat. A suffocating sense of oppression enveloped her, and everything went black.

Her body went limp and she collapsed.

Lin Yaoyang caught her and held her in his arms.

The terrifying heat was nothing to him, but not to Wang Dong.

He looked down at Wang Dong in his arms.

While unconscious, her face was pale and her brows were furrowed. Her delicate face had lost its usual arrogance, and she looked as fragile as a porcelain doll.

What a pity... it's still men's clothing.

Lin Yaoyang dismissed this untimely thought, took a deep breath, and then shouted loudly.

"Help! Help!"

His voice was loud and urgent, especially clear in the early morning campus.

"An evil spirit master has broken into the academy! My roommate has been knocked unconscious!"

Hearing the shouts, the surrounding students all turned to look.

Lin Yaoyang immediately activated his martial spirit.

A burst of golden light erupted, revealing a crimson and silver-white mecha covering his entire body, with two pairs of gilded fiery wings unfurling behind him. He held the unconscious Wang Dong in one arm, summoned the Corona Sword with the other, and pointed the tip of the sword directly at the red figure, shouting sharply.

"Damn evil spirit master, how dare you!"

"They dared to break into Shrek Academy in broad daylight and even injured my roommate!"

Without saying a word, Lin Yaoyang immediately pinned a huge label on Ma Xiaotao!

His voice was righteous and stern, his aura imposing, as if he were facing a heinous evil spirit master.

The intense fire pressure emanating from him became the final straw that broke Ma Xiaotao's rationality.

Ma Xiaotao, who was already agitated due to the loss of control over her evil fire, was further stimulated by the suppression of the source of this extreme fire. The evil fire in her body instantly went berserk and raged, as if it would burn her body to ashes.

She let out a heart-wrenching, beast-like roar, and the flames around her suddenly surged, with strange black patterns appearing within the crimson flames.

The last vestige of clarity in his eyes was completely swallowed up, leaving only a destructive ferocity and madness. The murderous aura emanating from his body was several times stronger than before. He looked every bit the evil spirit master who had gone mad and was bloodthirsty.

The onlookers saw the red figure suddenly become even more frenzied, radiating a chilling and ferocious aura, wearing a red mask on his face, and even his eyes were blood red.

Everyone was startled, and became even more convinced that this was the work of an evil spirit master.

"Go and call the teacher!"

"An evil spirit master has broken in!"

"Protect that injured classmate!"