Chapter 82: Ning Tian’s Crush? Seriously?

"Are you sure you want to challenge Qianran?" Yan Shaozhe paused, looking at Dai Huabin with interest.

The other teachers were intrigued as well.

Aside from Zhou Yi, Qianran's homeroom teacher, most of the outer court faculty, including Dean Du Weilun, were not familiar with Qianran. Since joining Shrek Academy, Qianran had primarily been in contact with figures like Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er.

"Dean, I believe I am the true top freshman!" Dai Huabin declared proudly. From the moment he entered Shrek Academy, he had seen himself as the top of his class. Winning in the finals against other teams was proof of his strength. He was one of the few freshmen to reach Soul Elder and had been promised a core disciple seat upon joining.

Hearing Dai Huabin's confident words, everyone was momentarily taken aback.

Ning Tian and Wu Feng, who had sneaked in to watch the match, both frowned slightly, clearly annoyed with Dai Huabin. Ning Tian's martial soul was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, which wasn't strong in combat. Wu Feng had decent talent, but her Red Dragon martial soul was weak compared to the White Tiger of Dai Mubai's family line.

Xiao Xiao had good potential but was far less powerful than Dai Huabin. Qianran himself wondered how these so-called prodigies trained.

Only Qianran and Wang Dong'er were capable of taking on Dai Huabin, though Wang Dong'er had concealed her true power. In the three-person assessment format, she had a disadvantage facing Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu.

"What's he so smug about?" Wang Dong'er scoffed, not thinking much of Dai Huabin. She was confident she could beat him in a one-on-one match.

"Exactly," Xiao Xiao added, also frustrated that Dai Huabin dared to disregard Qianran.

"I knew someone would challenge you; lucky I brought you along," Yan Shaozhe chuckled, casting a teasing look at Qianran. But the thought of Qianran showing off again made Yan Shaozhe feel a bit disgruntled.

Since Xian Lin'er took Qianran as her student, Yan Shaozhe couldn't help feeling envious whenever he saw them together.

"Too weak," Qianran said, glancing briefly at Dai Huabin. To him, a Soul Elder was no different from a weakling.

Qianran's voice wasn't loud, but everyone present was an expert and could hear him clearly.

Everyone looked at Qianran in surprise. Seeing his handsome face, Ning Tian's heart raced. She had been impressed by Qianran when she saw him fend off Bei Bei outside the freshman dormitory, and she'd had a crush on him since then.

But did he really just say Dai Huabin was weak? Too weak?

If Dai Huabin were truly weak, he wouldn't have been able to defeat Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao in the finals.

Beside Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu's beautiful eyes widened, surprised that anyone would dare to challenge Dai Huabin. He was highly talented, his potential comparable to that of his ancestor, Dai Mubai.

"What did you say? Do you even know who I am?" Dai Huabin's expression darkened. Even if Qianran was strong, he couldn't be that much stronger. It was rare for a freshman to even reach Soul Elder, and in previous years, such a student could easily claim the top spot.

"Dai Huabin of the Dai family from Star Luo Empire, White Tiger martial soul, three-ring Soul Elder. What of it? Do you think you're impressive?" Qianran replied calmly. Dai Huabin was no different from his ancestor, Dai Mubai. Zhu Lu, on the other hand, was quite remarkable.

Qianran glanced at the girl beside Dai Huabin, admiring her curvy figure, slender waist, and beautiful black hair. He had always liked the Zhu family sisters, Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun, in the novels, so he had a bit of a bias toward Zhu family girls. Zhu Lu was indeed attractive—while not a peerless beauty, she was certainly lovely.

Zhu Lu's cheeks flushed slightly under Qianran's gaze.

With his good looks and distinguished bearing, Qianran's attention left Zhu Lu a bit flustered.

Damn it!

Dai Huabin was infuriated. Qianran's words alone were offensive enough, but now he was openly staring at his fiancée in front of everyone. Not only that, but Dai Huabin clearly understood the look in Qianran's eyes!

That wolfish gaze seemed like it wanted to devour Zhu Lu.

This was an outright provocation!

And considering Qianran knew Dai Huabin's background, he should also be aware that Zhu Lu was his fiancée. For centuries, it had been common knowledge that the Dai and Zhu families followed this arrangement.

"This guy is such a lecher," Wang Dong'er muttered, pouting. Seeing Qianran eyeing another girl made her annoyed.

"Young Master, Dai Huabin is so arrogant," Wu Feng said, clearly displeased with Dai Huabin's conceit. She felt that their loss to Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu was more a matter of the assessment structure than skill. The three-person assessment format didn't favor pure support-type soul masters like Ning Tian. Even with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's support, the group was left with only two combat-capable soul masters, one of whom had to constantly protect Ning Tian. A five-person format would have allowed them to showcase the pagoda's full potential, and Wu Feng was confident they wouldn't have lost as easily.

"Exactly. Who does he think he is, looking down on Qianran?" Ning Tian clenched her small fists, looking at Qianran standing beside Xian Lin'er with admiration. She knew Qianran had become Xian Lin'er's disciple.

Qianran's talent was dazzling, though word of this hadn't spread among the freshmen yet.

"Young Master, what's so great about Qianran anyway? He's always flirting around," Wu Feng sighed, feeling exasperated. She couldn't understand why Ning Tian acted like a lovesick girl around Qianran. She had secretly helped Ning Tian send two love letters to him, but he had completely ignored them. Yet Ning Tian still seemed determined.

"It's not his fault he attracts so much attention; he's just that outstanding," Ning Tian replied, defending him.

Wu Feng sighed, feeling a pang of jealousy. Ning Tian had never even spoken to Qianran, only knowing him through stories and occasional glances from afar. Still, Ning Tian was captivated by him. To be in the same class as Qianran, she had even requested a transfer from the Dean during the class allocations.

Normally, after the assessment, offense- and control-type soul masters would be assigned to Class One, with support- and agility-type soul masters in other classes. But Ning Tian had used her family influence to secure her spot in Class One.

Wu Feng had thought Ning Tian was joking, but it turned out she was dead serious.

(End of Chapter)