The woman's voice was soft, almost intoxicating in its gentleness. Even someone with Xiao Yan's composure felt a momentary daze. After a heartbeat, he turned toward the sound, his gaze settling on the figure inside the tent.
Standing in the shade was a woman in a green dress, a warm smile gracing her features. Her eyes were kind, her gaze sweeping over the crowd with a softness that felt like a cool stream flowing over parched earth. It was the kind of warmth that drew people in, impossible to resist.
She appeared slightly older than Xiao Yu, her figure full and graceful, carrying the refined elegance that only maturity could bring. This kind of natural charm was something girls like Xiao Yu and the others couldn't hope to match.
Xiao Yan studied her briefly. In terms of raw beauty, she might be a touch less striking than Xun'er or Xiao Yu, but that effortless, genuine warmth was something else entirely. She embodied the very idea of woman as water—gentle, fluid, and utterly captivating.
After the woman appeared, Xiao Yan noticed that several of the male students inside the tent had gone noticeably quiet. Their gazes lingered on her with a warmth that went beyond mere respect.
Xiao Yan shook his head with a hint of amusement. It seemed these guys had a soft spot for their instructor. But he couldn't blame them—some younger men were simply drawn to mature women. Wasn't that what people called a "mommy complex"?
"Instructor Ruolin! Yu'er missed you so much!"
Spotting the gentle woman, Xiao Yu lit up and rushed forward, wrapping her arms around Ruolin's waist in a tight hug.
Ruolin laughed, returning the embrace. "How was your break, Yu'er?"
"Pretty good," Xiao Yu replied with a grin. She leaned in and whispered in Ruolin's ear, teasing, "You're getting gentler by the day, Instructor. If this keeps up, the man you eventually choose won't stand a chance—he'll be completely trapped in your warmth."
A faint blush crept across Ruolin's cheeks. She shook her head helplessly, patting Xiao Yu on the head. Then she looked toward Xiao Yan and the others, her smile easy and inviting. "These are the ones you brought? They seem promising."
"Of course they are," Xiao Yu said proudly, puffing out her chest. She shot a venomous glance toward Luo Bu and added in a lower voice, "That guy's gotten more arrogant than ever."
Ruolin sighed softly. "You kept provoking him. You know how he feels about you. Don't expect him to take it lightly when you're so friendly with other men."
"That just makes me dislike him more," Xiao Yu huffed.
Ruolin shook her head, releasing Xiao Yu. She stepped forward and addressed the group of new students still standing in the sun. "All right, everyone. Come inside."
At her words, the drenched and exhausted students practically scrambled into the shade. Whatever one thought of the Academy's harsh initiation methods, they certainly had an effect—the new students' arrogance had been thoroughly deflated, and they now huddled in the corners, eyes darting nervously around the tent.
Ruolin's gaze swept over them all, warm and kind, before settling on Xiao Yan. She gave him a gentle smile. "Luo Bu doesn't mean any real harm. He was just a bit upset earlier and acted rashly. Don't hold it against him."
Xiao Yan scratched the back of his head and flashed a sheepish grin. "Instructor, you're too kind. I'm the most easygoing person around—of course I wouldn't hold a grudge."
Almost everyone in the tent rolled their eyes inwardly. Easygoing? The man who had just knocked someone out cold was calling himself easygoing?
Ruolin studied him for a long moment, her lashes flickering. Something told her that in all her years of teaching, she was about to encounter her most difficult student yet.
Shaking off the thought, she instructed two male students to carry the unconscious Ge La inside. She examined his injuries, her brow furrowing slightly as she cast a reproachful glance at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan met her gaze with an innocent expression, looking off to the side as if he had absolutely nothing to do with any of this.
After a moment of thought, Ruolin extended her slender hand. Ignoring the envious stares of the male students, she placed it lightly on Ge La's arm. A soft, water-blue energy flowed from her palm into his body, soothing his disrupted Dou Qi and mending the damage Xiao Yan had caused.
Water-attribute Dou Qi was among the gentlest of all elemental types. Without medicinal pills, it was the ideal choice for healing—often called a "living medicine" in the field. In many mercenary companies, a member who practiced water-attribute techniques was considered essential, since only water and wood-attribute Dou Qi could buy enough time for a wounded ally to recover.
Under Ruolin's nourishing energy, Ge La regained consciousness with a soft groan. He opened his eyes, and when he saw Ruolin smiling down at him, a flicker of something unreadable—admiration, perhaps—passed through his gaze. Then, remembering what had happened, he scrambled to his feet, his eyes darting away from Xiao Yan in embarrassment.
"Feeling better?" Ruolin asked gently.
"Thank you, Instructor," Ge La said, his voice full of gratitude.
"Good." Ruolin smiled and returned to her seat at the head of the tent. She surveyed the new students with a pleasant expression, then raised her hand. A flash of light erupted from the Spatial Ring on her finger, and a green sheepskin scroll and a pen appeared in her palm.
Lifting her gaze, she spoke in a languid, easy tone. "Congratulations, all of you. You've passed the preliminary assessment and are now officially students of Jia Nan Academy. However, the Academy needs to rank your potential, so I need to know your current cultivation level."
"The eighth stage of Dou Power corresponds to F-rank potential—this is the Academy's standard."
"The ninth stage of Dou Power is E-rank."
"A One-Star Dou Warrior is D-rank, a Two-Star is C-rank, and so on. The highest possible rating is S-rank, which corresponds to a Five-Star Dou Warrior under the age of twenty."
She paused, a playful smile on her lips. "Over the past decade, Jia Nan Academy has only encountered one student with S-rank potential. That little prodigy is quite something within the Academy now." Her eyes sparkled with amusement. "I'm not expecting to find another like her, but if I could get a B-rank or C-rank student, I'd be quite satisfied."
As she spoke, her gaze drifted—almost imperceptibly—toward Xiao Yan and Xun'er. In her perception, these two were the only ones in the tent she couldn't quite read. Based on her instincts, their potential ratings were unlikely to be lower than C-rank.
She wasn't the only one thinking this. Everyone in the tent who had witnessed Xiao Yan's earlier display was silently wondering just what rank this seemingly monstrous kid would earn.
"All right, let's begin," Ruolin said with a smile, pen poised over the scroll. "Starting from the left—name, rank, age."
Seeing the registration about to begin, Xiao Yu and the others settled into comfortable seats nearby, watching with interest.
"Hey, Yu'er, what rank do you think your Xiao Yan will get?" several of the girls whispered, huddling around Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu considered for a moment, pursing her lips. She'd never actually seen Xiao Yan take a formal test, so she didn't want to overstate things and risk embarrassing him. It was strange—somewhere along the way, she'd started caring about his feelings. In the past, she would have reveled in his misfortune.
After a brief hesitation, she offered a conservative estimate. "I'd say... C-rank or B-rank, maybe."
"Wow, that's pretty good! That puts him in the upper tier of new students. The best we ever managed was D-rank," the girls said, their voices tinged with envy.
Xiao Yu smiled but said nothing, turning her attention back to the assessment in progress.
"Hei Yan. Dou Power, ninth stage. Age twenty."
A dark-skinned youth at the front of the line blushed as he announced his details.
Ruolin nodded with a smile and quickly noted them down. "E-rank."
"Lin Dun. Dou Power, eighth stage. Age nineteen."
"F-rank."
"Ke Li. Dou Power, ninth stage. Age seventeen."
"E-rank."
One by one, the new students stepped forward to report their information. Occasionally, another newcomer who had just passed the outer square's preliminary test would stumble in, glance nervously at the seniors, and hurry to join the line.
Of the nearly twenty students who had gone before Xiao Yan, most were below the Dou Warrior level. A few had reached the ninth stage of Dou Power but had fallen back to the eighth after failing to break through.
The strongest among them was a seventeen-year-old One-Star Dou Warrior—D-rank potential. Even so, Ruolin was pleased. Seventeen and already a Dou Warrior showed genuine promise.
When the student before him finished, every eye in the tent turned to the young man who had been so bored he was on the verge of dozing off.
"Brother Xiao Yan, it's your turn." Xun'er tugged gently at his sleeve, pulling him back from the brink of sleep.
"Oh." Xiao Yan snapped awake, quickly wiping his mouth—though there was no drool. He looked up to find Instructor Ruolin watching him with an amused smile. He grinned awkwardly, counted on his fingers, then flashed his teeth. "I'm nowhere near the little prodigy you mentioned, Instructor. After carefully considering my own abilities... I'd say I'm barely A-rank."
The tent went deathly silent.
In the corner, Luo Bu's face twitched rapidly. He hadn't expected this kid—barely sixteen or seventeen—to already be at the same level as him.
Beside him, Ge La's face turned pale, then twisted into a bitter grimace. No wonder he'd been defeated so utterly. The kid had been playing dumb the whole time.
"Yu'er... didn't you say he was only at the third stage of Dou Power?" one of the girls stammered, staring at Xiao Yan.
Before Xiao Yu could respond, a crisp, melodious voice rang out from beside him.
"Xiao Xun'er. Six-Star Dou Warrior. Age... sixteen, I think."
At the front of the tent, Ruolin's pen froze in midair. Her gentle expression finally cracked, revealing open shock.