Soul Land: Xiao Yan Reincarnates as Huo Yuhao

The school bell rang once again, signaling the start of class.

Stepping out into the warm sunlight, Xiao Yan felt an overwhelming sense of comfort after spending hours in his room. He raised his hand to shield his face from the light, peeking through his fingers at the expansive, clear sky.

"Hopefully, the homeroom teacher of the new first-year Class Seven won't be like that Zhou Yi," he muttered, taking a deep breath of fresh air. Following the path, he made his way toward the classroom.

Upon entering, Xiao Yan, as a new transfer student, briefly introduced himself to his classmates. Yet, rather than showing interest in his background, most of them seemed more fascinated by his appearance and attire.

"Why is he carrying such a big ruler? It doesn't look like a weapon, and it's definitely not a soul tool. What's it for?"

"His eyes are so nice!"

"His face is kinda thin, skin fair, with long black hair flowing down his back… He kinda looks like a girl and seems easy to bully."

"…."

Amidst these remarks, Xiao Yan stood awkwardly in the center of the classroom. But as someone with a mental age well over twenty, he shrugged off their comments without much care.

Just then, a man in his forties walked into the classroom. His appearance was plain, and he carried none of Zhou Yi's intimidating aura. He had a friendly, gentle smile, a stark contrast to Zhou Yi, immediately putting Xiao Yan at ease.

"What's going on? Where's Teacher Cai? Did we get a new teacher?" one of the students inquired.

The man counted the students, then smiled and introduced himself, "Hello, everyone. I'm Wang Yan. Your teacher, Cai Kun, had some family matters to attend to and will be away for some time. I'll be your acting homeroom teacher in the meantime."

"Hello, Teacher Wang," the students greeted him respectfully.

Wang Yan chuckled and said, "No need for formalities. I prefer to treat my students as friends. So until Teacher Cai returns, consider yourselves my friends. And don't worry—I won't make things difficult for you."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan's perspective on Shrek Academy shifted slightly. Just as Yao Lao had said, one person's behavior didn't represent the whole institution. He greeted Wang Yan with a respectful nod and a bow.

Noticing Xiao Yan standing without a seat, Wang Yan thought for a moment and said, "You must be Xiao Yan, right? The school administration has informed me about you. Since Teacher Cai already assigned seats, only the spot by the window in the back row is free. You can take that seat for now."

Xiao Yan nodded and took his seat by the window. Next to him sat two girls who looked almost identical. Both had blue hair, fair and rosy cheeks, and appeared even younger than Xiao Yan.

"Twins?" Xiao Yan wondered.

"Hi there! I'm Lan Susu, and this is Lan Luoluo," Lan Susu introduced herself cheerfully.

"Hello, I'm Xiao Yan. I introduced myself earlier," he replied, scratching his nose awkwardly.

Lan Luoluo blushed and said shyly, "Your eyes are really pretty, like they're sparkling."

Once everyone settled down, Wang Yan started the class without any of the harsh antics Zhou Yi had pulled. Instead, he began by introducing Shrek Academy's history, giving the students a sense of belonging.

After sharing the academy's history, Wang Yan transitioned to discussing soul tools. "As you all know, the rapid development of soul tools in the past few thousand years has dramatically reshaped the entire continent. Soul tools have also changed the way soul masters train. With a powerful enough soul tool, even a food-type soul master could play a combat role on par with an assault-type battle soul master—perhaps even surpass it."

"Likewise, an assault-type battle soul master with a strong defensive soul tool could gain formidable defensive power."

"The emergence of soul tools has, in a way, diminished the significance of soul rings. With enough soul power, a soul master can use soul tools to make up for the lack of soul ring skills. Consequently, many soul masters today focus solely on raising their soul power. In some nations, soul masters even resort to taking drugs to boost their power, neglecting the stability of their foundations."

"The trend of focusing on soul tools and soul power rather than soul rings—does anyone know when this shift started?"

One burly student raised his hand. "Teacher, I know this! Around four thousand years ago, when the Sun-Moon Continent collided with the Douluo Continent, war soon followed. Despite using Tang Sect's hidden weapons, the Three Empires' armies were defeated by the Sun-Moon Empire's forces."

"In the end, the principal of Shrek Academy at the time called upon sixty titled Douluo from across the continent. Leading an army, they defeated the Sun-Moon Empire and won the war."

"It was only after this that soul masters on the continent began to study and adopt soul tools."

"Correct," Wang Yan nodded, setting his book down and contemplating for a moment. "Most people know about this war, but here's a question: Why did the Three Empires initially lose? Was it really only because of the strength of soul tools?"

The burly student thought for a moment, then said, "Maybe it was because the Three Empires weren't united at first, and they didn't have enough titled Douluo or soul masters, which led to their initial defeat?"

Wang Yan maintained his warm smile and said, "That's a reasonable answer. Any other thoughts?"

Xiao Yan raised his hand and, standing up, gathered his thoughts before speaking, "I believe there was another reason the Three Empires lost: outdated social structure."

"Before coming to the academy, I read some ancient texts that mentioned a group called the Spirit Hall, which existed on the Douluo Continent tens of thousands of years ago. At its peak, Spirit Hall had a great number of titled Douluo under its command. If not for some unforeseeable circumstances, they would have unified the continent long ago."

"So, if Spirit Hall had still existed four thousand years ago…"