"This nickname is quite fitting! It suits you perfectly. I've always wanted to comment on your peculiar spirit ability but couldn't find the right words. Now I have it."
"Shui Huo, Xia Xuan, hmm, quite fitting."
A gruff voice approached, and a muscular man in a simple vest and jacket appeared. He was not only broad-spoken but also rugged in appearance, with a gaunt face, large, bright, and startlingly vivid eyes, and an unkempt beard. The whole person exuded a bold, unrestrained aura.
With a tall stature, his hands clasped behind his back, he strode steadily, each step firm and resonant. Upon seeing Ying Yanyang, Shuang Yuelian, and Xia Xuan, a broad smile spread across his rugged face. He gestured to the students behind him, signaling them to stand beside the third-year students, then walked up to Ying Yanyang and playfully punched his arm. "Yanyang, your cultivation progress is still too slow," he boomed. "Even Xiao Lian has surpassed you."
"I've told you long ago, theories are just theories. Only your own strength is the truth."
"You insist on delving into those so-called theories, burying yourself in research for years, and neglecting your cultivation."
Ying Yanyang could only chuckle and reply with a helpless tone, "Big Brother, you are right."
"Big Brother, you've arrived too," Shuang Yuelian said sweetly to the man, her movements possessing a peculiar air of docility.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "Indeed, Lian Mei is getting more beautiful and stronger. I wonder which lucky young man will have the fortune to marry you in the future."
Shuang Yuelian merely rolled her eyes at him, her gaze filled with playful annoyance. With students present, how could her elder brother say such things?
"Hahaha." Seeing the subtle resentment in Shuang Yuelian's eyes, the man laughed heartily and waved his hand, "Alright, alright, it's Big Brother's fault."
"I shouldn't have said that."
He then walked up to Xia Xuan, saw the embarrassed expression on his face, and promptly gave him a sharp tap on the head. "Stop fooling around and stand up straight!" he reprimanded. "If you could just fix that flippant attitude of yours, with your innate full spirit power, why would you be stuck at level seventy-nine for so many years!"
Xia Xuan could only rub his head and shrink his neck, speaking with a somewhat aggrieved tone, "Yes, Big Brother. Your younger brother knows he's wrong."
Seeing this, the man could only sigh. Although Xia Xuan seemed to comply, he hadn't truly listened. If he had, his demeanor would be different.
"Nana, who is he?" Wang Zhong felt an unprecedented sense of disbelief. Three Spirit Saints above level seventy were showing almost respectful deference to one person, which was not something mere strength could achieve.
Wang Zhong leaned back, turning to Hu Liena and asking softly, "But before Hu Liena could answer, Ying Yanyang, their homeroom teacher, spoke up."
"He is our Big Brother, Yue Shan, an eighty-first-level Soul Douluo. His spirit is the Rending Mountain Demonic Bear, nicknamed the Earth Ripper."
"Your Big Brother?" Wang Zhong straightened up, tilting his head and looking at Ying Yanyang with intense curiosity.
"Little fellow, that's right," Shuang Yuelian explained with a light laugh, seeing Wang Zhong's confusion. "Your teachers, myself, Xia Xuan, and Yue Shan's Big Brother, once fought side-by-side. We became sworn siblings."
"A four-person team!" Hu Liena glanced at the teachers, then at Wang Zhong, Xie Yue, and Yan, feeling that such a combination seemed familiar to them.
"Not four, but a five-person team."
"There was one more. She grew too fast, changed too fast, and ultimately went ahead of all of us!" Shuang Yuelian pursed her lips, her tone carrying a complex and indescribable emotion.
"His Holiness the Pope was also part of your team!" Wang Zhong tentatively voiced his guess, observing the complex expressions on the two teachers' faces.
They did not respond but did not refute either. Bibi Dong, Yue Shan, Ying Yanyang, Xia Xuan, and Shuang Yuelian were among the most talented individuals of the previous generation in the Spirit Hall, forming the "Stars Generation." Ranked by age, Yue Shan was the oldest and strongest, their "Big Brother." Following him were Shuang Yuelian, Xia Xuan, Ying Yanyang, and finally, Bibi Dong! This five-person team, except for lacking a food-type spirit, was practically invincible on the continent. Aside from the Haotian Twin Stars of the Haotian School, they had no rivals in their age group.
The five maintained their team status until they each broke through to Spirit King and then Spirit Emperor. At Bibi Dong's request, the academy sent invitations, hoping they would remain as teachers to guide students. Except for Bibi Dong, who was taken as a disciple by the Pope at a very young age and named Saintess, thus unable to become a teacher, the other four agreed out of consideration for Bibi Dong.
Thus, the five often gathered at the academy, their fraternal bond deepening. But one day, their youngest sister, the always kind, gentle, and sweet sister, suddenly disappeared for a period. When she returned, she was almost a different person. Cold-blooded, ruthless, powerful, and cruel! This astonishing transformation made them question if the person before them was truly their youngest sister. Yet, the facts were undeniable. They comforted themselves, telling themselves that their sister had grown up, no longer childish. She now possessed the decisiveness, ruthlessness, and indifference befitting a Saintess, a qualified successor to the Pope. However, from that day on, Bibi Dong no longer had any private contact with them. Whenever they saw her again, she was the high and mighty, decisive, and majestic Pope. Their youngest sister had completely vanished.
Recalling the past, Ying Yanyang, Shuang Yuelian, and even Xia Xuan and Yue Shan, who were listening intently, all wore expressions of deep complexity. Noticing their change in demeanor, Wang Zhong wisely stood still, no longer asking questions, appearing like an obedient child. This shift in his behavior made Yue Shan and Xia Xuan exchange a glance and chuckle.
"This little fellow is truly sensitive and adorable."
"Intelligent, agile, discerning, and knows when to advance and retreat. A talent!"
"The one leading the first-year Class A must be that individual with innate full spirit power, the tree spirit, who completed the under-to-over challenge in the first half of the year. That must be the young fellow named Wang Zhong." Yue Shan, with his hands behind his back, looked at Wang Zhong with satisfaction and admiration.
"It must be him!" Xia Xuan had not met Wang Zhong before, but he assumed it was correct.
"To be able to fight above his level, this young fellow's aptitude and talent are extraordinary."
"Perhaps in about thirty years, the Spirit Hall might produce another Titled Douluo." Yue Shan said with a hint of emotion and yearning.
"The Pope has arrived!" At this moment, accompanied by a robust shout, Pope Bibi Dong appeared. Her arrival signified that the all-grade competition was about to officially commence.