In a regular school, Zhao Xiyue's outstanding talent would only be met with admiration.
Everyone there understood their own mediocrity and that they could never reach Zhao Xiyue's heights.
Since they couldn't catch up, all that was left was to sigh and admire.
But it was different at Phoenix Academy.
Everyone who came to this school was either a genius in their original school or came from a wealthy and powerful family, possessing a proud and aloof disposition.
They were accustomed to being looked up to and praised, habitually receiving compliments and commendations.
However, now they were being pulled down from their pedestals, becoming mere points of comparison.
All the spotlight was seized by Zhao Xiyue alone.
How could this not incite their jealousy?
After practicing for another half hour, the girl whose hair had just been singed managed to condense a spiritual energy sphere. However, it only lasted for two to three seconds before extinguishing.
Class was over.
Led by the girl with singed hair, several girls surrounded Zhao Xiyue.
"Hey, do you think you're so amazing for being the first to condense a spiritual energy sphere?"
The girl asked aggressively.
"Not at all. With my current level, I still need a lot more practice. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving!"
Zhao Xiyue said coldly.
"Hmph, you look down on us, don't you?"
"Are you mocking us, saying we're not as good as you? What's so great about you?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the other girls quickly chimed in:
"Exactly, stop acting so high and mighty. Back at your old school, you had lackeys flattering you, but it's different here!"
"Who's going to indulge you here? Don't think you're all that just because you formed some damn sphere, this is just the beginning!"
"Keep a lower profile from now on, or you might get hurt, understand?!"
The girls were from the same school, so they stuck together and presented a united front against outsiders.
The other students were all new arrivals, unfamiliar with each other and had not yet formed any cohesion.
So they could only watch from a distance, with no one daring to intervene.
"I wasn't trying to show off, I was just studying diligently!"
"And I don't think my talent is that great; there are people much stronger than me everywhere!"
Zhao Xiyue said calmly.
"Hmph, just studying diligently! Who believes that?!"
The girl with singed hair mimicked Zhao Xiyue's words in a high-pitched voice, causing the girls around her to giggle.
"Darling, still chatting with your classmates? Didn't we say we were going to have dinner together?"
Suddenly, a man's voice came from behind the crowd.
It was Zhang Chen!
Upon seeing Zhang Chen, the girls' eyes lit up at first, then their gazes turned to jealousy once more.
This was because Zhang Chen was heading straight for Zhao Xiyue, and upon meeting her, he immediately reached out and put his arm around her shoulder.
"You... what are you doing?"
Zhao Xiyue instinctively tried to dodge, but Zhang Chen held her tightly.
"What's there to be shy about? We're boyfriend and girlfriend, everyone will know sooner or later!"
"Are these your classmates? They don't look very good!"
"Next time, you should be with pretty girls, so you'll be prettier. Being with ugly girls will only make you uglier!"
Zhang Chen glanced at the girls before adopting a disdainful expression, forcibly dragging Zhao Xiyue away from the practice grounds.
This made the girls behind them stamp their feet in anger.
Some of them even took out mirrors to check: "Am I ugly?!"
The two walked like this for over ten minutes, arm in arm, until they turned a corner into a small grove of trees.
Only then did Zhang Chen release Zhao Xiyue.
"What exactly do you want?"
Zhao Xiyue asked, her face flushed.
"Nothing much. Didn't you ask me to be your master?"
"I think I can do that, but there's one condition: you have to be my girlfriend!"
Zhang Chen said with a smile.
In reality, his initial intention wasn't like this; he had simply rushed over to help Zhao Xiyue out of a predicament.
But now, his thoughts had suddenly changed.
He was tired of being pestered by so many girls every day.
The main issue was that there were too many girls, and they changed so frequently that Zhang Chen couldn't remember who was who.
As a result, he hadn't made any friends.
As soon as he spoke a few words to a girl, other girls would immediately swarm him with advances, which was incredibly annoying.
Therefore, Zhang Chen decided to make Zhao Xiyue his girlfriend, hoping this would drive away those persistent women.