"Little guy, for a simple sparring match between classmates, you went a bit too far."
At that moment, the old man lying on the recliner nearby suddenly spoke up.
"Uh… Grandpa, I didn't expect him to be that weak," Huo Yuhao scratched his head and said sheepishly. Now that he knew this old man was a Limit Douluo, he naturally didn't want to leave a bad impression. After all, who knew if he might need his help one day?
"…"
The old man was speechless. But he didn't say much else, simply assuming that Huo Yuhao's move had been a soul skill. Although its power was a bit strong, considering it was targeted specifically at the spiritual level, it was still somewhat reasonable.
'Elder Ye, what should I do now?'
'It's not appropriate to just let her lie here unconscious, right?'
Huo Yuhao asked inwardly, "Also, my attack… it won't leave her with any aftereffects, will it?"
'No need to worry. Your attack only caused minor spiritual damage. It didn't harm her fundamentally. She'll wake up in a few hours at most, and afterwards she might have a headache for a couple of days. But there will be no lasting side effects,' Elder Ye reassured him.
'That's good!'
Huo Yuhao let out a sigh of relief and decided to carry her back to the dorm. After all, letting a girl sleep out here wasn't proper.
Then, like he was hauling a dead pig, he slung the unconscious Wang Dong over his shoulder and walked back to the dorm. Thanks to his recent training in innate meditation technique, his previously malnourished body had grown stronger. With his soul power supporting him, carrying someone like this was no trouble at all.
After tossing Wang Dong onto her bed like a dead pig, Huo Yuhao went back to his own bed, sat cross-legged, and resumed cultivating. The feeling of watching his soul power grow at a visibly rapid pace was simply too addictive.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Suddenly, a soft groan came from nearby.
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes and saw that Wang Dong had woken up.
"What… what happened to me?"
Wang Dong, just waking up, clutched her aching head in confusion.
But soon, the scenes before she lost consciousness came flooding back. She instantly realized what had happened.
"I… I actually lost?!"
Her face was filled with disbelief, as if her entire spirit had collapsed.
"I actually lost to a one-ring Soul Master?"
"One with just a ten-year soul ring?!"
She felt like all the confidence she'd built was completely shattered by him!
Seeing her calm down a little, Huo Yuhao finally spoke: "The reason you lost is simple—you were too arrogant. Soul power level doesn't decide everything. If being at a higher level guaranteed victory, then there'd be no need for soul skills. We'd just compare soul power directly, and whoever had more would win, right?"
"..."
Wang Dong said nothing, though her face clearly showed she was unconvinced. But having been KO'd in a single exchange, she also felt too humiliated to argue.
Seeing she remained silent, Huo Yuhao's stern expression relaxed. Considering they were dormmates and would be seeing each other daily, he couldn't offend her too harshly. So he added, "Also, those five conditions you mentioned earlier—I'm not saying I can't do them. But it's not for the reasons you think. I'm doing it purely out of respect for a dormmate. I hope you can learn what it means to be polite and respectful! That nose-in-the-air attitude of yours—do you have any idea how ugly it looked?"
After saying that, Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and resumed cultivating.
Outwardly he seemed calm, but inside he was secretly delighted. To lecture a genius like this and leave her speechless—he had to admit, it felt damn good. After all, people had always looked down on him. This was the first time he'd gotten to scold someone from a superior position. And it was exhilarating!
'Nose-in-the-air?'
'Ugly?'
'Was I… really that bad?'
After getting scolded so harshly, Wang Dong instinctively touched her smooth face, momentarily doubting herself.
She sat dazed on her bed for a while, then finally stood up. She turned to look at the meditating Huo Yuhao, wanting to say something, but in the end held back. With a huff, she started fixing up her bedding.
Over the next two days, neither Huo Yuhao nor Wang Dong spoke to each other. Each went about their own business.
Soon, the first day of school arrived.
"Hey, classes start today. Are you just going to keep sitting there like an idiot?"
Wang Dong's voice pulled Huo Yuhao out of his meditation.
"Classes already?" Huo Yuhao asked reflexively. This was their first exchange since the day they fought.
Wang Dong didn't even look at him and replied coolly, "About half an hour left."
"Oh."
Huo Yuhao gave a short response, then closed his eyes again and resumed meditating.
Wang Dong, not hearing any follow-up, glanced back to see him already deep in meditation again. Thinking about how he'd spent almost the entire past two days cultivating, she couldn't help but mutter, "What a lunatic." Then she turned and walked out of the dorm without looking back.
The white teaching building's doors stood wide open, and the new students, all dressed in white uniforms, filed in. When Huo Yuhao arrived hurriedly at the building, the class bell rang just as he rushed into Class One.
By now, the spacious classroom was already packed.
Huo Yuhao found a random seat, finally able to glance around and take in his surroundings.
The classroom was huge, and there were at least a hundred students in his class. Judging by the total number of new students being around a thousand, there were probably about ten classes.
At that moment, a figure entered the room from the doorway—it was an old woman. Her skin was wrinkled, her hair white and pinned up, and she wore a long white robe. Her figure was average.
Huo Yuhao instinctively frowned. With his Spirit Eyes martial soul, his perception was exceptional. He immediately sensed that this old woman's appearance wasn't genuine. In fact, she might actually be quite young.
But why would a teacher at this school disguise herself as an old lady?
He was puzzled.
As soon as the teacher entered, the previously noisy class immediately quieted down. All eyes turned toward the podium.
The old woman swept her gaze across the room, and instantly, every student felt like they were being directly stared at. A heavy, invisible pressure descended over the class.
"My name is Zhou Yi. I'm your homeroom teacher. I don't know how many of you will still be with me a year from now, but let me make one thing clear—trash has no place in my class. I'm here to train monsters, not fools."
Her voice was grating and hoarse, like a cracked gong.
Hearing her words, many students' faces darkened. Every one of them had been carefully selected from across the continent to attend Shrek Academy. Among their peers, they were all top elites. And yet this Zhou teacher had just called them garbage and idiots?
On the surface, Huo Yuhao looked calm, but inside he was already silently complaining: "With that kind of arrogance, you'd better be the real deal. If your only way to maintain a high graduation rate is by kicking students out, then Shrek Academy isn't worth a damn."
Because of Elder Ye, he hadn't been blinded by Shrek's famed reputation. He could still look at the school objectively, without justifying all its flaws simply because it had once produced gods.
"Anyone who's been in a fight since arriving—stand up."
Zhou Yi's next sentence shocked the entire class. These students had just been admitted—who would've gotten into a fight already? And even if they had, who would admit it?
As everyone remained silent, one person stood up—Huo Yuhao.
It wasn't because he was honest. He just had a gut feeling that this teacher wasn't going to play by the rules.
Seeing Huo Yuhao stand, Wang Dong snorted coldly and stood up too.
Among the hundred students, only the two of them stood, instantly becoming the center of attention like cranes among chickens.
"Only two?"
Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow. "What a bunch of trash. Don't you know that not daring to stir trouble is a mark of mediocrity? Aside from these two, everyone else—get out and run a hundred laps around Shrek Plaza. Anyone who doesn't finish gets expelled."
The entire class erupted In disbelief. It was the first day of school—they hadn't even started their lessons yet—and they were being punished just for not fighting? Who could accept that?
Inside, Huo Yuhao became even more certain—this teacher wasn't normal.
Or maybe Shrek Academy as a whole was abnormal?
Not daring to stir trouble is mediocrity?
What kind of bulls**t logic was that?
Was minding your own business suddenly a sin?
Did you have to go around picking fights and bullying others to prove you had ability?
Rage burned within Huo Yuhao.
At that moment, he felt a deep disgust toward Shrek.
Because this "not daring to stir trouble is mediocrity" motto reminded him of his life in the Duke's manor. He remembered those servants who bullied him and his mother for no reason at all. They had never wronged anyone, had always been careful and humble—and yet misfortune still fell upon them.
Those people had bullied them simply because they could. Maybe it was even at the secret command of the Duchess. Huo Yuhao didn't know. What he did know was that he hated this kind of people—those who stirred up trouble for no reason.
If Shrek was a school that trained such people, then it was a garbage school. Its continued existence was a tragedy for the world—a blight on the soul master community—the root of all evil!
When the head is rotten, the body follows.
If even the soul master world's leading academy encouraged this kind of rogue behavior, what could you expect from the rest?
Naïve and inexperienced as he was, Huo Yuhao had not yet been indoctrinated by Shrek's so-called "glorious ideals." He was still that passionate young man, determined to seek revenge.
And now, under Elder Ye's guidance, he finally had a righteous path to follow.
The future would never be the same again.
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