"Referee teacher."
Huo Yuhao's clear voice broke the near-solid silence within the Soul Fighting Arena.
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze passing over the motionless sword tip pressed against Zhou Yi's throat to land on the petrified figure of Wang Xing at the edge of the field.
"Shouldn't the result be announced now?"
Wang Xing gave a violent shudder.
"Ah!"
A short sound escaped his throat as he finally snapped back to his senses.
Then he took a sharp, deep breath and almost shouted,
"Huo... Huo Yuhao, wins!"
"Whoosh!!!"
In the spectator stands, the silence that had felt like an invisible hand strangling everyone's throats for dozens of seconds finally shattered completely at this moment.
The dozens of students from Freshman Class One, though many were unfamiliar with each other, all began discussing the brief battle; they simply hadn't understood what they'd seen at all.
At the edge of the first row of the stands, one figure had not joined the boisterous discussion from start to finish.
Wang Dong sat quietly, his pinkish-blue eyes fixed on the white-clad figure in the Soul Fighting Arena who was slowly sheathing his sword.
His expression was calm, yet the fingers gripping his cuffs had turned pale at the knuckles.
So that was it.
He finally understood how he had lost last night!
A moment later, Zhou Yi finally reclaimed control over her body from the tearing pain and dizziness.
She slowly lowered the hands that had been clutching her head; her temples were still throbbing as if something inside was repeatedly striking her skull.
Her hand rose almost instinctively to touch her neck.Looking down, she saw a startling smear of bright red on her fingertips.
Zhou Yi's pupils constricted suddenly.
That sword strike just now had seemed to stop just in time, but in reality, Huo Yuhao's sword tip had already pierced through her Protective Dragon Scales.
If the longsword had moved forward just half an inch more... it could have pierced her throat and taken her life!
She lost.
She had actually... lost.
Losing so decisively to an eleven-year-old freshman.
Zhou Yi's body began to tremble; the shaking started from her fingertips, spread up her arms to her shoulder blades, until finally her entire body was shaking uncontrollably.
This was completely different from the outcome she had expected!
She had intended to defeat Huo Yuhao to make him obedient and to establish her authority over the class.
Now that she had lost, everything was ruined.
Her face turned hideous as she looked at the calm Huo Yuhao opposite her, her gaze looking sharp enough to kill.
But she did not lash out in rage, because she actually couldn't beat this freshman, Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao didn't look at her; his gaze passed over Zhou Yi's stiff shoulders and landed on the upper part of the Soul Fighting Arena.
There, in the shadows at the edge of the stands, three figures had appeared at some point.
At this moment, he looked up and called out, "Yan Shaozhe, please switch me to a different class."
The buzzing discussions in the stands came to an abrupt halt.
Everyone's eyes followed the direction of Huo Yuhao's gaze; Dean of the Spirit Hall Department, Yan Shaozhe, was standing there.
Yan Shaozhe looked at this youth who had turned the Outer Court upside down on his very first day of school, and he spoke.
"You don't need to change classes."
Yan Shaozhe moved his gaze away from Huo Yuhao's face and slowly turned it toward Zhou Yi, who was still standing frozen in the arena.
"Zhou Yi."
"As a homeroom teacher, you do not strive to improve your teaching, nor do you take the responsibility of imparting the Dao and teaching as your duty."
"Instead, you use harsh methods to maliciously eliminate students, humiliate the weak, and suppress dissenting opinions."
"Today, to achieve your own selfish ends, you disregarded your status and publicly laid hands on a student."
His voice suddenly deepened: "Such behavior is unworthy of being a role model for teachers."
In that instant, Zhou Yi's face turned as pale as paper.
Her lips trembled violently, and the eyes that had been filled with murderous light just moments ago were now filled with nothing but blankness.
She had taught for over a decade, she had cultivated countless excellent students, and she had rendered great service to the Spirit Department.
How could she possibly be...Yan Shaozhe didn't look at her again: "Now, in my capacity as the Dean of the Spirit Hall Department of Shrek Academy, I am notifying you!"
"You... are fired."
It had always been Zhou Yi who expelled others.
She never imagined that one day the word 'expelled' would be applied to herself.
At that moment, all color drained from Zhou Yi's face, only to be replaced by a sickly flush caused by extreme anger and humiliation.
She suddenly snapped her head up and stared fixedly at Yan Shaozhe. There wasn't a trace of reverence for the Yan Shaozhe in her eyes, only a nearly frenzied murderous light: "On what grounds do you fire me?!"
Yan Shaozhe simply looked at her and said indifferently, "On the grounds that I am the Yan Shaozhe of the Spirit Department."
"On the grounds that during your dozen or so years of teaching, you have committed countless errors!"
He lowered his eyes, looking at that face distorted by rage: "Is this enough?"
"You..."
Zhou Yi wanted to argue further, but looking at the various expressions of the surrounding students, she saw that most were filled with mockery and disdain.
She couldn't stand being the target of such universal condemnation; her only thought now was to leave this place as quickly as possible.
"Hmph!" Her voice squeezed through her gritted teeth: "This matter... isn't over!"
She looked at no one, turned abruptly, and walked away so fast it looked like she was fleeing.
The moment she disappeared through the entrance of the Soul Fighting Arena...
"Hurray!"
In the stands, the long-suppressed emotions of the Freshman Class One students finally found an outlet, and they broke into enthusiastic cheers.
After all, no one wanted their homeroom teacher to be an Old Hag who constantly said 'you are all trash.'
Yan Shaozhe glanced at the students of Class 1, his gaze finally resting on Huo Yuhao.
"The academy will arrange a new homeroom teacher for you later. You are dismissed for today; classes will proceed as normal tomorrow!"
Huo Yuhao met that gaze and nodded slightly.
Regardless of whether this Yan Shaozhe had the usual Shrek flaws, he was at least treating him well, even if only because of the talent he had displayed.
Huo Yuhao calmly left the Soul Fighting Arena, and the students in the stands also scattered and left.
Many students were now extremely curious about or even admired Huo Yuhao, but because of his strength, none dared to step forward and disturb him.
Wang Dong stood at the edge of the crowd, his pinkish-blue eyes blinking.
He watched the white-clad figure walking further and further away, then looked at the group of classmates who only dared to watch from afar but not approach, and suddenly gave a soft hmph.
Then he set off, catching up with a natural air as if it were only right and proper.
Two figures in white walked side by side.
Wang Dong turned his head and stole a glance at Huo Yuhao's calm profile.
The sunlight fell between his brows, coating him in a layer of warm gold; Wang Dong suddenly felt his heart skip a beat.
He hurriedly looked away, cleared his throat, and spoke in a deliberately casual tone: "Hey."
"The classmates in the class should all thank you, otherwise this semester would have been miserable."
Huo Yuhao knew Wang Dong was referring to the change of homeroom teacher, and he simply shook his head slightly.
"She wasn't a qualified homeroom teacher, nor was she a qualified teacher."
"I hope tomorrow's new homeroom teacher will be better."
Sensing the gentleness emanating from Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong also smiled: "People like Zhou Yi should be in the minority."
Then, he blinked his pinkish-blue eyes and couldn't help but ask, "By the way!"
His voice dropped half a notch, carrying a hint of cautious probing: "How on earth do you cultivation? How... are you so fast?"
Eleven years old, a four-ring Spirit Ancestor, with a spirit ring configuration of two purple and two black, and crushing a Spirit Emperor head-on.
This was no longer within the realm of what 'Genius' could explain.
Huo Yuhao stopped walking.
He turned his head and looked into Wang Dong's pinkish-blue eyes, which were full of expectation.
Then, he smiled.
"That's a secret."
His voice was very soft, like a feather falling on a silent lake.
Wang Dong was stunned; he turned his face away, the tips of his ears quietly tinged with a blush: "If you won't say, then don't say, who cares."
His voice was muffled, carrying a hint of feigned annoyance.
Yet his footsteps followed without missing a beat.
The two walked side by side on the long, tree-lined path of Shrek Academy, casting two shadows that almost overlapped.
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.