Huo Yuhao found a spot near the corner and sat down. He casually ordered two dishes and waved the waiter away. To his surprise, the attitude of the staff was unusually good. What he didn't know was that the restaurant had been struggling with poor business, and the boss had been paying them almost the minimum wage. But with the recent sales of grilled fish, they had been busy nonstop, exhausted from working back and forth. Though the boss hadn't raised their wages, he did share the profits from the grilled fish, which made the staff have a good impression of Huo Yuhao.
"Junior, you're here!" At this moment, a light and melodious voice came from beside him. Huo Yuhao turned his head to see the speaker, a graceful, beautiful young girl — it was the familiar Jiang Nannan. She was sitting with a few other girls, all pretty, though not quite as striking as Jiang Nannan.
"Hello, senior sisters! What a coincidence, are you all here for a meal too?"Huo Yuhao smiled slightly. In fact, he had noticed them when he entered, but in order to avoid being mistaken for hitting on them, he hadn't said anything.
"Not a coincidence! We've been waiting in line for two hours, unlike you who gets special treatment!" One of the girls sitting next to Jiang Nannan, who had twin ponytails, spoke up.
Unlike yesterday, Huo Yuhao was now wearing a brand-new white Shrek Academy uniform, so his identity as a freshman was immediately apparent.
"Senior, you're joking. I'm just a little familiar with them. It's them who are taking care of me."Huo Yuhao replied casually, though his thoughts weren't focused on these beautiful senior sisters.
In the Sea of Spirit, Tianmeng shouted in dissatisfaction, "Yuhao, instead of wasting time flirting with girls, why don't you hurry up and help me find a soul ring for your Ice Element Second Martial Soul? Isn't this a complete waste of time? What's the point of going to an academy? With my help, your future will be smooth and bright."
"What do you know? Shrek Academy is the holy land for all soul masters. Just being able to pass the entrance test is a huge stroke of luck!"Huo Yuhao replied, his voice full of admiration.
"A bunch of rookies. I remember when I possessed your human Title Douluo. That guy couldn't even last a breath before being blown into pieces!"Tianmeng sneered. Although in his insect form, he couldn't show any expression, he really didn't understand how this kid thought. Had his brain been kicked by a donkey? Had he been brainwashed?
Huo Yuhao smiled slightly. When he had entered the dorm earlier, Tianmeng's Ice Silkworm had fallen into a deep sleep. Otherwise, he didn't know whether he could have been this casual with the old guy around.
"It's rude to zone out while chatting with girls, you know? Jiang Nannan is pretty, right? Are you entranced?" The ponytail girl teased, noticing Huo Yuhao was absent-minded.
They continued chatting and laughing, the atmosphere lively. The dishes Huo Yuhao ordered were brought to him, and after tasting them, he found them okay — not as bad as he had imagined.
"Junior, why didn't you order grilled fish? You should know, this restaurant never had much business before, but today the grilled fish is good and that's why so many people are here." One of the girls sitting next to Jiang Nannan, Yu Menglian, said. During their previous conversation, they had introduced themselves. Huo Yuhao learned that this girl's name was Yu Menglian, the ponytail girl was called Yan Xiaoyan, and the other white-haired girl was Zhou Lan. All three were fourth-year students like Jiang Nannan.
Yan Xiaoyan giggled, looking especially playful, "That's because you weren't here yesterday. Otherwise, you wouldn't be saying this!"
"Oh? Is there a story behind this?"Yu Menglian asked, her curiosity piqued, especially as she saw the knowing looks from Jiang Nannan and Zhou Lan.
Yan Xiaoyan didn't keep her secret any longer and explained the situation of Huo Yuhao selling grilled fish the previous day, though the later conflict with Xu Sanshi was naturally omitted.
"Ah, so it seems our little junior is quite the cook. When will you show off your skills to us, huh?"Yu Menglian asked, her eyes shining with interest.
"As long as the senior sisters don't mind, of course I can."Huo Yuhao responded vaguely as he continued eating.
When Huo Yuhao returned to his dorm, Wang Dong was still not around, but he didn't mind much. He sat comfortably on his bed and once again entered his cultivation mode. Huo Yuhao already felt that he was very close to reaching Level 28. A breakthrough was only a matter of a couple of days.
For the next few days, Huo Yuhao lived a regular routine. Except for eating his two meals a day at Jun Zai Lai Restaurant, most of his time was spent on cultivation.
Two days later, Shrek Academy officially started. The large classroom was already filled with students. Since Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had arrived early, they were able to choose their seats. Huo Yuhao picked a seat near the middle by the right window, while Wang Dong sat at the far left, clearly still bothered by the events from a few days ago. Perhaps it was because they both had registered at similar times, they were both placed in the first-year, first class.
Huo Yuhao's desk partner was a girl named Dong Xinyi. While her appearance wasn't particularly outstanding, what was notable was that she had a congenital speech defect — she was mute. She communicated with others using a small notebook she carried with her. Her personality wasn't very outgoing. She had given a brief self-introduction when they first sat down, but since then, there had been little interaction. She was a quiet and graceful little girl, and their personalities seemed to match well, as Huo Yuhao wasn't much of a talker himself.
On the other hand, Wang Dong was surrounded by a group of pretty girls, chatting excitedly. However, Wang Dong rarely responded to them. This wasn't surprising. Even though Huo Yuhao had a strong prejudice against Wang Dong, he had to admit that Wang Dong was indeed very pretty. These girls couldn't resist, though he wondered how they would feel once they found out their "boy crush" was actually cross-dressing.
"The teacher is here!" At this moment, a student ran into the classroom, calling out to the others.
Instantly, most of the students quieted down and waited for the teacher to appear, though a few still laughed and joked. Those who had been accepted into Shrek Academy were all top-tier students, so they naturally enjoyed a lot of leniency. Over time, they had developed a somewhat arrogant attitude.
At that moment, an elderly woman with a wrinkled face, ordinary looks, and graying hair walked into the classroom. Despite her age, she had a strong, energetic presence. Her back was straight, and she walked briskly with a no-nonsense aura.
She walked to the center of the podium, and without any visible movement, six soul rings appeared around her — two yellow, two purple, and two black. A terrifying pressure immediately pressed down on all the students present. Everyone felt as though they couldn't breathe, as if suffocating.
The old woman quickly withdrew her pressure, and it dissipated along with the disappearance of the soul rings. The classroom fell into an eerie silence, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. All the students stared at the old woman, seemingly shocked. Even those who had been laughing and joking earlier were now behaving obediently.
"My name is Zhou Yi, and I will be your homeroom teacher. I don't know how many of you will make it through the next year, but let me tell you this: in my class, all trash will be eliminated. I am here to train monsters, not useless garbage."Zhou Yi spoke bluntly from the start.
(End of Chapter)