Academy Life Officially Begins

That gentle caress was like the warmest spring breeze, quietly brushing over Wang Dong's pink-blue hair. Her hair felt soft and smooth, carrying a trace of the sweet aroma unique to a young girl, soothing the mind. The utter exhaustion brought on by depleted soul power and Soul Resonance had plunged her into a deep sleep. Even unconscious, when Long Yao's fingers lightly slid over her hair tips, her long eyelashes still trembled almost imperceptibly, her tightly furrowed brows seeming to relax a little, and even the corner of her lips let out an extremely faint murmur of contentment, like a kitten's.

She seemed to really like this feeling.

(Hehehehe, first day of school! Took her down right away!)

Long Yao proudly interacted with the viewers in the livestream room in his mind. He slowly leaned back against the rough, solid trunk of the ancient tree behind him, one hand still resting gently on Wang Dong's shoulder so she could pillow herself more comfortably, while his other hand casually rested on his knee. His gaze calmly turned toward the students in the distance who were still undergoing testing.

This small corner, outside the noisy assessment venue, formed a quiet yet eye-catching "eye of the storm." Almost every student who had passed the assessment, or was waiting for their turn, subconsciously cast their gaze this way. They looked at the black-clad youth and the peerless genius pillowed on his legs, their eyes filled with all kinds of complicated emotions—envy, jealousy, gossip, awe... They had personally witnessed that earth-shaking 99% compatibility, and had personally seen that princess carry overflowing with boyfriend power, as well as this lap pillow now filled with endless room for imagination.

These two names—Long Yao and Wang Dong—had already become legends known to every new student in this cohort on the very first day of school.

As for all this, Long Yao simply turned a deaf ear to it. Though his body rested here, his mind had long since become like an invisible network, crossing mountains and rivers in an instant as it began searching for the truly important intelligence hidden behind the scenes.

(Search Huo Yuhao's group's location and what they've experienced, and whether he fused with the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm... At the same time, begin searching Tang San's situation.)

[Highest Priority command received: multi-thread intelligence retrieval mission initiated...]

[Target One: Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, Tang Ya. Connecting to causality probe... Data stream synchronized...]

[Target Status: Huo Yuhao's group] Scene: On the official road from the Star Dou Forest to Shrek City, a crude carriage pulled by an inferior horse was jolting forward.

Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged inside the carriage, eyes tightly shut. His face was still somewhat pale, but between his brows there was a confidence and tenacity that had never been there before. Around him, soul power fluctuations surged like rising tides, wave after wave, currently in an unstable state after a rapid increase.

Bei Bei and Tang Ya guarded his sides, one on the left and one on the right, like protectors. Their faces were full of nervousness and concern, and the way they looked at Huo Yuhao was as if they were looking at a one-of-a-kind, peerless treasure.

The scene rapidly rewound like a videotape played backward, returning to the moment when they had just finished the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fusion.

When the enormous golden cocoon of light wrapped around Huo Yuhao slowly dispersed and he appeared before Bei Bei and Tang Ya again, the two of them could hardly believe their eyes. Huo Yuhao's soul power was like it had been loaded onto a rocket, soaring all the way from the level 11 he had just broken through to level 15... level 18... level 20! In the end, it steadily stopped at the level of a level 21 Soul Grandmaster!

What shocked them even more was that the ring rising beneath Huo Yuhao's feet was not the hundred-year or thousand-year spirit ring they had expected, but a ring... that emitted a gentle glow, white like the most ordinary Ten-Year Soul Ring!

This completely overturned their understanding of the soul master system! How could a ten-year spirit ring possibly make someone shoot straight from level 10 to level 21?!

Before they could ask, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice, full of "vicissitudes" and "wisdom," rang out in the minds of all three of them, using a set of excuses he had already prepared to perfectly explain everything. He claimed to be an extremely rare mental-type spirit beast that had mutated right before death. Because of the mutation, although the spirit ring appeared white, the energy it contained far exceeded others of the same level, and because of the special nature of its mental attribute, it directly nourished Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, causing the continuous breakthrough in soul power.

Although this explanation sounded unbelievable, faced with Huo Yuhao's very real level 21 soul power, Bei Bei and Tang Ya could only half-believe and half-doubtfully accept it.

The discovery that followed sent them completely into wild joy! Like thunderbolts crashing down one after another, they blasted Bei Bei and Tang Ya dizzy. They realized that what they had picked up was not a pitiful homeless orphan, but... a peerless monster whose potential might even surpass any genius in the history of Shrek Academy!

The way Tang Ya looked at Huo Yuhao had completely changed. It was no longer simple sympathy, but was filled with flame-like ambition and hope! She seemed to have already seen her declining Tang Sect, under Huo Yuhao's leadership, restoring the supreme glory it had possessed ten thousand years ago!

And so, they left the Star Dou Forest at the fastest speed, rented a carriage, and rushed day and night toward Shrek City. Along the way, their attitude toward Huo Yuhao could be described as fearing he would melt if they held him in their mouths and fearing he would break if they held him in their hands. Tang Ya even emptied her own shriveled purse to buy Huo Yuhao a pile of highly nutritious food and brand-new clothes.

[Current Status: Huo Yuhao's group is less than thirty kilometers from Shrek City. Estimated arrival: this evening.]

[Intelligence retrieval switching... Target Two: God Realm, Tang San.]

[Connecting to higher-dimensional information detection module... Warning! Detected ultra-high-energy divine power storm and spatial lock in target area! Attempting detour... Detour successful...]

Scene: God Realm, God Forbidden Land.

This place was no longer that cold and majestic Asura God Hall. The entire space was filled with blood-red Asura divine power, brimming with destruction and slaughter. The space barriers were covered in spiderweb-like cracks, as if they might collapse at any moment. On the ground, the floor paved with Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade had long since been reduced to powder, replaced by one bottomless pit after another, all formed by the bombardment of pure divine power.

Tang San, this God King supreme in the eyes of mortals, was now pacing back and forth madly like a beast trapped in a cage. His long sea-blue hair moved without wind, every strand flashing with a heart-palpitating bloody light. His handsome face was twisted, and what burned in his eyes was wrath and killing intent enough to incinerate an entire plane.

"Can't find it... Why still can't I find it?!!"

He growled hoarsely, his voice filled with powerless rage. Just now, he had used his authority as a God King and mobilized part of the origin power of the entire God Realm Committee, attempting to forcibly deduce the karma of that "danger source" who dared lay a hand on his daughter.

However, the result was—a complete blank.

The other party's fate seemed to be shrouded by a layer of Chaos Mist that was even more ancient and profound. No matter how he deduced it, he could only see emptiness. He was like a mortal trying to use the naked eye to peer into the center of a black hole, gaining nothing but the sight of all light being swallowed by endless darkness.

This feeling made him feel even more humiliated and furious than being directly defeated by a powerful opponent!

"Chaos... It's the aura of chaos..." he muttered to himself, his eyes full of confusion and madness. "In the God Realm, aside from those ancient gods who fell together with the Creation God back then, who else could master such pure Chaos Power? Could it be that some plane in the lower realm has given birth to a new anomaly not tolerated by the laws of the God Realm?!"

He could not accept it! He absolutely could not accept that his precious daughter had actually formed a soul compatibility as high as 99% with an "anomaly" he could not control at all, whose origins he could not even clearly investigate!

"Wu Tong... My Wu Tong..." He stretched out his hand, as if wanting to grasp something, but there was nothing in his hand. That hollow feeling of having his soul connection with his daughter severed made him, a God King, experience the emotion named "fear" for the first time.

"I can't wait! I absolutely can't wait any longer!"

He abruptly stopped, a trace of resolute madness flashing through his eyes. He turned and looked toward the deepest part of the divine hall, at the entirely blood-red Asura Demon Sword planted in the throne!

He walked over step by step, and with every step, the Asura Divine Power on his body climbed higher.

"If I can't find you within the laws... then I'll... shatter those laws!!!"

He reached out and grabbed the hilt of the Asura Demon Sword!

Buzz—!

The entire God Forbidden Land, and even the entire God Realm, trembled violently because of the awakening of this peerless weapon of evil! Endless slaughtering energy shot into the sky, gathering above the God Realm into a colossal blood-colored eye filled with coldness and judgment!

"In the name of I, the Asura God King, condensing Asura divine blood as the guide, burning ten thousand years of divine power as the offering..."

He chanted ancient, forbidden divine words. The divine power within him was being frantically devoured by the Asura Demon Sword at a terrifying speed.

"Cross space and time, pierce through karma... God Slaying... Blood... Sword!!!"

At the cost of damaging ten thousand years of his own divine power, he wanted to forcibly condense a God Slaying Blood Sword that transcended planar laws, using it to bombard that "point" which, although he could not locate it, had the deepest karmic entanglement with his daughter! He would rather risk implicating his daughter than fail to completely erase that "anomaly"!

[Warning! Detected God Realm God King Tang San preparing to launch a super-planar causality strike! Target locked onto "Wang Dong," who has a soul connection with you! Estimated strike condensation completion in 12 hours!]

Long Yao's consciousness withdrew from the image filled with slaughter and destruction. In that instant, his gaze became incomparably cold.

He slowly lowered his head and looked at Wang Dong, who was pillowed on his lap, sleeping with a peaceful and tranquil expression. A trace of complicated, hard-to-read emotion flashed through his eyes.

To kill me, he was even willing to let his own daughter get caught in it? Tang San, oh Tang San, you two-faced daughter-obsessed maniac... you really are so mad it's pathetic and laughable.

He reached out, his fingertips once again gently, tenderly brushing over Wang Dong's soft cheek.

An invisible force, one only he could sense, the Origin Power that came from the Chaos Holy Dragon, covered Wang Dong's entire body in silence like the gentlest shield, completely isolating her from all malicious karma from the outside world.

That gentle yet tyrannical Origin Power from the depths of chaos quietly built an absolute karmic barrier around Wang Dong's soul like the sturdiest Guardian Deity. From this moment on, any power that attempted to probe or attack her through malicious karmic law would be swallowed and dissolved by this chaos, unable to harm her in the slightest.

Tang San really has gone mad.

Long Yao shook his head helplessly in his heart, and a trace of cold pity flashed through those Profound Eyes.

At the very least, he should think about his daughter.

His gaze fell once more on the Young Girl resting on his legs, her Sleeping Face peaceful. Her tranquil appearance formed an incomparably ironic contrast with the bloody storm about to rise in the Divine Realm. This princess, cherished in the palm of her father's hand, probably would never imagine that the father she respected most would prepare to launch a forbidden attack that might even affect her, all for the so-called "elimination of threats."

Looks like I have to work even harder to Become Stronger.

An unprecedented sense of urgency rose in Long Yao's heart. He had originally thought he could proceed step by step and leisurely enjoy this "game," but Tang San's madness had completely disrupted his rhythm. Twelve hours. He had to make full preparations within these twelve hours.

I hope Tang San can cool his head a little. He finally said this to the audience in his heart, then withdrew all his focus.

Time slowly passed amid the mottled Light and Shadow beneath the ancient tree. After an unknown length of time, the Young Girl resting on his legs finally had her long Eyelashes, like Butterfly Wings, tremble softly.

An extremely faint murmur, carrying the unique confusion and laziness of someone just waking, spilled from between her rosy Lips. She slowly opened her eyes.

At first, what entered those beautiful Pink Blue Eyes was an Emerald Green canopy sliced into fragmented pieces, along with warm, soft golden sunlight spilling through the gaps between the Branches and Leaves. Immediately afterward, she felt the soft grass beneath her and... the firm, warm, elastic "Pillow" under her head, still rising and falling slightly with steady breathing.

Memories surged into her mind in that instant like a flood after a Dike Break!

The third assessment... random grouping... that hateful guy... their tightly clasped hands... cold and warmth... rejection and longing... that vast, boundless Chaos Star Sea... the tremor and pleasure that came from her Soul Depth... and at the very end, that purple pillar of light piercing heaven and earth, as well as... the weightless feeling of being steadily lifted into his arms...

Boom—!!!

Wang Dong's entire face, from her chin to her forehead, then to her fair neck and delicate Ear Root, was completely covered in a thick, scalding flush within a single second! Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she sprang up from Long Yao's legs, the movement so large that, because her limbs were still weak, she even seemed somewhat clumsy, and she landed on the grass on her backside.

"You're awake."

A gentle voice came from above her head, carrying a trace of concern.

Wang Dong abruptly raised her head and saw Long Yao looking at her curiously, still wearing that Cloud Light Wind Light smile that made her both love and hate him.

"Are you okay?"

This perfectly normal greeting sounded to Wang Dong at this moment like the most vicious mockery!

"You... you... what did you do to me?!!" She pointed at Long Xiaoyao, her voice sharp and trembling from extreme Shame and Anger, but it carried no intimidation at all. Instead, it sounded more like she was Acting Cute.

She looked around and discovered that quite a few students not far away were pointing and whispering at them. Those gazes, full of gossip and ambiguity, were like countless steel needles stabbing viciously into Her Heart.

"I... I wasn't using you as a pillow!" she argued almost incoherently, scrambling up from the ground while patting dust off herself that did not exist at all. "I was... I was lying here resting by myself! Right! That's what happened!"

This explanation, riddled with holes and unable even to convince herself, made her Small Face flush even redder.

Just as she was about to be completely drowned by her own Shame and Anger, a cold, majestic voice rang out behind them like a blow to the head.

"What are you yelling about! How improper!"

The two turned back at the sound and saw a tall woman in black with a beautiful face but an expression as cold as a Ten-Thousand-Year Iceberg standing behind them at some unknown point. She looked only around thirty, but those sharp, hawk-like eyes seemed capable of piercing straight through people's hearts, making them afraid to meet her gaze.

It was Zhou Yi, famous in the Shrek Academy Outer Court as the "Devil Teacher"!

Zhou Yi's gaze swept over the two of them. When she saw Wang Dong looking disheveled and bright red, as well as Long Xiaoyao's Cloud Light Wind Light bearing, her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. However, she did not dwell on this matter and instead got straight to the point.

"99% Martial Soul Compatibility." Her voice carried not the slightest emotion. "Impressive! Truly impressive! It has been a very long time since the Academy has seen Monsters like you two."

She paused, her sharp gaze locking onto them both.

"I don't care what Grievances and Love-Hate you had before, nor do I care what you were doing here just now," she said coldly. "But from now on, the fates of you two will be tightly bound together. Because the Academy Higher-Ups have already reached a unanimous decision..."

From her Storage Soul Tool, she took out two neatly folded sets of dark green uniforms printed with the Shrek emblem, two badges Representing student identity, and... A Key, ancient bronze in color, glimmering faintly.

"You two, from now on, are official students of Shrek Academy. Outer Court, First Year Class One. These are your uniforms, Student Emblems, and Dormitory Key."

Official students?!

Wang Dong froze. This meant that they did not need to participate in any further assessments and had been admitted directly! This was an unprecedented privilege in Shrek Academy!

But before she could be happy, she keenly noticed a problem.

"Teacher..." She looked at the key in Zhou Yi's hand and asked somewhat uncertainly, "Why... is there only one key?"

The corner of Zhou Yi's mouth curved into a cold arc that seemed to carry a hint of Dark Humor.

"Because, in order to better cultivate your Tacit Understanding and allow you to master and skillfully use your Martial Soul Fusion Skill as soon as possible, the Academy has decided that the two of you will live in one dormitory."

Rumble—!!!

If everything just now had merely been a Thunderbolt from the Blue Sky to Wang Dong, then Zhou Yi's words were simply a world-destroying Heavenly Tribulation!

"What?!!" Wang Dong's sharp voice, nearly piercing eardrums, resounded across the entire plaza. "I... we... live in one room?! No way! I absolutely refuse! How can I share a room with him, a..."

She wanted to say "a guy," but the words were forcibly swallowed back down as they reached her lips.

Zhou Yi ignored her protest entirely and merely stared at her coldly with a look that said, "Say one more useless word and get out."

"This is the Academy's decision. You have no room to bargain." She stuffed everything into Long Yao's arms all at once. "The dormitory is in Building Seven, Room 101 of the New Student Area. Gather in the Class One classroom in half an hour. Anyone late will be directly expelled."

After saying that, she no longer looked at either of them and turned to leave straight away, leaving Wang Dong alone in the wind, utterly disheveled. Her Small Face, under the interweaving of shock, anger, shame, and all kinds of other emotions, became as brilliantly varied as a painter's palette.

The Livestream Room, after a brief deathly stillness, completely exploded!

[I Really Only Know How to Give Freely]: Sh-share one room?!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! Shrek Academy! You are my god!!! You're even better at assists than the Streamer!!!

[Lust is the Primary Productive Force]: They're living together! They're living together on the first day of school! What kind of immortal development is this?! I'm losing it! I've completely lost it!

[Rich Women Love Me]: Good! Good! Good! Beautifully done! This is the best way to nurture feelings!

[Rich Women Love Me] tipped [Constant Temperature Double Jade Bed] x1 (value: 99,999 yuan): Little handsome guy! Throw out that crappy wooden bed in the dorm! Replace it with this! Big sister can only help you this far! The rest... depends on you~

[Keyboard Warrior Ninth-Rank Elder]: There's definitely one of our Livestream Room's moles among the Academy Higher-Ups! This move was way too knowing! Too professional! Locking two geniuses with infinite potential together, letting them collide with each other and understand each other—this is fucking true elite education!

[Defeat the Hypocritical Tang San]: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Tang San! Tang San, did you see that?! The officials matched your daughter up and even arranged the marriage! Not only did they give your daughter a 99% compatibility rate with another man, they even made them live together! Are you so angry you're about to explode right now? Hahahaha! Feels good! Too damn good!!!

Time: Douluo Calendar Year 2030 Season: Autumn 10:45 a.m. the next morning

Location: Shrek Academy, outside the Third Assessment Pavilion

Viewers: 102,765

Equipment: True Vast Sea Ring (divine artifact)

Items: Silver Soul Coin x8, Copper Spirit Coin x90, Shrek Academy Uniform x2, Student Emblem x2, Dormitory Key x1

First Martial Soul: Soul Breaking Spear [Traits: Armor Breaking, Soul Devouring, Piercing]

Second Martial Soul: Chaos Holy Dragon (hidden) [Traits: Strength, Time, Space]

Soul Power: Level 45 (Soul Ancestor) [Status: True Vast Sea Ring Shielding, External Perception at Level 24]

Soul Rings: [Soul Breaking Spear] First Soul Ring (Yellow Hundred-Year), Second Soul Ring (Purple Thousand-Year), Third Soul Ring (Black Ten-Thousand-Year), Fourth Soul Ring (Black Ten-Thousand-Year)

[Chaos Holy Dragon] First Soul Ring (Black Thirteen-Thousand-Year), Second Soul Ring (Black Twenty-Eight-Thousand-Year), Third Soul Ring (Black Forty-Six-Thousand-Year), Fourth Soul Ring (Rose Gold Hundred-Thousand-Year)

Soul Skills: [Soul Breaking Spear] First Soul Skill: Swift Shadow Stab, Second Soul Skill: Whirlwind Spear, Third Soul Skill: Armor Breaking Spiral, Fourth Soul Skill: Thousand Spirit Spear Rain

[Chaos Holy Dragon] First Soul Skill: Star Ring, Second Soul Skill: Holy Dragon Claw, Third Spirit Skill: Void Claw, Fourth Soul Skill: Time and Space Roar

Soul Bones: None

Soul Spirit: None

Reward Stash: [Million-Year Spirit Beast Inverse Scale] x1, [Hallucinatory Perfume] x1, [Starlight Sapphire Brooch] x1, [Tsundere Princess Strategy Manual Platinum Edition] x1, [God-Bestowed Soul Ring] x1, [Spring of Life] x1, [Constant Temperature Double Jade Bed] x1