"Abbess Miejue" Zhou Yi!

Over the next two days, aside from his daily cultivation, Lin Yuan spent most of his time wandering around Shrek Academy. Worth mentioning was that every night, Gu Yue Na would quietly pass through the Space Gate and come to the dormitory to sleep beside him. With that familiar embrace, Lin Yuan finally stopped suffering from insomnia. But he also knew such days would not last long.

The new year's admissions had finally ended, and the New Student Dormitory Building became thoroughly lively. Though each dormitory room was small, they were meant for two people. It was bustling outside, but the rooms were well soundproofed. Not to mention that Lin Yuan lived alone and had arranged his dormitory as comfortably as a home.

He pushed the two beds together, covered them with soft fur mattresses and down quilts, placed spare Silver Hairbands sewn by Biji in the corner, and set a small pot of spirit grass transplanted from the Lake of Life by the window, where it gave off a faint fragrance.

"Lin Yuan, classes officially start today. Are you going with me?" Huo Yu Hao asked as he knocked on the dormitory door.

"Coming." Lin Yuan got up and opened the door. Huo Yu Hao stood outside, his eyes full of anticipation.

"Let's go. I heard from Senior Brother that our homeroom teacher is very strict. We'll be in trouble if we're late."

The two left the dormitory side by side. The doors of the white teaching building stood open as streams of new students in white uniforms filed inside. Every one of them wore the green little monster emblem representing Shrek Academy on the left side of their chest. Students from different grades wore different-colored uniforms, just like their teaching buildings.

Their classroom was the first room on the left side of the first floor of the New Student Teaching Building. There was still more than half a shichen before class officially began, and only a scattered few people were in the spacious classroom, all of them girls.

Lin Yuan and Huo Yu Hao entered the classroom side by side and instantly became the center of attention. The girls' gazes fell on Lin Yuan in unison—awed, curious, lovestruck... there was every kind. After all, a silver-haired, purple-eyed young man with such a cool temperament would shine anywhere.

Lin Yuan smiled and nodded, then chose a seat by the window. Sunlight streamed through the glass onto his silver-white hair, casting a soft halo around it.

Huo Yu Hao sat beside him and murmured, "The moment you came in, Lin Yuan, the whole classroom went quiet."

As time passed, more and more people filled the classroom. Lin Yuan was resting with his eyes closed when he suddenly heard a familiar set of footsteps. He opened his eyes, a teasing smile curling at his lips.

At the door, Wang Dong entered with her short pink-blue hair. Her gaze swept over the classroom before finally landing on Lin Yuan and Huo Yu Hao. She gave a cold snort and chose a seat neither too close nor too far from them.

The atmosphere in the classroom immediately became subtle.

Only then did Huo Yu Hao have time to observe his surroundings. The classroom was large, and there were a full hundred students in their class. With a thousand new students in total, there should be around ten freshman classes.

"Ring, ring, ring—"

The class bell rang, and a figure appeared at the door right on time. She was an elderly woman with wrinkled skin and white hair, her gray-white hair coiled atop her head. She wore a white robe and was of average height. It was none other than the legendary Abbess Miejue—Zhou Yi!

As soon as the teacher entered, the previously noisy class fell silent, and everyone turned their attention toward the podium. The old woman's calm gaze swept from left to right. Instantly, everyone felt as though she had looked directly at them, and an invisible pressure rose in their hearts.

The same familiar flavor, the same familiar formula, the same familiar person, the same familiar words...

"My name is Zhou Yi, and I am your homeroom teacher. I'm not sure how many of you will make it through the coming year with me. But let me tell you this: in my class, no trash will ever pass the assessment. What I intend to cultivate are monsters, not idiots."

Zhou Yi's words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the new students' enthusiasm. Quite a few students showed indignation on their faces. Having passed the assessment to become students of Shrek Academy, they had all been carefully selected from across the continent's nations. Among their peers, they were undoubtedly worthy of being called geniuses. Yet in Teacher Zhou's mouth, they had become idiots.

Faced with Zhou Yi's opening show of force, the classroom was silent as a grave.

"Since registration began, anyone who has gotten into a fight, stand up." Zhou Yi still wore that stern expression, but her words shocked the entire class.

While the whole class remained silent, Lin Yuan and Huo Yu Hao stood up. Almost the next second, Wang Dong, who was not far from them, gave a light snort and stood as well, refusing to be outdone.

"Only three? What a bunch of trash. Don't you know that those who dare not cause trouble are mediocre? Everyone except them, get out and run one hundred laps around Shrek Plaza. Anyone who fails to finish will be expelled immediately."

Lin Yuan sneered inwardly. This twisted logic that those who dared not cause trouble were mediocre was something only Zhou Yi would dare use as an opening statement.

The entire class erupted in uproar. It was only their first day of school, class had not even begun, and they were being punished for never having fought? Who could accept that? Several troublemakers immediately stood up to question Zhou Yi, but it was useless. Once Zhou Yi displayed the strength of a Soul Emperor and intimidated the entire class, no one dared resist any longer. They all rose dejectedly and headed outside.

"A reminder: you have only one shichen. After one shichen, anyone who has not completed one hundred laps will be deemed unqualified. This is your first assessment after enrollment. Those who fail will withdraw from the academy."

The moment Zhou Yi finished speaking, the students moved much faster. They rushed out of the classroom and quickly reached the field.

"Teacher Zhou, we did fight, but it was merely a friendly exchange between classmates. It shouldn't be any particularly serious issue. Besides, you said this is the first assessment after enrollment. One hundred laps in one shichen—there's no point in wasting time."

As Lin Yuan finished speaking, Zhou Yi's sharp gaze abruptly locked onto him. Yet a trace of barely perceptible surprise flashed through her clouded eyes. She had taught at Shrek for many years and seen countless geniuses, but few freshmen dared bargain so calmly beneath her pressure. Much less a young man whose tone held not the slightest fear, but instead the composure of someone who had seen through the rules.

"A friendly exchange?" A cold curve appeared at the corner of Zhou Yi's lips as she slowly walked toward Lin Yuan. Her Soul Power spread faintly around her. "Using physical combat techniques to seize a classmate by the throat counts as a friendly exchange too?" She clearly already knew the details of the three-person match.

Lin Yuan calmly met Zhou Yi's gaze, with no trace of avoidance in his purple eyes. "Teacher Zhou, if I had truly intended to attack, Student Wang Dong probably wouldn't be sitting here right now." He paused, then shifted his tone. "And what you want are monsters who dare to cause trouble, not reckless brutes who only know how to act fierce. We didn't hurt anyone or violate academy rules, so that doesn't count as dragging the class down, does it?"

Beside him, Huo Yu Hao quietly clenched his fists. He had not expected Lin Yuan to confront Zhou Yi directly. Wang Dong, meanwhile, lifted her chin. Though she said nothing, there was less hostility in her eyes than before and more amused interest in the spectacle. She wanted to see whether this person who had so easily suppressed her could withstand Zhou Yi's fury.

Zhou Yi stared at Lin Yuan for a long while, then suddenly gave a cold snort. "Sharp-tongued. But you're not wrong. What I want are monsters, not idiots." She turned and walked toward the podium, her voice returning to its former cold hardness. "You three go too."

Lin Yuan smiled faintly, rose to his feet, and headed out of the classroom. Behind him, Huo Yu Hao and Wang Dong exchanged a glance before following him toward the field outside.

Watching the three leave the classroom, Zhou Yi's lips curved almost imperceptibly. She had taught for many years and seen countless geniuses, but someone like Lin Yuan—young, yet steady and composed, with his sharpness concealed—was truly rare.

Outside the New Student Teaching Building was Shrek Plaza. Shrek Plaza was not particularly large; one lap was roughly three hundred meters. For ordinary people, running a hundred laps around the plaza was certainly no easy task. But for these young students with a foundation in soul master training, it was not actually difficult. As long as they ran seriously, they could finish within one shichen.

Once Lin Yuan, Huo Yu Hao, and Wang Dong joined the running crowd, quite a few voices began gloating. But Huo Yu Hao and Wang Dong had no time to care about that. They had already lost some time and needed to hurry.

Lin Yuan, on the other hand, looked entirely calm. His pace was neither hurried nor slow, and his breathing was as steady as if he were taking a stroll. His figure cast a long shadow in the sunlight, his silver-white hairband fluttering gently in the wind. He appeared utterly unhurried.

"How about a race?" Wang Dong ran up beside Lin Yuan and asked.

Lin Yuan neither agreed nor refused. He merely said softly, "I'm afraid you'll get discouraged."

"Then let's race!" Wang Dong snorted unwillingly and suddenly accelerated.

It had to be said that although Wang Dong was proud, her cultivation was indeed extraordinary, and her physical constitution was extremely strong. The moment she accelerated, not a single student in Class One Freshman could keep up with her.

Yet when she turned back to see how many laps she had gained on Lin Yuan, she froze on the spot. Lin Yuan was still walking at an unhurried pace, each step landing as lightly as a feather. But whenever he took a step, a faint afterimage remained where he had stood, while in the next instant he was already several meters ahead, as if one step had crossed the barrier of space.

"Th-this is teleportation?!" Wang Dong was completely stunned by the sight before her. Her feet stumbled, and she nearly lost her balance.

"Not teleportation." Lin Yuan's voice came from not far ahead, carrying a faint smile. "I simply folded the space a little and walked in a straight line."

Walking in a straight line? She made it sound far too easy! Wang Dong was speechless, but even more than that, she was shaken. She suddenly realized that the gap between herself and Lin Yuan might be far greater than she had imagined.

On the other side of the field, Zhou Yi was also watching everything with cold eyes. When she saw Lin Yuan's nearly teleport-like steps, a trace of surprise flashed through her eyes, but she quickly returned to her usual icy demeanor.