Don't Team Up with Wang Dong

Life at the academy was always dull and monotonous.

Get up in the morning, eat breakfast, run laps, then go to class. Eat lunch at noon, continue classes after the midday break, and have dinner in the evening. After that, the students could either spend their free time as they pleased or keep studying. The academy gave them plenty of time to do as they wished.

Huo Yuhao took off his Iron Clothes. They hit the ground with a muffled thud, and the floor trembled slightly. Cold Air flowed through his body, and the sweat on him vanished completely.

After his battle with Xu Sanshi the night before last, Huo Yuhao's standing among the new students had soared. He was now widely acknowledged as the top student of this year's intake.

Dai Huabin stood at the entrance to New Student Class Four, watching Huo Yuhao return to the classroom surrounded by the students of New Student Class One. His back teeth were nearly ground to dust.

Just yesterday, Dai Yueheng had suddenly come to see him from the Inner Courtyard and asked if he had been giving Huo Yuhao trouble lately. Dai Huabin had frozen for a moment before hurriedly denying it.

Dai Yueheng had been injured. During his spar with Huo Yunxue yesterday, her Six Winged Angel Martial Soul—a God-tier Martial Soul—had completely overwhelmed him, leaving him helpless. With her Angel Domain, Huo Yunxue was invincible among those of the same rank.

Dai Yueheng accepted that Huo Yunxue was targeting him because of Huo Yuhao. After all, his younger brother had been the one to insult Huo Yuhao first, and then prove too weak to back it up.

But today, Ma Xiaotao seemed to have lost her mind and attacked him without holding back. She had even used her Sixth Soul Skill, Phoenix Meteor Shower.

If Zhang Lexuan hadn't called a halt in time, Dai Yueheng knew he would have had to be carried off the Training Ground.

Qian Renxue had watched the entire scene from outside the Training Ground, secretly delighted. The day before, she had gone to see Ma Xiaotao and told her about Huo Yuhao's childhood and what he had suffered. Without revealing that Huo Yuhao was the White Tiger Duke's son, she had made it clear that Dai Huabin was the one who had killed Huo Yuhao's Mother.

That had made Ma Xiaotao's temper erupt. During her spar with Dai Yueheng today, she had become a Flame Demon, relentlessly pursuing and battering him until he was questioning his entire existence.

Dai Yueheng considered himself a Soul Emperor, too. Though there was a seven-rank gap in Soul Power between him and Ma Xiaotao, she wasn't a Titled Douluo. He never would have expected her Phoenix Flame to grow so much hotter in such a short time.

Targeted by two women in succession, Dai Yueheng had been in a foul mood yesterday and today.

In the blink of an eye, Huo Yuhao and Qian Renxue had been at Shrek Academy for three months. Qian Renxue had also spent three months in the Douluo Continent ten thousand years later.

Over the past three months, Qian Renxue had become a disciple of Xian Lin'er, the Soul Tool Department Dean, and studied Soul Tool Crafting. She had now successfully become a Third-level Soul Master.

Her astonishing pace of learning and deep understanding of Soul Tools had stunned the elders of the Sea God Pavilion. There was no doubt that Qian Renxue's talent was unparalleled throughout history.

As the Successor of the Angel Clan and the first person in ten thousand years to become a God, she had lost the best years of her youth to more than a decade of life in the imperial palace.

Huo Yuhao's unexpected entrance into her life had opened up an entirely new one for Qian Renxue.

These days, Qian Renxue was enjoying a comfortable life. She either studied Soul Tool Crafting or went shopping in the city with her close friends Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming, and Zhang Lexuan. She was living quite at her ease.

Qian Renxue was now striving to become a Fourth-level Soul Master. Meanwhile, three months had passed since Huo Yuhao enrolled, and the New Student Assessment had quietly arrived.

New Student Class One.

"Today's physical training class is canceled for now." Zhou Yi stood at the lectern, her sharp gaze sweeping over the students.

Huo Yuhao sat upright. He was here to study, not to pick fights. As long as the other person didn't go too far, he had no intention of targeting anyone.

"I'm pleased that three months after the start of term, eighty-one of you are still here. That's far more than I expected. Tomorrow, you'll face Shrek Academy's first assessment. If you pass, you'll become true members of Shrek Academy. The assessment begins tomorrow. I'll explain its contents and key points now."

"Huo Yuhao, as class monitor, hand these papers out." Zhou Yi passed him a stack of sheets.

As Huo Yuhao distributed them, Zhou Yi continued, "After the New Student Assessment, you'll be taught according to your aptitude. Write down the direction you want your future cultivation to take, then hand the paper to me."

Huo Yuhao finished handing out the papers and returned to his seat. As the others wrote furiously, he left his sheet blank except for his name.

"Combat!" Zhou Yi wrote two large characters on the blackboard.

The New Student Assessment was a series of battles. The academy would arrange the matches, and the entire year would take part. Students would be placed in teams of three, each of which had to include an Attack-type Soul Master. The other two members would be assigned at random.

Zhou Yi had asked everyone to write down their intended future path as Soul Masters to prepare for the New Student Assessment.

"The assessment will have three hundred teams, matched by drawing lots. Only the top one hundred and fifty teams will earn the right to stay, so this first battle is especially important for you."

"After that, you'll draw lots to determine your opponents. Each team will face at least ten battles. The final rankings will be based on the number of wins. The top sixty-four teams will advance to the Elimination Round, which will continue until the Champion is decided."

"There are eighty-one students in New Student Class One, so you'll be divided into twenty-seven teams. I'll sort you into teams according to the directions you've chosen for your future development. If you have any objections, you can discuss changes among yourselves afterward. But if I submit the list tomorrow, and you still have objections..."

Zhou Yi's gaze swept across the classroom. The room fell utterly silent.

Huo Yuhao glanced at his blank sheet, which bore only his name. Should he focus on control or attack?

Over the past three months, Huo Yuhao had gotten along well with most of his classmates. The one exception was Wang Dong. Huo Yuhao didn't want to get involved with him, much less let the so-called Hao Dong Power come into being.

When Zhou Yi saw that no one was speaking, she assumed there were no objections. Just as she was about to announce the teams, Huo Yuhao raised his hand.

"Huo Yuhao, do you have an objection?" Zhou Yi asked in surprise.

Huo Yuhao nodded, then left his seat and went over to Zhou Yi. After whispering something to her, he saw her expression shift slightly. She waved him back to his seat.

The others looked at each other, unable to guess what Huo Yuhao had said to Teacher Zhou.

Zhou Yi didn't announce the teams after all. Instead, she told Huo Yuhao to stay after class and then continued teaching.

When the bell rang, the students scattered in a rush to discuss the teams. The New Student Assessment was crucial; no one wanted to pack up and leave. They would regret it for the rest of their lives.

The enormous classroom was left with only Zhou Yi and Huo Yuhao. The two of them sat down.

"You don't want to be teamed up with Wang Dong? Why?" Zhou Yi asked, puzzled.