Teacher Mu, I'm planning to establish an academy. You don't have to take part in it directly; you can just lend it your name.
As Huo Yuhao spoke, he quietly considered the matter.
Getting Mu Jin to leave Shrek Academy outright was definitely impossible. He would start by having her lend the academy her name, then slowly wear her down, bit by bit.
Huo Yuhao didn't believe it would be too hard to win Mu Jin over, given his abilities.
At the same time, Huo Yuhao directly questioned the system.
"Hey, System, your rules never said I had to join completely, did they? As long as I join and lend it my name, that should count, right? There's no clause saying otherwise."
[System...]
The system hesitated.
A moment later: [Ding. Fine...]
As it spoke, its mechanical voice carried a rare hint of hesitation.
Huo Yuhao's eyebrows jumped at that. He'd found himself a little loophole, but as long as it worked, that was good enough.
At that, Mu Jin furrowed her brow slightly, then smiled a moment later.
"Huo Yuhao, I was just trying to get you to join my Class Five, and now you're trying to recruit me. You've got quite the ambition."
Huo Yuhao smiled and asked tentatively, "Um, is that not allowed?"
Mu Jin took a deep breath.
A moment later, she flatly refused. "No."
Then she seemed to think of something. Her tone shifted, and her expression grew a little colder.
"Although you promised to keep a low profile during the student assessment three months from now, I'll keep an eye on you from time to time to make sure you don't go back on your word. I'll watch you fight and study your weaknesses."
Huo Yuhao was stunned. He hadn't expected Mu Jin to say that.
She really was willing to go pretty far for love.
It was hard to know what to make of it.
After Mu Jin finished speaking, she had no intention of continuing the conversation. She gave a cold snort and swayed away.
Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. He immediately asked the system, "Hey, System, does that uncensored version of Peerless Tang Sect have a story dedicated to Mu Jin?"
[System: Ding. Yes. Chapter 28 of the uncensored version—Mu Jin's Heartbreaking Ordeal.]
[It was not released through official channels because its content was too explicit.]
Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao immediately read through the "sanitized" chapter.
Before long, Huo Yuhao drew a sharp breath. He had to admit, there was a reason it had been "sanitized."
Three days later, a student of average aptitude in Mu Jin's class needed to obtain a Soul Ring.
Though Mu Jin could be a little single-minded when it came to love, this incident showed that she was a decent person.
She didn't treat students differently based on their talent. If they were in her class, she saw her responsibilities through to the end. That was a quality worth praising.
Of course, that was aside from her lovesickness.
However, an accident occurred while they were obtaining the Soul Ring.
They had originally planned to hunt a Soul Beast from the ape family that was around two or three hundred years old, but a mutated ape nearly twenty thousand years old suddenly appeared.
And since apes were pack-dwelling Soul Beasts, more apes soon came to attack. The situation spiraled out of control, and Mu Jin was unfortunately poisoned.
Fortunately, nothing truly disastrous happened, but what came next was explosive.
The Soul Beast known as the Silver Ape had a peculiar interest in women. It actually wanted to abduct Mu Jin and have its way with her.
After Mu Jin was poisoned, she was captured.
A great many suggestive and sensual incidents took place during that time, including detailed descriptions of Mu Jin's figure and movements. It was truly shocking.
But they were only descriptions; nothing happened that could not be undone.
Still, when he thought about a certain author's writing style, it seemed rather in character.
Huo Yuhao quickly came up with a plan.
Although Mu Jin emerged unharmed, the incident would still leave her in an awkward position.
If he could step in and help, he could at least keep her from ending up in an even more embarrassing situation.
Just as Huo Yuhao was thinking this, another voice suddenly rang out.
"Huo Yuhao, what are you doing?"
The speaker was Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi still had that cold, old-lady face, looking stern and merciless.
Seeing her, Huo Yuhao put his thoughts aside and replied, "Nothing. I was just thinking about a few things."
Zhou Yi nodded at that.
"Where's Liu Erlong?"
Huo Yuhao replied, "Sister Liu is on her way to the faculty office. She should be almost there."
Zhou Yi nodded again. Remembering Mu En's instructions, she spoke.
"Yuhao, I'll go find Liu Erlong in a moment. There shouldn't be any problem with building the academy."
"Also, it's the first day of school, so you can spend the time however you like. We're still recruiting outside, and after I finish meeting Liu Erlong, I'll go check on the recruitment. Just stay in your classroom and don't wander off."
As she spoke, Zhou Yi glanced at Xiao Wu, who had been standing obediently beside Huo Yuhao the whole time.
Huo Yuhao nodded.
According to the story, Huo Yuhao would enroll today. That evening, he and Wang Dong would be assigned to the same dorm room and get into a fight.
The next day, Zhou Yi would start by asking who had fought, then make everyone stand up. She would even call those who hadn't fought cowards, before ordering everyone to run.
After that, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, who had fought, would have to run too.
But Huo Yuhao wasn't about to follow that predetermined route. After thinking it over, he spoke.
"Teacher Zhou, could I discuss something with you? Nannan told me Shrek Academy has a rule that allows students to take leave from their studies, as long as they pass each assessment. The academy doesn't interfere too much."
At that, Zhou Yi furrowed her brow. Her already stern, grandmotherly face grew even more severe.
"What are you planning to do? Why take leave? There's a lot to learn at the academy, and it provides you with a great environment for cultivation. Why would you want to take leave?"
Huo Yuhao thought about it and felt a little speechless at her question.
As for Shrek Academy's learning environment, he wouldn't even get into that.
And its teaching quality...
Zhou Yi had inherited advanced teaching theories from ten thousand years ago, with running as their main focus...
Then Huo Yuhao replied, "It's like this, Teacher Zhou. I have my own training method. I train as if my life depends on it. I have to go through life-and-death situations to gain insights in battle and improve my Soul Power."
"I feel this kind of teaching is too gentle. I can't even risk dying. I want something more thrilling and dangerous. That would be a way to push myself to become stronger."
As he spoke, Huo Yuhao put on an appropriately determined, optimistic expression, one that showed he wasn't afraid of hardship.
At that, Zhou Yi furrowed her brow again and sank into a long silence.
A moment later, Zhou Yi shook her head slightly and said coldly, "Huo Yuhao, I won't agree to you taking leave. But if you can meet my requirements, I can ease up on your lessons."
Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up. "How would you ease up on my lessons?"
The corners of Zhou Yi's mouth lifted. "Why don't you ask what my requirements are?"
Huo Yuhao paused, then smiled. "I have a feeling I can meet whatever requirements you set, Teacher Zhou."
Zhou Yi looked deeply at Huo Yuhao. A moment later, she spoke without hesitation.
"First requirement: run two hundred laps around the teaching building. You're not allowed to use your Soul Power, and I'll make you carry extra weight."
Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched at that. Why did everything still come back to running laps?
Then Huo Yuhao looked toward Zhou Yi's teaching building and fell into brief thought.
A moment later, Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. "All right. It'll be exhausting, but I can give it a try."
At that, Zhou Yi's mouth curled into a slight smile. Then she changed tack and continued, "Second requirement: you must return to the academy every two days."
"Third requirement: you must place in the top three on every academic exam each term."
At that, Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow slightly. After thinking it over, he nodded. Returning to the academy every two days was manageable.
Then, without hesitation, Huo Yuhao said, "All right. Then, Teacher Zhou, give me the extra weight."
Zhou Yi didn't pay much attention to his words. She simply took an iron vest weighing eighty jin out of her Storage Soul Tool...
Before you continue