23, Tang Wulin

Xia Linyuan hadn't expected that his offhand joke to Huo Yuhao and the others a few days ago—"I'm planning to try my luck at Shrek Academy and see if I can get hired as a teacher for fun"—might actually come true.

And it wasn't for any other reason than that he was in Class One, and his homeroom teacher was Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi was the sort of person who knew nothing beyond Shrek Academy's traditional weighted runs. Her teaching ability was nonexistent, and she was as capricious as they came. Of every cohort of new students she had taught, only thirty percent had been eliminated before the freshman assessment. The higher-ups at Shrek Academy probably thought that was cause for celebration.

Expelling students over the slightest disagreement—was that something a teacher should do?

And at an academy where teachers could ignore the rules and deal with students however they pleased, just how rotten was the place?

The higher-ups in Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department were clearly out of their minds, too. They thought Zhou Yi's behavior was wrong, yet tacitly allowed it. Even after students reported her time and again, all she got was a warning. She never faced any real punishment.

Then there was the freshman assessment after the start of term. At least two-thirds of a thousand new students were eliminated. Wasn't that just another way of expelling students with lesser talent and boosting the academy's graduation rate?

In that regard, how was Shrek Academy any different from Zhou Yi? Perhaps the only difference was that Zhou Yi acted brazenly and went to extremes, while Shrek Academy only dared to use assessments as an excuse to fool people.

To put it more bluntly, how many of the higher-ups at Shrek Academy were normal, decent people? Some had been womanizers in their youth, others were caught up in sordid love triangles, and then there were people like Xuan Zi, who disregarded the students' safety.

In Xia Linyuan's eyes, Shrek Academy was nothing more than a diploma mill that used its reputation to attract geniuses, piled them up as a selling point, and then exploited that reputation to monopolize resources.

Taking his gaze from the notice board, Xia Linyuan walked away. "Let's go check out the dorms."

Gu Yuena followed him. "Why do I feel like you've got a bad idea?"

"Heh. You're imagining things."

"You saying that makes me think my instincts are right."

"Mm. They are."

Gu Yuena: "..."

At the same time, a pair of handsome twins emerged from the freshman teaching building. They were the pair who had disguised themselves as boys.

"See, Sis? I told you this would happen!" With no one else around, Wulin let out a despairing wail. "I shouldn't have gone along with your idea and registered in boys' clothes. Just thinking about sharing a room with some strange boy gives me goosebumps!"

Her sister awkwardly tried to comfort her. "It's fine, it's fine. Once your roommate and mine show up, we can see if one of them is willing to switch rooms with us."

"But will that work? Never mind whether they'll agree to switch—will the academy even let students change dorm rooms on their own?" Wulin asked uncertainly.

"Oh, come on. We won't know unless we try. And the academy probably won't be that strict about it."

"Hopefully we can switch," Wulin said, sounding rather dejected.

Shrek Academy had only one dormitory building, and it covered a huge area. The first three floors were for boys, while the fourth floor and above were for girls.

In front of the dormitory building, Dragon God Douluo Mu En was reclining in a deck chair, basking in the sun. He swayed gently, looking quite comfortable.

"Hm?" Gu Yuena murmured in surprise when she saw Mu En. She leaned toward Xia Linyuan and whispered, "This human is no ordinary person."

"He wouldn't be, would he?" Xia Linyuan said evenly. "He's one of the strongest humans on Douluo Continent right now, Dragon God Douluo."

When she heard that Mu En's title was Dragon God, a trace of unease crossed Gu Yuena's delicate face.

"If he's one of the strongest humans on Douluo Continent, could he discover that you're not from this world?"

"No," Xia Linyuan replied. "You were able to tell I wasn't from Douluo World because I hadn't blocked your perception of me at the time."

Gu Yuena nodded, seeming to understand.

As they passed Mu En, both Xia Linyuan and Gu Yuena noticed him, but neither so much as glanced his way. They walked straight past him.

They had no need to curry favor with Mu En, nor any need to get involved with a dying man. There was no point.

After the two had passed, Mu En murmured, "Just as the rumors say: a naturally wicked child with a deep, calculating nature. I hope he doesn't end up at odds with Shrek Academy."

"That girl, though—she seems blessed by nature itself. Every element is helping her cultivate, however subtly. She's sure to achieve great things one day."

Xia Linyuan's dorm was on the first floor, while Gu Yuena's was on the fourth. Since they couldn't just enter dorms meant for the opposite sex, they parted ways at the staircase.

Xia Linyuan's room was Dorm 129. A sweep of his divine sense was all it took to find it.

As soon as he opened the door, a rush of stale air poured out. The few pieces of furniture in the room had been covered in a thick layer of dust after sitting unused for so long.

He reduced the Abyssal Power radiating from him until it was on the same level as the Soul Power of Douluo Continent, then gathered a small vortex of energy in his hand.

He tossed it, and a violent force suddenly burst open, sweeping the room's foul, musty air out through the window. The air quickly turned fresh.

Xia Linyuan felt comfortable, but the students passing outside suffered. They all covered their noses and hurried along.

Xia Linyuan: "Don't walk away. Run!"

He swept the floor, wiped the dust from the furniture, rinsed...

Although Xia Linyuan hadn't done these chores himself in a long time, he still handled them without the slightest hesitation.

When he was about a third of the way through, someone came to the door of Dorm 129.

Xia Linyuan didn't even look up. He continued cleaning.

Seeing Xia Linyuan cleaning the room, the newcomer first froze, then instinctively glanced at the number on the door. After confirming he hadn't gone to the wrong room, he hurried inside, set down his things, and began helping.

With two people working together, a job that would have taken half an hour was done in fifteen minutes.

They'd finished everything. Though they hadn't broken a sweat, they were still a little warm.

After putting away his things, Xia Linyuan's roommate greeted him with a cheerful smile. "Hi, I'm Tang Wulin."

Tang Wulin?

Xia Linyuan glanced up at him.

Was it just a case of sharing a name, or was "he" the "Xiao Ba" whose body had been injected with the Golden Dragon King's essence after Tang San arranged for the other four godkings to kill the Golden Dragon King?