Communication

Inside the teaching building, the homeroom teacher was delivering the final lesson of the first day to the freshmen. After the simple running test, Zhou Yi had basically grasped the general strength of these students; with a baseline established, she could make targeted arrangements, and the remaining disparities would not be significant.

Although she possessed the entrance exam information for these students, those were merely on paper and could not be displayed intuitively before her eyes. This run directly tested the students' physical fitness, the density of their soul power, and their willpower. Willpower was not something that could be quantified like soul power, yet for anyone wishing to succeed, this ability—or rather, quality—was indispensable. As the saying goes, those in ancient times who achieved great things not only possessed extraordinary talent but also had indomitable will.

A portion of the students from noble families had good talent but lacked this willpower, eventually ending up like Zhong Yong, fading into the crowd. There was no need to waste resources on such people. Zhou Yi's task was to identify these individuals during this initial stage; in fact, there was no need to target them, as such people usually couldn't keep up anyway.

Right now, everyone in the classroom was exhausted like dogs, devoid of any strength. Such a high volume of exercise was rare in their short lives. It wasn't that Huo Yuhao hadn't been in similar situations, but those were usually times of life-threatening crisis; without the pressure of survival, this fatigue felt doubly intense. This feeling was unprecedented—both mind and body were pushed to their limits. Provided one wasn't risking their life, this didn't seem to cause physical damage, but once the limit was exceeded, hidden injuries would occur. This intensity was still beneficial to the body.

However, this was very unfriendly to those with poor physical conditions. Since it was the first day, Huo Yuhao and the others returned to the classroom with their homeroom teacher, but there were always those who fell behind and hadn't caught up. Where were those people? The homeroom teacher hadn't specified where to gather after the run. Consequently, some of the stragglers were lost, wondering where they should go. A few clever ones ran to the classroom to check and found the main group, while others who didn't know what to do could only wander aimlessly around Shrek Academy, searching for the main force.

It wasn't until dusk that some panicked students finally braced themselves to ask for directions, wondering where they were supposed to go. Just like that, the first day of Shrek orientation concluded. The remaining time was for them to manage themselves. The schedule at Shrek Academy was quite relaxed; classes were only held during the day, with knowledge lessons and training sessions alternating so they wouldn't overlap. However, most of the current focus was on knowledge, as training sessions were essentially brawls, which would only increase as the final exams approached. After all, with little ability right now, they still needed to build a solid foundation.

Thus, everyone returned to their dorms. Huo Yuhao was already exhausted and wanted to rest, but he was called out.

"Hey classmate, we fought during the exam, let's get to know each other again. My name is Xiao Xiao." Huo Yuhao had actually recognized this sweet-looking girl long ago, but he felt too embarrassed to greet her. What could they possibly say to each other? Should he say, "I'm a support-type who defeated you by fighting above my level"? That would be too offensive. Moreover, Huo Yuhao vaguely knew that she definitely hadn't used her full strength; he couldn't have won so easily against someone who clearly possessed such extraordinary talent. Now that there was no room to dodge, he had to bite the bullet.

"Hello, my name is Huo Yuhao. Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier, uh..." Huo Yuhao couldn't finish his sentence. He had never been taught how to talk to pretty girls since he was young, and he couldn't handle the atmosphere of this conversation. He forced the words out like squeezing toothpaste: "Thanks for the exam. You must have gone easy on me, right?" He finally blurted out the question he had been holding back for a long time. Huo Yuhao suddenly felt much more relaxed.

"How could I have gone easy on you? Hahaha." A crisp laugh escaped Xiao Xiao's lips. How could such a thing be brought out into the open? Everyone knew it in their hearts, and that was enough. It would be a waste of her good intentions. In reality, everyone turned a blind eye, especially toward support-type candidates; there was even a tendency to encourage them. After all, they were so scarce that the exam standards had to be loosened.

"Besides, I definitely couldn't have beaten you. You defeated one of the strongest assault-type soul masters in this grade; how many people could do that?"

Huo Yuhao hadn't expected news of his victory to have already spread among his classmates. This situation was truly beyond his ability to handle. It shouldn't have spread so quickly, right?

Before Huo Yuhao could think of how to respond, the homeroom teacher suddenly appeared, interrupting their conversation. "Huo Yuhao, come with me."

"See you then, classmate Huo." Xiao Xiao smiled and walked out of the classroom. Why didn't she run? Because she couldn't run anymore either. It was likely that this entire conversation had been sustained by sheer willpower.

Huo Yuhao had just let out a sigh of relief, but the thought of the homeroom teacher looking for him made his nerves tighten again. The teacher's intense aura exerted immense pressure; without years of educational experience, it was difficult to face correctly. Only when you could commit mischief and still face the homeroom teacher with a cheeky grin would you truly become a "good student," having learned things many others hadn't.

Huo Yuhao hadn't reached that stage yet; he was at an age where he couldn't even lie, let alone maintain the simple confidence of looking someone in the eye. How could he manage all his secrets? Talking to a little girl was fine and good for his mental health, and Wang Yi and Tian Meng were happy to watch Huo Yuhao act awkward, but with this homeroom teacher, there was a risk of exposure—or rather, it was inevitable. The teacher's years of experience made her adept at handling these children. A stern teacher had to be dealt with by a seasoned veteran, so Wang Yi quickly took over to prevent any slip-ups.

Huo Yuhao lifted his lowered head, his gaze flickering for a moment before returning to normal. "What is it, teacher? Is there something you need?"

Zhou Yi's years of experience told her something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it, so she continued: "Huo Yuhao, right? I read your exam report; it was incredible. Your performance today was also outstanding—you were the last one to fall behind among the support types. Great job." After praising him, she added, "But that's still not enough. No matter how outstanding the performance, it doesn't explain your results. How did you have the chance to defeat Dai Huabin, who has full soul power?"

"This is simply unscientific. The Shrek Academy motto is to recruit only monsters, not ordinary people, but I don't recall any such precedent."

"Ah, teacher, I just got lucky. He underestimated me. Perhaps my ability is too unique, and he lost because he didn't defend against it. I'll struggle to beat him in the future; I'm just a homeless child with almost the lowest soul power and a ten-year first soul ring."

"Besides, even with that advantage, I suffered almost irreversible injuries. It will be even more impossible to beat him in the future." After speaking, Huo Yuhao's expression looked aggrieved, as if he were about to cry.

Seeing Huo Yuhao on the verge of tears, Zhou Yi felt at a loss. She knew how to handle crying children, but the way he said those things while preparing to cry felt uncoordinated and uncomfortable to her.

"Then, teacher, I'll be going now." Wang Yi took advantage of Zhou Yi's hesitation to make a quick escape, even utilizing green-energy body enhancement to accelerate. By the time Zhou Yi reacted, Huo Yuhao was already some distance away. She could have caught him if she wanted to, but she decided to let it go, thinking to herself.

At this moment, Huo Yuhao was protesting to Wang Yi: "Didn't you say we should keep a low profile? What have you done?"

"Why don't you do it then?" Faced with this, Huo Yuhao's spirit immediately deflated. He couldn't even handle talking to a girl; asking him to clash with the homeroom teacher—a mountain on his life's path—was truly asking too much of him.

"Before I spoke, I intended to keep a low profile and bluff my way through, but once I started, I changed my mind. Whether you explain the reason or not, she'll dig to the bottom of it. Since the real reason can't be told, any bluff will do, so I decided to be a bit mysterious."

"Then why didn't you choose to be more low-key?" Huo Yuhao didn't give up on his initial question. This result meant he would have to face the teacher's constant questioning in the future. What would he do if Wang Yi refused to come out? Just thinking about facing that stern teacher alone made Huo Yuhao nervous.

"Fine, I'll tell you. Mainly, I wanted to say it that way because it has more 'style,' and it felt great to say it." Wang Yi couldn't help but laugh, and this laugh made Huo Yuhao blush instantly.

"Oh, you won't come out to face things, and when I handle them, you're not satisfied. You're too hard to please." Huo Yuhao just stared at Wang Yi in silence, and after a while, Wang Yi couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, alright, my fault, okay? I'll take care of everything until you can handle these things yourself. Just practice talking to little girls. Sigh, I can imagine how long that process will take."

"If you can't even deal with a little girl, I don't expect you to deal with these old foxes." This remark made Huo Yuhao even more uncomfortable, but his own performance just now was too embarrassing to defend, and in the end, he stuttered and couldn't say a word.

If it were Wang Yi, he would have long since denied what he just did; it could only be said that Huo Yuhao still needed practice.

Just like that, amidst the bickering in his mind, Huo Yuhao returned to his dorm and began to cultivate. Regardless of his strength, soul power remained the most important foundation. According to Tian Meng, if he reached level 20, anyone like Dai Huabin would be trash; no one at the same level could consistently defeat Huo Yuhao.

Now he could only cultivate diligently. Although the speed was still slow, the consequences of forcibly raising his soul power cultivation had arrived. He would accumulate bit by bit; Huo Yuhao did not lack patience.