Switching to Class Nine, Hot on His Heels

Early the next morning.

The air at Shrek Academy carried a touch of damp chill.

Dai Huabin stood beside the big tree below the Freshman Dormitory Building, holding two carefully packed breakfasts.

His white uniform was freshly washed, making him look even taller and more upright.

Before long, light footsteps sounded from the entrance to the building.

Zhu Lu came out, her long black hair falling over her shoulders, the hem of her white uniform skirt swaying gently with each step.

A tall girl stood beside her.

The girl had striking pink hair and a healthy flush to her skin.

Her hips swayed as she walked, and she had a naturally alluring air about her. Her slightly pointed ears, in particular, lent her a touch of liveliness.

"Huabin, have you been waiting long?"

Zhu Lu hurried over and stood naturally beside Dai Huabin.

"I just got here."

Dai Huabin handed her one of the breakfasts.

Zhu Lu accepted it with a faint blush, then softly introduced the girl beside her.

"This is my roommate, Cui Yajie."

Cui Yajie sized Dai Huabin up.

As the owner of a Nine-Tailed Fox Martial Soul, her senses were exceptionally sharp.

The boy before her had a restrained air of pressure about him, yet he came across as a gentle nobleman.

"I've heard all about how Lulu's fiancé is the young master of the White Tiger Duke Mansion. Now that I've met him, Lulu really is a lucky girl."

Cui Yajie spoke with a bright smile, her voice crisp and sweet.

"You're too kind. I'll be counting on you to look after Lulu in the dorm," Dai Huabin said amiably, without putting on airs.

"Of course. We're good friends, after all."

As Cui Yajie spoke, she gave Zhu Lu a teasing glance, though she kept her hands well away from Dai Huabin.

The three of them were discussing where to finish their breakfast when they heard a commotion at the stairwell.

A girl with pink-and-blue hair strode down the steps, followed by a little girl with green twin tails.

Wang Dong'er was wearing a well-tailored white uniform skirt from Shrek Academy.

Her long, straight legs showed beneath the hem, and her pink-and-blue hair was almost dazzling in the morning light.

She was so beautiful that she looked like a figure in a painting.

Xiao Xiao followed behind her. The petite girl looked like the sort who inspired an urge to protect her.

Wang Dong'er spotted Dai Huabin beneath the tree at once. As though she had just thought of something, she hurried over.

She stopped in front of Dai Huabin and put her hands on her hips.

"Hey, you dead blondie, take a good look!"

Wang Dong'er spun around in front of Dai Huabin, her skirt flaring out.

"I'm back in my usual clothes. What do you think? Do I still look the way you said I did yesterday?"

As Wang Dong'er spoke, she held her chin high, looking as if to say, "Your young lady is very beautiful, isn't she?"

Xiao Xiao peered out curiously from beside her and stared at Dai Huabin.

"Wow, Dong'er, is this the perverted blondie you said was bullying you?"

Xiao Xiao spoke her mind. Her voice rang especially clearly in the quiet morning.

Dai Huabin laughed in surprise, ignoring the word "perverted."

"Yeah, she really is beautiful. But not as beautiful as my Lulu."

With that, Dai Huabin pulled Zhu Lu affectionately against his side, showing her off in front of Wang Dong'er.

Wang Dong'er froze on the spot.

She had thought her outfit would dazzle everyone and make that detestable blond pervert feel ashamed of himself.

But Dai Huabin's gaze paused on her chest for half a second before shifting meaningfully to Zhu Lu.

Although Zhu Lu was only eleven, the physical changes brought by her Nether Civet Martial Soul had made her figure more mature than those of girls her age.

Her snug uniform accentuated her fuller figure, which was certainly more striking.

By contrast, Wang Dong'er had been used to holding herself back in order to conceal her identity.

Standing in front of Zhu Lu now, she really did look "flat as a washboard."

"You! Where are you looking?!"

Wang Dong'er's cheeks burned, and she instinctively covered her chest with both hands.

She was so embarrassed and angry that she wanted to land a Wing Blade Guillotine on Dai Huabin right then and there.

Dai Huabin shrugged without replying.

He kept his arm around Zhu Lu's shoulders, looking almost lazy.

Such blatant disregard made Wang Dong'er feel as though the carefully prepared "comeback debut" she'd planned had turned into a joke.

"Come on, Xiao Xiao, let's go! Let's get away from this pervert!"

Wang Dong'er grabbed Xiao Xiao's hand and strode away from the dormitory without looking back.

Xiao Xiao stumbled as she was dragged along, not yet understanding what had happened.

Before she left, she glanced back at Dai Huabin, thinking that the handsome blond seemed rather proper. How had he managed to make Dong'er this angry?

Just as Wang Dong'er was pulling Xiao Xiao a few steps away, another slight figure emerged from the dormitory stairwell.

It was Huo Yuhao.

He had been on his way to the cafeteria for breakfast.

But when he looked up and saw the scene beneath the tree, he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Sunlight streamed through gaps in the leaves. Dai Huabin stood at the center, his golden hair gleaming.

His left hand rested on the shoulder of a beautiful black-haired girl, while a pink-haired girl stood to his right, smiling flirtatiously at him.

What made Huo Yuhao's heart clench even more was the sight of the pink-and-blue-haired girl he'd glimpsed at registration. She was staring at Dai Huabin with an indignant expression. She didn't look disgusted so much as put out with him.

Huo Yuhao felt a surge of anger rush to his head for no reason.

Why?

Back at the White Tiger Duke Mansion, this man had been the young master, surrounded by admirers, while Huo Yuhao had been stuck in a leaky woodshed.

Now they were both freshmen at Shrek Academy, yet Huo Yuhao was still all alone, while Dai Huabin already had girls of this caliber gathered around him.

It was a scene Huo Yuhao wouldn't have dared hope for even in his dreams, yet for Dai Huabin it seemed like an everyday occurrence.

Huo Yuhao clenched his teeth, his nails digging into his palms.

He didn't go up to provoke him. He knew he was far too weak right now.

Huo Yuhao simply lowered his head and quickened his pace, passing by as if he were invisible.

Dai Huabin had noticed Huo Yuhao. He could even sense the intense resentment coming from him.

But he didn't spare him so much as a glance. Huo Yuhao wasn't worth wasting his energy on yet.

"Huabin, that freshman just now looked at you strangely," Zhu Lu reminded him softly. Her keen senses had picked up on the hostility that had flashed from Huo Yuhao.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about him."

Dai Huabin patted Zhu Lu's hand.

"Lulu, there's something I need to tell you both first. I'm planning to apply to join Freshman Class 9."

Zhu Lu paused, her bright black eyes fixed on Dai Huabin for a moment. She didn't ask why.

"Wherever you go, I'll go too."

Cui Yajie, standing nearby, looked a little confused. She ran a hand through her pink hair, her voice crisp and sweet.

"Huabin, I remember the class assignments have already been posted. The three of us are all in Class Five. Why go to a bottom-ranked class like Class Nine?"

At Shrek Academy, freshmen were generally assigned according to the teachers' rankings from year to year.

Dai Huabin smiled without answering.

Class Nine had Ning Tian, the heir to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect who possessed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

"The teacher in Class Five is too old-fashioned. It doesn't suit my training plans."

Dai Huabin casually came up with an excuse.

"As for the teaching staff, at Shrek, as long as you're strong enough, who your teacher is doesn't really matter."

Cui Yajie blinked, then linked arms with Zhu Lu with a smile.

"Since Lulu's going, there's no point in me staying in Class Five alone. I'm coming too!"

The three settled on their decision and prepared to head to the Academic Affairs Office.

As it happened, Wang Dong'er, who hadn't gone far, had heard them.

She stopped with Xiao Xiao and turned around, eyeing Dai Huabin suspiciously.

"Hey, what did you just say? You're going to Class Nine? Do you already know which class you're in?"

Dai Huabin stopped and glanced at her sideways.

"Wang Dong'er, are you that lazy? The class assignments have been on the bulletin board all morning."

With that, Dai Huabin continued on with Zhu Lu and the others.

"Stop!"

Wang Dong'er's mind raced as she worked out her plan.

She had come to Shrek Academy to get some experience. Her fathers had said it was full of geniuses.

But so far, apart from that detestable blondie, she hadn't met anyone stronger.

If she left this guy behind, who would she get into trouble with from now on? No, wait—who would she spar with?

"Class Nine, huh? Hmph, it's nothing special."

Wang Dong'er lifted her chin and spoke to Xiao Xiao, who was still in a daze.

"Xiao Xiao, we're switching to Class Nine too! If someone like him can get in, there must be something fishy about it. We'll go there and beat him into the ground so he knows who's boss!"

Xiao Xiao opened her mouth, looking completely bewildered.

"Huh? But... Dong'er, I heard Class Nine's teaching conditions are pretty ordinary. And our admission letters say Class One. The teacher is called Zhou Yi, I think. I heard she's really strict, so we should be able to learn quite a lot, right?"

At the word "strict," Wang Dong'er drew her shoulders in.

She was already nagged enough at the Clear Sky Sect. Did she need to find a strict teacher when she came out to study too? She wasn't a masochist.

"Come on, strict doesn't mean capable! We'll have more room to do as we please in Class Nine."

As Wang Dong'er coaxed Xiao Xiao, she shouted at Dai Huabin's retreating back.

"Dead blondie, just you wait! Your young lady here is going to be Class Nine's class monitor!"

Dai Huabin stopped and turned around, wearing a meaningful smile.

"You want to come? Then keep up. But Director Du Weilun isn't easy to talk to. Unless you have enough clout, he won't help a freshman switch classes just like that."

Wang Dong'er snorted and pulled a sparkling plaque from her clothes, waving it around.

"You don't need to worry about that. I've got connections everywhere!"