As everyone knew, Mu Jin and Zhou Yi of Class One were sworn enemies. Zhou Yi was famous for being strict and downright deranged, earning herself the nickname "Old Hag."
With those words, Dai Huabin had openly praised Mu Jin while indirectly taking a dig at Zhou Yi.
For Mu Jin, it was like downing an ice-cold soda on a summer day—pure bliss!
Sure enough, Teacher Mu stood up, her face blooming into a smile as her somewhat stern expression melted away.
"Oh, you sweet-talker. Am I really that wonderful?"
"Teacher, you're far too modest. Everyone in Shrek Outer Court knows you're both beautiful and brilliant."
Dai Huabin pressed his advantage.
"Being your students is an honor. If we can't get into Class Nine, I feel like my whole life will go dark."
Beside him, Cui Yajie covered her mouth and giggled, thinking that this man really knew how to spin a line.
Zhu Lu remained expressionless, clearly already accustomed to her fiancé's recent transformation.
Wang Dong'er stared at Dai Huabin as if he were an alien.
How could anyone be so shameless? Just downstairs, he'd said Class One's teacher was strict, and now he was craving the warmth of a spring breeze?
Watching the scene unfold, Du Weilun could only sigh helplessly.
Dai Huabin was too good at working people. He'd gone and sweet-talked Mu Jin into a good mood.
If Du Weilun refused them now, he'd offend not only the White Tiger Duke Mansion and the Clear Sky Sect, but his own colleague as well.
"Teacher Mu, what do you think?" Du Weilun turned to ask her.
Mu Jin walked over to the children, liking them more the longer she looked.
Who wouldn't want a handsome, articulate student like Dai Huabin?
And with someone like Wang Dong'er, a possessor of a top-tier Martial Soul, joining them too, wouldn't they be able to slap that old hag Zhou Yi right in the face at this year's Freshman Assessment?
"Director Du, since the children are so sincere, I say we let them transfer."
Mu Jin smiled warmly.
"Doesn't Shrek advocate teaching students according to their aptitude? You can't force a melon to be sweet. Since they're drawn to Class Nine's atmosphere, I'll make sure to train them well."
Du Weilun sighed and waved a hand.
"Fine, fine. If Teacher Mu is willing to take them, I have no objections. But let me make one thing clear: if they don't put up decent results in the Freshman Assessment after transferring, I'll be furious!"
"Thank you, Director Du! Thank you, Teacher Mu! I'll definitely take first place in this freshman tournament!" Dai Huabin immediately seized the opening, pulling Zhu Lu along as he bowed again.
Wang Dong'er muttered,
"If you want first place, you'd better ask me first!"
"Classes officially start the day after tomorrow. Don't be late."
Mu Jin smiled as she reminded them, her gaze full of affection as she looked at Dai Huabin. He was a trump card she could use to beat Zhou Yi.
The five of them left the office building and walked along a tree-lined path.
Sunlight streamed through the leaves, dappling them as they walked.
"You've got some nerve."
Cui Yajie twirled a lock of her pink hair around her finger and shot Dai Huabin a flirtatious look.
"You even dare tease a teacher. You're awful."
"That's called the art of conversation."
Dai Huabin straightened his collar.
"If we'd just stubbornly made our request, that old fox Du Weilun would've blocked us with a whole pile of rules."
Wang Dong'er rolled her eyes and snorted.
"You were just lucky Teacher Mu likes hearing compliments. If we'd run into another teacher, you'd probably have been kicked out already."
"Enough. Anyway, we're classmates now."
Dai Huabin stopped and turned to face the four girls, his expression growing a little more serious.
"Since we're in the same class, we'll have to work together sooner or later. Let's stop hiding things from each other and properly introduce ourselves."
As he spoke, his Soul Power stirred faintly. He didn't release his Martial Soul, but the pressure of a powerful expert was unmistakable.
"Dai Huabin. Martial Soul: White Tiger. Level thirty-two Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder."
Although she'd heard there was a Soul Elder among this year's freshmen, Wang Dong'er was still shocked to hear Dai Huabin state his level in person.
Level thirty-two at eleven? Even at Shrek, that was monster-level.
Zhu Lu stood half a step beside Dai Huabin, her voice cool and clear.
"Zhu Lu. Martial Soul: Hell Spirit Cat. Level twenty-five Agility Attack System Soul Grandmaster."
Cui Yajie chimed in with a grin.
"Cui Yajie. Martial Soul: Nine-Tailed Fox. Level twenty-four Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster."
Now it was Wang Dong'er's turn to feel awkward.
She'd always thought she was extraordinarily gifted, a little tyrant even among the Clear Sky Sect's younger generation.
But after hearing everyone's introductions, she realized that apart from the freakish Dai Huabin, even Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie had more Soul Power than she did.
And those two women's figures... Wang Dong'er looked down at herself, then at Zhu Lu's shapely curves, and felt even more choked up.
"What are you looking at? I just haven't been training seriously!"
Wang Dong'er stuck out her chin, clearly unconvinced.
"Wang Dong'er. Martial Soul: Light Goddess Butterfly. Level twenty-one Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster!"
"Level twenty-one?"
Dai Huabin raised an eyebrow and gave her a half-smile.
"Looks like the Clear Sky Sect fed you too well and made you lazy."
"Mind your own business! That's because..."
Wang Dong'er started to explain, then abruptly swallowed the rest of her words.
"Anyway, I can definitely beat you!"
At last, everyone's attention fell on the smallest figure there.
Xiao Xiao had been staring down and playing with her fingers. Now that everyone was looking at her, her face instantly turned bright red, and her voice came out as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"I... I'm Xiao Xiao."
"Xiao Xiao. Martial Soul: Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron. Level nineteen... Control System Soul Master."
After speaking, the girl ducked her head even lower.
In a group where everyone was at least level twenty, and one freak was already level thirty, her level nineteen really wasn't much to boast about.
Xiao Xiao felt like a little lamb that had wandered into a pack of wolves—weak, pitiful, and helpless.
The air fell silent for a second.
Wang Dong'er was just about to comfort Xiao Xiao when the girl suddenly looked up. As if to prove she wasn't that unimpressive, she gathered her courage and added,
"But... but I still have Twin Martial Souls!"
At that, Cui Yajie, who'd been ready to tease her, immediately fell silent. Her foxlike eyes widened.
"Twin Martial Souls?" Zhu Lu looked at the inconspicuous little girl in surprise too.
Everyone on the Douluo Continent knew what Twin Martial Souls meant.
It was an even rarer top-tier talent than Innate Full Soul Power. As long as its possessor survived, becoming a Titled Douluo was practically guaranteed.
Wang Dong'er was equally shocked. "Xiao Xiao, you have Twin Martial Souls too? You've really been hiding your light under a bushel!"
"Too?" Dai Huabin caught that word keenly, but pretended he hadn't heard it.
Looking at Xiao Xiao's nervous yet hopeful expression, he nodded to himself.
In the original story, Xiao Xiao really was gifted. But because she had to pave the way for the protagonist early on, she gave her Second Martial Soul a Soul Ring too soon, wasting a great deal of her potential.
Now that Xiao Xiao had ended up transferring with him by chance, he had to give her a hand.
At the very least, he couldn't let her absorb a Soul Ring for her Second Martial Soul as early as she had in the original story. Having made up his mind, Dai Huabin clapped his hands.
"Since everyone's so impressive, we should celebrate properly.
Come on, let's go to Shrek City. Now that we're classmates, this meal's on me."
"Great! I'm going to eat you out of house and home!"
The moment Wang Dong'er heard someone was paying, she perked up, her earlier gloom disappearing.
"I know a really expensive restaurant. Let's go there!"
"Suit yourself." Dai Huabin shrugged. "If you can eat me into bankruptcy, you'll have earned it."
Half an hour later, they were inside a high-end Soul Master restaurant in Shrek City.
The table was loaded with a dazzling array of dishes, all made with Soul Beast meat and rare medicinal ingredients. Every bite tasted like Gold Soul Coins.
Wang Dong'er was clearly putting "turning sorrow into appetite" into practice. She held a crystal-braised pork knuckle in one hand and picked up a piece of Steamed Wind Spirit Fish with the other, eating with gusto.
Yet she was so beautiful that even her completely unladylike table manners came across as endearing.
"Mmm... this is delicious! Xiao Xiao, try some!" Wang Dong'er put a huge piece of meat onto Xiao Xiao's plate.
Xiao Xiao looked at the piece, which was bigger than her fist, and hesitated. Still, she obediently took small bites.
Cui Yajie ate much more delicately. As she elegantly cut into her steak, she watched Dai Huabin from the corner of her eye.
From the moment they'd arrived until now, the man hadn't eaten a bite. He'd spent the whole time peeling shrimp for Zhu Lu.
His long, slender fingers moved with such practiced ease as he peeled the shells that it almost made her heart ache.
The peeled shrimp were neatly arranged on Zhu Lu's plate, piled into a little mountain.
"You should eat some too." Zhu Lu felt a little embarrassed and nudged the plate toward Dai Huabin.
"I'm not hungry. Just watching you eat is enough." Dai Huabin wiped his hands, his eyes so tender they seemed to drip with affection.
Cui Yajie was deeply moved.
This man was rich, handsome, and powerful—and a devoted lover too? Had Zhu Lu saved the world in her previous life?
After the meal, the group left the restaurant. By then, it was already afternoon.
"Um, Lulu and I still need to go cultivate."
Dai Huabin naturally slipped an arm around Zhu Lu's slender waist, then turned to the other three girls.
"You can head back to the dorms yourselves. Be careful."
"Cultivate?"
Looking at the couple's intimate posture, Cui Yajie's eyes glimmered as she smiled meaningfully.
"Cultivate? Where are you going to cultivate? And why do you have to hide from us?
You're not going to get a room, are you?"
Lu Zhu's face turned bright red all the way to her neck, but she didn't deny it. She simply buried her face in Dai Huabin's chest.
"You already know, so why ask?"
Dai Huabin smiled openly, not bothering to hide anything.
"A profound discipline like Martial Soul Fusion Skills naturally calls for in-depth discussion somewhere quiet and private. What, do you want to sit in?"
"Pfft! Pervert!"
Wang Dong'er spat and tugged Xiao Xiao away.
"Come on, Xiao Xiao. Let's go before these two shameless people corrupt us! Seriously, hugging and cuddling in broad daylight—they're going to give someone eye trouble!"
Watching Wang Dong'er storm off, Dai Huabin's smile only deepened.
"Let's go, Lulu."
He whispered in Zhu Lu's ear, his warm breath brushing over her sensitive earlobe.
"Tonight, let's try a new fusion position."
Zhu Lu's body went limp. She could only let him half-carry her toward the Shrek Hotel.
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