Zhu Lu tightened her grip on Dai Huabin's hand, her palm damp with sweat.
"Huabin, did you feel pressured just now?"
Dai Huabin curled his fingers around hers, his grip steady.
"Of course I felt pressure, but not enough to make me afraid of them."
"I was just thinking that we don't have much time."
Wang Dong'er suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, her pink-and-blue short hair swaying in the night breeze.
She looked toward the teaching building and gritted her teeth.
"I've decided. Starting tomorrow, I'm doubling my meditation time at night!"
"I don't want to have to hide behind you the next time we run into trash like that."
Wang Dong'er glared at Dai Huabin, as if trying to vent all the "humiliation" of having been rescued.
Dai Huabin chuckled.
"Good spirit, but meditation alone won't help you catch up to those monsters."
"Go back and rest. You'll have plenty of hardship to look forward to."
Early the next morning, in Class Nine's classroom.
Teacher Mu stood at the front of the room, teaching the theory of linking Soul Skills.
Dai Huabin sat in the last row, twirling a charcoal pencil in his hand.
He reviewed the original story's plot in his mind.
The Freshman Assessment was coming up soon.
It would be his first step toward putting down roots at Shrek Academy.
The moment the bell rang, Ning Tian came over with graceful steps.
Her outfit was as elegant as ever. She wore her uniform with the poise of someone in formal attire.
Wu Feng followed behind her like a door guardian, still looking none too pleased with Dai Huabin.
"Class monitor, could I have a word with you?"
Ning Tian stopped beside his desk and tapped the tabletop with her slender fingers.
Dai Huabin stood up and followed her to the corner of the classroom corridor.
Ning Tian took a silver ring from her clothes and held it out to him.
The ring was simple and antiquated, its surface etched with fine cloud patterns.
"What's this?"
Dai Huabin raised an eyebrow.
"A deposit."
Ning Tian was brief and to the point.
"It contains Soul Gathering Pills unique to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, as well as several pieces of aged Whale Rubber."
"There are also some medicinal herbs that help expand the meridians."
Dai Huabin took the ring and probed inside with his Soul Power. His heart stirred slightly.
Ning Tian had spared no expense.
The Whale Rubber was a deep, rich color, clearly quite old.
It could strengthen the body and had a remarkable effect on Soul Masters absorbing Soul Rings with higher age limits.
"You're being so generous that I'm feeling the pressure."
Dai Huabin slipped the ring onto his finger and gave it a turn.
Ning Tian smiled and leaned forward slightly.
"Since we're allies, of course I want you to become stronger."
"After all, how you perform in the Freshman Assessment will determine whether my investment pays off."
With that, Ning Tian turned and left with Wu Feng.
Watching her go, Dai Huabin couldn't help admiring her.
He had just put away the ring when a clear, lovely voice came from behind him.
"Dai Huabin, come to my office."
Teacher Mu stood in the doorway, dressed in a beige long skirt.
The office was warmly furnished, and a faint jasmine fragrance drifted through the air.
Teacher Mu sat behind her desk and motioned for Dai Huabin to sit down.
"Teacher Mu, did you need something?"
Teacher Mu looked at the boy before her, so composed he hardly seemed eleven, and her eyes filled with approval.
"Ning Tian came to see you just now. It was about the assessment, wasn't it?"
Dai Huabin nodded. "More or less."
At that, Teacher Mu grew serious.
"The academy has been considering a few things regarding the Freshman Assessment three months from now."
"Given how astonishing the Martial Soul Fusion Skill between you and Zhu Lu is, the academy's thinking is..."
She paused, watching Dai Huabin's reaction.
"To have the two of you enter the assessment as a two-person team."
Dai Huabin froze for a moment. That was a little different from how things had gone in the original story.
"A two-person team? Everyone else has three people."
Teacher Mu nodded and continued:
"That's right. It's rare in Shrek's history."
"But your Hell White Tiger has even undergone the mutation of growing wings."
"If we added an auxiliary or control-type Soul Master to your team, the assessment would lose all suspense."
"The academy wants to see how far you can go despite being outnumbered."
Dai Huabin leaned back in his chair and gave a slight nod.
"What if I take first place?"
Teacher Mu smiled, her eyes crinkling. A trace of pride showed on her gentle face.
"If you can win the championship this year with a two-person team, I'll apply to the academy for a special reward for both of you."
"Besides, my students are never going to lose to Zhou Yi's."
Seeing the hint of stubbornness in Teacher Mu's expression, Dai Huabin felt more confident.
It seemed Teacher Mu and Zhou Yi had a deeper grudge than he'd imagined.
"No problem. First place is mine."
Dai Huabin rose to his feet. His tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable force.
Back in the classroom, Dai Huabin gathered everyone together.
Zhu Lu, Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, Cui Yajie.
The four girls gathered around Dai Huabin's desk, instantly becoming the center of attention in Class Nine.
"We've got some news about the Freshman Assessment."
Dai Huabin got straight to the point.
"Zhu Lu and I will be a team. Just the two of us."
"What?"
Wang Dong'er was the first to cry out, her voice a little shrill.
"Just two people on a team?"
Xiao Xiao nervously clutched the hem of her clothes.
"Class monitor, are you going to ditch us?"
Dai Huabin waved a hand.
"Don't rush. Let me finish."
"Dong'er, you, Xiao Xiao, and Yajie will form a team of three."
He looked at Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao.
"Dong'er, you're a Power Attack System Soul Master. Xiao Xiao is both control and auxiliary, and Yajie is an agility-and-control type."
"Your team would be top-tier even across the entire Outer Academy."
Cui Yajie blinked, a sly glint flashing in her foxlike eyes.
"Class monitor, you've already arranged a fallback plan for us?"
Dai Huabin took two porcelain bottles and two pieces of Whale Rubber from the silver ring and pushed them to the middle of the desk.
"Take these and divide them among yourselves."
Wang Dong'er glanced at the Whale Rubber, which gave off a faint fishy smell, and blushed as she waved her hands repeatedly.
"This is too valuable. I can't take it."
"Ning Tian gave it to you?"
Zhu Lu didn't hold back. She understood what Dai Huabin was thinking.
Dai Huabin simply shoved the Whale Rubber into Wang Dong'er's hands.
"Take it."
"At Shrek, friends aren't just people you fight alongside. They're people you share resources with, too."
"Once you're stronger, you'll be able to help me in the future."
"I don't want my friends knocked out in the first round of the assessment. That'd make me look bad."
Wang Dong'er held the warm piece of Whale Rubber, and her heart suddenly beat a few times faster.
She lowered her head and muttered,
"Don't get so smug. It's just a few resources—you're trying to buy our loyalty..."
Though she said that, she still carefully put the things away in her Storage Soul Tool.
However, Wang Dong'er didn't take the Whale Rubber. She'd eaten way too much of that stuff before, enough to leave her with a lingering dread of it.
Xiao Xiao looked at Dai Huabin, her eyes sparkling.
"Class monitor, you're so nice."
Looking at the three girls, each with a different personality, Dai Huabin felt his plans falling into place more and more steadily.
He knew that, unlike other transmigrators, he had no powerful cheat. Now, he needed help.
Dai Huabin wasn't foolish enough to sit around waiting for Electrolux to awaken. He couldn't bring himself to pin all his hopes on someone else.
"Let's work hard together from now on."
"Yeah! Let's work hard together!"
Zhu Lu, Cui Yajie, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong'er answered in unison.
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