First Mission

A single grilled fish brought Huo Yuhao and Dong'er closer, to the point where they were practically inseparable. Whether heading to class, going to the cafeteria, or participating in extracurricular activities, Huo Yuhao and Dong'er were always by each other's side.

Wang Yan naturally took note of this, but given the relatively open-minded nature of people on the Douluo Continent and his own penchant for watching the spectacle, he didn't find it inappropriate at all; in fact, he rather enjoyed it.

After all, in Wang Yan's spirit soul theory class, Huo Yuhao always scored full marks on both pop quizzes and monthly exams, and Dong'er was frequently at the top of the class as well. He would have to be incredibly bored to interfere in their personal affairs.

Before they knew it, three months had passed.

Huo Yuhao's spirit power had increased by one rank. This wasn't because he had slacked off in his cultivation, but rather because he felt that even though he had more free time in the Unlimited Division, he had somehow become even busier.

In his past life, the title of class monitor was essentially just a name for Huo Yuhao. Aside from classmates calling him "monitor" when they saw him, it was no different from when he wasn't a monitor; he still attended classes and cultivated as usual.

But here in the Unlimited Division, being the class monitor kept Huo Yuhao quite busy. When teachers held impromptu meetings, the monitor was responsible for supervising self-study and maintaining discipline; when teachers were present, the monitor had to set an example for the students, both in theory and practical combat classes. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao frequently had to counsel classmates who were experiencing psychological issues; almost every two or three days, someone would come to him in tears to pour out their grievances.

For Huo Yuhao, while these tasks weren't physically exhausting, they were a massive psychological burden. Over the past three months, almost the entire class had come to talk to him. In order to comfort his classmates, Huo Yuhao had essentially exhausted every trick in his book.

He couldn't understand it. Even the harsh elimination system at Shrek Academy in his past life hadn't produced so many students with psychological problems. How had he encountered so many in less than half a year here?

And this, in fact, was one of the major reasons why Huo Yuhao and Dong'er spent all day together. Compared to those other students, Dong'er was, in a sense, unnervingly sensible.

Whenever Huo Yuhao was physically and mentally exhausted, Dong'er would always let him rest his head on the desk for a while, while she gently patted his back and stroked his hair. Before he knew it, Huo Yuhao would drift off into a deep sleep.

Today, a similar scene was playing out in the classroom. Just as Huo Yuhao was sleeping soundly, Wang Yan walked into the classroom and tapped lightly on Huo Yuhao's desk.

Huo Yuhao rubbed his eyes, and despite letting out a yawn, he sat up straight as quickly as he could.

"Alright, everyone, look over here. I have an announcement to make."

After confirming that Huo Yuhao was fully awake, Wang Yan turned around and wrote a few large characters on the blackboard: Winter Break.

"In a few days, the Unlimited Division will have a fifteen-day winter break. You can all take this time to rest well, but I want to offer a reminder: for those students whose talent isn't particularly outstanding, this is a great opportunity to overtake others on the bend. With fifteen full days to immerse yourselves in cultivation, given the talent required to join the Unlimited Division, three to five days of deep meditation should be no problem."

"Those staying at the academy, come find me to sign up later; I need to coordinate the activation of dormitory energy. Those preparing to go home, be careful and contact your families in advance. Don't end up staring blankly at the school gate while everyone else has already left."

"That is all. Huo Yuhao, come with me. Dong'er and Ning Tian, please look after the self-study session." With that, Wang Yan pulled Huo Yuhao out of the classroom.

The classroom immediately became a bit noisy; after all, a half-month holiday was indeed welcome news for these six-year-old children who had been living under pressure for months.

However, the next moment, two distinct waves of spirit power pressed down upon them.

"It's not official break time yet, don't get carried away. Quiet self-study!" Dong'er had already pulled her chair to the podium at some point, a deep yellow spirit ring circling her wrist, emitting a faint glow.

In the back row, a bright yellow spirit ring floated above Ning Tian's palm. She and Dong'er exchanged a glance and nodded at each other.

On the other side, Huo Yuhao was brought to Wang Yan's office. As soon as the door opened, Huo Yuhao saw Wang Hong sitting on the sofa.

"Long time no see, Lord Huo Yuhao." Wang Hong immediately stood up and bowed, and Huo Yuhao returned the gesture.

"Brother Wang Hong, why are you here!" Although he knew Wang Hong was in contact with Wang Yan, after three months of exhaustion here, Huo Yuhao had almost forgotten about him.

"The Crafting Bureau has been busy developing new products lately. Even the Director has been holed up in the laboratory all day, let alone the rest of us," Wang Hong explained.

"It was only recently that I finally had some free time to come and catch up with my cousin, Wang Yan. But I didn't know until we started talking that you, Lord Huo Yuhao, had actually become a student in his class."

"What, are you dissatisfied with me as a teacher?" Wang Yan couldn't help but feel that this sounded like a jab at him. He addressed Huo Yuhao as "Lord," yet referred to him simply as "he."

"Of course not, I was just expressing my surprise. But since Lord Huo Yuhao is here, let's talk about business."

Hearing this, Wang Yan nodded and took a student file out of his drawer:

"Yuhao, you should remember that when you applied to the Spirit Soul Academy, you requested financial aid and a work-study position, right?"

Huo Yuhao nodded. He still remembered the card that had helped him apply for the status—a gift from Zhang Peng, whose fate had been altered.

But remembering was one thing; having stayed at the academy for so long, Huo Yuhao had overlooked the relationship between this academy and Martial Soul Hall, let alone his work-study status.

"Never mind the financial aid; you've been using the Gold Soul Coins from it for your living expenses all this time. The point is the work-study position..."

"Remember the winter break I just announced in class? This might seem a bit unfair to you, but generally, work-study tasks are released during the academy's long breaks, and the Unlimited Division's break is usually about a month earlier than the regular divisions."

At this moment, Wang Hong took over from Wang Yan and continued:

"This task happens to be released by the Crafting Bureau. Originally, it was meant to be taken on by a group of work-study students from a regular class... but when the Director heard you were in the Unlimited Division, he assigned the task directly to you. That's why he sent me to coordinate with Wang Yan in advance."

"Assigned to me?" Huo Yuhao was puzzled at first, but he quickly realized that Tang You had handed him a task that would normally require multiple students. If it were simply because he knew Huo Yuhao was capable enough, there would be no need to send Wang Hong to coordinate; there were plenty of students in the Unlimited Division who met that criteria.

The most likely scenario was that the reward for this task was not only generous but also, in his view, perfectly suited for him. Tang You was trying to do him a favor.

Wang Hong's next words confirmed his suspicion:

"The reason the Director did this is not only because he considers your current strength, Lord Huo Yuhao, but also because the reward for this mission will be of great benefit to you."

"I won't keep you in suspense any longer. According to the Director, the prizes for this mission are two immortal herbs passed down from the Dugu family of the Sunset Forest. They are called..."

"Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, and Aromatic Silk Beauty!"