One grilled fish had brought Huo Yuhao and Dong'er much closer, to the point where they were almost inseparable. They sat together in class and after class, went to the cafeteria together, and spent their free time together... Huo Yuhao and Dong'er were always side by side.
Wang Yan had of course noticed, but people on Douluo Continent were generally rather open-minded. And given his fondness for watching a good show, he not only saw nothing wrong with it, but actually enjoyed it.
After all, in Wang Yan's Martial Soul Theory class, Huo Yuhao always scored full marks on quizzes, weekly tests, and monthly exams. Dong'er also often ranked near the top. He'd have to be terribly bored to meddle in their private affairs.
Before they knew it, three months had passed.
Huo Yuhao's Soul Power had increased by one rank. It wasn't because he'd slacked off in his cultivation. He simply felt that, even though he had more free time at the Unlimited Division, he somehow seemed busier.
In his previous life, being class monitor had been little more than a title to Huo Yuhao. Aside from his classmates calling him "Monitor" when they saw him, it made almost no difference whether he held the position or not. He still went to class and cultivated as usual.
But here at the Unlimited Division, Huo Yuhao had a lot more to do as class monitor. Whenever a teacher had to attend an impromptu meeting, he was responsible for supervising self-study and maintaining discipline. When the teachers were present, he had to set an example for the students and stay active, both in theory classes and practical lessons. On top of that, Huo Yuhao occasionally had to counsel classmates who were having psychological problems. Almost every two or three days, someone would come to him in tears to pour out their troubles.
Dealing with all this didn't tire Huo Yuhao physically, but it was a tremendous burden on his mind. Over the past three months, nearly the entire class had come to talk to him. To comfort his classmates, Huo Yuhao had practically pulled out every trick he had.
He just couldn't understand it. The strict elimination system at Shrek Academy in his previous life hadn't produced this many students with psychological problems, so how had he met so many in less than half a year here?
That was, in fact, one of the main reasons Huo Yuhao and Dong'er spent all day together. Compared to those students, Dong'er was almost unnaturally sensible.
Whenever Huo Yuhao was physically and mentally exhausted, Dong'er would have him rest his head on the desk for a while. She would gently pat his back and stroke his hair. Before long, Huo Yuhao would drift into a drowsy sleep.
The same scene was playing out in the classroom today. Just as Huo Yuhao was sleeping soundly, Wang Yan entered and gently tapped his desk.
Huo Yuhao rubbed his eyes. Though he was still yawning, he sat up straight as quickly as he could.
"All right, everyone, look this way. I have an announcement."
Once he was sure Huo Yuhao was fully awake, Wang Yan turned and wrote several 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 get some proper rest, but I should remind you that for some students whose talents aren't especially outstanding, this is also a great chance to overtake your peers. You'll have fifteen whole days to devote yourselves to cultivation. With the talent that got you into the Unlimited Division, none of you should have trouble managing three to five days of intensive cultivation."
"If you're staying at the academy, come see me after class to sign up. I'll need to coordinate the dormitory's energy supply. If you're going home, remember to stay safe. Contact your families in advance over the next few days, so you don't end up standing at the school gates with no one there to pick you up after everyone else has gone home."
"That's all. Huo Yuhao, come with me. Dong'er and Ning Tian, sorry for the trouble, but please supervise self-study." With that, Wang Yan led Huo Yuhao out of the classroom.
The room immediately grew noisy. A fifteen-day break was certainly something to celebrate for these six-year-old children, who had been living under pressure for several months.
But the next instant, two entirely different kinds of Soul Power pressed down on them.
"It's not officially break time yet, so don't get carried away. Quiet down and study!" At some point, Dong'er had carried a chair up to the podium and sat down. A deep yellow Soul Ring circled her wrist, radiating a faint glow.
At the back of the room, a bright yellow Soul Ring also floated above Ning Tian's palm. She met Dong'er's gaze, and they exchanged a nod.
Meanwhile, Wang Yan brought Huo Yuhao to his 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 and bowed. Huo Yuhao returned the bow.
"Big Brother Wang Hong, what brings you here?" Huo Yuhao had known that Wang Hong and Wang Yan were in contact, but after spending three months here, he'd nearly forgotten about Wang Hong.
"The Crafting Bureau has been busy developing new products lately. Even Director has been spending all day in the lab, unable to get out, let alone the rest of us," Wang Hong explained.
"I only recently had a little free time, so I came to catch up with my cousin Wang Yan. We got talking, and that's when I found out you were one of his students."
"What, are you unhappy about being my student?" For some reason, Wang Yan couldn't help wondering if Wang Hong was taking a dig at him. He called Huo Yuhao "Lord" every other sentence, but referred to Wang Yan as just "him."
"Of course not. I was just surprised, that's all. But since Lord Huo Yuhao is here, let's get down to business."
Wang Yan nodded, then took a student file from his desk drawer.
"Yuhao, you should remember that when you joined Spirit Soul Academy, you applied for financial aid and a work-study position, right?"
Huo Yuhao nodded. He still remembered the card that had helped him qualify. It had been a gift from Zhang Peng, whose fate had changed.
He remembered, but after spending so long at the academy, he'd overlooked its ties to Spirit Hall, let alone paid attention to his work-study status.
"There's no need to discuss the financial aid. You've been using Gold Soul Coins from it for your living expenses. The important thing is the work-study position..."
"Remember the winter break I just announced in class? This may seem a little unfair to you, but work-study assignments are usually released during the academy's long holidays. The Unlimited Division's breaks generally start about a month earlier than those of the regular divisions."
At that point, Wang Hong picked up where Wang Yan left off.
"This assignment happens to have been issued by the Crafting Bureau. Normally, an entire regular class of work-study students would handle it together... But after Director heard you were at the Unlimited Division, he assigned the task directly to you. That's why he sent me to coordinate with Wang Yan ahead of time."
"He assigned it to me?" Huo Yuhao was initially puzzled, but soon understood. Tang You had given him a task originally meant for several students. If it were simply because Tang You knew Huo Yuhao was now strong enough to handle it, there'd have been no need to send Wang Hong to coordinate with the Unlimited Division. There were plenty of students there who met that requirement.
The most likely explanation was that the task's rewards were not only generous, but also especially suited to him. Tang You was trying to earn his goodwill.
Wang Hong's next words confirmed his guess.
"Director made this decision not only because he considered your current strength, Lord Huo Yuhao, but also because the rewards for this mission will be of tremendous benefit to you."
"I won't keep you in suspense. According to Director, the rewards for this mission are two immortal herbs passed down by the Dugu Family of Sunset Forest. They're called..."
"Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and Aromatic Silk Beauty!"
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