A Fateful Encounter in the Star Dou

With ten minutes left before class, Su Qing finally found the classroom. For some reason, everyone he passed along the way seemed to gravitate toward him, which left him quite distressed. He had intended to arrive early, find an inconspicuous corner, and wait for the lecture to end, but now he had to settle for whatever seat was available.

As expected, the moment he reached the doorway, the room was already packed. Fortunately, there was a single desk and chair tucked away in the back row by the window. Although sitting there made him look like a late transfer student, he was already here—and who could refuse the hometown of a king?

The classroom was strictly divided: boys sat with boys, and girls with girls. It was easy to see that everyone had chosen their roommates as desk mates. However, the moment Su Qing stepped inside, a flicker of regret appeared on the faces of more than a few students.

The sight of such a handsome youth with white hair and violet eyes caused quite a stir. People on the Douluo Continent generally married young, and at eleven or twelve, they were at the age where romantic feelings first began to bloom. Su Qing, however, offered no response; he simply walked to the back and sat down. It wasn't that he was cold or aloof, but in his previous life and the one before that, he had little experience interacting with others. At this moment, he felt a strange sense of social anxiety.

In his life before the last, he had been a solitary office worker, and in his previous life, the ones he interacted with most were Di Tian and his peers. Being thrown into a crowd like this left him truly at a loss for how to respond.

Fortunately, Mu Jin arrived just as he settled in. She wore an exquisitely tailored small V-neck suit jacket over a white shirt, paired with a light purple pencil skirt, nude stockings, and black patent leather red-bottomed heels. Her beautiful hair, a mix of light purple and black, combined with her perfectly proportioned figure and soft features, exuded the unique charm of a mature woman.

Fan Yu's taste is truly beyond comprehension. What exactly is Mu Jin lacking compared to Zhou Yi?

Sitting below, Su Qing muttered to himself. The saying that women are like wine—the older they get, the more refined they become—was absolutely true.

"Hello everyone, I am Mu Jin, the homeroom teacher for Freshman Class Nine. Barring any accidents, I will be your teacher until the freshman assessment three months from now. During this time, I hope we can respect one another and help each other succeed."

Her soft voice, carried by soul power, reached everyone's ears with perfect clarity. Perhaps it was her gentle appearance or the intellectual tone of a mature woman, but Mu Jin's words were comforting and did not place any pressure on the students present.

"Considering today is the first day of school, I will leave the time to you after I finish explaining a few matters. So, please listen quietly for a moment."

Glancing around and finding no objections, she continued.

"The rules for the freshman assessment are teams of three challenging other groups. Losing the ability to fight or leaving the combat zone counts as a loss. Therefore, I hope you will work harder on your cultivation over the next three months and develop better coordination with your teammates. Strive for a good ranking in the assessment; at the very least, you must win five round-robin matches to avoid being expelled by the academy. After all, everyone here has paid their tuition..."

Mu Jin's words sent alarm bells ringing in the hearts of those who were still only one-ring Soul Elders. For them, passing this assessment was a daunting task. Not only did they need to be matched against relatively weaker opponents, but they also needed teammates stronger than the opposition; otherwise, they would be unable to escape the fate of being eliminated.

In just over ten minutes, Mu Jin finished explaining the assessment details. She then called out Su Qing and Ning Tian, intending to choose a class monitor from the two Soul Elders. Ning Tian, who was adept at reading the room, saw Su Qing's hesitation and immediately volunteered for the position, citing her previous management experience.

"Good grief, we actually have two Soul Elders in our class!"

"Wait, that white-haired kid—I think I saw him yesterday. He was dragged away by a senior from the Inner Court right after he finished his enrollment..."

"Lucky guy. If only I looked like that, a senior from the Inner Court, man..."

"Quiet, please."

Hearing the murmurs from the surrounding students, Ning Tian frowned slightly. Whispering behind someone's back was, to some extent, disrespectful.

Seeing Ning Tian silence the entire class with a single sentence, Mu Jin looked satisfied. She then turned her gaze toward Su Qing.

"Alright, I'll leave the rest of the time to you. Student Su, come with me for a moment."

With that, she turned and walked out of the classroom.

"Understood."

Su Qing responded and immediately followed.

As soon as they entered the office, Mu Jin spoke earnestly.

"I have reviewed your file. Your martial soul is oriented toward the assault system. I originally intended to place you in Ning Tian's group, but she already has an assault-type, Wu Feng. Forcing a change isn't my style, so I can only have you lead a team on your own."

"I don't want to hide this from you: I intend to make Ning Tian's team our class's seed team for the championship, but I also hope more students can pass the freshman assessment. Therefore, I can only let you choose two one-ring teammates. I know this is very unfair to you, but as a teacher, I must be responsible for every student. I am very sorry."

Hearing this, Su Qing was slightly surprised. The original story never mentioned how Mu Jin treated her students; he had assumed she was just slightly better than Zhou Yi, but he hadn't expected her to be so responsible. Although his teammates would be weaker for the assessment, Su Qing didn't take it to heart.

"It's fine, Teacher Mu. Actually, I'm not interested in the ranking, and I'm quite happy to help more students advance."

Su Qing smiled. He had originally thought Mu Jin would force him to team up with Ning Tian, but it seemed he had overthought it. Mu Jin was not the type to go against a student's wishes just for the sake of a ranking.

"Thank you, Student Su. If you encounter any difficulties in the academy in the future, feel free to come to me."

Seeing Su Qing readily agree, Mu Jin looked grateful. She immediately provided him with the files of several one-ring students so he could choose his teammates.

Su Qing didn't stand on ceremony. He selected a support-type soul master named Luo Luo, whose martial soul was a Ruyi Disk, and a control-type soul master named He Bin, whose martial soul was Sandalwood.

Walking out of the office, Su Qing instinctively looked at the playground. As expected, Zhou Yi had already started making the students run laps. Xiao Xiao, perhaps because she possessed the strength to lift a cauldron, had better stamina and was running near the front. However, Huo Yuhao's situation was awkward; in the short time he had been watching, Wang Dong had already lapped him twice...

He instinctively wanted to give him a pair of wings to help him out, but seeing Zhou Yi, who looked like a wrinkled old hag nearby, he abandoned the thought.

Forget it, someone else will help him.

Remembering how Wang Dong helped Huo Yuhao finish the hundred laps in the original story, he turned and went to buy a few bottles of juice.

"Ah, I'm so tired. If I had known, I wouldn't have reported so early. Whoever wants to stay in this lousy class can have it!!!"

Having finished the run, Xiao Xiao collapsed on the ground, feeling miserable. Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, when she learned Su Qing was coming to Shrek, she had specifically come to register early. She hadn't expected that before even meeting Su Qing, she would be nearly exhausted to death by the tasks assigned by that old hag.

"Finished? Want some juice?"

The familiar, gentle voice accompanied by a cool breeze swept away the exhaustion from Xiao Xiao's body. The moment she looked up, her eyes, filled with joy, were completely occupied by the white-haired figure.

"You... how long have you been here..."