"You know it, good. Looks like you're actually quite aware of the truth, whether it's strength..." He paused and cast a meaningful glance at Wang Dong. "Or looks, you're... inferior to me."
After saying that, he spread his hands with an innocent expression that seemed to say, "I'm just stating a fact."
"You're talking nonsense!" Wang Dong was so angry she nearly jumped to her feet, but since they were in class, she could only grit her teeth and keep her voice down. "How am I inferior to you?! Just you wait. Sooner or later..."
"Sooner or later what? Sooner or later you'll be flat on your back, calling me Daddy?" Su Chen cut in swiftly, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.
"Su Chen!!!" Wang Dong felt like she was about to explode. How could that annoying guy be so sharp-tongued? She wished she could release her Martial Soul and fight him again right then and there. The result might be... but she couldn't swallow this insult!
Xiao Xiao, meanwhile, covered her mouth and giggled. Her jade-green eyes curved into crescents as she quietly watched the two trade barbs, finding the way these roommates got along quite amusing.
Every now and then, she would softly interject a word or two, trying to "mediate," but that usually only fanned the "flames."
As Su Chen and Wang Dong carried on with their "everyday fun" banter, time ticked by. The classroom gradually shifted from its initial noisy bustle to an oppressive silence.
More and more freshmen sat up straight, their eyes occasionally darting toward the classroom door, their faces marked by unease and nervousness.
The start of class was drawing closer.
The legendary "abnormal old hag," the "Exterminating Tai"—Zhou Yi—was about to make her entrance.
The terrifying stories about her had long been spreading like wildfire among the freshmen. No one wanted to attract trouble on the very first day of school.
At last, with less than a minute to go before class officially began—
"Bang!"
The classroom door was flung open from the outside! The force sent it crashing against the wall with a dull thud, and made every freshman's heart jump.
An invisible wave of Soul Power, carrying an intense sense of oppression and a chill in the air, swept through the entire classroom like a tide!
The temperature seemed to drop several degrees. Every freshman felt their breathing catch, their hearts gripped by an unseen hand.
Then, a figure strode into Freshman Class One with steady, rigid steps, as though measured out with a ruler.
It was an elderly woman. She looked to be at least fifty or sixty years old. Her hair was white and gathered into a perfectly neat bun atop her head.
Deep wrinkles lined her face, and her complexion was sallow, yet her eyes were exceptionally sharp and bright, sweeping over every corner of the classroom like a hawk's.
She was of average height and wore a clean white teacher's robe, but the aura she gave off was completely at odds with her mild-looking clothes: cold, stern, and utterly unapproachable.
It was none other than the legendary "Exterminating Tai"—Zhou Yi!
At the sight of a teacher entering, the classroom—which had still held the faintest traces of noise—fell instantly silent. Every gaze turned toward the lectern, full of nervousness, awe, curiosity, and other complicated emotions.
Zhou Yi's gaze swept calmly from left to right. It seemed capable of piercing people's hearts. In an instant, every freshman felt firmly pinned in place, with nowhere to hide, as an invisible weight pressed heavily on their chest.
That familiar feeling again, the familiar person, the familiar show of force... A trace of annoyance passed through Su Chen's mind. He had already expected this teacher to act this way.
Zhou Yi didn't speak right away. Instead, she swept her cold gaze over the class as though inspecting a shipment of goods, then slowly spoke in a hoarse voice, her authority beyond question:
"My name is Zhou Yi. I'm the homeroom teacher for Freshman Class One."
She paused and swept her gaze over the class again. The corner of her mouth seemed to curl into a faintly mocking smile.
"However, I'm not your homeroom teacher yet. Because I'm not sure how many of the fifty-two people here will make it through the next year with me."
Her words poured like a bucket of cold water over the heads of the freshmen who still held out some hope.
"But what I want you to understand is this." Zhou Yi's voice suddenly turned cold, her eyes sharp as knives. "In my class, all trash, deadweights, and fools will fail the assessment!"
She raised her voice slightly, her emphasis almost fanatical.
"'Shrek' means 'monster'! This is the Monster Academy! I'm here to raise monsters!"
"True geniuses who dare to challenge, dare to strive, and dare to stir up trouble! Not those who meekly follow the rules, cower at every turn, and don't even dare to fight... idiots!"
At those words, indignation immediately showed on many students' faces. Of all the people who had passed Shrek's rigorous entrance examination and made it here, who wasn't a carefully selected genius from their city, family, or even kingdom?
They were undeniably among the elite of their generation! Yet in Teacher Zhou's mouth, they had instantly become "trash," "fools," and "deadweights"!
Su Chen, seated at the back, remained calm, but a clear trace of disgust flickered deep in his eyes.
The same old routine. She crushed her students' self-esteem with extreme language, established absolute authority through domineering, even high-handed methods, and expelled anyone who refused to submit to her antiquated, harsh, nearly abusive training methods... This Zhou Yi really was just as the rumors described: backward in her teaching philosophy and appalling in character. She had only earned her so-called "high graduation rate" through Shrek's resources and the "luck" of always being assigned students with top-tier talent.
Despicable.
Just as the freshmen seethed with indignation but dared not speak up, Zhou Yi's next words shocked the entire class once more.
"Over the past few days, since registration began," Zhou Yi said, her voice once again cool and calm, yet strangely penetrating, "those of you who have been in a fight, stand up."
"..."
The entire class fell utterly silent.
The freshmen looked at one another, confusion and bewilderment in their eyes. They had only been accepted a few days ago and had just moved into the dorms. Most of them barely knew one another. Who would go picking fights around campus?
And even if there were disagreements, wouldn't people usually choose a more "friendly" way to settle them?
Oh... there actually were two.
Many people's eyes unconsciously drifted toward two figures in the back row by the window. Quite a few had witnessed that "duel" in front of the dormitory that day.
But even if they had fought, who would willingly stand up and admit it? Admitting to a fight in front of the homeroom teacher on the first day of school—wasn't that just asking for trouble?
The corner of Su Chen's mouth lifted in an almost imperceptible smile. He watched Zhou Yi at the lectern with interest, sitting steady in his seat without the slightest intention of getting up. He wanted to see what kind of trick this "Exterminating Tai" was planning to pull.
Wang Dong stole an annoyed glance at Su Chen. Seeing him sitting there as cool as could be, she bit her lip and decided to wait and see, staying seated as well.
For a moment, the entire class remained silent. No one stood up to admit they had been in a fight.
"Not a single one?" Zhou Yi's eyebrows shot up. Contempt and disdain practically spilled across her face. She even spat, her voice especially clear in the silent classroom. "What a bunch of useless cowards! Don't you know what the motto passed down through our Shrek Academy for ten thousand years is?!"
Her gaze shot toward the back row like a bolt of lightning, and her voice rose sharply, carrying an aggressive force.
"'Those who don't dare cause trouble are mediocrities'! If you don't even have that much fire and courage, do you deserve to enter Shrek?!"
Before you continue