Three days later, early morning.
Ding-ding-ding—!
The piercing class bell echoed through the dormitory building, signaling that the freshmen's formal classes were about to begin.
Dormitory 108.
After completing one final circulation of Soul Power, Long Yaochen slowly opened his eyes. Although several days had passed, his complexion had not improved much.
These past few days, whenever he had nothing else to do, he had been cultivating without pause.
But the more he cultivated, the more alarmed he became. The expansion of Divinity was simply too fast. It had only been suppressed for a few days, yet it was already showing signs of emerging again.
Like the Sword of Damocles, it hung above his head.
He was not in a hurry to seek out Mu En. After all, if he took the initiative to speak, it would become a transaction.
But if Shrek owed him an explanation first, that would be different.
And today, that explanation might very well come knocking on his door.
"Hey, are you leaving or not?"
Wang Dong stood by the door with her arms crossed, her tone full of impatience.
Yet her pink-blue eyes kept sneaking glances at Long Yaochen's face.
A few days ago, this guy had suddenly entered meditation. When he woke up, he looked as though someone owed him eight million Gold Soul Coins. No matter how she looked at it, something was off.
The two of them had barely spoken over the past three days.
Long Yaochen glanced up at her, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"You care about me that much?"
"Who cares about you?!"
Wang Dong instantly bristled. With a cold snort, she turned and walked away. "I'm just worried you'll be late on the first day of class and make me look bad too!"
Long Yaochen smiled and leisurely followed after her.
The moment he stepped out of the room, he saw Huo Yuhao from next door emerge at the same time. His gaze swept over instinctively, just as Huo Yuhao looked his way.
Their eyes met in midair for an instant.
Can someone really look this good?
Huo Yuhao froze for a moment, then nodded in greeting.
But Long Yaochen did not respond. He merely withdrew his gaze thoughtfully.
Strange. Why could he always sense that hollow feeling of fate around Huo Yuhao?
Wang Dong noticed where he had been looking and asked suspiciously, "Do you know him?"
"No." Long Yaochen shook his head.
"Then why were you looking at him?"
"He looked pleasing to the eye."
With that, he headed downstairs.
Wang Dong: "..."
Irritation immediately rose in her heart.
What did that mean?
Everyone looked pleasing to his eye except her?
Before long, the two entered the classroom of Freshman Class One, one after the other. Quite a few people were already seated inside.
The moment Long Yaochen stepped through the door, the somewhat noisy classroom fell silent for an instant.
It could not be helped... his face was simply too eye-catching.
Dressed in a white freshman uniform, with black hair falling around him and not a single flaw to be found in his brows and features, he exuded a faintly sacred aura. An ethereal presence immediately swept through the entire classroom.
Wang Dong was also exceptionally good-looking.
But standing beside Long Yaochen, she felt for the first time as though someone had overshadowed her.
She gritted her teeth and quickly claimed a window seat. Long Yaochen did not stand on ceremony and sat down beside her.
Although many gazes in the class were fixed on them, Wang Dong sensed one gaze that was especially fervent.
She looked up and happened to see a delicate-looking girl with twin ponytails staring unwaveringly at Long Yaochen.
When the girl noticed Wang Dong looking at her, she shyly lowered her head.
"Tch... all you do is attract bees and butterflies," Wang Dong muttered under her breath.
Ding—!
The class bell officially rang.
Just then, an elderly woman with skin like chicken and hair white as a crane walked into the classroom.
Her graying hair was coiled atop her head, and she wore a white robe. There was not a trace of emotion in her eyes, as though she were selecting merchandise.
Her gaze swept calmly from left to right. In an instant, the previously lively classroom fell quiet, and nearly everyone felt a little more pressure in their hearts.
"My name is Zhou Yi."
Her aged voice rang through the classroom. It was not loud, yet it made everyone's hearts tighten.
"Starting today, I am the homeroom teacher of your Freshman Class One."
She walked to the podium, braced both hands against the desk, and coldly swept her gaze across the room.
"I do not care which empire or family you come from, nor do I care how many people used to call you geniuses.
Once you're here, there is only one rule.
Monsters stay.
Trash gets out."
Those few concise words instantly stirred up the entire class.
Quite a few students looked indignant. Which of those present was not a local prodigy? How could they tolerate this?
Even Wang Dong frowned, clearly displeased.
Long Yaochen merely lounged against the back of his chair, a trace of amusement flashing through his eyes.
Zhou Yi... she was even more suitable as an example than he had imagined.
Still, that was fine. The crazier she was, the more he could demand!
"Those who have fought since enrolling, stand up."
A faint commotion immediately broke out in the classroom. Many freshmen looked at one another, but no one dared move.
Who would fight for no reason right after school started? And who would admit it after fighting?
Wang Dong stiffened. She recalled how Long Yaochen had pinned her against the bed a few days ago, and her cheeks instantly grew a little hot.
Did being unilaterally suppressed count as fighting?
No!
I was only careless for a moment, that's all.
She glanced at Long Yaochen, who remained as steady as a mountain in his seat, and the tension in her heart eased slightly.
"You don't even dare to fight. Haven't you heard that those who don't dare cause trouble are mediocrities? What a bunch of trash."
Zhou Yi's icy voice crashed directly into the lake that was Freshman Class One like a massive boulder.
Discussion erupted at once like splashing water.
But the next second, a powerful wave of Soul Power suddenly erupted from Zhou Yi's body!
Two yellow, two purple, two black.
Six Soul Rings rose beneath her feet. The terrifying pressure of a Soul Emperor bore down on the freshmen below the podium like an overwhelming tidal wave.
The freshmen who had been indignantly complaining in their hearts a moment earlier instantly turned pale.
The noisy classroom fell into dead silence.
At that moment, no one in Freshman Class One dared breathe loudly. They did not even have the courage to raise their heads and look Zhou Yi in the eye.
Amid that suffocating silence.
"Heh..."
An ill-timed chuckle instantly shattered the gradually freezing atmosphere.
"The continent's best academy, and the academy's best teacher, is this all you've got?
You only know how to bully freshmen with one or two Soul Rings to establish your authority?"
Long Yaochen propped his chin up with one hand, his fingertips casually tapping the desk. His tone was calm, completely unaffected by Zhou Yi's Soul Emperor pressure. "It seems Shrek Academy is nothing special after all."
Whoosh—!
The dozens of freshmen in the class instantly turned shocked gazes toward Long Yaochen.
Was this guy insane?
That was a six-ring Soul Emperor! Did he have a death wish?!
Even Wang Dong, sitting beside him, was dumbfounded.
Was this guy really that brave?
On the first day of school, he had directly insulted both their homeroom teacher and Shrek?
On the podium, the cold smile on Zhou Yi's face froze. Her eyes narrowed, danger flickering within them, and her voice brimmed with chill. "Boy, do you know what you're saying?"
Facing that deathly stare, enough to crush an ordinary student, Long Yaochen merely stretched and slowly rose to his feet.
Now came the moment to light the fuse.
"Of course I do."
He stared straight at Zhou Yi without the slightest hint of evasion, several traces of mockery still on his lips.
"Didn't you just say that those who don't dare cause trouble are mediocrities?
Now I've caused trouble.
Why are you getting anxious instead?"
Gasp—!
The classroom filled with sharp intakes of breath.
Wang Dong's eyes widened abruptly. Only one thought remained in her mind.
If he dies, will I ever find a roommate this good-looking again?
Even Huo Yuhao, who had not raised his head in the back row until then, stared blankly at Long Yaochen, unsure what he was thinking.
The Soul Power fluctuations around Zhou Yi grew stronger and stronger, making some of the students in the front row break out in cold sweat.
Long Yaochen merely smiled faintly.
"What? Did seeing a monster like me, one who dares cause trouble, leave you too delighted to speak?
Then I'm sorry, but you're celebrating a little too soon."
Before you continue