Junior, Please Wait

Shrek Academy was set in beautiful surroundings, with all kinds of lush vegetation.

As Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan stepped onto a grand, imposing bridge, they saw six enormous statues standing on either side—the original Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago.

Each statue stood over ten meters tall and had been carved from the hardest granite.

Huo Yuhao's gaze fell upon a statue with double pupils and the character for "king" etched upon its forehead.

He could not help but mock himself inwardly. His past self had truly been ridiculous, actually wanting to "return to his roots" and change his surname back to Dai.

As for Tang San's statue, it stood at the end of the bridge.

Huo Yuhao's gaze lingered on it for only a few seconds before he stopped paying attention.

Compared to these lifeless statues, his past self had already proven that gods were no different from him. They feared, and they bled.

Following the lakeside path south, Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan walked for nearly a quarter of an hour before turning west. After walking for another quarter of an hour, the path narrowed inward, and a broad rectangular plaza appeared before them.

Though it was already late in the enrollment period for new students, the Freshman Teaching Building remained especially bustling. Quite a few students who had passed the assessments could be seen registering there.

"All right, Yuhao, I'll take you to pay your tuition."

Without giving Huo Yuhao any chance to object, Jiang Nannan pulled him into the Freshman Teaching Building. Before leaving, Huo Yun'er had specifically instructed her to take good care of Huo Yuhao at the academy.

Huo Yuhao's registration procedures went very smoothly, but because he had enrolled so late, he was assigned to the Mujin Class.

However, this was precisely what Huo Yuhao had intended. Right now, he did not quite know how to face Wang Dong'er.

Whether some things were arranged by fate or deliberately orchestrated, Huo Yuhao truly could not tell. He did not even know whether Wang Dong'er was truly Tang Wutong.

After collecting his dormitory key, two sets of school uniforms, and a white freshman badge, Huo Yuhao left the Freshman Teaching Building with Jiang Nannan.

Huo Yuhao turned around and said softly to Jiang Nannan,

"Sister Nannan, I can return to the dormitory by myself from here. Don't you still have to deal with the entrance tests?"

"But, Yuhao..."

Jiang Nannan instinctively wanted to look after Huo Yuhao a little longer, but when she thought of his steadiness, she swallowed the words at the tip of her tongue and merely reminded him gently,

"All right, then. Yuhao, remember to wait for me tonight. Sister Nannan will take you out for something delicious."

"Mm-hm, all right."

Huo Yuhao nodded quickly in agreement.

Only after watching Jiang Nannan disappear from sight did Huo Yuhao speak.

"Senior Sister, you've been following us all this way. Is there something you need?"

Ling Luochen stepped out from around the corner of the Freshman Teaching Building, surprise on her face. Clearly, she had not expected a first-year freshman to notice her.

Looking at the aloof and cold Ling Luochen as she emerged, Huo Yuhao felt an indescribable surge of emotion. The course of fate was always so wondrous.

He had previously encountered Ning Tian, who had confessed to him at the matchmaking event in his past life, and now he had run into Ling Luochen.

Ling Luochen's gaze fell upon the handsome youth before her. Though his face still retained some childishness, it glimmered faintly beneath the sunlight, while his deep blue eyes were profound and bright.

She forcibly suppressed the inexplicable flutter in her heart, yet still could not help opening her mouth.

"Junior, I..."

Before Ling Luochen could finish, Huo Yuhao pointed toward the sparkling Sea God Lake not far away and suggested gently,

"Senior Sister, why don't we walk and talk by the lake?"

Only after his reminder did Ling Luochen notice that quite a few people around them had already cast curious looks their way. Everyone's attention was focused on her and Huo Yuhao.

As an Inner Court student, the distinctive red academy uniform she wore was clearly especially eye-catching in such a setting.

A warm, gentle breeze brushed softly across the surface of Sea God Lake, stirring ripples upon ripples. Looking into the distance, they could see the lush Golden Ancient Tree on Sea God Island.

The two walked along the lakeside path, but for a time, neither spoke.

An awkward, wordless silence quietly spread between them.

Ling Luochen was naturally cold by temperament and not good with words. At that moment, she lagged half a step behind Huo Yuhao, like a wronged young wife. She hoped Huo Yuhao would speak and break the silence, but then she reconsidered. She was clearly five or six years older than him—how could she let a junior accommodate her?

Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze from the Golden Ancient Tree on Sea God Island, his peripheral vision sweeping over Ling Luochen beside him. Her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, and her face was filled with conflict and unease. Clearly, she was lost in some train of thought.

Huo Yuhao naturally knew what she was conflicted about. Without stopping, he extended his right hand. As Soul Power surged, an extremely cold aura of ice and snow spread from his palm, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze into frost.

"Senior Sister, did you want to ask what my martial soul is?"

Hearing this, Ling Luochen abruptly raised her head, surprise flashing through her clear ice-blue eyes.

"Junior, could your martial soul really be Ultimate Ice?"

As someone with a top-tier ice-element martial soul, Ling Luochen could naturally sense that the quality of Huo Yuhao's martial soul far surpassed her own. She could even feel her martial soul trembling continuously, an instinctive fear.

If she encountered him in battle, she feared she would struggle to exert even ten percent of her strength.

Huo Yuhao lightly clenched his right hand, and the extremely cold aura of ice and snow in his palm instantly dissipated.

"All right. Since Senior Sister already knows, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."

At those words, a trace of disappointment could not help appearing in Ling Luochen's ice-blue eyes.

Although her martial soul had trembled just now, it had also revealed an intense longing. It was a yearning for great power, as well as an affinity toward a martial soul of the same attribute.

She could not help thinking that if she cultivated with this junior, not only would it greatly benefit her martial soul, but the speed of her cultivation would certainly far surpass what it was now.

As an ice-attribute Soul Master, Junior would surely understand her. Besides, she was protecting this inexperienced junior. If that hateful Ma Xiaotao discovered him, he would likely be unable to escape that woman's clutches.

As a fellow Inner Court student, Ling Luochen disliked Ma Xiaotao not only because of her germophobia and their conflicting martial souls, but more importantly because she had once been dragged over to suppress Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire.

At the time, her Soul Power was only nearly ten levels below Ma Xiaotao's, and while her ice-element martial soul was only "slightly" inferior in quality to Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix, she had still suffered immense pain during the suppression.

Although suppressing Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire could indeed bring some benefits afterward, there was truly no need to endure such hardship for that little gain.

And though the junior before her possessed an Ultimate Ice martial soul, his Soul Power Level was still far below Ma Xiaotao's.

If the academy's higher-ups dragged him off to suppress Evil Fire, he would likely suffer inhuman torment.

That was right. Ling Luochen, you were saving an ignorant and inexperienced junior. Though there was indeed a tiny bit of selfishness involved, Junior would surely understand you.

After repeatedly reassuring herself in her heart, Ling Luochen revealed a gentle smile as well.

"Junior, please wait."