Looking at Zhao Wuji across from him, his palm was completely frozen solid, and his whole body was trembling.
He stared at Huo Yuhao in terror. What kind of power could let a Soul Elder freeze a Soul Saint?
He knew that if he hadn't desperately resisted with his Soul Power just now, his whole body would have been frozen into a block of ice.
Though he looked utterly miserable, his eyes were shining.
"Monster! What a monster! Looks like the academy really struck gold this time!"
"Time's up!"
Dai Mubai instinctively glanced at the incense stick. It had just burned out.
Then he looked at Zhao Wuji's lips, white with frost. He wanted to laugh but didn't dare, and he no longer felt that getting beaten earlier had been such a big deal.
Even Teacher Zhao had ended up in this state. Of course he couldn't win. You had to keep things in perspective.
As soon as the onlookers heard that it was over, they hurried over. Xiao Wu asked with concern written all over her face,
"Yuhao, are you all right? Are you hurt?"
Huo Yuhao lay on the ground and looked at everyone gathered around him. He smiled. "I'm fine. I did it."
Tears shimmered in Xiao Wu's eyes. She threw herself at him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and cried,
"Waaah, Yuhao, you scared me to death!"
Huo Yuhao rested his head on Xiao Wu's shoulder and chuckled in reply.
"I'm perfectly fine, aren't I? Don't worry. I only bruised myself from the impact. It's nothing serious."
When he saw a pair of legs stop in front of him, Huo Yuhao couldn't help looking up.
Zhu Zhuqing looked embarrassed as she thanked him, stumbling over her words. "Um, thank you!"
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and nodded.
"You're welcome. We're all on the same team. Since I already bragged about it, it would've been embarrassing if you hadn't passed."
Once he had recovered a little strength, Huo Yuhao let Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing help him up, then staggered over to Zhao Wuji, whose face was covered in black lines.
Not one person on my side came to check on me, but this kid's got a girl on each arm!
Then he looked at his own hand, frozen stiff, and snapped, "Hurry up and unfreeze it!"
Huo Yuhao scratched his head sheepishly.
"Sorry, Teacher Zhao."
He placed his hand on Zhao Wuji's and gave it a light sweep. Zhao Wuji felt the chill in his body being rapidly drawn out by Huo Yuhao.
He shuddered violently, then looked at the boy in front of him. The more he looked, the more he liked him.
Especially his performance in their final brawl, and the guts he'd shown in staking everything on one last desperate attack. Zhao Wuji couldn't have been more pleased.
Ning Rongrong asked with a smile, "Teacher Zhao, does that mean we passed?"
Zhao Wuji's face fell. Though he was very reluctant, he still gave a grunt.
"You passed the test. You're now members of Shrek Academy."
Dai Mubai then called Oscar over and had him hand out sausages to everyone. After their first experience, no one resisted anymore, and they ate them with grins.
When they felt their bodies recovering faster, they all looked at Oscar differently.
They realized just how useful his Soul Skill was. He was practically a genius among food-type Soul Masters!
Ning Rongrong, who hadn't tried one yet, stared at the sausage with open reluctance. In the end, she gave it a try after everyone urged her.
Now that they had passed, there was nothing else to do. Zhao Wuji gave them a few final instructions and left, leaving behind a bewildered Oscar.
"Boss Dai, who's so powerful that he could beat Teacher Zhao up like that?"
Only after Zhao Wuji had gone some distance away did Oscar finally whisper the question.
"...You'd better not find out. I'm afraid it'll shatter your worldview."
Dai Mubai let out a long sigh, committing a new rule to memory: he absolutely couldn't pick a fight with Huo Yuhao in the future. He was terrifying in a fight.
"??" Oscar looked confused.
But he soon forgot about his questions. Better to focus on the pretty junior sisters in front of him.
With five new students arriving all at once, the academy could finally get a little livelier.
Before leaving, Teacher Zhao had quickly assigned everyone dorms. Though they were called dorms, they were really just separate wooden cabins, each with room for two people.
Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong shared a room, Zhu Zhuqing got one to herself, Tang San was assigned to share with Oscar, and Huo Yuhao, like Zhu Zhuqing, had a room of his own.
That suited Huo Yuhao just fine. Otherwise, it would've been inconvenient for A-Lu and Brother Sky Dream to come out and get some fresh air.
He also wouldn't have to let Xiao Wu demand that he sleep with her hand on his tail. Huo Yuhao had escaped her clutches, and he was so happy he could've flown to heaven.
Who knew how bizarre Xiao Wu had gotten since he grew that beautiful tail? She'd changed from cuddling him to sleep to stroking his tail as she slept!
The tail was already a sensitive spot, and the External Soul Bone was connected to countless nerves. As a result, he hadn't had a single good night's sleep for the first few months.
After the battle that day, Huo Yuhao was exhausted by the time he reached his dorm.
To go toe-to-toe with Zhao Wuji, he'd used nearly every trick he had except for his Second Martial Soul.
Lying on the bed, Huo Yuhao felt waves of sleepiness wash over him. He soon closed his eyes and drifted off.
As for Zhao Wuji, he went to bed grinning that night. In his eyes, Huo Yuhao was a fine piece of jade.
How could he not be excited that a genius like that had joined Shrek Academy?
Strong, modest, confident, and able to handle anything with ease—it was hard to believe he was only twelve.
And so, full of excitement, Zhao Wuji even drilled Huo Yuhao in his dreams.
A black-robed figure appeared in a tree by the student dorms and peered through a window at the sleeping Huo Yuhao.
"I never thought I'd misjudged him... That boy and that little girl are getting closer and closer. Looks like I'll have to find a way..."
Inside the dorm, Huo Yuhao quietly opened his eyes. They were already icy cold.
"Can't hold back any longer?"
"Yuhao, get up!!"
Early in the morning, someone was pounding on Huo Yuhao's door.
"Coming, coming... Huh, why's everyone here? What's going on?"
When he opened the door, he saw yesterday's teammates. Xiao Wu was standing right at the front, bold as ever.
As soon as Zhu Zhuqing behind her met Huo Yuhao's gaze, she turned her head away as if shocked by an electric current. Her cheeks were flushed, and the coldness she'd shown the day before was gone.
Tang San stood at the back, scratching his head helplessly. He'd only just stepped outside when they dragged him over.
Ning Rongrong smiled and said, "We came to thank our great hero! We wouldn't have gotten into Shrek Academy without you."
Zhu Zhuqing seemed to summon her courage. She met Huo Yuhao's eyes and thanked him softly.
"About yesterday... thank you."
It was hard to tell whether she was thanking him for helping her get into the academy or for catching her the day before.
"It's nothing. Even without me, Teacher Zhao would've let you pass yesterday. The whole one-incense-stick limit was a joke. He'd already accepted you as soon as he activated his Martial Soul."
Huo Yuhao waved it off, smiling as he spoke.
Everyone looked at his kind, friendly face. They couldn't connect him with the powerful boy who'd challenged Zhao Wuji to a one-on-one the day before.
Xiao Wu rubbed her hands together. "Since we're all here, let's go eat! I wonder what the academy serves for breakfast."
The group started wandering around campus, but after half a day of searching, they still couldn't find the cafeteria.
"...Don't tell me the school doesn't even have food?"
There was a hint of disbelief in Xiao Wu's voice, along with a little sadness.
"..."
As everyone stared blankly at one another, Tang San suggested, "How about we go into the village and buy something to eat from the villagers?"
"Looks like that's our only option..."
They left the academy grounds and entered the village. Suddenly, they spotted a young man and woman arguing not far away.
Neither of them was very old. The boy looked twelve or thirteen, and he was a little chubby, but the flesh on his body looked quite solid.
They weren't arguing loudly, but since everyone was a Soul Master, they heard the whole thing from start to finish.
"That chubby kid's trying to abduct a girl in broad daylight?!"
Several of them frowned. Hot-tempered Xiao Wu was about to step in when the chubby boy noticed them too.
Seeing the three pretty girls, his eyes lit up. He was just about to say something sleazy.
But then he noticed their angry expressions. Having been on the receiving end of that look plenty of times before, the chubby boy immediately understood what they were thinking.
His expression went cold. He snorted. "What? You want to meddle? Get lost!"
"??? You're harassing a girl and still acting so arrogant? I'll teach you a lesson today!"
Xiao Wu was dumbfounded. She activated her Martial Soul and charged at once, with Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong close behind.
Outnumbered three to one, the chubby boy was soon sprawled on the ground, wailing.
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes slightly as he studied the boy.
During the fight, the boy's Martial Soul had reminded him of Sister Xiaotao in his previous life.
Especially when he'd shouted, "Phoenix Possession!" There was probably a real connection between them.
"Huh? What are you all doing here? Fatty, why are you lying on the ground?"
Dai Mubai's voice came from nearby as he hurried over.
After Dai Mubai joined them, everyone quickly got to the bottom of what had happened. They couldn't help feeling awkward.
What a bizarre Martial Soul. Well, they'd now met the last member of Shrek.
Only Huo Yuhao looked enlightened.
"They're both surnamed Ma. No wonder... Looks like Sister Xiaotao is Ma Hongjun's descendant."
He couldn't help feeling a little sentimental. So many of his companions in the future were connected to the people standing before him by countless threads. Fate really was wondrous.
"Yuhao, what are you muttering about?" Xiao Wu asked, looking at him strangely.
Huo Yuhao came back to his senses and shook his head. "Nothing."
"All right, now that everything's cleared up, I'll take you all to eat," Dai Mubai said, then led the way to the cafeteria.
At last, they found the academy cafeteria. Xiao Wu was so excited she nearly burst into tears.
The school might've been poor, but at least it had food! Breakfast was simple, but there was plenty of it, and no one complained.
At the table, Dai Mubai kept stealing glances at Zhu Zhuqing, his eyes full of hesitation. Zhu Zhuqing, however, kept her head down and ate without paying him any attention.
Ma Hongjun, who'd been beaten up, didn't dare flirt with the three girls again. He kept his head down and ate.
Just as everyone had nearly finished eating, a rapid series of clangs rang out from outside.
"Quick, that's the signal for the dean to gather us on the training field. The consequences of being late will be serious."
Dai Mubai explained, then hurriedly led everyone to the training field.
By the time they arrived, Oscar was already standing there, still bleary-eyed, with a sausage dangling from his mouth.
Seeing how different Oscar looked without his beard, everyone rubbed their eyes.
Was this really the same senior who'd looked like an old man yesterday? He looked like a completely different person.
"Too bad he's not as handsome as my Yuhao," Xiao Wu muttered.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing stole a glance at Huo Yuhao and nodded in agreement. True.
While they were chatting, a middle-aged man walked over.
Xiao Wu nudged Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, isn't that the swindler we met? Why is he here?"
Huo Yuhao looked at the man and felt a little dazed too. No wonder the shopkeeper had looked familiar back at that store.
He quietly explained to Xiao Wu, "That's the dean."
"Ah!?"
Xiao Wu suddenly felt a little despair about academy life. She pouted miserably. "With someone like him as dean, life's going to be rough."
Then she thought of something and turned to Oscar beside her. "By the way, what level is the dean?"
"He's a level seventy-eight Soul Saint. Impressive, right? The dean may be stingy, but he's really powerful!" Oscar proudly explained to Xiao Wu.
"Thank goodness..."
Xiao Wu patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing this, Huo Yuhao smiled and took her hand.
"Don't worry. I'm here."