Swapping Dorms, or Getting Beaten

"No way, am I really that unlucky?"

"I have to butt heads with that old hag right off the bat??"

Chu Feng left the admissions office, feeling incredibly stifled.

Zhou Yi, that old hag, was a genuine menace. Her teaching methods and level were identical to Yu Xiaogang's in Chu Feng's memory, only she was even more ruthless.

She was nothing more than a trash-tier Soul Emperor herself. If her teaching methods were so god-tier, wouldn't she have become a Titled Douluo long ago by applying them to herself?

It was nothing more than blind luck; the classes she taught happened to have more geniuses who could withstand her training regimen.

These geniuses were already hardworking and possessed top-tier talent, yet in the end, they all became part of Zhou Yi's "track record," while she never uttered a single word about what happened to the students who were expelled.

Anyone who could enter Shrek was a genius, but being expelled from Shrek became a lifelong stain on those students, a blow that was almost fatal to their futures.

It could be said that Zhou Yi, single-handedly, destroyed the futures of dozens of geniuses every year, yet the original work never mentioned a word of it.

If not for Fan Yu backing her, a cancerous teacher like Zhou Yi would have been kicked out of Shrek long ago.

Although Fan Yu was an eighth-rank Soul Engineer, in Chu Feng's eyes, he was also trash—just the tallest dwarf in a field of shorties.

The combined population of the three great empires was over a billion, dozens or even hundreds of times that of the Sun Moon Empire. Even if the probability of a genius Soul Engineer appearing was only one in a million or ten million, they should have been able to produce a massive number of monstrous Soul Engineers.

Yet Shrek never valued them. In fact, most of their teachers took the lead in boycotting Soul Tools, brainwashing talented students and disparaging Soul Tools.

Thus, Shrek only picked from within their own academy, eventually pulling the "tallest" from a pile of shorties, wasting countless resources just to barely cultivate a single eighth-rank Soul Engineer, whom they then treated like a treasure. Only Shrek could pull off such a stupid stunt.

If not for the support of Huo Gua's destiny, Shrek would have been blown to bits sooner or later.

"Forget it, never mind that for now. Getting enrolled is what matters..."

Chu Feng cast aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind and shook his head helplessly.

He glanced at his dormitory key: Room 113...

"This room is pretty close to Huo Gua's..." Chu Feng muttered to himself.

But thinking about it, it made sense; being in the same class, it wasn't strange for their dorms to be nearby.

Following the signs within the academy, Chu Feng quickly found the dormitory area.

The dormitory complex covered a massive area, marked with white, yellow, purple, and black colors, representing the living areas for students of different grades.

Chu Feng arrived at the entrance of the white dormitory building and, as expected, saw an old man with white hair and a white beard sitting on a recliner.

The old man wore simple grey cloth robes, his facial wrinkles deep enough to crush a dozen flies at once. His eyes were dim and yellow, his eyelids drooping—the very picture of a man nearing the end of his days. The sunlight filtering through the buildings fell just right on him, and the semi-reclined chair looked quite comfortable.

Most freshmen didn't recognize him, but Chu Feng knew that this old man was Shrek's strongest powerhouse. Although he didn't have long to live and was half-crippled, his combat power remained at the pinnacle of the continent.

Mu En seemed to sense Chu Feng's gaze; his drooping eyelids slowly lifted to look at him, and then, as if he had discovered something, a rare, strange glint flashed in his dim eyes.

"Hello there, old timer~ I'm Chu Feng, a new student at the academy~" Chu Feng noticed Mu En's gaze and flashed a brilliant smile.

He wasn't worried about his true nature being seen through. After all, his transformation was a reward from the system. Never mind old man Mu En, even if Tang San himself descended from the heavens, he wouldn't be able to discern his origins.

Chu Feng didn't have a bad impression of Mu En; at least the old man wasn't overly rigid and knew how to be flexible. He was a well-behaved student who respected the elderly and loved the young, so he maintained the proper etiquette.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad. Truly a good child."

"Come, let me see your dormitory key and freshman badge."

Seeing this, Mu En also revealed a gentle smile.

Of course, if Mu En knew Chu Feng's true purpose for coming to Shrek, he likely wouldn't have such a pleasant expression.

Chu Feng handed over the key and badge. Mu En verified them and then nodded, saying, "Hmm, your dorm is the eighth room on the left on the first floor. The fourth floor is the girls' dormitory; you are not allowed up there. If caught, you will be expelled."

"What if a girl voluntarily asks to stay in my dorm? What would happen then?" Chu Feng asked curiously.

Mu En: ?

"Hahaha~ Just kidding~ Old timer, I'll be heading off now~"

Seeing Mu En's face turn pitch black, Chu Feng quickly greased his heels and ran.

He wasn't worried about Mu En attacking him at all. After all, if word of that got out, Mu En would lose all his dignity and ruin his reputation in his twilight years...

Chu Feng arrived at his dorm and opened the door. A musty, turbid smell immediately rushed out, carrying a faint scent of mildew—not very pleasant.

The dorm had two beds that looked somewhat old and were covered in dust, as if no one had lived there for a while.

"Shrek really is stingy. The dorm doesn't even have a private bathroom~"

Chu Feng shook his head, speechless. No wonder Wang Dong'er bathed in the dorm. He just didn't know where she went to use the restroom; surely there had to be stalls, it couldn't possibly be open-plan...

Shrek was quite generous when it came to cultivation, but they were unwilling to spend money on infrastructure. It was probably that same old "to temper the students" excuse—pedantic and brain-dead. Chu Feng didn't want to comment further.

"Click—"

Just then, a soft sound came from next door.

Chu Feng turned his head and saw a young boy walking out of Dorm 108.

The boy looked to be about eleven or twelve, with a well-proportioned build. He wore a well-fitting academy freshman uniform, and his short black hair looked clean and sharp. His handsome little face revealed a sense of perseverance that surpassed his peers.

Although Chu Feng had never met him, he recognized at a glance that this was Huo Yuhao, the destined child of this world!

Huo Yuhao also caught sight of Chu Feng, a flicker of confusion crossing his eyes. For some reason, he felt that this new student harbored hostility toward him.

Furthermore, he found the guy in front of him rather unpleasant. He had never met this person before, yet a vague, inexplicable intuition told him that this individual was up to no good.

Though he felt uneasy, he disliked causing trouble. He quickly withdrew his gaze, turned around, and prepared to leave.

It was lunchtime; eating was the priority.

"Kid, stop right there!"

Just then, a sharp shout rang out from behind Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao turned his head and discovered that the person calling out to him was none other than the youth from a moment ago.

"What is it?"

Huo Yuhao frowned slightly and asked.

He truly did not want to interact with this guy. He didn't know why, but he had a gut feeling that if he got too involved with this person, he would suffer a stroke of terrible luck.

Seeing this, Chu Feng hurried over toward Huo Yuhao. He looked down his nose at him, adopting a condescending attitude, and let out a wicked laugh: "Hehehe, I've taken a liking to your dorm room. Hand over the key; from now on, your room belongs to me."