"You arrogant brat! How dare you humiliate me like this!" Zhou Yi snarled through clenched teeth, her face livid as she watched Huo Yuhao's retreating back.
Right after that, Zhou Yi strode out of the classroom. She was headed for the Spirit Fighting Zone, but chose a different route rather than following the same path as Huo Yuhao.
After Zhou Yi left, the students of Grade 1 Class 1 exchanged bewildered looks.
The way things had unfolded was genuinely beyond everyone's expectations.
"That was so cool! This Huo Yuhao is way too cool!" Xiao Xiao exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
She wasn't the only one. The other girls in the class were all looking at him with admiration, too.
The boys didn't say anything, but they were just as stunned.
"If we'd been born in the same era, would you see me as a mayfly gazing up at the blue sky?" Wang Dong murmured to herself.
For some reason, after reciting those words, Wang Dong felt a surge of heroic pride welling up inside her.
"This guy is such a show-off! What gives him the right to say something so arrogant?"
Wang Dong was very annoyed, but quietly memorized the line anyway, intending to put it to use someday.
She imagined herself delivering those words in front of a crowd, with everyone watching. Just how amazing would that feel?
Just imagining the scene made Wang Dong shiver with excitement, barely able to contain herself.
"Hurry up, Wang Dong! Let's go to the Spirit Fighting Arena and cheer Huo Yuhao on!"
Coming back to herself, Wang Dong saw that Xiao Xiao was already waiting at the door, calling to her.
"Wait for me!" Wang Dong hurried after her.
A large group of students headed toward Shrek Academy's Spirit Fighting Zone in a grand procession.
Beside Sea God Lake at Shrek Academy, Zhang Lexuan was walking from the Inner Court toward the Outer Court. She was tall and slender, standing over 1.7 meters. With the white dress she wore today and her already breathtaking beauty, she seemed like a celestial maiden who had descended from the heavens to the mortal world.
"Ah, I couldn't get Yuhao into the Inner Court directly. In the end, I broke my promise to him. Today is his first day of school. I wonder how he's doing. I'd better go see him in the Outer Court."
"I can also stop by and see Beibei while I'm there. I heard he's been spending a lot of time with the Tang Sect lately. I wonder what he's thinking."
With a trace of guilt on her face, Zhang Lexuan headed toward the Grade 1 Teaching Building in the Outer Court where Huo Yuhao was.
"Hmm? Why are there so many people up ahead?" Zhang Lexuan suddenly noticed a large group of new students heading toward the Spirit Fighting Zone in a long procession.
She stopped a male student and asked in confusion, "Junior, isn't today your first day of school? Why aren't you in class? Where are you going?"
The first-year student she had stopped looked up and saw Zhang Lexuan's face. His own face turned red, and he stammered, "Senior, our class teacher's got something wrong with her head. One of my classmates couldn't stand it and got into an argument with her. The teacher and that classmate are going to the Spirit Fighting Arena. If he loses, he'll be expelled. We're going to cheer him on."
Hearing this, Zhang Lexuan suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"What's your classmate's name?" she asked urgently.
"He said his name was Huo Yuhao, I think," the student replied.
Just as she'd thought. Zhang Lexuan rubbed her forehead helplessly. The moment she heard what had happened, Huo Yuhao had come to mind.
"Who's your class teacher?" she asked again.
"Our class teacher is Zhou Yi."
Zhang Lexuan frowned.
That lunatic Zhou Yi again? She still hadn't been fired?
Although Zhang Lexuan had lived in the Inner Court since childhood, she had heard plenty about Zhou Yi's reputation. The woman often expelled students for no reason and had caused Shrek no end of trouble over the years. If she hadn't had a good husband, she'd have been kicked out of the academy long ago.
I see, Zhang Lexuan thought. If that was the case, it was only natural. With Huo Yuhao's temperament, he would never swallow his anger in front of anyone.
With that, Zhang Lexuan thanked the junior student, who was gazing at her lovestruck, and then vanished on the spot.
The male student she left behind stood there, completely dumbfounded.
"I'm exhausted! We finally made it back to the academy!" Tang Ya complained to Beibei beside her, shoulders drooping with fatigue.
"That's because you insisted on staying so long in every city along the way, making a fuss about wanting grilled fish. Otherwise, we would've been back at school ages ago," Beibei said helplessly.
Tang Ya knew she was in the wrong, so she could only stick out her tongue cutely. "Sorry, Beibei. Huo Yuhao's grilled fish really was too delicious. We've tried so many shops along the way, but none of them could match that flavor."
"I wonder if we'll ever get to eat that grilled fish again."
Tang Ya wore a nostalgic expression.
The two of them were Tang Ya, who had just obtained a Spirit Ring in the Star Dou Great Forest, and her male servant, Beibei.
The moment she finished speaking, Tang Ya spotted Huo Yuhao up ahead. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, then frantically shook Beibei's arm. "Beibei, look! It's grilled fish—no, wait, it's Yuhao!"
Beibei followed Tang Ya's finger and looked over, equally surprised. "Why is Yuhao here? Did he join Shrek Academy too?"
"But he seems to be heading toward Shrek's Spirit Fighting Zone!"
The two of them watched as Huo Yuhao spoke with one of the teachers at the Spirit Fighting Arena, then entered the competition area.
"Is he going to fight?" They exchanged surprised looks, then followed without hesitation.
Huo Yuhao reached the entrance to the Spirit Fighting Arena. After paying the teacher at the gate one Silver Soul Coin, he walked inside.
He looked around and saw that the arena was about as large as Shrek Plaza, with a wide-open space in the center.
Rows of seats rose all around it, able to accommodate about three thousand people at once.
At the center of the arena, Zhou Yi was already waiting for him, her expression dark.
A referee stood beside Zhou Yi. He watched Huo Yuhao approach, his expression just as peculiar.
"Student, Teacher Zhou has explained the rules of your fight to me. Are you sure you want to fight her?"
Looking at the enormous gap in strength between the two, the teacher couldn't understand why this student had agreed to a match so wildly mismatched.
On one side was a teacher at Shrek Academy, a Six-Ring Soul Emperor.
On the other was a new student this year, said to have only one Spirit Ring.
And yet the Six-Ring Soul Emperor could still use Soul Power at around the Soul Elder level. No matter how you looked at it, the rules were unfair.
He glanced at Zhou Yi with a hint of disdain.
She was a teacher, after all. Making this kind of wager with a student was shameless.
"Teacher, I agree," Huo Yuhao said, nodding without hesitation.
By now, a good number of people had gathered in the tiered seats around the arena. Besides the first-year students from Huo Yuhao's class, students from other years in the Shrek Outer Court had heard the news and come to watch.
Most of them wore astonished expressions.
An Outer Court instructor fighting a first-year student?
Could a match like this really be competitive? What kind of student would be crazy enough to fight someone with such a massive advantage in rank?
Tang Ya and Beibei had also reached the stands. When they saw that Zhou Yi was about to fight Huo Yuhao, they both gaped in shock.
If they remembered correctly, Huo Yuhao had only obtained his First Soul Ring a week ago. They had been right there when he did.
What was going on now? Why was he challenging an Outer Court instructor?
Zhang Lexuan arrived late and entered the stands. The first person she saw was Huo Yuhao in the middle of the arena. Worry crossed her face, but then she noticed Beibei and Tang Ya standing close together. A complicated feeling she couldn't put into words stirred inside her, and a bitter smile touched her lips.
She looked at the pure and lovely girl beside Beibei and suddenly understood why he had been spending so much time with the Tang Sect.
When Huo Yuhao agreed, the referee walked to the center of the arena and announced in a deep voice, "Outer Court instructor Zhou Yi challenges first-year student Huo Yuhao. Zhou Yi may only use Soul Power at the Soul Elder level. If she uses Soul Power beyond the Soul Elder level, she automatically forfeits. If Huo Yuhao loses, he automatically leaves the academy. If Zhou Yi loses, she must pay a Spirit Bone with a lifespan of over eight thousand years."
"The match begins!"
Thank you, Naiheli, for supporting me again with 500 coins! By the way, you give me 500 coins right on time every day. If your IP weren't from Henan, I'd really think you were one of my friends who'd found my author account. I almost thought I was going to die of embarrassment. Anyway, thank you so much. Your support has really encouraged me. And thanks to everyone who's left comments and suggestions in the book review section. I've read every single one. Thank you all. Please follow and add the book to your collection. Sending you all a heart.
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