Freshman Class 3, Wang Yan

The next day arrived.

Warm sunlight spilled onto the windows of the Martial Soul Department's freshman teaching building.

Inside Freshman Class 3, everyone was flushed with excitement, engaged in heated discussions.

The atmosphere throughout the classroom was exceptionally noisy and boisterous.

"Did you hear about what happened in Class 1 yesterday?"

"Of course I heard! It's spread all over the Outer Court by now. A freshman in Class 1 got into a conflict with an instructor and went straight to the Spirit Fighting Arena!"

In a corner of the classroom, two students were discussing it excitedly.

"For real? Then what happened? How is that freshman doing?"

Just then, a student sitting nearby with a blank expression interjected, clearly finding such an outrageous story hard to believe.

Hearing this, the two who were talking gave him a strange look. The student sitting next to him said, "Of course it's true. The whole of Shrek knows about it now. How could you not know?"

The student was relatively handsome; he scratched his head in embarrassment. "Ahem, I went out with a girl yesterday and didn't return to the dorms, so I really hadn't heard. So, what happened in the end?"

Didn't return to the dorms? His desk-mate gave him a look of utter disdain and said, "In the end, that student, who only has a one-ring cultivation, sent an instructor with three-ring cultivation scurrying for cover. He even forced the guy to use a ten-thousand-year sixth spirit skill of a Spirit Emperor, but even then, he couldn't do anything to that student."

"And according to the latest news, that instructor from Class 1 has already been dismissed. Although the specific reason isn't clear, you could say that student literally fought the instructor right out of his job."

"That instructor's name seems to be Zhou Yi. Since the founding of Shrek, there's never been a case of an instructor being beaten so miserably by a student."

The student recounting the story laughed with schadenfreude.

Upon hearing this, the look of confusion on Ouyang Junyi's face deepened; he even suspected his desk-mate was pulling his leg.

But seeing that the expression on the other's face didn't look fake, he began to doubt himself.

A freshman beating up an instructor?

Are you kidding me?

"What does that person look like? What's his name?" he asked.

His desk-mate replied, "They say he has black hair and black eyes, is handsome, and has fair skin. He's the type that you'd never forget the moment you see him, the type..."

As the student spoke, he suddenly stopped. He looked toward the entrance of the classroom, his eyes wide, his mouth slightly agape, his face filled with disbelief.

At the same time, the previously noisy class fell silent in an instant; you could hear a pin drop.

"What's wrong? Why did you suddenly stop talking?" Seeing this, Ouyang Junyi looked in the direction of his desk-mate's gaze, puzzled.

He suddenly discovered that a youth with black hair and black eyes, handsome features, and fair skin—the kind one could deeply remember at a glance—was standing at the door of their classroom, though he didn't know when he had arrived.

Wait! Don't these features match exactly what his desk-mate just described?

Could it be that this youth is the legendary figure everyone in the class is talking about?

Ouyang Junyi swallowed hard.

Just then, the refined youth moved. He walked past the people in the class and, as luck would have it, sat down in an empty seat right behind Ouyang Junyi and his desk-mate.

Huo Yuhao felt a bit bewildered; the atmosphere in this class seemed a little strange.

Following Zhang Lexuan's instructions, he had come straight to Freshman Class 3 today. Just as he was walking outside the classroom, he had heard the boisterous noise of the students inside.

But the moment he stepped into the classroom, everyone in the class fell deathly silent.

Does this class have some strange rule?

After he walked to an empty seat and sat down, he looked at the two students in front of him; they were both stiff, not moving a muscle.

Huo Yuhao asked curiously, "Hello, I'm a new student transferring into Class 3 today. My name is Huo Yuhao. May I ask what's going on? Is the rule in this class very strict? Why is everyone so still and quiet?"

Hearing this, Ouyang Junyi's body visibly relaxed.

Nonsense, it's not that everyone doesn't want to move; it's that everyone is scared and nervous. Everyone thought you were here today to fight our class instructor out of a job, too.

Ouyang Junyi turned around and saw that Huo Yuhao was smiling and seemed very easy to get along with, so the tension in his heart dissipated quite a bit.

He reached out both hands to Huo Yuhao and smiled, "Hello, my name is Ouyang Junyi. Student Huo, welcome to Class 3. We don't have any rules here. The reason everyone is frozen, er, is probably because everyone is a bit socially anxious. It'll pass in a moment."

Ouyang Junyi's desk-mate also nodded at Huo Yuhao. "Hello, Student Huo. I've heard a lot about you. My name is Chen Junfeng. Please take care of me in the future."

Huo Yuhao nodded in sudden realization and shook hands with both of them.

Ouyang Junyi was good-looking, and judging by his attire, he seemed to be the child of a noble family.

On the other side, Chen Junfeng was thin and frail. Judging by his clothing, he was likely a commoner student. At this moment, the look in his eyes as he gazed at Huo Yuhao was filled with intense reverence.

Huo Yuhao asked with some confusion, "Heard a lot about me? Am I famous in the Outer Court?"

Chen Junfeng said excitedly, "Famous? That's an understatement! Student Huo, you're practically everyone's idol in the Outer Court. You defeated the senior Xu Sanshi a few days ago, and yesterday you beat the Class 1 instructor until he couldn't find north. You're practically an urban legend."

"They're calling you 'Blood-Eyed Huo Yuhao' now!"

Hearing this, a look of embarrassment appeared on Huo Yuhao's face.

"Hehe, that's an exaggeration, an exaggeration. I'm not that heaven-defying."

He hadn't expected news in the Outer Court to spread so fast, but what the hell was this "Blood-Eyed" nickname? It didn't sound good at all.

As Huo Yuhao chatted amicably with the two in front of him, the rest of the class slowly relaxed, and the entire classroom returned to its normal atmosphere.

Most people, however, would still steal a glance or two at Huo Yuhao from time to time.

Just then, a middle-aged man around forty years old, dressed in a cyan robe, walked through the classroom door.

His appearance was quite ordinary; he wore a pair of glasses and a kind smile on his face, lacking any overbearing aura.

He exuded a strong scholarly air, appearing refined and giving the impression of a gentle, cultured man.

"Hello, Teacher Wang." The students all stood up to salute the middle-aged man.

Wang Yan chuckled and said, "Everyone, please sit down. There is no need for such formalities next time. My teaching style has always been to treat everyone as friends. From now until the end of the freshman assessment, you are all my little friends. Whether you encounter difficulties in your cultivation or daily life, feel free to come and discuss them with me. If I can help, I will certainly do my best."

"Oh, right. We have a new student in our class today. I won't introduce him too much here; I believe you will all get to know each other as time goes on."

"Alright, everyone perk up. We are officially starting the lesson now!"

Wang Yan's words made everyone in the class feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze. They all consciously sat up straight and began to listen to his lecture attentively.

Seeing that Wang Yan did not give him any special treatment, Huo Yuhao actually felt a sense of goodwill toward this refined teacher.

It seemed Shrek Academy still had some normal people.

A class mentor like this, who treated everyone equally and focused on teaching seriously in class, earning the unanimous respect of his students, was truly a breath of fresh air.

In contrast to a certain mentor who only knew how to make others run and constantly threatened students with expulsion.

The gap was simply beyond words.