"You..." Zhou Yi's lips trembled with rage. "Ren Zhu! I can expel you whenever I want!"
Ren Zhu spread her hands, looking completely unconcerned. "Expel me? Do you dare?"
Zhou Yi was shaking all over with fury. Even the human-skin mask on her face was beginning to wrinkle!
Of course she didn't dare.
There were only a handful of new students with the Soul Elder rank at Shrek Academy each year.
If she expelled Ren Zhu, Director Du Weilun wouldn't agree to it, and even Dean Yan Shaozhe would summon her for a talk.
Besides, she had pulled every string she could just to get Ren Zhu enrolled.
Expel her? What a joke!
The entire class exchanged uneasy glances, not daring to make a sound.
Huo Yuhao sat in the front row, his face expressionless, but his mind was going wild:
This girl's even more awesome than me!
This won't do. If she steals my thunder, how am I supposed to earn Heroic Value?!
Just then, a system panel silently popped up in front of Huo Yuhao:
``` [叮--]
[Obtain an A-level mission: Protect dear Teacher Zhou! Slap Ren Zhu once! Then kiss Zhou Yi on the cheek!]
[Mission time limit: 5 minutes!]
[Mission completion reward: Gain 100 heroic spirit points!]
[Mission failure penalty: Deduct 100 heroic spirit points!]
Huo Yuhao's pupils suddenly contracted.
An A-rank mission!
A hundred Heroic Value! That was a whole hundred!
And he already thought Teacher Zhou had a point.
What was that "There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters" nonsense?
Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's words were a truth proven over ten thousand years!
What gave this new girl the right to act so arrogant?
What gave her the right to talk back to Teacher Zhou?!
Whatever. Let's do it!
The system had trained Huo Yuhao until he had no shame or guilt left in him.
He sprang to his feet.
Everyone in the class turned to look at him in unison.
What was this guy about to do now?
Whenever he stood up, trouble was sure to follow.
Huo Yuhao lowered his head. No one could make out the expression on his face.
Then he moved.
His right hand shot up, cutting through the air with a whoosh!
"Smack!"
He slapped Ren Zhu squarely across her rough face!
The crisp, resounding slap echoed through the silent classroom and lingered in the air.
The entire class fell completely silent.
Everyone's mouths hung open in an "O," their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.
Tang San's pupils shrank. He froze in his seat.
He stared at Huo Yuhao in disbelief, his face burning with pain.
I, Tang San... divine enforcer, Sea God, Asura God...
Had actually been slapped by this kid?!
Humiliation! Utter humiliation!
Tang San's lips twitched, his temples throbbed, and the Soul Power inside him surged like a volcano on the verge of erupting.
But he held back.
I can't expose myself. I can't...
He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the fury boiling inside him.
But Huo Yuhao still wasn't finished.
He braced a hand on the desk, vaulted over it, landed steadily, and strode toward the lectern.
That back, that stride...
He looked just like a warrior marching bravely to his death.
The whole class followed him with their eyes, hearts pounding.
What was he going to do now?
Zhou Yi was shaking all over with fury. She gripped the lectern, barely managing to steady herself, while the wrinkles on her face twitched.
She had never imagined that the imposing authority she had spent years cultivating would be challenged again and again by a new student today.
Before Zhou Yi could react, Huo Yuhao had already rushed right up to her.
He threw an arm around her neck!
And then—
"Muah!"
He planted a kiss on her cheek!
The students' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
What kind of move was that?!
Slapping someone was one thing, but now he was kissing a teacher?!
Huo Yuhao's mind was blank too.
He only knew that if the system told him to do it, he'd do it.
As for the consequences... who cared? He'd finish the mission first!
But whether he was too nervous or too excited, Huo Yuhao kissed her a little too forcefully.
He practically threw his whole body at her, pressed his lips tightly to Zhou Yi's cheek, and sucked hard...
"Slurp—"
Like a suction cup, he clung fast.
Then, when he released his mouth and leaned back...
"Pop—"
An old woman's face came right off Zhou Yi's!
The skin was wrinkled and grayish-brown, with several wisps of white eyebrow hair on it. It dangled from Huo Yuhao's lips, swaying back and forth.
Huo Yuhao froze.
Zhou Yi froze.
The whole class froze.
It was as if the air in the classroom had solidified.
The students had no idea Zhou Yi was wearing a disguise. To them, she was just a wrinkled old woman with chicken skin and white hair.
And now, that old woman's face... had been kissed right off by Huo Yuhao?!
Beneath the face was the visage of a beautiful woman in her thirties or forties.
Was this really the same creepy old hag?!
Xiao Xiao covered her eyes with both hands, but her fingers were spread wide apart.
It wasn't that she was scared. She was disgusted.
"Good heavens, I wanted to see Lin Ye and Wang Dong kiss, not this greasy guy and an old woman!"
She ranted furiously in her head, her face turning green.
The other students reacted even more directly.
"Whoa—!"
"What the heck?!"
The classroom erupted.
Zhou Yi covered her face with both hands in horror, frozen on the lectern.
She had disguised herself as an old woman to be more intimidating in front of her students. She never imagined that Huo Yuhao would kiss her mask right off today!
Her true appearance was now exposed to everyone without any warning.
Huo Yuhao stared at the wrinkled face dangling from his lips, his stomach churning.
"Ugh—!"
He dropped to his knees on the lectern and leaned over the desk, retching.
The face slid from his lips and fell to the floor, crumpled into a heap. Just looking at it made people feel sick.
Lin Ye sat in the back, delighted to stir up trouble. "Good heavens, could Teacher Zhou be an Evil Soul Master?! What normal person would stick someone else's face on their own?!"
With that one shout, he branded Zhou Yi with the label of "Evil Soul Master."
The students went into an uproar, shouting over one another.
"Evil Soul Master!"
"Teacher Zhou's an Evil Soul Master!"
"No wonder she's so twisted! She's not even human!"
"We have to report her to the academic affairs office!"
Wang Dong'er leaned close to Lin Ye's ear and whispered, "Is Teacher Zhou really an Evil Soul Master?"
She'd also thought Zhou Yi was abnormally strict, but an Evil Soul Master... surely not?
Lin Ye shook his head and lowered his voice. "No. But there are quite a few genuine 'Evil Soul Masters' at Shrek Academy."
Wang Dong'er couldn't help shivering.
Looks like the waters at Shrek Academy run deep too!
She instinctively moved closer to Lin Ye, as if only being beside him could make her feel safe.
Lin Ye noticed her movement and gently patted her shoulder, speaking softly:
"Don't be afraid. I'm here."
Wang Dong'er's cheeks flushed slightly. She gave a quiet "Mm," warmth rising in her heart.
At that moment, the system's crisp notification rang out in Huo Yuhao's mind:
Before you continue