Huo Yuhao's Self-Abuse

"Alright, the freshman assessment has officially concluded. Tomorrow morning, we will hold a freshman assembly to award the top three teams and conduct the first-year class assignments."

"Victory without arrogance, defeat without discouragement—this is what progress demands. You are all the most outstanding group of freshmen I have ever seen, and I do not wish for this competition to affect your future development. That is all."

After saying this, Du Weilun turned and walked away, quickly leaving the assessment area.

Seeing that Du Weilun did not pursue the results of the match further and had essentially defaulted to Lin Yao taking first place through intimidation, Dai Huabin could no longer suppress the stifled frustration in his heart. He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.

The next morning was another bright and sunny day. Because of the Sea God Lake on campus, the air in Shrek Academy was not only fresh but also incredibly humid.

All the freshmen who had passed the assessment gathered in Shrek Square, waiting for the upcoming class assignments.

Soon, Du Weilun, the director of the Martial Soul Department, arrived in front of the students with a dozen teachers.

Although Huo Yuhao and his team had been eliminated in the first round, this awards ceremony was not limited to those who had placed; all freshmen who had passed the assessment were allowed to attend as observers.

Lin Yao spotted Huo Yuhao and noticed that he and Wang Dong were standing quite far apart. Huo Yuhao's body was wrapped in white bandages, through which faint traces of red could be seen.

Clearly, Zhou Yi's "Devil Week" was no joke. As Lin Yao thought this, he heard a classmate nearby whisper, "That lunatic from Class One who punishes himself is actually here too."

Lin Yao was on decent terms with that classmate, having chatted with him a few times before, so he asked in a low voice, "Buddy, are you talking about that Huo Yuhao?"

Seeing it was Lin Yao, the classmate smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Brother Lin, didn't you know?"

Lin Yao took out a Gold Soul Coin and tucked it into the classmate's hand, smiling. "Before the speeches start, tell me a Gold Soul Coin's worth of gossip."

"You got it!" The classmate stuffed the coin into his pocket and began his story for Lin Yao.

Because he had to finish before Du Weilun started speaking, the classmate spoke quickly and concisely. Simply put, after they lost, Zhou Yi chose to punish them with laps to maintain her authority in the class.

While this sounded ridiculous by normal logic, it made sense from Zhou Yi's perspective.

After all, Zhou Yi always believed that a teacher must maintain absolute authority to lead a class well, and that one must follow through on whatever one says.

In that regard, Zhou Yi was somewhat impartial, but the problem lay with Huo Yuhao.

Without Electrolux there to guide him, his paranoid personality spiraled into the worst possible extreme.

Building on Zhou Yi's punishment, he chose to crazily increase the workload himself. When Zhou Yi said to run until class ended, he ran until sunset, only stopping when he was truly exhausted and collapsed to the ground.

After that, he would periodically push himself to such extremes, leaving his body covered in scars. Later, he even tried to drag Wang Dong into it.

Wang Dong, however, made it clear: friendship is one thing, but if you disturb my sleep-god inheritance, we'll have to go our separate ways. At first, he tried to manage Huo Yuhao's self-abuse, but eventually, he just ignored him, pulling his quilt over his head after class and sleeping soundly.

As for Xiao Xiao, she had sensed something was wrong with Huo Yuhao early on and stopped getting close to him.

Lacking guidance, Huo Yuhao's situation spiraled further, eventually leading to a point where no one wanted to stand with him.

Lin Yao calculated Huo Yuhao's current predicament in his heart. With poor relationships among his peers and no secret soul bone techniques, fusing with the Ice Empress would be a massive ordeal.

And with his record of being eliminated in the first round, he naturally wouldn't have any connection to the core disciples.

Although he could still attend classes as a Control-type student, he would likely miss out on many of the benefits he had in the original story.

Just as Lin Yao was contemplating the current situation, a voice from the high platform drew everyone's attention.

Du Weilun held a folder, scanned the group of young students with a smile, and said, "I believe you all know that the freshman assessment tournament has concluded, and the final top three have been decided."

"Now, I will officially announce them and the rewards they will receive. Third place in the freshman assessment: the Huang Chutian team. Team members: Huang Chutian, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo. Please step forward."

Led by Huang Chutian, the three walked out together and stood before Du Weilun. Their young faces were flushed with excitement; winning third place had already exceeded their expectations!

The entire first-year cohort erupted in applause. After the tournament, there were only about three hundred first-year students left—nearly two-thirds fewer than when the term began.

The assessment had only eliminated half of the total students, so the remaining difference was essentially Zhou Yi's "handiwork."

Thinking of this, Lin Yao couldn't help but curl his lips into a slight smile. The more he thought about that record, the more absurd it felt.

Du Weilun, however, didn't care about Lin Yao's thoughts below the stage and continued reading from his script: "Second place: the Dai Huabin team. Team members: Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, Cui Yajie. Please step forward."

Applause rang out again, but when the three of them stepped out, there was no excitement on their faces. Dai Huabin in particular kept his face tight and his head slightly lowered, seemingly lost in thought, his eyes even bloodshot.

Du Weilun paused slightly before raising his voice: "Now, please give a round of enthusiastic applause to welcome our freshman assessment champions! They are the Lin Yao team. Team members: Lin Yao, Ye Guyi, Xu Ye."

As Du Weilun finished his sentence, a thunderous round of applause erupted.

Lin Yao's strength was beyond dispute, so Shrek Academy would never engage in backroom dealings to make it seem like the team belonged to Ye Guyi or Xu Ye.

Amidst the applause of the freshmen, Lin Yao led Ye Guyi and Xu Ye toward the high platform.

Seeing the three of them approach, a smile appeared in Du Weilun's eyes as he gestured for them to stand in the center.

The moment Lin Yao stood in the center, he felt Dai Huabin's hostile gaze fixed upon him. He let out a faint, mocking chuckle, then mouthed...