All Eyes on Them, the Director Takes the Class

The morning at Shrek Academy was thick with moisture.

Sunlight pierced the thin mist, spilling freely across the broad, level main road.

The freshman teaching district was a sprawling cluster of white buildings. Their exterior walls were coated in plain, elegant paint, while ivy climbed upward from the base, adding a touch of vitality to this solemn and dignified institution of higher learning.

Freshman Class One's classroom was located on the first floor of the main teaching building.

There was still some time before classes officially began. The corridors were bustling with young faces full of hopes for the future.

The tiered classroom was even more crowded and noisy. Dozens of boys and girls from all over gathered together, excitedly discussing their backgrounds, martial souls, and their experiences upon arriving at the academy. The clamor nearly blew the roof off.

Yun Yi and Wang Dong walked side by side through the corridor.

Both wore the white fitted uniforms issued by Shrek Academy, yet the standard attire produced entirely different, equally stunning effects on them.

The conversations along both sides of the corridor abruptly paused the instant the pair passed by.

The two stopped at the door to Class One.

Yun Yi raised his right hand and pressed his palm against the door. With a slight push, he opened the heavy solid-wood door.

The creak of the hinges was utterly inconspicuous amid the noise, but the moment the two stepped into the classroom one after the other, the entire tiered room seemed to have been muted.

The waves of chatter stopped abruptly. Only the faint movement of dust drifting in the sunlight remained in the air.

Over a hundred pairs of eyes converged on the classroom entrance, fixed firmly on the two of them.

Most of the boys' gazes carried jealousy and wariness.

They were all freshmen who had only just set out, yet merely standing at the doorway, these two completely crushed the presence of every other boy in the class.

The exceptional aura radiating from within them made quite a few young masters from prestigious families, who prided themselves on being geniuses, feel instantly inferior. They secretly clenched their fists.

The girls' reactions, on the other hand, were far more enthusiastic and direct.

On the Douluo Continent, where strength and the strong were revered, attraction between the sexes was often accompanied by an instinctive sense for power.

Wang Dong's short pink-blue hair reflected a gorgeous sheen beneath the sunlight, and her delicate features were flawless.

This androgynous beauty, leaning toward the soft and feminine, truly made many girls marvel inwardly.

Yet even more gazes passed over Wang Dong and locked firmly onto Yun Yi.

Yun Yi was tall and straight, with broad shoulders. Somehow, he wore the loose white academy uniform with an air of dangerous oppression.

He had black hair and black eyes, his expression casual, with a trace of pride hidden between his brows.

That distinctly masculine vigor, combined with the dominance and sharpness that seeped from his bones, was undoubtedly devastating to young girls just awakening to love.

Wang Dong was half a step behind Yun Yi, her back ramrod straight and her chin slightly raised.

Receiving the attention of the entire room greatly satisfied her battered self-esteem.

From being comprehensively suppressed in the dorm last night to that embarrassing accidental collision this morning, she had been holding in a bellyful of frustration.

Now, she had finally regained the pride befitting the young mistress of the Clear Sky Sect.

She smugly thought to herself, This young master's face really is still unbeatable.

Who cares if you're some Soul Ancestor monster? In this freshman class that judges by looks, this young master is still the center of attention.

She enjoyed this glory without the slightest shame, completely unaware that more than half of the girls' burning, aggressive gazes had passed over her shoulder and gathered on someone else.

Faced with the complex stares from the entire room, Yun Yi paid them no heed.

His mindset had long since transcended such low-level vanity.

His black eyes swept swiftly across the spacious tiered classroom and quickly locked onto a specific spot.

Near a window in the middle-rear rows sat a petite girl.

Her dark green short hair was tied into two cute pigtails. She had a pretty, well-behaved appearance and sat there quietly, carrying a touch of shy innocence that made her seem utterly out of place among peers eager to forge connections.

This was Xiao Xiao, who possessed Twin Martial Souls.

Yun Yi took a step forward, his long legs carrying him up the wooden stairs. Ignoring the eager looks cast from either side, he headed straight in that direction.

His steady footsteps echoed through the classroom, where a pin drop could have been heard.

Wang Dong was still immersed in admiring herself. When she turned around, Yun Yi had already walked several meters away.

She quickly wiped the smugness from the corner of her lips and hurried after him.

Yun Yi stopped at the empty seat beside Xiao Xiao, pulled out the chair, and sat down calmly.

Xiao Xiao had already been watching the entrance.

When she saw the tallest and most eye-catching boy in the class walk straight toward her and pull out the chair beside her, her mind instantly crashed, leaving her thoughts completely blank.

The boy's shadow fell across her desk, bringing an intense sense of pressure and an impossible-to-ignore presence.

A young girl's budding feelings could not be hidden at all. Xiao Xiao's cheeks silently flushed, the redness spreading all the way to her ears.

Her breathing became hurried. Her fingers nervously twisted the hem of her uniform as she frantically tried to prepare herself mentally.

I should say hello, right? What should I say? Would that seem too forward? Too frivolous?

All sorts of thoughts fiercely clashed in her mind.

Just as she gathered her courage and parted her lips, Yun Yi turned toward her and extended his right hand first.

"Hello, Yun Yi."

Xiao Xiao was caught completely off guard by such a direct move.

She lowered her head in panic and stared at the hand suspended in midair. Its knuckles were distinct, its fingers long and strong, and the lines of his wrist bones were firm and smooth.

As if possessed, she extended her own fair, tender hand and cautiously took his.

The instant they touched, the boy's palm was broad and warm, with rough, thin calluses on his fingertips and the web between his thumb and forefinger, honed from holding a heavy bow year after year.

That sensation, carrying an absolute sense of strength and reality, raced up through the nerve endings in her palm and slammed straight into Xiao Xiao's heart.

Thump! Thump!

Her heartbeat completely spiraled out of control, pounding violently against her chest.

Xiao Xiao only felt her cheeks burn hot. She froze there, immersed in this unprecedented, strange sensation, even forgetting to let go or speak.

Seeing the little girl's dazed expression, Yun Yi's lips curved slightly. His fingertip lightly tapped her palm.

"Classmate, it's your turn to introduce yourself."

The faint tap jolted Xiao Xiao awake as if from a dream.

She pulled her hand back as though shocked, her cheeks red enough to bleed, and stammered in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "I... I'm Xiao Xiao. Nice to meet you."

"And me!"

A crisp voice suddenly cut in.

Wang Dong directly sat in the empty seat on Yun Yi's other side. Leaning forward, she reached across Yun Yi's chest and moved close to Xiao Xiao.

She flashed Xiao Xiao what she considered an irresistibly handsome, brilliant smile.

"Hello, I'm Wang Dong. We're classmates from now on, so please take care of me."

After introducing herself, Wang Dong did not forget to turn her head and shoot Yun Yi a proud, spoiled look, her chin slightly raised.

The meaning was clear: she was challenging and showing off to him. Look at this young master's charm. It's far better than a cold block of ice like you. This is the proper way to make friends.

Seeing Wang Dong's childish, peacock-like display, Yun Yi tugged at the corner of his mouth and turned to look out the window, too lazy to pay attention to his competitive roommate.

As time passed, the empty seats in the classroom gradually filled.

The freshmen's conversations began buzzing again, though their volume was far more restrained than before.

From time to time, someone would turn around and secretly study the three exceptionally attractive people in the rear rows, speculating about their backgrounds and martial souls.

The preparatory bell for class suddenly rang.

Its piercing sound cut through the teaching building, announcing the end of idle chatter.

Steady, powerful footsteps sounded from outside the corridor.

The footsteps were not hurried, but each one landed with a particular rhythm.

Before the person even appeared, a suffocating pressure seeped into the classroom through the cracks of the door, forcibly suppressing all the noise.

"Creak—"

The classroom door was slowly pushed open.

A middle-aged man stepped onto the podium.

He wore a well-tailored black teacher's uniform, buttoned tightly all the way to the collar.

His face was stern and severe, his brows perpetually furrowed, leaving two deep vertical lines between them.

His eyes were sharp as an eagle's. The instant he swept his gaze across the room, the powerful aura of a high-level soul master surged through the entire tiered classroom like something tangible.

The newcomer was Du Weilun, Shrek Academy's Director of Academic Affairs.

As the highest authority in the Academic Affairs Office, he had no need to lower himself to teach a freshman class.

However, pressure personally exerted by Dean Yan Shaozhe, along with the top-secret information in the files concerning Yun Yi's true cultivation and seniority, left Du Weilun with no choice but to take on this hot potato.

He stood at the center of the podium, his sharp gaze sweeping over the more than one hundred youthful faces below.

Finally, his eyes paused for half a second on the black-haired boy in the middle-rear rows, deep helplessness hidden in the depths of his pupils.

Under Du Weilun's gaze, every freshman immediately straightened their backs and obediently placed both hands on their desks. Even their breathing was deliberately restrained, afraid of angering the homeroom teacher on the podium, who radiated terrifying pressure.