Dispute

"Let's go, Yuhao. There are still four days until school officially starts. Let's familiarize ourselves with the academy over the next few days. For now, let's go check out the dorms."

Yao Shi walked ahead, handed Huo Yuhao two gold soul coins, and spoke to him.

"Alright, Brother Yao."

Since they had chosen different departments, they parted ways after that and headed to their respective dormitory buildings.

Yao Shi arrived at the entrance of a white building, where an elderly man who looked quite advanced in age was seated.

The old man checked Yao Shi's badge and dorm key, then said, "Go on. Dorm 108 is the third room on the left side of the first floor. The fourth floor and above are the girls' dormitories. You are not allowed upstairs. If you're caught, you'll be expelled immediately."

After thanking him, Yao Shi entered the building.

Once Yao Shi had left, the old man slightly opened his eyes. A glint of gold flickered within them. "Interesting little fellow. At such a young age, he's already giving off such dense life energy. Looks like the academy will be getting another little monster."

Following the old man's directions, Yao Shi arrived at his dorm room, opened the door, and was immediately hit by a wave of stale air.

"Cough, cough. How long has no one lived here? There's so much dust."

The sudden dust made Yao Shi choke. He hurried over to open the windows for ventilation, then used soul power to clear away the dust inside.

Although the dorm was small, Yao Shi still felt that its conditions were far better than where he had lived before.

After traveling for several days, Yao Shi cleaned up the room, then took a towel into the bathroom for a shower.

Twenty minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and misty steam drifted out. Since there was no one else in the dorm, Yao Shi emerged with only a towel wrapped around his lower body.

His pale golden hair hung over his shoulders, still damp from the bath. Droplets of water occasionally fell from its tips.

Just as he sat on the bed and used soul power to dry his hair, the door opened and a young man walked in. Seeing Yao Shi on the bed, he froze as well.

"Damn, man, why did you come in without knocking?"

Yao Shi jumped in fright when someone suddenly entered.

Looking closely, Yao Shi saw that the youth had delicate features and fair skin. His large eyes and neat short hair were both a faint pinkish-blue, and he was exceptionally handsome. Yao Shi recognized him at once as Tang Wutong from the original story, Tang San's daughter—or rather, he should now be called Wang Dong.

Perhaps because he had made Huo Yuhao choose the Soul Guidance Department, fate had somehow resulted in the two of them being assigned together.

Wang Dong wore a somewhat haughty expression as he said flatly, "Why is there a girl in the boys' dormitory?"

He had clearly mistaken Yao Shi for a girl as well. Since Wang Dong himself was disguised as a boy, he did not react much upon seeing Yao Shi half-naked.

"I'm a boy, so of course I live in the boys' dormitory. What, are you a girl?"

Yao Shi did not take it seriously and asked in return.

"W-what? You're a boy?"

Hearing Yao Shi's reply, Wang Dong was shocked and immediately covered his eyes.

"Why? Why are you naked in the dorm?!"

Now that he knew Yao Shi was a boy—and that he had seen him naked—Wang Dong was clearly irritated. Covering his eyes, he demanded sharply.

"I just got out of the shower. It's normal not to put clothes on while I'm still wet. Besides, we're both men. Why are you acting so bashful?"

Watching Wang Dong's reaction, Yao Shi dried the water from his body with soul power and teased him.

"Y-you, put your clothes on right now!" Wang Dong's tone remained angry.

"Fine, fine. I really don't know what a grown man has to be so bashful about."

By then, Yao Shi had mostly dried his hair with soul power, and he did not continue teasing Wang Dong.

"Alright, alright, I'm dressed now. You can take your hands down."

After hearing that, Wang Dong slowly lowered his hands and once again put on an imperious expression as he said to Yao Shi.

"Since you cleaned the dorm so thoroughly, I'll allow you to live with me for now. But there are several rules you need to remember."

"Oh? Let's hear them." Yao Shi looked interested.

"First, you're not allowed to casually bring people back to the dorm. Second, you're not allowed to walk around naked and disgust people. Since it's your first time, I'll pretend it never happened, but I hope it will also be the last time. Third, you're not allowed to snore at night. Fourth, don't disturb me. Fifth, from now on, you'll be responsible for cleaning the dorm, but you're not allowed to touch my bed."

"Do you understand?"

Yao Shi could actually comply with all of those rules, but Wang Dong's lofty attitude made him feel rather annoyed. No wonder Huo Yuhao had fought with him in the original story. So he said, "Alright, you're done talking. But why should I listen to you?"

Wang Dong snorted. "If you don't listen, I'll beat you out of here. If you don't believe me, try it."

"Fine. Give it a try. Let's go outside." Yao Shi's tone was calm.

With that, the two left the dorm and arrived at the open space in front of the building.

"Hey, I still don't know what you're called." Wang Dong's tone was contemptuous.

"I didn't call you anything?" Yao Shi replied innocently.

"Are you sick? I'm asking what your name is!"

Hearing Yao Shi's answer, Wang Dong became angry again.

"Before asking someone else's name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Yao Shi did not answer immediately.

"Hmph, my name is Wang Dong." He said it indifferently.

"Yao Shi."

"Very good, Yao Shi. I hope you can still act this arrogantly after what comes next. I think your name will soon disappear from Shrek Academy."

"Wasn't it you who started acting all high and mighty?" Yao Shi replied blandly. Since you're acting so arrogant, don't blame me for showing no mercy later.

The two stood on the ground. Wang Dong crooked a finger at Yao Shi in provocation, but Yao Shi did not react.

Seeing that Yao Shi was not taking the bait, Wang Dong pushed off the ground with the tip of his foot and shot toward him like an arrow, arriving before him in the blink of an eye.

Yao Shi could see his movements, but he did not dodge. Wang Dong's left foot then struck heavily into his chest, sending him flying several meters backward.

"Heh, trash. You couldn't even dodge that, yet you dared challenge me?"

Seeing Yao Shi knocked down so easily, Wang Dong mocked him as he lay on the ground.

"Since you want to fight with physical techniques, I'll keep you company."

Yao Shi had already risen to his feet. He lightly brushed the dust from his clothes, as though nothing had happened.

Yao Shi did not possess any powerful offensive soul skills, but his body, nourished by an endless abundance of life energy, was far from weak. Coupled with the reactions he had honed over years of catching fish with a wooden fork, as well as the importance he had placed on physical training at the junior academy, he could now defeat a three-ringed Soul Elder using a martial soul through physical strength and combat techniques alone.

Having said that, Yao Shi pushed off the ground just as Wang Dong had earlier. However, while Wang Dong had used his legs, Yao Shi used his fists.

Yao Shi was incredibly fast. His fist carried powerful force as it shot toward Wang Dong.

"Not good!"

Wang Dong seemed to recognize the extraordinary nature of Yao Shi's punch and inwardly cried out in alarm. As the fist was about to strike him, he took a slight step back.