"During these past few days of registration, has anyone gotten into a fight?"
Zhou Yi's voice was hoarse and cold.
The air in the classroom seemed to freeze all at once.
It was so quiet that only somewhat heavy breathing could be heard.
At those words, Wang Dong's body visibly stiffened, and a bead of cold sweat nearly appeared on her smooth forehead.
She turned her head and glanced sidelong at Huo Yuhao, who was sitting beside her.
That bastard.
Why wasn't he reacting at all?
Huo Yuhao rested his chin on one hand, calmly looking at the blackboard. He sat as steady as a mountain, as though he had heard nothing at all.
Seeing how unflappable he was, Wang Dong gritted her teeth and forcibly pulled back the leg she had already started to extend.
If no one else was worried, why should she be?
At worst, they would get scolded together.
Not far away.
Xiao Xiao was silently watching the two of them.
When Teacher Zhou had asked her question just now, Xiao Xiao had clearly sensed Wang Dong's expression waver greatly.
But Huo Yuhao was genuinely steady.
He did not move at all.
That thick skin of his was practically three parts tougher than Bright City's walls.
Zhou Yi stood at the podium and waited for a moment.
When she saw that no one had stepped forward, obvious disappointment flashed through her eyes. Then she suddenly slammed her hand down on the desk.
Bang!
The muffled sound made quite a few freshmen shudder.
"What a bunch of cowards."
Zhou Yi coldly swept her gaze over the entire class, her sharp, cutting voice echoing through the room.
"Over a hundred people, and not one of you dares to cause trouble."
"Those who don't dare cause trouble are mediocrities."
"The Monster Academy doesn't need obedient little darlings like you. We only want real monsters."
A string of utterly hypocritical rebukes came crashing down.
The students in the class were scolded until their faces turned red, yet none of them dared speak up in rebuttal.
Huo Yuhao was speechless.
He sighed inwardly.
Was this teaching and educating people, or raising bandits?
But on second thought.
Huo Yuhao felt that it actually made perfect sense.
Douluo Continent looked peaceful on the surface, and it even had supposedly top educational institutions like Shrek.
But in reality?
The underlying logic of Douluo Continent was fucking survival of the strongest. The bigger your fist, the more right you had.
Morality did not even rank in this godforsaken place.
So Soul Master Academies like Shrek were not places that seriously spread ideas and values.
At best, they were cold-blooded filtering machines, along with training camps for high-level thugs.
If the moral standards of teachers from his previous life, where they imparted knowledge and resolved doubts, were forcibly applied to someone like Zhou Yi—
That would be like using a Ming Dynasty sword to behead a Qing Dynasty official.
Absurd beyond all reason.
Although he had figured out that logic, Huo Yuhao still viewed it critically.
Understanding was one thing, but he had no respect at all for this twisted culture of banditry.
"Everyone, stand up."
Zhou Yi shouted.
"All of you, go to Shrek Square and run one hundred laps."
"You have one hour. Anyone who fails to finish, pack your things and get out!"
After tossing out those icy words, Zhou Yi turned and walked out of the classroom.
The whole class immediately erupted.
One lap around the square was roughly two hundred meters, so one hundred laps meant a full twenty kilometers.
And they had to finish within an hour.
How was this running?
She was practically trying to take half the lives of these freshmen.
Everyone complained bitterly, but no one dared remain in the classroom. They could only line up and walk out dejectedly.
In the corridor.
The freshmen formed two disorderly lines and trudged downstairs with heavy steps.
Huo Yuhao kept his hands in his pockets and walked at an unhurried pace.
Honestly.
This amount of exercise was no different from an after-dinner stroll for his current physique.
Back in that little courtyard, he and Ye Guyi had practiced the Heavenly Origin Art under the extreme pressure of the Gravity Soul Tool.
That was what truly felt worse than death.
What did running a half marathon without weights even amount to?
Just then.
Wang Dong quickly squeezed her way over from behind and bumped Huo Yuhao's arm with her elbow in irritation.
"Hey."
Wang Dong lowered her voice, a glint of unyielding determination burning in her beautiful pink-blue eyes.
"What?"
"Let's compete."
"Compete at what?"
"See who finishes these hundred laps first."
Wang Dong raised her chin, snorted coldly, and said through gritted teeth, "Let me make this clear first. This time, I definitely won't lose to you again."
Seeing how fired up she was.
Huo Yuhao suddenly wanted to knock her down a peg.
He turned and looked at Wang Dong with a strange expression.
"Why should I compete with you?"
Wang Dong froze.
"What?"
"There's no wager if I win. What's the point?"
Huo Yuhao spread his hands, then kindly added another stab.
"Besides, a defeated opponent like you isn't even worth me putting in any effort."
With a boom.
Wang Dong's entire face visibly turned red.
A faint blush burned from her fair neck all the way to her ears, making her look like a high-pressure boiler on the verge of exploding.
"Huo Yuhao!"
She gritted her teeth. If looks could kill, that bastard would have been sliced into a thousand pieces by now.
But even though what he said was infuriating—
She seemed unable to refute it.
The words "defeated opponent" directly ground Young Master Wang's proud self-esteem into the dirt.
The track.
The sunlight was somewhat glaring.
The moment they reached the starting line, Wang Dong grabbed Huo Yuhao by the sleeve and forcibly dragged him into the inner lane.
"Whether you want to compete or not, we're competing today!"
Wang Dong glared at him viciously, as though she would immediately pounce and bite him if he dared say no.
The next second, the instructor's starting whistle sounded.
Like a rocket being ignited, Wang Dong shot out with a whoosh and forcibly claimed the lead.
As she ran, she turned her head and gave Huo Yuhao, who was following behind her, a mocking look while running backward.
"So slow. Your stamina isn't much either, huh?"
Her voice carried unconcealed delight.
Then she snapped her head forward and desperately continued charging ahead.
Since they were competing—
She had to take first place and crush this bastard's arrogance.
Looking at that puffed-up figure ahead of him.
Huo Yuhao sneered inwardly.
He did not rush to sprint. Instead, he maintained an even breathing rhythm as his stride frequency quietly increased.
Since they had agreed not to use martial souls—
He could not use Soul Power to cheat either.
They would compete only in the most basic physical ability.
Twenty laps.
Forty laps.
Sixty laps.
As time passed, by the time they had run over seventy laps, most of the freshmen were panting like dogs.
Fine beads of sweat had formed on Wang Dong's forehead as well.
Her face gradually flushed red, but she still stared fixedly at the track, gritting her teeth to maintain her slight lead of two or three meters over Huo Yuhao.
Just then.
A breath so calm it was infuriating suddenly drew close from behind and to the side.
Before Wang Dong could figure out what was happening.
Huo Yuhao's figure swept past her and overtook her in one go.
He was so fast that even the wind from his clothes brushing past swept across her cheek.
Wang Dong's eyelid twitched wildly.
What was this guy even made of?
He had already run more than ten kilometers, yet he could still accelerate?
Wang Dong bit down hard on her lower lip and swung her arms with force.
She forced herself to take larger strides, trying to make up the gap and pass him again from the outside lane.
One step.
Two steps.
But she soon discovered in despair.
No matter how she pushed herself to the limit and tried to go faster—
That seemingly unruffled figure ahead of her was like a vehicle with cruise control activated.
He remained steadily positioned two meters ahead of her.
No matter how she tried, she could not overtake him.
A huge fire of frustration burned in Wang Dong's heart, but the air in her lungs felt increasingly thin, and even her breathing became ragged and heavy.
Time passed bit by bit.
Finally.
When the white line marking the end of the hundredth lap appeared before them—
Huo Yuhao casually stepped across it.
Half an hour.
That speed was already terrifying for an eleven-year-old freshman.
Huo Yuhao stopped and casually rolled his shoulders on the spot.
From beginning to end, his face had not reddened, nor was he out of breath.
It was as though he had merely taken a stroll through the backyard to enjoy the scenery.
More than ten seconds later.
Wang Dong charged across the finish line.
She was the second person to complete the task, but the moment she crossed the line, she nearly collapsed to the ground.
She braced both hands tightly on her knees and gulped down air.
Her pink-blue short hair was completely soaked with sweat, several strands clinging to her fair, flushed cheeks.
In truth, her stamina was nowhere near this bad.
But who told her to stubbornly force herself to keep up with that freak Huo Yuhao's pace?
She had practically drained every last bit of her strength.
Just as Wang Dong began questioning her life choices,
the third person finished the entire course as well.
It was Xiao Xiao.
The young girl had simply maintained a steady, controlled pace the whole time. Though her face was rosy, she was clearly in far better shape than the bedraggled Wang Dong.
Huo Yuhao walked over.
He stopped in front of Wang Dong and, without the slightest courtesy, raised a hand and gave her violently heaving shoulder a firm pat.
"Not good enough, young master."
Seeing that she looked like she was about to roll her eyes and pass out, Huo Yuhao could not help but chuckle.
"You're gasping like this after running such a short distance. Why are you as weak as a little girl?"
"Can you even do it, skinny mutt?"
Wang Dong suddenly raised her head.
Still panting heavily, her eyes instantly blazed with a murderous fury.
She stared at Huo Yuhao's smug grin, the kind that was infuriating beyond words.
Wang Dong could not help but bare her teeth viciously.
This damned bastard!
Before you continue