The Mix-Up

The morning's torment finally came to an end.

The dismissal bell rang.

The students of Freshman Class One felt as though they had been granted amnesty. One after another, they quickly packed up and rushed out of the classroom.

Wang Dong sat at her desk with her arms crossed over her chest.

Watching Zhou Yi's departing back at the podium, she curled her lips, faintly displeased.

"That old hag is way too cruel, isn't she?"

Wang Dong complained quietly, her voice full of resentment.

"She even had to take up dismissal time. Anyone who didn't know better would think Shrek Academy was short on class hours."

Huo Yuhao sat beside her, having already put away the stationery on his desk.

He stood up.

Seeing Wang Dong still muttering beside him, he naturally raised a hand and patted her shoulder.

"Hey, young master."

There was a hint of amusement in Huo Yuhao's voice.

"I'm the one who got called to the office for a lecture, not you. What are you complaining about?"

At those words,

Wang Dong froze instantly.

The air suddenly fell silent for two seconds.

That was right.

What was she complaining about?

Wang Dong's heartbeat skipped sharply, and an uncontrollable flash of panic passed through her pink-blue eyes.

She was the one who had not been kept behind, yet she actually cared about something like this.

Could it be that, deep down, she wanted to spend more time with this bastard?

How was that possible?!

Wang Dong vehemently denied it in her heart.

They had only known each other for two short days.

Besides, this guy had such a sharp tongue and loved provoking people. He was practically an infuriating little bastard.

How could a proud young master like her possibly want to spend more time with someone like that?

She must have run so much today that something had gone wrong with her brain.

Wang Dong shook her head.

She forcibly suppressed that inexplicable guilty feeling in her heart.

She slapped Huo Yuhao's hand away and lifted her delicate chin.

"Mind your own business, young master!"

Wang Dong glared fiercely at him and stubbornly insisted, "I just can't stand that old hag exploiting students, that's all."

With that said.

She turned around directly, not even giving Huo Yuhao another glance as she stormed out of the classroom.

Her retreating figure even carried a hint of fleeing in embarrassment.

Huo Yuhao stood where he was, watching that figure disappear down the corridor, then shook his head helplessly.

This tsundere little girl.

Her temper really ignited at the slightest spark.

Still, she really was quite interesting.

Office.

Huo Yuhao pushed open the half-closed wooden door and walked in.

Zhou Yi was the only one inside.

She sat behind a broad desk, flipping through a file on the freshmen.

Seeing Huo Yuhao enter, Zhou Yi did not waste a single word.

"Huo Yuhao, what do you think of Soul Tools?"

She got straight to the point.

Huo Yuhao did not even pause.

He answered casually.

"Soul Tools are good things."

Zhou Yi nodded faintly at his words.

This boy had always remained calm and composed in class. In her eyes, such an attitude free of traditional Soul Master prejudice was only to be expected.

She set down the file in her hand.

"Your Martial Soul is Spirit Eyes."

Zhou Yi stared intently into Huo Yuhao's eyes, her voice still somewhat hoarse.

"A spiritual-type body Martial Soul is exceedingly rare on the continent. You can be considered a promising seedling."

At that point, Zhou Yi snorted coldly.

"Unfortunately, your second Soul Ring is actually a worthless ten-year ring. It is an utter mess."

Zhou Yi's tone was stern, but then she changed the subject.

"However."

"On the path of Soul Tools, spiritual-type Soul Masters possess enormous potential—an innate advantage no other attribute can compare with."

"If you are willing to let go of your current obsession and study in the Soul Tool Department."

Zhou Yi directly made her proposal.

"I can make the decision to recommend Shrek's best mentor to you."

Huo Yuhao looked at Zhou Yi's serious expression.

Huo Yuhao said nothing.

He could only sigh inwardly.

What a joke.

She wanted him to learn about Soul Tools from Shrek?

The shabby knowledge taught by Shrek Soul Tool Department was not even comparable to versions the Sun Moon Empire had eliminated decades ago. It was nothing more than a defective product born from compromises between traditional ideas and new technology.

And as for himself?

After half a year of Xuan Ziwen's personal instruction as an eighth-rank Soul Engineer, coupled with his own foundational logical thinking, his theoretical knowledge had advanced by leaps and bounds.

In terms of theoretical expertise alone,

he was now a standard sixth-rank Soul Engineer of the Sun Moon Empire.

By Douluo Continent's evaluation standards, even those old men in Shrek Soul Tool Department would have to honestly acknowledge him as a seventh-rank or even eighth-rank Soul Engineer.

Who would be teaching whom was still uncertain.

Having someone from Shrek teach him now would be nothing but a complete step backward.

Huo Yuhao shook his head without hesitation.

"There's no need for that."

Huo Yuhao's expression became very tactful as he said softly, "For now, I still want to focus on cultivating my Martial Soul. I don't want to divide my attention by getting involved with Soul Tools."

Hearing that crisp and decisive refusal, Zhou Yi frowned.

Zhou Yi frowned.

Disappointment clearly flashed in her eyes.

She had thought this boy was smart enough, but she had not expected him to be as stubborn and set in his ways as those old-fashioned Soul Masters.

In Zhou Yi's heart, Huo Yuhao had already been labeled inflexible, conservative, and rigid.

However.

Zhou Yi did not say anything further.

"Fine."

She waved a hand, ending the topic.

"Since you have made your own decision, go back for now. You can give it more thought later."

Cafeteria.

Huo Yuhao quickly devoured two servings of the highest-grade nutritious meal.

He burped in satisfaction and slowly wandered back to the Freshman Dormitory.

When he reached the peeling wooden door.

Huo Yuhao did not push it open immediately. Instead, he politely raised his hand.

"Knock, knock."

He tapped on the door twice.

Movement immediately came from inside.

However, it was not the sound of footsteps coming to open the door. Instead, it sounded as though something had slammed heavily onto the floor.

Then.

A flustered rustling of clothes came through the door.

"W-Wait... wait a second!"

Wang Dong's unmistakably panicked voice burst out at once, even cracking slightly.

After that came the chaotic sounds of rummaging through boxes and cabinets.

It was as though a battle were taking place inside.

"What are you doing?"

Huo Yuhao stood outside the door, his expression turning strange.

"N-Nothing!"

Wang Dong shouted anxiously, accompanied by the crisp clink of a belt buckle inside.

"Stay outside! You're not allowed to come in!"

Listening to the frantic commotion inside, which sounded like it was about to smoke from anxiety, Huo Yuhao leaned against the corridor wall, utterly speechless.

Huo Yuhao leaned against the corridor wall, utterly speechless.

This little girl was far too careless.

She was clearly a girl disguised as a boy, yet she was changing clothes in the dorm at noon without even knowing to lock the door.

Luckily, she had run into him today.

As an upright gentleman with an extremely high moral standard, he at least had the consideration to knock before entering.

If it had been some other reckless brute.

He might have kicked the whole door and frame in with one foot.

In that situation, this little girl would probably have wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground and die of embarrassment on the spot. Who knew how big a mix-up it might have caused?

A full five minutes passed.

Only then did the earth-shaking commotion in the dorm finally settle down.

"Ahem..."

Wang Dong cleared her throat, trying her best to make her voice sound natural.

"Come in."

Huo Yuhao pushed open the door.

Inside the dorm.

Wang Dong was putting on an act, standing beside her bed and tidying her bedding.

But her short pink-blue hair was obviously still a little messy. Even the top button of her school uniform was fastened in the wrong place, pulling her collar crooked.

Worst of all, a layer of unshakable redness still remained on her originally fair and handsome face.

She looked exactly like a thief with a guilty conscience.

Huo Yuhao's gaze swept over her disheveled collar.

The corner of his mouth twitched despite himself.

"Young master, there's really no need for you to panic. With that childlike figure of yours that inspires absolutely no desire, even if you were naked in front of me, I wouldn't deign to look twice."

"What? Huo Yuhao, you're humiliating me! I'll fight you!" All that remained of Wang Dong's humiliation was fury; her shyness vanished.