The Mix-Up

The morning's torment finally came to an end.

The dismissal bell rang.

The students of Freshman Class One felt as if they had been granted amnesty. One by one, they hurriedly packed their things and rushed out of the classroom.

Wang Dong sat at her desk with her arms folded across her chest.

Watching Zhou Yi's departing figure at the podium, she curled her lips in dissatisfaction.

"That old woman is way too cruel."

Wang Dong grumbled under her breath, her tone full of resentment.

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

Huo Yuhao sat beside her, having already packed up 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?"

Upon hearing that,

Wang Dong froze on the spot.

The air suddenly went silent for two seconds.

Right.

What was she complaining about?

Wang Dong's heart skipped a beat, and an uncontrollable flash of panic appeared in her pink-blue eyes.

She wasn't the one being 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 frantically 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 irritating little villain.

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

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

Wang Dong shook her head.

She forcibly suppressed the inexplicable guilt in her heart.

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

"My business is none of your concern!"

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

With that said,

she turned around and stormed out of the classroom without even looking at Huo Yuhao.

Her retreating figure even seemed somewhat like she was fleeing in defeat.

Huo Yuhao stood where he was, watching her disappear into the corridor, then helplessly shook his head.

This tsundere little girl.

Her temper really ignited at the slightest provocation.

Still, she was indeed quite interesting.

Office.

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

Only Zhou Yi was inside.

She sat behind a broad desk, flipping through a set of freshman records.

When she saw 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 slightly at that.

This boy had always remained calm and unruffled in class. In her view, this attitude, free from the prejudice of traditional soul masters, was only to be expected.

She put down the documents 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 extremely rare on the continent. You can be considered a promising seedling."

At this point, Zhou Yi gave a cold snort.

"Unfortunately, your second soul ring is a useless ten-year ring. It's an utter mess."

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

"However."

"In the field of soul tools, spiritual-type soul masters possess enormous potential, an innate advantage unmatched by any other attribute."

"If you are willing to give up your current obsession and study in the Soul Tool Department."

Zhou Yi stated her proposal directly.

"I can personally recommend the best mentor in Shrek."

Huo Yuhao looked at Zhou Yi's serious expression.

Huo Yuhao said nothing.

He could only sigh inwardly.

What a joke.

Have him learn soul tools from people at Shrek?

The lousy knowledge taught by Shrek's Soul Tool Department was inferior even to technology the Sun Moon Empire had discarded decades ago. It was nothing but a defective product born from compromises between traditional ideas and new technology.

And as for himself?

After half a year of personal instruction from Xuan Ziwen, an eighth-grade soul engineer, coupled with his own system of foundational logical thinking, his theoretical knowledge had advanced by leaps and bounds.

In terms of theory alone,

he was now a standard sixth-grade soul engineer of the Sun Moon Empire.

Judging by the standards of the Douluo Continent, even those old fellows from Shrek's Soul Tool Department would have to honestly acknowledge him as a seventh-grade, or even eighth-grade, soul engineer.

Who was teaching whom was still up for debate.

Having Shrek teach him now would be nothing but a complete regression.

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 studying soul tools."

Hearing this clean and decisive refusal, Zhou Yi frowned.

Zhou Yi frowned.

Disappointment clearly flashed through her eyes.

She had thought this boy was clever enough, but unexpectedly, he was just as stubborn and set in his ways as those old-fashioned soul masters.

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

However,

Zhou Yi did not say anything more.

"Fine."

She waved a hand, ending the subject.

"Since you've already made your decision, go back for now. You can think about it more in the future."

Cafeteria.

Huo Yuhao quickly devoured two top-tier nutritious meals.

He let out a satisfied burp and slowly wandered back to the freshman dormitory building.

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.

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

Right after that,

a frantic rustling of clothes came through the door.

"W-Wait a moment!"

Wang Dong's voice, clearly filled with extreme panic, burst out instantly and even cracked slightly.

Then came the chaotic sounds of rummaging through boxes and overturning cabinets.

It sounded as if a war had broken out inside.

"What are you doing?"

Standing outside the door, Huo Yuhao's expression turned strange.

"N-Nothing!"

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

"Stay out there! Don't come in!"

Listening to the frantic commotion inside that seemed ready to burst into flames, Huo Yuhao leaned against the corridor wall, utterly speechless.

Huo Yuhao leaned against the corridor wall, utterly speechless.

This girl was far too careless.

She was obviously a girl disguised as a boy to get by, yet she was changing clothes in the dormitory at noon without even knowing to lock the door.

Luckily, she had run into him today.

As an upright gentleman with an exceptionally high moral standard, he at least knew enough to thoughtfully knock before entering.

If it had been some other reckless brute instead,

he might have kicked down the door and frame in one go.

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 subside.

"Cough..."

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

"Come in."

Huo Yuhao pushed open the door.

Inside the dormitory,

Wang Dong was putting on a show of tidying the bedding beside her bed.

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

Worst of all, a lingering flush 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 uncontrollably.

"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 stood naked in front of me, I wouldn't bother taking a second look."

"What? Huo Yuhao, you're humiliating me! I'll fight you!" Wang Dong's shame and indignation instantly became nothing but anger, and all her embarrassment vanished.