In the days that followed, Huo Yuhao lived a very relaxed life.
Freshman Class One endured intense physical drills and tedious basic theory lessons every day.
But Huo Yuhao spent most of his time in the Outer Court Library.
With the absurd learning speed granted by his first soul skill, the sluggish teaching pace of the freshman classes simply could not keep up with him.
And Shrek's physical training was nothing but running laps, one lap after another—especially weighted laps. None of it did Huo Yuhao any good.
Whenever Huo Yuhao cultivated the Heavenly Origin Art at night, his Soul Power circulated through his meridians, stimulated his acupoints, and tempered his body. The results were far better than running laps.
So.
As long as Zhou Yi was not personally overseeing the class, Huo Yuhao openly skipped every other teacher's theory lesson.
Such outrageously defiant behavior naturally made him a frequent visitor to Zhou Yi's office.
If it had been any other freshman, they would probably have been packed up and thrown out of Shrek long ago.
But Huo Yuhao happened to be an unreasonable exception.
Office.
Zhou Yi sat behind her broad desk, glaring fiercely at Huo Yuhao in front of her.
Her wrinkled old face was filled with barely restrained fury.
"Huo Yuhao, you haven't attended a single theory class this week."
Zhou Yi slammed the desk. Fire burned in her hoarse voice. "Do you think that just because your Martial Soul is special, you don't need to learn the basics?!"
Huo Yuhao stood with both hands in his pockets, his expression unchanged.
Looking at the furious old woman, he skillfully brought out that classic line.
"Teacher Zhou, didn't you say that those who don't dare to cause trouble are mediocre?"
Huo Yuhao blinked and said seriously, "Attending class on time is what mediocre people do. As a monster, isn't it perfectly normal for me to skip class?"
The air froze.
Zhou Yi's chest heaved violently twice.
She opened her mouth, only to realize that she could not curse him at all.
Having her own words shut her down felt even worse than swallowing a fly.
"Those who don't dare to cause trouble are mediocre?"
Zhou Yi's old face turned livid with rage. "I told you to cause trouble by fighting, not by ignoring discipline!"
Huo Yuhao shrugged, looking utterly indifferent.
Zhou Yi took a deep breath. Even the hand gripping her cup had turned pale.
She truly had no good way of dealing with this brat.
As one of the only three two-ringed Soul Grandmasters in the class, Huo Yuhao not only possessed strange and troublesome soul skills, but his combined theory and practical scores had ranked first in the grade in both the biweekly tests and monthly exams.
Shrek Academy's rules were simple.
Everything was decided by grades. The last-place student in every exam was expelled outright.
That was Shrek's high-elimination selection system.
For a freak like Huo Yuhao, who scored full marks in every subject, even if he slept in the dormitory all day, the higher-ups would only turn a blind eye.
Most importantly, the brat was clever. He had never skipped any of Zhou Yi's own classes.
"Enough, enough. Get lost already!"
Zhou Yi waved her hand impatiently, unable to bear looking at his punchable face any longer.
Huo Yuhao smiled, turned around, and left the office.
In the blink of an eye.
Two months passed quietly.
Less than a month remained until the Freshman Assessment.
Over those two months, Zhou Yi showed no mercy and expelled nearly a third of the class.
But under such pressure.
Life in the Freshman Dormitory remained peaceful.
Evening.
The dormitory's wooden door was tightly shut.
Huo Yuhao sat at the desk, quietly flipping through a thick ancient book he had borrowed from the Library.
On the bed behind him.
Wang Dong lay sprawled across the blankets.
Her pair of fair bare feet swayed lazily in the air.
Ever since that cohabitation farce two months ago, the girl had become increasingly uninhibited in the dormitory.
There were only the two of them in the room anyway.
So Wang Dong could not even be bothered to keep up appearances.
She wore only a loose, thin shirt and a pair of cool little lounge shorts, dressing however she found comfortable.
She acted as though she were completely at home.
"So boring..."
Wang Dong rolled over on the bed, dragging out her words listlessly.
No one responded to her.
Huo Yuhao remained fixed on the book in his hands without even turning his head.
Wang Dong pouted.
She rolled over and sat up, then walked barefoot to Huo Yuhao's side. Bracing both hands on the desk, she leaned over to look at the ancient book.
"Turning stone into gold..."
Wang Dong slowly read the words on the page.
"A Soul Master with a golden Martial Soul persistently nourished a palm-sized stone with Soul Power."
"After a full seventy years, the stone finally became a piece of real gold?"
After finishing, Wang Dong's expression became deeply puzzled.
She looked at the book with some disdain.
"Huo Yuhao, you spend every day in the Library just to read made-up trash stories like this?"
Wang Dong looked at him in confusion.
Most traditional Soul Masters dismissed such strange tales as nothing more than idle jokes for after dinner. No one took them seriously.
"Are you that short on money?"
Wang Dong raised her delicate chin, a flash of pride appearing in her eyes.
She patted her nonexistent chest.
"If you really need money, why not just beg this young master?"
"My family lacks everything except money. If you're willing to lower your head, I'll reward you with some spending money."
Seeing her arrogant, rich-girl act that practically begged for a beating.
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes.
"That is the extent of your ambition."
Huo Yuhao said speechlessly, "How do you have the nerve to say something as shallow as that, with your head full of Gold Soul Coins?"
Wang Dong immediately became unhappy at that.
"Who are you calling shallow?!"
"You."
Huo Yuhao pointed bluntly at the contents of the page.
"In the eyes of traditional Soul Masters like you, this rumor is nothing more than folklore."
"But that is because you cannot see what lies beneath the surface."
Wang Dong froze.
She lowered her head and glanced at that absurd passage again, then hesitated. "What could possibly be beneath the surface?"
Huo Yuhao looked at her, his tone turning serious.
"Pollution."
"Seventy years of Soul Power output caused an ordinary stone to undergo a fundamental transformation."
"That proves Soul Power can deeply pollute and assimilate material objects in reality."
Huo Yuhao paused, then said each word distinctly, "From a broader perspective, this is direct evidence of energy converting into the material dimension."
The dormitory fell silent.
Wang Dong blinked her pink-blue eyes.
She listened very seriously.
But in truth.
She had not understood a single word.
What energy dimension? What material pollution?
Seeing Wang Dong's blank, clearly crashed expression.
Huo Yuhao sighed inwardly.
Sure enough.
Discussing fundamental theory with this young master, whose mind only knew close combat and fighting, was like playing music to a cow.
Over the past two months.
He had read more than half the books in the Shrek Outer Court Library.
By comparing countless complex materials, he had gained tremendous inspiration.
Huo Yuhao snapped the ancient book shut.
He stood up, casually stuffed the book into his storage Soul Tool, then headed for the dormitory door without looking back.
"Huh?"
Wang Dong was startled by his sudden movement.
She hurried to the door and grabbed Huo Yuhao's arm.
"Where are you going so late?"
Huo Yuhao's gaze remained calm.
"To the shore of Sea God Lake to test a new idea for my Martial Soul."
Test his Martial Soul?
Wang Dong's eyes instantly lit up.
Having been cooped up in the dormitory all day, she had been bored out of her mind.
"Wait for me!"
Wang Dong excitedly tugged on his sleeve and shamelessly stuck herself to him.
"This young master happens to be bored too. Let's go take a look together."
Looking at the roommate who had latched onto him like an unshakable plaster.
Huo Yuhao shook his head helplessly.
Before you continue